MRNY Youth create the museum display.

Opening this fall, the Youth Power Project’s “Stop, Question and Frisk” museum exhibit is in the final phases of production. As part of MRNY’s Campaign for Fair and Just Policing, the exhibit will tell the story of racially motivated policing in our communities.

Iris Martinez, 22, became involved with the fair policing campaign while attending the Bushwick School for Social Justice.

“I think that the practice of stop, question and frisk is biased and unjust,” Martinez said. “There are other ways police officers can still do their job and not harass minority populations.”

MRNY youth did extensive research to gather content for the museum, including visiting other youth organizations around the city and examining a community policing model, and they are beginning to assemble the exhibit together. The museum will be installed in public venues throughout the city and in schools.

In conjunction with the school exhibitions, Youth Power members will conduct “Know Your Rights” workshops to educate their peers on what to do if they are stopped by the police.

“We want all minority youth to know what to do if they are stopped, and to educate themselves on why stop, question, and frisk is harmful to our communities,” Martinez said. “I hope they learn from the exhibit and see that they have the power to change New York’s policing model.”