Ignite Your Summer with BSTRONG!
A six-week journey of Black Pride, Unity, and Brilliance.
Where culture meets opportunity and students rise with confidence.
Program at a Glance
BSTRONG is a summer program for Black youth gaining rich cultural and entrepreneurial experience through exciting workshops, hands-on activities and field work led by Black educators and professionals.
Rising 8th–10th graders.
TBD
TBD
“Capping off the summer with our annual Unity in the Community Block Party and a legendary overnight camping trip.”
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Cultural identity & unity
Personal financial literacy
Media representation workshops
What Awaits You in the Village
Three Pillars of the Summer Journey:
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Hands-on entrepreneurship
Maker Space product creation
Showcase & sell at Block Party
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Overnight camping trip
Fishing, games, survival skills
Phone-free bonding
SIGNATURE PROGRAM COMPONENTS
Component 1: Camping Trip | Adventure & Connection
Overnight camping
Fishing, games, survival skills
Phone-free, safe environment
Led by BEAM staff + community partners
Component 2: Block Party | Celebration & Entrepreneurship
Annual community celebration
Students sell their products
Black professionals, leaders, neighbors gather
Component 3: Paint Party | Community Art in Motion
Repainting the street mural with City Repair
Mural created by a former student
Symbolizes “the village” and collective creativity
Component 4: Entrepreneurship Through Design | Maker Magic
Sublimation design: T-shirts, binders
Candle + body scrub creation
Products sold at Block Party
Component 5: Financial Literacy | Money Mindset
Research material costs
Calculate time + labor
Price products
Understand revenue + profit
Component 6: History Through Media Representation | Storytelling & Legacy
Research a Black historical figure
Create interview-style videos
Blend history, art, and media
Component 7: Designing an Afro future Island | Imagination & Worldbuilding
Students design their own Afro fusion island
Explore liberation, sustainability, identity
Visionary future-building
The Learning Hub: Spatial & Environmental Justice
The Mission: We build an understanding of historical injustices to envision a liberated, sustainable future.
Hands-on Impact: We partner with Portland leaders on initiatives like the Portland Harbor Superfund cleanup, so students lead the policies that affect their generation.
Cultural Immersion: Students engage in community mapping, personal journaling, and story development in a space imagined and designed by BSTRONG students themselves.
Impact: The 2023/24 "Unfiltered" Legacy
Our students investigated the history of tobacco commercialization targeted at Black communities.
Through the Feed’em Freedom Farm and Mayo House ARTchives, students created TikTok channels reclaiming agrarian legacies and developed educational zines to archive Portland's Black history.
2024
2023
The 2023 BSTRONG Summer program focused on:
The policy and history of tobacco commercialization targeted specifically to Black communities.
Its relationship to slave labor and agricultural production.
How we archive its history for our self-reclamation.
This program was a collaboration between three Learning Hubs: the BSTRONG Learning Hub, Feed’em Freedom Farm, and Mayo House ARTchives.