Footprints and Footsteps is a rites of passage curriculum rooted in Sankofa–a return to one’s essential history; to the values, practices, rituals, and intelligence that help activate a memory of healthy identity. This cultural grounding instills the responsibility of continuing a legacy of excellence.

The Footprints and Footsteps curriculum emphasizes three main components:

• The voices of the past show us where we’ve been
• The voices of today show us where we are currently
• The students’ voices of tomorrow lay the path of where we can go as a community

The curriculum consists of ten activities culminating with final oral presentations by the students designed to build the student’s acknowledgment of history and develop their reading, writing, media, and oral literacies. Additionally, the curriculum supports the enhancement of students’ social, emotional, and cultural domains.

Footprints and Footsteps takes place over ten consecutive weeks and provides participants with the knowledge and tools required to implement the curriculum into their programming with boys and young men of color. Participants will receive the curriculum, be placed in a cohort, be introduced to the Rites of Passage framework, Sankofa Power, hip-hop pedagogy, and receive in-depth training on the curriculum.