Voices of Young Learners Speak Loudly in Dark Matter II
Education-themed discourse series churns forward, this time with youth tutorial
[MINNEAPOLIS–May 19, 2024] The Forum extends a big Thank You to everyone who joined us for Dark Matter II: A Continued Exploration into Black Education!
Youth panelists, guardians, educators and community leaders, together with Forum staff, participated in an afternoon of meaningful conversation and exploration. Dialogue was guided by our aligned desire to dive deeper into the experiences of young people, and how those experiences can be messages for eradicating harmful education policies and protocol.
This was the second iteration of our commitment to stay in conversation with community and its K-12 leaders, in the manifestation of our work in the education sector, which stands as one of our impact areas. Following the inception of the Dark Matter franchise last November, our boots on the ground encouraged us to pursue further inroads–centering young voices and to determine the pulse of what young learners are asking for. This construct served as the focal point for yesterday’s event.
A stellar teenage panel comprised of four young leaders from throughout the Twin Cities area, shared insightful reflections from their lived experiences in education, highlighting aspirations and how to improve the support provided to them along their educational journeys. Teachers, school administration, curriculum, classrooms, health, student discipline—and several more subjects were addressed by our youth panel. There were lessons learned by all.
Attendees then participated in “Porch Talk” breakout sessions, guided by The Forum’s Black-Centered Design (BCD) model. Those topics included—a) The impact schools have on students’ well-being b) Crucial conversation surrounding discipline and restorative justice practices, and c) The importance of cultivating a learning environment that aids Black children in actualizing a prosperous future through wealth building.
Black-Centered Design is a way of thinking that prioritizes Black people when organizing systems for all. Prioritizing the most marginalized in system creation means the system will work for all. We believe long-term solutions lay directly within our communities.
So what’s next in this, Creative Exploration Into Black Education? Visit The Forum’s Insights Center at AALFTC.org in the coming weeks, where we’ll share a summary of Dark Matter II featuring key insights from community attendees. It’ll be the download on everything we learned in this second event of our promising series.