Wenonah High School 2017 Male Summit
February 10th, 2017
For Immediate Press Release
Wenonah High School host 2017 Male Summit
Interim Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr and the City of Birmingham’s Violence Reduction Team partnered with Wenonah High School today to present the 2017 Male Summit. The focus of this year’s summit was to inspire male students to make better decisions. Some of the speakers during today’s summit were Eric Wynn (WAR) x Ed (Big E) Johnson x Birmingham City Schools Board Member (District 5) Randall Woodfin x AVE Shabazz and Gerrel Jones.
Eric Wynn posed a profound question today to nearly 300 male students of Wenonah High School. “Raise Your Hand if Your Goal in Life is to Go to Prison?” As young males looked around the audience, Wynn knew that he had their attention. Not a single student raised their hands, but many looked around to see if anyone would raise their hand. Pushing the conversation, Wynn explained that he along with others on the panel were there to show them that they cared.
“I Want to Be Your Big Brother… I spent 10 years in prison and I’m here to make sure that you guys don’t make the same mistakes” ~ Eric Wynn
Ed Johnson (Birmingham Violence Reduction Task Force) shared his testimony of doing 23 years in prison. After his release from prison, he spends his time mentoring young males and encouraging them to think about their choices and to learn from his mistakes. Using a symbolic gesture of “linking up,” Johnson reminded each of the students that they were responsible for the safety and well-being of one another.
Ave Shabazz broke the tone by starting his message with a simple apology. Shabazz explained that he and his generation failed our children by leaving them alone and not being there for them. Shabazz made it clear that not the responsibility doesn’t all lie in the hands of the children and the mothers. Shabazz inferred that some of the responsibility lies with the male figures that should be present to empower and mentor our young boys.
Thanks for the the great post last guy is Gerrel Jones
Gerrel Jones is a community coordinator with Impact Family Counseling that is working with the @birmingham Violence Reduction Initiative by interacting directly with families exposed to gun violence and homicides. Jones, who grew up in "the Brickyard" encouraged the young men by saying that they can have anything they want in life if they take the attitude of "Whatever it takes."
Story updated February 10th 7:38pm CST. Additional revision and commentary provided courtesy of @jarralynneagee
More details about this event will be published as they are provided.
About Andre J. Thomas
Andre J. Thomas is a 5x Award Winning producer for the hit show, College Talk. Andre is also a contributing blogger for Black Moguls Magazine, GumpTown Magazine, BeatsBangBlog, The Birmingham Times, SwurvRadio and the Stardome Comedy Club.
#AndreTheBlogger is a radio personality with The Joe Lockett Show which airs commercially on Superstation 101.1 FM & 1260 AM WYDE (Alabama) every Saturday from 4pm – 7pm CST. You can read more stories by Birmingham’s Favorite Entertainment Blogger at andrejthomas.com.
Wenonah High School 2017 Male Summit
February 10th, 2017
For Immediate Press Release
Wenonah High School host 2017 Male Summit
Interim Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr and the City of Birmingham’s Violence Reduction Team partnered with Wenonah High School today to present the 2017 Male Summit. The focus of this year’s summit was to inspire male students to make better decisions. Some of the speakers during today’s summit were Eric Wynn (WAR) x Ed (Big E) Johnson x Birmingham City Schools Board Member (District 5) Randall Woodfin x AVE Shabazz and Gerrel Jones.
Eric Wynn posed a profound question today to nearly 300 male students of Wenonah High School. “Raise Your Hand if Your Goal in Life is to Go to Prison?” As young males looked around the audience, Wynn knew that he had their attention. Not a single student raised their hands, but many looked around to see if anyone would raise their hand. Pushing the conversation, Wynn explained that he along with others on the panel were there to show them that they cared.
“I Want to Be Your Big Brother… I spent 10 years in prison and I’m here to make sure that you guys don’t make the same mistakes” ~ Eric Wynn
Ed Johnson (Birmingham Violence Reduction Task Force) shared his testimony of doing 23 years in prison. After his release from prison, he spends his time mentoring young males and encouraging them to think about their choices and to learn from his mistakes. Using a symbolic gesture of “linking up,” Johnson reminded each of the students that they were responsible for the safety and well-being of one another.
Ave Shabazz broke the tone by starting his message with a simple apology. Shabazz explained that he and his generation failed our children by leaving them alone and not being there for them. Shabazz made it clear that not the responsibility doesn’t all lie in the hands of the children and the mothers. Shabazz inferred that some of the responsibility lies with the male figures that should be present to empower and mentor our young boys.
Thanks for the the great post last guy is Gerrel Jones
Gerrel Jones is a community coordinator with Impact Family Counseling that is working with the @birmingham Violence Reduction Initiative by interacting directly with families exposed to gun violence and homicides. Jones, who grew up in "the Brickyard" encouraged the young men by saying that they can have anything they want in life if they take the attitude of "Whatever it takes."
Story updated February 10th 7:38pm CST. Additional revision and commentary provided courtesy of @jarralynneagee
More details about this event will be published as they are provided.
About Andre J. Thomas
Andre J. Thomas is a 5x Award Winning producer for the hit show, College Talk. Andre is also a contributing blogger for Black Moguls Magazine, GumpTown Magazine, BeatsBangBlog, The Birmingham Times, SwurvRadio and the Stardome Comedy Club.
#AndreTheBlogger is a radio personality with The Joe Lockett Show which airs commercially on Superstation 101.1 FM & 1260 AM WYDE (Alabama) every Saturday from 4pm – 7pm CST. You can read more stories by Birmingham’s Favorite Entertainment Blogger at andrejthomas.com.