CENTRAL VALLEY SCHOLARS & EXPRESARTE PRESENT

BLACK YOUTH EMPOWERMENT

About The Program

The Black Youth Empowerment Program creates a network of Black leadership across the Central Valley, and advances Black wellness, education, creativity, and empowerment of the Diaspora. Participants will receive a $500 award for completion of the program and a welcome package.

The program is focused on the following three goals:

Understanding Self: Hold Space for Black Central Valley High School students to learn about their identities, histories and wellness, as well as to celebrate themselves and their own excellence.
Building Community: Creating a network of young Black Leadership rooted in the Central Valley.
Arts & Culture: Students use arts and culture to express and self-reflect on their personal journeys.

As part of this program, students will engage in a creative project that asks students to produce an artistic work such as a short story, a series of poems, a painting, a photographic essay, a collage, a sculpture, a musical composition, a film or video, etc., in response to a content element of the program. This project will serve as a reflection of students' personal growth and learning throughout the program.

Meet The Previous Cohort >>

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Program Details

Calendar

This is a five-week summer program beginning June 25th, 2024 and ending July 25th, 2024
Program sessions are held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00 pm - 6:00pm (with the exception of Wednesday, July 3rd in place of Thursday, July 4th)

Requirements

Must be a current high school, continuation school, charter school, G.E.D school student in the San Joaquin Valley or recently graduated from one of these institutions as of 2023
Must identify as Black and/or African American

Deadlines

Applications will open again in February 2025.
For any questions or accommodations please contact us.

Program Curriculum

Session 1: Introduction and Terminology

Date: Tuesday, June 25, 2024 | 4:00 - 6:00 PM

Students will create group guidelines and begin to build community with each other through team building exercises and icebreakers. They will learn key terms (such as microaggressions, intersectionality, decolonization, and colorism) which will serve as a foundation for the following sessions.

Meet The Leader

Julianna Swilley (She/Her)

Director of the Black Youth Empowerment Program for Central Valley Scholars

Have additional questions? Contact Us. Black Youth Empowerment Program Terms And Conditions.