MXC workshop puts focus on black men
Black male mentors speak to younger counterparts
By ROBERT FELTON
While the atmosphere outside at Malcolm X College's 24-hour Registration Block Party Saturday was festive, black men both young and old were getting down to business of empowering themselves during an afternoon workshop taking place inside.
The four-hour workshop on black male image targeted youth aged 8 through 16. There were nearly three dozen young men in attendance to hear community leaders and male students from Howard University, who spoke about the importance of realizing their potential.
"I have attended events geared toward creating positive black male images and empowering black men, however, they generally featured older gentlemen," said Kevin Booth, a senior in advertising at Howard University. "That is fine, but we felt that as student speakers, our words would have more resonance because the young people in the audience can relate to us. We're closer in age and we kind of have an idea of what their desires, dreams and plans are."
The program was a collaboration between the Monarch Awards Foundation of Xi Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Sorority and Howard University.