| Black Male Activists/Leaders/Servants in Detroit and Philadelphia Win Leadership Awards and Support "There is no cavalry coming to save the day in black communities in America. The answers we're looking for reside right within the hearts, hands, and heads of community residents." Shawn Dove, manager of the Open Society Foundations Campaign for Black Male Achievement | | | Press Release Black Male Engagement (BME) Award Winners Receive a Combined $443,000 to Strengthen Communities January 24, 2012 NEW YORK -Twenty men-teachers, businessmen, writers and pastors-have been named winners of the BME Leadership Award, created to honor black men in Philadelphia and Detroit who step up to lead the community. "There is no cavalry coming to save the day in black communities in America. The answers we're looking for reside right within the hearts, hands, and heads of community residents," said Shawn Dove, manager of the Open Society Foundations Campaign for Black Male Achievement, which is helping to sponsor the award. "BME recognizes black men and boys as assets to the community, not as problems to be solved, and we're thrilled to be a partner in this strategy." The BME Challenge offers the winners a combined $443,000 with the aim of inspiring others to step forward to strengthen their communities. The funding will pair young people with senior citizens and culinary experts to plant vegetable gardens in vacant lots, equip new fathers parenting skills, provide therapy for autistic children, help veterans find services, and more. The winners' stories, and information on their projects, are below. See and share videos of them at bmechallenge.org. The BME Leadership Award is part of the BME Challenge, which is pronounced "Be Me" and stands for Black Male Engagement. BME is led by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in partnership with the Open Society Campaign for Black Male Achievement. Earlier this year, BME asked local black men and boys in its two pilot cities to share the stories of what they do to make their communities stronger. More than 2,000 people in Detroit and Philadelphia submitted personal video and written testimonials, viewable at bmechallenge.org. Those who shared their stories were then eligible to apply for funding through the BME Leadership Award. BME is an ongoing initiative that seeks to recognize, reinforce and reward black males who engage others in making communities stronger. "The award shines a light on a truth that we need to remember: there are thousands of black men in these cities who choose to make it a stronger and better place to live for all of us," said Trabian Shorters, one of the leaders behind the BME Challenge, which sponsors the award. "Perhaps if we tell their stories and others decide to support their efforts, you will see more and more black men and boys willing to follow their example." This spring, BME will be looking for local partnerships in Detroit and Philadelphia to encourage more black males to positively engage in their communities. This summer, BME will conduct another call for stories, to be followed in the fall by a call for a new round of applications to the BME Leadership Award. The winners of the 2012 Black Male Engagement Leadership Award in Detroit are: Connor survived cancer as a young teenager and has since dedicated his life to serving as a teacher and mentor, working through schools and media to help young people understand their potential. Project: Connor will lead book clubs at schools and at off-site field trips to expose Detroit teenagers to important life skills and character traits that he has embraced during his life. ($10,000) Dandridge is a law school graduate who helps small businesses overcome legal obstacles. As a young parent himself, he founded New Young Fathers, a local initiative to help equip young men with the skills they need to be great dads. Project: Dandridge will lead a series of in-depth workshops that New Young Fathers will conduct across the city. The workshops are designed to better prepare young men for fatherhood and help them become more aware of their potential. ($25,000) Ellis was in prison when his life was transformed by reading the biography of Reginald Lewis - lawyer, investor, philanthropist, and the wealthiest black man of his day. Project: The Reginald Francis Lewis Reading Academy will strive to improve literacy, civic responsibility, and academic achievement at Martin Luther King, Jr. High School. Each enrolled student will read and write a self-affirming essay on the Reginald Lewis biography and "Lonely At The Top" a new e-memoir by his daughter, Christina Lewis-Helpern, and be exposed to a literacy mentor; 30 boys will participate in a competitive college readiness program at Michigan State University. ($40,000) Kumane is a manager in the auto industry who volunteers at local schools through Big Brothers Big Sisters Detroit. Project: Drawing on his network in schools and in the corporate community, Kumane will lead a project to expose 100 young people to the business world. They'll meet with 20 local businesses, learn how the businesses work, and devise a plan for an enterprise they'd like to start. ($25,000) After coming out as a gay man with HIV/AIDS, Lipscomb began helping young people around him take action against discrimination. Project: Lipscomb will oversee the LEAD project, which will facilitate an in-depth training of 22 young Detroiters to become more effective advocates of social issues facing the city's LGBT community. ($20,000) Pope is a global career development facilitator and motivational life coach who advises and volunteers for various community projects in his neighborhood and the city. Project: Pope will launch Be Exposed, a program to inspire ambition in young people by exposing them to new cultural and social activities, including shows, restaurants, and field trips to new cities. ($5,000) Senghor started writing while he was incarcerated and later developed a career as an author and speaker who inspires young people with his voice. Project: Senghor will launch and oversee the Live in Peace Digital and Literary Arts Project, which will coach young people on how to fully express their life stories across media. The project will result in each young person creating his or her personal "anthology" of stories. ($25,000) Shakur is a formerly incarcerated person who has become a well-known community activist focused on youth empowerment in a Detroit neighborhood known as Zone 8. Project: Shakur will increase the impact of the cyber café he has opened in his neighborhood by providing literacy classes, digital training, and school supplies to young people in the neighborhood. ($10,000) Talbert, a former media executive, is now a pastor devoting himself to mentoring youth in Detroit's Brightmoor neighborhood. Project: Talbert will lead Rescue 51, an initiative of four BME Challenge participants to develop literacy skills, character, and a knowledge of health and wellness issues for 51 children in Detroit's Brightmoor neighborhood. ($20,000) Westbrooks is an advertising executive who founded Detroit Comeback Kids, which offers young Detroiters innovative, project-based experiences across the city. Project: Through Detroit Comeback Kids, Westbrooks will help kids plant vegetable gardens in unused lots across the city by matching young Detroiters with local culinary arts experts and senior citizens who own vacant lots they seek to beautify. Small vegetable stands will offer extra produce to the community. ($20,000) The winners of the 2012 BME Leadership Award in Philadelphia are: Corbin is a teacher who integrates hip-hop, spoken word, and poetry into his classroom lessons to help better reach students. He also founded the Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement. Project: Corbin will launch The Legacy Project, which will explore the multi-layered experience of Black men through a one-man theatrical performance and community workshops. ($25,000) Dumas is the founder of DollarBoyz, a youth entertainment company, and CEO of Youth Now On Top (Y-Not). Project: Dumas will lead Y-Not Youth, an after-school program that offers a safe haven, dance instruction, and homework help. ($35,000) Hicks owns Ebony Suns Enterprises, a consulting business that provides social media training for youth and social entrepreneurship programming to schools and nonprofits. Project: Hicks will lead FLASH MOB, where young black men will learn how to create - and then implement - a business-branding campaign via social media. ($20,500) Jones, who was formerly incarcerated, works to reduce the amount of shootings in North Philadelphia by mentoring high-risk youth and mobilizing the community. Project: Jones will create a curriculum that helps prevents youth from going to prison and returning citizens from recidivating. ($35,000) While serving a 15-year prison sentence, Jones fought and won custody of his son. After his release, he founded Frontline Dads to help others in similar situations deal with custody and child support issues. The group also conducts a mentoring program for at-risk youth. Jones pursued a career as a therapist and has a master of human services degree. Project: Jones will launch the Frontline Dads Comprehensive Transformation Initiative, a mentoring/intervention program that fosters critical thinking skills, conflict resolution, creative expression, and counseling. ($20,000) Jones, who originally dropped out of college, overcame addiction and homelessness and pursued a degree and a career as an author of seven novels, an award-winning columnist, and a professor at Temple University. Project: Jones will expand Words on the Street literacy program, which aims to increase the literacy of more than 600 students through role modeling, workshops, and the opportunity to write a story that will be published in The Philadelphia Inquirer. ($20,000) Ari Merretazon
Merretazon is a Vietnam veteran who shared his life story in an anthology on black veterans and has since worked to help those returning from war. The movie "Dead Presidents" was loosely based on his life. Project: Merretazon will expand Pointman Soldiers Heart Ministry, a group of Vietnam and Desert Storm veterans, to help returning veterans from the Middle East find counseling, job services, and benefits. ($25,000) During his sophomore year in college, Peay founded the mentoring program Rising Sons. After losing interest in going to law school after graduation, he decided to bring his organization to Philadelphia and dedicate his life to help black males achieve their goals, dreams, and ambitions. Project: Peay will strengthen Rising Sons, an after-school program where recent college graduates and college students between 18-25 mentor boys at three Philadelphia public high schools. Rising Sons will also train students to mentor boys at two local elementary schools. ($4,650) Williams is the father of three children, one of whom is autistic. When he couldn't find services for autistic children in his neighborhood, he started his own. Project: Williams will expand Project Elijah Empowering Autism, an after-school program for middle-spectrum autistic students ages 8-14. The group will open a new facility in Philadelphia in 2012, and will use the funding to offer speech, gross motor, recreation, music, and life skills therapies. ($38,700) White is a recording artist/producer and the project director for the University of Pennsylvania's "Shape Up: Barbers Building Better Brothers program", which conducts HIV/AIDS and violence prevention through barbers and their clients. Project: White will launch Phreman Audio Studio Academy, which will teach audio recording and mixing to young people while promoting HIV/AIDS prevention and anti-violence strategies. ($19,300). ### The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org. Active in more than 70 countries, the Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. Working with local communities, the Open Society Foundations support justice and human rights, freedom of expression, and access to public health and education. Shawn Dove Campaign Manager Campaign for Black Male Achievement Open Society Foundations/US Programs 400 West 59th Street, NYC, 10019 "We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now." - Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go From Here Chaos or Community? |
| The Spook Who Sat By The Door | | | Why do some people not want young Black men to see the movie, The Spook Who Sat By The Door? "Shortly after it opened in theaters, the film vanished altogether - pulled by its distributor, some allege, bowing to pressure from the FBI. The narrative, about disciplined efforts to take down The Man through brain power and armed revolts, was intentionally controversial, and it doesn't take a leap of the imagination to presume the film made those in certain corridors of power nervous enough to "disappear" the movie altogether. For years it was only available on bootleg video. In 2004, the actor Tim Reid tracked down a remaining negative stored in a vault under a different name ("When they want to lose something, they lose it," Reid told the Tribuneat the time) and released it on DVD. It still remains largely unknown to the general public, an artifact from the blaxploitation era that defies most of the genre's cliches." Join us with the author of the book Sam Greenlee for the movie The Spook Who Sat By The Door Saturday, February 4, 2012 1:30 pm The Black Star Project 3509 South King Drive Chicago, Illinois Call 773.285.9600 for more information |
| All Chicago Parents Willing to Fight for the Education and Well-Being of Their Children Should Join | | | Black Star Community PTA on
Saturday, February 4, 2012
9:30am - 11:00am
at The Black Star Project
3509 South King Drive, Suite 2B Chicago, Illinois This Month: - CPS Schools Actions (Closing & Turnarounds)
- Common Core Standards
- Empowering Black Parents at the Learn & Earn Conference - February 18, 2012
- Pursuing important educational issues
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| In New York City, Expanded Success Initiative Gives Black and Latino Young Men and Boys Encouragement, Support and Skills for Success In School and Life | | | REQUEST FOR LISTING RELEASE-EXPANDED SUCCESS INITIATIVE NOTICE OF SOLICITATION - REQUEST FOR LISTING (RFL) Expanded Success Initiative RFL Release Date: January 27, 2012 Background The Expanded Success Initiative (ESI) is a key part of New York City's Young Men's Initiative and is a partnership among the Department of Education, The Fund for Public Schools (FPS), Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and the Open Society Foundations. ESI sets a higher bar for the long-term educational outcomes of New York's Black and Latino male students, namely by ensuring they graduate from high school prepared for success in college or a career pathway. To achieve this outcome, ESI will provide incoming Black and Latino 9th graders at 40 selected public high schools with programs and supports that increase their readiness and access to college and careers as they progress through high school. The initiative will promote college success through improved school operations in key areas: · ACADEMIC PRACTICES that align to the Common Core Learning Standards and college-ready indicators, and will have demonstrated impact on the academic achievement of Black and Latino young men. These academic practices are connected to youth development and school operations, and build teacher capacity for implementation. · YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES for Black and Latino young men that align to indicators of postsecondary resilience and persistence. These practices are connected to academics and school operations, and build staff capacity for implementation. The Fund for Public Schools seeks organizations with demonstrated experience in producing college and career success outcomes for Black and Latino young men to be listed as approved providers to the 40 selected high schools as part of the Expanded Success Initiative. FPS is an independent 501c3 organization dedicated to improving public education in New York City by facilitating public-private partnerships and securing private investment for critical education reform initiatives. Applicants seeking approval for listing must have the ability to meet the requirements of the FPS contracting process. In addition, applicants should have: - Proven experience working in a high school setting;
- Prior success in providing technical assistance services; and
- Self-reported or externally validated outcome data related to college readiness for Black and Latino young men.
Deadline for Applications: February 28, 2012 Time: 5:00 PM Location: No paper applications will be accepted. You must apply online. You are invited to participate in an informational webinar to hear more about the RFL's online application and approval process. Attendance on the webinar is optional and most appropriate for Executive Directors and their key staff. Informational Webinar: February 9, 2012 (3:30 PM-4:30 PM) An RFL Overview & Instructions document can be found on the ESI page of the FPS website which includes a comprehensive explanation of ESI as well as the FPS contracting process and full terms. All questions concerning the application should be directed to: Caroline Gonzalez Portfolio Director Fund for Public Schools Please enter "ESI RFL" in the subject line of email inquiries. The Fund for Public Schools will not respond to phone inquiries regarding this application. We thank you for your interest in this important work. JULIA F. BATOR, CEO The Fund for Public Schools |
In Detroit, Young Black Girls Are Featured as Gladiators in 30-Second 'Fight Game' | | "School Fight Clubs" are popular with many young Black students across America! Where are the parents, mentors, pastors and community leaders of these children? Click Here to See 30 Second Fight Game!  | | A girls bangs the head of another girl against the floor for the "30 Second Fight Game" at Ludington Magnet School in Detroit. |
DETROIT (WJBK) - A teenage girl is battered and beaten inside a Detroit school restroom while other girls watch and record the whole thing. However, this isn't the first time this girl has been assaulted at school. Her family says administrators know about the fighting and chose to look the other way. School is supposed to be about reading, writing and arithmetic, but inside the walls of Detroit's Ludington Middle School a bathroom has been used as a backdrop for brutal teenage brawls. It's a game called "30 Seconds," but no one is playing. One eighth grader pummels another while a group of girls stand by egging it on -- taping and timing it. "This happened during school at eight o'clock in the morning. Where was security, the staff, teachers? You do not notice that 15 of your kids are gone out of a classroom?" said Arletha Newby. Somehow 13-year-old Jasmine Crawley walked away with only broken glasses and a few scratches. She says she was pressured to fight, restlessly harassed for losing and now bullied for coming forward. "She has comments on her Facebook leading from this tape of her getting beat up -- 'Snitches get stitches,'" Arletha Newby said. Jasmine's family learned about what happened after her classmates posted the video on the internet. They immediately went to the school, which they claim brushed it off because Jasmine had done this before. "Nobody got in trouble, not the people instigating, not the people that were fighting," Arletha Newby told FOX 2. "It's a two way responsibility here. We're not just pointing the finger because, again, I know my niece is not an angel here. I just want to make sure that the schools are involved and that they're professional and that they're diligent with handling situations like this," said Felisia Newby, Jasmine's aunt. That's why they filed a formal complaint with Detroit Police. They want DPS to take action, even if it means disciplining Jasmine. Whatever it takes before it's too late and a student gets seriously injured or even killed. "I think right now we just need to be preemptive with having a solution," Felisia Newby said. "This is something that's going on in the schools, and this is something that needs to be addressed," said Arletha Newby. Late this evening we received a statement from a DPS spokeswoman. She said the school does plan to follow up and pursue disciplinary action. |
| In Chicago, School-to-Prison Pipeline Destroys Future of Young Black Males Black students can be arrested for throwing spitballs or cursing at a teacher. Twenty percent (20%) of juvenile arrest in Chicago take place on school grounds, with Black males disproportionately arrested. | | | 'Policing Chicago Schools': Report Suggests In-School Officers Put Teens On Road To Prison  | | Photo provided by The Black Star Project |
By Lizzie Schiffman January 25, 2012 CHICAGO -- As Chicago Public Schools have become increasingly dependent on the police department to control student behavior on school grounds, a disproportionately high number of black juveniles are being thrust into the criminal justice system too early and too easily, according to data from a new report issued Wednesday by the Chicago youth advocacy group Project NIA. The group analyzed Chicago Police Department arrest data and found that 20 percent of all juvenile arrests in 2010 took place on school grounds. Nearly one-third of those arrests were for simple battery charges -- offenses that in previous years would have been written off as schoolyard skirmishes and punished with suspensions or other penalties doled out by the school. "I think our main purpose with trying to put the study out is that it's long overdue; the last study focusing on Chicago was released in 2003," said Mariame Kaba, director of Project NIA and co-author of the report. "We think the most important thing is to operationalize how the schools-to-prison pipeline works. There are a lot of ways that happens, one of which is youths being funneled directly into the system by being arrested at schools." Police presence at schools in Chicago and nationwide has seen a sharp uptick in the last 20 years, according to the report, titled "Policing Chicago Public Schools: A Gateway to the School-to-Prison Pipeline." In Chicago, administrators have become so reliant on in-school police officers that only four of the system's 122 high schools were willing to give up their assigned officers in return for a $25,000 incentive offered this summer by the cash-strapped district. The vast majority of those affected by the criminalization of in-school behavior in Chicago are black students, who accounted for 74 percent of school-based juvenile arrests in 2010, Project NIA reports. Only 45 percent of the system's students are African American. The study also turned up geographical biases. Nearly 40 percent of the city's school-based juvenile arrests in 2010 came from five police districts: the 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th and 22nd, all on the city's South and South West sides. "Students are needlessly arrested for offenses as minor as disorderly conduct, which can include swearing at a teacher or throwing spitballs," said Amanda Petteruti, the institute's associate director, in a release that accompanied the report. "[In-school police] lead to discipline applied without the filter of school administrators or policies. This in turn leads to a troubling disruption of the educational process ... the result of which is some students who never become re-connected to school." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
108 Cities Are Mentoring Black Young Men and Boys During January and February 2012 Join the Black Male Achievement Movement and encourage strong, positive Black men from around the country and the world to work for Black Male Achievement. | | | Susan Taylor Electrifies Organizers from 100 Cities on Black Male Mentoring Conference Call!!! If you have had any doubts about the value and importance of responsible fatherhood or mentoring, click here to have them removed!!! Click Here to learn more about Susan Taylor's National Cares Mentoring Movement. To become one of the the Servant Leaders in your city planning and directing this effort, please call 773.285.9600. We will provide you with an organizing kit that will help you step-by-step to create, manage or support an outstanding mentoring program in your city. We will also provide technical assistance and ongoing support. Schools, faith-based organizations, fraternities, Masonic organizations, veterans associations, community-based organizations, affinity organizations, military service personnel, social service agencies, companies and corporations will participate in this effort. Most mentoring events will occur on January 31, 2012. The last event will occur on February 29, 2012. Please see cities that are expected to participate as of January 11, 2012: - Albany, New York
- Alton, Illinois
- Atlanta Georgia
- Aurora, Colorado
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Blandensburg, Maryland
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Bowie, Maryland
- Buffalo, New York
- Carbondale, Illinois
- Chicago, Illinois - South Side
- Chicago, Illinois - West Side
- Chicago, Illinois - South Suburbs
- Chicago Heights, Illinois
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Columbia, Missouri
- Columbus, Georgia
- Dallas, Texas
- Danbury, Connecticut
- Danville, Illinois
- Decatur, Georgia
- Delray Beach, Florida
- Detroit, Michigan
- Denver, Colorado
- Dolton, Illinois
- Durham, North Carolina
- East Chicago, Indiana
- East Orange, New Jersey
- Englewood, Colorado
- Flint, Michigan
- Flossmoor, Illinois
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Fredricksberg, Virginia
- Gary, Indiana
- Gilbert, Arizona
- Griffin, Georgia
- Hammond, Indiana
- Hartford, Connecticut
- Harvey, Illinois
- Hillside, Illinois
- Houston, Texas
- Hyattsville, Maryland
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Irvington, New Jersey
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Kansas City, Missouri
- Kenesaw, Georgia
- LaGrange, Georgia
- Lauderhill, Florida
- Lenoir, North Carolina
- Lexington, Kentucky
- Lithonia, Michigan
- Los Angeles, California
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Macon, Georgia
- Manassas, Virginia
- Markham, Illinois
- Matteson, Illinois
- Mentor, Ohio
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Munster, Indiana
- Nashville, Tennessee
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- New York City, New York - Manhattan
- New York City, New York - The Bronx
- New York City, New York - Brooklyn
- New York City, New York - Queens
- New York City, New York - Long Island
- New York City, New York - Harlem
- Newark, New Jersey
- Oakland, California
- Oak Park, Illinois
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Palmdale, California
- Peoria, Illinois
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Richmond, California
- Richmond, Virginia
- Riverdale, Illinois
- San Bernardino, California
- San Francisco, California
- Santan Valley, AZ
- Seattle, Washington
- Shelbyville, Indiana
- Southaven, Mississippi
- Spotsylvania County, Virginia
- St. Louis, Missouri
- St. Paul, Minnesota
- St. Petersburg, Florida
- Tampa, Florida
- Thomasville, Georgia
- Toledo, Ohio
- Tougaloo, Mississippi
- Tshwane, Botswana, Africa
- Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territory, Canada
- Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- University Park, Illinois
- Upper Marboro, Maryland
- Vicksburg, Mississippi
- Washington, D.C.
- Waukegan, Illinois
- White Plains, New York
- Yazoo City, Mississippi
This event was inspired by the life and life principles of Muhammad Ali (Rumble Young Man, Rumble!). The Black Male Achievement Movement was born in Louisville, Kentucky in September 2011. Guidance, support and encouragement for this movement is provided by Open Society Foundations' Campaign for Black Male Achievement. The National CARES Mentoring Movement and Mentoring U.S.A have signed on as national supporters. For more information, please call 773.285.9600. Click Here to see the Fathers Incorporated PSA on mentoring. Click Here to see the Mentoring USA PSA on mentoring. |
| When Fathers Are Their Daughters First Date, Every Other Man After That Must Measure Up! | | | Men and women across America should/can plan and host a Daddy/Daughter Dance for Valentines Day. Call us at 773.285.9600 for an organizing kit to host a Daddy/Daughter Dance in your community or in your city. Men in Chicago can register now for our February 11, 2012 Daddy/Daughter Dance at The Black Star Project by calling 773.285.9600. |
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