HBCU Virtual Tour

Let’s go! This class will take students virtually all around the nation and broaden the students' understanding of the university/college by providing them with a general history of the institution, primary documents, videos or interviews and writing prompts. Various topics will be explored in the modules including student protests, political engagement on college campuses, homecoming and its significance, and modern celebrities and their support for HBCUs.

You Better Know Dominoes

Learn the rules of dominoes, variations of game play and practice with peers with support from our skilled Reconstruction tutors. Dominoes is an integral part of Black culture, learn in a safe space and have fun!

Black Genius

Featuring renowned economist Roland Fryer, the youngest African American to be given tenure at Harvard University and co-founder of Reconstruction. In this class, Roland will discuss the life and work of Black geniuses – both historic and contemporary – in social justice, academics, the arts, and education with a particular focus on how their life and work affected economic thought.

Poetry with Poet Laureate Marcus Amaker

Featuring Marcus Amaker, who was named Charleston, SC’s first Poet Laureate in 2016. Marcus loves doing poetry workshops and speaking to students and students love learning with Marcus! As Poet Laureate, Marcus wants students to know that their voices matter, and it’s important to him that he shares his knowledge about being a poet and an artist. Students will be exposed to and create beautiful poetry.

Classes available on Wednesdays throughout the summer. This session will be dedicated to self care and community care. Using artistic/restorative practices as the setting to build and promote wellness. We will also discuss ways to bring this into our lives daily. The journey includes: breath work, mediation and physical movement. Please create a space that is soothing and allows you to feel at peace.

This course will encourage independent thinking and build self-confidence. Students will utilize their imaginations to create towers and other interesting structures with toothpicks and clay. They will learn about Phllip Freelon, the architect and designer behind the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Students will use these skills to further develop out of the box thinking, a critical skill to use in all aspects of life. Materials include toothpicks, modeling clay or play dough.

More food, more culture! Create meals that incorporate ingredients from traditional Caribbean cuisine – banana bread, jerk chicken, and sauteed greens. Classes will provide the history and health benefits of each dish as well as a guided cooking tutorial.

Developed by the Folger Shakespeare Library, this course delves into the intersection between African-American life and Shakespeare, from stage productions to personal and academic encounters with the texts. Students will examine some of the many ways that Black Americans have encountered, responded to, taken ownership of, and sometimes turned away from Shakespeare's words. Students will be able to explain and discuss the racial implications of Shakespeare and how his work relates to the present day.