What does the word empact mean? It’s actually not a word.  The topic of this blog is impact with an “i”.  Impact could be mistakenly spelled using an “e” but if it doesn’t begin with an “i”, it’s wrong.

L.E.A.D. Ambassadors at Ebenezer Baptist Church

The ability to make an impact on the life of someone is a privilege.  Those that are being impacted are in need.  Especially young men that are in the Atlanta Public Schools (APS).  Young men within APS are at risk due to high crime rate and poverty which are two main reasons that 34% of African-American males graduate from high school within APS.  APS is full of amazing educators that have to deal with outside risk factors that make their jobs a challenge.  The good news is that academic excellence is returning to APS under amazing leadership.

Every problem creates an opportunity.  Thus inner city Atlanta is a prime place for non-profit organizations to serve. In order to make impact anywhere, a cultural, language, geography and history gap must be closed.

Obviously, English is the main language in America but inner city Atlanta has a language of it’s own. My experience with the language code is due to being raised in the inner city of Atlanta and my consistent engagement with youth.

If you don’t understand what’s being said, you won’t be able to communicate and make impact.  I agree that ebonics isn’t an acceptable form of communication in corporate America but it works well in the inner city of Atlanta.  To that point, if you come to Atlanta to make impact, you are responsible for understanding the language. No different than if you went to Paris for vacation.

We meet our LEADers in L.E.A.D. where they are and over a period of time and meaningful conversation impact the way that they speak so that they may properly communicate in several environments. It has to be understood that if you don’t live in the inner city of Atlanta, you are the outsider and the way that you speak is often considered wrong.

There is indeed a lot of work to do in the inner city of Atlanta to get our youth to a high level of achievement.  Let’s be respectful and patient and close the language gap before we go all in to make impact.

This blog is inspired by a recent blog that I read from John Hope Bryant entitled “Why Thug Culture Is Actually Our Inner-City Problem”.  Mr. Bryant was our keynote speaker at last years L.E.A.D. Dinner With Champions Awards Celebration at the Delta 755 Club at Turner Field.  He tells it like it really is and influences change.

Impact is the ability to influence or alter. There isn’t a day that goes by when organizations and individuals make attempts to influence positive change in Atlanta Public Schools (APS).  There are several problems that are faced in the inner city of Atlanta and as a result there is a tremendous desire to help.

I was born and raised in the inner city of Atlanta during a time when the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) were among the top academically in the state.  There were several social issues that existed but not to the point of having so many non-profit organizations being involved with the schools to promote excellence. With so many organizations available to serve youth in the inner city of Atlanta, why is the high school graduation rate of African-American males within APS still 34%?

In order to make impact anywhere, a cultural, language, geography and history gap must be closed.

The first gap that must be closed in order to make impact is a cultural gap.  As Mr. Bryant mentioned in his recent blog, there is a “thug culture” that exists in the inner city of Atlanta.  There is a desire for some youth to live a life of crime instead of making sacrifices in the classroom.  The thug life can bring fast money but it can also shorten your life on Earth. These young men want to excel but lack the tools and consistent mentor-ship to become productive citizens.

L.E.A.D. doesn’t judge the young men that we serve.  We simply meet them where they are. I understand the inner city Atlanta culture because I grew up in it. We give them what they need and not what we think that they want. L.E.A.D. offers year round programming so that we can create a new culture for our LEADers through four pillars of excellence that include academics, athletics, service/civic engagement, and exposure.

The solution to changing this negative culture is to first understand how we got here.  We got here by not remaining connected with our youth.  As a child, I was constantly asked what I wanted to be when I grew up.  My answer was always to become a professional baseball player for the Chicago Cubs.  Know one ever told me that I couldn’t do it.  With support from my family and the Atlanta community, my dream came true.

The “Thug Culture” can change by asking young students what their dreams are.  We as an Atlanta community can use our resources to help those dreams come true.  Youth organizations will create catchy slogans to raise funds and awareness but it is now time to do the work that your mission speaks of.  It is time to stop talking about the problem and be a part of the solution.

The success of the Atlanta Braves in the 90’s caused everyone to go crazy over baseball.  Do you remember when people were driving around with Tomahawks on their cars.  Youth baseball parks were filled with kids.  It seemed like everyone was wearing Braves hats and t-shirts in Atlanta.  I remember the pride that I felt as an Atlantan when Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine were shutting the opposing teams down.

I believe that if the Braves can go another championship run, baseball participation in the inner city of Atlanta will increase by the thousands.

The Atlanta Braves continue to be a strong supporter of L.E.A.D.’s mission to provide inner city Atlanta at-risk males with access to higher education and civic engagement through baseball.  L.E.A.D. has proven that when using baseball as the vehicle, high school graduation rates will increase.  Check out L.E.A.D. Impact Stats.

With only a few weeks in the Major League Baseball season, continue to cheer for the Braves.  Their success will improve education in the inner city of Atlanta.  Go Braves!

L.E.A.D. Today…Change Tomorrow!

Turner Field on a beautiful night in Atlanta

Atlanta is no doubt an amazing city.  We are the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Coca-Cola, Delta, Chick-fil-A and on and on.  The world often times looks to us for innovation and solutions to problems.

Like other major cities, we have our large share of problems.  Among that list of problems is high rates of poverty and crime caused by low rates of high school graduation.

Every problem creates an opportunity.  This the need for L.E.A.D.  Our mission is to provide inner city Atlanta middle and high school African-American males with access to higher education and civic engagement through baseball.  Click here to check out our impact stats.

Check out this article to understand why we L.E.A.D.