Special Bond
On Saturday, May 12, several young men between the ages of eight and 18 gathered in a classroom on the second floor of the University of Phoenix to learn the ins and outs of table etiquette from etiquette and protocol consultant Eleather Williams.
The class is part of the 100 Black Men of Augusta’s Saturday Academy, a monthly meeting of the young men being mentored through the program. In this case, the kids are learning table etiquette in preparation for the national conference and the annual gala, which will be on June 1 at the Gordon Club on Fort Gordon.
“
The gala is an awareness and fundraising event,” says Malcolm Banks, vice president of operations and public relations. “Normally, it’s a black tie event, but this year we [the mentors] will be wearing black ties, but we’ll have a different uniform for the young men.”
The kids are usually in tuxes for the gala, but because this year’s national conference is in Atlanta, allowing more kids to participate, they decided monogrammed blazers would be more practical than renting all those tuxedos.
100 Black Men of Augusta is the local chapter of 100 Black Men of America, a nonprofit mentoring organization geared toward improving the quality of life within the community and enhancing educational opportunities for all African Americans.
The program pairs young black men with adult male mentors, who stay with the kids throughout their involvement with the program.
“
We’re pretty fortunate in the organization because the mentors go that extra mile, which is so important,” says George Grant, who is currently the senior person in the program. “Phone calls, house calls, school calls — sometimes, the youngsters sort of push against them, but the majority stay in the program because of their mentors.”
It’s a relationship that can be very powerful for the kids, who often lack strong male role models.
Te’Sean McGaney, 15, has been in the program for about seven years and credits his mentor, Mr. O’Conner, with much of his growth.
“
He’s been more like a father figure to me because my father died when I was two,” he says. “Mr. O’Conner — he basically helped me to be a brighter person than I used to be. I used to be angry about what happened to my father.”
McGaney’s father died while driving on a dark road in South Carolina when he was two, and he says one of the projects he did a few years ago — a memory project — helped give him some closure, which in turn helped him to become the confident, outgoing kid he is now.
A member of Cross Creek’s orienteering team, which went to a national competition, McGaney wants to study criminal justice, cooking or architecture in college, either at Alabama, Miami University or possibly Oregon. He credits the program for giving him the skills to get there.
“
At the beginning of each mentoring session, they start out with goal affirmation,” he says. “The mentors teach the younger ones how to set goals, and with the older students, they’re more detailed with us about what goals we want to set.”
Darius Landers has had the same mentor since he started out with the program in 2004. Now, he’s getting ready to graduate from high school and out of the program. He’ll be attending Georgia State in the fall.
When he talks about his mentor, Mr. Thomas, it’s clear how deep that relationship can become.
“
You want to make him proud,” he says. “You don’t want to let him down because he’s been giving you all this advice over all these years. It’s the same thing as with your parents and your family — you don’t want to make them feel bad about your growing up. You have a sense of responsibility to better yourself and strive to be like them.”
Though he knows college will present him with a different set of challenges, he says he expects to remain in touch with Mr. Thomas.
“
It’s going to be hard,” he says. “I’ll have a lot more things to do and he’s also got things going on in his life, but I will try to keep that connection.”
100 Black Men of Augusta was formed in 1994 and has grown steadily ever since.
“
At first it was a little difficult until word got out,” Grant says. “We’re very fortunate to have a lot of mentors who are in the school system and we have a lot who are in the military.”
Grant, a former Marine himself who retired from American Airlines, says the relationship with the mentees extends far beyond the program.
“
I get calls from mentees all the time,” he says. “They say, ‘Mr. Grant — are you still living?’”
While not all mentees stick with the program, there is a common denominator among those who do.
“
As long as we have parent participation in place, we have about a 90 percent success rate,” Banks says. “If we’ve got a parent who’s not involved and just doesn’t get the kids to the meeting and just doesn’t follow through, it’s hard.”
And though the mentors make a commitment to their mentees that goes beyond simply showing up for certain events, Banks makes it clear that they are not legal guardians and that their association can only go so far, or so deep. As an organization, they don’t admit kids who are already in the legal system. They just don’t have the kind of training needed to assist kids with those special kinds of problems.
“
Our whole goal is to hopefully get all these young men to the point where they graduate from high school and at least go in their chosen field of technical school, military or college,” Banks says.
It’s also important that the kids know their horizons include more than their own community.
“
Even though 99 percent of the people are African American, we understand that in training them, they have to be exposed to every culture, so that when they come back to this community they are a vital part of the entire community,” Banks says. “It’s not just because everybody has the same skin color.”
Which is why the table etiquette training is so important. Not only is a proper public demeanor important to succeeding in the general world — even among the youngest members, there is a constant emphasis on the importance of job interviews and the skills needed to ace them — but the process itself instills discipline.
Williams’ instruction is upbeat and perfectly tailored for her young audience, but childhood Saturdays aren’t made for getting finicky with silverware and keeping your elbows off the table. Those lessons have a cumulative effect, however, as does the time a mentor spends with his mentee.
“
I still feel like a kid,” Landers says. “I’ve got a long way to go in life, but I can always call him, even if I’m not still in the program anymore or if I move away somewhere. I can always call him back and he can help me out.”
100 Black Men of Augusta Gala
Gordon Club, Fort Gordon
Friday, June 1
7 p.m.
$55
For ticket information, call Joe E. Johnson at 706-840-2161You Might Also Like:
“The gala is an awareness and fundraising event,” says Malcolm Banks, vice president of operations and public relations. “Normally, it’s a black tie event, but this year we [the mentors] will be wearing black ties, but we’ll have a different uniform for the young men.”
The kids are usually in tuxes for the gala, but because this year’s national conference is in Atlanta, allowing more kids to participate, they decided monogrammed blazers would be more practical than renting all those tuxedos.
100 Black Men of Augusta is the local chapter of 100 Black Men of America, a nonprofit mentoring organization geared toward improving the quality of life within the community and enhancing educational opportunities for all African Americans.
The program pairs young black men with adult male mentors, who stay with the kids throughout their involvement with the program.
“We’re pretty fortunate in the organization because the mentors go that extra mile, which is so important,” says George Grant, who is currently the senior person in the program. “Phone calls, house calls, school calls — sometimes, the youngsters sort of push against them, but the majority stay in the program because of their mentors.”
It’s a relationship that can be very powerful for the kids, who often lack strong male role models.
Te’Sean McGaney, 15, has been in the program for about seven years and credits his mentor, Mr. O’Conner, with much of his growth.
“He’s been more like a father figure to me because my father died when I was two,” he says. “Mr. O’Conner — he basically helped me to be a brighter person than I used to be. I used to be angry about what happened to my father.”
McGaney’s father died while driving on a dark road in South Carolina when he was two, and he says one of the projects he did a few years ago — a memory project — helped give him some closure, which in turn helped him to become the confident, outgoing kid he is now.
A member of Cross Creek’s orienteering team, which went to a national competition, McGaney wants to study criminal justice, cooking or architecture in college, either at Alabama, Miami University or possibly Oregon. He credits the program for giving him the skills to get there.
“At the beginning of each mentoring session, they start out with goal affirmation,” he says. “The mentors teach the younger ones how to set goals, and with the older students, they’re more detailed with us about what goals we want to set.”
Darius Landers has had the same mentor since he started out with the program in 2004. Now, he’s getting ready to graduate from high school and out of the program. He’ll be attending Georgia State in the fall.
When he talks about his mentor, Mr. Thomas, it’s clear how deep that relationship can become.
“You want to make him proud,” he says. “You don’t want to let him down because he’s been giving you all this advice over all these years. It’s the same thing as with your parents and your family — you don’t want to make them feel bad about your growing up. You have a sense of responsibility to better yourself and strive to be like them.”
Though he knows college will present him with a different set of challenges, he says he expects to remain in touch with Mr. Thomas.
“It’s going to be hard,” he says. “I’ll have a lot more things to do and he’s also got things going on in his life, but I will try to keep that connection.”
100 Black Men of Augusta was formed in 1994 and has grown steadily ever since.
“At first it was a little difficult until word got out,” Grant says. “We’re very fortunate to have a lot of mentors who are in the school system and we have a lot who are in the military.”
Grant, a former Marine himself who retired from American Airlines, says the relationship with the mentees extends far beyond the program.
“I get calls from mentees all the time,” he says. “They say, ‘Mr. Grant — are you still living?’”
While not all mentees stick with the program, there is a common denominator among those who do.
“As long as we have parent participation in place, we have about a 90 percent success rate,” Banks says. “If we’ve got a parent who’s not involved and just doesn’t get the kids to the meeting and just doesn’t follow through, it’s hard.”
And though the mentors make a commitment to their mentees that goes beyond simply showing up for certain events, Banks makes it clear that they are not legal guardians and that their association can only go so far, or so deep. As an organization, they don’t admit kids who are already in the legal system. They just don’t have the kind of training needed to assist kids with those special kinds of problems.
“Our whole goal is to hopefully get all these young men to the point where they graduate from high school and at least go in their chosen field of technical school, military or college,” Banks says.
It’s also important that the kids know their horizons include more than their own community.
“Even though 99 percent of the people are African American, we understand that in training them, they have to be exposed to every culture, so that when they come back to this community they are a vital part of the entire community,” Banks says. “It’s not just because everybody has the same skin color.”
Which is why the table etiquette training is so important. Not only is a proper public demeanor important to succeeding in the general world — even among the youngest members, there is a constant emphasis on the importance of job interviews and the skills needed to ace them — but the process itself instills discipline.
Williams’ instruction is upbeat and perfectly tailored for her young audience, but childhood Saturdays aren’t made for getting finicky with silverware and keeping your elbows off the table. Those lessons have a cumulative effect, however, as does the time a mentor spends with his mentee.
“I still feel like a kid,” Landers says. “I’ve got a long way to go in life, but I can always call him, even if I’m not still in the program anymore or if I move away somewhere. I can always call him back and he can help me out.”
100 Black Men of Augusta Gala
Gordon Club, Fort Gordon
Friday, June 1
7 p.m.
$55
For ticket information, call Joe E. Johnson at 706-840-2161You Might Also Like:
