_____________________________

Annual Chesapeake Conference Addresses Issues Of Black Male

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

     The 300 young black men expected to attend the third annual Black Male Development Conference probably will not be transformed into mature men overnight; but, the point is to spell out the maturing process.
      The goal is to make the do’s and don'ts clear and precise at this year’s conference which will be held Saturday, May 3 from 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. at Indian River High School in Chesapeake.  Sponsored by the New Chesapeake Men for Progress, the event will focus on the theme: “The Journey to Manhood: Transforming Boys into Men and and Men into Fathers.”
     “We’re just doing what we’re supposed to do as older men,” said Dr. Tyrone Davis, a Hampton Roads psychologist, who chairs the NCMP committee which plans the conference for young males each year.
     “We want to get down to the meat of the issue as it relates to the passage from boyhood to manhood,” Davis said.      “We want to deal with these issues in a frank manner.”
      An array of speakers will focus on personal and sexual issues, as well as crime, Davis said.
      Speakers will include influential African American men in the Chesapeake area such as Dr. William E. Ward, the city’s former mayor. Other speakers are Chesapeake City Manager Dr. William E. Harrell, and Dr. Bisi Oladipupo, a Norfolk State University professor.
      Aimed at both parents and sons, the day-long event will feature specialized workshops. Parents are encouraged to attend a two-hour morning conference that’s aimed at adults.
      An FBI regional representative will close the conference by administering an oath of citizenship to each young male. He will award a certificate to those who sign a pledge to be good citizens for one year.
     “The thing with most young men is that they don’t know how to ask the question: ‘Show me how to do it,’ ” said Richard Griffin, co-chairman of the NCMP committee which plans the annual conference. “Spell out the steps which will safely lead from boyhood to manhood. Be specific.
     “The main difference I’ve seen from the first year to this year, is that the young men and their parents recognize that somebody is actually listening and trying to help them get things done.
     “What I’m starting to see, slowly, is that people see our concern and are starting to open up more. In our community we have so much reserve toward the system. But when we see the system is concerned, we see people and things change.”
      This growing concern may explain why more students and parents are attending.

   Climbing from about 120 males the first year, to about 175 males the second year, attendance this year is expected to include about 300 young men. About 200 parents are expected.
      Davis said, “We want to zone in on this period from ages 5-18. We want to talk about what goes on during this period, and what are the consequences of specific choices. We want to say it is a period to have fun; but, it is also a period of responsibility.”

Posted April 9, 2008

  
     “We get larger and larger each year,” added Griffin, a single father of two-nearly-grown sons. Employed by the Chesapeake school system, he speaks in rapid-fire sentences, sounding electrified and yet very concerned. “The purpose of this conference is to reach out to young black men in the city, to show them a more positive way to do things,” a new way to approach problem-solving,
      A lot of young men want details, specific-exact particulars on how you safely pass from boyhood to manhood, Griffin said. “However, there is a mindset that thinks ‘if no one shows me how to do it—what to do, or who I can be—then I’ll go look for it in the streets.’ And if there is not a role model to refute the role models that some young men find in the streets,” then some boys will turn to anti-social behavior such as baggy trousers, sub-standard diction, swearing, drugs, or the MTV-and- BET-version of reality, in other words.
     “I think they do it to survive,” Griffin said. “Society tells them that’s what is expected of them. But at the conference we’re trying to tell them what to say yes to.”
      The goal is to replace bad demeanor with something else. And several influential men who are active in the community will be on hand to help young men discover there is another way to pass from boyhood to manhood.
      They want to help young men discover that—whether it is a flair for electronics, sports, writing, drawing, computers, or whatever—there is something else in life for them.
Meanwhile, area barbershops are actively involved in promoting the upcoming conference, Griffin said.       “The barbershops are very active in getting the word out. That’s a very important part of our community” where information is passed on, he explained. Real-life stories are told there.
     “We get larger and larger each year because the information is getting out to the community. Plus there’s a need. People are looking for answers and real solutions. People realize that a real problem does exist.
     “I’m getting calls from as far away as Franklin and Suffolk from those who want to bring groups to the conference,” Griffin said. “We already have several groups registered, not just individuals.”
     The point is to take a holistic and common sense approach to changing ideologies, Davis noted in a press release. If the idea of a conference for young black men spreads into cities and regions, he said, it will help many people.
      “We will address issues such as teaching and motivating the unprepared and the unwilling,” Davis noted. “We also plan to critically reflect on black male relations with their significant others and the culture of materialism that tends to swallow the black man. We will encourage him to participate in activities that may radically redefine his hope and aspirations.”
      To register, phone 409-9044.

Click Here to Subscribe to the New Journal and Guide.