On Thursday, September 17th, African Ancestry was invited to a graduation ceremony in mid-town Manhattan. But not the kind you might expect.

This was the culmination of a project called Journey For Change: Empowering Youth Through Global Service fostered by The Angelrock Project and its Founder and Director, Malaak Compton-Rock. Aimed at providing a life-changing experience for at-risk youth, Journey For Change targeted 30 youths from Bushwick (an area of Brooklyn) between the ages of 12 – 15 with the hopes of empowering them to live a life of purpose and service.

Last summer, all 30 youth traveled 8,000 miles to South Africa to volunteer in shantytowns and help disadvantaged children, while learning to appreciate the advantages they had here in the US.

We were touched and moved by these kids and their journey when we first saw it on CNN’s Black in America 2, so you can imagine our excitement when Malaak Compton-Rock reached out to us several weeks ago. As many of you know, we tested her husband, comedian, Chris Rock on PBS’ African American Lives I, and she wanted to give that same gift to these kids at their graduation ceremony.

It was quite a magical experience. Of the 30 students, 24 have African ancestry, 5 have Native American ancestry, and one has European ancestry. Watch CNN’s recap of the evening and interview with one of the teens, Donovan.

Below are also some pictures from the evening:

Malaak Compton-Rock

The boys of Journey for Change

The girls of Journey for Change

At African Ancestry, we believe that every young person should know their roots. Any field that they can dream of pursuing was created in Africa: dance, medicine, music, law, math, science…the list goes on. I encourage you to engage a young person in your life in an exploration of the African origins of one of their favorite things or subjects.

Thank you Malaak for allowing us to be part of this journey for change. Visit The Angelrock Project at www.angelrockproject.com.