Community Outreach

Mason undergraduate student Rasheed Parker works with Sterling Middle School students during a recent tour of campus.
Mason undergraduate student Rasheed Parker works with Sterling Middle School students during a recent tour of campus.

African and African American Studies (AAAS) aims to directly impact the Northern Virginia community and the greater Washington, D.C. metrpolitan area. Through partnerships with community organizations, businesses, and K-12 institutions AAAS seeks to make a lasting contribution to the dynamic and diverse Washington metro region.

The program organizes campus visits and cultural programs for middle and high school students, parents, K-12 staff, and community members. One outreach opportunity has been the partnership between AAAS and Sterling Middle School. The 300-plus students are led on tours of the Fairfax campus by Mason students, participate in a lecture, and meet AAAS faculty and staff. AAAS collaborates with  Mason alumni, historically-Black sororities and fraternities, and other student groups to organize these events. A video of the most recent visit is here.

Another outreach opportunity is the partnership with the “Men on a Mission” program. It's unique, because it targets Black males at the Dominion High School in Sterling, Virginia. Over the last three years, this program has reversed a 50 percent drop in the failure rate of its students.

Since fall of 2011, AAAS has held the Paul Robeson Saturday Leadership Academy (PRSLA). This opportunity is for secondary students to meet Mason students and faculty to cover STEM-related subjects (i.e. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) over a series of consecutive Saturdays during the academic year. Ultimately, PRSLA intends to enhance school performances, and to be a vehicle for not just African-Americans, but all youth in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The objective is to encourage students to become more comfortable with STEM areas as well as develop leadership skills. AAAS works with the Joyce-Gillespie-Harrington Educational and Charitable Foundation, Inc. (JGH) of Zeta Upsilon Lambda Chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Most recently, a two-year history project Dr. Wendi Manuel-Scott has worked on in Loudoun County is the "Frederick Douglass Elementary Dedication: Then and Now," which appeared on the Leesburg Today website.