Moving Forward - Chionesu Bakari Program For Young Men

Chionesu Bakari Program For Young Men
“Guiding Light of Noble Promise”
“Moving Forward”
July / August 2013
issue 003
A Word From The Director
Greetings from Cleveland, Ohio! I’m amazed as well as excited that each new venture that
Chionesu Bakari embarks upon is better than the last. This June we were blessed to celebrate
our 2nd Rites of Passage Culmination and an Awards Celebration, where each young man in the
program received an award for a special attribute that they possess. We were honored to have
Pastor David K. Brawley (Lead Pastor St. Paul Community Baptist Church, Brooklyn, NY), Rev. Dr.
Johnny Ray Youngblood (Sr. Pastor Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church, Brooklyn, NY), as well many of our
sponsors. To see the faces of some of the young men and know that some have never received
an award for anything was priceless. It was monumental to celebrate the R.O.P. candidates completing their journey.
Five of the young men will began college in September. They will be attending Virginia State University, Johnson C.
Smith, Morehouse, Shaw and Kingsborough College. The three remaining will be seniors in high school this year and
will assume leadership roles within the program.
The celebration didn’t end there. It was also great seeing the adults have a chance to relax at our Boat Ride. It is safe to
say that a good time was had by all. In addition, Chionesu Bakari was the proud recipient of the Ujima Award for Youth
Involvement.
This summer has been one of the best summer programs to date. We’ve visited Charleston, SC, Atlanta, GA, Miami,
FL, Chicago, IL, Erlanger, KY, and Cleveland, OH. While at home the young men enjoyed a two day bike tour, visits to
historical sites such as Weeksville Historic Center, and the African Burial Ground and an Empowerment Day where men
and women from different careers and walks of life came in and talked to the young men about career decisions.
As we close out our 7th year I look forward to our Fall session and travel to California next year.
Namaste
Horace Moore, Director
CB SPEAKS WITH REV. DR. JOHNNY RAY YOUNGBLOOD
Rev. Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood
Speaks into CB’s Future
During a recent phone interview
we were honored with the wisdom
of Rev. Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood
who proudly served as Senior
Pastor at St. Paul Community
Baptist Church of Brooklyn, NY for
35 years and currently serves as
Senior Pastor at Mt. Pisgah Baptist
Church in the Bedford Stuyvesant
section of Brooklyn, NY. Rev.
Youngblood continues to be a
leading voice for spiritual healing
as well as social and racial equality. He is highly regarded for his
work with East Brooklyn Churches,
an affiliate of the Industrial Areas
Foundation. Rev Youngblood is
highly respected and recognized
for his intentional ministry to Black
men. He continues to challenge
and empower men to be the men
that God has called them to be.
Mr. Moore, Founder & Director of
Chionesu Bakari is proud to call
Rev. Youngblood his mentor.
CB: Pastor Youngblood, first and foremost thank you for taking time out
of your busy schedule to share with
us. Why did you say yes to Mr. Moore
when he approached you about
starting Chionesu Bakari?
JRY: One of the reasons that I said
yes to Horace Moore and his vision of
an all boys’ school or an educational
effort that was specifically geared
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
ƒƒ DIRECTOR’S WELCOME
1
ƒƒ REV. DR. JOHNNY RAY
YOUNGBLOOD
1
ƒƒ CB ALUM REFLECTS ON CB
LESSONS DURING COLLEGE 3
ƒƒ CB DADS SPEAK 4
ƒƒ CB CELEBRATES!
5
ƒƒ CB A SPECIAL PLACE
6
ƒƒ THANK YOU TO SUPPORTERS 8
comes to mind. What I see at work
in CB is a kind of theme that goes on
in the book of Proverbs, where a father, an older man and wiser man, an
Elder even, in the community speaks
to younger men imparting to them
wisdom for the living of their days.
So I see that exchange going on, I see
iron sharpening iron, which is also a
scriptural passage and it’s just a great
sight and it is a great fit in terms of
the needs of our community today.
CB: Chionesu Bakari has just completed its seventh year; moving forward what do you believe the program has to do to ensure the success
of our young sons?
to black boys is because really we
were on the same wavelength. I’d
been given an intentional ministry
to African American males by the
Holy Spirit, and then for Mr. Moore,
an educator, to come along and say
he would like to try focus his energy on young black boys... There was
both a group and a phrase that was
steadily used by everybody talking
about from “Boys to Men”, and it just
seemed like it was a good fit...I was
there at St. Paul Community Baptist
Church at the time and I think that
history has shown that it was timely
and it has been effective.
CB: Did CB surpass your expectations?
JRY: I think CB has surpassed everybody’s expectations, perhaps even
including Mr. Moore, because we all
have a great idea and never know
where it’s going to lead...The people who have rallied...the time that
CB has been at work and [now]...this
new possibility of setting up chapters
around the country and the fact that
you now have graduates of CB. Yes, it
has exceeded my expectations. I did
not know fully what to expect. I’m
not sure anyone else knew fully what
to expect but the answer is yes.
CB: What scripture comes to mind
when you see the work of Chionesu
Bakari?
JRY: No one particular scripture
2
JRY: I think that the program needs a
financial infusion, carefully, but it definitely needs it. Because there is something about trying to make things
happen and at the same time pay
bills that is really from time to time
distracting. I think that specialist[s]
of a sort are needed; that is people
to dream, people to implement and
people to see that necessary conformities are made. And what I mean by
that is laws etc.
I believe that Mr. Moore needs support and encouragement in that he
is the father of CB; he is the one who
dreamed it and I think he is going to
need, even in sharing the dream with
other parents, other Elders and even
in the preparation of a new level, CB
leaders, particularly those who graduate from the Chionesu Academy, as
I would call it.
CB: Where do you see Chionesu
Bakari in 5yrs to10yrs?
JRY: In 5 to 10 yrs. it will have [the]
history of being probably one of the
most steady, progressive, grass-root
efforts to mold...and to mature young
black males. I think that it will be one
of the best dimensions of family ministry that has gone on anywhere in
the country. It will be a miracle in microcosm that is still duplicable. Other
people will be able to emulate it but
it will have proven itself. It will have
brightened up the corner right where
it was, while not trying to go national
or international. It has been able to
do all of the great things that it will
have done right there where it is.
CB: What do you believe would inspire other faith-based organizations
to replicate a program such as CB?
JRY: I think that first of all “faith based”
is sometimes a misleading adjective.
A local church, or an association, or
a conference or a convention would
do well adopting the model and then
making it available for other churches and organizations across the country to emulate. I firmly believe that a
strong local church adopting CB, the
model of Mr. Moore and his ministry
of CB, would put it at a level where
others would want to come see, understand and emulate, and of course
whoever the adopter is would be
someone hopefully who could do the
financial infusion.
CB: If you had to say one thing to parents what would it be?
JRY: I would say that the parents
need to seriously review all of the victories of CB...the parents both of children who have graduated from CB,
parents of children who are involved
and then children who are to become
[involved]... should start to brainstorm about how to finance and how
to, at points, become more full time
involved, since we have a lot of people who are retiring and even people
who are looking for jobs, to find a way
to render it fiscal enough that it can
hire as well as endow for the future,
because if CB was good enough for
my children I kind of believe that it
might be good enough for my grandchildren so that one generation of
children through CB does not mean
the end.  By Antoinette Miller
HOW CB LESSONS AND SUPPORT GUIDE A CB ALUM
CB Alum Reflects on CB Lessons
During Freshman Year
was a CB supporter and beloved
member of St. Paul Baptist Church
community.
Quintin M. Thomas, who joined CB
in 2006, is now an Alumnae and
Rites of Passage (2012) graduate.
He just completed his first year at
Morehouse College. Quintin shares
how the positive impact and support
from CB enabled his success during
his first year at college.
Since that phone call everything became twice as hard. Dealing with one
of my many mentors, Elder Hooks,
passing away and trying to remain focused in school is tough. That is the
point when I just wanted to give up
because it got too hard to even think
straight. Having my CB brothers and
the parents just making sure I was
okay just gave me more of a push to
move me out of the melancholy and
not to dwell in a sad space. The second half of the year was a lot better
than the first half. Even so, there were
distractions to manage through, especially since it was getting warmer
and everybody was spending more
time outside.
Chionesu can not prepare you for everything that you will face in college
but it does give you
My first year of
the basic tools of time
school was an
“ Having my CB brothers management, public
uphill challenge.
speaking and thinking
and the parents just
There were ups
critically. If you have
making sure I was okay
and downs, highs
those specific skills
just gave me more of a
and lows. I started
then you will have the
push.”
the year off well
basic skills you need
and was adapting
to move forward and
to the college enmatriculate through
vironment. Being solely dependent any higher learning facility. I’m not
on yourself isn’t easy. Everything was saying it will be easy if you have those
going great until that one evening attributes; there will still be situations
when Pharaoh, my CB brother and that you will have to face but you will
I got a phone call that Elder Robert have less of a burden.
Hooks had passed away. Elder Hooks,
Upcoming
Events
August 17
Summer Program Ends
August 18
CB Family Day
October
CB Names New Sites
October 11
CB Fall Program 2013-2014
February 16-22 2014
CB Travels to California
CB Leaders with CB Alumnae
The future for me is great; I’m going
back to Morehouse College as a
sophomore on August 22. I’m studying computer science. I want to be an
intern at Apple, Google or Facebook
in California next summer. I also plan
to take classes at NYU since it is one
of the world renowned schools in the
advancement of technology. Times
may get hard but as long as you have
faith you’ll be able to get through
anything.  By Quintin M. Thomas
“A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you,
than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.”
Bob Proctor.
3
CB Dads Speak on the Support and Purpose of
CB for Their Young Men
from his private school experiences
to being committed to grasping fully
the benefits of the program for him.
He has to be accountable for everything now and it’s a bit of a shock for
him. When my son had trouble with
the youth leader I told him to learn to
respect him because some day that is
going to be you. Because unless I die
you are going to be a part of this (CB)
program. So make the best of it.
When most men get together they
talk sports, gadgets or women, but
when the Chionesu Bakari Dads
gather, their focus is on young men,
parenting and family values that
they share in common.
During our regular get-togethers,
the Dads of Chionesu Bakari (CB),
check in by sharing weekly parenting challenges and how we can keep
our young men engaged and inspired to guide them forward, while
keeping our families balanced. While
Chionesu Bakari services a majority of
single parents, we Dads recognize its
attributes benefit the whole family. By
providing young men with male role
models, brotherhood, self-awareness
and structure, the young men become accountable, responsible and
gain moral values. With a sense of
community, cultural and educational
exposure, CB members become better sons, brothers and young leaders
in the community.
CB is a win-win for the entire family.
Just listen to what some of the Dads
have to share about what the program has meant to them and their
sons.
Donn: I think the
program is like an
extra parent. In
a sense, an extra
neutral parent. It
allows the kids to
have an outlet,
4
to speak on some of their issues and
some of their discrepancies with that
Chionesu Bakari parent. This can be
relayed back to us as parents, which
can benefit in the raising up of our
sons. The program has helped me out
with a lot of different situations with
my kids. It serves as an equalizer for
the family being neutral, yet beneficial. For myself, I have seen my son’s
posture change from a slumped position to being upright and chest out.
I have witnessed the program energize and uplift the young men with
a sense of pride. By being a part of
Chionesu Bakari, it makes them want
to strive for more and I have also seen
my son become more confident.
Wayne: My son has been with the
program for the last year. I look at
Chionesu Bakari as completing the
village. All too
often as parents
we feel that we
have to do it all.
Now with being a
part of CB it gives
us that parental
support that benefits both the young men and the
parents. With CB there is a common
parenting style that has everyone on
the same positive page. Secondly,
with my son going to a predominately white school, he misses out on the
self awareness that he gets with the
CB program. It rounds him out as a
person. Seeing young men in the program who look like my son allows him
to see positive models of himself. I do
feel that my son is still in transition
Inskip: First of all I see confidence
in my son. When I see him dance in
front of or speak in front of the church
that is some of my short comings
that I see he has
overcome in himself. My son has
been with CB for
3 years. In the beginning I thought
to myself about
the program, “I
don’t need anyone telling me how
to parent my son”. After I started to
witness the program and go to the
parent support meetings, I realized
it was more than what I thought it
was. What I appreciate is in CB he has
learned to become part of a group
of like minded positive young men.
Some of the young men may be
more streetwise than he is but that
is good because it builds his character. For myself I enjoy being in the
parent meetings because it encourages me to be honest with myself
and helps me realize that I am not
alone in my parental challenges. I am
wholeheartedly invested in the program. It is great for these young men
to have the support of the CB leaders
in their lives because most of them
don’t have many male role models.
Now with CB men in their lives they
get help with what is appropriate
and what is expected of young men. I
have also realized the program gives
me an opportunity to make a difference in the young men’s lives by becoming involved and engaged. With
this in mind the CB Dads have committed to be a support system for the
rites of passage young men who are
graduating from the program to give them access to us to help navigate them into young adulthood.
Dan: For me, my son is an only child in the household and comes from a small private school environment. So for him
CB creates a special brotherhood that is authentic, structured and positive. He’s learning how to be part of a team and
can now see himself in all the young men, leaders and the Dads. CB has in time made him more community minded
and less self centered. I have noticed an increase in my son’s confidence level and he’s learning how to navigate his
challenges. He is still working on how to deal with the younger men of the program and their unharnessed energy. I have to remind him that he was similar at that age and that relating to the younger
members will teach him patience for those who are different from him. It will also give him an opportunity to model proper behavior in front of them because soon they will be going to my son for
answers. By engaging the value of his peers, it has increased his self worth. For my son to have so
many caring men pour into his life who are part of the program helps fill the void he may have of
not having his biological father present on a daily basis and it develops his coping skills as a young
man. He will therefore have less of a need for outside approval because the program helps him get
self understanding. The program has allowed me to see my son in light of a community of young men. This highlighted
his uniqueness as well as exposed me to the similarities he has with his peers. I have a new and better perspective of my
son as a young man thanks to our participation in CB.  By Dan Rodriguez
(Donn Smith-stepfather of Ishmael & Amir; Wayne Hartley-father of Brandon; Inskip Miller- father of Joshua; Dan Rodriguezstepfather of Reggie)
CB Celebrates Seven Years!
This June was a month of celebration
during which Chionesu Bakari celebrated our 7th successful year with a
Rites of Passage (R.O.P.) and Awards
Ceremony. The weekend included a
Renaming and Foot Washing Ritual
and a black tie affair where past
and current young men were honored. The culminating event of the
weekend was the Rites of Passage
Ceremony for six of our young men
who are matriculating to college or
completing the program and transitioning to become members of the
CB staff.
The CB Renaming Ritual was the first
public announcement of the young
men’s successful completion of the
R.O.P., during which all of the young
men were honored by their mothers
with ceremonial foot washing, memorial gifts, praise and encouragement. As is customary in African culture, each young man received and
affirmed his new African name. They
also received praise, words of wisdom
and encouragement from the CB staff
and family.
The Gala held at the Sheraton
LaGuardia East Hotel in Flushing,
New York was an elegant evening of
celebration for the young
men, parents and supporters of the CB program. The
attendees enjoyed dinner
and a program where each
of the CB young men received an award for his service in the program and/
or his personal and academic accomplishments.
With much pride and fanfare, Mr. Moore introduced
the 2013 R.O.P. Honorees:
Brandon Anderson, Leon
Townsend, Sharif Evans,
Rennie Coburn, Kalif Hill,
and Brandon Westbrook.
Mr. Moore also introduced
the 2012 R.O.P. graduates
who returned after completing their first year of
study at various colleges
and universities. CB also
celebrated and acknowledged the contributions
of Ms. Hakikah Shamsiden,
the Parent Coordinator,
who has since relocated
to Atlanta and Ms. Charlene Caldwell,
the former CFO of the Program. The
evening surpassed the expectations
of all in attendance.
cont’d on page 7
(top to bottom) CB 2013 Gala
5
CHIONESU BAKARI SUPPORTS AND ENABLES A FEW SPECIAL YOUNG MEN
CB is a Special Place for Special Needs
Being labeled as having a special
need is already an uphill battle. In
this issue we will begin a two-part
series on two young men with special
needs who recently graduated from
the Chionesu Bakari Rites of Passage
program.
Brandon Andersen and Leon
Townsend were not treated differently
from any of the other young men in
CB. Their successful completion of the
program, is helping to disprove some
of the assumptions about people
with special needs.
As a result of their completion of CB,
Brandon and Leon have a great support system and they are a part of this
brotherhood for life.
Brandon Avery Anderson, also known
as “Debo” or “Bran”, along with his
mom Laurie, and younger sister Leila
joined the Chionesu Family in March
2007 when he was 12 years old.
Laurie is currently a Site Manager for
the Department of Social Services.
Brandon likes to play football, swim
and play chess and was on the Chess
Team at his school. At school, Brandon
was part of a group called Earthwise
where he spoke to younger children
about healthy eating, healthy snacks
and good nutrition. After looking
at several programs for Brandon,
Laurie came upon Chionesu Bakari.
She noted how the young men
were unified, neat and together. She
knew that Brandon needed “social
6
bonding” and because the group was
filled with what seemed like positive
young black men, she wanted those
same influences for Brandon.
At the age of 7 when Brandon was
in second grade, his guidance counselor said that he needed to be in a
special education class because his
reading, writing, and social skills were
not up to standard and he needed
some closer attention. Laurie thinks
repeating the second grade helped
Brandon to receive the special attention, services and accommodations
(like extra time to take exams) that he
needed to succeed going forward.
Laurie appreciates the CB leaders for
stepping in to visit Brandon’s school
just to check in and make their male
presence in his life known. She also
appreciates the social bonding and
the opportunity for Brandon to be a
part of the CB brotherhood. Laurie
sees Brandon’s growth and maturity
which were proven when he landed a
job all by himself without her knowledge or help. Laurie admits that the
CB family has helped her create a
stronger foundation for prayer and
reinforced her faith and sense of community. Her prayers for CB are that
they continue to influence young
black men in a positive way and help
shift the mindset of how people view
the black male in America. She also
prays that CB receives enough financial resources to move to the next
level – have their own school/own
bus/own plane.
Brandon successfully completed his
Regents exams and graduated from
Food and Finance High School in
June 2013. Brandon shared that CB
has taught him things such as how
to prepare himself for life, how to
be a better young man, and how he
should be a role model for his younger CB brothers because they watch
what he does as an older CB brother. He also explained that one of the
things he learned in the program was
skills on how to look for a job, how to
dress for an interview, and how to listen carefully to the questions being
asked in order to give clear answers.
Brandon is currently gainfully employed working in a school kitchen
for the summer. He landed this job
after signing up at school with no
help from anyone. Brandon is slated
to start Kingsborough Community
College in the Fall of 2013. He is still
undecided if he will study in Culinary
Arts or Childcare as he truly loves
both.
Upon graduating from the Rites
of Passage program, Brandon was
given the name Jabari Salim Kambui
Bakari which means “brave, peaceful, fearless man of noble promise”. Armed with the tools he has
learned throughout the years, we,
the CB Family, have no doubt that
Brandon will definitely succeed. 
By Paulette Benson
Stay connected with us online to
receive our future issues and learn
about Leon Townsend, CB 2013
Rites of Passage graduate, and how
CB has guided his success over his
special needs challenges.
CONT’D
CB Celebrates Seven Years!
The Rites of Passage Ceremony honoring the young men who successfully
completed the R.O.P., making the transition from youth to manhood, was held
at the St. Paul Community Baptist Church, (Brooklyn, NY). It was an awe-inspiring celebration by “The Village” that included the CB Family, the St. Paul Family,
and friends and supporters of the R.O.P. honorees. The ceremony started with
the procession of CB parents and guardians into the St. Paul sanctuary in their
finest African regalia. It was a joyful celebration honoring the young men individually and collectively that included prayer, words of wisdom, ceremonial dances by a group of Chionesu Bakari mothers and the “Warrior Dance” by
the young men of CB. The ceremony
ended with several of the St. Paul ministries presenting each of the honorees with a gift.
The celebration didn’t end there,
on Friday June 21, Chionesu Bakari
held their 2nd Annual Yacht Party
Fundraiser in Sheepshead Bay,
Brooklyn, with the theme, “All White
With A Splash of Orange or Black.” It
was a great night of fun and dancing
to classic R&B music. Along with fund
raising, another goal of the evening
was for CB’s parents, staff and supporters to mingle and really enjoy themselves.
The event was successful in accomplishing that!
CB also honored in the second annual Ujima Award
Celebration, which was
held on Saturday, June
8th at the South Orange
Performing Arts Center. The
Ujima Award recognizes organizations and individuals
who have a great impact in
their communities. Among
the Ujima honorees for
2013 was Chionesu Bakari
for its outstanding commitCB receives Ujima Award - photo: Ujima Awards
ment in youth involvement.
Accepting the award on behalf of Chionesu Bakari was none other than CB’s
Youth Liaison, John Robinson. Mr. Robinson described how being a part of
Chionesu Bakari has helped him in terms of his maturity, patience, commitment and perseverance and how it is positively shaping the lives of the young
men he calls brothers.  By Sharon Swain and Antoinette Miller
7
Thank You
to our Sponsors for their generous
support towards CB and the 2013 Gala
Amerigroup RealSolutions
Anthony James
Jason G. Cahilly
Betty Powell
Valentino D. Carlotti
Deborah Banks
Miller Family
Douglas Daniels
Paul J. Cooper Center for Human Services
David Francis
Don J. Truesdale
Victor Hart
Charlene Caldwell
Janet Leitch-Henry
Frank R. Bell Funeral Home
Robert Lewis
Hartley Family
Patricia McMillian
Shirley Lawson
Patricia Raysor
Michele Williams
Sheila Richards
Monique Somerville
Earle Yearwood
Trey Whitfield School
Decon Feber Kennedy
Beverly Rutherford
Charlie Haynes
Janey Whitney
Sonia Torres
Ameriprise Financial Services
Michelle Clarke
Reverend Christine Caton
Anthony Yard
Dowrich Family
Visit Chionesu Bakari online to Learn More & Donate!
www.youngblackmanonline.org
Credits
Editor
Horace Moore
Newsletter Team
Susan T. D. Rodriguez
Paulette Benson
Monica Britton
Terri Butler
Antoinette Miller
Sharon Swain
Photos
www.munroephotography.com
NEXT ISSUE
The Young Men Recap the CB
Summer Program, Opening
of CB 2013-2014 Fall Program,
Part 2 of CB Success with
Special Needs ...
and much more
Stay tuned for more!
This newsletter is published by:
Chionesu Bakari
859 Hendrix Street
Brooklyn, New York 11207
Phone: 347-708-2008
[email protected]
www.youngblackmanonline.org
This newsletter is also available online @
www.youngblackmanonline.org
©2013 – All rights reserved