Black Studies professor and Tech Founder moms collaborate on Thrive Culture Box Solution
Is there a better gift than Black culture? This holiday season you can give children ages four and over the gift of learning more about Black Culture. Two Los Angeles based moms, Dr. Anndretta Lyle and Stacy Kirk, who are experts in cultural education and technology respectively, have come together with a solution called Thrive Culture Box.
Children and families can celebrate Black culture and how to uplift our communities together in an exciting new way. Family members, caregivers, and friends who purchase the subscription service at www.ThriveCultureBox.com will get a new activity box delivered every month with corresponding instructional videos and lessons.
Describing the first box from the Black inventors’ debut series, Kirk said, “This one is so thrilling — it’s all about Black inventors who shaped history. Each month, kids dive into a fun and interactive online course with physical course tools and games featuring groundbreaking Black inventors, from the genius behind the most effective traffic light to pioneers in medicine and technology. Did you know that a Black inventor perfected the formula for ice cream?”
Related Stories:
https://lasentinel.net/south-l-a-community-enjoys-wlcacs-watts-culture-fest.html
https://lasentinel.net/peoples-garden-in-compton-hosts-national-women-in-agriculture-conference.html
This new offering combines the best of tech, the best of education, and the best of Black culture. Dr. Lyle noted, “We are not only teaching history— we are working with families to spark innovation and confidence in the next generation. And as both a parent and an educator I wanted children to have more than just videos and digital learning. With Thrive Culture Box kids get to use their hands and exercise creativity with physical materials as well.”
Lyle had spent almost a decade teaching Black Studies and Performance Studies to college students in Los Angeles and the Bay Area. She taught at UCLA, USC, and CSU East Bay. Across all of those campuses and demographics her students often had the same question – “Why wasn’t I taught this sooner?”
There was some promising movement happening around the California Ethnic Studies requirement, but ultimately that would only include high school students. Lyle started developing a solution for young Black learners and their families.
In 2019, with a small child of her own, and another on the way, she developed the Black Arts and Performance Summer Day Camp (www.BlackArtsCamp.com) to teach her modified Black Studies curriculum designed for young learners through the arts and performance. The summer camp takes place in View Park and families have come from as far as Nevada to participate. While continuing the camp (now accepting 2025 registration), this demand helped Dr. Lyle to understand that our communities need a more scalable solution.
Kirk then brought the momentum and drive of tech entrepreneurship to move things along more quickly. Kirk is an entrepreneur, business strategist, and passionate advocate for diversity in education. She brings her business savvy to education to reach more families who need solutions.
She remarked, “One thing I’ve learned from running QualityWorks is that scalability matters. It’s not just about having a great idea – it’s about making it accessible to as many people as possible. Thrive Culture Box is built with that in mind.
“We’re creating a system where any family, regardless of location, can access tools to teach their kids about Black history and culture. It’s about expanding the impact.”
Kirk was one of the first parents to send her child to Lyle’s summer camp and was familiar with the curriculum and liked the results that she had witnessed first-hand.
Families can join order box subscriptions or join waiting lists at www.ThriveCultureBox.com and also follow Thrive Culture Box on Instagram for updates at alerts at www.instagram.com/thriveculturebox. For instructional videos and lessons, find Thrive Culture Box on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@thriveculturebox.
