| Accentuating the positives: 'Black male crisis' targeted by mentors Published in the Asbury Park Press 2/26/03 By KEITH BROWN STAFF WRITER Bradley Elementary School fifth-grader Robert Russell knows the meaning of respect. "You treat people like you want to be treated," the bespectacled 10-year-old said when asked by former school principal Enoch Peters at a male mentoring program held at Bradley Elementary in Asbury Park Feb. 24. The two-hour program was run by members of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and included boys from the school's fifth-grade class. Its primary focus, according to Peters, was to help stem the tide of what Peters called a "black male crisis." Said Peters: "Too many of our boys are being raised without a male in their homes to look to for guidance. This program was established to show that there are positive black male influences available to them." The workshop-based program centered around three discussion topics: drugs and violence, respect for women, and academics and sports. Students were divided into small groups and were challenged by members of Alpha Phi Alpha -- the first black Greek-letter fraternity in the nation, according to Peters -- to share their own experiences and examine their own behavior. The one-day workshop program was part of a larger, ongoing mentoring program -- Project Alpha -- that the fraternity is beginning in conjunction with the Asbury Park Chapter of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Peters said. According to Peters, the fraternity and Big Brothers/Big Sisters have received a $220,000federal grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, a division of the U.S. Department of Justice, to add 75 mentors to Project Alpha over the next three years for middle school-aged boys. Daniella Cuje, of Long Branch, who holds a graduate degree in social work, will coordinate the program, which is based at Asbury Middle School, where many of the Bradley students will go after graduating this summer. "These kinds of programs make a tremendous difference in the lives of our kids," said Alpha Phi Alpha presenter Joseph Feast, of Howell. "We know they're effective and we're very excited to be part of that process." Peters, who also is a retired principal of Bradley Elementary, ran the Respect for Women workshop, asking the students to cite an example from their lives where they might have seen an instance where a woman was not treated with respect. None of the boys had trouble finding an instance. Peters then led a discussion on the importance of treating women with respect, again centering around the boys real-world experiences. "I have no doubt that you will grow into respectful young men. And that process begins now," Peters said, addressing the group. "As a way of showing respect, help the women in your family. "There is nothing wrong with helping out with cleaning, or washing dishes, or looking after your younger brothers or sisters. It's respect." Amid mild, albeit hushed, protest from some of the boys, Peters said: "You are not weak when you are kind." It was a message Robert Russell, who said he has a mentor not because he wasn't getting enough attention, but because he wanted to go fun places, had engrained already. "I already knew that," he said. Keith Brown: (732) 643-4078; e-mail kbrown@app.com. |
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| Former Bradley Elementary School principal Enoch Peters poses a questino to student Luis Sots,10, duting mentoring program |
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| Former Bradley Elementary School principal Enoch Peters directs a discussion about respect for women with students during a mentoring program at the school. |
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