Overview: Sigma Beta Xi Youth & Family Services (SBX) recently held an event to celebrate their youth program, which aims to empower Black youth in the Inland Empire. The program, which is funded through a grant and centers on the civil rights movement, connects key civil rights events with what youth are experiencing today in their communities. The event featured a recorded message from Dr. Corey Jackson, who helped secure $1 million for the Black Equity Initiative in the Inland Empire, and a speech from SBX Co-CEO and board member Berenice Zuniga, who emphasized the importance of community support for the program’s success.
Aryana Noroozi
Sigma Beta Xi Youth & Family Services (SBX) held “Reflections: From the Past to the Present,” a celebration of their recent youth program, which highlighted the power of community investment in Black youth and the broader community that sustains them.
The event featured a recorded message from Dr. Corey Jackson, who represents the region in Sacramento and helped secure $1 million for the Black Equity Initiative in the Inland Empire. Jackson framed the funding not as an abstract budget item, but as a deeply personal commitment which began with his own experience navigating systems not built for people who look like him. He emphasized that this investment is a declaration that Black youth in the Inland Empire are worthy of resources, opportunity, and expansive futures, made possible by mentors, teachers, elders, and community members who see their promise.
SBX Co-CEO and board member Berenice Zuniga addressed families and community members directly, underscoring how one of the many ways that the program’s success has been shown is in the way the community shows up for its youth.
Zuniga expressed gratitude for parents, caregivers, and community partners for enduring long drives and traffic to be present, describing their participation as proof that the students are loved and supported. She spoke candidly about how many students may feel disconnected and unrecognized from adults – but how nights like this are designed to remind them that they have a “village” that extends beyond SBX staff into the broader community.
Joshea Mayes, the lead program facilitator, reflected on how the initiative is reshaping how young people see themselves and their power. Born out of an earlier rite-of-passage effort focussing on African tribal traditions, the new program is funded through a grant and centers on the civil rights movement. The facilitator has redesigned the curriculum to connect key civil rights events with what youth are experiencing today in their communities, from discrimination to the impact of systems like ICE.
“None of my youth knew about the history of the civil rights movement. None of my youth knew that their voice mattered. None of them knew that they could advocate for certain things,” he said. “This is really just a celebration of them, just knowing, ‘Hey, I know that my voice matters.’”
A turning point for many participants came during a capstone trip to Atlanta, Georgia, where the group visited the Civil and Human Rights Museum. There, the youth encountered stories of teenagers their own age who were jailed and threatened for standing up for equality and justice.
“They didn’t know how many teenagers actually stood up for something. How many teenagers went to jail behind the certain right that they were fighting for,” Mayes explained. “So it was really a big eye opener for our youth walking around the stomping grounds that Dr. King once walked.”
Throughout the program, Mayes’ focus has been on building not just historical awareness, but a sense of community and belonging. She deliberately places youth in spaces where they can see themselves reflected in the courage of others and learn that change is collective. For SBX, this program is as much about teaching history as it is about forming a village around its young people – reminding them they are seen, supported, and never too limited to help change the world around them.
“Half of this stuff I had no idea [about]… I was so clueless,” said Mahki Devers, 14, a student in the program.“When I had seen and heard all the stuff about my history, it just made me see my culture in a different way… it’s really eye opening,.”
A key theme of the evening was inclusion and belonging. The speaker described reshaping the program’s curriculum after hearing that some students felt that they didn’t fully belong in a space focused on Black experiences. This feedback led to a deeper exploration of the Civil Rights Movement, including the trip to Atlanta, where students confronted a more complete history of multiracial participation in the struggle for justice. At the museum, they saw diverse faces in the bus boycott, and learned about white allies and corporate supporters such as the Coca-Cola leadership, who helped Dr. King receive the Nobel Peace Prize. These lessons were used to reinforce the message that everyone’s voice matters and that solidarity across communities has always been essential to progress.
Throughout the remarks, the SBX leader returned to a central idea: every young person deserves to feel seen, included, and unconditionally loved, even when they make mistakes. Drawing on her own experience as a young person who often rebelled despite having a supportive family, she urged adults to mentor any youth they encounter –not just their own children – and to recognize that all of them are “qualified to pour into our youth.” The evening closed with a call to action for parents, community members, and leaders to continue showing up, building relationships, and sustaining the next generation of leaders beyond the walls of SBX.