Photo COURTESY OF MICHAEL HANKINS
MOREHOUSE MEN. Seven Tacoma high school students recently toured the historic campus of Morehouse University in Atlanta, Ga., as part of the local after school program Motivating Our Children 2 Honor Academics (MOCHA).
Last month, seven young men from Tacoma made their way south to visit one of the most prestigious, historic black colleges in America.
The young men, all sophomores and juniors from Stadium, Wilson, Foss, Oakland and Lakes high schools, are part of the independent after school group Motivating Our Children 2 Honor Academics (MOCHA).
Over the past 10 years, the MOCHA boys have been referred to the program by school principals or adults who see a need for strong male mentorship and guidance in the young individuals.
“We work with a lot of fatherless children, those who are exposed to gang violence, substance abuse or who are having problems in school,” MOCHA founder Michael Hankins said. “As an adult and a black male figure…I try to give these young men a sense of security and a sense of confidence. MOCHA provides that safe haven environment.”
The Morehouse trip has been a dream of Hankins’ for years, and after much planning and support from the board of directors, it finally came into fruition in 2009.
“We’re creating a pathway for our young men to become leaders, and business leaders,” Hankins said. “One thing about Morehouse is that it’s elite academic education for African American men. It’s the only institute in the world that provides that access to that, and prepares (young black men) to be the next leaders of the world. That’s powerful.”
The group of young men departed from MOCHA headquarters at People’s Community Center on Martin Luther King, Jr. Way in Tacoma, to Atlanta, Ga., where they were able to see, touch and walk where King did as a young man.
Kainen Bell, a junior at Stadium, is one member of the group that has had Morehouse in his sights for some years. Getting the opportunity to visit the historic campus solidified his desire to make a difference in the world.
“My dream is to change the world, like Martin Luther King, Jr.,” he said. “We walked where he walked, touched his doorknob and sat on the benches where he sat. Seeing all the successful African American people around… there, they were everywhere you looked.
Morehouse would be the first step in reaching my goal of making the world a better place.”
While on the trip, the group toured the campus, led by Morehouse Valedictorian Warren Chancellor. They attended college classes, toured the dorms, stopping at King’s former dwelling space, and participated in the school’s annual homecoming events.
“(We were able to) experience the atmosphere at an African American male college…and the past of all the greats who have paved the path for these young men,” Hankins said.
After the inaugural trip to Morehouse, Hankins said it is MOCHA’s goal to expand the number of students on the trip in the future, taking it up to a 10 to 20-student group. MOCHA currently works with 23 students, ranging from first through 12th grades.
Hankins said MOCHA students attending a month-long summer program at the Morehouse campus is currently in the works.
“We already have the first men of MOCHA to Morehouse… we’re staring that pipeline, that channel of becoming Morehouse men.”
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