Youth summit looks at race

By KELLY RYAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 26, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- As teenagers talked about race relations Wednesday at the city's first-ever youth summit, one looked around the Palladium Theater and made an observation.

The teens, representing six St. Petersburg high schools, had entered the room and sat with their friends, with people from their own schools and in many cases with people of their own race.

So, the group decided to make a change. At midmorning, all 50 teens switched seats.

It was a small step but one that symbolized a big goal: to change their schools and communities by starting with themselves.

"In order for us to change anything, you have to do it," said Cortez Killen, a 17-year-old Gibbs High School student. "You make the move. Don't wait for anybody else to move."

The teenagers are part of YOUthLEAD, a program in its second year that is run by the non-profit Family Resources Inc. The program aims to help young people become successful leaders, and this year's class organized Wednesday's summit.

Feedback from the summit will be presented to the St. Petersburg City Council next month. A proposal is still being prepared, but YOUthLEAD members want to start an official Youth Council that can have regular meetings with the City Council and maybe the Pinellas School Board.

The ground rules for Wednesday's summit were clear. It was a time for teenagers to talk and adults to listen. To stress the point, pieces of duct tape were given to adults to cover their mouths if they were struggling to stay silent.

Among the listeners were Mayor Rick Baker, council members Bill Foster and Richard Kriseman, School Board members Linda Lerner and Jane Gallucci, and former council Chairman Larry Williams.

The teens tackled numerous issues -- race relations, gangs, drug abuse, gay rights and school violence. Some said gangs are a disruption, with clashes between rival gangs leading to rumors of school violence. Others said that Pinellas has cliques but not real gangs and that threats are more about individual students with problems instead of group rivalries.

Most students said they feel safe in school and feel a responsibility to tell administrators about rumors of violence. Several said they have seen guns in classmates' lockers or waved around at parties.

Meghan Spear, a 17-year-old St. Petersburg High student, said the school district and students themselves should do a better job of getting parents involved in schools. She also suggested that the size of Pinellas schools -- around 2,000 for high schools -- might be contributing to tension.

"I went to a small middle school, and we were all friends," Spear said.

When it was over, the participants were pleased with each other's candor.

"People were able to really open up to us," said Laiehlah Takrouni, an 18-year-old senior at Boca Ciega High.

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