Langston League Aims To Form New Coalition Of Black Male Scholars From Creative Writing To Technology
On the steps of Langston Hughes’ abandoned Harlem-based home grew a new idea that will change the course of a young black man’s future. Erica Buddington, an educator and scholar from New York, sat on those steps of the famed poet’s home everyday for lunch, alone, with her thoughts on how to make kids love to learn again. One day while enjoying her afternoon meal, an unnamed caretaker of Hughes’ 127th and 5th Avenue property interrupted her routine. After noticing Buddington’s daily pattern for quite some time, he asked her if she’d like to see inside of the historic building, which hasn’t been opened for years. She swiftly obliged, not knowing that her curiosity would act as a catalyst in fufilling her dreams. As she marveled at the decoration and inner structure of Hughes’ abode, an image began to project in her mind with every step she took.
“I don’t know how or why this began to happen in my mind, but I just started seeing little boys running around with notebooks and doing creative writing with letterman jackets,” the Hampton University graduate said. “As I walked out, I called my friend and I told her about the experience. I said, ‘I can’t wait until I can start a school that’s like a league of little Langstons.’ And she said, ‘You should call it the Langston League.’”
With a central focus on educating black and brown boys in the fields of creative writing to technology over the course of six weeks (July 5-August 5), Langston League presents an updated curriculum that helps kids learn at their own pace and on subjects that actually interest them. With outlets that’ll analyze lyrics from hip-hop’s more pensive artists like J. Cole, to how the genre correlates to movements within the country like the Black Lives Matter organization, Langston League marries “cultural relevancy” to real-life topics without neglecting the National Common Core standards that aide in preparation for state testing.
Under the theme “Renaissance & Revolution,” young scholars will also sharpen their comprehension and analytical skills through historic passages from Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists/artists, receive a course on how to use and eventually master Photoshop, Illustrator and Final Cut Pro, and to critically dissect lyrics from today’s top rappers that’ll probably make Genius take their crowdsourcing talents to the classroom.
“It’s very rare that you walk into an organization that has a National Common Core background, an educative background and who understands the different learning styles in the classroom, and also is able to build a bridge with the cultural relevancy because they Langston League Aims To Form New Coalition Of Black Male Scholars From Creative Writing To Technology:
