PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Nasira Fair, Facilitator and Organizer with the Liberation Program at the Brotherhood Sister Soul
3:01:06
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3 min
Nasira Fair, representing Brotherhood Sister Soul, testified in support of Resolution 94, advocating for comprehensive sexuality education in schools. She emphasized the importance of empowering young people with knowledge and creating safe, inclusive environments for all students, especially LGBTQ+ youth.
- Shared testimonies from youth members highlighting the need for comprehensive sex education
- Stressed the benefits of sex ed in fostering understanding, safety, and healthy relationships
- Called for the New York state legislature to pass Assembly Bill A4604 for a safer, healthier future for New York youth
Kid 4 in Shown Video
3:01:06
will read my testimony now.
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Good afternoon, members of the Committee on Education and the Committee on Women and gender equity.
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Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.
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My name is Nasira Fair, and I work with the brilliant young people who are sitting next to me as a facilitator and organizer with the liberation program at the Brotherhood Sister Soul, a community based organization that has been training, organizing, and educating to challenge inequity and champion opportunity for over 25 years.
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With a focus on black and Latinx youth, is where young people claim the power of their history, identity, and community to build the future they want to see.
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BROSIS provides around the clock support and wrap around programming, making space for black and Latinx young people to examine their roots, define their stories, and awaken their legacy.
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I want to thank you for the opportunity to come and speak with you in support of resolution 94.
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At the brotherhood sister soul, we believe in empowering young people with knowledge of self, which is why we stand in support of comprehensive sexuality education.
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When we asked our members why they want comprehensive sex ed, they expressed the desire to have access to information that would help keep them safe, encourage them to make healthy choices, as well as deepen their connections with LGBTQ peers and loved ones.
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We support advocates who define comprehensive sex ed as the implementation of a curriculum that is medically accurate, age appropriate, and inclusive.
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Comprehensive sex ed helps foster a school environment where all students thrive and experience emotional safety.
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A member of our liberation program, Emily Marte wrote, sex ed could help people and kids learn more about LGBTQ plus people and LGBTQ plus families.
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Youth can learn about the many ways to create families that are different from stereotypical families.
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Sex ed could also help kids with their sexuality, and it could help them have a safe space where people with people they can relate to.
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We can teach them and we can teach ourselves how to break away from societal stereotypes about our bodies, sex, and sexuality.
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If one youth testimony isn't enough, another youth member, Alpha Diallo, shared, growing up as a black kid in Harlem, I can only imagine how things may have been different if I knew from an early age just how safe and respected I was supposed to feel in my own home and in relationships.
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Joining the liberation program really opened my eyes to some form of sex education.
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I just wish that this kind of education was a part of my schooling and not just once a week, but a continuing foundational part of our education.
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If every student had this knowledge, it could really make a difference in how we understand our bodies, our relationships, and how to move through life confidently in safety.
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It is time for the New York state legislature to pass and governor Kathy Hochul to sign Assembly Bill a 4604 for a safer, healthier future for New York youth.
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Thank you.
