RMM’s fifth and newest youth empowerment group, Youth Lens of Justice (YLJ), was founded in 2025. Based in Albion, New York, YLJ uses filmmaking to create work that explores themes of social justice and farmworker rights.
“Youth Lens of Justice empowers diverse young people, especially in rural communities, to use leadership, creativity, and advocacy through the art of filmmaking to create positive political, economic, and social change.”
YLJ was started by a member of our Summer Overnight Leadership Camp in Western New York. She lived too far away to attend JOY, so she began a new group hosted at a church in Albion. YLJ’s initial cohort has since gone on to film, edit, and premiere a documentary about the local impact of changes to federal immigration policy on farmworker communities.
In addition to filmmaking, the group regularly engages in direct action and activism. YLJ has shared its mission at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Rochester and at the New York State Capitol Building alongside other youth empowerment groups for Farmworker Albany Day.
Through YLJ, members have had the opportunity to attend No Kings Day protests, NYSUT conferences, and skill-building workshops in public speaking, filmmaking, and interviewing.
Rural & Migrant Ministry’s youth arts programming is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
