Project Background
St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church is the oldest Black congregation in th
e state of Minnesota and has a legacy of service that spans over 145 years. St. James is committed to the empowerment of all people with a special heart and resolve to help youth navigate through and around the obstacles that they face everyday. Griot Leadership Project provides a platform for youth empowerment and path that leads them to a vision for their future and the understanding of the importance of service.
There is an urgent need to provide direction, purpose, and opportunity for youth in the greater Minneapolis area. We need youth to be “Identity Achieved” which is a term used by the author of Child and Adolescent Development, Paul Kaplan, to describe the significance of getting to know and defining self during adolescence. According to Kaplan’s discussion, establishing and consolidating identity are two major task of adolescence. “To choose what you want to do you first have to know who you are.” If our youth aren’t “Identity Achieved” they are at risk of losing motivation, losing a vision for the future, losing their ability to make a difference in our world, and losing their ability to connect with their purpose. They are also at risk of losing their ability to make choices that lead to a wealth of opportunity.
St. James has partnered with several community organizations and individuals to respond to the need of our youth. Legacy Keepers Inc. is one of the primary community partners that has developed the curriculum and immersion experiences for the project. To see a complete list of individuals and organizations that have supported the project along the way please visit Friends of GLP.