100 Black Men of Macon-Middle Georgia mentors youth over a lifetime

When Billy Pitts and his friends founded the Macon-Middle Georgia chapter of the 100 Black Men civic organization nearly 30 years ago, they envisioned not just a social club but an organization that would make a positive impact on young folks. 

“We’re not just a group of men that come together to have fun,” Pitts told The Melody. “We come together to make a difference.”

Pitts and his friends, Virgil Adams and Sam Hart, were inspired to establish a Macon-Middle Georgia chapter after attending a gala hosted by the 100 Black Men of Atlanta. 

Leadership from Georgia Power, Delta Airlines and the Atlanta mayor were presente, but that’s not what stood out to Pitts that night. What stuck with him was hearing from the children who the 100 Black men of Atlanta had mentored. 

“Tears kind of started flowing to hear the story and to hear how these kids felt about these guys,” Pitts said. “None of them (are) their children but kids that they had adopted — what effect they had on their lives.”

After the gala, the three men began thinking about starting a chapter of 100 Black Men in Middle Georgia.

They gathered a dozen  community members for meetings every Friday morning on Riverside Drive near the board of education to start planning what the chapter would look like. 

Pitts, Adams and Hart then brought in 100 community leaders to pitch the idea of a civic organization focused on positive change for minorities and the community as a whole. By 1996, they had 35 members willing to  devote the necessary financial and time commitments for the first charter class.

The chapter was kickstarted with money from the Peyton Anderson Foundation and Georgia Power.

Helping the youth 

The four pillars of the 100 Black Men organization are mentoring, education, health/wellness and economic empowerment. There are more than 100 chapters of the national 100 Black Men of America, Inc.

The organization helps open doors for youngsters with limited opportunities. There are programs and mentorship opportunities for every step of a young person’s development.

The 100 Black Men is a lifelong mentorship organization, said chapter president Garrett Williams, who has been a member since 2009. 

For elementary students, the chapter  has an “Academic to Inspire Reading 100” program to encourage a love of reading in young kids. Last year, the organization took Bruce Elementary School’s top readers on a three-day trip to Washington, D.C. In December, The 100 Black Men awarded the top 36 readers at Bruce Elementary School with a $100 shopping spree that also allowed them to tap into learned financial literacy skills. 

The 100 Black Men exposes  young folks to more than just educational opportunities. They do computer labs, etiquette classes and even take kids to baseball games. The national organization’s motto, “What they see is what they’ll be,” means members are committed to helping mold well-rounded individuals in all aspects of their life.

“All the different things that kids, we thought, needed to be exposed to we tried to expose it to them for free,” Pitts said. 

Daniel Morgan leads a Scouting America program for the chapter. Morgan, who joined the Scouts in 1971 and was a part of Scouting programs in Germany, Korea and other parts of the U.S. during his time in the military, joined The 100 Black Men in 2021. 

He credits the troop that was sponsored by the chapter with providing a positive presence in childrens’ lives. 

 “They don’t know what they don’t know,” Morgan said on the importance of having Black adult role models setting good examples — something he says not all troops have.

Morgan also noted that most of the boys involved in Scout troops funded by the chapter  — they have more than 30 children now, he said — are from South Macon, an economically disadvantaged area. 

To relieve  families of financial pressures, the chapter covers troop expenses and dues as long as the child participates in fundraisers and tries his best.

Even when a boy goes home, to school or anywhere else, a troop leader still looks out for him, Morgan said.

One of the boys in the chapter’s  Scouting troop was homeless  after an incident of domestic violence.. Within 20 minutes of Morgan sending an email to chapter members, they raised thousands of dollars to help the child and his family with housing expenses. 

“We saw a need with a family who had a son who was a part of our own,” Morgan said. “These are our kids.”

Instilling values

The chapter also offers programs that address specific developmental periods, such as the Rights of Passage program for teens, which focuses on financial literacy and fostering role models in the community.

The organization’s 100 Steps Forward juvenile diversion program partners with the DA’s office to connect mentees with first time offenders of non-aggressive crimes to combat recidivism.

The 100 Black Men host career fairs to introduce young adults to options including entering the workforce, enrolling in universities and  technical schools or enlisting in the military. Before the pandemic, roughly 4,000 high school students from 27 different counties would attend annually, according to Williams.

Universities such as Harvard and Princeton have participated, Pitts said.  Five scholarships were awarded at the fair one year. 

The 100 Black Men also adopted a fifth grade class at Ingram-Pye Elementary School and committed to paying for each students’ entire college education if they graduate high school. The chapter’s Founders Scholarship program has provided more than $130,000 to high school seniors since 2017. 

Gavin Rushing, a scholarship recipient, learned how to tie his tie and properly shake hands from the chapter. They instilled values of chivalry and respect and showed him how to carry himself properly, he said. As a member of the Rights of Passage program, the chapter  encouraged him to take an interest in history by taking him to places including the Martin Luther King Jr. Museum in Atlanta.

“In this day and age, we need more mature Black men and we need communities and people like The 100 Black Men to continue to influence us to be better men in our communities,” Rushing said.

In May, Rushing graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston. He is now studying abroad in Spain and  pursuing a masters degree.

Williams said the 100 has continued to support Rushing’s educational endeavors — even helping him in a pinch when he needed to secure his student visa.

“When we see a need and it’s something that we think we can support and help, we go in and we fix that need,” he said.

He recalled a saying often shared by Pitts: “You’ve got your uniform on.” He said the phrase is a reminder of the organization’s purpose and their commitment to mentoring youth throughout their lives.

“That’s a mindset,” Williams said. “That means when you come into these doors for a meeting that your mindset is on how we’re going to build our community up.”