Richmond, Virginia, Saturday February 23, 2019, Upsilon Nu Youth Academy hosted its Conflict Resolution and Black History session.
Brother Don Bentley led a session on conflict resolution. Brother Bentley’s presentation to the students was derived on multiple levels. Level one: Conflict at school, level two: Social conflict and level three: Conflict at home.
Brother Bentley engaged the students to talk about conflicts they have encountered, when and where it took placed. The students talked about how they have experienced conflict at school with their teachers and classmates and how they have dealt with those situations. In some cases, they have responded back and it has caused issues with negative outcomes and in some cases, they have just shut down within the class environment.
The social conflict has been mainly with peers and in some cases even their friends. Brother Bentley asked them how they coped with the conflict and if they could have handled the conflict differently. The students gave examples and how they handled the conflicts. In some cases, they thought they did the right thing and in other cases could have responded differently.
The students discussed conflicts they have had at home and how they coped with family members. Those conflicts were more personal because as some of the students stated, you can’t win because their parents have all the control, so they just go along and do what their told.
Brother Michael Edwards led the session on Black History. He started with video on the origin of Black History Month. The video focused on Dr. Carter G. Woodson, his life story and how he dedicated his life to the study and documentation of black life in America. The students took notes and there was a conversation about Dr. Woodson. Brother Edwards led several role-playing sessions on the movement of Africans throughout the world. The students were given an information package with a series of questions about the contributions of African-Americans to American life. Part of the program included the students taking the information package home to share with their family, compile the answers and bring the answers back at the next session.
Program Chairman Brother Patrick Patrong led the online Black History contest, which really engaged the students and was very fun filled while being very informative. The students were divided into two teams including the mentors that were present and the friendly competition began. The students really got into the contest and learned more about their story.
Article and Pictures by Bro. Michael Edwards
