b.o.s.s. iNTERN mAKAYLA mCKINNEY INTERVIEWS cOUNTY PROSECUTOR ELECT ELI SAVIT

At age 16, MaKayla McKinney is learning about gentrification, the county prosecutor's role in local law enforcement, and how to promote Black businesses — concepts that even many adults have a hard time mastering. She's getting this education in civics through a social justice summer camp started by local artist Gina Danene Thompson and offered to participants in Ypsilanti-based nonprofit Mentor 2 Youth.

"We're learning how to deal with politics, collaborate with other groups, and we're learning about gentrification within the city of Ypsilanti," McKinney says. The youth have also started making a map to show "the landscape of Black-owned businesses" in Washtenaw County, she says.

The summer camp, a texting campaign to keep participants informed, and a program to empower parents of at-risk youth are just a few of the new initiatives at Mentor 2 Youth, whose focus is positively impacting the lives of disadvantaged youth in southeast Michigan.