“To understand the road ahead, ask those coming back. Success leaves clues.” This is my favorite Chinese Proverb.

I had an amazing conversation this morning with Mr. Lyndon A. Wade who is a graduate of Booker T. Washington and Morehouse College.  He said that “today’s youth in Atlanta will never know what they need to become until they know where they have come from.” Mr. Lyndon Wade was a standout student and athlete representing the Atlanta Public School System.  He played during a time when it was said that “you weren’t a man if you didn’t play baseball.” Charles Easley Sr.

L.E.A.D. is an acronym that stands for Launch, Expose, Advise and Direct. L.E.A.D. directs young men towards their promise by using the historical journey of past legends in baseball and the community as the road map.

Baseball has been a strong part of the African-American culture since the beginning of time just as our belief in Jesus Christ.  To say that African-Americans don’t want to play baseball is blasphemy. Even during the days of slavery, African-Americans played baseball.

L.E.A.D. has successfully used baseball to afford several inner city Atlanta males the opportunity to access college but we continue to fly stealth. Baseball hasn’t become totally relevant in the inner city yet.

Today will be the last day of signing week as our six partner middle school LEADers sign their L.E.A.D. scholarship. Coach Kelli Stewart, Kerwin Giles, Crystal Giles and I will be at John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. Middle Schools today.  This signing experience plants the seed for them to sign a baseball scholarship on National Signing Day of their senior year of high school.

Their are currently less than 6% of African-American males competing in baseball at the NCAA level. The numbers are so low because it cost thousands of dollars annually for a high school baseball player to compete for limited college baseball scholarships. If you don’t have the money, you don’t get the exposure.  Period.  Every problem presents an opportunity which is why L.E.A.D. has a .890 batting average. Check out our stats!

On Friday, March 23rd, you will hear the drums of the Atlanta Braves and Booker T. Washington High School drum line playing during Atlanta’s first inner city baseball pep rally at Booker T. Washington High School. Our student-athletes in L.E.A.D. are assets to this city as well as celebrities. Come join us as we make a big deal out of youth baseball in Atlanta.

I have a little time left to write so I will tease you about our upcoming 2nd Annual Inner City Youth Baseball March that will celebrate the legacy and future of baseball in the inner city of Atlanta. Did you know that 1969’s MLB World Series MVP Don Clendenon (NY Mets) graduated from Atlanta’s own Booker T. Washington High School and enrolled in Morehouse College before a successful professional baseball career? Did you know that 100% of L.E.A.D.’s Ambassadors graduate from high school and enroll in college while 89% receive baseball scholarships? Check out our events calendar so that you don’t miss an opportunity to march with us.

I love being able to make authentic impact daily through L.E.A.D. That commitment has developed young men that are civic minded change agents in Atlanta. We choose to fly stealth but we won’t be under the radar in America for long.

One of the many community service responsibilities the Ambassadors have is to prepare the next generation of baseball/community LEADers in Atlanta Public Schools. The Middle School Baseball Development League provides them an opportunity to share what they’ve learned with the upcoming LEADers and become role models within their communities.

Starting in January, the Ambassadors served as instructors for L.E.A.D.’s middle school baseball clinics. These clinics gave interested young men at each partner school the opportunity to work with the Ambassadors and get a glimpse at what they could become – a L.E.A.D. Ambassador. The middle school season officially starts on March 24^th and the Ambassadors will come out to games to assist coaches and players to ensure that everyone has a fun, professional and enriching experience.

If you missed Meet The Ambassadors in January, don’t worry. You can meet the Ambassadors any Saturday this spring empowering young LEADers during L.E.A.D.’s Middle School Baseball Development League season. All games are played at Washington High School in Atlanta, Georgia. Click here for an updated schedule. Click here for more photos.

I know that I can’t save every troubled child in the world but I’m definitely going to try to save every Atlanta Public Schools student that wants to play baseball with the goal to access college. My organization L.E.A.D. provides inner city Atlanta youth access to higher education and civic engagement through baseball.  For several inner city Atlanta APS students, going to college is non achievable due to social and economica circumstances.

God put the love of baseball on my heart at the age of 10. My relationship with Him, my family and baseball have made me the person that I am today and it’s my goal to have a long lasting legacy in baseball..in this world. Paraphrasing Dr. King, I want people to say of me that I lived my life serving others, that I tried to love somebody and that I lived a committed life.

But for now, it’s that time of year again when baseball becomes relevant in the U.S. The Braves are preparing to beat the Rangers in the 2012 World Series. Go Braves! You will also notice articles and interviews with regards to the decline of African-Africans in baseball. It humors me when it is said that African-American youth “choose” to play basketball and football over baseball. The reality is that baseball requires instruction and lots of time to develop the skills of hitting, throwing, fielding, etc. Access to professional instruction is expensive.  The solution to this problem is a burdened man.

I am burdened and on a mission to increase the number of African-Americans that are competing in baseball at the collegiate level. Currently, there are less than 5% of African-Americans competing in the NCAA.

I never thought as a child that I wouldn’t achieve my goal of playing professional baseball for the Chicago Cubs.  I had too many positive people on my side; it was highly unlikely that I would fail.  I won’t fail the young men in Atlanta that have the same dreams I had years go. This thing has been a problem too long and I’m offering my life as a living sacrifice to be a part of the solution.  L.E.A.D. Today…Change Tomorrow.

Atlanta Public Schools (APS) currently graduates 34% of its African-American males from high school. Going to college and graduating with a career for these young men changes an entire community.

L.E.A.D. succeeds with four pillars of excellence: academics, baseball, service/civic engagement and exposure. Since 2007, 100% of my L.E.A.D. Ambassadors graduate from high school and enroll in college while 89% enroll with a baseball scholarship.

This isn’t rocket science. Making an impact can be done if you want to do it. You truly have to be burdened, willing and able. I have days when I feel that I am invincible then I have days when I question if I’m making a difference. I continue because God has put this on my heart to be a change agent. Inner city Atlanta was home for me as a child. Without my experiences, I wouldn’t understand what young African-American males face daily. I have the capacity to help so that is what I will do.

When your only tool in life is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail. On my watch, inner city Atlanta males are receiving all of the tools required to access college and a career upon graduation. That is impact. You can impress people from a distance, but you can only impact them close up.

APS serves over 46,000 students and 79% of those students live at or below the poverty level. As a high school baseball player, expect to pay over $8,000 per year for training and exposure if you want to receive a baseball scholarship. Baseball isn’t what it used to be. You have to pay to play today.

Through God’s will, you can count on me to continue to knock down walls and open doors for any young man in this city that wants to play this game in college.

Why wouldn’t I?

Somebody did it for me.

Help me help others through L.E.A.D.

1. If you love baseball, “Like” L.E.A.D. at www.Facebook.com/LEAD2Legacy

2. Join our L.E.A.D. Young Professionals Tailgate Club

Nothing.


That’s what. Nothing is funny.


Failing schools, failing leadership, failing communities; that’s what is being depicted in the media and that’s what our children are seeing..hearing…absorbing. 


Merriam-Webster defines propaganda as “ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one’s cause or to damage an opposing cause”. While I am in no way saying that all the things that are said about our schools, leadership and communities are true or not true, I am definitely saying that there is too much GOOD that goes unreported.


So in that spirit, it’s time for L.E.A.D. to invoke a little propaganda of its own- the good kind of course, that deliberately spreads facts and ideas to further a cause: L.E.A.D.’s cause.


Drum roll please….


Voices of L.E.A.D. is a resource that we’ll use to talk about some of those negative things being reported in the media, however, we will talk about them in the context of how L.E.A.D. trained student-athletes are coping with and overcoming them. Voices of L.E.A.D. will appear in different communication mediums and I’m really excited about the way we are launching this program. 


With issues this serious, the best way to attack them is with a sense of humor, so our first offering will be via a comic strip. 


Yes- a comic strip where you just might see some familiar faces.  


So without further delay, here’s our first offering of Voices of L.E.A.D.

Breaking Chains