Community of Mentors & Role Models
Our Story
During February 2019, a small group of young passionate students from different colleges and universities within Washington State came together to discuss different challenges that students of color are constantly facing in a different spectrum of their lives, particularly their academics.
After a few meetings, these young students were able to identify many issues which led them to conclude that just having weekly meetings was not going to be enough to respond to the needs of their fellow students. Among the problematics, we realized there was a poor retention rate in schools, lack of guidance, and lack of proper integration for new students from different walks of life to permit successful completion of their academic agenda.
Many challenges in life are part of the reason for these problems. Therefore, the Afropedia board decided that no one would better understand the youths’ needs than the youth themselves.
It was based on these problems that this group of young professionals thought it was a good idea to come up with an idea to create an official platform to finally respond to their own needs. This group started by creating a board in charge of starting a non-profit organization. The idea was to start an entity entirely youth-led that will function as an encyclopedia full of resources to help our fellow students be successful throughout their educational journey through various programs included but not limited to mentorship, civic engagement, entrepreneurship, and personal development.
From the idea of combining the concepts of both youth and encyclopedia, the name Afropedia was then born. Fast forward to May of 2019, the board was able to register Afropedia as an official non-profit organization within the State Of Washington.
We are proud to be the youth that is actively participating in matters that deal directly with our communities and encourage our fellow youth to participate in their civic duties. Therefore, we deeply appreciate and welcome your collaboration.