“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
- Frederick Douglass
OUR MISSION
Living Manuals offers transformative learning experiences for Black youth through whole person development and skill building.
OUR VISION
We are fostering a generation of confident, grounded communities equipped for success in the world within and beyond traditional classroom learning.
The Problem
The public education system often perpetuates racism, anti-Blackness, prejudice, discrimination, and other systemic issues that negatively impact students’ learning environments. This abuse affects us all but has a particularly detrimental effect on Black youth. Current education initiatives commonly implemented often lack the necessary social and historical context to bring about meaningful change.
The Solution
BUILDING THE MIND
Living Manuals is committed to providing high-quality curriculum and programming like our existing Summer Institutes. We are laser-focused on high school-aged youth who find themselves in the crosshairs of the “Cradle to Prison Pipeline.” As a nonprofit organization, Living Manuals’ role is crucial in ensuring that all students and learning communities have access to this transformative and liberatory knowledge, regardless of funding constraints or limited resources.
The Living Manuals social and cultural curriculum focuses on
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International revolutionary Black History
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Self-defense
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Emergency medical training
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Permaculture & Homesteading
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Cooperative Economics & Financial literacy
These essential topics will build a generation of empowered youth with a strong connection to their identity and community.
BUILDING THE BODY & SOUL
Living Manuals focuses on; the wellness of our community by addressing the mental health needs of our youth through evidence-based wellness interventions, including yoga, nature immersion, and equestrian therapy. These interventions significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression while promoting emotional regulation and psychological resilience. Nature immersion provides a therapeutic environment that reduces stress and enhances mindfulness, contributing to mental clarity and emotional stability. Participants develop teamwork, communication, and social skills through group-focused skill-building and structured group sessions.
Collectively, these interventions offer a culturally relevant trauma-informed approach that equips participants with the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate systemic stressors, including the pervasive effects of racism and anti-Blackness in the public education system.
COMMUNITY
CULTURE
HEALTH
WELLNESS
Project Overview
Living Manuals is a collective of accomplished Black professionals who are passionately devoted to imparting cultural knowledge and critical life skills to the next generation. Our slogan - "Sharing skills that matter" - encapsulates our commitment to the empowerment of Black Youth. Our curriculum guides students to develop and implement meditative and reflective problem solving skills. Especially as it relates to mastery of one’s body & emotions.
Living Manuals has successfully delivered multiple week-long training institutes and weekend workshops.
Programs can be facilitated anywhere an adequate venue is available. We’ve established partnerships with communities and community organizations throughout the United States and abroad that are focused on serving Black youth.
In addition to providing in-person educational workshops, we plan to develop 4 written manuals. One for each subject set. These manuals will summarize the knowledge, practice, and expertise of our community's leaders. We aim to make this information publicly available and easily accessible.
Our Programs
MONTHLY WORKSHOPS
Weekend training seminar designed to provide a compact version of the Living Manuals curriculum with an emphasis on self-defense.
JUNETEENTH SUMMER INSTITUTE
Juneteenth Programming offered to middle and high school students from our community. The Summer Camp offers upper division material from our curriculum.
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BLACK AUGUST SUMMER INSTITUTE (BASI)
Week-long institute that offers an in-depth and personal learning experience with multiple professionals and an emphasis on personal and cultural development.
Why us?
While other nonprofits in the area offer programming and learning experiences, none possess the authentic knowledge, skills, resources, and industry expertise that Living Manuals brings.
Deeply rooted in the Black experience our co-founder Tyson Amir is a globally recognized leader in revolutionary education practices with an unparalleled resume when it comes to creating real change in learning communities.
Coach Canon
Co-founder | Living Manuals
“Through our engaging, real-world programming and collective experience as thought leaders in our fields of study and practice, we have developed a teaching methodology, culture, and approach authentically rooted in our youth’s lived experiences. The sharing of these skills and knowledge in a manner that fosters comprehension and retention in the bodies and minds of our youth allows them to build a new foundation and sense of self, thus producing a new generation of “Living Manuals” who use this knowledge to benefit themselves, their families, and their communities.
I am proud to be part of a movement striving to create a brighter tomorrow for future generations, one skill at a time.”
- Coach Canon
Tyson Amir
Co-founder | Living Manuals
“I launched my education consultancy firm FSMEI in 2016, and right away, I began to see many of the challenges our young people were facing, especially Black students in schools in the United States. Since 2016 my firm has worked with more than 50,000 students, worked with more than 60 different school district partners, and worked with more than 210 schools.
To address the challenges our young people are facing, I knew that we needed to do more off campus, outside of school hours, and beyond the school year. That is why we created Living Manuals, and our first offering was the Black August Summer Institute in 2022.”
- Tyson Amir
