The Social Justice Education Project (SJEP) began at Cholla High School in 2003. Since then, we have expanded to two more high schools -- Tucson High and Rincon High. SJEP is a two-year student-led social research program. During the students’ junior year, the project exists in an American History through a Chicano/a Perspective class. During their senior year, SJEP exists in an American Government class. In both classes social research is connected with the curriculum. SJEP conducts social research through field notes, poems, interviews, photo and video documentaries. The project creates newsletters, video documentaries, and presentations based on local social inequalities that people of color and/or poor working class experience in Tucson. Dr. Julio Cammarota and Augustine Romero created the program. The University of Arizona, where Dr. Cammarota is an Assistant Professor in the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology and Mexican American Studies, and Tucson Unified School District, where Mr. Romero is Director of TUSD Ethnic Studies, sponsors the project.

We have created three documentaries and social research newsletters. The first documentary titled “Questions for Answers” is based on social inequalities between the south and west sides of Tucson, which have high populations of people of color and/or poor working class, and the north and east sides where mainly Anglo and/or affluent people live. Our second newsletter and documentary, titled ‘Utilize The Source”, is based on media, poverty, and environment. Our third video is titled “Decolonize and Reclaim”, and is based on immigration issues, community and youth voice, walkouts and protests.

    It is our goal to identify, explore, and research social outlets such as environment, media, class, education and our experiences as youth of color. With our findings we will provide a plan for action that can be used to transform our social structure and spread awareness through youth voice as an agency for change.