Mission Statement
The New York 2 X Coalition, also known as NY2X, is a youth-led network of New York-based young people who are interested in organizing and mobilizing across the city and country. NY2X works in solidarity with those most affected by the social, racial, and economic inequalities in New York, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Albuquerque, and beyond. Through service-based learning and relationship-building, the youth break down societally-imposed barriers and work together to combat racism, classism, and hierarchy in all its institutional and intrapersonal forms.
NY2X Programs
NYC Trip:
In July, we will have day trips to several urban farms as well as facilitate social justice and youth leadership workshops. We want this trip to be a way to build roots in the city and meet new people who are interested in urban farming as well as social and environmental justice!
Growing Youth Organizers:
During the academic year, we train youth in community organizing simply by being members of NY2X. Biweekly organizer meetings, combined with alternating city-wide, open GYO workshops ensure we stay unified throughout the year. We also plan fundraising events, represent NY2X at environmental conferences, attend protests, and canvass together.
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AN AVERAGE DAY ON A PHILLY TRIP LOOKS LIKE....
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7:30: Wake up and get ready for the day! Eat breakfast and make lunches before heading out.
8:30: Head to the farm! We walk, drive, or bike to start work at 9.
11:00: Lunchtime! Eat some delicious food and socialize before a group discussion - we could have a personal talk about gender or perhaps a lawyer may come in and lead a "Know Your Rights" discussion!
Post-lunch: Continue working before debrief and clean up around 4
4:00: Leave the farm, head home, and pick up a snack!
5:00: Workshop! Organizers lead an educational workshop, which will include source material, journaling, and open discussion. Workshop topics range from food injustice to the prison industrial complex and beyond.
7:00: Make dinner and eat together.
Post-dinner: Watch a movie, do some art, and play some card games or music before heading to bed.
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Below is an old video from when NY2X was NY2NO.
Back then, our efforts were not focusing on urban farming, but the concept of learning through community organizing is exactly the same!
A Brief History
Following Hurricane Katrina, students, parents, and teachers from The Beacon School organized trips to New Orleans to aid in the reconstruction of the Lower Ninth Ward. There, they learned of the dramatic ways in which race, class, and the environment intersect and disproportionately harm certain groups in Louisiana and beyond.
When Beacon's administration chose to end their support for these trips, students felt it was their duty to continue the work they had only just begun. They formed a student group that could work outside the confines of one school or one institution.
Thus in 2007, NY2NO, or "New York 2 New Orleans", was formed. As the network of farms and activist spaces that NY2NO visited and worked with grew, a name change was in order. NY2X, or "New York 2 X", encompasses all the groups that we work with today. Get involved now to witness we will go next!