Crenshaw High students are China bound

Forty-five excited students from Crenshaw High School visited Los Angeles City Hall Friday morning to formally announce their upcoming 10-day trip to China.

The mid-July trip, organized by the Los Angeles Urban League, will challenge students to serve as ambassadors for Los Angeles while learning about the global economy in what, for most, will be their first time traveling outside of the country, or even the state.

The Los Angeles Urban League has led two delegations of African American leadership groups to China before in 2006 and 2010, but this will be the first trip they have organized for high school students.

“Hopefully this can become an annual tradition,” Urban League spokesperson Anthony Holguin said.

The L.A. Urban League has been promoting student leadership at Crenshaw High School as part of their Neighborhoods@Work initiative. It was from those leadership groups that about 20 students were hand-selected for the Crenshaw2China cultural exchange program.

The students have been participating in 10 weeks of courses in preparation for their journey, including lessons in Mandarin language and Chinese culture. They’ve also participated in African American history courses taught by representatives from an African American heritage group, the Kinsey Collection, to better help them share something of their own culture with their counterparts from Beijing's Renmin University.

The Crenshaw High Choir’s appearance on MSNBC’s national program "Morning Joe" earlier in June caught the attention of an anonymous donor who then sponsored the whole choir to join in on the China trip as well. With only about a month’s notice that they would be able to participate in the trip, choir members are now scrambling to organize their travel arrangements, but all of them readily accepted the generous offer.

“I didn’t even have to think about it, I just said yes right away!” said choir member and 10th grader, Brittany Prevost. For Brittany, like many of her peers, this trip will be her first time ever traveling on an airplane.

“It’s more than just building a resume; they’re sparking an interest in what’s happening in the world,” Urban League President, Blair Taylor said, “They’re learning to form 21st century relationships.”

The gathering at City Hall served not only as a send-off for the students, but also for Eighth District Councilman, Bernard Parks, whose district includes Crenshaw High School. It was Parks' first day of his final term on the LA City council, and he was surprised by with a performance by the Crenshaw choir as he left his chambers.