Black men urged to step in to stop the violence in Chicago

Black men urged to step in for at-risk youth

BY MAUDLYNE IHEJIRIKA Staff Reporter [ SOURCE ]

It isn't the National Guard that will stop young black males from killing one another, but instead black men taking a stand and the time to guide at-risk youth.

So said leaders of the 100 Black Men of Chicago organization at its annual benefit attended by about 700 mostly black professionals Saturday night.

"It is our obligation as successful black males to reach back into our communities and show these youth another way," said the group's president and CEO, Jeffrey Jackson, an insurance executive. "With what is happening now in the inner city, mentoring programs like ours are even more critical as we try to instill in these young people the value of their life and the lives of others."

Under the 15-year-old program, members of the organization -- including many of the city's movers and shakers -- have paired up with more than 15,000 youth, helping them with schoolwork, taking them to church and filling in for "missing'' fathers.

"We've found that you have to find a way to bond and build a relationship,'' said Spencer Leak Jr.. whose family's funeral home has been handling -- for free -- burials for many of those killed in inner-city violence.