The Transformative Power of Urban Prep

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On November, 5, 2008, nearly 500 young black boys on the South Side of Chicago met in their gymnasium for the customary morning ritual.  But today, as they recited their customary creed that they had recited every day for the past two months, the words had new meaning.  And they recited the creed without being able to maintain their cool teenage composures.  

“We believe./We are the young men of Urban Prep./We are college bound.
We are exceptional-not because we say it, but because we work hard at it./
We will not falter in the face of any obstacle placed before us/…We believe.”  

Since their charter high-school for African-American boys–the first of its kind in the country–was opened by legendary African-American male educator and CEO, Tim King in 2006, the boys of Urban Prep Academy have believed in this motto. They believed, in spite of their challenged upbringings, broken homes, and the statistics that could be found in their black Chicagoan brothers who had succumbed to murder, drug addiction and dealing, and the fact that only 2.5% of black boys attending Chicago Public Schools make it through college.  They believed in a higher power – themselves.  But on November 5, the city of Chicago, the nation and the world had proof to back up this hypothesis. And his name is Barack Obama.  

A few weeks after President-Elect Barack Obama’s historic victory, King, the thirty-something CEO of Urban Prep whose mission in life it had been to inspire black boys, took a phone call from Black Power to talk about how, for his boys at Urban Prep, Barack Obama had done more than become their President. He had made the creed they had long recited and believed in their hearts come alive.  

Q. When I was growing up, my parents and relatives told me that I could be whatever I wanted to be.  I have enjoyed tremendous amounts of success, but I always wondered if I could ever reach that pinnacle I so desired.  Now that we have elected an African-American man President of the United States, what is the implication for black boys?  Is it safe for them to completely believe that they can achieve the unachievable?  Or has this always been the case?  

A. The fact that Obama was elected President is an indication of the potential of black boys to be able to dream big and achieve it.  We’ve always been able to, but it’s just a matter of having a model, an example to achieve it first.  

 Q. Can you elaborate on what you mean by “example?”  

A. There are two big lessons when it comes to how [President-elect Obama's election] impacts young people.  One, you have this example to point to – someone who has done it.  And I think that’s very powerful, particularly for the boys we serve who don’t have a lot of very positive models.  They have a lot of models, but not always very positive ones.  And I think its noteworthy that Obama’s background is like the ones of the boys we serve at Urban Prep – raised by a grandmother, parents not at home, not a lot of money, moving around…    

Q. And what is the second lesson?  

A. The second lesson, which is equally if not more important, is that it shows a pathway to success. It is important that young people who are looking to him for inspiration don’t just look at him as an example, but they study the path he took to reach this goal.  There are a lot of mini lessons inside of this big lesson.  You’ve got to work hard, go to college, be the best, study, go to graduate school, when you don’ t win an election, come back and win again, find your voice; these are things that any young person can look to as a pathway for things to do to be successful in whatever you want.  That is the real power of the accomplishment – not just that he did it, but he showed people the pathway for doing it.  

Q. When you arrived at Urban Prep on Wednesday, what was the tone and tenor of the school?  Are the boys feeling a sense of new hope?  

A. The day after the election, it was one of the most incredible days in the world to see how excited our students were.  In community, a time when we gather everyone in the gym, and acknowledge students who have done great things, and recite the school creed, there were 450 young men in that gym who were psyched!  They could not contain their energy.  CNN came out on Wednesday and interviewed a bunch of students and shot film recording their enthusiasm…  

Q. Which remark shared by one of your students is the one you will remember forever in commemoration of this event?  

 A. One guy, met me at the front door and said: “Mr. King, my president is a black man!”  He was just filled with pride, disbelief, power and emotion.  He was articulating this simple statement that was really profound.  There was also a lot of “Mr. King – we should believe, and Obama believed and look what he did!”  I think this victory really made them realize that what we’ve been teaching and telling them about working hard and believing is true.   

Q. I would imagine that given your work and your profile in Chicago, you have met Barack Obama.  What’s next for you?  Will you be going to Washington to serve in an education-related post?  If not, have you personally decided to stay near the boys in Chicago?  

A. President-Elect Obama and I have known each other for many years and he’s a great, great man.  I have not been asked by him to go to Washington, however, it is interesting to me the call to action and a call to serve that I feel and I think many other Americans feel.  We just want Obama to be successful, effective and the best president possible.  And anything I could do to help I would want to do.  There’s this fire like – “what can I do, what can I do?”  The reality is what we do every day at Urban Prep is affecting positive change, so perhaps the best way for me to serve is to keep doing what I’m doing.   

Q. You are in your third year, you have successfully added freshman, sophomores and juniors to your ranks, and next year will have a new class of freshman, and your juniors will become seniors and graduate.  What’s next for Urban Prep?

A. We have been approved to open two new schools in Chicago.  One in the East Garfield Park community on the west side of Chicago and the other in the South Shore community.  We have a lot on our plate and we couldn’t be happier to expand and serve more students across the city.   

Q. Given your success in Chicago, when will you open an Urban Prep in say Baltimore, or Washington, D.C.   A.  We don’t have firm plans to open anything outside of Chicago, although it is very encouraging the number of phone calls we get from boards of education, mayors’ offices and other groups and cities across the country.  We have been in touch with people in Washington, D.C., N.Y, Houston and Michigan.  So, we will see.  

Q. Throughout your tenure as an educator working with students from difficult upbringings you must have heard many tragic stories from the kids you serve.  Which one was the biggest testament to the power of what you do at Urban Prep, and its transformative power?  

A. Go to our website UrbanPrep.org, there’s a section, UP on TV, where there are a bunch of clips from a variety of news stories done on us over the years with several different stories about our students.  One story you won’t find there is the one about this young man named Krishaun who came to us as a freshman and was completely and totally opposed to being at the school; he was failing his classes, getting into fights, and doing everything he could to get out of Urban Prep.  Finally, his mother threw up her hands and said – you win, you can transfer.  He transferred to another school.  This summer, he spent almost every day at Urban Prep, asking if we would take him back.  We did allow him to transfer back him.  A few weeks ago, educators from London were visiting Urban Prep, and checking out the school.  We had about 10 students visit with them and tell them about exciting moments or experiences at Urban Prep. Students going down the line, made remarks about how “we won that football game”, or “I was student of the week”, etc.  When the visitors came to Krishaun, he said that at first he wasn’t sold on Urban Prep, so he transferred out of the school.  “When I got to the other school, I realized that no one there cared about me.”  At this point, all of us were tearing up.  He finished with: “I knew I had to get out of there.  If I stayed at that school I knew I would be dead by 18, and I had to get out of there.”  We are so happy that Krishaun is back where he belongs.  He’s back at Urban Prep. 

To watch Urban Prep Students Celebrate Obama Victory on CNN (airdate 11/9/08), click here.

This story is filed under: Education, Have You Checked the Children?

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