Join Us in making Black Noise ****
Join Us in making Black Noise ****
Collective Climb empowers youth and communities in Philadelphia through restorative justice.
< Hear from Gaia, an alum of the Restorative Community Project, on what this means >
Note: Only press play if you are in a place safe for expressions of Black joy
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Black Noise
I feel the scattered rustling
of Poplar trees
As I listen to my tape CD
Black noise
They type you feel
You don’t necessarily hear
But it is enjoyed
Black noise runs through generations
Through blood streams
The same way our blood streamed
Down poplar trees
It streams through my tape CD effortlessly
In my mind it plays on rewind
Our excellency
I cannot shake this noise
It is embedded in me
It is my tendency
to honor everything before me
Through my being
It is my fire
It is my choir
That sing ancestral melodies
It is the sound
That is my reminder
That something has been passed down to me
And everytime I happen
To listen to my tape CD
I’m reminded of the rustling of poplar trees
And I can only call it
Black Noise
So What do we do ?
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The Restorative Community Project (RCP) is our paid fellowship for BIPOC teen girls/femmes to consider how restorative practices can transform us, our relationships, and the neighborhoods we call home.
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The Restorative Justice Diversion Program tends to felony-level harm in the community, not the carceral system by receiving referrals from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office for arrested youth and the person they harmed. Once the responsible party has practiced direct accountability and both parties have the material and emotional support needed to thrive, we close the case. Participants have their records expunged 6-months upon completion.
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The Youth Advisory Board (YAB) grants graduates of RCP or the diversion program paid opportunities to organize events or co-facilitate cases for our diversion program.
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Collective Kickbacks are community events/workshops designed to bridge relational gaps by building trust and centering joy.
When meeting young people, families, and survivors for the first time, we often ask: What is the story behind your name? This question is to say, we genuinely want to know about you, your lineage, and the dreams they had for your existence. As such, we want to tell the story of our name:
“woforo dua pa a, na yepia wo”
“If you climb a good tree, we will lift you up.”
In essence, we are climbing towards a world where the only systems are those cultivated out of love for each other.