2010-2011 Reflection

I made a ton of missteps during my first year of doing this program.  I didn’t have a clear vision, mission, objectives, or goals.  My boys simply stayed after to hear me spew my ideologies about the condition of Black men in America and how we could “do better”. Sometimes the topic of discussion didn’t come to me until the day of the meeting, there were no structured activities, and I didn't give them a lot of exposure, successful leaders in the community and trips. The next year was different, obviously.  We got involved in the community a lot more, I planned a few activities, and I began putting serious thought into the discussions we had.  That particular year, communication skills were the big thing. Week after week I taught them the skills to effective debating tactics, meeting and greeting people, how to project your voice when speaking, and several other things of that nature. As you can tell, I had a little bit more direction. I had a local police officer come in to speak, my good friend Rodney Kellum came to help out once in a while, and I also had a little help from a guy that has a VERY successful mentoring program in Gwinnett County, GA. His name is Mr. Barrington Hart, founder of Turn Around Coaching. The year proved to be much better than my first year.  However, this past school year, 2010-2011 proved to be the best yet.

This is Officer Samuel. He came in to speak about the affects of peer pressure, alcohol and drug abuse, and other aspects of the law.

He gave them his personal cell number just in case they needed it.

Mr. C. Barrington Hart, founder of Turn Around Coaching. I met him at a Starbucks working with a young fellow that I used to work with. The year I had him, the boy either was kicked out of school or his mother pulled him out; I can't really remember which.

During the summer of 2010, before school started, I sat down and wrote out vision and mission statement, objectives, motto, and goals (you can see them on the tab at the top of this page). Although I went through several name changes (Men of Distinction, and a few others I completely forgot and have no desire to recall them; they were terrible), I finally settled on one that I think embodies everything I try to teach them: Young B.r.o.t.h.a.s. (Buiding Roads of Opportunity TogetHer Avoiding the Stereotype).  I wrote up rules and guidelines for the program, and I even created a curriculum that I would follow where each month would focus on a theme found in my mission and vision statements.  As a matter of fact, one of my new "friends" on Facebook, drew up a cool logo for me.

Mr. Rodney Kellum continued to help whenever and wherever he could, and I found another guy by the name of Kentrell Hutton who has also been a big help.  I think my boys learned a lot this year and especially enjoyed all the fun outings we had: playing basketball after school, and all the professional sports games we attended. With a new sense of direction, helpful partners, supportive teacher staff at school, wonderful parents, we ended up getting so much accomplished this year:

Community Service:

·        Hosea Feed the Hungry Community Events (passing out food, household items, toys, and clothes to needy families)

·        Open Hands (prepared 782 hot meals for needy families in the metro-Atlanta area)

·        Southern Plantation Senior Home (provided excellent company for the elderly)

·        Martin Luther King Day March

·        St. Francis Soup Kitchen (serving the homeless, kitchen help)

Academics and Behavior Accomplishments

·        Four students received academic honors this school year.

·        Each young man has a tracking record to be taken to each class to monitor behavior.  Since this implementation, 14-17 students have had no detentions or referrals for serious offenses.

·        Most students have exhibited classroom academic improvements; two students are recognized each week for grade improvements and commitment to community service.

2011-2012 Goals

·        Fundraising—would like the raise about $1,000

·        Book Studies: Letters to a Young Brother by Hill Harper; We Beat the Street by Sampson Davis, et al

·        Atlanta Museum of High Art—exposure to something different

·        Cool notepads for all brothas to take notes during group meetings

·        Clark-Atlanta Museum of African Art

·        Susan B. Koman Breast Cancer 5K

·        Bow ties J

·        More effective tracking system for homework completion and behavior

• Official non-profit status and webpage



I submitted a list of accomplishments to Turner Broadcasting and they rewarded us with fifty tickets to see the Atlanta Braves play the Phillies with a free Ludacris concert (DJ Khaled had a cameo). This was Civil Rights day so they also paid homage to the Negro League.




Two of my HIGH achievers: Tarron and Xander. Both young brothas make straight A's and have NEVER been a discipline problem. Each week I reward boys for behavior and academic improvement. Their prize is a free copy of Hill Harper's Letter to a Young Brother.




My final presentation for the 2010-11 school year: 4 types of people. Yea, I know it's messy; my penmanship is much better than that.



This is young Sadik. He was heading to his band performance while I was heading to Cross-Country running practice.

Young Brothas who presented no behavior problems and significant improvements in their grades were rewarded with a trip to see the Braves play. It got rained out though.

Planting seeds, cultivating dreams: Exclusive tour of Turner Broadcasting, home of CNN and NBA TV!

As educators, mentors, parents, big brothers, uncles and everyone else in between, when it comes to making a lasting impact on our youth, one of our main responsibilities is seed planting. Of course I don't mean that literally, unless you're a farmer or something like that, but the seeds I'm talking about are seeds of hope, of dreams, aspirations, goals, guidance, and direction. I would like to say that we helped sow a few of these on our recent trip to Turner Broadcasting’s headquarters in Atlanta thanks to Mr. Rodney Kellum. (Sidenote: Kellum is responsible for a few of our fun outings: Atlanta Thrashers hockey game, Atlanta Hawks game, Turner Broadcasting) 

I didn’t know what to expect from this tour and neither did any of our young me; to our amazement, however, this turned out to be one of the most exciting field trips that any of us had ever been on. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, but I must add this: there were several of our boys that pulled me to the side and said, “Mr. Shakespeare, I think I know what I wanna do when I get older.” Or, “Shakespeare, what I gotta do to go to college for a job like this?”  

We were not allowed to take pictures when inside the facility, but I do have just a few to share. Make sure you read the captions...

 

I don't think my brothas realized the expansiveness of the Turner Corporation, founded by Mr. Ted Turner, one of the most wealth men in America. Turner Broadcasting brings many of our favorite tv programs to our televisions everyday including some BET shows such as The Monique Show (but I don't think anyone actually enjoys watching that one).




This replica of Conan O'Brien is made completely of Lego pieces. I thought it was pretty cool. Who would sit there and do something like this?  





The Ben10 bike from the cartoon show. I don't watch cartoons, but the boys knew what it was. I thought it was Ted Turner's bike or something. SMH.

 



I had to sneak in a shot after we toured one buildings of the Turner campus. It's called a campus for reason, the facility is huge, like a college campus. That's Bro. Kellum with the purple shirt on, graduate of Alabama &M and now some kind of video technician for Turner Broadcasting. I just figured I'd add that in there somewhere. It seems apropos.

 



The highlight of the evening.  We actually were on the set of NBA TV, the same studio where Charles Barkely and Kenny Smith give the game commentary! We all took turnes sitting in Barkley's chair pretending to host the show as he does. Behind them is the huge touchscreen that Kenny Smith uses for his play-by-play analysis. The backstage mechanics told us it costs $2.5 million!!

 


This is on the set of NBA Game time, another show broadcasted by Turner. We didn't get a chance to sit at the round table here because the show personalities were getting ready to go on and they didn't want us to mess up something.




Here's another look at the NBATV studio we were in.



Turner requires highly educated techinical professionals to man the audio and video equipment. The technicians, editors, and producers we met all encouraged the boys to pursue careers in computer information technology, media production, and even art to secure a job at Turner. I really appreciate them taking the time out of their schedules, on the clock, to speak to the boys about how cool their particular job was. For instance, there is a crew whose sole job is to watch NBA game after NBA game and determine which highlights to show during playbacks! Imagine that; getting paid to watch professional sports contests. Some of them even get flown out to NBA Allstar Weekend and the Finals to do "techy" stuff.



Afterwards, we took them out to Pizza Hut for a little fraternizing and eating.
Pictured left to right: Matthew, Tariq, Damonne (showing off his shirt), Steven, and Travis (cut off the pic)




L to R: Belal, Sadiq (the funniest kid I ever met), John David




Here's another crew playing Uno while we waited on our pizza, wings, and cheesesticks.
L to R: (top): Phillip, Xander, Timothy
L to R (bottom): Mekhi, Rashad



L to R: Belal, Sadiq, Xander, Damonne, Phillip, Bro. Rodney Kellum, Steven, Timothy, Tariq, Matthew, Rashad, Travis, Pastor Scott McCrary, Mekhi, Johnathan. Pastor Scott is co-pastor of The Faith Church, Atlanta, Georgia along with his wife, Prophetess Tyear Scott. He's a great guy. If you're ever in the Atlanta area, look him up and make sure you hear the man speak!

A Reward for Positive and Produtive Habits: Atlanta Hawks vs. Orlando Magic

Fostering postive and productive habits is a difficult task. You have to get creative. That's when I created a system of demerits to help me keep track of behavioral issues in the classroom.  All they have to do is take around a tracking sheet to each teacher and he/she simply places a check mark beside one of the targeted behaviors. The student returns the sheet to me at the end of the day and I out how many demerits he's accumlated throughout the day. If he acquires so many points within any given week, he can't attend the next upcoming meeting and special outing. I also directly email their teachers and sometimes parents to see how they're doing. Kids do try to trick the system so I can't always rely on the behavior sheets.
As an incentive to pursue academic excellence and self-discipline in the classroom (and even at home) I told them I would reward positivity with a FREE trip to see the Atlanta Hawks play the Orlando Magic! He had to show persistence in improving his grade point average, attend one or more community service projects, and demonstrate a committment towards brotherhood. Bro. Rodney Kellum (AAMU/Turner Broadcasting) was gracious enough to provide the tickets and help chaperone. The students who were selected to go on the trip are as follows:

• Xander Thiel
• Damonne M.
• Travis Irving
• Jermain Donchance
• Belal Daoud
• Raekwon Johnson
• Jonathan David



Kneeling: Xander and I
Standing L-R: Johnathan, Travis, Belal, Rodney Kellum and young son Randal, Damonne, Jermain, Raekwon



Dwight Howard SUCKED tonight! He couldn't buy a bucket...



I can't remember if this was before or after then game, but if it was afterwards, this was right beforeDominique WIlkins got into a fight that left his heckler with what looked lke an extra knee on his face! LOL!






While we were taking the group pic above, this idiot was playing "Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em" Robot with Domonique Wilkins.!





This was an memorable trip because almost all these guys had never been to an NBA basketball game! However, once the game was over, Jermain confidently said, "Mr. Shakespeare, now that I've been to a game, I think it's easier to get to the NBA than I thought it was!" I just looked at him. SMH :(





Turned out to be an excited game. We had a lot of good laughs, some memorable moments that we'll be talking about for months, maybe years from now. Special thanks to Belal who fell and almost clobbered this lady sitting below us.

Special thanks: Bros. Rodney Kellum and Kentrell Hutton

Young & Successful, Black & Professional: Bro. Jerrod Owens

The  title "Young, Successful, Black, and Professional" are four words usually associated with today's superstars: LeBron, D.Wade, and any other NFL and NBA player our kids idolize. Speaking of idolization, we can throw in guys like Lil' Wayne, Drake, Gucci Mane, and Young Jeezy in this category as well.  The media has created an overrepresentation of our "Young, Successful, Black, and Professional" entertaining brothers an underrepresentation in the of successful, young brothers in academic community, or even in the fine arts. Through the lenses of some of our younger brothers, success is equated with superstardom, money, clothes, girls, a ball in one hand, and/or a microphone in the other. 
A couple of weeks ago, I brought in a good frat brother of mine and fellow AAMU Bulldog, Bro. Jerrod Owens.  Jerrod, originally from Atlanta, GA., came to share some insighful words of wisdom to our brothers as a representative of what I call the "I'm a part of the 25+ NOT Still Trying to be a Rapper or Athlete Club." [Disclaimer: I have no problem with men pursuing rapping or athletic careers. I just wish we would all put more time, money, and energy into giving more academically-related options to young people (or skills-related oppotunities)]  
Jerrod is an engineer for one of the most successful techonology companies in the country, Lockheed Martin.  He talked about the true value of an education, the fact that he cannot respect a man that doesn't respect his teachers and parents, and the importance of a presentable image.   See pics below:

This is Bro. Khalil waiting for his food. Mr. Owens brought hot wings for everyone!

Notice the quote on the board that I make ALL my students write down.

Bro. Owens had the complete attention of everyone in the room.

An egaging speakers interacts with the audience.

My namesake, Jermain (without the "e") is awarded with the "Call Me Mister" Award which recognizes brothas who exhibit certain qualities such as leadership, a strive towards acdemic excellence, and committment to community service.

Back to HFTH (Hosea Feed the Hungry)

This past weekend, Raekwon and I decided to revisit HFTH since we had such a memorable experience the last time we went. This time, however, we brought another one of our brothas: Jermain "High School" Donchance (He earned the name "High School" after he tried to shoot a little game at a rather attractive grown woman who was also volunteering. Needless to say, she figured out he wasn't in high school, but we all got a nice laugh out of it anyway.)  Volunteering at HFTH is hard work. We began our day around 8 a.m. and finished up around 3. It literally took us 3 hours just to set up the tables and stockpile them with hundreds of shoes, clothes, toys, food, computers, books, and miscellaneous household accessories.



Jermain trying to get a quick break before we get back to work setting up the tables for our clients.


 While we set up, our clients line up in the front of the building waiting to get in. Since we're giving out free stuff, people began lining up as early as 8:30 a.m. just to be one of the first. The line stretched about a blokc down the street! While they waitied outside in line, it was Jermain and Raekwon's job to offer our clients cold, bottled water. At the time, Jermain didn't know the full extent of the severity of the "poverty mentality".  People were getting extremely agressive over free water bottles. Some were trying to snatch it from him, others would request two or three bottles at a time, and others caused a ruckus claiming they didn't get any water when they knew they did.

 

When the people are finally allowed to come in, they're giving a number typed on a small piece of paper. They use this to ensure no one tries to steal food. Believe it or not, there were people trying to steal FREE stuff. Clients proceed down the walkway we created for them picking up as much stuff they could carry in these large, trash bags.



Donated electronics: computers, copy/fax machines, VCRs, DVD players.




Clients were allowed to take home 15 canned good including fresh meat. They got 2 whole slabs of ribs and some neckbones. The amount of food there was ridiculous! This picutre doesn't do it enogh justice.



Jermain and Raekwon were also in charge of controlling the flow of traffic in the area. After our clients finished picking up their items, they had to have someone with a vehicle come in so we could load it all up for take home.




They took home a WHOLE CASE of bottle water AND gallon water!

 In the end, we helped out 98 families! Exhausted and hungry, we grabbed a bite to eat at Buger King. Before I took them home, I felt it necessary for them to really see what it was like in the dilapidated neighborhoods of Atlanta, a far cry away from the suburbs of Gwinnett County. We took a stroll through some of the housing projects and other neighborhoods in West End and Bankhead. We seen kids playing outside with dirty clothes on; we seen the drug dealers standing on the corners; we seen real poverty. It was an eye-opening experience for the boys. It was even Jermain who said, "Knowing the type of person I am, I wouldn't survive down here. I'm glad my momma moved us to Gwinnett. Kids don't realize how good they got it over there."