Hampton & Newport News Join Forces In Seeking Male Mentors For Students

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

When Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck and Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones recently urged Peninsula residents to serve as mentors in the two cities’ public school systems, they did not whip out scholarly reports, posters and flow charts that show mentoring works at their press conference.

Instead, both of the mayors who head majority Black cities in Virginia, sat before cameras at the press conference and urged male mentors to volunteer, especially “Black males in the business community – who will serve as role models for students in single-parent homes.”

While online records show mentors must undergo a background check that Hampton City Schools will pay for its mentors, this minor inconvenience does not overshadow the impact that thousands of male mentors have already had on the lives of millions of young Black males, including former President Barack Obama.

Obama said his father’s absence caused a “hole” in his heart, which caused him to launch a 2014 mentoring program called My Brother’s Keeper. The initiative aimed to increase opportunities for boys and young men of color in underserved communities and focused on providing education, reading, job training and mentoring.

Describing a male mentor’s impact when he launched My Brother’s Keeper, Obama said, “I believe the continuing struggles of so many boys and young men – the fact that too many of them are falling by the wayside, dropping out, unemployed, involved in negative behavior, going to jail, being profiled – this is a moral issue for our country.”

Tuck and Jones aim to address this problem in Hampton and Newport News. Records show about 65 percent of students qualified for free or reduced lunches in Newport News, which means many students live around or below the poverty line. More records show some schools, such as Newport News, Norfolk and Virginia Beach, offer their students free breakfast regardless of whether their families qualify for economic hardship under the United States Department of Agriculture’s Community Eligibility Provisions program.

“Through this provision, the majority of our schools, 39 school sites, offer free breakfast and lunch for all students without collecting applications,”  Michelle Price, spokeswoman for Newport News Public Schools, said in a recent report.

Mayor Phillip Jones

Mentors who sign up this year in Newport News and Hampton will participate in an array of activities including reading, participating in the mayor’s book club, and coaching. Many mentors will also serve as guest speakers for males ages 14-24.

“The fact is,” Mayor Tuck said at the recent press conference, “many young Black boys have no male role models unless they are involved in athletics. We’ve seen progress in reducing youth violence in Hampton and Newport News, especially among Black males aged 14 to 24. To sustain this, we need mentors ready to commit an hour a week or every two weeks, helping these boys forge productive futures. I urge the men in our community to come forward and make a profound impact that will shape lives for years to come.”

Mayor Jones added: “By joining forces, our cities are taking a significant step toward a critical need. Let’s be clear: This is just the beginning. For this to work, we need the community to step up.”

This means while numerous national organizations such as 100 Black Men of America, Concerned Black Men, The Boys Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America work to address some of these issues,  concerned residents can step up right now and address this issue this school year in Hampton and Newport News.

For information on how to be a mentor or volunteer in Hampton City Schools.or in Newport News Schools, visit their city schools websites.