Precinct Reporter Group News

Top Menu

  • Precinct Reporter News
  • Food
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy

Main Menu

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Read Our E-Edition
  • ADVERTISE
  • Subscribe
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login
  • Precinct Reporter News
  • Food
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy

logo

Precinct Reporter Group News

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Read Our E-Edition
  • ADVERTISE
  • Subscribe
  • Black Rose Awards Set For Sat., February 4

  • OC Black History Parade & Unity Festival

  • LBCC Students Get Ready for Male Success Initiative

  • Advocates Address Rise in Suicide for Black Males

  • Cops Search Black Teens 6X More Than White Peers

Latest PRGNews
Home›Latest PRGNews›Enlightened Mentor Project Champions Black Youth

Enlightened Mentor Project Champions Black Youth

By Precinct Reporter News
September 9, 2021
1168
0
Share:

By Dianne Anderson

Of all the skills that Tony Williams believes helped him traverse the hardest places of his youth, discernment tops his list, thanks to many caring mentors and coaches along the way.

Growing up in Compton and through his high school years in Inglewood during the 80s seemed hopeless, everything was all about gangs and drugs, and he saw it all first hand.

He lived in a Blood neighborhood.

“They were dealing right in front of me, people offered me to run drugs for them. I saw people killed, I had friends that died that I grew up with that didn’t make it. And it was really heavy with gang activity,” said Williams, founder and president of The Enlightened Mentor Project.

With a passion for the inner city community, he started the program in 2019 with outreach in Los Angeles and South L.A. area. But he feels that Orange County — even with its smaller Black population — holds challenges.

Through recent funding from the Orange County Community Foundation, he is looking to work with local Black-led nonprofits to help reach Black youth ages 12 to 23. His focus is on character building, developing emotional maturity and academics, and getting them ready for when opportunity knocks.

He calls them his “champions,” not mentees, and they are paired with family men and businessmen, much like himself that have raised successful families and bring a wealth of experience. The youth will work in teams, learning to build up the brotherhood to form a solid support system.

“We want to change the narrative, particularly with our young Black males who are being told you’re going to go to jail, not college. You’re going to be in trouble, you’re going to find problems in life,” he said.

Programming continues on Zoom and other platforms during COVID, but they’re also leveraging sports events to expand outreach. “We know a lot of our African American youth are involved with sports, but rather than create a mechanism away from that, let’s leverage it,” he said.

With so many young Black men facing uncertainty these days, he said the foundation of their programming is designed to help them learn to respond to situations, rather than react.

“In that moment, you have to decide how to handle it. If you just react, you’re likely to do something wrong. If you can stop and reflect a bit on what’s happening and craft a response, you’re more likely to have a better outcome,” he said.

Since the killing of George Floyd, he said candid conversations around survival tools are crucial for young Black men, and sets the foundation of their TEM model to Dream, Plan To Reflect, and Adjust.

Most importantly, he said they need to dream, and not let the world dictate who they are or what they want to be. But he wants them to be circumspect and aware.

Williams works in Irvine as a technician, and his daughter attends UC Irvine. Frequently, he travels in and out of the area, and knows what local youth are up against. He wants them to learn to make the right choices in the moment.

As for himself, he’s lost count on how many times he’s been pulled over in Irvine. He falls back to practice what he teaches his champions.

“I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with Irvine [police]. I guess a Black man is not supposed to drive a Tesla. I’ve had to answer questions about driving to and from work. Another vehicle with a [American] flag tried to run me off the road,” he said.

In the past, he worked with youth at local sports facilities, including Anaheim, where some of their champions participate in basketball games. After the games, they also pull youth together talk about things that matter, such as navigating the streets of Orange County, or wherever they are.

Currently, his program is working with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, particularly kids currently in foster homes. He invites the community to contact them through their website to request services. No one is turned away.

“Maybe they’re in middle school, maybe high school, some of our folks we work with are in college. Wherever they are, our goal is to make them as strong as possible academically,” he said.

For more information, see https://enlightenedmentorproject.com/

Tagsacademicsfoster homesmentorOrange Countytricounty bulletinyouth
Previous Article

Midnight Basketball League Program is Back

Next Article

PAL Center Hosts Free Vaccine, Food, and ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Precinct Reporter News

Related articles More from author

  • Latest PRGNews

    Civil Rights Icon Vernon Jordan Dies at 85

    March 3, 2021
    By Precinct Reporter News
  • Latest PRGNews

    Congressman Elijah Cummings Dies at 68

    October 24, 2019
    By Precinct Reporter News
  • Latest PRGNews

    The HBCU Oasis at UCI: Center for Black Cultures, Resources & Research

    February 25, 2021
    By Precinct Reporter News
  • Latest PRGNews

    OC COR Calls Youth Summit

    February 13, 2020
    By Precinct Reporter News
  • Latest PRGNews

    New Law: One of Strongest Police Use-of-Force Laws

    August 22, 2019
    By Precinct Reporter News
  • Latest PRGNews

    Road Map to Relieving $1.7 Trillion Student Debt

    December 10, 2020
    By Precinct Reporter News

You might be interested

  • Latest PRGNews

    CASA: African American Advocates Needed

  • Latest PRGNews

    Report Reveals Cops Explicit Bias against African Americans

  • Latest PRGNews

    Back to the Farmlands: African Americans Excel in Agricultural Fields

Ads

Advertise with us!

Ads ||

Ads |

ADS III

Find us on Facebook

Ads

Precinct Reporter News Group

Your local news resource for 50 years in the Inland Empire, Orange County, Long Beach and surrounding areas!

To subscribe or advertise, call 909.889.0597

About us

  • Broadcasting & Media Production Company
    357 W. 2nd Street
    San Bernardino, California, CA 92401
  • mailto:sales@precinctreporter.com
  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Black Rose Awards Set For Sat., February 4

    By Precinct Reporter News
    January 26, 2023
  • OC Black History Parade & Unity Festival

    By Precinct Reporter News
    January 26, 2023
  • LBCC Students Get Ready for Male Success Initiative

    By Precinct Reporter News
    January 26, 2023
  • IE/OC Prostate and Breast Cancer, Change the Menu

    By PRGNews
    July 16, 2015
  • Join our Recipe Competition!

    By PRGNews
    July 16, 2015
  • SB Budget Cuts CDBG

    SB CDBG Cuts Have Local Nonprofits Braced for the Worst

    By PRGNews
    July 16, 2015

Follow us

© Powered by Hotspotwebsites.net. All rights reserved.