History

The Chionesu Bakari Program for Young Men rose out of the desire to combat the societal challenges that impact young men, externally and internally. Founder, Horace L. Moore recognized the problems confronting young black men were too complex to succumb to a single solution. In 2006 with the support of Rev. Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood (former Sr. Pastor of St. Paul Community Baptist Church, Brooklyn, NY), Horace along with the talents of the initial staff, started a summer program for young men based on holistic principles of parent involvement, male led mentoring, group and one-on-one mentoring, and exposure broadening trips.

In addition, two of the foundational program components were being a uniform based program and deliberately referring to participants as “young men.”  Calling members young men vs. boys is a means of self esteem development and positive reinforcement. Requiring the CB uniform creates a sense of belonging, a “brotherhood”.

Due to the success of the summer program in 2006, Chionesu Bakari was extended to include year-round programming. The program also formally instituted an external advocacy focus for the young men in their school and family. CB Staff mediate for the young men, often where they need a voice against potential bias or as a positive African American male mentor providing correction and encouragement.

During the first full year of the program, the concept of brotherhood was further solidified with the creation of groups within the program: Pauper, Warriors, Princes and the Rites of Passage. The four groups were formed as a continuum based on program knowledge and maturity. With the groups in place the Big Brother/Little Brother mentoring structure was instituted.   Chionesu Bakari’s unique mentoring approach ensures that all young men have two or more male mentors – one male CB staff member and one Big-Brother mentor.  The Big-Brother mentor, a young adult who has already gone through the stages, becomes an important source of support….…a safe haven.

With over 15 years in service, we have positively impacted and expanded the worldview of close to 500 young men. The program has visited over 30 states and Canada, and has taken over 50 college/university tours. The Young Men have visited several colleges and universities including Charles Drew University, Dillard University, Florida Memorial University, Howard University, Lincoln University, Morehouse College, Shaw University, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Johnson C. Smith, Shaw University, Norfolk State University, Virginia State University, Winston Salem University, Buffalo State University, Oswego University, Adelphi University, Duke University and South Western University and Wilberforce University; inspiring them to enroll in any one of the higher education institutions.  We incorporated visits to major Civil Rights historical landmark including Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma Alabama, Underground Railroad Museum, Muhammad Ali Center, The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, National Civil Rights Museum at The Lorraine Hotel in Memphis Tennessee, Little Rock Museum and National Civil Rights Museum both in Arkansas, to name a few.  We believe knowledge of African American history is key to understanding your place in the community and the world.