"A Big Family Reunion"

Given my profession, I get a first-hand look at all the interrelated dynamics that impact student achievement. Some kids just have the right recipe for success: supportive family, financial stablility, positive and productive role model(s). Unfortunately, far too many kids don't have that which I why I spend countless hours trying to at least provide the latter portion of that list.  Although a positive role model plays a major part, parentage is by far the most important, in my opinion. Over the past three years as a so-called "life coach" for young males (particulary African American), I've witnessed much of the negative aspect of this equation: parents who make excuses for their sons' underachievement, parents who have literally given up, parents who condone certain counterproductive behaviors. I've witnessed alot of foolery. But there is, however, a glimmer of hope.
 I also met moms that would rather be skinned and ducktaped to a moving train on a crash collision with mountain before her son ends up as one of those dreadful "Black male" statistics. I have single mothers who are enrolling their sons into summer camps, after school tutoring and mentoring programs (me), staying active within the church, and forcing their sons to do volunteer work on occasion all to provide them with the same opportunities as those kids with the right "recipe" as I mentioned above. Enter Raekwon. This young man is definitely one of the glimmers of hope I see in today's younger generation. I read a book by John C. Maxell where he said, "You can't mentor all, only the few." The reality of the situation is that I can't save everybody. My dad told me that awhile ago. I can continue to mentor the 15-20 something kids I have, but most of my time, effort, money, and energy should go into a select few, kind of like DuBois "Talented Tenth" philosophy. Raekwon is one that I can definitely take under my wing and mold.
Today was my first time really bonding with him and we had a blast! I picked him up at 8 this morning to go with me to the Hosea Williams Feed the Homeless Foundation's big community event. They had a DJ out playing music while we set up maybe like 50 long tables and stocked them with hundreds, maybe even thousands of shoes, men and women clothes, toys, linen, and food. Needy people from the neighborhood would just come through and basically grab as much stuff they could carry and stuff in their cars. If they couldn't carry it all, Raekwon and I went to help them out. At the end of the day, Raekwon said, "Mr. Shakespeare, this is like a big family reunion." He's one of my "Talented Tenth".




Hosea Williams Feed the Homeless Foundation on Donnelly Ave., ATL. Hosea was actually apart of Dr. King's crew: Congressman John Lewis, Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, Bayard Rustin

 



Tables stockpiled with clothes, shoes, toys, linens, and electronics. We had to get here super early to set all this up.




We filled the large bins with tons of food. They were allowed to get 15 items of canned food, and four very large (about a month's supply) cans of green beans and white potatoes.




That's Raekwon helping an elderly woman carry her bag that was too heavy for her.





Bro. Raekwon was working hard!




Intense day for him so he had to take a quick breather.