Aaliyah is a Texas State Youth Activist and sophomore at Tillotson University.  Aaliyah also works with the Texas Freedom Network and with the youth development organization YouthLaunch.

My goal is to redefine and spread hope

My name is Aaliyah. I am 24-years-old. I am currently the program specialist for a program called No Kidding: Straight Talk from Teen Parents. No Kidding is a program of YouthLaunch (www.youthlaunch.org) in partnership with the Texas Office of the Attorney General. The program uses teen parents as peer educators to deliver presentations, to middle and high school-aged youth, that are focused on the rights, realities and responsibilities that young parents face. The overall goal of the program is to get students to delay parenting until emotionally and financially stable and in committed relationships. I also work very closely with two other YouthLaunch programs called Youth Partnership for Change (YPC), a program that uses young people as community educators on the effects of underage drinking, and Urban Roots, a program that teaches youth from urban areas of Austin about sustainable agriculture by having them work on a 2-acre urban farm. The students sell a portion of their produce in low-income areas to provide the residents with affordable organic produce and also donate a portion to hunger relief agencies.

Each day I am able to work side-by-side with some of the most amazing people I have ever met. These people have inspired me to continue to tackle greater community issues. Although I am very passionate about teenage pregnancy, my greatest passion is working to make political changes, especially around the area of prison reform. I am currently engaged to the father of my son who has been incarcerated for the last 4 years. Since I must frequently visit different prison facilities and spend a great percentage of my time dealing with prison policies, procedures and staff, I have developed a greater desire to make a change in the penal system. I am also using my experience in collaboration with an author named Elizabeth Alexander to write a book based on her studies of Hope for her PhD. The book (which I will tentatively call Hope for the Best) will use my story to give readers a practical depiction of hope. I am also starting a movement in my city called Extensions of Hope that will mobilize the community to teach and spread hope.

In addition to being a community activist, program specialist, aspiring author, mother and wife I am also a rapper! I have been using music to influence others to make positive changes and want to continue to do that on a larger scale. My greatest hope is to help shape a better world for my child and children to come.