Early this morning, a group of 10 students and alumni from our Urban Scholars program embarked on a journey to Africa. The group is traveling to Ethiopia, South Africa and Zimbabwe from now until July 21st. Some of the activities they’ll engage in include exploring Addis Ababa, visiting the Nelson Mandela Museum, conversing with an anti-apartheid freedom fighter, and visiting Victoria Falls.
To expand upon learning from our Urban Scholars: Black Male Youth Academy class, we have been planning to take students to Africa since the inception of the program. Thanks to support from dedicated partners in our community, we finally have the opportunity to provide a once in a lifetime experience that has the potential to shape the lives of our next generation of young Black male leaders.
In the classroom, our students explore a variety of topics including Black male identity, Black history, and the African diaspora. We aim to dive deeper by exploring the history of South Africa and ancestral connections to the African continent, which we believe will heighten students’ critical consciousness and help them see that the world is bigger than their day-to-day lives in Inglewood and South Los Angeles.
Many of our students have never traveled outside of the state of California. This month, they have the opportunity to explore Africa and its history, and increase their knowledge on topics that they have discussed within their cohorts.