The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
E.J. Manuel plays football. And he’s good. Manuel is also a student in Bayside High School’s Health Sciences Academy. He’s good at that, too.
To Manuel, athletic and academic prowess don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
“You just gotta know what comes first,” the 18-year-old said.
Hint: It’s the schoolwork.
Manuel’s performance in the classroom earned him a spot at a recognition breakfast held Saturday. Organized by the Hampton Roads Committee of 200+ Men, the event honored black male high school students graduating with a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
Nationwide, black males graduate at a lower rate than their peers – an achievement gap Bruce Hacker calls a “crisis.”
“We’ve got to focus like never before on just trying to reinforce the value of education,” said Hacker, education chairman for the Committee of 200+ Men. Members are black men who seek to improve the community.
The organization invited 347 seniors from Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore to Saturday’s 11th annual breakfast. About 140 of those students attended the three-hour ceremony at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Keynote speaker Tony Harris, a morning news anchor for CNN, explained that success requires a plan, determination and discipline.
Harris told the soon-to-be graduates that he was proud of their accomplishments but wished more young black men would “do what they ought to do” – graduate and find a career, not simply a job.
Marcus Lee, one of the seniors recognized Saturday, said he is looking forward to working in environmental science . Four years ago, as a freshman entering Green Run High School, Lee met with his guidance counselor. She reviewed his grades and gave him news that still stuns him.
“She said, 'You keep this up, you can go to Princeton,’” Lee said. “I was, like, in a daze.”
The 18-year-old has worked overtime ever since, juggling a part-time job, three Advanced Placement courses and participation on the volleyball and basketball teams this school year alone.
He has a 3.7 GPA and is headed to Penn State.
Manuel will attend Florida State University on a football scholarship. If his dream of playing for the National Football League doesn’t pan out, he said, he’ll likely enter the biomedical engineering field.
Wearing a red button-down shirt and a tie, Manuel sat in the convention center lobby alongside three of his Bayside High buddies before the ceremony. They all participate in a different sport yet are able to maintain at least a B average, he pointed out. “People think athletes, especially black athletes, don’t apply themselves in the classroom,” Manuel said.
Classmate Dajuan Stallworth added: “It’s a great honor to be recognized. It just goes to show that we can achieve, against what some people see as a group that can’t or won’t achieve.”
Hattie Brown Garrow, (757) 222-5562, hattie.brown@pilotonline.com
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not fair
Why was i one of the first to post a comment on this article yet it was not approved? i did not curse nor "hate" on anyone yet was censored? many of these that were allowed are really quite rude....
Nope, no egg on your face
You are correct
SCV isn't a "white" organization
cboath said, "let's disband Sons of the Confederacy".
Sorry to disappoint you, but the Sons of Confederate Veterans has black members, because the Confederate Army had black soldiers. They also admit Cherokees, which is how I was able to obtain membership in the SCV. The Confederate Army even promoted a Cherokee to the rank of General (General Stand Waite), though no Native American ever attained such a high rank within the Union Army.
Beware spouting the Party line. Someone may disprove your assertions, with facts.
Question for CH
Quote "Now they're complaining because blacks have achieved the same success as their white counterparts without having had these standards lowered-success achieved while being judged based on the same standards as their white peers."
Interesting remark CH. I've read and re-read each post carefully and can't find a single instance of someone complaining because blacks achieved the same success as white counterparts. Can you point it out to those of us apparently no able to see it? I can see some valid complaints about black segregation by blacks.
I am a white female and am
I am a white female and am not offended by any of this. Why is it so horrible for one group to be honored at one event? Why do we have to honor everyone all of the time?
I work in a field that is dominated by white, middle-class men. Believe me when I say that every day is "Celebrate White Men Day" in their world. Let someone else have the chance for once.
I wonder
If any teachers, who saw a senior had like a 3.06 and wanted to go to this banquet would give him a B instead of a C so he could attend? But that would be really a whole different discussion.
The big problem with this program
Is that a 3.0 GPA is not really that good. With grade inflation, curving, AP credit, and the easiness of most classes, I don't think it is something that we should be honoring. That is, unless they are saying that if black males get a 3.0 then it is a big thing whereas, it is not with whites or females. If they are saying that, then they aren't doing young black men any favors. Really, do the Pilot readers really think a 3.0 is a good GPA? That won't even get you into most med schools or law schools. That is what I think is bothersome about this whole idea, that they are saying that it is unique and impressive for black young adults to graduate with a 3.0. I think it is insulting to young black men.
These young men are to be commended, however.......
As many other posters have pointed out, if there is to be equality among the races, then events like this should be open to all races, unless there is a VALID discriminator which would dictate its necessity. Until that time, there will remain an outcry for a White athletes' breakfast, a Miss White America, etc.
All of the complaining needs to stop
People complain when institutions of higher education want to "lower the standards" for blacks. Now they're complaining because blacks have achieved the same success as their white counterparts without having had these standards lowered-success achieved while being judged based on the same standards as their white peers. Make up your mind. Do you want blacks to fail, or will you rejoice in their achievements? Why does it matter that this event was for black men? Historically they have performed at lower levels than anyone else, so why can't we be happy for those who are doing well. I bet if a local church sponsored a dinner for homeless people, some of you would complain that they didn't save you any food. The special olympics . . . you would probably complain about not getting a trophy even though you're not handicapped. Give people who haven't had the same opportunities as others to succeed a chance, and when they achieve this success, congratulate them. Grow a heart.
georges615555
You should have left your cotton picking scenerio out of your first statement.because it made you sound self righteous..It is great that you have taken an active part in the history of society..for all others we are not asking you to lower your standards...dumb down the education system or affirmative action..what we are asking is that you to realize that as Black Americans we are playing catch up because we were not offered the same opportunities as our American counterparts previously in history. I am a huge supporter of education I think it is the key to opening many doors for people of all colors. To think that a group of people that endured so much adversity would automatically be on the same playing field as a group of people that did not endure the same makes no sense at all!