Birmingham Cultural Alliance Partnership
(B-CAP)
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Building a bridge between the city’s cultural resources and the next generation of citizens is at the heart of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s Cultural Alliance Partnership (B-CAP). Every year, this nationally recognized after-school program connects 200 inner-city youth and their families with the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and its community partners: the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham Public Library, McWane Science Center, Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, and the Southern Museum of Flight.
Through the arts and humanities, B-CAP reinforces classroom learning, promotes student achievement, nurtures personal development, and increases parents’ participation in their children’s education. B-CAP’s core program, Making Cultural Connections in Education (MCCE), reaches more than 30 students for an entire 8th grade semester. In partnership with the city’s flagship museums, MCCE stresses hands on learning and a multidisciplinary approach, with activities at the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and the Birmingham Museum of Art, among other historic sites and cultural centers. The program provides tours of collections and academic enrichment in social studies, language arts, fine arts, and applied science.
MCCE students perform original dramas, create artwork, write poetry, and design posters. Additionally, participants learn about the lives and work of Alabama quilters and African-American scientists and inventors, conduct oral interviews to construct their own family histories, and take part in a host of other interactive projects. Through these activities and presentations, the students apply their new knowledge and extend it with further research in their school library.
Given the success of MCCE, the program now includes after-school and summer academic support, as well as Parents Plus, a component that engages parents with their children and the city’s cultural organizations.
An evaluation of B-CAP reveals enhanced academic performance, from class participation to homework preparation, as well as dramatic improvements in behavior. Above all, the program provides young people with a safe, nurturing, and enriching environment, connecting them with the cultural life of their community.
| Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Focus: Multidisciplinary “The program makes a difference in the lives of the students and families who participate. I saw the faces of the children as they were learning new things about their own heritage and their city. That experience is priceless.” |