NEWPORT NEWS — Peninsula leaders are calling on the community to step up and mentor Black youth, particularly middle school boys.
The mayors of Hampton and Newport News, along with school board presidents and other leaders, held a news conference Thursday morning at Crittenden Middle School to encourage men in the community to volunteer two to four hours a month to mentor students in the public school system.
Each division has have various mentoring opportunities that volunteers can sign up for by visiting their websites, hampton.k12.va.us or sbo.nn.k12.va.us.
Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck said many people recognize middle school age is one of the last opportunities to impact the trajectory of a young person’s life. Tuck quoted Frederick Douglass, saying, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones said he and Tuck began talking about the push for mentorship a few months ago, after seeing a spike in violence on the Peninsula last year, especially among young men.
Though the trends are improving, leaders say mentorship is needed to help sustain the progress.
Hampton School Board President Richard Mason said research shows that students who have mentors achieve higher academic gains, are more likely to attend school and are less likely to get into trouble.
Adrian Cook attended Thursday’s gathering to support the call for action. Cook has mentored students in partnership with the Hampton and Newport News school divisions, as well as through his mentoring organization Let Our Voices Empower.
Cook said his traumatic childhood, which included abusive parents, drugs and homelessness, eventually led to him serving 18 years in federal prison. Cook said his time in prison made him rethink his decisions, and an essay his son wrote about a lack of leadership in the African American community led to Cook choosing to become a mentor for children.
He wanted kids to have the advocate he never had.
Cook said it is particularly important for youth to have mentors who understand their life challenges. He said he often ignored adults who tried to help him as he was growing up.
“If I didn’t think you knew what I was going through, I didn’t want to hear you,” he said.
Nour Habib, nour.habib@virginiamedia.com
