Celebrating our youth organizer, Ling Young

She is recognized by the Field & MacArthur Foundations

Ling Young has been awarded $25,000, celebrating "past accomplishments while shining a light on the leaders who will influence decision-making across Chicago." STOP also gets $25,000.

Among Ling's accomplishments: With her, STOP's youth have made their high school one of the first Black (south/west-side) schools to remove one of their police officers, and they have increased investments in restorative justice across Chicago Public Schools.

Read more about the award and other recipients here. Past awardees around Woodlawn include our friends Aislinn Pulley, Dixon Romeo, and Maira Khwaja.

Ling, we are so proud of you!

She is becoming chief of staff to City Council's education committee

We are sad but proud to share that today, Ling Young leaves STOP staff to work for the new education chair Alderperson Jeanette Taylor.

Ling shares: "I want to say how grateful I am to STOP and the community. I have been a youth organizer for two years now and I can say it is a dream of a job. This notice is not a farewell; this is a passing of a baton."

Ling started in at STOP as a Hyde Park Academy student in our youth program. She grew in our CBA campaign, when Hyde Park got $40 million for repairs and upgrades! She organized our youth as they helped slash Chicago Public Schools' contract with the Chicago Police Department, and as they got Hyde Park to replace a school-based police officer with $80,000 for alternative staff.

Hear her interview on WBEZ from Wednesday!

We're grateful to our other amazing youth staff, led by Anna Durr, who with interns Dia and Rand will move forward with our annual summer youth program. We'll be out in the community and we'll see you around!