The "100 Black Men" concept originated in 1963 with a group of black men living in New York, resulting in the formation of the One Hundred Black Men of New York, Inc. which was instrumental in propelling the advancement of over 60,000 African Americans, young and old alike. These black men wanted to develop a local organization for the purpose of pooling their resources and implementing programs designed to improve the quality of life for Blacks and other minorities. They also wished to ensure the future of their communities by aiming an intense number of resources towards youth development. These members were successful men from various fields of business and industry such as David Dinkins, Livingston Wingate and Andrew Hatcher to name a few.
In 1976, Dr. William Hayling formed the 100 Black Men of New Jersey. This organizing attempt was followed with the formation of individual chapters in Los Angeles, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area, Nassau/Saffol and Sacramento. In 1986, the individual chapters of New Jersey, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Bay Area, Nassau/Saffol and Sacramento formed a national organization called the 100 Black Men of America, Inc. Dr. Hayling was the founding president. On May 27, 1987, in Atlanta, Georgia, this newly formed organization introduced itself to the nation during its first national conference.
With a mission to improve the quality of life and enhance educational opportunities for African-Americans, members of the 100 serve as a strong force for overcoming the cultural and financial obstacles that have limited the achievements of African-American youth, particularly young African-American males. The organization has made outstanding progress, proving that Blacks can, and do, excel in corporate and community leadership.
The 100 has also proven that training and support provided for thousands of youth each year has improved opportunities to stabilize their learning environment, become self supportive and become empowered to control their own destinies. Over the past decade, the changing times brought new challenges and yielded many unanticipated opportunities.
In response, National Chairman Thomas W. Dortch, Jr. unveiled an aggressive plan to focus the organization. Cleverly titled, FOUR FOR THE FUTURE, the plan addresses four areas deemed critical to insuring the future of our youth and community at large.
Since that time, the organization has channeled all its resources towards youth mentoring, anti-violence, education and economic development programs, although these areas had always been part of the "100 movement." In 1995, the organization fully outlined a long-term strategy for addressing these critical areas.
To learn more about our national agenda, please visit the web site at http://www.100blackmen.org |
