Who We Are
OUR MISSION
The Cultural Enrichment Center is designed to address the cultural, academic, career, and social needs of middle school and high school African American students in Fort Collins. The enrichment center is crafted in an academic cultural framework for the purpose of connecting participants with history, literature, arts, music, dance, traditions, and folklore of the African American experience.
OUR STORY
The Cultural Enrichment Center (CEC) was created in 2020 to address the cultural, academic, career, and social needs of middle school and high school African American students in Fort Collins. The CEC is crafted in an academic cultural framework for the purpose of connecting participants with history, literature, arts, music, dance, traditions, and folklore of the African American experience.
Fort Collins is a predominately white community with the Black/African American population comprising less than 2% of its citizenry. In the Poudre School District only 1.2% of the students are Black. As a result, African American children in our city have fewer positive role models and are more vulnerable for negative outcomes.
According to Child Trends, these negative outcomes include low academic achievement, poor physical health and nutrition, poor social skills and emotional health, and increased substance use.
Black students need spaces where they can be their authentic selves without others judgment and insecurity suffocating their expressions. When the students at the CEC are together, there can be healing and the reclaiming fragmented parts of themselves, that have been repressed, and they can begin to be put back in proper context and place. In these safe places we start the journey of redefining ourselves and support one another in embracing who we are. We need time and space to peel back the multilayers of our own identity by being in communion with other Black bodies.
The Black community of youth that we serve is creating and envisioning spaces in which they may be together, and they are very sure of why they desire this space. We want to create resilient young people who are confident in their existence in this community. They want to be their true, authentic, whole selves, which requires a connection to their full identity.
The CEC is providing a true and honest space for combating racial inequities. Inserting a racial equity outlook and outcomes mean making a conscious effort to identify and address systemic barriers that impede the healthy development of children and youth of color. Racial equity is achieved when race is no longer a determination of young people’s experiences.
The CEC promotes social change so that culturally responsive connections are upheld, and our students are treated with respect. We have programs with an embedded racial equity perspective. Our organization is structured so that race is no longer a source of permeating disparities for the students our program serves.
The CEC recruits and engages Black youth with asset affirming programs that ensure that Black youth can participate in high-quality programs that recognize and develop their strengths, promote positive goals and provide support to reach these goals.
The CEC is dedicated in our approach to forge programs that contribute to systems change that will advance racial equity by fostering alliances with other community collaborations to change policies and practices that contribute to disparate outcomes by race. We ensure that our Black students have supportive and respectful relationships with CEC program staff, who have a lived experience like our students with the understanding of the relationship and its importance.
Relationships are important to all youth, but using a racial equity lens and culturally responsive approach helps our programs maintain the value of building staff members without racial biases that young Black students may otherwise experience. When staff are equipped to do this, they can engage with youth in a respectful and affirming manner that builds strong relationships with them.
The CEC provides staff and board members with training on racial equity and related topics to help them understand how structural racism, interpersonal racism, and cultural norms affect young people’s experiences.
CEC’s Objectives
Youth Leadership
Our goal is to empower the participants to become leaders in their community. Through leadership building activities, participants will have an opportunity to positively express themselves and discover their unique voice and leadership style.
Community Partnership
Participants advocate for issues relevant to community needs. Participants gain support from community members and create solidarity.
Health and Wellness
Participants will be given tools that promote positive healthy living, healthy eating, and short/long-term goal setting.
Emotional & Social Health
Participants will acquire a set of skills that prepare them mentally, physically, and emotionally for challenging ventures in life.
Self-Advocacy
Promotion and development of positive self-image and self-respect. Participants will have an opportunity to express themselves truthfully and assertively. Participants will have the necessary tools they need to stand up for themselves and their beliefs. They will gain a strength-based view of their future.
Environmental Literacy
Participants will gain a greater awareness of surroundings and address questions like: “How does my living environment effect my community?” and “How can we work towards a sustainable environment locally?”.