Audio Slideshow: Listen to Asiaha Butler and Englewood residents talk about what they’re doing in their community.
By Matt Bailey and Rashanah Baldwin
Frustrated with the lack of programs and outlets for youth in Englewood, lifelong neighborhood resident Asiaha Butler started working to change the impression of her neighborhood with a program that gives young people an opportunity to express themselves with words rather than gunfire.
Asiaha Butler begins the dialogue (Photo by Matt Bailey)
“I’m not an anti-violence activist. I’m a peace activist,” Butler said.
Beginning last April, she started a series of documentary screenings, in donated spaces, followed by open-floor debates of issues raised in the films, called, “So Fresh Saturdays: Docs and Dialogue.”
This monthly gathering of people between the ages of 12-20, provides an opportunity to have “a fun, safe and educational space, in the heart of a place that people call so violent,” Butler said.
