TEEN
EXPLOSION DAY TEACHES and ENTERTAINS
When
Independence High opened its doors on
Saturday, May 16, 2009, young people and
adults didn't show up for regular school
activities. Instead, nearly 200 people
attended classes and interacted with
experts as part of the second annual
Teen Explosion coordinated by the Phi
Phi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha
sorority and the Alpharetta -Smyrna
Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity
and the 100 Black Men of North Metro
Inc.
The theme
for the day focused on helping young
people deal with challenges. So all
activities centered on keeping it
R.E.A.L. through RESPONSIBILITY,
EMPOWERMENT, ACCOUNTABILITY and
LEADERSHIP.
Two
speakers gave the young people who
attended insight into how to conduct
themselves and invest in themselves at
all times. Motivational speaker and
trainer Chris Cooper started the first
session by going through the alphabet
and attaching inspirational words or
phrases to each letter.
Then he
went through the audience and handed out
free books he has authored, to those who
could give him an alphabet letter and
remember the word he linked to it.
"People
do not hear you until they know you and
they don't care how much you know, until
they know how much you care," he
told the crowd.
The
second speaker for the morning had a
completely different message. Dr. James
Winfrey explained how he had converted
the seat of his big wheel as a child so
he could participate in illegal gang
activities.
"My
style is very real very rugged very raw
because that's what's contributed to me
getting where I am," he explained.
"My Dad would get drunk, high. He
wouldn't know what day of the week it
was. He wouldn't know if he was coming
or going… I never had any male role
models from the jump." He told his
audience he would escape from listening
to adults yell at each other by reading.
Winfrey
then told rapt listeners that he went
from being a gangbanger to a man who
held five degrees and someone who scored
1375 out 1600 on an SAT test, because
one teacher believed in him. Her faith
fortified him as he began to use his
formidable intellect in class instead of
conflict.
He also
let students ask him questions.
Lisa
Arrindale Anderson was the featured
entertainment speaker. She described her
training at Julliard and commended
college-aged presenters from Emory
University, Morehouse College and two
high school teens who published their
own magazine, for chasing their visions.
"But
it's not going to be a surprise when
these… five people are going to be
successful twenty years from now,
because they are on a path they have
chosen. They have made a decision of
what they want to do," she told the
young people in the auditorium.
Dr.
Michael McDaniel and Dr. Consuelo
Reddick operated afternoon sessions on
abuse, family conflict and sex.
Presenters From Sister Love, Inc and
Teen Prevention Advocate contributed.
Parents
had sessions, too, but not with the
teens.
At the
beginning of the program a volunteer led
parents out of the auditorium to the
school's media center. There a different
set of speakers talked to them about how
to find college funding, effective ways
to communicate with teens and how to
keep themselves de-stressed.
During
the afternoon sessions professionals
talked to the young people about abuse,
sex and self respect.
The
entire day wasn't all about information.
Three sets of performers also showcased
their skills. Rapper "Don
Chico" opened the program. Gospel
duo "God' Fava" sang and
danced and an all-girl step team also
performed.
Everything
ended shortly before 3 p.m.
Approximately
twenty-five mentees from the 100 Black
Men of North Metro attended the 2009
Teen Explosion. Ken Harris and David
Pressley represented the chapter and
acted as chaperones. AARP, Allstate,
Independence High, State Farm and United
Healthcare were event sponsors.
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