В Сагинаве обсудили ключевые факторы успеха для чернокожих мальчиков

Saginaw symposium addresses what Black boys need Panelists point to community support, role models and consistency SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) — A symposium in Saginaw brought together panelists and community members to discuss what Black boys need to succeed. Attendees pointed to support, motivation and guidance as common answers, with many emphasizing the importance of community involvement. Community involvement cited as key “Black boys need the community. They need the infrastructure from the community. They need the energy, the passion, the understanding, the commitment and the consistency from the community,” said Percy Glover, executive director of the F.A.I.R Voting Alliance. Single-parent homes, parents working multiple jobs and fewer extracurricular opportunities were cited as factors that can reduce the number of positive people available to support young Black boys. Glover said consistent presence from community members can make a difference. “Whether it’s hey let’s go to the basketball court and take some jumpshots, hey let’s go fishing, hey let me show you something different that’s different from what you see in your immediate life,” Glover said. Role models emphasized “They need more role models, just more people to look up to. More people to look after I think that’ll really help and I’ve seen it help first hand. So, I think the more that happens. The more that’ll change with kids,” said HBK Boom, who works with kids in Saginaw schools. A student’s perspective Natravion ‘Trey’ Harper spoke about the difficulty of navigating identity and an uncertain future. “That’s a real tough struggle is just trying to find out who we are out here man. A lot of them don’t understand that we just out here scared and we don’t know where we going next. You know, we don’t know what our future looks like or what it holds. So it’s like, I just wish they understood our struggle,” Harper said. Harper said young people experience the same struggles as adults. “We go through the same struggles they go through. Just because we’re kids, don’t mean we don’t feel nothing,” Harper said. Subscribe to the WNEM TV5 newsletter and receive the latest local news and weather straight to your email every day. Copyright 2026 WNEM. All rights reserved.