Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) is now taking applications for its Legacy Youth Leadership Program (LYLP), a BCRI docent training and volunteer program for high school students. Eligibility is open to students in grades 9-12. Applications are available to download at www.bcri.org. Deadline to apply is Friday, February 21, 2014 at 5 p.m.For more information, call 205-328-9696 x 235.
The 2014 LYLP is supported by PNC Bank and utilizes BCRI’s mission, collections, programs, and partnerships to engage area high school students in a series of training experiences and internship opportunities that will help them develop into lifelong learners, productive citizens, and community leaders. The objective of LYLP is to: 1) promote student confidence, self-esteem, character, and community involvement through active participation, and (2) involve students as leaders in project planning and implementation.
Upon acceptance into the program, students are expected to attend a series of 12 weekly participatory workshops. The workshops will help build students’ knowledge base of BCRI’s permanent galleries, archival holdings, and public programs through three segments: BCRI exhibitions, African American history and culture, and leadership development. Students will also be expected to attend BCRI public programs as well as participate in college visits. In the summer of 2014, students who successfully complete the program will serve as Docents (tour guides) at BCRI. LYLP alumni are expected to continue to serve as BCRI volunteers throughout their high school tenure.
LYLP was created to recognize the pivotal role children played in the Civil Rights Movement, including the Children’s March of 1963. The 2013 LYLP students provided guided tours for 4,000 youngsters and chaperones. They also attended a week long National Youth Leadership Summit sponsored by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Ninety-four students have completed the LYLP since its inception in 2008.
