Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s E.M.B.O.D.I. Program – Participates in “Little Known Black History Facts” – What do Eartha M.M. White, Nathaniel Glover, Alvin Brown, 95-South, Arthur “Blind” Blake, and Bob Hayes all have in common? One would quickly say that they are all from Jacksonville, Florida. However, the young men in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s E.M.B.O.D.I. (Empowering Males to Build Opportunities for Developing Independence) program presented different viewpoints on each of them last weekend at the Young Men’s Leadership Academy at Eugene Butler Middle School. The Program Day entitled “Little Known Black History Facts” gave each of the young men an opportunity to present key facts about the accomplishments of local African American Trailblazers in this community in their own creative way using PowerPoint presentations, music, song, costume, and dance.
The first place winner was Cyrus Tookes IV who presented from a PowerPoint while using a football to highlight the accomplishments of Derrick Gaffney, a local football star that went on to play with the NFL for over 8 years. Jeremiah Ball was the second place winner who was able to tell the audience of the struggles of A. Phillip Randolph as a Civil Rights Leader who organized the First African American Labor Union. The day was not complete without Justin and Jordan Rodgers winning third place by giving a special presentation on the significance of Jackie Robinson as a Buffalo Soldier who integrated the baseball world. They were adorned in their Buffalo Soldiers uniform and added much significance to their presentation.
Other presentations given were Clement Hall and Kendall Mitchum on music group 95-South, Kelvin Johnson on musician Arthur “Blind” Blake, Hiram Tookes on former Sheriff and current President of Edward Waters College Nathaniel Glover, Julian Williams on Olympic sprinter and NFL football player Bob Hayes, Christopher Howard and Christopher Wynn on former Mayor of Jacksonville Alvin Brown, Jayden Little and Lashedrick Williams on Oscar winning makeup artist William Tuttle, David Vaughns on musician Ray Charles, and Zion Lattimore and Johnny Matthews on the life of Eartha M.M. White.
E.M.B.O.D.I. is a National Program initiative of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. that provides leadership training for African American males from ages 11-18 years of age. The program meets monthly with a different theme that enhances the lives of young males by providing enriching cultural, educational, and social experiences. The next meeting will be held on March 19th as participants will be involved in a community service beautification project at Martin Luther King Jr Elementary School in Jacksonville after participating in our Hearts4Soles service project in which gently used shoes are being collected for donation to Community Connections Jacksonville.
Featured Photo: EMBODI Participants; Pictured in Photo2: -2nd VP of JAC Jamila Pope, Assistant Principal of Young Men’s Leadership Academy at Eugene J Butler Middle School Chelvert Wellington, Spoken Word Artist Kaleb Baker aka Epoch Times and EMBODI Chairperson of JAC Mo Gebre-Michael; Pictured in Photo3: 2nd Place Winner Jeremiah Ball, 1st Place Winner Cyrus Tookes IV and 3rd Place Winners Jordan and Justin Rodgers.
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