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Unita Blackwell Young Women's Leadership Institute
 

SRBWI Announces it's 7th Annual Unita Blackwell Young Women’s Leadership Institute

The Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative (SRBWI) will soon be taking applications for scholarships to attend the seventh Annual Unita Blackwell Young Women’s Leadership Institute. Applications will be available online on January 15, 2011 and will be located on the left-hand sidebar.  The Institute is open to young women currently in grades 8-12 and who live in one of the SRBWI target counties.

Applicants do not need to be honor roll students or have perfect conduct.  SRBWI is looking for a variety of participants who both exude leadership qualities and those who may benefit greatly from being exposed to the leadership training. 

SRBWI works to advance the first Human Rights Agenda in the United States designed to put an end to the historical race, class, cultural, religious and gender barriers experienced by southern rural black women.  The program operates in 77 counties in the Black Belt of Alabama, Southwest Georgia and the Delta of Mississippi.

The goal of all SRBWI youth development programs is to provide a safe, caring  environment where girls can participate in activities designed to enhance their path to adulthood as productive, creative individuals committed to economic and social justice. Arts, culture and spirituality are integrated into all program areas and promote the preservation and evolution of Black culture and history.

To promote this goal, SRBWI will hold its seventh annual Unita Blackwell Young Women’s Leadership Institute from June 22 – June 27, 2011.  The Institute is held at Tougaloo College, a historically Black college located near Jackson, Mississippi. 

There are no out-of-pocket expenses for participants to attend the Institute.  The scholarship provides transportation, room, food and all other costs associated with the Institute.   However, if accepted as a scholarship recipient, participants will need to pay a $25.00 registration fee.  Young women at the Institute will be supervised both day and night.  If you have questions please contact Wendy Shenefelt at 601-321-1966 or email at wshenefelt@childrensdefense.org.  

The deadline for applications is March 15, 2011.

Unita Blackwell Young Women’s Leadership Institute Background
Each year some 100 young women from the 3 states participate in the Unita Blackwell Young Women’s Leadership Institute.  The Honorable Unita Blackwell from Mayersville, Mississippi was a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) leader who became the first Black woman elected mayor in the state, was a colleague of Fannie Lou Hamer’s and participated in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party’s 1964 challenge to unseat the all-white democratic party delegates at the Democratic National Convention.  Her legacy continues through the work of SRBWI, and particularly with this generation of young women and girls. 

The Unita Blackwell Young Women’s Leadership Institute is honored to be hosted on the campus of Tougaloo College, a historically Black college located near Jackson, Mississippi.  Tougaloo College was founded in 1869 by the American Missionary Association and is a private, coeducational, church-related, four-year liberal arts institution.
The Unita Blackwell Young Women’s Leadership Institute is a 6 day intensive leadership development training program.  The Institute gives young women ages 14-19 an opportunity to:           

• Learn more about themselves
• Develop leadership skills
• Learn the contributions of their families and others in their communities, states and regions to the southern civil rights movement
• Discover the power of using a Human Rights frame to work for economic and social justice
• Participate in health and wellness, photography, dance, fashion design, and other workshops

An advanced track of the Blackwell Institute, “New Visions”, involves 15 young women and a mentor from each state who engage in digital film making intensives at the Institute, followed by training and guidance across the year in their local communities.  “New Visions” is committed to engaging and involving these young women in the work of SRBWI and to teaching them a marketable skill. 

During the Institute, participants will engage in interesting, challenging and interactive activities designed to increase leadership skills, acquaint and enhance understanding of the Human Rights Agenda, learn about the rich contributions of southern rural black women to civil and human rights, and experience the rich culture of the southern black experience. 

Since 2005, over 500 young women and their mentors have actively participated in the five day Institute. Highlights from past years’ YWL Institutes include: Panels on the contributions of the ancestors to Human and Civil Rights, Health and Wellness, and Asset Economic Development; interactive workshops on Fashion Design, Jewelry Making, Photography, African and A Jewelry Making, Photography, African and African American Dance, Spoken Word and Shadow Sculpture on paper; forums on how Hip Hop and Media Images impact young women’s self image. As in everything SRBWI undertakes culture and spirituality are integral components.

The class of 2010 brought the number of young women participating in the Institute to well over 500.  Additional activities at the state and local level involve over 1,000 young women.

 For more information contact:
Wendy Shenefelt, Regional Youth Organizer
601 321-1966
wshenefelt@childrensdefense.org