We are thrilled to announce ISKME’s partnership with the Ever Forward Club to kick off Big Ideas Fest 2016. Young men from The Ever Forward Club along with Founder Ashanti Branch, will conduct a “Taking Off the Mask” workshop as our opening activity. This workshop, which will encourage participants to look behind the masks we wear on a daily basis, will lead participants on a journey using storytelling and art to share our experiences, uninhibited by the social norms we have inherently learned throughout our lives.
This workshop is based on the work of the Ever Forward Club, in which Ashanti developed a groundbreaking “emotional tool box” for African American and Latino young men to learn to trust and persevere, face their fears, and bring confidence and empathy into their lives in order to achieve their true potential.
The Ever Forward Club, a 501(c)3 based in Oakland, CA, supports the needs of underserved, at-risk teens. It strives to nurture and support the growth of the world’s future leaders by creating communities of students who set and achieve their personal goals, inside and outside the classroom. This year, The Ever Forward Club will be in 10 schools throughout the Bay Area and facilitating workshops all over the country.
Watch the video below from Big Ideas Fest 2014 with Ever Forward Club founder Ashanti Branch, Helping Young Men of Color Add Tools to Their Emotional Tool Box as he describes how he prototyped and grew the program, drawing from his own needs as a youth.
You can follow Ever Forward Club on Twitter.