Brandon Trowel, executive assistant for Black Youth Leadership Project presented at the Victory in Unity Celebration, hosted by Chico State, on Sunday.

Established in 1999 and incorporated in 2001, Black Youth Leadership Project  provides “invaluable experiential learning and exclusive Capitol access to participants,” according to their website and Trowel. 

BYLP will host their third annual Black History Month Open House on Thursday from 6-8 p.m. at 9300 West Stockton Blvd., Ste. 205, in Elk Grove.

“Black is not monolithic … The idea of ‘acting Black’ has a range broader than what people really realize. A lot of what can be Black that is portrayed in the media isn’t always Black; it’s a shaving, a speck of what Black can be for those that make those choices, but Black is so much more,” Trowel said.  

The project will host their Legislative Open House on March 21, 2025 where students are invited to learn about public policy while sitting in the seats of California legislators, at the California Capitol Building in Sacramento.

Mock-legislative sessions allow participants to introduce legislation, lobby for or against bills and administrate committee hearings.

C. Nicholas Kepler can be reached at [email protected].