Overview

Tailored after MTV’s “From G’s to Gents,” The Come Up is a 10-week program designed to aid African American males in various aspects of their lives. Several young men interviewed to be a part of the program and nine young men have been selected to participate in the pilot program beginning in January 2009. They will be required to attend weekly meetings as well as establishing their own projects to show evidence of retention of lessons learned at the meetings. The weekly meetings will be focused on five key areas: academics, social, spirit, physical, emotional, and mental. All meetings are interactive and engaging and are facilitated by various members of the WKU and local community.

This is a huge step on behalf of the nine men who are a part of the program. They all come to the program for various reasons, but the ultimate goal is the same: acknowledge that I Am a MAN.

It is time for our community to rally around our young people, men and women and help them finish what our ancestors started. It’s 2008 and Obama is President… what legacy will you help leave? These men are defining their passage as we speak.

Interview

Each participant was required to go through was a 10-15 minute interview with panelist (we were even fortunate enough to have Mr. Fonzworth Bentley himself to assist with the interviews!). The men were asked a variety of questions, such as:

  • Why do you want to be a part of The Come-Up?
  • What is the difference between a boy, male, man?
  • What do you hope to gain from this experience?

Selection

After the interviews, a committee watched videos of the interviews and read each application to make selections for the program. Participants were selected based off of need of the program, and enrollment in Spring 2009 semester Eleven men were selected and two declined for personal reasons.

Winter Break

Over the winter break, the gentlemen will be asked to complete several tasks before the start of the program in January 2009. They will have several reading assignments which include:

  • Who Moved My Cheese? , by Dr. Spencer Johnson
  • The Souls of Black Folk, Chapter 1, by W.E.B. DuBois
  • Excerpts from The Black Male Handbook, edited by Kevin Powell
  • Excerpts from Visions for Black Men, by Na’im Akbar
  • Excerpts from Letters to Young Black Men, by Daniel Whyte III
  • Excerpts from Letters to a Young Brother, by Hill Harper

They will also be asked to watch the movies:

  • Malcolm X
  • The “N” Word
  • Higher Learning
  • American X
  • Rosewood
  • Do the Right Thing

Weekly Meetings Each week, participants will be engaged in several topics to cover the following areas:

  • academics
  • social
  • spirit
  • physical
  • emotional
  • mental

The Scholar At the conclusion of the 10-weeks, one young man will get the distinguished title of “The Scholar” and will win $1000. The Scholar will be chosen based off of evidence of growth throughout the program. It is important to know that all participants will walk away with a life altering experience.