The Fellowship Initiative (TFI) is a three-year program developed by JPMorgan Chase to expand opportunities for African American, Latinx, and other young men of color. TFI’s mission is to help young men acquire the skills, knowledge, experience, networks, and other resources they need to succeed academically and professionally. Students apply when they are in the 9th grade; programming begins the summer before their sophomore year and extends through the summer before they enter college. TFI fellows also receive college persistence support.
The Social Justice Learning Institute (SJLI) is the partner organization for the program in Los Angeles.
The only criteria to participate in the program are that you must be a young person of color and be committed to completing the program. TFI wants to help all students no matter their GPA, or economic status; all students of color are welcome.
To get started, students must complete the application and interview process. Please note that the application and selection process happens every three years. The next application season opens in the Spring of 2026. After the interview process is complete, TFI staff reviews all applications and interview components to select about 40 – 45 students to participate in the program.
The TFI program consists of:
Through the three-year cohort, students are paired up with a mentor through JPMorgan Chase who supports them throughout the program. Mentors provide students with life skills and personal experience of being professionals of color.
Additionally, one of the highlights of the program is the college tours, which include Northern and Southern California colleges, as well as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), exposing fellows to college students who look like them. Fellows are able to ask college students questions, learn about what resources are available to them, and understand what it takes to be successful in college.
Lastly, SJLI takes a holistic approach to wellness and partners with Vibrant, an organization that supports students’ and families’ well-being. Students are connected with a clinical case manager who offers 1 on 1 check-in and can provide various resources to them and their families.
Students become a part of an alumni network of TFI Fellows who have gone before them. A brotherhood that spans across the country as The Fellowship Initiative is a National Program that exists in other cities such as Oakland, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, New York, and D.C.
For more information and to get involved, contact Molly Katz, Regional Programs Manager, at mkatz@sjli.org.
Higher Pathways
Deciding which path to take after high school can be challenging for many students of color. Created in 2022, our Higher Pathways program is a direct path for Social Justice Learning Institute (SJLI) alumni to attain progress toward achieving educational, career, and economic growth through three parallel high-touch tracks:
Our College Pathway to Success track supports SJLI alumni on their educational attainment journey. This includes college acceptance and enrollment, family financial aid workshops, SJLI scholarship support, school year planning sessions, summer college immersion experiences, and wraparound services to ensure alumni have a solid foundation to begin and finish their higher education path with a degree in hand.
The Career Readiness and Persistence track comprises workforce skill development, internship/externships/part-time opportunities during summer for alumni in college, direct career readiness and placement for those going into the workforce, and also entrepreneurial exploration.
SJLI team members stay connected with alumni to provide coaching, guidance, and support in a number of ways to help alumni find meaningful employment, such as:
The Pathways Supportive Services provides wrap-around counseling sessions on an individual and small group basis to ensure positive, healthy engagement with their experience, as well as access to additional resources as needed for unforeseen incidents or emergencies.
We provide the following activities:
Program alumni stay connected with SJLI staff to check in on their socio-emotional needs and provide resources and support.
Alumni engagement provides support to each other through resilience circles on subjects like mental health, motivational struggles, academic struggles, current events, and more. Additionally, alumni events include the annual basketball tournament, Breaking Bread and Ankles, cookouts and retreats, and A Different World.
For alumni who may need different types of support, we offer support groups – a safe and accepting space for alumni to share experiences and challenges, and coping strategies.
Linking alumni to various resources such as driving, cooking, financial literacy, car buying, apartment renting and more can set them up for success as they grow into adulthood.
Alumni in college will be paired with a mentor through the mentoring programs that exist on their respective campuses. In addition, new alumni will be encouraged to develop strong relationships with older alumni to foster their development and growth.
Community service is core to SJLI’s mission and we encourage alumni to participate in volunteer opportunities. Alumni can volunteer at SJLI and at various events, and in the community.
We provide linkage to services and programs for alumni so they have access to everything they may need to be successful. Resources can include housing support, child support, legal services, health navigation, financial literacy, and mental health services through Sunrise Therapy Center.
For more information on Higher Pathways, contact Educational Equity Programs Director Tyrone Cutkelvin at tcutkelvin@sjli.org.
Youth Justice Fellowship
In response to the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Atatiana Jefferson, the Social Justice Learning Institute created the Youth Justice Fellowship (YJF), which is a year-long cohort of 10 Fellows nationwide, ages between 18-25, who research, train, and organize.
As a learning community, the cohort functions as a think tank and action team reimagining community safety and the institutional systems that impact Black and Brown communities.
Fellows delve into systemic issues impacting education, economics, youth development, community empowerment, health, environment, criminal legal system, and policy. Each then selects an area of focus within these sectors to critique, looking specifically at root causes and the harmful effects of existing institutional models and practices.
Individually and as a learning community, they work to investigate, analyze, and develop bold policy recommendations that can be implemented by decision-makers to overturn systemic inequities.
Fellows receive training in social justice praxis through interdisciplinary research. They will engage in critical readings and discussion seminars concerning global solidarity, diaspora theory, political economy, critical geopolitics, intersectionality, and abolition theory. This training will not only support their research but will also help them integrate social justice principles into their everyday lives and communities.
Fellows meet routinely with our SJLI Policy/Advocacy team to train in the academic and organizing skills needed to be transformative leaders.
Helping to guide success is a targeted curriculum that includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Partners, allies, and collaborators act as an additional support base, providing Fellows with information for community research and activation projects.
To increase Fellows’ lenses on a global scale and to immerse them in community building beyond their neighborhoods, we take them on a solidarity tour so they can draw a comparative analysis between Los Angeles County and the country they are visiting.
In order for our Fellows to lead with an anti-deficit mindset, they must do the work of healing individual and collective trauma.
We understand that Fellows may face personal challenges as they grapple with the realities (both current and historic) of systemic racism and historic attempts made to disempower communities of color and other disenfranchised groups.
YJF seeks to provide a “whole-person” immersive experience where Fellows have a safe space to work through trauma so that they may help others do the same.
In addition to discussions, cultural experiences, social bonding activities, restorative justice exercises and resiliency circles, Fellows have access to counselors via our partnership with Sunrise Therapy.
To learn more about YJF and how you can participate, please contact SJLI Youth Justice Organizer Gabriel Regalado at gregalado@sjli.org.
Urban Scholars California
The Social Justice Learning Institute, one of the nation’s leading nonprofit organizations at the forefront of the social justice and equity movement since 2008, has been working for over a decade to improve the education, health, and well-being of youth and communities of color through research, training, and community mobilization.
Now, we have partnered with more than 20 schools within the Greater Los Angeles area to increase college and career preparation, academic competencies, and skills building among students of color.
Using education as a tool, we empower young men of color to create thriving communities and more equitable systems by providing relevant curriculum and academic support.
By tapping into the following 4 key areas, they learn to build knowledge of self for personal transformation, develop social awareness of the world around them, and achieve academic success.
We provide individualized academic and career pathway development and take students on college and career field trips to support their journeys to and through post-secondary plans.
We work with young men of color to address and overcome trauma through restorative practices, outdoor retreats, and individual therapy sessions with mental health professionals.
We strengthen students’ sense of self through mindfulness activities, team-building, and leadership development in the classroom and at retreats.
We train young men of color in community-based action research, policy advocacy, and organizing so they can become leaders who transform their communities.
Emmanuel “Manny” Karunwi, a Class of 2022 Urban Scholar and Jordan Wings Scholarship winner, began our program as “a young Black man trying to get into high school and be the cool kid. You know, be popular,” said the University Pathways Medical Magnet Academy graduate. “But through SJLI I learned the wonders of education and the better man that I can become.”
By 2021, Emmanuel and other youth leaders across Los Angeles County led efforts that successfully pulled $36 million in funding from the LA School Police Department, removed police from LAUSD campuses, and secured over $96.7 million for student services like counselors, psychiatric social workers, restorative justice coordinators, academic counselors, student safety coaches.
With help from our Educational Equity team, he graduated in June of 2022 with a full gap scholarship through our partnership with the Jordan Wings Foundation and currently studies film at Howard University.
“SJLI has given me all of the resources that I need to be successful,” he said. “The Urban Scholars program has helped educate me and give me an outlet to change my community for the better.”
Since 2008, we’ve been tracking our impact so we can make program improvements that lead to more significant gains in academic achievement. Here is a look at some of our numbers:
Our California Urban Scholars program is an evidence-based, credit-bearing course that is embedded into the school schedules of Antelope Valley High School, Augustus Hawkins High School, Bret Harte Middle School, Centennial High School, Cesar Chavez Continuation-Centennial, Cesar Chavez Continuation – Compton, Charles Drew Middle School, Crenshaw High School, Dymally High School, Eastside High School, Franklin Middle School, Fremont High School, John Adams Middle School, Lindbergh Middle School, Millikan Middle School, Morningside High School, Nelson Middle School, Palmdale High School, Robert Fulton College Prep Academy, Ulysses S. Grant High School, University Pathways Medical Magnet Academy, and Washington Prep High.
If you operate a school committed to improving educational outcomes for young men of color, we want to work with you.
Urban Scholars programming is typically offered during the school day as an elective period, or as an extra-curricular offering. All participating school sites will receive a designated school site coordinator to work directly with your selected instructors.
Instructors Receive:
Students Receive:
As our roots continue to grow throughout Los Angeles County, we welcome you to get to know us better. Join our community of folks who are ready to learn, grow, and change the lives of young men of color together.
– On August 13th, 2019, the County Board of Supervisors voted to remove youth out of Los Angeles County Probation Department supervision, the largest probation department in the country. There will be a Youth Justice Work Group created within the Office of Youth Diversion and Development to investigate an alternative system for meeting the needs of youth who come into contact with the law.
– Another huge win was achieved by the coalition on October 1st, 2019 when the LA County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion to create a Probation Oversight Commission with power to hold the department accountable. LAYUP pushed for and secured four powers to hold the Department accountable: (1) subpoena powers, (2) community engagement, (3) policy and budget review, and (4) independent investigations and inspections. This commission will include two members of the community, one who has been system involved and another who has experienced a family member being system involved.
The Social Justice Learning Institute, one of the nation’s leading nonprofit organizations at the forefront of the social justice and equity movement since 2008, has been working for over a decade to improve the education, health, and well-being of youth and communities of color through research, training, and community mobilization.
Since the founding of our Houston Branch in 2018, the Houston team has partnered with five schools within the Houston Independent School District (HISD) to increase college and career preparation, academic competencies, and skills-building among students of color through our flagship Urban Scholars program.
Using education as a tool, we empower youth of color to create thriving communities and more equitable systems by providing relevant curriculum and academic support.
By tapping into the following 4 key areas, they learn to build knowledge of self for personal transformation, develop social awareness of the world around them, and achieve academic success.
We provide individualized academic and career pathway development and take students on college and career field trips to support their journeys to and through post-secondary plans.
We work with students to address and overcome trauma through restorative practices, outdoor retreats, and individual therapy sessions with mental health professionals.
We strengthen students’ sense of self through mindfulness activities, team-building, and leadership development in the classroom and at retreats.
We train students in community-based action research, policy advocacy, and organizing so they can become leaders who transform their communities.
Meet Toderick Hollis, one of our 2021 graduates from Phillis Wheatley High School.
The brilliant student will attend Lamar University this Fall, where he plans to study business and explore how to apply both his studies and passion for social justice to improving the lives of those around him.
To mark his journey, Toderick was awarded a $10,000 scholarship from My Brother’s Keeper and like our other graduates, received a few gifts from the SJLI family, including a stole, a medal, a program certificate, and a fresh pair of Jordans thanks to our partnership with the Jordan Wings Foundation.
Since laying the groundwork in Houston three years ago, we’ve been tracking our impact so we can make program improvements that lead to greater gains in academic achievement. Here is a look at some of our numbers:
If you operate a school committed to improving educational outcomes for young men and women of color, we want to work with you.
Urban Scholars programming is typically offered during the school day as an elective period, or as an extra-curricular offering. All participating school sites will receive a designated school site coordinator to work directly with your selected instructors.
Instructors Receive:
Students Receive:
As our roots continue to grow in Houston, we welcome you to get to know us better. Join our community of folks who are ready to learn, grow, and change the lives of young men and women of color together.
The Healthy & Sustainable Inglewood Collaborative (HSIC) is a collection of stakeholders representing various health agencies, businesses, community groups, faith-based organizations, public agencies and community members that was established to advocate for healthy eating, active living and climate change resilience.
Brothers, Sons, Selves CoalitionWe are a collaborating partner within the Liberty Hill Foundation’s Brothers, Sons, Selves (BSS) Coalition that works to improve outcomes for boys and young men of color by advocating for positive alternatives to suspension and reducing criminalization of communities of color. Participating youth are supported with leadership and advocacy trainings on topics including public speaking, socio-political education, issue education and community organizing.
Several of our youth participated in advocating for the passage of SB 419 in Sacramento to end willful defiance suspensions. Willful defiance suspensions disproportionately affected students of color and the new law represents a victory in disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline by keeping students in school.
Students advocated against SB 419 in front of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Uplift Inglewood Coalition
SJLI serves as the anchor organization for the Uplift Inglewood Coalition, a collection of youth, residents, renters, homeowners and community-based organizations in Inglewood who are directly impacted by the effects of gentrification and displacement in the City. As the anchor organization, SJLI has led and facilitated multiple social media campaigns, door-knocking campaigns, and phone banking campaigns to provide Inglewood residents information about housing rights, Uplift Inglewood events, reaching more than 8,000 residents.
100 Seeds of ChangeThe 100 Seeds of Change initiative establishes a local level food system through the activation of home plots, schools, parks and vacant lots with gardens and nutrition classes. SJLI built and continues to maintain a network of over 100 school, community and home gardens in Inglewood and surrounding areas. Community members, including students, their families and local volunteers, help maintain and harvest the gardens, so that residents can be empowered to eat healthy, whole foods.