Tied to Greatness

What is Tied to Greatness National Tour?

Objective

The outlook for young Men of Color is not promising. We intend to foster self pride in these young Men of Color so they will recognize the power of their self - image, and ultimately, make better life choices by implementing the following strategies:

Strategies

1. We overwhelm the young men with images of strong, educated, articulate, well groomed Men of Color to combat the negative stereotypes seen in their environment.
2. We teach the young men the power and importance of a strong self image through personal stories from positive influential Men of Color.
3. We teach them to “tie a tie” as a ritualistic right of passage which will ignite personal pride in appearances and build inner self esteem.
4. We have each young man recite the Tied to Greatness Pledge whereby they commit themselves to finish their education, live a better life, and be more conscious of thier image.
5. We provide each young man with a copy of the pledge and a tie that they can keep for future special events.
6. We provide a copy of, Restoring the Male Image, as a reference book to reiterate all that they have learned that day.

The Tied To Greatness National Tour is an outreach program that seeks to improve the self-image and esteem of at-risk, inner city high school males. With an average of just 35% of inner city males graduating from high school, Tied To Greatness uses the power of positive male role models, the influence of fashion, and the symbolism of the necktie as a point of manhood and maturity to remind young men about the importance of personal image, and to encourage each participant to make different choices about his future. The Tied To Greatness National Tour travels to cities and host 3-hour local presentations to at risk high school males, with the vision of inspiring a generation through personal touch and principled based dialogue. This is an initiative to reconnect young men of color to their rich history of men who dressed well, carried themselves with dignity, and accomplished great things in society.

TEN9EIGHT : Shoot For the Moon

TEN9EIGHT isn’t just a documentary. It’s the beginning of a conversation and the start of a movement. Our hope is that you are inspired by the film and motivated to both learn more and take action – to expand opportunities for entrepreneurs from low-income communities, and to introduce more people to this important issue. Start by exploring the resources below, which include links to several partner organizations and information about the issues that are defined by the film.

U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, introduces TEN9EIGHT

Diamond Empowerment Fund

Founded in 2007, The Diamond Empowerment Fund™ (D.E.F.) is a non-profit international organization with the mission to raise money to support education initiatives that develop and empower economically disadvantaged people in African nations where diamonds are a natural resource.

Established by individuals and businesses in the diamond and jewelry industries and others who are committed to the empowerment of Africa, we believe education is one of the most critical elements that powers society and empowers individuals to realize their full human potential. D.E.F. endeavors to partner with African education organizations that have a proven methodology for helping young people achieve success through self-determination, focus, and opportunity.

Vision – Helping Africans Help Africa

The Diamond Empowerment Fund (D.E.F.) envisions a future when poverty in African nations where diamonds are a natural resource is dramatically reduced through successful fund raising initiatives by the diamond jewelry industry to support projects that educate and empower Africans locally. D.E.F. envisions an effort involving the following:

• Diamond jewelry industry supporting D.E.F. through the sale of their products with donations to the Fund;
• People donating to the Fund and also choosing to purchase diamond jewelry products that support D.E.F’s mission;
• African individuals, educational and service organizations, and government entities addressing poverty and education in keeping with D.E.F’s mission.

Former President of Botswana, President F.G. Mogae at the Africa-America Institute

2nd Annual AAPDEP International Conference

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Register Today!

From Februrary 21st-22nd, 2009, Africans from around the world will convene in St. Petersburg, Florida at the International Headquarters of the Uhuru Movement to participate in the 2nd Annual AAPDEP International Conference.

AAPDEP calls on all African scientists, agricultural specialists, engineers, doctors, nurses, and those who have skills in areas related to development, or any who are intersted in volunteering skills in the areas of web design, graphic arts, photography, videography, fundraising or community outreach, to register today to participate in this important and timely conference.

Come to St. Petersburg and find your place in AAPDEP and the overall Movement for African self-reliance and self-determination!

Again, thank you for your important expression of unity with African self-reliance and self-determination!

Click here to Register Now!

UHURU!

Dr. Aisha Fields
AAPDEP Director

The Power of Mentoring

NAME OF ORGANIZATION: Bigs United (Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC)

VENUE ADDRESS: Galapagos Art Space, 16 Main St., Brooklyn (DUMBO) (at the corner of Water St.). Nearest subways are the F train (York St. stop), A or C trains (High St. stop), 2/3 trains (Clark St. stop)

EVENT DATE: Monday, February 23, 2009

EVENT TIME: 7pm – 9pm

EVENT PRICE: Free

TELEPHONE NUMBER: (718) 222-8500

WEBSITE: www.galapagosartspace.com / www.bigsnyc.org/v-bunited.php

A Black History Month event featuring Kevin Powell (poet, activist, author of “The Black Male Handbook” and former cast member of MTV’s first season of The Real World: New York) and additional speakers Graham Weatherspoon (Director, Pubic Relations, 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care) and Herbert Williams (Director, Operations, Verizon Telecom Partners Solutions)

Kevin Powell - The Black Male Handbook: A Blueprint for Life

Wednesday, February 11, 20096:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Acclaimed author, community activist, and Hip Hop Historian, Kevin Powell, comes to Philadelphia to commence Black History Month with Black and Male in America at the African American Museum.

Kevin Powell is a community organizer, activist, hip hop aficionado, and acclaimed author. Powell is a 2009 NAACP Image Award nominee known for his latest work, The Black Male Handbook: A Blueprint for Life.

Black and Male in America is a 30-city speaking tour, created to educate and uplift Black males and their communities, focusing on the teachings found in Kevin Powell?s The Black Male Handbook.

Black and Male in America is Kevin Powell's educational speaking tour in which Powell will be offering guidance and solutions to men and women of all ages to combat the various crises in the Black community. These topics and solutions come straight from the work Powell has done in

The Black Male Handbook.

Admission is Free African American Museum 701 Arch StreetPhiladelphia, PA

African Man Influcened Mozart: Le Mozart Noir

From Media Headquarters Film & Television Inc. comes a fascinating and groundbreaking performance art documentary on the life and music of Joseph Boulogne, Le Chevalier Saint Georges, also known as “Le Mozart Noir”.

Filmed for the first time, the story of Saint Georges portrays the remarkable life of a man who overcame the adversities of class, race and society to become a superstar in 18th century France. Born on Christmas Day, 1745 in Guadeloupe to a slave and a French colonialist, Saint Georges grew to be the first black man to lead France’s most important orchestras. His musical compositions inspired Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. As if that weren’t enough, Saint-Georges was also France’s finest fencer, a famed lover, and a General who led an army of 1000 black soldiers in the French Revolution – unprecedented in European history.

Through the use of beautifully rendered historical recreations, archive-based narration and orchestral performance by the world-famous Tafelmusik Orchestra, Le Mozart Noir reveals in fascinating detail how such a talent was submerged beneath the waves of history.

About the Movie: http://www.lemozartnoir.com/