THE ROYALTY PROJECT INC’s mentor program is conducted in seasonal cycles, occurring weekly for 8 consecutive Saturdays. Each session features accompanying objectives to accommodate active learning with lesson plans that provide facilitators, mentors, and royal youth with tools for dynamic engagement. The activities, visual aids and simulations within the workshop sessions lead to maximum retention of pertinent information disclosed during each session. The sessions are held in Black owned/operated cultural centers and businesses, which lends opportunities for interdisciplinary study, exchange, partnership, and patronage within the Black Community.
Culture
Missing History
Wealth
Melanin
Image
Self-Expression
CULTURE
Black Culture is “the pulse” of American Culture. Our traditions, beliefs, experiences, literature, symbols, music, arts, and resistance have created the soundtrack of resilience for Africans in America and throughout the diaspora. During this session, Royal Youth will establish and identify themselves as “producers of culture”. We will carefully inspect and examine stereotypes about people of African ancestry while taking an in-depth look at cultural appropriation and its impact on perspectives of Black culture.
MISSING HISTORY
People of African Ancestry have made tremendous contributions to all world civilizations in the areas of philosophy, education, science, math, art, literature, architecture, medicine, religion, and many others. Often times, their contributions are overlooked or understated due to the Eurocentric lens from which most history lessons are viewed or told. This omission of African contribution creates a void that fosters a narrow and limited perception of Black people and their ability to epitomize success. In this session, Royal Youth will be exposed to the inventive, ingenuity of people of African Descent. They will engage in a series of activities that will facilitate the discovery of significant accomplishments, intellectual perseverance, and the historical legacy of Black people.
WEALTH
African Americans exercise a tremendous amount spending power in American culture. However, we exhibit significant challenges in regards to generating healthy spending practices, utilizing cooperative economics, and creating intergenerational wealth. This can be attributed to the lack of exposure to financial literacy, ‘spend-quick’ behavior for material gratification, and a cultural preoccupation with collecting possessions. During this session, Royal Youth will become totally engulfed in a ‘real world’ budgeting simulation. This experience allows them to steer through a series of life events while being accountable for their financial decision-making. They will also be exposed to African principles and concepts regarding wealth and learn more about some of the Black centers of economic prosperity in American history. Ultimately, our youth will develop an understanding of the value of money, the benefit of saving and investing, and the magnitude of leverage that the Black community possesses in spending power.
MELANIN
Melanin is our SUPERPOWER. It accelerates the activation of our human senses (touch, sound, scent, taste, & smell) and allows us to experience the world through multiple intelligences on a highly evolved level. The melanin in our bodies fosters rhythmic and “soulful” interaction with our environment. In this session, Royal Youth will learn that the composition of melanin in your body is not limited to determining the pigment of your skin, eyes, and hair texture. Most importantly, it plays a significant role in the intellectual propensity of all people of African descent. Through a series of intellectual, physical, intuitive, rhythmic, and competitive activities, Royal Youth with gain a profound sense of the true essence of Melanin.
IMAGE
People of African ancestry undergo the most internal and external scrutiny with regards to beauty standards. Colonialism, intentional imagery, and the proliferation of damaging messages have had a detrimental impact on the perception of Black beauty in mass media. Black people are on the opposite end of the “white spectrum” of beauty and least personify the widely accepted European beauty standards. In this session, Royal Youth will celebrate their natural, African physical features as beautiful attributes and expand their perception of beauty beyond aesthetics and physical attributes to magnify the importance of inner beauty. The activities and discussion will also facilitate a comprehensive understanding of how society perpetuates “white” standards of beauty as ideal and how to overcome this issue.
SELF-EXPRESSION/UNAPOLOGETIC PRIDE
Dominant cultural paradigms often marginalize the contribution of BLACK people to the thread of popular culture and everyday life. During the self-expression session, our Royal Youth will participate in a culminating celebration that provides a platform for them to align themselves with people that exemplify the best of Black culture. Royal Youth will express connections to their rich, illustrious history by adorning themselves with costumes and accessories that represent individual figures or time periods of Black excellence. Participants will also embody these historic personas in the realms of social media, discussions about self-confidence, and highlight the importance of individuality in self-expression.
