2024 Opening Retreat
This year, we welcomed 19 fellows from NC, SC, GA, LA, and MS. We kicked off the fellowship with a two-day opening retreat in Greensboro, NC, at the historic Beloved Community Center. Fellows explored the history depicted on the walls, built relationships with the SOS team and other fellows in the cohort, and participated in training for some of our key programs. By the end of the weekend, the fellows had developed a deeper understanding of what SOS strives for, what they wanted to focus on during the semester, and how their work connects to the broader movement in the South. The SOS team also gained valuable insight into the students’ passions, strengths, weaknesses, and the issues that are currently capturing the attention of young people..
Fall Initiatives
In the fall of 2024, SOS focused on four key areas:
- Internal political education, leadership development, and mentorship through the Fall Organizing Fellowship– Our 11 week fellowship curriculum included:
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- intro to students organizing,
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- base building,
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- campaign building strategies and tactics
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- data collection and analysis
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- understanding political ideologies
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- youth political education and voter preparation
- Outreach, popular political education, and coalition building through HBCU campus visits and joint organizing efforts with other youth-led organizations in neighboring states and regions.
- The SOS team visited a number of HBCU campuses to speak with students about the history of youth organizing in the South and the importance of community engagement moving into 2025. Through listening circles and joint events with the Carolina Youth Partnership and National Student Power Network, we were able to learn more about blocks and challenges for young people who may be thinking about organizing or becoming politically active. These programs also helped us gain a better understanding of the landscape of youth organizing in the U.S. south at this point in time.
- Data collection and analysis.
- This year we launched a Youth Political Engagement Survey, collecting and analysing data on:
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- Young people’s voting behaviors
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- Their interests and likelihood of being organized
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- Areas of their lives and communities where organizing would be beneficial
- How youth access and share media and information
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The survey was highly successful and informative. We look forward to sharing our findings with other youth organizations, partner HBCUs, and our base to refine our strategies as we engage with young people in the future.
- Election protection work and non-partisan civic engagement alongside our partners.
- SOS also focused on election protection work and non-partisan civic engagement alongside our partners.
It’s been a rewarding year. We’ve grown, built stronger relationships, and focused on educating ourselves and others. We’ve learned a lot from our comrades, coalitions, and base, and we’re taking these lessons with us into 2025. Moving forward, SOS is committed to sharpening our tools, deepening our roots in the community, continuing to build intentional power and developing leadership across the HBCU community in the U.S. South.
