In the wake of George Floyd’s death, his sister Bridgett Floyd has decided to carry on his legacy through a newly-launched internship program for young Black men at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
The Be His Legacy Internship Program — co-created by the George Floyd Memorial Foundation — is an “innovative new program designed to provide hands-on experiences through community outreach, targeted educational programs, and intentional reform initiatives to eliminate police brutality, promote social justice, and protect the civil rights of all people of color,” according to its website.
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The program — which is available to students of Texas A&M’s African American Male Mentorship Program — is meant to provide sound opportunities for career and personal development, the school shares.
According to the program’s website, a select number of virtual internship opportunities will be offered to qualified undergraduate and graduate students enrolled full-time at Texas A&M University-Commerce as well as to members of the African-American Male Mentorship Program.
“AAMMP encourages Black male students to actively engage in the university experience, develop leadership skills, and successfully graduate and become future industry leaders,” the university reported in a statement.
Program participants will be able to experience hands-on learning opportunities from industry experts through a virtual speaker series in which interns can interact with leaders from all over the country.
According to a statement from Jayson Douglas — associate director of the Office of Intercultural Engagement and Leadership — the program will also “provide a one-of-a-kind experience for Black men who are interested in all aspects of civic engagement, education and justice–from voter engagement and education to PR, marketing, lobbying and fundraising.”
Bridgett Floyd, President of George Floyd’s memorial foundation, shared additional information about the program in a news release stating “Interns will work on cutting-edge projects with real-world relevance while receiving mentorship from some of the brightest minds in the fields of education, government, law and the non-profit sector.”
The mission for the program is to not only provide a brighter future for young Black scholars, but build upon the legacy that George Floyd and his namesake have grown to be.
“This program is all about intentionality–being intentional about increasing and preparing the next generation of our African American male leaders to change the world as we know it today,” said Crystal Hardeman-Ikem, director of Intercultural Engagement and Leadership at A&M-Commerce, in a statement.
Applications for the Spring 2021 internship program are now open.
For more information about the Be His Legacy Internship Program, click here.