Zenzele Arts & World Culture S.T.E.A.M. Program

Zenzele Youth projects address the root causes of inequities related to generational wealth, health, educational gaps in many Black & BIPOC communities. Repeated adverse childhood and social conditions including poverty, homelessness, abuse, violence, neglect, racism, unclear immigration status in the children and families leads to poor outcome. Individual effort along with focus on parents, family, and communities is needed for changes. This program envisions a safe environment for every young Black child by developing their mindsets through culturally relevant conversations and interactions to develop the STEAM skills and habits necessary for positive outcome.   

Science and engineering learning develops in multiple settings, in and out of school and overtime including multi-generational family groups, in self-selected social groups, informal setting such as science museums, zoos, botanical gardens, and other place based learning. In addition, digital media and online learning and learning from each other and via connecting via videoconferencing with families in Africa and other parts of the world can be an important source of development of STEAM identity.  

Five approaches to Zenzele Youth Arts & World Culture STEAM Programs:  

1.Increased opportunity and access to high quality science and engineering learning  

2.Increased achievement, representation and identification with science and engineering  

3.Expanding what counts as science and engineering and expanding children’s way of talking and sense making about science and engineering  

4.Seeing science and engineering as social justice movements and help challenge local and global problems, including ways to understand disparities in health, emotional well-being, healing from trauma, close disparity gaps. 

5.Introductory learning to world culture, reading, arts, and music  

By exposure to mentors from their own diaspora and other community leaders and develop their agency, resolving generational racial trauma, close disparity gaps. Intergenerational economic mobility or closing the generational wealth gaps along with closing other gaps including academic achievement, health, social equity gaps would depend on many important factors, such as: where they live, racial and gender differences in mobility and is a complex nexus of many factors. Gender and racial disparities exist at all stages from education, training to misallocation of manpower. Black US workers tend to be underrepresented in industries with higher- wage, in-demand jobs. The pipeline at work is broken, resulting in paltry representation at the most senior ranks. Nationwide, Black, Indigenous and People of Color (“BIPOC”), do not enter into STEAM occupations or professional schools at the same rates as their white peers . These high-skilled,  high-demand occupations are critically needed in our nation and will continue to be needed into the future. In 2020, there were 4.6 million computer-related STEM occupations in the United States. At the same time, Code.org projected that the United States had approximately a million more job openings than qualified applicants. These positions, tend to pay well, with the average median salary of jobs in the computer science and IT field placed at $81,430 in 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, statistics BIPOC individuals, particularly Black and Hispanic individuals enter these occupations at lower rates. Research into why these trends occur point to the argument that “we are losing women and ethnic minorities as they lose interest and self-confidence in science and math subjects, for reasons having more to do with misconceptions and stereotypes than with science or math ability.”  

 Currently, these inequitable national trends are represented within the Salem-Keizer School District. Among all Black/African American students enrolled in High School, only 3% are enrolled in advanced placement or international baccalaureate programs. Enrollment in gateway courses for high-demand occupations is often a predictor of later college graduation. Without enrollment in key gateway courses, students are not well prepared for the later challenges of an undergraduate degree, essential for employment in many high-skill, highdemand occupations. By targeting recruitment of students in historically underrepresented groups into a program designed to inspire children to consider roles in high-demand occupations, the hope is to close the gap in representation in these fields. Doing so, would provide above average wages to historically marginalized groups of people and combat poverty through the cultivation, development and inspiration of one future scientist, doctor, or computer programmer at a time.  

For more information, email us at equitysplash.oni@gmail.com