Saturday, March 25, 2023

In its ninth year, the Teen Summit hosted by the Black Police Officers Association (BPOA) is producing great fruit and providing important insights from youth.

After a few years of hosting virtual events because of the pandemic, the Teen Summit returned to in person sessions and moved to the Village Empowerment Center.  The impactful event was co-founded between BPOA and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

“We love having the opportunity to engage with the youth in the community in a positive way,” said Marcus Taylor, one of the event organizers and co-founder of the BPOA.

“Hosting the event in person allows for a lot more interaction,” said Ken Fox, another organizer and co-founder of the program.

All youth participants not only walked away with knowledge and new tools to prevent and solve problems, but great gifts ranging from iPads and chrome books to big screen televisions.

“We like to give them an opportunity to reflect on the day and think about what they have learned,” said Curtis Morgan, co-organizer and facilitator of the student panel and discussions.  “The gifts also are a fun way to end the day and send them home with something unexpected.”

Students had the opportunity to attend sessions focused on what they called “real topics.”

One of the participants said, “These are the types of issues we should be talking about at school.”

In a panel discussion at the end of the event others agreed and offered their suggestions to improve the community and outlined priorities they would focus on if they were principals in their schools.

These are suggestions from students in attendance:

• Schools should have more activities and clubs for Black students.
• More opportunities to open up to discuss feeling and challenges.
• Kindness Club.   Intentionally tell students what is good about them.  More messages to show appreciation.
• More black teachers. Understand our culture.
• More student voices included in decision-making.
• Girls should be able to play all sports including football.
• Create QR Codes that capture student input and then respond to what students are saying.
• Explain why things are in place.  Example.  No Gum Policy.  Why?
• Create assemblies on topics they students are actually interested in.  Discuss issues that are actually impacting us.  Like what we did today.
• Should make community announcements at school.  Kids are dealing with problems at school and at home.  Speak reality during the announcements at school.
• More people in student government that actually reflect what students want.

Issues that need to be addressed:

• School too traditional.  Need to innovate.
• No events at school that touch on tough issues like this and there’s no communication about events like this.
• These are different times as we are growing up.
• We can look up the answers through technology quicker than it is being taught.  Need to new teaching methods.
• Mental health.
• Everybody is struggling with something. Need to talk about it. Therapy sessions are needed with every student
• Gun violence.
• How to balance things.  Home. School. Work.  Family.
• Depression.   Childhood Trauma.  People aren’t acknowledging the issues we are facing.
• Addressing the “beauty” standard.  Clear skin.  Light skin.  Dark skin.

“It’s great to see the event return to in person and continue giving our youth a platform to learn and give input on issues important to them,” said Jermaine Ballard, one of the keynote speakers.

He encouraged the students telling them they have already shown leadership.

“You could have stayed in bed or played video games all day, but you chose to come here to learn.  You are all leaders.”

The Teen Summit is hosted annually by the Black Police Officers Association.  Event organizers include:  Marcus Taylor, Curtis Morgan, Ken Fox and David Preston.  Guest speakers included Jermaine Ballard, Keith Station, Jennifer Clark, Jeff Williams, Galat Toung, Johnny Nesbitt and others.

For more information, please go to: https://bpoaofomaha.com/

10 Year Anniversary!