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#blackstudents — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #blackstudents, aggregated by home.social.

  1. Young, Black, and Powerful: Black Youth as Agents of Change

    The Bounce Black Team

    At the 5th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, one message came through clearly: young people of African descent are not just future leaders, they are rights-holders and changemakers now.

    This framing matters.

    Because too often, Black youth are spoken about in terms of deficits: barriers in education, limited access to opportunity, overexposure to systems of punishment, and underrepresentation in decision-making spaces.

    These things are real, and they are systemic.

    But they are not the full story.

    Beyond Barriers: Recognising Agency

    The Forum highlighted what many of us already know through lived experience:

    Young people of African descent are actively shaping change in their communities, online, in workplaces, and across global movements.

    They are:

    • Organising and mobilising
    • Creating new economic pathways
    • Challenging harmful narratives
    • Building communities of care and resistance

    Yet, their ability to do so is often constrained by the very systems they are trying to transform.

    To call young people “changemakers” without addressing structural inequality is incomplete. To address inequality without recognising agency is also incomplete.

    Both must exist together.

    Where Bounce Black Stands

    At Bounce Black, this intersection is where we work.

    Our programmes are grounded in a simple but powerful belief:

    Black young people deserve not just access, but the tools, support, and environment to thrive.

    Through initiatives like the Roots: Career Foundations Programme, we support Black students and early career professionals to:

    • Navigate complex and often exclusionary systems
    • Build confidence and clarity in their career pathways
    • Develop skills that translate into real opportunities
    • Prioritise wellbeing in the face of racialised experiences

    This is more than standard professional development. It is structural intervention at the level of lived experience.

    From Global Dialogue to Local Impact

    We were also featured in a Forum side event titled Tomorrow’s Trailblazers: Youth Leadership Across the UK’s African Diaspora hosted by our friends at the Young Africa Centre.

    The virtual event showcased YAC, its collaborators and the collective impact of youth-led organisations in London, UK.

    Our contribution focused on:

    • The realities Black students and professionals face in education and employment
    • The impact of racial trauma on confidence, performance, and progression
    • The importance of holistic, trauma informed support
    • The need to move beyond “access” towards sustainable thriving

    We shared how community-led, culturally responsive programmes can:

    • Bridge the gap between policy and lived experience
    • Equip young people with both practical tools and internal resilience
    • Create spaces where growth, healing, and ambition can coexist

    The response reinforced something important, namely that this work is needed, and it resonates globally.

    What Needs to Happen Next

    If young people of African descent are to be truly recognised as rights-holders and changemakers, then:

    1. Systems must change
    Education, employment, and justice systems must move beyond performative inclusion towards structural transformation.

    2. Investment must follow
    Community-led organisations doing this work need sustained funding and support. (If you’re feeling generous, consider donating to our crowdfunder here)

    3. Young people must be meaningfully included
    Not as tokens, but as partners in shaping policy and decision making.

    4. Wellbeing must be prioritised
    Thriving is not just economic; it is emotional, psychological, and social.

    From Recognition to Reality

    The conversations at the Forum are important. They set the tone. They shape global priorities.

    But the real test is what happens next.

    At Bounce Black, we remain committed to ensuring that these global commitments translate into something tangible.

    In classrooms, workplaces, and our everyday lives.

    Because Black young people are already changemakers.

    The question is whether the world will meet them with the support, recognition, and structural change they deserve.

    At this point, we’re done asking.

    We’re demanding it and building for ourselves.

    #AfricanDiaspora #BlackAtWork #BlackExcellence #BlackProfessionals #blackStudents #bounceBlack #health #history #mentalHealth #news #NikkiAdebiyi #politics #TheAfricaCentre #UN #UNPermanentForumOnPeopleOfAfricanDescent #UnitedNations #YoungAfricaCentre
  2. #RESIST! #NAACP Sues #DepartmentOfEducation Over #DEI Rollbacks: Here's What To Know

    The nation's oldest #CivilRights group says the Trump administration’s rollback of diversity and inclusion programs is unconstitutional and disproportionately harms #BlackStudents.

    April 19, 2025

    "The NAACP is suing the U.S. Department of Education over recent efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in schools. In a federal complaint filed in Washington, D.C., the organization alleges that the Department of Education’s recent directives are unconstitutional and discriminatory—particularly for Black students.

    "The complaint faults the administration for targeting programs that offer '#truthful, #inclusive curricula,' as well as policies that expand access to selective educational opportunities for #BlackAmericans and foster belonging while addressing #racism in schools.

    "The NAACP argues that the Department’s recent actions 'advance a misinterpretation' of federal civil rights laws and Supreme Court precedent—actions that, according to the group, violate its members’ rights to equal protection and to be free from viewpoint discrimination under the #USConstitution.

    "NAACP President Derrick Johnson criticized the move, stating that the administration is 'effectively sanctioning' the very discrimination that U.S. civil rights laws were designed to prevent

    " 'The Department of Education, tasked with a responsibility to protect the civil rights of all children, has instead claimed #SystemicRacism doesn’t exist — effectively sanctioning the very discrimination that our civil rights laws were designed to prevent while children of color consistently attend #segregated, chronically underfunded schools where they receive less educational opportunities and more discipline,' said Johnson."

    Read more:
    essence.com/news/naacp-sues-de

    #BlackLivesMatter #USPol #Resistance #TrumpIsARacist #CharacteristicsOfFascism