Youth Movement Records

Youth Movement Records is a music recording and media company that inspires young people, ages thirteen to nineteen, to engage in experiential learning, leadership opportunities, and positive community involvement. The organization attracts more than 400 Oakland youth, primarily of color, through after-school workshops in music, mentoring, and entrepreneurship, providing hands-on opportunities to produce original music, events, and media, the goal of which is to reduce violence, develop personal and professional skills, and create community change. The positive social messages in its CD and video productions and community events, which reach thousands of young people each year, focus on both local and global issues. With studios, recording equipment, and theater access in the historic Fox Theater, Youth Movement Records now also augments Oakland School for the Arts curriculum with classes in music production and spoken word. The organization has widened its reach with two satellite locations in Richmond and as the media arts anchor for the Chinatown Youth Center Initiative.

Youth Movement Records has been a music recording and media company that inspired more than 400 Oakland youth, primarily of color, through after-school workshops in music, mentoring, and entrepreneurship, providing hands-on opportunities to produce original music, events, and media, the goal of which is to reduce violence, develop personal and professional skills, and create community change. During the past year, declining revenues, a change in leadership from the founder, and sharp increases in facility costs have led the organization to cease programming and close its doors. This grant would cover the organization’s liabilities and closing costs, while enabling it to donate musical, studio and computer equipment to other youth service organizations.