The 2021 Brotherhood Sisterhood Summit took place on Saturday, March 6, 2021, from 9 – 12 p.m. This year’s theme was Speak Your Truth. Due to COVID-19, the summit took on a hybrid model. Campuses either offered their summit as in-person, virtual or a combination of both. This year, a total of 14 secondary campuses participated, with YES Prep Gulfton, Eisenhower, Hobby, North Central Secondary, Southwest and West offering their summit in-person. A total of 150 students registered with 100 attending in –person the day of.

Day of the summit

Thanks to this year’s hybrid model, all of the summit sessions were available through Microsoft Teams. The summit kicked off with a welcome, where this year’s theme was introduced, as well as expectations from participants and a fun ice breaker on Black culture.

Among the sessions offered this year were Where the Money Resides, #Respectfully, Senior Highlight and How to Start an Affinity Group.

• Where the Money Resides discussed financial literacy and generational wealth among the Black community.
• #Respectfully session was about using your voice and students were able to create their own affirmations and ultimately learn to speak their truth.
• The Senior Highlight session celebrated all graduating seniors and presented them with a Class of 2021 Kente Stole- a yearly tradition.
• How to Start an Affinity Group taught students the process of starting an affinity group for Black/African Americans on their respective campus or further diving into their already established group.

Student experience

After the event, the participants were asked how attending the summit had impacted their impression or experience of YES Prep Public Schools, here is what they said:

• Positive because not only do I get to connect to my people, but I also haven’t been places in a while so this is great. - Donte Byers
• I liked it because it lets me/helps me know that there are other people out there who are just like me at YES Prep. - Arnulfo Boule
• This was the best event of the whole school year, hands down. It gave me an opportunity to rant and connect. -Donye Crawford
• The energy was very happy and positive. -Jade Heard
• The summit makes me feel so represented in a system that overlooks me and my culture. I love it here and I’ll always remember these summits even after I leave. -Donye Mims

Students also shared what was their favorite part of the summit:

• My favorite part was when we made our affirmations and personal aspects about ourselves. - Nerissa Alvarez
• My favorite part about the summit was the financial literacy part because it’s going to help me a lot when I am older. - Arnulfo Boule
• My favorite part of the summit was being able to talk about our experiences and just being able to be our true selves without fear. - Justice Harris

A special thanks to this year’s Brotherhood and Sisterhood Summit co-leads TeRon Simmons, Behavior Support Specialist at YES Prep Southside Secondary and Carnetta Griffin, ACE Site Coordinator at YES Prep Northside.

About the YES Prep Annual Affinity Summits

In 2016, YES Prep revised its core values to better reflect the reason it was founded: to eliminate educational inequities and advance social justice. As part of this focus, YES Prep expanded its efforts to provide opportunities for students to develop pride in their identities and build relationships within the communities with which they identify. YES Prep believes that these efforts will strengthen students’ support systems and build their self-confidence, increasing the likelihood of their success in college and beyond.

To learn more about our Affinity Summits, click here.