If you were around for the Everybody Counts Signing Day, the 2022 Western Library Block Party, the Breonna Taylor Run at the NHSLC, or the Juneteenth Celebration this summer, you probably met the Morehead-Cain Scholars of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill . Zuha Animashaun, I’Mani Barnes, Owen Gast, and Jake Patterson joined us this summer for an eight-week civic engagement project that scholars completed the summer before sophomore year. According to their report, the students join  “community organizations in cities across the United States to conduct a ‘deep dive’ into their location.” The scholars helped us with evaluation, event planning, and curriculum development. 

When asked to share a lasting impression of LUL, the scholars began to talk about meeting Bri Woods. A staff member had walked up to them and introduced a high school student with “bright energy” this way: “This is your future president.” She wasn’t the only staff member to introduce Bri that way. 

Bri, a member of LUL’s Project Ready program, is a rising senior who was one of the moderators of our Spring mayoral forum. For one of the scholars, I’Mani Barnes, Bri was a reminder of the importance of community organizations. Just two years ago, she had been a rising high school senior held in high esteem by adults in the Atlanta chapter of A Better Chance. Like Bri, I’Mani was a student with an internal drive who was nurtured by the adults in her college prep program. According to I’Mani, community-based projects like Project Ready can “really give you the confidence that you can go out there and kill it.” 

Through the civic engagement project, Morehead-Cain Scholars learned the labor that goes into shaping young scholars like themselves. They generously helped us carry the weight by designing impact management, planning events, and developing curriculum. Most importantly, they developed relationships within the community that will hopefully be long-lasting. The Morehead-Cain scholars shout out the following community members for welcoming them into the fold: Gill Holland, Andrew Noland, Rowan Claypool, Doug Farnsley, Robin Self, Jason Immekus, Donna Curran, and Lansdon Robbins.

They also left us with this message of gratitude, “This summer has been a fulfilling experience for each of us and we wish the Urban League the best of luck as they continue to serve the people of this city with courage, grace, steadfastness, and peace.”