By Robbi Hartt
Photo above: Three generations of powerful women (Shirley with her daughters, Akilah and Jernee, and granddaughter), by Jane Feldman

Shirley and Akilah Edgerton don’t just believe in youth power—they generate it.

Youth Alive, a community-based arts program Akilah and her friend Erika Young conceived when they were teens, just celebrated its 30th anniversary. The spinoff organization, R.O.P.E. (Rites Of Passage and Empowerment program), aimed at mentoring and confidence-building for young people of color who identify as female or nonbinary, is 15 years strong.

“Growing up, I was mentored by the women in my church, along with teachers and coaches,” explains Shirley, who, along with her husband, Bishop Jerome Edgerton, and Lydia Randolph, a family friend, helped the girls launch the program. Shirley has served as director for the last three decades.

“Akilah was involved with the arts from a young age,” Shirley says, “performing with a teen dance team when she was five.” Akilah was 13 when she started Youth Alive Step, Dance, and Drumline. “We performed at colleges, for Governor Duval Patrick’s inauguration, and even auditioned at the Apollo,” recalls Akilah. “Over time, Y.A. brought in educational speakers to address issues the kids were facing and help them tap into skills and develop self-worth.”

Recognizing that girls did not understand their full value, Shirley told her friends: “We need to support our young ladies.” She partnered with the Women of Color Giving Circle and Pittsfield Schools in 2010 to launch R.O.P.E., a mentoring program connecting adolescent girls with professional women of color. “When the girls asked for year-round support, we established monthly meetings focused on self-esteem, interests and skills, resilience and cultural competence, women’s history and the arts,” she says. In the late ’90s, they introduced and prepared the girls to apply to college and offered social, emotional, and financial support to ensure they graduated.

Youth Alive participated in the unveiling of the W. E. B. Du Bois sculpture in Great Barrington in July, 2025; by Jane Feldman

Akilah enrolled at North Carolina A&T State University and studied in Ghana during her junior year. “I gained a new appreciation for my ancestors and rich African history through identity mapping, cultural immersion, and sitting at the feet of elders,” she says. Building on the ties she formed as an undergraduate, as well as Shirley’s relationship with an orphanage in South Africa, the pair added a service-learning component to their programs in 2014, bringing girls to South Africa and Ghana on a biannual basis.

They are now helping young women secure internships and employment after college. The proof is in the pipeline: both the executive director of Berkshire County Head Start and the assistant manager of the Pittsfield Airport participated in Y.A./R.O.P.E. programs. “We’re in awe when we see the impact our organizations have today, in the community and beyond,” says Akilah.

Shirley adds: “We tell our young women, ‘Believe in yourself.’ And then we give them the tools to do it.”

Visit ropeberkshires.org to learn how you can support their work.