SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Melanin Day School Academy in Sacramento's Florin Square, it's a program for kids to learn about African American culture that's not always taught in schools. The program aims to bring together our black communities.
“We create such an amazing vibe and space for black families to heal and thrive,” said Nakia Porter, director of the Melanin Day School Academy.
The program also teaches students positive health techniques when it comes to mental health and nutrition.
“We have a family fitness African days where they learn about different African cultures,” said Porter. “We have also an instructor, Baba Cliff, who does smoothies. Talk about taste in the rainbow. What we're doing is inviting people to reimagine color through the fruits of the rainbow.”
There is also a space for uplifting and nurturing young people.
“Sometimes people are just sick and tired of being abused and just being looked at as less than human,” said Porter. “We within the black community have been taught to pull each other down. We've only seen images of that, and so the new narratives that we have are like, 'Look, I'm helping you and you're helping me.'”
Porter adds that in today's times, a lot of children are seeing images of Black people being killed and they're seeing them being portrayed in a negative light.
This is where the Melanin Day School Academy comes in.
“It provides a safe space, not only for the youth, for the adults too. It's awesome to experience and see when you now see generational healing happen,” said Porter. “That's why this space is so important.”
To learn more about the Melanin Day School Academy, click here.
