Dreams Academy program to encourage teens to talk about race
A program for high school seniors starting in the fall aims to give students from different racial backgrounds the opportunity to connect and have tough conversations about race.
The Bridges Program is an initiative of Dreams Academy “to build bridges between high school students of different backgrounds and races,” Dreams Academy Executive Director Brandon Scarborough said.
Dreams Academy, founded in 2016, provides a network of professional African American males to mentor youth age 7 to 15 in Akron.
“I’m all about youth and I’ve noticed that I didn’t see anyone facilitating these types of conversations and dialogues with our youth,” Scarborough said. ”I’ve seen a lot of adults that can have conversations about the racial tension in our country, about the George Floyd situation. Have we ever stopped to talk to our kids about this? It’s important to begin to utilize their voices and opinions. We can’t call them the leaders of tomorrow and not listen to them today.”
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Dreams Academy to open applications for the Bridges Program after April 1
The program was one of three winners of $1,000 awards selected by a panel of Akron-area community judges as part of the Health Disparities Project by the Beacon Journal. The judges were looking for grassroots groups in the Akron helping to solve racism as a public health issue.
Dreams Academy is opening applications after April 1 for the group of about 12 high school seniors from Akron and suburban schools. The group will meet weekly for two eight-week programs, one in the fall and one in the spring.
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Scarborough said the group of teens will be “discovering differences about each other that we may not be aware of” and we will be “building healthy relationships we otherwise may not come in touch with people we otherwise might not have come into existence, except for this.”
Building those relationships and having understandings of other kids’ backgrounds and what they face will also help these high school seniors as they navigate life into adulthood, Scarborough said.
Bringing together a diverse group of kids from around Akron
Scarborough said he even needed to be encouraged to think outside the box. He originally thought about how he could get a kid from the west side of Akron to the Ellet area or Wadsworth and he was thinking Black and white kids talking to each other.
“But a member of my team said, ‘We have the North Hill community [with primarily Asian immigrants], which adds an extra nuance to add into this. We’re open to those entire conversations.’
“When we look at whatever group of kids we get, we want it to be diverse. We want it to be kids that don’t have issues sharing and are open to new relationships, new cultural experiences. At the end of the day, we want outcomes that hopefully can help shape change in culture and race relations globally and locally,” Scarborough said.
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The idea for the program grew out of conversations and initiatives from the Akron Community Foundation’s “On the Table” event, which brought community members and groups together to discuss important topics.
The Bridges Program originally was going to convene students from urban and suburban school districts in January, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed plans. They were going to move to a virtual format, but decided to take the time to develop a program for the 2021-2022 school year with a group of high school seniors.
The extra time gave Scarborough and his colleagues more time to develop what they think is a better program.
Focus on racism, key terms, bias, diversity/equity and inclusion
The group received funding from the Akron Community Foundation and Summa Health, in addition to the $1,000 award from the Beacon Journal.
Two colleagues who are Akron Public School educators, Erica Glover and Kenneth Smith, created the curriculum for the Bridges program. The group also hopes to have its 12 students meet this summer for some casual events to get to know each other.
The fall curriculum will focus on racism, key terms, bias, diversity/equity and inclusion. The spring will be focused on action steps, or what the students can do with what they learned in the fall.
Scarborough said he has already begun talking to school administrators and guidance counselors about the program. Applications will be ready soon and will include a short essay from students describing why they want to participate.
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The program doesn’t yet have set dates or times, but Scarborough said he wants to fit meetings around the chosen students’ schedules. He envisions a mix of after-school or dinnertime and some Saturday get-togethers, knowing there will be students who have athletic or other commitments. He anticipates the program will start around Oct. 1.
“We want to take them to diverse locations. Take kids that maybe haven’t been to Ellet,” he said. “We all love food. The initial plan is how do we have these conversations over food and share. A part of that diversity even includes diverse food and locations.”
Scarborough is hoping by the fall it will also be safer to run the program without the worry of COVID restrictions. He is a member of the current Leadership Akron class and wants to model the program and activities after that program to show the students around Akron.
“We want kids that are going to commit and participate and bring ideas and be open and honest about their backgrounds, where they come from, where they see themselves,” he said.
Interested students, parents or school contacts can get more information by contacting Scarborough at [email protected] or 330-422-8332. Applications will be available after April 1 through the end of April.
Beacon Journal staff reporter Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or [email protected]. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ. To see her most recent stories and columns, go to www.tinyurl.com/bettylinfisher.
