Robert Smith inspired the graduating Class of 2019 when he announced during the ceremony that he would pay off the graduates student loans. Smith’s gesture challenged the Black community to encourage the academic success of Black boys on all levels.
One of the graduates, Min. Jyrekis Collins, interns at an historic church in East Atlanta, First Mt. Pleasant Church led by a Morehouse Graduate, Rev. Victor D. Tate.
Morehouse Graduate Gives Back!
Collins has volunteered with FMPBC where he serves as an intern. The church recently partnered with a local non profit, Lillie’s Foundation for Change, that offered a free STEAM summer camp for youth and grandchildren.
We need more Black males investing in our Black boys. Giving back isn’t just monetary. Collins, inspired by Smith’s giving to his class, wanted to leave an impact in the community . Volunteering his time during the camp showed Collins a little bit more of what Black male teachers do in the classroom with STEAM.
Collins gave some powerful words to Black boys. He starts with encouraging Black boys to be who they are. “You can’t be who you are if you don’t know why you were born!” Empowering Black boys to know their purpose in life is critically important to their success.
Collins also encourages them to be forever in love with learning and evolving. He’s modeling this by attending Yale University this fall for graduate studies. Black boys need to know that learning is power.
As a recent Morehouse graduate, Collins is modeling this for the Black boys in the summer camp and church. Following the camp, Collins was the FMPBC Education Day speaker on Sunday, June 23rd empowering youth and families with a dynamic message.
Jason has worked in education for over 15 years as a teacher, blogger and community advocate. He speaks and writes primarily about the need to improve education for Black boys, particularly increasing the number of Black male educators in schools. In addition to blogging here at EdLanta, Jason is also a featured writer at Education Post.