One of the main focuses of Revolutionary Fitness is to raise awareness within our community on health and fitness justice. However, owing to the fact that the members of our team come from the community that we serve, we take to heart the obstacles that our brothers and sisters are facing every day. As a result, we combine our dedication to health and fitness justice with the strong desire to assist our community across all types of oppressions. We use our platform to raise awareness on these obstacles through our workshops, the podcasts, our blog and our social media accounts.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
In the last year, we have joined forces with our fellow brothers and sisters to support the rights of immigrants within our communities. The negative and divisive rhetoric that surrounded the immigration debate during the presidential campaign left many in our community feeling shut out and voiceless. To address this, we used our platform to make sure the voices against the negativity were heard and to shine a positive spotlight on the issue. We participated in rallies and used our social media to promote the real issues that the immigrant community is facing.
In addition, we continue to push the importance of fighting for environmental justice. Structural oppression comes in many shapes and sizes including the lack of safe green spaces within our communities. These spaces are essential for outdoor exercises and for our overall health. The environmental justice movement also includes efforts to protect our planet. We provide workshops designed to clear up misconceptions about the environment and to educate individuals on the different ways they can make an impact.
One obstacle that is intricately related to the food and health justice movement is the lack of access to healthy food and facility choices within the community. Our communities are filled with fast food places and our grocery store aisles are depleted of healthy options. We address this issue by educating our members on the choices they can make to break the unhealthy cycle that the deprived conditions have created. The goal is to inform the members of our community on making the right choices for themselves and for their families, and in doing so we can improve their health.
As an organization that attracts people of all ages and backgrounds, we wanted to built on youth participation and empower the young individuals in our community. In an effort to empower the youth, we have partnered with with numerous educators to recruit high school and college student volunteers. We engage the students in various projects that are integral to the Revolutionary Fitness mission. This summer, the youth program was involved in a project designed to map out the healthiness of various businesses in the neighborhood. Our youth volunteers canvassed the East Harlem neighborhood and recorded their findings, which we compiled into a database that we plan on growing through additional projects.
We are also committed to supporting local businesses that are being marginalized because of gentrification. These businesses rely on the community and it is important to strengthen them and promote their longevity. When local businesses prosper they are able to invest in the community and stimulate growth. These businesses are able to employ members of the community and invest in the quality of their products. We advertise these businesses on our website and we encourage people to support them. Gentrification has also led to more and more people being evicted from their homes and forced to live on the streets. To speak on the matter, we participated in numerous campaigns against homelessness in the city. We have worked with many community activists and groups and participated in rallies to continue the debate and to pressure our elected officials in an effort to end homelessness.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The last few years, have illuminated the continued oppression that exists within the community and our interactions with law enforcement. The abusive nature of law enforcement officials has afflicted the community for years, but the issue recently amassed national attention due to video evidence circulating through social media. We continuously address this issue and start conversations about the issue through our workshops. We joined forces with other groups to march for justice and let our voices be heard. We also provide a self defence courses in our program so that members of our community can feel empowered and able to defend themselves.
Although we are proud of the collective effort of our team to address oppression within our community, we still have a lot work ahead of us. The organization is committed to support and lead in any efforts that benefits our community. The food and health justice movement is but a frame of the larger image and to paint a better picture we will continue to provide a platform for a progressive agenda.