Mentors and students in The Echo Project gather in a living room for one of their weekly sessions, where conversations about literature, history, and identity foster connection and cultural empowerment.
In a sunlit living room in Alexandria, the furniture has been pushed aside to make room for a semi-circle of folding chairs. Teenagers sip from mismatched mugs, notebooks in their laps, while a low table is covered in printed speeches, paperback novels, and bold-font headlines clipped from recent news.
At the center of it all is a conversation — part literature discussion, part life talk — that’s both urgent and electric.
This is The Echo Project, a grassroots mentorship initiative launched earlier this year by a group of young Black professionals from Alexandria and Arlington. In response to recent shifts in educational policy that threaten the inclusion of African American narratives in school curricula, these volunteers created a program to fill in the gaps and uplift the voices often left out of the classroom.
“The goal is to make sure Black students see themselves in the stories they read — not just during Black History Month, but in every chapter of history,” says Maya Henderson, a co-founder and mentor.
The Echo Project pairs high school students with mentors who meet weekly in homes like this one to explore literature, history, and current events that shape their cultural identity. Each session revolves around a theme, like Voices Erased, which focuses on banned or marginalized texts, Power in Protest, which explores movements from the Civil Rights era to the present, and Building Legacy, which encourages students to imagine and shape their own futures.
These sessions go far beyond book discussions. Students and mentors analyze primary sources, study oral histories, and talk openly about how it feels to grow up in a world where representation is often an afterthought — or actively suppressed.
“Some of the kids told us they’d never read anything by Toni Morrison in school,” says David Alston, a mentor who grew up in Alexandria. “They didn’t know about Angela Davis. They’d never heard of Fred Hampton. That’s not an accident, it’s policy. And we’re here to push back.”
The project is also a direct response to the rollbacks in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies sweeping across the country, policies that have left many educators hesitant to discuss race, culture or identity for fear of backlash. In that silence, The Echo Project offers not just information, but community.
“I used to think history was just dates and wars,” says 16-year-old mentee Nia Bell. “Now I know history includes my family, my neighborhood, the books they don’t teach us in school. That changes everything.”
Sessions often result in creative student work — poetry, spoken word pieces, podcast segments, or even mock public hearings. And beyond academic enrichment, the program emphasizes civic education, teaching students how local school board decisions connect to national debates, and how to make their voices heard.
“I’ve never had a space like this before,” says Amir, a junior from Arlington. “We talk about what’s happening in the world and in school, and the mentors actually listen. It makes me want to show up and speak out.”
Mentors guide students in writing letters to school officials, preparing public comments, and attending board meetings. They see this as essential because curriculum is not just about facts, but about which voices are amplified and which are erased.
“We’re not just talking about the past,” says Maya. “We’re preparing these kids to be the ones who shape the future.”
Though still new, The Echo Project has already mentored over two dozen students, with plans to expand into neighboring school districts. It’s powered by community donations, borrowed living rooms, and a deep belief that young Black students deserve more than token representation; they deserve truth, depth, and inspiration.
“The Echo Project is about reclaiming space,” Maya says. “It’s about showing Black students that their stories aren’t side notes, they’re center stage. And they always have been.”