Ambassador Young and John Hope Bryant in 2005
Earlier this week my personal hero and HOPE Global Spokesman Ambassador Andrew Young and I spoke on "Leadership in a RESET World" before the membership of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta.  It was a great discussion (which also included Milton H. Jones, Jr., a former senior executive for Bank of America) where the three of us engaged with the audience around the state of the economy, our community and "what comes next."  After the event Ambassador Young signed copies of his new (and fantastic) book "Walk in my Shoes," and I signed copies of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass).  A special thanks to 100 Black Men for all of their support.

Ambassador Young and JHB book signing
Some of the interesting take aways (around the state of our youth) from the Q&A session:

When it comes to students… 

38% of teens make decisions based on what they say to each other

5% make decisions based on the church

15% on unknown 

NFL star and 5MK Ambassador Chris Draft attended the event, and noted that when he spoke recently to young adults in Atlanta, when asked what they think of an NFL player, the first 7 traits were physical, and the other was "rich." Only after that was when they brought up important traits such as "smart, driven, dedicated" etc. 

When asked do they think "Stanford graduate," or "2-baby mamas" when they hear "NFL player," the majority of the students replied saying "2-baby mamas," but few said Stanford, and some said "maybe both."

In summary my friends, it looks like we have a lot of work to do.  Log onto to 5 MILLION KIDS to do your part.

Below the Operation HOPE, Atlanta Team (new HOPE Atlanta Intern Jeremiah Ojo, Hope Jay, Tara Dennis and James Bailey) stand with Ambassador Young following the event.  

HOPE Atlanta and Ambassador Young
HOPE Atlanta crew

 

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