Last month, the Mayor’s Office of Education and ChildhoodsLost Foundation partnered to host “The Black Boy Experience” at Edward Gideon School. This day-long event engaged students at Gideon in a series of events and presentations led by men experiencing reentry after incarceration.

This event was organized in response to requests from the Gideon community for events that would give students space to learn about and process different social and systemic stressors, including the threat of incarceration.

The Founder of ChildhoodsLost Foundation, Kaliek Hayes, whose life experiences led to the creation of The Black Boy Experience, hopes to prevent young people from enduring what he calls “generational genocide,” when young people’s promise is undermined by trauma and other injustices. The event at Gideon was organized to promote students’ confidence and self-worth. 

The event kicked off with students meeting the panelists and moderator for the event. The panel consisted of:

• Kaliek Hayes and Stephen Gardner, co-founders of ChildhoodsLost Foundation
• Ghani Songster, Harry King and John Pace, all former juvenile detainees and current members of The Redemption Project and Inside Out Think-Tank
• Keir Grey, Chief Defender for the Defender Association of Philadelphia, and
• Michael O’Bryan, the Director of Youth and Young Adult Programs at The Village of Arts and Humanities.

The event created a safe space where students and panelists discussed the social influences and experiences that are traumatic for young Black boys. In small groups led by the returning citizens, students discussed ways that they and their community could support one another to prevent bullying, identity issues, peer conflicts, and incarceration.

Following these discussions, the participants came back together in the school auditorium to share their small group insights with the wider community.

Gregory Wright, the Community School’s Coordinator for Gideon, agreed that events like these are really important to students, saying, “This event allowed every child to be heard. More importantly, students were able to feel safe with one another and know that the fears and trauma they are holding inside them aren’t unique to them.  The students loved it, and they want to know when we will do the next event in the series.”

The Mayor’s Office of Education is committed to supporting the social and emotional needs of all students.  As a follow-up to the event, ChildhoodsLost Foundation will provide ongoing mentorship support for the participants, and MOE hopes to bring this programming to additional Community Schools.