BreakOUT!
2014
Releases We Deserve Better Report
BreakOUT! releases We Deserve Better: A Report on Policing in New Orleans by and for Queer and Trans Youth of Color, the result of over a year’s worth of participatory action research with help from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
2013
Say My Name Show
Develops and performed our own show as part of the Undesirable Elements project with Ping Chong + Company called “Say My Name”, performed in Jackson, MS and later in New York, Philadelphia, and New Orleans in 2014.
New Orleans Police Department Policy 402
On the 44th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, BreakOUT! secures the adoption of New Orleans Police Department Policy 402, prohibiting profiling on the basis of gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.
Rally at NOPD Headquarters
BreakOUT! holds a rally at NOPD Headquarters and pulls together people from the Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association, Safe Streets Strong Communities, the Congress of Day Laborers, STAND With Dignity, Voice of the Ex-Offender, the Independent Police Monitor, and several other community members and organizations to deliver a statement to NOPD asking for a public […]
School-to-Prison Action Camp
BreakOUT! members attend the School-to-Prison Action Camp, with local and national organizations dedicated to ending the rail to jail.
Hires First Two Youth Organizers
BreakOUT! hires its first two Youth Organizers through a partnership with Job1’s Workforce Development Program.
2012
BreakOUT! Receives Awards For Our Work
By December 2012, BreakOUT! receives the Out in the Silence Award for Youth Activism, the Justice for Youth Award from the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, the Hell Yes! Award from Resist Inc., and the Malala Youth Leadership Award from the Social Change Film Festival and Institute.
Delivers Proposed Policy to NOPD
BreakOUT! presents testimony in front of City Council’s Criminal Justice Subcommittee Meeting about experiences of LGBTQ youth and the NOPD and delivers a proposed policy, written by members themselves, to the NOPD. They get a public verbal commitment from the NOPD to meet prior to the adoption of any policies.
IGNITE Convening
BreakOUT! members attend the IGNITE Southern LGBTQ Youth of Color Convening in Atlanta, GA and the South Star Safe Schools Convening of the South.
Win!
BreakOUT! wins an unprecedented victory for LGBTQ youth when the DOJ releases a Consent Decree with the NOPD that includes BreakOUT!’s proposed language, among other things, prohibiting profiling on the basis of gender expression, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Second Annual Allied Media Conference
BreakOUT! attends their second annual Allied Media Conference in Detroit, MI.
Right to the City’s Urban Congress
BreakOUT! attends the Right to the City’s Urban Congress and participates in an action and rally outside of ICE and City Hall.
One-year Anniversary!
BreakOUT! celebrates its one-year anniversary!
We Deserve Better Video
BreakOUT! delivers its video, produced with FosterBear Films, “We Deserve Better” to the NOPD for use in officer trainings.
Vigil For Brenting & Githe
BreakOUT! remembers the lives of two community members lost to violence, Brenting and Githe, and holds a memorial vigil at Tulane and Broad.
2011
Members Attend IGNITE! LGBTQ Youth Media Camp
Two BreakOUT! members attend the LGBTQ youth of color IGNITE Media Camp, hosted by SPARK in Atlanta, GA.
BreakOUT!’s 1st Meeting w/ NOPD
BreakOUT! has its first meeting with the NOPD about adopting an LGBTQ policy.
BreakOUT! Holds 1st Storycircle
BreakOUT! holds our first Storycircle with allies at the Congress of Day Laborers. Through a translator, we discuss similarities and differences in our experiences of police profiling, access to jobs, and access to public space in our own City. Calling our partnership “From Vice to ICE,” over the next 2 years BreakOUT! attends a rally […]
1st Allied Media Conference
Three BreakOUT! members attend the Allied Media Conference in Detroit, MI.
BreakOUT! Conducts It’s First Survey
BreakOUT! conducts its first survey and finds that 15 out of 15 young Black trans girls in New Orleans have been approached by an NOPD officer for sex.
BreakOUT!
2014
Releases We Deserve Better Report
BreakOUT! releases We Deserve Better: A Report on Policing in New Orleans by and for Queer and Trans Youth of Color, the result of over a year’s worth of participatory action research with help from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
2013
Say My Name Show
Develops and performed our own show as part of the Undesirable Elements project with Ping Chong + Company called “Say My Name”, performed in Jackson, MS and later in New York, Philadelphia, and New Orleans in 2014.
New Orleans Police Department Policy 402
On the 44th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, BreakOUT! secures the adoption of New Orleans Police Department Policy 402, prohibiting profiling on the basis of gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.
Rally at NOPD Headquarters
BreakOUT! holds a rally at NOPD Headquarters and pulls together people from the Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association, Safe Streets Strong Communities, the Congress of Day Laborers, STAND With Dignity, Voice of the Ex-Offender, the Independent Police Monitor, and several other community members and organizations to deliver a statement to NOPD asking for a public […]
School-to-Prison Action Camp
BreakOUT! members attend the School-to-Prison Action Camp, with local and national organizations dedicated to ending the rail to jail.
Hires First Two Youth Organizers
BreakOUT! hires its first two Youth Organizers through a partnership with Job1’s Workforce Development Program.
2012
BreakOUT! Receives Awards For Our Work
By December 2012, BreakOUT! receives the Out in the Silence Award for Youth Activism, the Justice for Youth Award from the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, the Hell Yes! Award from Resist Inc., and the Malala Youth Leadership Award from the Social Change Film Festival and Institute.
Delivers Proposed Policy to NOPD
BreakOUT! presents testimony in front of City Council’s Criminal Justice Subcommittee Meeting about experiences of LGBTQ youth and the NOPD and delivers a proposed policy, written by members themselves, to the NOPD. They get a public verbal commitment from the NOPD to meet prior to the adoption of any policies.
IGNITE Convening
BreakOUT! members attend the IGNITE Southern LGBTQ Youth of Color Convening in Atlanta, GA and the South Star Safe Schools Convening of the South.
Win!
BreakOUT! wins an unprecedented victory for LGBTQ youth when the DOJ releases a Consent Decree with the NOPD that includes BreakOUT!’s proposed language, among other things, prohibiting profiling on the basis of gender expression, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Second Annual Allied Media Conference
BreakOUT! attends their second annual Allied Media Conference in Detroit, MI.
Right to the City’s Urban Congress
BreakOUT! attends the Right to the City’s Urban Congress and participates in an action and rally outside of ICE and City Hall.
One-year Anniversary!
BreakOUT! celebrates its one-year anniversary!
We Deserve Better Video
BreakOUT! delivers its video, produced with FosterBear Films, “We Deserve Better” to the NOPD for use in officer trainings.
Vigil For Brenting & Githe
BreakOUT! remembers the lives of two community members lost to violence, Brenting and Githe, and holds a memorial vigil at Tulane and Broad.
2011
Members Attend IGNITE! LGBTQ Youth Media Camp
Two BreakOUT! members attend the LGBTQ youth of color IGNITE Media Camp, hosted by SPARK in Atlanta, GA.
BreakOUT!’s 1st Meeting w/ NOPD
BreakOUT! has its first meeting with the NOPD about adopting an LGBTQ policy.
BreakOUT! Holds 1st Storycircle
BreakOUT! holds our first Storycircle with allies at the Congress of Day Laborers. Through a translator, we discuss similarities and differences in our experiences of police profiling, access to jobs, and access to public space in our own City. Calling our partnership “From Vice to ICE,” over the next 2 years BreakOUT! attends a rally […]
1st Allied Media Conference
Three BreakOUT! members attend the Allied Media Conference in Detroit, MI.
BreakOUT! Conducts It’s First Survey
BreakOUT! conducts its first survey and finds that 15 out of 15 young Black trans girls in New Orleans have been approached by an NOPD officer for sex.
After discussing issues related to the NOPD, Crimes Against Nature laws, and Orleans Parish Prison, the conversation turns to community solutions for problems we are facing in New Orleans.