"It's Time To Listen To The Youth!"

Today is a beautiful California winter day. After coming home from church and putting my son to sleep, I decided to browse the net for a while. My wife and I listened to a couple of Dr. King's speeches yesterday so I decided to read through and listen to some more of his material today. I entered The best of Dr. King in the google window and several tabs popped up. The first tab that I clicked on contained an interesting article featuring Martin Luther King III. According to the article, gang violence at Belleville HS in Detroit has students and school officials on edge. Tension among ethnic groups led Pete Lazaroff, superintendent of Van Buren Public Schools to bring King in to address the students. The superintendent later stated that a diversity event like the King speech "is the only reasonable action to what we are all experiencing."

I applaud the superintendent for his rapid response to the escalating gang/ethnic rifts. Throughout the years, I have had my fair share of working with schools to de-escalate potentially volatile situations. Motivational speeches are effective, especially if they are followed up with an immediate strategic damage control plan. On the other hand, these types of diversity events can be hazardous to your school's health if the students perceive them as a one night stand. Schools often bring vibrant, dynamic speakers in, but without proper follow-up the students resort back to displeasing behavior. In the City of Compton, I operate a mentoring program that helps youth overcome emotional issues and discover/develop their inherent gifts. In the school setting we continue to find that the youth have the propensity to excel but they need us to listen to them. I am all for speaking to the youth but I also believe we need to let them speak to us too.

The youth can articulate and provide philosophical explanations that validate their cause. In short, they need oportunities to speak their minds. Perspective is an extremely powerful tool in marketing and reasoning. Most often perception is reality in the minds of the youth but we don't stand a chance if we don't at least know what their perspective is. The youth will open up to that which they can relate to. This principle is a weapon in the war against gang violence. Young people can relate to people who have been through what they are going through. It's almost like anti-venom, where someone is bitten by a snake and the poison is fought off by an injection of venom. It's a worthwhile investment to take a look at programs that are headed by reformed gangbangers. Proven programs that offer empirical evidence can greatly advance your ongoing efforts to eradicate school violence. Bring speakers in and have a plan to implement violence diversion programs that work.

When I was six my parents divorced leaving a void that I thought I could fill with gang affiliation and hustling. By thirteen I was selling drugs and thuggin'. At sixteen I maintained a 3.86 gpa and was kicked out of my mom's house for purchasing a car with illegal money. At seventeen I was voted ASB President and I graduated high school and began making $3,000/hr selling drugs. I now have two college degrees, a business and a non-profit organization. Even when I was selling drugs I had the right gift but I had the wrong product. Our mentoring program is responsible for turning around several schools. I would love to visit and assist with the turn-around at Belleville HS. Together we can turn your school around! It's time we listen to our youth.