Do you believe this? A teenager in the Bronx who is far too young to be distrusted wrote this line in a Community-Word Project creative arts workshop led by a team of two artists who work with his class every week. Every week he is given a chance to put forward his ideas, aspirations and fears to his peers, his teacher, the artists and to himself.

Last week, Tristan Wilds (The Wire and 90210) a young and up and coming actor read this line of poetry to a room packed with 250 supporters who made it a point to come out and celebrate and listen to the words of young people who are rarely heard, young people who are feared far more often than they are acknowledged.

We owe it to our youth to ensure a learning environment that gives them the opportunity and space in their public school day to develop the skills to articulate what they believe and what they observe. We owe it to our youth to provide them with creative experiences that inspire them to think and explore all kinds of solutions using creativity as their problem solving tool. I am quoting more of our young people's lines as further proof of why.

"I am from mistakes and corrections.
No choices all the way to selections.

I believe anything you wanna do, you can do,
like how the trees stand up tall no matter how many storms they’ve been through.

I believe depression follows stress like my shadow follows me.
I believe the earth is our closed-in boxed imagination.

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
I believe struggle is essential,
it gives people the chance to see tears and how life is no joke.

Where I’m from I see potential in everyone.
Even when they don’t see it within themselves.

I look like I trace drawings. But really,
I’m a pencil sketching my own pictures.

I am inspiration waiting to be found.
I am the color on the walls,
the patterns in graffiti."