bold idea
Build the collective power of survivors of European and Euro-American colonial terrorism by training proximate visionary youth leaders to design and facilitate liberation-oriented learning communities.
organization overview
Building Opportunities & Opening Minds (BOOM) cultivates visionary youth to co-construct communities of affirmation, decolonization, organization, and innovation in aims of liberation. BOOM mobilizes Black and Brown youth leaders (SPARKS) to host six-week intergenerational, interdisciplinary, identity-rich, project-based learning experiences for Black and Brown K–12 students (FLAMES) that equip them to be revolutionary solutions-thinkers who build POWER for their people. BOOM provides space and support for resilient young people to reimagine the world beyond the restrictive fears of status quo society, to retreat from the psychological violence they endure in schools, and to redefine genius and truth.
Personal Bio
Jamie LeShaé Jenkins is the founding executive director of Building Opportunities & Opening Minds, a concept she formulated as a junior at Clark Atlanta University. Her idea led her to the classroom, where she used an asset-based decolonized lens to teach history to Black and Latinx youth in Atlanta and Harlem. Her students outperformed their peers and advocated for culturally responsive resources in all classes. At Teach For America, Jamie co-founded Pre-Corps Development, which extended corps member preparation from six weeks to two years. She also coached admissions team members to redesign the application process, which increased the percentage of accepted Black, Indigenous, and people of color applicants from 17 percent to 50 percent in 2014 and beyond. Jamie served as a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant to numerous institutions across the United States. Her career experiences reaffirmed her conviction that youth should be positioned as the solutions-leaders of their communities. As BOOM’s lead, Jamie has garnered several accolades, including Teach For America’s Social Innovation Award. She has also been featured on major projects including Natural Hair the Movie, Building the Bridge, and the Positively Gam podcast.
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Impact Location ?
Countries or continents that were the primary focus of this Fellow’s work at the time of their Fellowship.
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