The Department of Counseling and Human Development Services

If you follow the media, I am sure you realize the challenges young African American males face. Unfortunately, much of what has been written and portrayed in the media has been negative. Most often, the only positive things highlighted are in reference to African American males who have experienced success in the entertainment or athletic worlds. I am truly proud of the accomplishments of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, R. Kelly, Tavis Smiley, and many others. I must point out, however, that there are many African American males who are successful in other areas that do not attract the same level of glamour or prestige. These men are working just as hard to live productive lives while combating the growing drug problem, teenage fatherhood, high dropout rates, and many other challenges confronting African American males.

Much has been said about the importance of Black male role models, and that only Black men can help young Black males (Foster, 1996; Lee & Bailey, 1997). I agree that Black males are better equipped to address certain issues and/or concerns that young Black males may have, but other non-Black men and women have a great deal to offer as well. For example, the majority of those who employ young males
are not Black. The majority of the foundations, agencies, companies, and individuals that provide financial assistance for college and other post-secondary opportunities are headed or owned by nonú-Black men and women. It is evident that anyone who has a sincere interest in young people in general has a great deal to offer these young men. To say that only African American men can help young African American boys appears to assume that efforts made by individuals from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds are not important. However, I do believe that African American males can more effectively teach African American boys how to become strong African American men.

On July 24, 1984, after earning my Master's degree in Guidance and
Counseling, I entered my first counseling job. As I entered my new career, I held the belief that I could change the world. Wrong! It took me five years to realize that was impossible. It was not until I accepted a school úcounseling position at a high school in western North Carolina that I realized that I could neither change nor fix the world. At the same time, I realized that I could at least make a difference and it was then that I developed a program entitled "Project: Gentlemen On The Move (PGOTM)." The idea for this project came from an empowerment model designed by Courtland Lee (1992) entitled "Black Manhood Training." His program placed a strong emphasis on Black/African-American history and the rites of passage. PGOTM differs from that program in that it emphasizes commitment to self, the importance of positive behaviors, realizing one's potential, serving the community, developing a strong sense of unity, celebrating African American heritage, and providing a positive group experience for members.

Project: Gentlemen on the Move is not a new concept. The idea of assisting African American males to realize their potential, self-worth, and worth to society dates back to visionary thinkers such as W.E.B. Dubois (1989). The challenges confronting young African American males, however, have intensified, and, as a result, increased attention is being given to them. More than ever before, young African American males are targets of senseless and violent deaths related to larger societal problems such as drugs, under- and unemployment, suicide, poverty, and health related problems (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990). Although nationally African American adolescents represent only 15% of the juvenile population, they are over-represented in both public (43%) and private (34%) juvenile detention facilities (Bailey, 1999; Sickmund, Snyder, & Poe-Yamagata, 1997).

Efforts to explain the challenges facing young African American males have typically placed the burden of blame on the community, church, school, and/or the home. Few have considered that in the final analysis, some of the responsibility belongs with the young men. In my opinion, the young men must shoulder the responsibility for their actions. Although a host of other variables contribute to less than ideal school, home, and community environments, young African American males make the final decision when it comes to choosing positive over negative and healthy over unhealthy behaviors. Again, this perspective does not excuse the role that other variables play in these decisions. In fact, many of the problems young African American males face today are inherited from systems that they had no hand in constructing. When it comes to responding to these flawed systems, however, young African American males must be prepared to make appropriate decisions. Gardner (1985) suggests that when people are able to maintain high levels of hope they are then able to make appropriate decisions.

Some African American males are able to sustain hope by using the challenges before them as motivators while others see them as insurmountable obstacles and a reason to give up on their dreams and hopes for their futures (Gardner, 1985). It is for these young men that interventions must be developed and successfully implemented. Based on previous experiences, I believe that interventions must teach young African American males how to generate the drive, determination, and motivation to succeed that others have been able to utilize. In addition, interventions should teach young men how to reframe negative situations so that these very challenges become sources of motivation. Programs can assist adolescent African American males to develop skills necessary to make negative situations work for them (e.g., move towards solutions) rather than against them (e.g., respond in ways that worsen their situations). Before this can be done, however, the inappropriate coping skills that they rely on to deal with negative experiences and situations must be unlearned. For decades, young African American men have used violence, drugs, and complacency as tools for dealing with their problems and frustrations. If this trend is to change, young African American males must replace these self-destructive methods of coping with healthier, more effective ones.

As an African American man who has encountered many of the same challenges, I consider it my responsibility to pass along "lessons learned along the way." PGOTM is my way of facilitating the academic and social success of young African American males. The mission of PGOTM is to empower and transform adolescent African American males, thereby providing the community with a new and positive set of images of these young men. As researchers have suggested for such programs (Lee & Bailey, 1997; Mincy, 1994), PGOTM is both developmental and comprehensive in nature, and reflects an approach attributed to successful interventions for African American adolescent males.

The program is developmental in that it assesses members' social and academic level, compares this information to where they should be (based on age and academic ability level), and then focuses on providing them with the skills needed to reach their full potential. This process is referred to as the "transformation." The transformation is defined as a positive change or modification in the social and academic performance of PGOTM members, and is unique to each student. These transformations will begin to manifest shortly after joining the group for some members, and will emerge in stages over varying periods of time for others.

PGOTM is also comprehensive in that it takes a holistic approach to the empowerment and transformation of adolescent African American males through addressing many areas of their lives. The program consists of three components; referral, content, and support. Although each component serves an important role, the intermingling of the three creates a system where the effectiveness of one component is important to the effectiveness of the others. All components are critical to the overall success of the program.

PGOTM aims to be a source of empowerment for its members. Empowerment has been defined as "actions intended to help people help themselves, or to create personal power" (Myers, 1998, p. 152). With regards to PGOTM these "actions" can best be described as assisting members in developing academic and social skills necessary for success with the goal of increasing their capacity to transfer these skills to other areas of their lives.

Referral Component

The referral component includes elements such as recruitment and referral, interview, invitation, and monitoring. Teachers, counselors, administrators, parents, and active members can refer students, or students may refer themselves. Once a referral is made, the prospective member is interviewed by the program director and provided with detailed information regarding the program. If there is a match between the program goals and the young man's willingness to participate and commit himself, an invitation is extended for membership. Membership is tentative until parental consent has been obtained. Once membership is finalized, the student is expected to attend the Saturday Institutes and meetings. As a member of the program, the student's academic and social performance is carefully monitored.

Content Component

The content component is comprised of mini workshops, cal-led Saturday Learning Institutes. They are held on Saturday mornings, and involve skill development and the integration of new information pertinent to the academic and social growth of program participants. Included in the mini workshops are sessions that focus on African, African American, and family histories, academic excellence, social development, community service, self efficacy, appreciation and acceptance of individual differences, health related issues, and etiquette, to name a few. Immediately following the Saturday Learning Institutes are two-hour meetings. These weekly meetings are mandatory and are used to plan activities and discuss issues that may have surfaced during the previous week. Another element of the content component is the academic element, which emphasizes regular school attendance, and on-going academic progress. The social element of this component focuses on respect for self, elders, women, and culturally different individuals. Opportunities to be exposed to traditional African American culture, as well as to interact with individuals from other cultures, are considered crucial. Community service projects provide an avenue for developing leadership skills and a positive work ethic while fulfilling an identified need within the community. The Give Me A Reason: An Academic Incentive Program provides a variety of rewards for academic progress and excellence, such as money, tee shirts, travel, dining, and special event opportunities (Bailey, 2000). These rewards are funded through donations, grants, and fundraisers.

Support Component

The third component is the support component. Within this component, group members are involved in individual and group counseling sessions. These sessions enable group members to establish shortú-term and long-term academic and social goals. Other areas of support include structured study sessions, tutoring, and intense exam preparation. The final aspect of the support component is the Project: Gentlemen on the Move Summer Academy, which focuses on leadership development and self-improvement.

When parents were asked if they thought their sons benefited by being members of PGOTM, they had the following to say:

... during his freshman and early sophomore years, he did okay but only did enough to get by after joining PGOTM he seemed to take his academics to another level he started taking more honors and AP courses. I think a lot of that came because of PGOTM.

... my son benefited from PGOTM because he's a very quiet, bashful child and it helped him to be more assertive. It helped him academically too... to try harder, to push a little further, because he's the type of child who as long as he's passing he's happy ... it helped him to strive for higher goals and he even tried some of the honors classes. I know he wouldn't have if it hadn't been for Project: Gentlemen on the Move.

It is my hope that this model will someday become widely used to assist adolescents of all cultural and ethnic backgrounds to realize their potential to excel both academically and socially. It has been well documented that adolescents from a variety of non-White backgrounds are underachieving and are need of assistance (Education Trust, 1996,1998; Lee, 1984; Gandara & Maxwell-Jolly, 1999). If implemented, monitored, and supported appropriately, programs such as Project:

Gentlemen on the Move can provide the necessary assistance needed by adolescents who find themselves labeled "An Endangered Species".
Recently, the Project: Gentlemen on the Move model was implemented at a high school in the Athens-Clarke County school district. In an effort to measure and document the impact of PGOTM research is being conducted and the results will be reported in the near future.

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Empowering and Transforming African American Adolescent Males: A Personal Reflection