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National Reaction to Recent Events 
 | | Curley M. Dossman, Jr. Chairman of the Board, 100 Black Men of America, Inc. |
Following the tragic death of Michael Brown, the 100 Black Men of America, Inc. ("the 100") issued a statement regarding our position, and issued communications outlining specific actions being taken by our network of chapters around the world. We identified excessive force by law enforcement, the lack of respect for black lives, under representation in policy making and governance processes, and disparities in education, income and access as the primary areas that must be addressed across the nation to safeguard against another "Ferguson" and similar occurrences.
Further, we noted that these underlying issues are not just restricted to Ferguson, Missouri, but are issues in cities across the nation and abroad. Many Americans believed that Ferguson was an isolated incident. However, in just the last few weeks we have seen additional egregious acts around the country. On the heals of no indictment for the police officer that killed Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, a 12 year-old black boy with a toy pistol, was killed by police in Cleveland, Ohio; followed by another decision not to indict the police officers that killed Eric Garner, a black man selling cigarettes in front of a convenience store in New York City, New York.
This continued utter disrespect and lack of value placed on black lives has
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Tamir Rice
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sparked protests and civil unrest around the world. The 100 Black Men of America agrees that this cannot be tolerated. The 100's response will remain thoughtful, deliberate, strategic, impactful and sustainable. On a local and national level the 100 will continue to hold community town hall meetings, private meetings with local law enforcement agencies, politicians, collaborative partners, community members and our children.
The urgency of this moment has reinforced the need and intensified the call for The Work of the 100; the work that we have been doing with children, families and communities since 1963.
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Leadership Summit and Appointments
2014-2017 Mentoring and Education Committee Leadership Team
Recently, 100 Black Men of America Chairman, Curley M. Dossman, Jr. revealed appointments for Co-Chairs of the Education and Mentoring Committees to work with Chairman Emeritus, Albert Dotson (pictured right), who now serves as the Mentoring & Education Committee Chair. Those individuals are:
 Acey Byrd - Co-Chair
Alternative Public Schools Committee Responsible for implementation strategy as it relates to public education and to research, evaluate, and recommend policies designed to promote high performing public schools (K -12), including those that are under the auspices of the 100 Black Men, whether such schools are organized in a manner similar to the Eagle Academy model, the Best Academy model, or a public charter school model.
 Dr. Floyd Rose - Chair
Traditional Public Schools Committee
Responsible for implementation strategy as it relates to public education and to research, evaluate, and recommend policies designed to promote high performing public schools (K -12) , including how the 100's wraparound services (Mentoring the 100 Way Across a Lifetime among them) can augment students' in-school learning.
Dr. Bernard Hairston, Co-Chair  Mentoring Committee Responsible for implementation strategy as it relates to training mentors, providing baseline mentee training recommendations, recommending and securing program impact data, developing an expertise on our Chapter's mentoring programs, promoting mentoring as a critical success factor in a young person's development. The initial activity of all Co-chairs is to ensure that Project SOAR (Student Opportunities, Access & Readiness) are advanced both at the national and local levels through the development and implementation of relevant research-based policies, procedures, protocols and practices. |
Save the Life of Someone You Know
A collaboration of 100 Black Men of Madison and the UW Carbone Cancer Center's Cancer Health Disparities Initiative (CHDI)
 African American men nationally experience much higher rates of prostate cancer incidence and mortality than white men. This is true in Dane County too. Here, African American men are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 79% more likely to die of the disease than white men (CHDI 2014). Researchers have explored multiple causes for these differences, including environmental, genetic, behavioral and clinical factors. The high rates of mortality experienced by African Americans underscores the importance of engaging African American men in prostate cancer prevention.
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Erin Bailey
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Since September 2012, the 100 Black Men of Madison (100 BM) and CHDI have partnered in outreach and education activities to reduce prostate cancer incidence and mortality. These activities have included the 100 Black Men's Annual Prostate Cancer Awareness Walk, a prostate cancer survivor group and the training of local 100BM volunteers as educators using CHDI's Cancer Clear & Simple curriculum. This partnership was recognized in April 2014 with a UW-Madison Community-University Partnership award presented by Chancellor Rebecca Blank.
In December 2013 the 100 BM and CHDI, together with Drs. Tracy Downs and
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Dr. Tracy Downs
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Elizabeth Jacobs, also began discussions on conducting a joint research project. Current available treatments for prostate cancer can lead to serious harm and there is insufficient evidence that screening decreases mortality from the disease. As a result, most medical associations and screening guidelines have recommended that patients make informed decisions about whether to be screened for prostate cancer only after weighing the benefits and risks in consultation with their physician. In addition, despite the prevalence of prostate cancer among African American men, there are no specific screening guidelines for this population except the recommendation to begin patient-physician discussions earlier. With these circumstances in mind, the partnership decided to collaboratively develop a program that would inform African American men of the risks and benefits of screening and treatment. Our goal is to help empower African American men to initiate and effectively participate in screening discussions with their health care providers. We want to help African American men get the information they need so they can make decisions based on awareness and empowerment rather than fear and/or distrust. The partnership developed a pilot proposal-Save the Life of Somebody You Know-to identify, adapt and test an educational intervention to improve informed decision making (IDM), and it was submitted to an internal UW source.
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Rick Strickland
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We plan to use the results from our pilot study to develop an expanded proposal to the National Cancer Institute or Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. This would enable us to test the intervention more broadly through additional chapters of 100 Black Men of America. During the pilot phase of our study, we also plan to establish consulting relationships with other prostate cancer and IDM researchers and participate in the 100 Black Men of America's national conference late spring 2015 in Houston. With 106 chapters in the US and internationally, the 100 Black Men of America organization offers a unique opportunity to disseminate this intervention broadly to interested chapters, as well as explore additional research questions of interest related to prostate cancer.
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January is National Mentoring Month
 This January will mark the 14th annual National Mentoring Month, and the 100 Black Men of Madison, Inc. is participating in this campaign aimed at expanding quality mentoring opportunities to connect more of our community's young people with caring adults.
There is a powerful mentoring effect demonstrated by research and the experiences of young people who are connected to a mentor. Mentoring is linked to improved academic, social and economic prospects for our people, and that ultimately strengthens our community.
Research has shown that when matched through a quality mentoring program, mentors can play a powerful role in providing young people with the tools to make responsible decisions, stay focused and engaged in school, and reduce or avoid risky behavior like skipping school, drug use and other negative activities.
For example, in a recent national report call The Mentoring Effect, young people who were at-risk for not completing high school but who had a mentor were 55 percent more likely to be enrolled in college than those who did not have a mentor. They were also:
- 81% more likely to report participating regularly in sports or extracurricular activities.
- 78% more likely to volunteer regularly in their communities.
- More than twice as likely to say they held a leadership position in a club or sports team.
This same report found that one in three young people in our country will grow up without a mentor.
As we focus on engaging more community members in volunteering as mentors, we will share a simple message: Be Someone Who Matters to Someone Who Matters. Mentoring relationships are basic human connections that let a young person know they matter, and mentors frequently report back that their relationships make them feel like someone who matters in another person's life.
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17 January 2015
100 Black Men of Madison Annual Membership Meeting
 | | William Greer |
The Annual Meeting of the 100 Black Men of Madison will be held from 8:00-11:00 a.m., Saturday, 17 January 2015 at the CUNA Mutual Conference Center, 5810 Mineral Point Road, Madison, WI 53705.
Keynote speaker for the event will be Bill Greer, President and CEO of Journey Mental Health Center.
Please click here to confirm your attendance.
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21 February 2015
100 Black Men of Madison General Membership Meeting
 The next General Membership Meeting of the 100 Black Men of Madison will be held 8:00-10:00 a.m., Saturday, 21 February 2015, at the South District Madison Police Station, Community Room, 825 Hughes Place, Madison, WI 53713 (608) 266-5938.
Our guest speaker will be Chief Michael Koval, Chief of Police, Madison Police Department.
Please click here to confirm your attendance.
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11 April 2015
African American History Challenge Bowl
 The 2015 African American History Challenge Bowl will be held Saturday, 11 April, at the Doyle Administration Building of the Madison Metropolitan School District.
The 100 Black Men of Madison African American History Challenge Bowl (AAHCB) is an educational program designed to enhance the study of African American history. The AAHCB is open to all Madison-area middle school students with the goal to encourage pride, self-worth and an appreciation of the African American legacy and culture. It also is a challenging and fun way for students to expand their knowledge of African American History in highly competitive local and national competitions.
The 2014 winner of the local competition was the team from Badger Rock Middle School (pictured above).
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18 April 2015
Party with the 100
 On behalf of the 100 Black Men of Madison, you are cordially invited to come "Party with the 100," Saturday, 18 April 2015, at the UW Pyle Center, 702 Langdon Street, Madison, WI 53706.
More details will be posted on the 100 Black Men of Madison website as they become available.
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MISSION
The Mission of the 100 Black Men of Madison, Inc. is to improve the quality of life within our communities and enhance educational and economic opportunities for all African Americans. |
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VISION
100 Black Men of Madison, Inc. seeks to serve as a beacon of leadership by utilizing our diverse talents to create environments where our children are motivated to achieve, and to empower our people to become self-sufficient shareholders in the economic and social fabric of the communities we serve. |
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VALUES
100 Black Men of Madison, Inc. is committed to the intellectual development of youth and the economic empowerment of the African American community based on the following precepts: respect for family, spirituality, justice, and integrity. |
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CONTACT INFORMATION
100 Black Men of Madison, Inc.
P.O. Box 787
Madison, WI 53701
E-Mail | Website |
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