The Long Beach chapter of 100 Black Men was awarded Chapter of the Year by the national organization, 100 Black Men of America, Inc. in late June.
It’s the first time the Long Beach chapter has been nationally recognized for its excellence in carrying out the organization’s mission to “empower the African American community, especially African American young males,” according to their website.
Although the national organization has been around since the 1960s, 100 Black Men of America Long Beach has been active since 2008. The committee received the good news at their 36th annual conference in Florida, then celebrated once more with the community on Friday, July 22.
“Chapter of the year is pretty significant because we’re not that old, so to achieve that already… that’s significant because we’ve grown a great deal,” said Lance Robert, president of the Long Beach chapter.
The title is given to the chapter that is performing at its highest level in areas of the organization’s “Four for the Future” focus areas: economic empowerment, education, mentorship and health and wellness.
Members are developed in these areas through a monthly mentorship program that meets on the Cal State Long Beach campus; an annual UCLA African American intensive literacy program; a stock market educational worksop where over $4,000 is awarded to participants; a moot court teaching debate and legal rights instructed by licensed lawyers; and legislative advocacy.
Robert explained that the mentorship program is one of the most important resources the chapter offers. It currently serves over 200 youth members monthly. There is less of an emphasis on education at these meetings and more “just sharing our stories as Black men,” Robert explained.
There are over 100 chapters nationwide, including one in London, England and one in the Caribbean. The Long Beach chapter was founded when a group of African American men met aboard the Queen Mary to discuss ways to improve the lives of minorities in the city, according to the chapter’s website.
A year later, the chapter was recognized as part of the national organization. The city’s chapter has impacted and served hundreds of young Black men in Long Beach since its inception nearly 15 years ago and currently has 81 members.
“A lot of what we’re trying to do is trying to change the trajectory of what [society says] a Black man is supposed to be,” said Chris Wilson, committee chair of government relations. “We want to lift him or her up, to make it more boundless—sky’s the limit, whatever you want to do. It’s not within, it’s not within your skin color. You can achieve anything that you want to accomplish.”
Wilson is a Signal Hill resident and legacy member of 100 Black Men of America, meaning he graduated from the program as a youth member and now serves as a volunteer.
He also serves on the Signal Hill Diversity Coalition Committee and uses his political involvement as a way to teach members how to advocate for themselves, “to create a safer environment, and a safer economic environment for our youth to thrive and to learn,” Wilson explained.
The origins of 100 Black Men of America, Inc. traces back to 1963 New York City. Prominent young Black male leaders such as professional baseball player Jackie Robinson, associate press secretary Andrew Hatcher, civil rights leader Robert Mangum, politician David Dinkins (who went on to become the first Black mayor of New York City) and other businessmen met to “explore ways of improving conditions in their community,” according to Wilson.
A nationwide movement was born on October 2, 1986 when representatives traveled to Washington, D.C. to establish a nationally recognized nonprofit organization.
Long Beach’s chapter of 100 Black Men of America is fairly new compared to the other chapters in the state, but has a robust set of resources for its members. The organization gave out more than $24,000 in college scholarships to its members in the last fiscal year, according to Roberts.
He credited the City’s involvement with the Long Beach chapter as one of the reasons they’ve been influential, while Wilson pointed to the organization’s activism as the trait that set their chapter apart.
“I think our members are not ones to stand by the sidelines, we actually want to be in the game,” Wilson said. “Us being so forward thinking and so aggressive in talking to our legislative leaders and our decision makers at every level of government to make sure that they know how this is impacting the Black community […] So we’re not we’re not afraid to stand up for things that matter.”
In the past two years, the Long Beach chapter has supported legislation on both a local and state level through writing letters or showing up in person to lobby.
Some of their support has gone toward AB 1196, which banned carotid restraint by police officers in California, writing a letter supporting the City of Signal Hill standing up for racial equality and creating a diversity committee in 2020, writing a letter supporting SB 2 which limited certain police officer immunities in 2021, writing a letter requesting that Juneteenth be named a city-wide holiday in 2021 and many more items.
“I call it working my shift, and what I mean by that is people who worked a shift in my life showed up—great teachers, loving parents… the whole community supported me and they showed pride when I graduated university,” Robert said. “So I think it’s important that when people work their shifts in our lives, it’s important for us to show up and do what we’re supposed to do.”
