Elementary and Secondary Working Group Meeting

December 9, 2023

The elementary and secondary working groups met online for their December meeting. Sela Gebrechirstos, the Youth & Community Outreach Coordinator at Black Swan Academy (BSA), facilitated an abbreviated version of BSA’s Organizing to Lead workshop, designed for adults. After going around the Zoom room and introducing ourselves and what activist animal we considered ourselves to be — an activity first introduced to the group at the Anacostia Community Museum — we dove into the workshop. After some grounding on BSA’s work, educators engaged in an activity where they identified where they fall on a spectrum of adults that support young people in social justice work and reflected on where they want to be. They then participated in a virtual scavenger hunt through the Black Youth Agenda. Working group members were impressed by the fliers BSA youth composed. They noted how disheartening it is that so many of the issues that school-aged youth are experiencing now, including unkempt facilities and increased policing in schools which make students feel unsafe, are issues that have been around for decades. With their remaining time, educators drafted elevator pitches to deliver to youth encouraging them to get active in social justice. 

Resources from the meeting:

1. Sample Lesson from the Middle School Curriculum

2. Interest Form for both Youth and Adults

3. The Black Youth Agenda Flyers again for folks who want to print them out and share with their youth. 

One working group member shared:

I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have gained through this partnership with DCAESJ and Black Swan Academy.