Education

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. Youth Mentoring Program Open for Enrollment

Published

6 years ago

January 23, 2019

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., an international fraternity, was the first African-American, national fraternal organization founded at a historically black college, Nov. 17, 1911, at Howard University in Wash., D.C. From its inception, Omega Psi Phi has worked to build a community of high achieving, like-minded African-American men dedicated to its cardinal principles of manhood, scholarship, perseverance and uplift.

Sigma Iota Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity launched the Omega Gents Youth Mentoring and Tutoring Program (Omega Gents) to address the many challenges facing African-American males. The Omega Gents Program is designed to inject an optimistic environment, attitude and message into the lives of African-American school-aged males by teaching and encouraging them to positively define, plan, pursue and achieve their life goals.

Annually, our mentoring services include several educational workshops and outings, two academic enrichment symposiums, community service projects, social and recreational outings, local college campus tours, and career visibility/development outings.

Our formal program runs between September and June to match the school year, but we remain engaged with program participants during the summer with recreational activities to include our annual Youth Mentoring camping trip done in conjunction with youth from our other Northern California Chapters of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.

Sigma Iota Omega Gents Program Overview

Participants in the Omega Gents Program benefit by experiencing personal development essential to their long-term success. They develop academically, socially and emotionally. They grow through various support services and exposure to new positive experiences that reinforce critical life skills. These young men also develop a sense of community by participating in a wide range of service projects. They build the confidence necessary to visualize, believe and pursue their dreams. Finally, our young men complete our program with a network of friends to provide continued support.

Educational Workshops / Academic Performance Monitoring / Tutoring

Educational workshops follow a structured format involving a topical presentation, an open discussion, followed by group exercises to ensure understanding of the lesson.

Topics covered during educational workshops included but are not limited to:

Self Identity
Self Assessment
Goal Setting & Planning
Financial Literacy
Communications Skills Development
Career Development
Developing Positive Relationships
Etiquette & Respecting Women
Health & Well-being
Proper use of Social Media
Computer Science/Coding

As scholarship is a cardinal principle of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, tutoring services in English, mathematics, science and history are offered weekly to all our young men, including on days of regularly scheduled educational workshops or other events.

Other activities include::

Academic Enrichment Symposium (AES)
College campus tours
Career Days/Job Banks
Community service
Social outings
Big Brother/Little Brother connections program
Health curriculum

Scholarships are awarded to graduating seniors who have been participants in the program.

For application or info contact Bro. Alifea Davis, Program Chair (510) 314-9527

chairman@omegagents.org; Bro. Godfrey P. White (225) 505-0415, gpwhite48@yahoo.com; Bro. Tony Anderson (415) 298-5760, tonyanderson146@aol.com

Oakland Post

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Activism

Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.

By Paul Cobb
New Oakland Series
Opinion Part 3

The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.

Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.

This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.

Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.

“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.

Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.

Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”

Oakland Post

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Activism

McClymonds High Names School Gym for Star Graduate, Basketball Legend Bill Russell

William “Bill” Felton Russell was born on Feb. 12, 1934, and died on July 31, 2022. He achieved fame as a U.S. professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. He was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won 11 NBA championships during his 13-year career.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Bill Russell and Brian McGhee in McClymonds High School Gym, 2011. Photo courtesy of Brian McGhee.

By Ken Epstein

West Oakland’s McClymonds High School, “the School of Champions,” this week named the school’s gymnasium in honor of one of its most famous graduates, basketball legend Bill Russell (class of ’52).

Russell is widely known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. In 2011, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civil honor, from President Barack Obama for Russell’s contributions to basketball and the Civil Rights Movement.

The McClymonds’ naming ceremony was held on Wednesday, the same day as Russell’s birthday. Oakland leader Bill Patterson, a longtime friend of Russell’s, was scheduled to cut the ribbon at the reopening of the gym, which had been closed for several months for renovation. Russell’s daughter Karen was scheduled to attend the ribbon cutting.

Russell’s name and signature are now printed on the gymnasium floor.

Patterson was working at DeFremery Park when he met Russell. “I befriended him as a boy and during his years at University of San Francisco” said Patterson. “We stayed friends for the rest of his life.”

Said McClymonds Principal Darielle Davis, herself a McClymonds graduate, “We are excited to honor Bill Russell for his sports accolades and because he broke color barriers. He is part of our legacy, and legacy is really important at McClymonds.”

Brian McGhee, community schools manager at McClymonds and former football player at UC Berkeley, said that Russell meant a lot to him and others at the school. “He was a beacon of light and hope for West Oakland,” he said. “He did a lot for sports and for civil rights.”

Starting in 2018, Ben “Coach” Tapscott worked with Patterson and other McClymonds grads, community members, and former coaches to encourage the Oakland Board of Education to endorse the naming of the school gym, which finally happened recently.

“We worked hard to make this happen,” said Tapscott. “He’s an important part of McClymond’s history, along with a lot of other famous graduates,” he said.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Tony Thurmond Urges Educators to Stay Focused Amid Federal Funding Battle

In a statement and a letter to California’s local educational agencies (LEAs), Thurmond praised efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism and close achievement gaps, particularly for socioeconomically disadvantaged students. “Now is not the time to be distracted by external efforts to demean and divide,” Thurmond wrote. “Please continue to stay the course with local programs that are producing results. Our students need consistency, support, and community more than ever.”

Published

2 weeks ago

February 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Tony Thurmond. Courtesy of Tony Thurmond’s Facebook page.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has urged educators to remain focused on student achievement following a court ruling that temporarily blocks the Trump administration from freezing federal funding for schools, health care, law enforcement, and disaster relief.

A U.S. District Court judge in Rhode Island issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on Jan. 31, halting federal efforts to pause funding while a lawsuit led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 22 other state attorneys general moves forward. Thurmond, a declarant in the case, welcomed the decision and reassured educators that funding for critical school programs remains in place.

“Now is not the time to be distracted by external efforts to demean and divide,” Thurmond wrote. “Please continue to stay the course with local programs that are producing results. Our students need consistency, support, and community more than ever.”

Thurmond emphasized that state officials will continue advocating for stable funding to ensure schools can maintain and expand programs that help students succeed.