- Home
- Featured Mentors
- About Us
- Mentor Bios
- TV Schedule
- Nominate A Mentor
- Contact Us
- Our Work
-
View our other projects
-
View our other projects
-
Stellar Sunday
a fresh uplifting half hour series featuring the biggest stars in gospel music reflecting on their songs, motivations, and aspirations, including contemporary, urban, hip-hop and traditional gospel music artist. -
Black Music Honors
A two-hour event that acknowledge's legendary African American artists who have made significant musical contributions to African American culture and American music worldwide.
-
-
Video
-
About Us
Follow Us
-
Anthony Flynn
As one of the city’s most influential African American organizations, 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc. provides college preparatory services and mentorship to at-risk, Atlanta youth through its flagship program Project Success. Since its inception in 1987, 100% of the students who complete Project Success have graduated from high school and 80% have graduated from college in four years, far outpacing the national averages. Flynn will add value to The 100 by bringing his professional and personal experience to 100’s Project Success program which include: 100 Robotic Scholars Alliance (a S.T.E.M. program), B.E.S.T. Academy Pathways of Developmental Success (a leadership development program), and Project Success (a college preparatory and tuition assistance program). The program provides mentorship to at-risk youth living in vulnerable communities in the Atlanta metro area. Flynn and other members of The 100 dedicate their time and talent to helping boys break the cycles of poverty, under-achievement and violence that plague their communities thus enabling them to seek their highest potential.
CJ Stewart
Off the field, his more personal passion was founding L.E.A.D. (Launch, Expose, Advise, Direct) whose mission is to empower an at-risk generation to lead and transform their city. Through the year-round Pathway2Empowerment Programming, the organization is inspiring and equipping Black males with the tools they need to live a life of significance. This mission is accomplished through launching student athletes towards educational opportunities required for entry into college athletic programs; exposing teens to service and local enrichment activities in order to build a civically engaged individual; advising players, coaches and parents on the process of effectively supporting dreams of playing baseball on the college level; and directing young men towards their promise by using the historical journey of past African American legends as the road map.
Tim King
Urban Prep’s mission is to provide a high-quality and comprehensive college-preparatory educational experience to young men that results in graduates succeeding in college. To date, one hundred percent of Urban Prep graduates—all African-American males and mostly from low-income families—have been admitted to four-year colleges/universities. Urban Prep was formed in direct response to the urgent need to reverse abysmal graduation and college completion rates among boys in urban centers. King became the guardian of a former student orphaned when his mother died. That student was once homeless and now has graduated from college. Having a positive impact on this young man’s life is the achievement of which King is the proudest.
Danny Bakewell
For 35 years, Danny Bakewell served as President and CEO of the Brotherhood Crusade, a 50-year old grassroots organization with a vision of providing human and social services including educational enrichment & academic assistance services, arts & drama appreciation, at-risk youth prevention programs, life & social skills training, character development, employment readiness, access to cultural and artistic excellence. Through Bakewell’s leadership, he built the Brotherhood Crusade into a premier institution and oversaw the development of the Community and Economic Development Plan, which emphasized youth development from a social justice lens with an emphasis on youth with severe academic and socio-behavioral issues. Danny Bakewell retired in 2005, entrusting the leadership to Charisse Bremond Weaver, the first female President and CEO of the Brotherhood Crusade.
Derrick HIll
Derrick Hill is a strategist who starts and maintains successful non-profit organizations. He leads the charge of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Passport to Manhood program, to instill in boys a strong moral compass to guide them on their journey from adolescence to adulthood. The program fosters positive values and responsible behavior in youth and gives them practice in making healthy decisions related to their physical, cognitive, emotional and social development. As they build and practice life skills for decision-making, conflict resolution and healthy relationships, boys learn the essential attitudes, values and skills they need to become responsible adult men. The Passport to Manhood program is built on three pillars: building a young man’s sense of self and purpose, a sense of the importance of family, and a sense of leadership and responsibility to the community.
Michael Smith
Michael Smith serves as Executive Director of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance and Director of Youth Opportunity Programs at the Obama Foundation. In 2014, President Obama launched My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) and issued a call to action to close opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color. To scale and sustain this mission, My Brother’s Keeper Alliance (MBK Alliance) was launched in 2015 as an independent nonprofit organization. Michael was part of the initial launch team. Since launching, a national movement has grown with nearly 250 cities, counties, and Tribal Nations accepting the MBK Community Challenge — President Obama’s call to adopt innovative approaches, strengthen support, and build ladders of opportunity for African American boys and young men, all in an effort to reduce barriers and expand opportunity. Today, as an initiative of the Obama Foundation, MBK Alliance leads a national call to action to build safe and supportive communities for boys and young men of color where they feel valued and have clear paths to opportunity, all with the goal of encouraging mentorship, reducing youth violence, and improving their life outcomes. As Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of Cabinet Affairs for MBK, Michael became the first and only White House director of the initiative.
Chris Paul
Chris Paul plays many roles on and off the NBA court as a point guard, philanthropist, President of the National Basketball Players Association and businessman. Chris and his family established the Chris Paul Family Foundation in 2005, a philanthropic foundation that strives to positively impact individuals and families by leveling the playing field in education, sports and life goals. The foundation provides technology opportunities for children in underserved communities across the USA. The Foundation supports numerous organizations, including: The Brotherhood Crusade, Feed the Children, Boys & Girls Clubs, Vision to Learn, Leaps & Boundz and Shoes that Fit. The foundation recently donated $2.5 million to Wake Forest University to support their basketball program. The new men’s locker room will be named in his honor as the Chris Paul Locker Room. The foundation’s emphasis on community involvement has won them the NBA’s Community Assist Award three times in Chris’ career. The award is given to an NBA player that consistently shows passion for philanthropy and community service. His CP3 Basketball Academy is a premier training academy that provides skill development, basketball education, and leadership opportunities for young athletes of all skill levels. Chris also hosts youth clinics and camps, as well as an elite camp for top high school and college students from around the country. Chris resides in Houston, Texas with his wife Jada Crawley and their two children.
Ernest L. Frohm, III
His mother instilled in him at a young age that ‘you are not too ever quit’. It is Master Frohm’s belief that it is the responsibility of parents, mentors and the community to build-up our children and young black men and boys with a mindset that they are greater than their obstacles. He has studied Martial Arts for 41 years. By the age of 15 he received his Black Belt and has been teaching the principles of Integrity in the East Oakland community for the past 35 years. A tenacious entrepreneur and visionary, FMA is honored to be one of the schools that holds the most World Titles for the National Black Belt League. Exposing students to unforeseen opportunities, Team FMA has been featured and sponsored in competitions beyond the U.S. in countries such as: Ireland, Trinidad, Tobago, Guatemala, Mexico and Punjab, India. Master Frohm, continues to duplicate resilient leaders and allow his dojo to be a power grid for teaching, self-discovery, perseverance, discipline and self-worth.
Ben Crump
Benjamin Crump was nationally recognized in 2014 as a NNPA Newsmaker of the Year, The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Lawyers and Ebony Magazine’s Power 100 Most Influential African Americans. He was also bestowed the American Association for Justice Johnny Cochran Award, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Eleanor Roosevelt Medallion for Service, the NAACP Thurgood Marshall Award and the SCLC Martin Luther King Servant Leader Award. In 2016, he was designated as an Honorary Fellow by the University of Pennsylvania College of Law. Attorney Crump serves on the Innocence Project Board of Directors, was the first African American to chair Florida State University College of Law’s Board of Directors, and currently serves as the 73rd President of the National Bar Association. Attorney Crump and his law partner, Daryl Parks, donated $1,000,000.00 to the organization’s Capital Campaign to ensure that poor people would continue to have quality legal representation and access to the courts. When faced with a conflict in which your rights are infringed upon, seeking justice may seem difficult in the face of powerful organizations like police departments, educational institutions, and even the government. For Mr. Crump, this is injustice at its most potent, and it cannot stand.
Don Jackson
Don Jackson is one of the country’s most successful television and media entrepreneurs. His Chicago-based, Central City Productions, has produced, marketed and syndicated television shows for nearly a half-century, with many of the shows becoming bedrock programming for African-American audiences.
Jackson is currently working on the launch of Stellar TV, a 24-hour seven day a week faith-based television entertainment network targeted to African American audiences that will premiere during the 2020 television broadcast season around the country.
Jackson’s media career began in 1970 when he founded Central City Productions, Inc. For more than four decades, the company specializes in marketing, promotion, sales, syndication, digital media and the production of television programs for African- American audiences.
Central City Productions’ mission is to develop television programming designed to communicate positive, uplifting images of Black people all over the world.
Under Jackson’s guidance and vision, CCP has launched many new and unique television programs for African-Americans. Some of these programs grew to become must-see shows that are watched daily, weekly or annually by African-Americans across the globe. Many of these programs, like the Stellar Awards, have been broadcast for more than 30 consecutive years. Other shows airing annually include the Black Music Honors, Black College Quiz, Stellar Tribute to the Holidays, and Mentoring Kings, just to name a few.
Central City Productions will launch Stellar TV, the first African American owned Broadcast Diginet television network in the country that will offer family friendly programming that is inspiring and motivating to African-American audiences.
Louis Carr
Louis Carr has generated 8 billion dollars in revenue over his 33-year career at BET Networks. He is the only African American to head up national sales for a major cable company. Serving as the President of Media Sales, Carr has transformed some of the biggest brands in the United States. Carr is an undeniable proponent of black advancement. He founded the Louis Carr Internship Foundation 15 years ago dedicating his efforts to improving diversity in corporate America through paid internships. Since its inception, there have been 167 paid interns, all students of color, 43 of whom have garnered full time employment opportunities.
Carr has authored two books, Dirty Little Secrets (DLS) and Little Black Book: Daily Motivations for Business and Personal Growth, where he openly lays out his own roadmap to greatness covering much needed topics like Leadership, Culture, Strategy, Vision, Success, and Diversity. Moreover, Carr understands that to whom much is given much is required and altruistically gives his time and resources to impact meaningful change in the lives of others. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades honoring his work centered on diversity from both personal and professional standpoint.
Stimulated by the success of his book, in October 2017, Louis launched the 1st Annual DLS: Men Only Edition Conference which included 20 world-renowned influential speakers, 300 attendees and 100 young inner city youth. This Chicago event focused on four pillars: money, health, careers and fashion. Renamed as The Blueprint Men’s Summit, in October 2019, the 3rd Annual Conference will take place in Chicago.
For more information, visit iamlouiscarr.com or follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @iamlouiscarr and Louis Carr on LinkedIn.
Wyclef Jean
The music that Wyclef Jean has written, performed, and produced — both as a solo superstar and as founder and guiding member of the Fugees — has been a consistently powerful, pop cultural force for over two decades. In 1996, the Fugees released their monumental album The Score . As a solo artist, Wyclef has released seven albums that have sold nearly nine million copies worldwide, including his 1997 debut The Carnival and 2000’s aptly titled The Eclectic: 2 Sides II a Book . Jean’s 2017 studio album, Carnival III: The Fall and Rise of a Refugee , his first in eight years, was released on Sept. 15, 2017. The album was named one of the “ 25 Most Anticipated Albums” of the fall by Billboard Magazine that year. In November 2017, Wyclef also released a mixtape, entitled, “Inspired By…” that paid tribute to the music that inspired him that year. The project received high acclaim from critics and fans alike. In December 2017, Wyclef wrote and performed a song, “Dimelo,” along with X-Factor winners, Rak-Su. The song rose to the top of the charts in less than a week in the UK. Wyclef recently released his newest project, Wyclef Goes Back to School, a collaboration with students he met while touring the United States and visiting colleges across the country, which features singles “Demons Enjoy,” “Baba” and “Faded Butterfly.”
Jonathan McReynolds
Jonathan McReynolds is a Dove Award-winning and Grammy and Stellar Award-nominated gospel singer-songwriter and guitarist based in Chicago, IL. At just 28, Jonathan’s music has grown from dorm rooms to Christian music’s biggest stages over the course of three full length albums and one EP, making fans of music icons from Stevie Wonder, Nicki Minaj, and Tori Kelly to gospel giants like CeCe Winans, Yolanda Adams, and Kirk Franklin, who dubbed him “the future of gospel music.”
Jonathan’s latest, “Make Room,” released this past March, is both a graceful reminder of what makes Jonathan’s music so special and a bold foot forward in the artist’s career. Recorded live in Chicago in May 2017, the album follows Jonathan, his band, and an impressive roster of guest artists through a spirited, inspired, and elastic live set. Under Jonathan’s spellbinding performance and masterful songwriting, the live recording becomes an instrument all its own, as Jonathan navigates moments of inspired spontaneity as easily and confidently as the rehearsed. The album has spawned the singles “Cycles” and “Not Lucky, I’m Loved,” which became his first Billboard #1 Single upon its release in October 2017. The album debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart, as well as #2 on Top Christian/Gospel Albums, and broke the mainstream at #27 on overall Top Albums and #97 on the Hot 200.
The concert recording that would become “Make Room” also became the basis for an hour-long TV special called “Jonathan McReynolds: Make Room” which was broadcast nationally on TV One later in March. The special intertwines video of selections from “Make Room” with behind-the-scenes looks at the making of McReynolds’s instant classic album.
Dr. Dale Okorodudu
To develop tomorrow's leaders in medicine; that's his purpose! Dale Okorodudu, MD is the author of How to Raise a Doctor and Premed Mondays. He is also the founder of DiverseMedicine.com and Black Men in White Coats. Dr. Dale, as most call him, was raised in League City, Texas just outside of Houston. He earned both his Undergraduate and Medical Degrees from the University of Missouri. Following his stint in the Midwest, he completed his Internal Medicine Residency training at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, then moved to Dallas, Texas where he completed his Pulmonary & Critical Care training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Jermaine Lawrence Anderson
In recent years, Jermaine Lawrence Anderson Enterprises and its founder have educated and empowered many clients and businesses alike to discover their purpose as they journey to achieve personal and professional success. Jermaine is an Independent Brand Specialist that develops and implements marketing activities to increase the value of signature brands across many different industries. Jermaine has been the force behind many exclusive brands, products, and record breaking live events. As a young man, Jermaine became a young entrepreneur and sought out to become his own boss. At a very early age he enrolled in entrepreneurship classes alongside junior high students and developed superb desktop publishing and artistic design skills. While in these classes, Jermaine created coffee mugs, key chains, and posters for many buyers in school and in the local community. These creations allowed him to place first in the school business fair and led to him placing 51 out of 100 among Youth Owned Businesses in America by his sophomore year in High School. These early accomplishments catapulted Jermaine into the arena of public speaking. Jermaine began to share his story of success around the country. These speaking engagements allowed him to be featured in several publications and media outlets.
Darrell Caldwell
Darrell Caldwell is the CEO/Executive Director of Why We Can't Wait, Inc., whose mission is to empower and develop youth/teens in underserved communities. We also will serve families, improving parent involvement and combat growing health disparities such as, but not limited to, childhood obesity, violence, childhood diabetes, and sedentary lifestyles. He is an avid volunteer and community leader, actively working with such agencies as Second Harvest Food Bank, Rescue Mission for Men, Operation Stand-down, Sophia’s Heart, Habitat for humanities, 4:13 Strong, and many other nonprofits. Darrell matriculated to Trevecca Nazarene University and received a BS in Psychology & Business Administration and later a MBA with a minor in leadership.
He is a certified trainer in CPR/First Aid/AED from the Red Cross, consultant with Vanderbilt University for the Identity Scholars program, as well as trainer for the YMCA of the USA in Youth Work. He has worked with youth and underserved families for the past 30 years with companies such as Meharry Medical College, Woodland Hills, Neighborhood Health, CCM Leadership Academy and KIPP Nashville.
