Donnel Bird

 

By Joshunda Sanders, Special to the NNPA News Service from America’s Wire

 NEW YORK (NNPA) — By fall, an organization known as BlocPower will be helping minority churches, nonprofits and small businesses nationwide reduce their energy bills with retrofit construction projects that also create jobs in communities of color.

Another organization, Visible Men Inc., in Sarasota, Fla., is working with schools and community agencies to spread stories of successful African-American men, exposing Black youths and their parents to inspirational images of “real-life” successful Black men. Visible Men officials say they focus on what is working for Black men and youths, rather than what is failing.

These programs and six others are run by social entrepreneurs who are the inaugural Black Male Achievement fellows. In partnership with Echoing Green, an organization in New York that has provided entrepreneur fellowships for 25 years, Open Society Foundations in New York has launched a special fellowship program designed to improve communities of color and life outcomes for African-American males.

Donnel Baird, of BlocPower, and Neil Phillips, of Visible Men, are two of the nine entrepreneurs making a difference in their communities.

“We are creating opportunities for innovative thinkers and doers to give birth to ideas and solutions that address the most entrenched problems facing Black men and boys in America,” says Shawn Dove, manager of Open Society Foundations’ Campaign for Black Male Achievement. “We are encouraging African-American males to play significant roles in their communities and providing resources to support their efforts.”

Cheryl L. Dorsey, president of Echoing Green, said the organization is excited to partner with the Open Society Foundations to identify and support social entrepreneurs who deliver positive outcomes for black men and youths in America. “As a pioneer in identifying and mobilizing next generation talent, we believe this partnership with the Open Society Foundations will begin to create a pipeline of best-in-class new leadership for for the field,” she says.

Rashid Shabazz, a program officer for the Open Society Foundations, says fellows receive $70,000 in startup capital and support through exclusive training, consulting opportunities, mentorship and access to the broad network of Echoing Green and the Open Society Foundations.

“We want the fellowships to support individuals who don’t just see problems in their communities but can think big and bold, and see ways to address the problems,” Shabazz says. “The status quo has not worked for Black males. We want the fellowship to further the people willing to try new approaches and take risks. We need to overcome the legacy of structural and institutional racism that has trapped black males at the bottom of American society.”

Shabazz says the fellowship has successfully discovered social entrepreneurs committed to innovative approaches that will obtain results. For more information contact the Open Society Foundation website.