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(gentle music) 
>>Our guest today

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is the founding President 
of an organization

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dedicated to eliminating 
the achievement gap

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in our community for 
African-American males

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in grades K through 12.

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Join us as we visit with 
Dr. Bernard Hairston

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to learn about the 
programs provided

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by 100 Black Men of 
Central Virginia.

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Come on!

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(gentle music continues)

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So tell us about the goals

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and the mission of 
the organization.

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>>Well, the mission is about 
improving the quality of life

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in Central Virginia, 
for all of our citizens,

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specifically our 
African-American population.

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The goal of our program

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is to assist our area 
public school divisions

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in closing the achievement gap,

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specifically focusing on 
the African-American males

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who are underachievers.

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And, as a school system, we 
know that that is a challenge

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that we have not mastered.

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And we decided to pull a group

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of African-American 
men together, with 
diverse backgrounds,

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to talk about what 
impacted them the most

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in being successful.

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And as a result of 
that collaboration,

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we started investigating models 
that were currently in place

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and we stumbled across 
this organization

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called 100 Black Men of America

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and we submitted an 
application for charter,

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we had to go through 
an interview process,

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and we were accepted, 
and chartered, in 2009.

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>>I had this man right 
here and he helped me out

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and then increased my grades

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and then I walked out with 
all A's and B's in my classes.

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There was this one 
class where I got a 79

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but then I knew I could have 
probably improved on that

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but my mom said, "At least 
you gave an effort to it.

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"At least I enjoyed 
that you actually tried

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"to put an effort into it."

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That's why my mom's so 
involved in this program

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'cause she said that this 
is a very helpful man

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and he can really help 
me improve my life.

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>>Being a mentor is an 
instantaneous reward

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because you immediately 
are able to see the impact

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that you're having 
on today's youth.

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And for me, it's very rewarding

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because I don't have 
children of my own

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and so this is an opportunity

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to help grow and 
build someone up

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and feel like 
you're really doing

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something positive for society.

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♪ Here we go ♪

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♪ Let me tell you 
about something that 
we do at the school ♪

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♪ We talk about math and 
it's called M-cubed ♪

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♪ We all come together 
in order to learn ♪

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♪ From people like 
Wes and Miss Yimban ♪

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♪ It's about two weeks 
of education and fun ♪

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♪ And by the time it's all 
over we really have won ♪

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♪ Just see what black 
men just say to succeed ♪

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♪ Getting one step 
ahead is all we need ♪

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♪ So visit M-Cubed 
and what you see ♪

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♪ Is young men 
overcoming adversities ♪

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>>We have three 
primary programs.

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We have what's called M-Cubed,

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which stands for 
Math Men and Mission,

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and the goal is to increase 
the number who are in algebra

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by the time they 
complete middle school.

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The high school scholars program

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is about promoting the positives 
of African-American males

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by recognizing them for 
their scholarly achievements,

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inside the classroom.

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And the work that they do

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in a positive way 
outside the classroom.

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And the Collegiate 100 program,

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is about young men giving back,

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using the college students

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to mentor the high 
school students

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and the middle 
school age students.

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>>So how do you go about,

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let's talk about 
the students first.

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How do you go about 
identifying students

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to be a part of the programs?

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>>Well, with algebra 
readiness program,

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we look for someone with 
an aptitude for math.

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But we don't have 
to have the stars.

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We don't have to have the best.

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We're looking for students who 
are somewhere in the middle.

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So we look at their

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math standards of learning 
assessment scores.

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A perfect score is 600.

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The lowest score, 
passing score, is 400.

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So we look for someone 
around 425 or higher.

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And we also ask permission 
from the principal

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to endorse that student 
for possible enrollment

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in an upper level math class,

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provided they complete our 
summer school two week academy.

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>>And then with the scholars 
program, is that the same?

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>>The scholars 
program is any student

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who has a 3.0 grade 
point average or higher,

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we pull them together for a 
breakfast recognition program

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in front of their 
superintendents,

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community representatives, 
their parents.

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We give them a 
real nice medallion

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to say "Atta boy! 
Keep doing it."

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Just promoting the positives.

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And so three years ago,

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we started presenting 
scholarships to 
any of our seniors,

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and as of three years,

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we have presented 78 
graduating seniors

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with $82,500 in scholarships.

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So we hope to continue that.

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>>That is fantastic.

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So how many students 
are involved,

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are currently involved 
in the program?

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>>Well, we are 
specifically working

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with Central Virginia schools.

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And we are supporting 
the area public schools.

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And so, we're looking 
at nine school divisions

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and of the 12 area high schools,

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there are approximately 
1200 African-American males,

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only about 1200 
African-American males

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in the 12 area high schools 
in our nine school divisions.

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And you're looking at,

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oh, a real small percentage 
who have that 3.0.

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When we first 
started this program,

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only about 14% of our 
African-American males

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in those surrounding 
school divisions

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who participated had a 3.0.

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We have bumped that up to 
over 24% at this point.

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>>So talk about that.

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Why is this so important 
in our community?

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>>Why is it so important? 
>>Sure.

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>>Well, I mean can 
bounce it back to you,

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because one of our objectives

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is improving the 
quality of life.

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If you have students who 
are not getting in trouble,

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you're improving 
the quality of life.

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If you have students who 
are going on to college

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and returning to this community,

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you're improving 
the quality of life.

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And if we're gonna be successful

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in terms of closing 
the achievement gap,

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not only do we have to change 
the attitude of our students,

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but their parents, as 
well, our teachers.

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>>You put your 
napkin on your lap

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the minute you sit at the table.

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It stays on your lap until 
you get up from the table.

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>>The etiquette 
program is something

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that we've been doing 
for several years.

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It's always exciting to 
see the young men come in

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and try to eat soup properly 
with the soup spoon,

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to learn how to use chopsticks

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and even though we 
may do it every year,

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every year they tend 
to learn something more

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and they are always at place

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where they can teach 
others as well.

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It's just a great thing.

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>>So how do you 
identify your mentors?

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>>Having a successful mentor 
is the key to this program,

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because they have to touch 
base with the young men.

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They have to work 
with the school

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and they have to 
work with the home.

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And you have to have 
someone who is credible.

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In order to become a 
member, we have to vet you.

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We do a background check

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to make sure there's no history

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associated with not having 
any sort of poor decisions

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relative to working 
with young people.

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So that's first and foremost.

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But we expect the 
mentor to give a minimum

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of ten hours a week 
providing mentoring support

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to a young person.

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We have one-to-one 
mentoring support

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for our M-Cubed scholars.

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And we do group mentoring 
for our high school scholars.

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>>So, there's a summer academy

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that takes place over 
two weeks, right?

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>>Yes. 
>>So you do this,

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and then what happens?

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What's the follow up?

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>>Well, you see, 
the summer academies

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are about preparing 
the young men

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to build their sense 
of self-confidence

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and their self-awareness 
of who they are

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and a positive sense 
of I can be the best,

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I can be competitive.

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But you gotta reinforce that

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throughout the 
course of the year.

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Thus, the mentoring component 
with the men in the 100,

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we do group mentoring 
activities throughout the year

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and individual 
mentoring programs.

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We've taken the young 
men to football games,

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basketball games, we do 
annual etiquette workshops

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to teach them how to dine

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and how to have 
wonderful conversations

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to make sure you pick 
that right person for you

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when you're taking 
a young lady out.

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It's one of those lessons 
in life experiences.

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As a mentor, we have to share 
experiences that we have

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with our young men,

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so that they will not make 
some of the same mistakes.

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And you're walking 
in our footsteps

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and if we can 
teach you something

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based on some of our 
experiences, so be it.

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>>Talk about the importance 
of the parents' role,

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when your students are 
involved in these programs,

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because that plays a 
huge part, doesn't it?

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>>Parental involvement 
is the key to success.

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That's all I need to say.

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And we try to 
empower our parents

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by educating them of 
what quality looks like.

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Quality instruction, 
what it looks like.

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Quality instruction 
specifically designed

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to motivate your child,

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your African-American male 
son to enjoy learning.

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You take a book like this, 
and you tell them that,

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"Hey this is you, this is 
how you can change things,

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"because this is the way 
this guy did it right here."

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That's changing an attitude.

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You need parents to sit down 
with their children to say,

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"This is important. This 
is a priority for you."

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It should be first and foremost.

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And so we work with our parents 
to change their attitudes

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about their roles in 
working with their sons.

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>>My dad was one of the 
members of 100 Black Men

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and he asked me 
to do the program

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and I think it's a great 
program to be involved in

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'cause it helps you in school 
and it helps you get focused

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and it helps you later in life, 
not just during high school

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but it prepares you for 
I guess later in life

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when you're trying to get 
a job and things like that.

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>>Just the satisfaction 
of seeing young men

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be successful and grow, that's,

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it is really a 
wonderful experience.

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So our goal is to take a student

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and get them involved 
in our work environment

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and to help them grow as a 
student and grow as a person

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to help them understand what 
the business world is like,

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so for me this was a no-brainer.

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This is a great 
opportunity to work

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with a great organization 
right here in Charlottesville.

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>>One of the ways that 
you all fund raise

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is through a gala.

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Tell us about that.

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>>Well, this is an 
organization where our mentees,

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and we're talking about over 
100 in our M-Cubed program

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who are currently 
receiving services

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and over 250 in our 
scholars program

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and over 40 in our Collegiate 
100 chapter, that we serve.

252
00:10:37,870 --> 00:10:40,506
And our programs have 
not cost our mentees

253
00:10:40,506 --> 00:10:43,743
or their parents 
a penny, a penny.

254
00:10:43,743 --> 00:10:45,878
So we're talking about 
getting scholarships out.

255
00:10:45,878 --> 00:10:48,214
We're talking about 
planning programs,

256
00:10:48,214 --> 00:10:50,016
where we're able 
to support them.

257
00:10:50,016 --> 00:10:53,719
So we, of course we have 
dues, we've got members.

258
00:10:53,719 --> 00:10:58,391
And we also plan programs 
such as a black tie gala.

259
00:10:58,391 --> 00:11:00,559
And that's our 
primary fund raiser.

260
00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:05,264
And we get support from many 
of our local businesses.

261
00:11:05,264 --> 00:11:07,066
>>So what do you wanna 
do in the future?

262
00:11:07,066 --> 00:11:11,137
Talking about moving forward, 
what's your big goal?

263
00:11:11,137 --> 00:11:13,739
>>So one of the 
challenges I see is,

264
00:11:13,739 --> 00:11:17,043
when we work with these young 
men, in collective groups,

265
00:11:17,043 --> 00:11:21,514
how do they transition 
into that regular setting

266
00:11:21,514 --> 00:11:22,715
on a day to day basis?

267
00:11:22,715 --> 00:11:24,417
For example, we 
have your young men

268
00:11:24,417 --> 00:11:26,485
who are in your summer 
academy for two weeks,

269
00:11:26,485 --> 00:11:29,088
and then they transition back 
into their regular school.

270
00:11:29,088 --> 00:11:30,856
And so that's a challenge.

271
00:11:30,856 --> 00:11:35,861
So, a goal that I have is to 
try to educate our teachers,

272
00:11:36,896 --> 00:11:39,832
our administrators, our parents

273
00:11:39,832 --> 00:11:44,670
about how do you reach and 
teach the African-American male.

274
00:11:44,670 --> 00:11:48,607
And so that's all about 
being culturally relevant

275
00:11:48,607 --> 00:11:50,609
and understanding who they are

276
00:11:50,609 --> 00:11:53,212
and teaching to their strengths.

277
00:11:53,212 --> 00:11:56,348
Reach me, then you can teach me.

278
00:11:56,348 --> 00:11:58,284
>>I guess the best think I 
like about being a mentor

279
00:11:58,284 --> 00:12:01,120
is seeing the smiles 
on the kids' faces

280
00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:03,622
and I guess if they 
like the program,

281
00:12:03,622 --> 00:12:05,925
to see them, when they 
come to high school,

282
00:12:05,925 --> 00:12:08,427
see how good they're doing 
and how well they're doing.

283
00:12:08,427 --> 00:12:12,064
>>I think I'll try to help out 
just like they helped me out.

284
00:12:12,064 --> 00:12:14,600
'Cause there could be 
somebody in my situation,

285
00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,169
just like they helped 
me out in my situation,

286
00:12:17,169 --> 00:12:19,138
I can help somebody else out.

287
00:12:19,138 --> 00:12:22,141
(slow gentle music)