A Campaign for Black Male Youth

Recently, there's been somewhat a surge in research, grants, and media campaigns focusing on the plight of young black males. I wanted to take a moment to highlight just a few of these efforts and the publications associated with them. Keep on pushing.

We Dream A World:
http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/documents/files/2025BMBfulldoc.pdf

Beyond The Bricks:
http://www.beyondthebricksproject.com/blogs/derek-koen

The Open Society Institute:
http://www.soros.org/initiatives/usprograms/focus/cbma

PBL Day 2...The Saga Continues...

For those of you who don't know the reference, The Saga Continues refers to the 1998 Wu-Tang Album, Wu-Tang Forever. It was a classic. With the first track called Triumph, it couldn't get much better.

Well, Day Two of the PBL ( Pure Ballers League) was great. It looked a little dismal for the first hour, but then at 7:50am, a guy in a red car drove by and said "Oh, I'll be right back." I waited for about 20 minutes and nobody came. As I was getting ready to go a guy in a white shirt and black jean shorts and white 1998 jordans came walking toward the court. He had a bit of a stomach, but I could tell he was a ball player. His name was Frank and he was about 40. We ended up playing a game of one on one and after that I told him about that guy who passed by. He said, "oh, that was me."

We ended up playing four games of one on one and a game of 21, then an older guy (45) came out to shoot around as we finished up. I hope to see folks again on Wednesday.

Be the change yall. Like Nike endorsing Ghandi. Just be it.

--Greg

PBL (Pure Ballers League)

PBL kicks off tomorrow, 6:30am-8:00am. BBKING Park. Pure Ballas only. Respect. Hustle. Love. I am a Monstar.

Misunderstood

The way to get people to understand is to show them how much easier it would be if they understood, but you can't usually tell them, you have to quietly help them reveal it to themselves. Thus, the aha moment. Then you have to be careful not to say "I told you so." You can think it though. ;)

So which part of town are we going to take over first?...

So Luke is now a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill. I love this picture. It's the progress that feels the best as Weezy F Baby said. We were walking down the streets of Indianola on a Friday night I guess the 13th after the scrimmage and we started talking about 10 years from now. August 13th, 2020. Luke asked "So which part of town are we going to take over first?" Yes, Yes. That's an OKAY community for ya.

Lemonades for Learning...

• Keep your head up and your mind right- Mr. Trader
• Get money the right way, so you can enjoy it. - Mr. Ross aka Peewee
• Work hard, but for the right employer. -
  
• Pack light. - Mark Pett
  

Math, Motivation, and Music. Part III

What's on the other side of the pain and prejudice? Unlimited possibility. Once we're able to shake the hold the haters have on us, we can push through the pain that comes from the prejudice and see that the only real barriers to unlimited success are our own perceived limits.
2+2 = 4 Right? Not always. What if the the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts? Break through the prejudice.

What prejudice you ask? Sometimes it is, but it's not always what you think. Common says "sometimes it's comes from your own kind, or even from your own mind." So once we get over people's perceptions of us, we can move forward so fast.

I'm highly motivated right now and I want to be the best. Not for me, but because I know what it will mean to so many people around me. They told me that. "I want to be the best. Plain and simple. And to be the best you have to win."

On your quest to do your best each day, you will have people trying to "hook" ya. "Watch for the hook. " ( Cool Breeze, ft. Goodie Mob CLASSIC!!!" )

James and the Giant Reach Chapter 1

So, James is 25 and has had a lot of life. Hopefully, this post will inspire others as James and his story will.

Question: If you could do whatever you wanted for a career, what would you do?

I would work with the youth of the Mississippi Delta and show them that there is a life outside of the place and that they can be and do whatever they want in life. All they would have to do is get the goals and go for them and them no one tell them they can't.

James Henry Glenn II

Life, lessons, and Lemonade.

August 15, 2010

We turn lemons into lemonade, lemonade into money, and money into community investments.


Concept:

Life lessons and Lemonade stand opens at 11am! Come on and buy or share a lesson on life and get a lemonade for free!! 50% of the profits go the amazing Sunflower County Freedom Project.

Result:

We made $32 today from our lemonade sales. We'll do more promo, but we've got some good word of mouth marketing working now. 'Preciate Shaun (11th) and his little buddy who's name escapes me (6th grade.) They want to be franchisees. What should we call it? Well, in the meantime $16 to the SCFP. Help us decide what pa...rt/program of the Freedom Project we should support.

"James and the Giant Reach"

Youth.

Adversity.

Discipline.

Struggle.

Hope.

James and the Giant Reach.

...Coming Soon...




















--Greg McCoy
O.K.A.Y. C.M.

Inch by Inch- Math, Music, and Motivation Pt. 2

This is part two of this math, music, and motivation series.

So I volunteered at Kid's University this afternoon with Mykia Clayton as we explored possibilities for the OKAY Community to develop sustainable service projects. Among other things, I was able to work with a sixth grader and taught him a magic math trick with the 11 times tables. He was pretty quick with it, but still struggled and his mom showed up while we were still working. She said "I can wait," noticing his excitement and focus as he approached mastery of the trick. He finally got it right as she was saying "I'll wait in the car..." He lit up. I can't wait to see him challenge me next time.

Isn't it amazing how little things can make a difference. Well, I'm working on doing more personal and reflective writing, which I'll provide a link to on a different blog (The Beautiful Struggle, I think) . I want to keep this blog focused on projects, results, and connections, rather than anecdotes ( which I have a ton of by the way!)

This is a song I forgot about and oh, before I forget, if you want to learn the math trick, please do email us as okaycommunity@gmail.com and we'll teach you.

Inch by Inch yall. Be the change you want to see in the world.

Tupac: Changes. Reflect and enjoy. Enjoy and reflect.

Let's make it happen,

--Greg McCoy
Founding Community Member

Become a part of the O.K.A.Y. Community

This is your chance to become a part of the O.K.A.Y. Community movement. We are an organization that is in the business of improving communities with Our Knowledge and Action through Youth. OKAY!

We have investment opportunities at three different levels, where everyone can become an active member of the O.K.A.Y. Community. You can invest below or click on the sidebar on the O.K.A.Y. Community Store Link

Math, Music, and Motivation. Part 1

This is a four part series through which I'll be posting something that is either math, music, or motivation, or maybe a combination of both.

This week at the SCFP we have MATH RAP WARS!! How can I explain it? The culmination of a summer's worth of intense math classes channeled into a musical performance by our students. It is however, a competition and in a competition at the SCFP, there are no quitters!

Are you a quitter? Or are you a Go Getter?

"I'm going for the gold, my heart is in control. My mind is on succeed and I am in the LEAD." ....

A Change Is Gonna Come

I prefer the Otis Redding version, to me, he just gets so into it. No knock on Sam Cooke, but Otis really gets it on this one:
The Sunflower County Freedom Project is definitely in the building!

Teach For America Delta is definitely in the building!

The BB King Museum is definitely in the building!

The Delta Health Alliance is definitely in the building!

Greenville Renaissance Scholars is definitely in the building!

And the list goes on, the opportunities are growing, and the saga continues.... ( Wu-tang, Wu-tang... :) Sorry, I had to through that in there."

"Never doubt that a small group of dedicated individuals can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead

Let's make it happen,

--Greg McCoy

Founding Community Member

Next Up?

We have some solid projects that will be putting out over the next two months. With the help of the Freedom Project, BB King Museum, and other local supporters, we'll host

1) Tied to the Community For Success: Teaching young men how to tie a tie and much more.

2) Open Mic Night in Indianola

Civil Rights Tours is coming...