Let’s take a pause to recognize that mothers are the salt of the earth.

With the decline of the black male image in America, we need black mothers to be even stronger. We need them to raise the standard higher if we want a better tomorrow for black males.

Today, I asked our L.E.A.D. Ambassadors from Atlanta Public Schools to describe what makes their mother so special and this is what they shared.

L.E.A.D. Ambassador Vernard Kennedy, New Schools at Carver

Without my mom, everything in my daily schedule would be so unorganized. I would have quit so many great things. She continues to push me and I love her for that. She is my inspiration.

L.E.A.D. Ambassador Jalen Cannon, B.E.S.T. Academy

What makes my mother so special is that she is always there for me. When I need something, she helps me get it.

L.E.A.D. Ambassador Amyr Smith, Henry Grady High School

My mother has been a mother and my father. She had to raise two kids on her own and I will be furthering my education as a student-athlete at Morehouse College in the fall because of her.

L.E.A.D. Ambassador D’Angelo Julio, South Atlanta High School

My mother is raising my sister and I by herself and she’s been doing a great job. We will both be attending college.

D’Angelo Julio and his twin sister Angelaa

L.E.A.D. Ambassador Tyquavious Noland, Maynard Jackson High School

What makes my mom special is the love that she shows everybody all the time.

L.E.A.D. Ambassador Byron Brinkley, Drew Charter School

My mom is a single mother and she takes care great care of my older brother Brandon and I. Brandon will graduate from Columbus State University tomorrow and I plan to attend the University of Oregon as a student-athlete when I graduate from high school. We’ve never starved, been homeless nor have I had to sell drugs to get money.

L.E.A.D. Ambassador Jacoby Evans, Booker T. Washington High School

My mom is special because she can bring a smile to anyone’s face and she is my ultimate support system.

L.E.A.D. Ambassador D’Anthony Morrow, Benjamin E. Mays High School

My mother makes countless sacrifices for my older sister and I. My older sister graduated from the University of Florida with a law degree. She teaches us how to handle tough situations. She is my mother and also a great friend.

L.E.A.D. Ambassador Cedric Reed, New Schools at Carver c/o 2013, Georgia Highlands College

What makes my mom so special is her willingness to make sacrifices for us. She teaches us to care for others and to never give up.

L.E.A.D. Ambassador Desmond Stegall, Benjamin E. Mays High School c/o 2011, Grambling State University

My mother is everything I need and want. She can be my best friend, biggest critic, motivator, #1 supporter and most importantly my mother.

L.E.A.D. Ambassador Sean Warren, North Atlanta High School

My mom is special because she makes incredible sacrifices for me.

Talk about ironic. Here I am at the age of 39 this morning leading hundreds of Atlantans of varying race, age and gender down Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. from in the historic Hunter Hills Community of Atlanta from Mozley Park to Booker T. Washington High School for our 5th Inner City Youth Baseball March.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of my heros.

Booker T. Washington High School educated Dr. King Jr. before he enrolled at neighboring Morehouse College at age 15.

At age 39, Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, TN.

Before being laid to rest at the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Center in the Auburn Avenue Community, his body traveled on Hunter Street which is now Martin Luther King Jr. Drive through what is being developed now as the new home stadium for the Atlanta Falcons.

Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Atlanta was once Hunter Street. This Hunter Hills Community was the home of some of Atlanta’s most educated and financially stable blacks.

Today Booker T. Washington High School educates some of the poorest students in Atlanta. It’s 30314 zip code is one of the most dangerous communities in America. 60% of black males will not graduate from high school within Atlanta Public Schools on time or at all.

“Keep Calm I’m A L.E.A.D. Ambassador. ” ~C.J. Stewart

My mother Bertha Gail Stewart graduated from Booker T. Washington High School at the age of 16 while also be pregnant with me.

My uncle Bob Wilburn met my aunt Margie (Rest In Peace) on the track at Washington High School.

I love Washington High School and I love Atlanta.

Dr. King organized several marches to demonstrate the organization and strength of blacks during our fight for equality.

So why is L.E.A.D. marching?

We are marching to demonstrate our organization and strength regarding the social injustice issue of the decline of blacks in baseball.

L.E.A.D. (Launch, Expose, Advise, Direct) partners with Atlanta Public Schools to provide a 12-month Pathway2Empowerment opportunity to black males grades 6th through 12th and we have well over 100 of them here this morning suited in Mizuno apparel from head to toe.

America, black boys in Atlanta love baseball by the thousands. Through L.E.A.D., several Ambassadors are using baseball to enroll and graduate from college. They are now working for companies such as Home Depot, Mizuno and Aerotek to name a few.

The decline of blacks in baseball is a social injustice issue and we aren’t happy about it in Atlanta. Baseball across the world will not thrive in the future without the participation of blacks on the field, in the stands or in the front office.

Provide more access and opportunity to black male youth in baseball and watch the numbers increase at the collegiate level which currently has less than 6% of blacks on all NCAA baseball rosters across America.

Like Dr. King and I, Jackie Robinson was born in Georgia. Jackie Robinson was more than the first black to play in the Major Leagues during the modern era. He saved Major League Baseball.

Dr. King and Jackie Robinson

Baseball is a big deal throughout the world.

Baseball saved my life as a black boy growing up in the inner city of Atlanta.

Because of baseball, today I’m uniquely positioned to empower an at risk generation to lead and transform their city of Atlanta.

Atlanta will never be a world class city until hundreds of thousands of black males are living a sustainable life of significance.

Click here to see our L.E.A.D. Impact Stats.

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If my freedom was taken away from me, then I would…

If my freedom was taken away from me, then I would fight for it back like my ancestors did. I can’t say that I could go through all that they did but I am willing to go through the trials for my freedom fighting spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically.

If baseball was taken away from me, then I would…

If baseball was taken away from me, then I honestly would be lost because this game has taught me a lot about life and how to encounter failures and how to work through them.

L.E.A.D. Ambassador Vernard Kennedy with L.E.A.D. Executive Director/Co-founder Kelli Stewart

2. Complete these two sentences L.E.A.D. Ambassador D’Anthony Morrow (Benjamin E. Mays High School).

If my freedom was taken away from me, then I would…

If my freedom was taken away from me, then I would focus on educating myself and learning more about God so that when I regained my freedom I could become a community leader and fight poverty.

If baseball was taken away from me, then I would…

If baseball was taken away from me, then I would continue to use my academics to earn a scholarship into college.

L.E.A.D. Ambassadors left to right: Tyquavious Noland, Jacoby Evans, D’Angelo Julio and D’Anthony Morrow

3. Complete these two sentences L.E.A.D. Ambassador Sean Warren (North Atlanta High School).

If my freedom was taken away from me, then I would…

If my freedom was taken away from me, then I would protect my mind by demolishing all negative thoughts like the slaves were forced to.

If baseball was taken away from me, then I would…

If baseball was taken away from me, then I would not feel free.

L.E.A.D. Ambassador Sean Warren (North Atlanta High School)

Establishing a mission and setting SMART goals is essential to a life well lived.

Goals and missions can be categorized as being easy, crazy and impossible.

I love to seek crazy goals and missions. L.E.A.D.’s (Launch, Expose, Advise, Direct) mission is to empower an at risk generation to lead and transform their city of Atlanta. That’s crazy and here is why!

1. Atlanta Public Schools serves 50,000+ students and 80% of those students live at or below the poverty level

3. 60% of black males from Atlanta Public Schools will not graduate from high school on time or at all

Really lock in on this conversation that I had with L.E.A.D. Ambassador Austin Evans after our meeting with Georgia Governor Deal yesterday at the State Capitol.

Austin Evans is a senior at Atlanta Public Schools’ New Schools at Carver and is also a POSSE Foundation Scholarship recipient. He will be taking his talents to Texas A&M in the fall. Keep Austin uplifted in your prayers also because he is a finalist for the Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Foundation Scholarship.

Rise up Atlanta!

Excuse the LSU sweatshirt that Austin is wearing Aggie fans!

CJ: Is the Governor approachable?

A. Evans: The governor is very a approachable man and I felt very comfortable in his presence.

CJ: Describe the personality of the Governor?

A. Evans: His personality was professional and as the conversation continued he showed me a more welcoming side of him. He’s a very nice man.

CJ: Describe his hand shake?

A. Evans: He gave a respectable firm handshake while looking me in the eyes.

CJ: Can the Governor connect with teenage black males? Describe.

A. Evans: The governor can connect with black males if he reaches out to them in way that makes them comfortable. Black males feel as though the government doesn’t exist to help them. That barrier must be removed before we can truly connect.

CJ: What surprised you the most about the Governor?

A. Evans: The most surprising thing was that he remembered my grandfather extremely well and had the utmost respect for him. My grandfather shined Governor Deal’s shoes in Gainesville long before he became the Governor of Georgia.

CJ: If you had the power, influence and the leadership of the Governor, what three problems would you solve first in Georgia?

A. Evans: First I would change the disparities in the educational system. Second, I would close the tremendous wealth gap. Third, I would promote more unity and competition because through competition greatness happens.

CJ: What will you be doing in the year 2040?

A. Evans: In 2040, I plan on being a U.S. Senator representing and empowering Georgia.

Austin actually told Governor Deal that he wanted to become a U.S. Senator and the Governor’s look into Austin’s eyes was priceless. Thank you Kelli Stewart for capturing that surreal moment.

L.E.A.D. Ambassador Austin Evans and Governor Nathan Deal

Thank you Governor Deal for your Commendation of support and special praise of L.E.A.D.

All we have to do now is continue leading.

Join us at lead2legacy.org.

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I pen this message with a heavy, offended and angry heart.

Let me be clear: I am an advocate for children. In addition to my two biological children, The Lord has given me charge to speak for hundreds of young, Black boys in the City of Atlanta through my organization L.E.A.D. (Launch, Expose, Advise, Direct) where I serve as the executive director.

LEAD is not just another non-profit, it was birthed in my family’s home and is our third child. The boys we serve, our boys, know our names and are counting on us to be there to guide them and protect their dreams. Their families’ have invited us to join their teams because they see an opportunity that no one else is offering their sons. My husband, C.J. Stewart, and I consider it a privilege to be chosen for such an endeavor – to be the voice for children who are often counted out and misrepresented. He was once that child until others in his community became advocates for him and his dreams.

This is why it is especially disturbing and extremely offensive to me that every year, without fail, like clockwork, around the start of baseball season (and even more intense near and on Jackie Robinson Day) the sports industry starts churning with articles about the decline of blacks in baseball.  Mind you, I endure this madness all while we serve over 200 Black boys each year and could serve more with the right partnerships and funding. And by the way, we have a waiting list of schools and school districts who want our programs in their communities. To hear “black kids aren’t interested” and “baseball doesn’t resonate with the black community” year after year when my paradigm here in Atlanta is the exact opposite, is very irritating.

Some folks just pretend like they’re trying to help.

Sometime, folks just pretend like they’re trying to help. When someone is pretending like they want to help you, they host “summits” and “roundtables” and “workshops”. These tactics have their place, but at some point you have to stop talking and start doing. When someone really wants to help you, they do site visits, meet with your leadership, evaluate your program and, if you’re worthy, make multi-year commitments to community based programs that nurture sustainability and growth. I specifically say “community based programs” because it is not Major League Baseball’s job to run programming in our communities. It is up to leadership within the community to establish programs that organizations like MLB can get behind and support. (The previous statement is another blog all by itself, but I digress.)

Here in Atlanta, Black boys are winning through LEAD and we have the stats to prove it. To date, 100% of the young men who complete our program graduate from high school, 95% enroll into college and 92% receive scholarship money to help pay for college. One statistic we don’t track is how many of our program graduates play Major League Baseball – because that’s not our focus. Who cares how many Black men are playing Major League Baseball when Black boys aren’t even graduating from high school in respectable numbers? In Atlanta, about 60% of Black boys do not graduate from high school at all or on time. What’s even more depressing is that 80% of Georgia’s prison population is made up of youth from three Atlanta zip codes: 30310, 30315 and 30318. And you want me to use baseball to increase the number of Jason Heywards and Andrew McCutchens as I stare down the barrel of these miserable statistics and the detrimental outcomes that they breed?

LEAD Ambassador Austin Evans, Governor Nathan Deal, C.J. Stewart (LEAD Co-founder/CEO)

Forgive me if I want to use baseball for a more pressing concern. I am much more concerned about Black boys progressing through and graduating from high school on time, pursuing advanced education options, becoming gainfully employed, becoming actively engaged community leaders, husbands and fathers. And by being concerned about these things, one of the ancillary effects could be that you have more Black families with more disposable income who can afford the price tag that goes along with being in love with baseball.

So forgive me if I’m just a bit perturbed by this annual round of rhetoric; I’ve heard it before. All talk and very little action. Most importantly, our boys have heard it before and they know who’s genuinely trying to help them and who’s just posturing.

Meanwhile in Atlanta through LEAD, we’re getting it done.

Join us. www.lead2legacy.org