BROWNSVILLE LEADERSHIP PROJECT 2016 GRADUATION

The Brownsville Leadership Project graduated 50 participants Friday, January 28th, 2016. It was the biggest graduating group yet! Participants from the Brownsville Youth Court, Sounds of Brownsville, Brownsville Project Runway, Brownsville Visual Media, and BOLTS were celebrated for their awesome work. Participants worked from October through January on  projects that focused on a specific art form.



The crowd enjoys a slideshow of memories as graduation is about to get started. 

The Brownsville Youth Court was presented with their awards by Sharese Crouther. Sharese worked with this cohort on several projects throughout the summer of 2015. They worked on projects such as Be On Belmont, and fundraising bake sales.

The Brownsville Youth Court pose with their awards one last time with Sharese Crouther. 

Brownsville Visual Media Project graced the audience with a funny and cheerful SNL parody entitled "Brownsville Matters" The short video included skits that reflected conflict in Brownsville, politics, and current events/news. They also included lots of laughs and put smiles on everyone's faces.

Brownsville Visual Media participants pose with their awards with their teaching artist Robert Hairston.

Brownsville Project Runway participants worked the stage in all black, showcasing their creations. The group worked hard on creating fashionable but timeless tote bags. Some bags were made of vinyl fabric, African print fabric, and much more. Many of the participants put a creative spin on their bags by making them reversible. Some participants even created makeup bags and wallets to match! The  bags told stories and highlighted each individual's personality. 

Brownsville Project Runway participants show off their creations as they pose with teaching artist, Shakira Jackson.

Sounds of Brownsville hit the stage lastly, performing some amazing music written by the participants. Although some participants caught a bit of stage fright, the others truly set the crowd on fire with their musical performances. The music touched on some emotional aspects of their lives, as well as the dreams and goals that they have set out for themselves. 

Sounds of Brownsville participant: Trejhour Lewis performs his amazing self written song. 

The Staff at BCJC couldn't be more proud of the young leaders of the Brownsville Leadership Project. It is truly an honor to watch these young people blossom into leaders and agents of change through the arts right here in their own community, Brownsville Brooklyn.