Greater Cleveland Hosts The National Rites Of Passage Institute Unveiling!
13 May 2010
3 Commentsmxoentertainment.com
by Ms Osupa Nia
Posted May 13th 2010
There was much anticipation as the Elders began the ceremonial procession into the auditorium at The Cleveland Clinic Wellness Enterprise in Lyndhurst on Tuesday morning! The drums were speaking in tongues as the ensemble of youth musician played feverishly. Permission was granted by the Elder and the ceremony commenced with the Kushangilia!
The ceremony has been completed and National Rites Of Passage Institute (NROPI) founder Paul Hill Jr. took to the podium. “The National Rites Of Passage is a strategy process for child, family and community development.” Mr. Hill’s goal is to take the NROPI to a national level.
The mission of NROPI is to “facilitate child, youth and community development through the use of an African-centered rites of passage process that promotes cultural identity, village building and community ritual. Mr. Hill began his journey of establishing the institute in 1981 when the W.K. Kellogg Foundation granted him a fellowship to travel the world and study to “male socialization among indigenous cultures.”
Gregory B. Taylor, Vice President of Programs with W. K. Kellogg delivered the keynote address. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation supports children and families efforts to make youth an integral facet in the positive development of vulnerable communities.
W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 and is the 5th largest private philanthropic organization in the world! W.K. Kellogg invests over $30 million a year in grants to advocates that help improve conditions evolving around health, family and children.Committed to racial equity, W.K. Kellogg will invest $75 million dollars over five years to that effort.
Gregory B. Taylor is a firm believer that children “should be nurtured and cultivated….not squashed! There has to be an intersection between history and ancestry in the nurturing of youth.” To a certain degree the connection to history has been lost. “The Elders are not leading the youth down the path with history and ancestry” creating a “disconnect” between youth and communal culture.
In addition the youth of today are bombarded by high tech communication information without the knowledge of history and ancestry. Without this knowledge, the ability to filter the array of information presented to our youth on a daily basis affects their ability to make the right decision.
Mr. Taylor is certain that “young people can lead.” He utilizes a four step process to leverage the culture and build resilience in our youth:
- Who Am I
- Who Are We
- What Is Going On Around Us
- What Action Do I Take To Improve The Situation
In the Q&A immediately following the keynote address Mr. Taylor expressed some key points:
- To get parents involved in the nurturing of our youth consider designing programs that appeal to the parents and take the program to the parent. Cash remittances have been used as incentives for parental involvement.
- Meet young people where they are and allow them to embrace technology and collective decision making.
- Most importantly we have to ‘keep our youth safe and accelerate learning! Embrace young people….do not suppress!”
A panel discussion immediately followed the keynote address composed of special interest groups, doctorates, and representatives from the theology community:
- Dr. David B. Miller, PH.D MPH, MSW-Case Western Reserve
- Dr. David Blumenkranz
- Fanon HIll-Founder/Executive Director Baltimore City Youth Resiliency Institute
- Dr. Nolan Shaw-Executive Director Boys To Me Chicago, Illinois
- Rashard Williams (17yrs old) Co Founder/Lead Youth Organizer Baltimore City Youth Resiliency Institute
- Darcy Ottey-Executive Director Rites of Passage Journeys
- Randy Potts-Psychologist Memphis Tennessee VA Medical Center
- Pamela M. Hubbard, OCPSII-Founder/Executive Director Golden Ciphers
- Kweku Embil-Principal Woodlawn Community School in Chicao, Illinois
Leading into the afternoon sessions the NROPI unveiling included a research presentation on the effects of Rites Of Passage practices on the community, the screening of the NROPI documentary, lunch and then discussion group breakout sessions whose topics were:
- School Based
- Faith Based
- Community Based
- Prison Based
To learn more about the National Rites Of Passage Institute log on the their website:
Terrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!
14 May 2010 at 4:06 am