Ellis senior to create Black History program

Recognizing that few if any Pittsburgh-area high schools and/or middle schools offer formal Black History education classes, Ellis senior Jourdan Washington decided to take matters into her own hands. What if young African Americans, working with local agencies and academics, worked to create a Black History class that students could view even if their school didn’t offer such a class?
She pitched the idea to McAuley Ministries, which agreed to fund the project through Clean Slate E3, the nonprofit affiliate of The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh. The project has been funded at the $25,000 level. 
 
Jourdan will work with Unity Consultants. Together they will recruit 20 regional high school students of varying ethnic backgrounds and together will create an 8-week Pittsburgh Black History & Culture Series that will be recorded and converted to online/DVD format. Jourdan and her team are working on a plan to create and distribute the DVDs to schools and individuals. In her application, Jourdan noted that Black history and culture is currently not a major subject in Pittsburgh area schools. When it is taught, it is typically taught as an elective or optional course; and it is often taught on a limited basis in conjunction with Black History Month. 
 
“The study of history is essential to our being able to understand the world as it is today. The Pittsburgh Black History & Culture Series will educate, motivate and inspire Black youth; and will ultimately help shape a new generation of community leaders,” said Washington. 
 
Through the project, Jourdan and her fellow high school students will work with local professors of Black History and a variety of guest speakers who will provide different perspectives on Black History and Culture – going beyond traditional classroom instruction. Developing a list of speakers and guests to approach is among her top priorities. Jourdan’s goal is to provide a generation of students with a better understanding of the issues that African Americans have faced and continue to face today. She is working now to recruit students from different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds in order to establish cross-cultural learning and to foster enlightening discussion and debate.
 
The UC Project Manager, Dana Lance, is anxious to speak to any Pittsburgh students interested in participating in this interactive and dynamic program. She can be reached at 412-623-9633 or dlance0701@gmail.com. The deadline for signing up is September 13, 2014.
 
Jourdan plans to work with Ellis students and faculty leaders to find ways to share the content with the Ellis community through venues such as Ellis mini courses. She hopes the program will continue on after she graduates.
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