One Year Old!
We Are the Youth has had an incredible first year! Below is a press release that went out this morning to mark our first anniversary. In order to continue to bring you the stories of youth from across the country, we are working to raise additional funds. We’re now fiscally sponsored by Brooklyn Arts Council, which means you can make a tax deductible donation and we can accept matching donations from companies. To contribute please visit the BAC donation page and designate We Are the Youth as the specific program or fund (further instructions here). Your support means a lot. And please continue to tell friends, family and contacts all about We Are the Youth!
Thanks for a great first year!
Diana and Laurel
LGBT Photojournalism Project Celebrates First Year
We Are the Youth, a photojournalism project chronicling the individual stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in the United States, is celebrating its first anniversary this week, coinciding with Gay Pride Month.
Through photographic portraits and “as told to” interviews in the participants’ own voices, We Are the Youth captures the incredible diversity and uniqueness among the LGBT youth population. We Are the Youth was founded on June 23, 2010 by photographer Laurel Golio and journalist Diana Scholl, childhood friends and queer women who live in Brooklyn. The first series of portraits and interviews was done at Gay Prom in Westchester County. Since then, We Are the Youth has grown to profile dozens of youth in New York, New Jersey, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.
The launch of We Are the Youth predated the rising attention to the plight of suicides among LGBT teens. We Are the Youth has used its platform to share stories of depression and bullying, but also of happiness and hope. “We don’t go into these interviews with an agenda to comment on the issue of the day,” Scholl said. “The youth tell us what’s going on in their lives, and these stories paint their own pictures.”
These profiles have a positive impact on the youth featured and the thousands more who have viewed the website. “We Are the Youth brings legitimacy to the struggles of youth like me. They help young people everywhere realize that they are not alone, and that they are loved. As a teenager I scoured the Internet for projects like We Are the Youth; my pain coming out would have been lessened by a powerful and passionate organization such as this,” said Noah Maier, a student at Mercer University in Georgia who was featured on We Are the Youth.
In September, We Are the Youth will be featured at its first festival, Gender Reel, a Philadelphia event dedicated to enhancing the visibility of gender non-conforming, gender variant/queer and transgender identities.
We Are the Youth is the recipient of a Do Something grant, and has been featured on numerous outlets including Jezebel, Change.org, and the It Gets Better Project. We Are the Youth is sponsored by the Brooklyn Arts Council.
For more information contact us at hello@wearetheyouth.org.
