The Horizons Leadership Project
Chris Johnson http://www.horizonsbrooklyn.org
September 27th 2014
Chris Johnson http://www.horizonsbrooklyn.org
September 27th 2014
In 1980 at Columbia University, an academic discussion sponsored
by the International Society for Education through Art (INSEA)* was held
regarding urban teen youth attendance at city museums, or lack thereof. With limited choices, means, and motivation,
creative education tracks were disregarded.
Mid to late teens in urban areas were shaped more by economic concerns
and utilitarian attitudes toward academics (simply passing) than more
subjective measurements of success such as artistic expression.
Meanwhile, in these urban “demographics”, rising income inequality created long dark shadows across gang-ridden alleyways. Heroin addicts lurked in trash-strewn hallways and families reeling from the recession and edged out of the housing market lived in shantytowns in parking lots and beneath the bridges alongside outcasts whispering with fear about AIDS. A visit to the Met to witness the brilliant fruits of wealthy white artists was certainly not a top To Do.
In Brooklyn, Chris Johnson could have easily been one of those statistics but chose a decidedly different path. Thirty-five years later he continues to seek solutions to that same divide by sharing the lessons he learned in youth- community, sacrifice, patience, and commitment- with the latest generations of urban youths through his non-for-profit Brooklyn Horizons Leadership Project.
Meanwhile, in these urban “demographics”, rising income inequality created long dark shadows across gang-ridden alleyways. Heroin addicts lurked in trash-strewn hallways and families reeling from the recession and edged out of the housing market lived in shantytowns in parking lots and beneath the bridges alongside outcasts whispering with fear about AIDS. A visit to the Met to witness the brilliant fruits of wealthy white artists was certainly not a top To Do.
In Brooklyn, Chris Johnson could have easily been one of those statistics but chose a decidedly different path. Thirty-five years later he continues to seek solutions to that same divide by sharing the lessons he learned in youth- community, sacrifice, patience, and commitment- with the latest generations of urban youths through his non-for-profit Brooklyn Horizons Leadership Project.
I was fortunate to grow up in Park Slope Brooklyn, which in the 70's and 80's was a very progressive, diverse and stable neighborhood. However, it bordered a number of neighborhoods with communities that faced difficult challenges. The schools I attended and the teams I played for included a cross-section of young people from these communities. The obstacles facing many of my classmates and teammates were extreme. Through middle school and high school, I watched them struggle with education and life decisions, often choosing the path of antagonistic or violent behavior along with serious drug and alcohol use.
As an African American male in Brooklyn in the 80’s my life was a fortunate exception. Both of my parents and older sister attended college. Even during my greatest academic struggles the value of education was never lost on me. I was also very fortunate that my involvement with sports, the arts, and work taught me invaluable life lessons and helped me establish important life-long friendships and networks. All of these things had a significant impact on me and helped me overcome the issues I had in school while also avoiding bad choices.
Unfortunately, this was not the case for many of my friends and classmates. By the time I got to college I developed a bit of survivor's guilt. At UMass, I would hear about my friends who continued to struggle to find their way; still plagued by a lack of support and guidance.
When I returned to the city in 1991, I began putting together a program to serve Brooklyn youth and reached out to my friends and former classmates. In 1992, we established the Horizons Youth Program: an all-volunteer organization that provided programs to youths free of charge. Our goal was to run the program for four years and see a group of kids through high school.
It ended up running for six years, at the end serving about 400 young people per year. The next step in the plan was to turn the program over to a new cohort of volunteers with the hope that they would carry it forward. Then hand it off to students involved in the early years as they returned from college. Unfortunately, the program only continued for another year and a half.
After I had left Horizons, I went to work for the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) as a program coordinator and a community organizer. During the following decade, I provided support to a number of civil rights and social justice organizations and volunteered on issues that were important to me including recovery efforts in New Orleans post-Katrina.
Though finding funding for Horizons was always extremely difficult and frustrating, I realized out of all the programs I had been involved with, it was also the most personally rewarding. So, in 2010, I decided to restart the program with the help of some of the original founding members as well as several of the original students from the 1990's program. We renamed the program the Horizons Leadership Project with a renewed vision to build more systematic and long-term solutions to deal with a wide range of difficult issues facing Brooklyn youth.
These issues include education outcomes, healthcare, career readiness, and life skill development, just to name a few. Using strong arts and athletics leadership programs, we can hook the students earlier and retain them longer. Our focus is to create an engaging year-round educational opportunity where our students will feel challenged, supported, and inspired to both excel in school and become lifetime learners.
In the many years since I was a teenager, Brooklyn youth still struggle to overcome economic pressures and other obstacles to their success. Many do this within the system they believe is against them, but we continue to make headways in our own ways. While our work with urban youth is difficult at times, funding continues to be our primary challenge. But, we remain optimistic that the positive changes will echo across our underserved communities and those who appreciation it will be generous in their support to keep the program moving forward.
We thank you for any support you can provide! Click here if you'd like to help.
Trip
to Metropolitan Art Museum in NYC.
Sketching at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.
In front of the UN sculpture "The Knotted Gun" by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik.
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Stefon (student-left)
and Greg (teacher-right) working together on a creative writing project.
Original student watercolors exhibited at the 2014 Summer Art Show.
1992 Horizons youth basketball.
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Horizons Leadership Project video.
*reference: Andrews, Kathryne. "Focus on the Adolescent Coming of
Age in the Museum." Roundtable Reports Vol 6 No 4 (1981): 6-9. Print.