JOECEPHUS MARTIN

Joecephus Martin is a native Jacksonian whose path to The Lighthouse | Black Girl Projects took interesting twists and turns. Having worked with every student population from 3-year olds to college students across the past 15 years, Joecephus has found similarities with most of them: Many of the children and young people didn’t know how powerful they were and how much they could do if they wanted. In order to move communities forward, he determined, it was incumbent to find ways to support parents and caring adults in their efforts to advance their children’s academic, psychological and spiritual lives. Through that work and growth of understanding of the issues in the black community, he realized much of his analysis ignored the challenges and structures placed on the women that had reared and protected him. This informs his work as the co-ed program associate. It’s impossible to interrupt sexism, patriarchy, and systems that oppress women without teaching boys to unlearn society’s ill lessons.

Joecephus has a bachelor’s in mass communications and all but the thesis for a master’s in history and uses that in his work as helping manage new media for the organization, particularly telling digital stories. He combines this formal education with a voracious personal study. The loving father of two also has professional associations with organizations, like IDEA and Alternate Roots, to name a few.

WORKSHOP TITLE: How to Be a Better Advocate

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION: This presentation will focus on teaching students to be better advocates for themselves and others, with an emphasis on interrupting harassment when it is seen. The presenter will also touch on how these things to relate to oppressive policies that lead to the over-punishment of students. “How to Be a Better Advocate” is our working title.

WEBSITE: http://loveblackgirls.org/

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