A group of Page High School students are working to change stereotypes about young black men

A group of students is on a mission: to break the stereotypes of what young black men are and what they are capable of.

They are called Team Voyage. The teacher who started it says it is an opportunity to improve the playing field and highlight the often unreported and ignored fact that there are many young black men doing great things, including the young men in their high school . They hope that by postponing the narrative, they will organically open the door to racist advances.

“My sophomore came here from New Jersey and my Spanish teacher came up to me on occasion,” said Jaiden Fraser, junior at Page High School. “At first I wasn’t sure what it was because the school I came from didn’t have it.”

Jaiden Fraser is part of Team Voyage, a nonprofit group exclusive to Page High School.

“People see us. We walk around in these shirts and they look at us and they say, “Oh, all young black guys wear these shirts,” and we set the example for school, “said Fraser.” My favorite part is that we get together every week. It is like a brotherhood. The unit is my favorite part. “

Summer Hunter founded Team Voyage five years ago. The group works to increase academic investment and social capital in young African American men. You take the team concept. She is the managing director.

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“We have trainers who are different community members who have come together to form some kind of help guide and are there to offer advice, to be there to assist them in any way we can,” explained Hunter.

It was their reaction to events that put the race at the center of the discourse and debate.

“We take time to think about what’s going on in the world. What are you confused about What are you struggling with What are you crazy about We allow this time to reflect, feel and express what you are feeling. And talk about how we can defend ourselves positively, ”said Hunter.

“Tray von Martin, for me. It was the first time in my life that I realized the color of my skin could kill me for doing nothing, ”said Nick Baker, Team Voyage alumnus.

Baker says when he heard about this group, which focused on black male empowerment, education, mentoring, and community service, he was all there.

“We turned to people. We ran food drives. We did an annual teddy bear ride while I was there. I remember a year when a teacher broke into her house just before Christmas and the robbers stole all of her son’s gifts. We took a toy ride for her and her son. “

Aside from the annual food drives, they ran a domestic violence awareness campaign and most recently a virtual black history celebration. And the coaches check their grades every week. When the boys have problems and need help, the coaches get help for them. Baker is now a junior at Davidson College.

“They give young black men the opportunity to get things off their chests,” he said of the Team Voyage experience. “You give them a chance to vent and show their feelings and just have one knit family that they may not have at home.”

He explained the class differences in the school.

“If kids come from Irving Park, they won’t understand the kids from Claremont, Greensboro. They will not understand the two different styles of life they live. Some of them will never want to understand why spaces like Team Voyage are so important. “

And the racial differences.

“They saw no point in having an all-black group of men in school. They looked down on us, ”he said. “For us it was about breaking these stereotypes, being the angry black, the dangerous black you see on the street, who will bring a white person to the other side.”

And with each broken stereotype, they hope broken barriers will follow as this team continues their journey to real conversation – regardless of background or race.

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