Civil Rights History Meets Youth Leadership: BDI’s Bending the Arc Now Accepting Student Applications

Members of the 2024-25 Bending the Arc cohort, accompanied by Executive Director Julie Matus and Director of Learning Edna Sherrell, gather around the Selma sign with the Edmund Pettus Bridge in the background in March 2025. Photo by Michael Kinsey.

SARASOTA, Fla. — Sept. 3, 2025 — The Boxser Diversity Initiative (BDI) is now accepting applications for the second year of Bending the Arc, its immersive Civil Rights history and youth leadership program for high school students in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

In 2024, Bending the Arc welcomed its first cohort of 20 students from nine local schools. Over six months, participants studied the Civil Rights Movement with Pulitzer Prize-winning authors and historians, built lasting friendships across diverse communities and traveled to Alabama to visit pivotal historic sites — including the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma and the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. Its first year demonstrated the program’s power to connect students with history while helping them see their role in shaping the future.

This year’s program builds on that success with significant support from Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation, which committed $225,000 in 2024 to launch Bending the Arc. These investments ensure the program can continue giving students access to the kinds of transformational experiences that defined its first year.

“With the extraordinary generosity of Barancik Foundation and so many others, we are able to invest deeply in the next generation of leaders,” said Julie Matus, BDI executive director. “These partnerships make it possible for students to not only learn history where it happened, but also to discover their own power to carry that legacy forward.”

Dan Boxser, BDI co-founder and board chair, added: “When we created BDI, we believed that young people are capable of transforming communities when given the tools and experiences to see themselves as part of history. Bending the Arc does exactly that, and the growth we saw in our first cohort proved just how powerful this journey can be.”

Teri A Hansen, CEO of Barancik Foundation, said, “Barancik Foundation is honored to support Bending the Arc. By bringing history to life in such a meaningful way, this program inspires students to see themselves as changemakers and reminds all of us that education is critical for shared understanding and greater social cohesion.”

Applications are free and open to high school sophomores, juniors and seniors in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Selected students commit to a six-month journey of immersive learning, community dialogue and leadership development, culminating in an all-expenses-paid trip to Alabama’s key Civil Rights sites and a community showcase of student-led projects.

Key dates

• September 1, 2025: Applications open

• September 30, 2025: Applications due

• October 15, 2025: Students notified

• October 26, 2025: Program begins

Applications are available now at BoxserDiversityInitiative.org/Apply.

For questions or more information, contact Executive Director Julie Matus at Julie@BoxserDiversityInitiative.org.