6 Week Pen Pal Program + Road Trip to Sweet Home Alabama <3

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FYI: GREAT MIGRATION JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH

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Purpose

Our Great Migration Program aims to strengthen the connection between black folks in Chicago and their lineages and legacies in the Deep South.

We’re pairing 10 young learners in Chicago with 10 young learners in Alabama to be pen pals over the course of 6 weeks, leading up to a cross-country trip to meet and retreat in Tuskegee, AL.

Over 6 weeks, learners will exchange letters, sharing about their lives, their families, their cities, their cultures and their environments. Each learner will be asked to write three letters and will receive three letters from their pals!

Along with the letters, learners will send photos, seeds/plants, crafts, and gifts from their respective regions! After 6 weeks of writing each other, learners will meet their pen pals virtually, and share what they learn about each other!

The following week, on July 25th, our Chicago learners will take a cross-country trip to meet their pen pals in person and embark on a culturally immersive journey to Tuskegee, AL. Along the way, we will be visiting Burritt on the Mountain Museum in Huntsville, AL, and the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham, AL.

We will retreat at Nature's Garden for Victory & Peace, a 30-acre black-led land trust in Tuskegee, AL, stewarded by Dr. Muhjah Shakir. Here, learners will participate in nature play, visit quail, bee, and plant farms, experience camping, yoga, bonfires, and story circles. Together we will learn about African American history, culture, and heritage!

Phase One: Pen Pals

Phase Two: Road Trip

  • Ages 8-11

  • Must live in Chicago or Alabama and be able to travel to Huntsville, Birmingham and Tuskegee between July 24th and 28th.

  • One parent or guardian must attend the trip with their learner

  • Participating families must attend one of the two Zoom info sessions which will take place on Thursday 5/14 at 6:00pm and on Sunday 5/17 at 5:00pm.

  • Learners should be able to write and mail three letters. We will provide a small stipend for stamps and mail fees for those who need it. Letters from Chicago learners will need to be mailed by or on June 5th, June 19th, and July 3rd. Letters from Alabama learners will need to be mailed June 12th, June 26th, and July 10th.

  • Learners should be able to attend the virtual meet and greet on July 17th on Zoom.

  • This program is offered on a sliding scale between $25 and $250 per learner. Those who have the means are invited to donate on the higher end of the scale. Every donation makes this program more accessible to ALL families, regardless of their current finances.

  • Families on the South Side of Chicago will be prioritized. Families with ancestry in the Deep South will be prioritized.

  • Please only register one child per form. We apologize for the inconvenience of having to resubmit the same information more than once.

Program Requirements

Trip Itinerary

  • 3:00am - Meet & Board

    4:00am - Leave Chicago (7:15a Rest Stop [15m], 9:15a Breakfast Stop [30m], 12:30p Rest Stop [15m])

    3:00pm - Arrive at Burritt on the Mountain (2h)

    5:00pm - Leave Huntsville for Tuskegee

    9:00pm - Arrive at Nature's Garden for Victory and Peace in Tuskegee, AL

    10:30pm - Lights Out

  • 9:00am - Hip Hop Yoga (30m)

    9:45am - Breakfast (30m)

    10:30 am - Garden Tending (1hm)

    11:45pm - Tour of Tuskegee University led by Dr. Muhjah Shakir (1h15m)

    1:00pm - Lunch (1h)

    2:30pm - Tent & Campfire Building (1h30m)

    4:30pm - All Hands Dinner Prep

    6:00pm - Dinner Time

    7:30pm - S'mores & Stories :)

    10:00pm - Lights Out

  • 9:00am - Martial Arts Lesson (30m)

    9:45am - Breakfast (30m)

    10:30am - Garden Tending (30m)

    11:15am - Quail Farm Tour (30m)

    12:15pm - Bee Colony & Chicken Coup Tour (1h)

    1:30pm - Lunch (1h)

    3:00pm - Paint & Play (1h15m)

    4:30pm - Food Crew Prep Time/Fire Crew Prep Time (1h30m)

    6:00pm - Heritage Dinner (1h)

    7:00pm - Talent Show & Tell <3 (1h)

    8:30pm - Packing Time

    11:00pm - Lights Out

  • 7:00am - Wake up & Load out

    7:30am - Breakfast

    8:00am - Leave Tuskegee for Birmingham

    10:00am- Arrive at Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

    12:00pm - Lunch

    12:45pm - Leave Birmingham for Nashville

    3:30pm - Arrive at AirBNB in Nashville, TN

  • 6:00am - Wake up & Load out

    6:30am - Breakfast

    7:00am - Leave Nashville for Chicago (9:45a Rest Stop [15m], 12:00p Indianapolis [30m])

    2:30pm - Arrive in Chicagooooo!


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