Support for NYC Educators in Navigating Conversations of Race and Anti-Black Violence with 7-12th Graders
CCCADI’s Youth Pathways program trains educators and community leaders in using art to explore these topics with students in and outside of the classroom
NEW YORK, NY March 31, 2022 - The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute offers New York City educators and community leaders serving students between seventh and 12th grade a free professional development opportunity that will prepare them to navigate conversations of unjust systemic violence against Black bodies and issues of racism. Traditional in-classroom, and nontraditional educators who work with students outside of a school setting, are invited to register for this training by April 8, 2022.
Through a carefully curated professional development series and education guide that examines CCCADI’s On Protest and Mourning digital exhibition, Youth Pathways prepares and utilizes educators to provide a safe place for young people to have conversations about race, racism and anti-Black violence. The exhibition features photographers and filmmakers who have recorded and borne witness to the nation’s uprisings and simultaneous insistence that the lives taken prematurely at the hands of police are mourned in public space.
Through the training series and exhibition exploration, Youth Pathways seeks to:
Support youth autonomy in navigating and contributing to these conversations,
Develop future leaders in social justice and cultural equity
Create bridges between art, culture, & social justice
“It is important, even critical, for our young Black, Brown and even white children to put present systemic violence against Black lives in a context they can understand. So many of our children are experiencing fear that they might be next. Educators and community leaders help students process issues in society and our training and education guide gives them the toolkit to help our children process, heal and navigate these events and the aftermath,” said Melody Capote, Executive Director of CCCADI.
Youth Pathways is designed to reach its objectives through several components. The first is the free professional development training that will guide educators and leaders in exploring topics such as implicit bias, microaggressions, equity and equality, just to name a few. In that way, educators are well prepared to talk about the issues examined in the exhibition such as police brutality, systemic injustice and protest movements. Once they’ve completed the training, educators will receive access to the Youth Pathways’ On Protest and Mourning education guide. They’ll implement the guide’s 13 lesson plans that explore the exhibition with their students.
Once educators have completed the lessons with their students, those youth between 9-12th grades will have an opportunity to apply to CCCADI’s Cultural Producer Camp. The camp is a paid four-week summer program that will allow accepted students to work closely with cultural workers and social justice professionals to create their own project grounded in what they’ve learned through the Youth Pathways program.
Click to learn more about the Youth Pathways program and to register for the training.
There are limited opportunities for educators to request that a trained teaching artist implement the program with their students in lieu of completing the professional development training. Visit the page to learn more.
You can view the On Protest and Mourning exhibition at www.onprotestandmourning.digital