What We Learned: A Conversation with Black Youth and Adult Leaders
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| To close out Black History Month and continue our efforts to amplify the perspectives of young people, we hosted a virtual conversation with Black youth and adult leaders, educators, and revolutionary change-makers to explore what we are learning about and from Black youth, past and present. In this conversation, we discussed the power and potential of Black youth leadership, the importance of inclusion and belonging, how Black history is taught in schools, and how young people are furthering the movement for progress.
Here are some of our favorite insights from the conversation:
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ON TEACHING BLACK HISTORY:
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“We have to speak on the ugly history that some teachers may not want to teach because it’s difficult … But we have to rip the Band-aid off. In these past few months, we’ve seen the Band-aid ripped off of so many things that we wanted to shy away from and not necessarily speak about. But now we have those kids that didn’t necessarily know that all of that was real ... Yea, some things are difficult, but it’s necessary.”
-Trinity Woodson, Junior, Hampton University
America’s Promise Alliance Board Member
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| “In order for us to learn and teach [history] we’ve got to get out of the comfort zone. A lot of people don’t want to get into the learning zone because it’s close to the frustration zone ... Dr. King, Rosa Parks, they’re comfortable talking about them, but they don’t want to talk about these real soldiers who are on the ground right now … Some [adults] are listening but enough of us are not, because we’re not comfortable. We need to move out of that comfort zone and begin to be comfortable making people uncomfortable.”
-Dr. Salome Thomas-EL, award-winning Principal and co-author of Passionate Leadership and Building a Winning Team
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“The school building is not your only place to get educated … Education and learning is cyclical, so everyone within earshot should have mentors and mentees. Sometimes mentors are younger than you and sometimes mentees are older. You should always, constantly be learning.”
-Dr. Charles Cole III, Founder, Energy Convertors
Co-host, 8 Black Hands podcast
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ON INCLUSION AND BELONGING:
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| “Through my time at Special Olympics, I’ve seen that
being inclusive is being respectful and embracing people
of all abilities. That’s brought people together in sports,
in schools, in communities, and even in the workplace. Helping people learn to be inclusive is the best way to motivate everyone to take action to reduce injustice and intolerance."
-Novie Craven, Athlete, Special Olympics; Coordinator, Special Olympics International; Diversity and Inclusion Advocate
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“When I’m talking to adults in the Black community, one thing I always harp on is the need to be comprehensive in advocacy … A lot of these topics are interconnected and tied. Racism and classism and capitalism are all one huge issue of oppression that started with Black people being brought here to make other people money. So we have to be inclusive … there’s no way to eradicate one without addressing the other.”
-Kahlil Greene, first Black Student Body President, Yale University
Social Media Influencer
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| “My aim for the things I try to tackle with my activism has to do with my own experience of finding a place of belonging in schools … Going into high school I was able to find a place on [student council], but other than myself there isn’t any other Black student on the [council]. Something that was important to me was trying to lift up these leaders so other kids in the school can see there are kids and leaders that reflect their cultural or racial background so that they feel they belong as well."
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| -Cristian Gaines, Senior, Newton North High School, MA
America’s Promise Alliance Board Member
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ON BLACK YOUTH LEADERSHIP:
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| “I came from a generation where your mom told you what to do and you did what your mom said. I raised my children the same way, but when my precious grandbabies came along, I wanted to hear their voice. When you learn better you do better, and my grandchildren have a right to lift their voice.”
-Sarah Carpenter, Executive Director Memphis Lift
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| “This generation, y’all have a pipeline into everyone’s homes with your phones and Instagram and Tik Tok—that cannot be underestimated. The messages that you’re sending, the positivity that you’re putting out there … you can use it to help organize the community.”
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-Kiragu K. Beauttah, Special Education Teacher (Baltimore), Comedian, Revolutionary
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| “What I’ve learned as a Black woman listening to Black youth is it’s really important for us to acknowledge, appreciate, and affirm what is often the overlooked potential and leadership capabilities of Black young people. It’s important to center the ‘often overlooked’ … it doesn’t mean that it isn’t present, it means that some individuals may not have the awareness or the wisdom to see the potential that rests within Black leaders.”
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-Tycely Williams, Chief Development Officer, America’s Promise Alliance
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During the conversation, our panelists and attendees shared several helpful resources for further learning about Black history, Black youth leadership, and more:
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Thank you again to our thoughtful moderator, Marissa Mitchell; to our opening speaker, Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott; to all of our insightful panelists; and to everyone in the audience who made the conversation so rich and engaging. Stay tuned for more conversations and resources from America’s Promise as we continue to uplift the voices of Black and brown young people across the country.
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