Bringing the "Dream" to Black History Month (Entries 1, 2, & 3 )

The months of January and February have not just been monumental but truly historic with the recognition of Dr. King and with Barack Obama becoming the first African American President in the country's history, and with February being Black History month. Several Cabrini Connections' students, with the assistance of mentors and staff, stepped up and took of an opportunity to share their "Dreams" as well.

As mentioned previously the students had the opportunity to take part in the "I Have a Dream" project where they were asked to submit either a written or an audio/video piece sharing their dreams and how the Barack Obama and the new Administration could assist them with making their dreams come true.

This contest took place in January and the students have already been recognized for all of their hard work on this project. Now we would like to share with you the entries that the students provided. The picture that accompanies this article is actually a picture Yolanda Hyles' entry of her Barack Obama poster board. And her project, along with all of the other student entries have been posted inside of the Cabrini Connections' center for all to enjoy.

~Dreams Do Come True~

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January 27, 2009

Dear President Barack Obama,

There are a lot of things that I would like you to change in America today. First I would like you to stop the war in Iraq immediately because the only thing that it is doing is hurting our economy as a nation. Not to long ago, Mayor Daley of Chicago (my hometown) had to cut back on budgets and didn’t plow over the side streets. I live on a side street and it’s hard for my parents to drive out onto the main street without worrying about ice making the car slip, and cause an accident. Daley cut back because Chicago is broke right now. This is one way on how the economy is hurting me now so please stop the war in Iraq.

Next, I would like for you to now make it a law that all people can vote because right now it is an amendment to the constitution. This would benefit us greatly as a nation.

The last thing I would want you to change is the environment plan so that the people wouldn’t have to rely on the oil that comes out of the earth. This will help the nation because it will cause even more harm to the earth’s ozone layer which results in overall heating of the Earth.

Thank you Mr. President and I appreciate you reading this letter.
Sincerely,
Savon Clark

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January.28, 2009
Dear President Obama,

I am a sophomore attending Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center in Chicago, Illinois. In the past year 34 of my fellow students have been killed and so many kids I can’t even count have dropped out already. These facts make me feel disappointed because they are wasting their lives being on the streets. In order to fix this problem, I think there should be programs motivating kids to stay in school.

These after school programs for young adults and children would give them a place to go after school. Young adults need these programs because the percentage of kids being killed on the streets is rapidly increasing, especially in my hometown Chicago, Illinois.

I think after school programs should include programs such as: music, sports, dancing, tutoring, writing, college prep, and test prep. These programs would be effective because they will keep kids off the streets, motivate them to have higher grades, and give them a higher feeling of involvement in their school.

Much like high school sports, I think the programs should have a minimum grade requirement in order to motivate kids to keep their grades high. While I would like the program to be free I realize that may be difficult, so the program could charge a small, reasonable fee. For students who cannot afford the fee they could pay a lower charge.

Some kids will voluntarily come to the program but for other kids who are not as motivated to come, the program could offer prizes for regular attendance and participating in programs.

These programs would help the city of Chicago by decreasing the number of high school dropouts and deaths. I think it would be very beneficial to all the Chicago Public Schools’ students. Thank you for all you have done in representing Chicago so well and inspiring me to reach for better things for all of Chicago.

Sincerely,
Imann Mitchell