Chairman's Message
In 2009, the 100 Black Men of America, Inc. turns its attention to the matter of education. During our 23rd Annual Conference, June 10th – 14th our focus is on the increasing challenge of providing access to a rich variety of educational options for youth in our community. During the conference, our focus is on the plight of the Nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities; we also take a long sustained look at the condition of the Black Male in Education, and the challenge he faces in trying to achieve social and economic mobility in a country that seems to have education as a minimum requirement for achieving personal and professional success.
While education is the focus of our conference this year, there are other matters that continue to warrant the attention of thought leaders in our community, among these persistent threats is the continuing spread of HIV/AIDS. The 100 Black Men of America has partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to encourage people to know their status. By knowing your status, you are better able to help prevent the spread of the disease and, if infected, begin treatment that is continuing to be advanced and which can now add many quality years to your life.
The needs in our community continue to grow, both in size and complexity, this is perhaps even truer because of the worsening economy. New and creative ways to address issues in our community must be developed, shared, and refined; organizations that serve our community must engage in collaborative work models that optimize our resources, and leverage our strengths. As part of our effort to define our strength, the 100 has just completed a 6 month strategic planning exercise, about which you will hear more shortly. This exercise enabled us the opportunity to take a long and introspective look at how, who, in what fashion, and to what end we serve our various stakeholders. Based on the results of this study, we intend to sharpen our focus, channeling our energy to areas where we are committed, and possessed of skills necessary to make a significant positive and sustained contribution to the communities we, and others, seek to serve.
The work that we do requires considerable resources, human, technology, social and financial. As you look through other areas of our website, please note the numerous activities and programs in which we engage. However, if here is where you stop, then you have only seen a part of the picture – please, too, visit the websites of our over 100 chapters around the world and see what they are doing. Your contribution to the World Headquarters can make a difference in the funding level of programs that are making a difference around the world. As you learn more about us, I hope that you will come to value our mission, and appreciate our approach to taking on some of the most recalcitrant issues in our community; then, I hope you will act. Share our work with your family, friends and colleagues.
Yours in service,
Albert E. Dotson, Jr., Esq.