Social Justice at 4Y2
Devonte West
Today is May 28th, 2025. My cohort, professors, and I are visiting two schools. I will focus on my experience visiting the second: a social business by the name of 4YOU2. This organization seeks to transform and democratize language learning in Brazil.
4YOU2 is in Saò Paulo. I’m excited about this visit because community service means a lot to me. I’ve been serving in ministry since a child. My great-grandparents Pastored our family church for nearly 60+ years. Helping people in need is second nature. Many of the outreach programs implemented by my grandparents focused on youth development, and homeless prevention.
As we are leaving our first school, Lumiar, which is an elite private institution. I’m pondering about my experience with private education. I attended Lutheran school for a year, and still remember the impact my principal and teachers had on me. My experience in private school was totally different from my public education. The classroom setting was more structured. In our homeroom we only had about 15 students. I still remember my teacher, and his passion for literature and history. It’s because of him my interest in theatre and Shakespeare sparked.
Lumiar was a beautiful school in my opinion, but I know that to attend an organization similar to lumiar worldwide, students must come from economically affluent homes.
Let’s get back to 4YOU2, our bus has arrived, and I’m immediately fascinated by the artwork… There’s an interesting collage of prolific leaders. I notice former president Barack Obama, and Muhmmad Gandhi. As a black boy from the southside of Chicago I always take time to honor the beauty of our former president Barack Obama. Seeing him amongst what I assumed was other social justice leaders makes my heart smile a bit. It also brings back memories of watching the historic election night I viewed with my great-grandparents in 2008. I know my great-grandmother would be proud, seeing me studying in Brazil.
As I mentioned before, community service is something I am very passionate about. Our group is greeted by a joyful young lady, and a tall gentleman. They seem to be happy we’ve made our arrival. My cohort, and I are still admiring the outdoor artwork. It is stunning. Some of us are staring at this giant piece of leaders, taking notes and others are taking pictures in front of this piece.
We then enter the building. It reminds me of homes; I’ve watched on television. For example MTV cribs. (A network show that showcased celebrity homes) There’s about four towers of stairs. It’s an open concept with pockets of greenery and large glass windows which allow sunlight into the space. We’re then briefly introduced to Carol, she states that she is the co-founder, she smiles and opens what seems to be a hidden door. Behind the door is a beautiful auditorium. We later learn that this auditorium is where students perform and utilize the stage for practice.
The thing that is so special to me is how happy and immediately welcoming this couple is. Their presence felt comfortable and assuring. They’re smiling, offering my cohort and I to drink from a nice, filtered water fountain. Assuring us that the water is clean. I laughed, and said “wow, some of us have been waiting to see and use a filtered water station”. The couple laughed back.
As we start our tour, I am fascinated by the creativity of this space. It’s colorful, vibrant, and has unique pieces neatly placed. I imagine this space being utilized as an Art museum or venue for the events. Carol takes her time guiding us through the school, we view the music room, which has pianos. The classrooms are small but neatly organized with desks, and the therapy room is beautifully placed at the end of the hall.
Carol mentions that the therapy room is where licensed mental health professionals provide support to students. I found that to be extremely beautiful, because the community this organization serves is surrounded by poverty. We learn more about the organization's mission during our sit-down session.
I mentioned Lumiar earlier in my blog, because I wanted to compare the privilege of private education and the population that it serves. Brazil has tthe largest population of people of African descent outside of Africa. During our sitdown session with Carol. She and her partner get us comfortable bean bags. I’m still fascinated by her aura. She began to educate us on what race, poverty, and classism and what that looks like in the community 4you2 serve.
Carol begins to tell us her “why”… high lightning her brother and father who are two distinguished professors of sociology, and human development. I find that to be encouraging being that I am a human development and learning major, and one of my goals is to work in higher education/ non-profit management.
During our sit-down Carol also mentioned that many students are interested in social justice and how music plays an important role. She mentioned artists such as racionais. Which is a Brazilian hip hop group based in São Paulo. The original lineup formed in 1988 Each member hails from the ring of slums around São Paulo. Their lyrics combine themes of social justice with gangster imagery, a far cry from the idyllic breeziness typically associated with Brazilian rap music, Racionais Mc's is often considered the most important Brazilian rap group
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5397033/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
To finish this post I want to mention how much passion Carol spoke with regarding 4YOU2. Every school that we visited the staff were passionate about us learning, but Carol seemed to want to connect with us. She became very transparent about how funding for 4you2 and how partnerships are a huge part of this movement. She mentioned the COVID-19 pandemic and how it affected the social business, but her family keeps persisting.
At the end of our visit, our cohort said our final goodbyes, and Ms.Carol mentioned that I am like her cousin. That was so funny and refreshing to me. One day I hope to teach for this organization.
