Forum Powerpoint
Soccer in the Streets’ mission extends far beyond the boundaries of the soccer field. Whether through leadership training activities, cultural enrichment trips, or financial literacy courses, we strive to create pathways for our players to become leaders who can contribute to their communities. The recent calls for a renewed focus on racial justice have provided an opportunity for us to engage with and educate our players about both the tragic events which have led to the Black Lives Matter movement and also the long history of struggle that has led to this point.
Over the last two months, we have organized four forums consisting of twenty-five kids ranging from ages eight through sixteen years old. We were fortunate to have southside parent and educator, Keisha Sawyer moderate the forum for the families.
“It was an honor and privilege to collaborate with the staff and team from Soccer in the Streets as well as other educators to inform ALL youth about the positive and unique contributions of African-Americans from the past and present,” said Ms. Sawyer. “ These forums have allowed our youth to be creative and engaged during this downtime due to COVID. I feel that it is necessary to engage in positive discussions about African American history with my own children and other children as well, especially during this empowering Black Lives Matter movement.”
Forum Powerpoint slide: Meet the leaders
She also commented- “I personally believe that it is important for ALL cultures and ethnicities to be knowledgeable of the many amazing contributions and achievements of African Americans in the past and present. Knowledge is power! The more you know, the more you grow!”
Throughout the forums, topics consisted of politics, history, and blacks in education. The kids had the opportunity to speak up and answer questions after Ms.Sawyer educated the kids on various topics related to black history.
The parents were very appreciative of the opportunity to sit in and listen to the discussion with there kids. Southside parent, Asha Flournoy spoke about how she felt after listening in with her son Jeremiah.
“We were so excited to hear that there was going to be another forum with our kids. I feel great about discussing African American History with my son as well as other children because they get to learn about things they have never heard of before.”, said Ms. Flournoy. “They helped my son feel more confident about himself and it let him see African Americans in a more positive light.”
Forum powerpoint slide: Who are we?
She also commented- “At the time Jeremiah was hearing about a lot of African Americans being killed by law enforcement and he was very sad. I noticed that if affected his self-esteem and he even mentioned to me that he wished he were a White person because then he wouldn’t have to worry about being killed and harassed by the police. After the forums, he began to show more confidence about being an African American and this made me happy.”
These forums shine a light on the negative events that have been occurring in the world and we want to make sure our kids feel they have a safe space to talk about anything.
“It’s important to learn about African American history”, said Jeremiah.”It makes me feel like nobody can take my history away or hide it from me, I am very thankful for my coaches educating me.”
We value the opportunity to work with the youth players on and off the field on relevant events and letting their voices be heard with the Soccer in the Streets family. Director of Programs, Tony Carter, expresses how the forums are meaningful.
“The kids in our communities are facing tough times right now. More than ever it's important that we stay connected and engaged with the kids. Although we're not able to do in-person programming as much as we'd like to, we value discussing today's current events in a meaningful and thought-provoking manner”, said Carter. “It's wonderful to see how it started out as a forum for kids expressing their concerns with social injustice they have witnessed to now they are engaging in sessions centered around Black Excellence throughout history. There's something to be said about the communities that we work in and how there is great energy to turn tough situations into something beautiful and meaningful.”