To honor Black History Month, Lead Collective connected residents of the Nicholtown neighborhood by providing a history tour from long-term residents to students living there.
The Éleos ministry, formed as one of the three programs offered by Lead Collective, focuses on supporting students living in the historically Black neighborhood and provides an after-school care program.
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“The elders were the ones who suggested us to start something because there was a need for middle and high school students in the neighborhood,” says Joy Hill, who founded the ministry branch in 2016 with her husband, Cam, after living in Nicholtown for three years.
After school on Feb. 13, middle school students rode on a bus as Yvonne Reeder and Sylvia Palmer pointed out 16 different spots representing the area’s history. A similar program will be held for high school students on Feb. 28.
One destination is the Nicholtown Community Center, formally an old army barracks from Donaldson Air Force Base built in the 1960s, now operated by Octavia Jones.
Invitations to join the students after the tour for a catered meal, games of bingo and a skit were also sent to older residents to continue engagement with the students, where both groups had the opportunity to talk and ask questions.
“There’s a richness about this neighborhood,” says Hill, “and my hope is that they’ll be able to learn to about it and be proud of it.”
