Men Who Care volunteers with MLK students in the Real Talk mentorship program. (Photos: Maleka Fruean)

It’s a cold winter morning on the border of Germantown and West Oak Lane, and school security guards are pushing through students arriving late to Martin Luther King High School (MLK). 

It’s almost 10 in the morning, and in the school’s library, the Men Who Care volunteers are setting up snacks, drinks, and awaiting their large pizza order. It’s all for the boys and girls in the Real Talk mentoring program on Wednesdays.

During these sessions, Men Who Care of Germantown (MWC) volunteers mentor students in academics, supplemental education, jobs, and safety. 

The program has been running for a little over six years.

How Real Talk began in schools

Men Who Care’s Real Talk mentorship programs are currently in Germantown and East Mt. Airy elementary, middle, and high schools. 

Clayton Justice, MWC’s executive director, said they have brought them directly to the schools because that’s where the young folks already are. As an MLK alumnus, this is just one of the ways Justice gives back.

What is most important to him is that older men set examples for younger men. 

“We recognize that young Black men need to see Black men in their spaces. And it has a profound effect not only on the climate of the building but also on their confidence and their self-esteem.”

The high school’s counselor for attendance and truancy, Ms. Mariama Jeihani-Murungi, was introduced to Joe Budd, MWC’s president, due to her work with children facing significant barriers to attending school.

She was connected with MWC to hopefully form a partnership in the school. She didn’t realize how much of a partnership it would become. 

“What drew me to Men Who Care is just… they were almost like aunties and uncles at the old family reunion, where they’re looking out for everybody,” said Jeihani-Murungi.  

Jeihani-Murungi noted MLK’s large “transient” population, meaning students not in their familial homes. Reasons may vary from being in a group home, a multi-student housing facility, an apprenticeship home, or another situation. 

She says some students may feel like their friends and school community are some of the only places they find belonging and love. It’s why she feels it’s so important to have a sense of family and community at the school. 

How Real Talk practices mentorship

Justice says one of the basic tenets of the Real Talk boys’ groups is to brand and promote “manhood”, which, to him, is basically about leadership and service. 

“It’s leading with integrity. It’s learning what citizenship is like, which is community service, and not only being of service to yourself and the community. But, more importantly, looking at ways that you can help your own family and the people that immediately impact your life,” Justice said. 

Mysir Green, 16, was grateful for the way he was able to open up in the boys’ group and talk about being in a new place.

“When I started coming to Real Talk last year when I transferred to Martin Luther King, it was like a whole new world,” said Green. “I like the way that I can relate to them, and when I talk to them, it feels like therapy, like I could talk to them about anything.”

Mujahid Berry (17) and Shaheem Burton (17) agreed. Burton started attending Real Talk when he heard about pizza, but he stayed on because he liked the information and opportunities they were giving out. 

He and Berry talked about how they got to work with Men Who Care over the summer to make money doing community service and help with the summer camps the organization runs. 

Berry mentioned that some days were harder than others, but overall, it was a great experience working with the younger kids and getting the opportunity to be a leader. 

Deidra Thomas is retired and volunteers as the lead facilitator for the girl’s group. The girls call her Ms. Dee. She and the other girl group facilitators focus on leadership and social development. 

The facilitators also focus on respect – for the girls themselves – and others. For many of the girls, it gives them real confidence and a role model of womanhood to look up to as they each come into their own identities.

Thomas says they come up with ideas on their own and with input from the girls and build a program around them, with quotes and discussion. 

Girls group student Zee Rolling (17) said they were interested in participating in Real Talk because of their anxiety around meeting new people and opening up, which is something Kadiya Sylla (18) also mentioned. 

Rolling, who’s also a three-year member, says, “It’s a space where you can feel safe, and whatever’s in the room that y’all talk about that y’all feel safe to share, you can share it without it going outside of the room, without any fights being caused because of it. You get to be comfortable.”

Ms. Thomas said many of the girls in the group are returning students who keep coming back to the program. Her time with the girls is one of her favorite parts of her week.

“I’ve always wanted to work with young girls, and basically, it’s because of what my life was like as a kid. So I’ve always wanted to help someone who was the girl that I was,” said Thomas. 

This isn’t work, it’s love

Justice makes a point that this isn’t work for the organization–“it’s a labor of love.” 

He says, “To be able to recognize the importance of young Black men seeing Black men come in on a consistent basis and advocate for them in a positive way is why we do what we do.”

Thomas feels similarly about the girls’ group. She is happy when she knows that something the girls heard or discussed within the group touched them in some kind of way. 

The students can feel it, too. Multiple students we talked to at MLK mentioned how much they felt like the adults were invested in them.

“Something that surprised me was how much they care, “said Berry. “Like, how much they actually care surprised me a lot. And how much change I made surprised me, too.”

Joe Budd laughed when he heard Berry talk about his change, remembering how reactive the young man used to be to situations around him. 

Ms. Thomas says there is a key ingredient for people interested in spreading love and starting programs like this with youth–consistency.

“They need to see the same face every week or every other day, or however you decide you want to do it,” Thomas said. “Like, just know that you’re ready to do this, and this is something that is for you before committing yourself to it. That’s number one for me.” 

These programs are needed

Justice says there are nuanced ways they see their six years at the high school affecting things, but they know they exist. 

They see it in behavior. They see it in the ways the students act after receiving new formalwear for their Suit Up program once a year. They see it in the way students keep coming back to all of their programs every year. 

Counselor Jeihani-Murungi appreciates the intentionality of the program and the way it unapologetically pours into the students simply to reach a goal – to fill in gaps and create a sense of community and belonging that helps direct the youth to be good stewards of themselves and their community. 

She says just sharing pizza and talking gets many of the kids to feel safe and connected in a world where many of them have experienced loss and trauma. 

17-year-old Shaheem Burton wants adults to know that young people need them, especially now.

“We need more adults to stand up for us and support us in what we’re trying to do and see if we’re getting mistreated. Stand up for us, try to help us push through it. Because (there’s) a lot of things that are being done wrong by us, and we’re not getting the things that we need. And we need the adults to help us stand up for ourselves,” says Burton.

To learn more about the Men Who Care Real Talk mentorship program and how to support their work, you can visit their website and social media.