On Feb. 4, coinciding with the beginning of Black History Month, KYCC Youth Services launched the first Racial Justice Curriculum workshop for its Wilton Elementary program. The workshops aim to create a safe environment where students can learn about race, identity, and become advocates for social justice. The first lesson took a look at families, identifying all the different variations, colors and sizes that our families and love come in.

“Our goal is to introduce our youth to racial justice and what it means to be tolerant of others and understand one another, despite our differences. We hope that through our program students feel empowered to engage in dialogue surrounding these topics,” says Presilla Kim, KYCC Youth Services Supervisor.

The Racial Justice Workshop Curriculum is being created by Youth Services intern, Adah Perez, who is with KYCC as part of UCLA’s Public Affairs Experiential Learning Capstone Program. Adah has chosen the creation of the Racial Justice Workshop Curriculum as her capstone project, integrating her professional internship experience with the theories and methodologies learned in her coursework. The Racial Justice Curriculum workshops will continue until the end of this academic year, with hopes of building upon the curriculum next year.