By: Jackie Hardy, NDG Contributing Writer
Black Men Care is a community service initiative led and started by City of Dallas Municipal Court Judge, C. Victor Lander whose target mission will be to provide student mentorship programs within the City, one school at a time.
Black Men Care held its first community outreach initiative last August, where several African American men of all professional backgrounds gathered in front of South Oak Cliff (SOC) High School to tangibly show their care and support of the students as it kicked off the 2016-17 school year.
” I felt like we needed something like this in our schools, so I came up with the idea of having black professionals gather together and greet the students. We wanted to start with one school and ultimately go to every high school in the City just to let them know there are black professionals that do just about everything from being a judge, like myself to a lawyer, police officer, truck driver or business owner,” comments Lander in regards to his motivation in starting the Black Men Care program.
With the 2017-18 school year vastly approaching, Black Men Care will return to the SOC campus Monday, August 28 to once again show students the diversity of professional choices available to them as well as provide a tangible demonstration of positive African American role models from their respective communities.
According to Paul Baccus, business owner of Baccus Dry Cleaning Services and author of the self-published book, “A Way Out,” last year’s response from the African American business community was overwhelmingly positive and he anticipates the same response for this year’s event.
“We will be there to shake each students hand and show them that we care,” claims Baccus.
“The students getting to see this positive image of African American males on our campus in suits and ties has had a memorable effect on our students. It gives them another image that some of our students don’t often see outside of Sunday,” states James Mays, II, Athletic Director of South Oak Cliff High School.
Establishing a strong presence of minority male role models with diverse professional backgrounds is something Judge Lander hopes will inspire students, particularly disenfranchised African American males that statistically are at greater risk of partaking in criminal activity, to pursue careers outside of professional sports as a result of exposure to other respectable professions.
“I really want to point toward young black boys and men as those are the ones we are losing on a daily basis. I think it is extremely important that they see mentors of those of us who are out in the community not only doing things in the community but within our families,” Lander adds.
According to a 2013 report conducted by an advocacy group, The Sentencing Project, it found that one in three African American males will be incarcerated in their lifetime; a statistic Judge Landers understand and knows to be a reality as a result of his line of work.
“I see too many young black men in front of me and I am tired of it.” sentiments Lander shares regarding the overwhelming number of young African American males fallen to crime.
100 Black Men of America is a current national program whose mission mirrors the desired vision and mission Black Men Cares hopes to model as it lays the ground work for its program. The mission of 100 Black Men of America is to help improve the quality of life for the communities they serve through mentoring and other programs ranging in education, health and wellness, economic empowerment, and leadership development.
“We want to be able to go to the schools and teach young men about life and what it takes to be a man.” states Baccus on the value this program can offer specifically to African American young men.
Lander also hopes to get a website created to bring more awareness of their programs and opportunities to support the mission of Black Men Care.
“We have a need for a web designer, who could assist us in creating a website and need for a graphic designer. We would like to get ourselves a logo, ” he advises.
In addition to those needs, Lander expressed another wish list item for legal services to help the organization secure a 501 (c) (3) status as he cannot personally oversee this process due to being prohibited to practice law as a sitting judge. His hope is by securing a 501 (c) (3) status, it would allow Black Men Care the opportunity to develop a scholarship program for students looking to continue their education.
As Black Men Care continues to evolve, it is Judge Lander’s ultimate desire that this program will help break the cycle of incarceration, drug abuse, and other systemic problems common within those disenfranchised and underrepresented local communities comprising the D/FW area.
Black Men Care future goals encompass designating officers for its Board and establishing a business model for its mentorship program that allows them to duplicate their efforts with others schools across the City in the hopes to create a domino effect of constructive change within the local communities of Dallas/Fort Worth.
“I want there to be young men, {particularly young men} and women who in 20 years say that this group made a difference in their lives, made them turn around whatever it was they were doing and aim toward positivity.” adds Lander.
For more information on how you can donate services and/or volunteer for the upcoming event at South Oak Cliff High School, contact Lander at 214-671-9901. Anyone interested in volunteering on Aug. 28 event must follow up with the school to follow the process required to volunteer on any Dallas ISD campus.
