Juvenile Justice Club to Graduate First Class during Black History Month

Deborah Bayliss | As of Tuesday, February 24, 2015

A program designed to help incarcerated juveniles prepare for a successful re-entry into society, is gearing up for its inaugural graduation ceremony scheduled to take place today with a class of 30 male participants.

Called the Leadership JITSU Re-Entry Club, founded by Rodney Moyer, 36, a sought after business and success coach who’s been featured on several television shows, Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN, FOX News, and president of Effective Development, NFP, the 6-week program, a joint effort between Effective Youth Development and The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, takes place at an Illinois Juvenile Justice facility located on Chicago’s west side as a literacy-based, common core and student development curriculum designed to give students a chance to become productive citizens.

When asked why he started the JITSU Club, Moyer told the Chicago Citizen Newspaper that his inspiration was to “save” young men.

“As an Alpha Phi Alpha member, we’re heavily involved and being a young black male myself who was kicked out of school (and got back on the right track)…black boys in Chicago are dying…families and communities are being ruined. We have the formula to uplift and save who we can. We want to create paradigm shifts towards positive thinking. A lot of people feel these young men should remain locked up. The young men in this program have not committed any serious crime. Our bottom line goal is to instill in them that they can succeed because a lot of these kids didn’t know what they needed to do to succeed. They now see an option. Data has shown that we are effective.”

Participants ages 15 to 19 take part in success visualization, communication skill building, life skills sessions, and cover letter and resume writing. Though there’s no blueprint for discussions, being fatherless and becoming a man is also discussed.

As to his thoughts on the violence inner city youth are faced with, Moyer said, “It’s a bi-product of everything they’ve experienced to this point, no positive role models, and sexual assault…so many things they deal with…everything they have and don’t have. Other people’s norms are different but for a lot of them the thought is, ‘If I’m not in this gang or sell these drugs…’ We’re trying to redirect those skill sets’”

One serious and touchy subject of late is the interaction between police and young black males, where young black males often end up in jail or deceased.

When asked if he tackles the subject of how to interact with the police, Moyer said, “I’m sure it will come up but we don’t have a designed discussion on that. You can do everything right and still find yourself in trouble with the police so there is no wrong or right answer for this. It is the effective development of youth…young men who can think critically and articulately is more important than what the right or wrong is. The more developed you are, the better abled you are to handle the situation.”

Corey Brooks, a south side community activist and pastor, New Beginnings Church in Woodlawn donated the blue and grey shirts, slacks and jackets, for the graduation scheduled to take place Feb. 18.

Moyer and the others involved in the program are seeking post-release resources such as jobs, computers, clothing, shoes, in the form of corporate and private donations.

“I would like to challenge anyone who only see individuals through the small window of the bad decisions they’ve made… ‘focusing on the dirt of the petal,’ this is an opportunity for the community as a whole to have an open view (of these youth).”

Meredith Krantz, a spokesperson for the Ill. Department of Juvenile justice released the following statement on behalf of the Ill. Dept. of Juvenile Justice, “IDJJ is extremely pleased with the early signs of success of the Young Men’s Leadership Reentry JITSU Club.  Many youth have expressed an increased desire to complete their GED’s or earn their diplomas, apply for and attend college, or learn a technical skill, to provide for themselves and their families.  The young men have focused on positive behavioral modification techniques, self-awareness, mentoring and role-models, and goal-setting during their time in the club.  Efforts to increase a youth’s positive self-image and desire to make a positive impact in their lives and the lives of their communities are always encouraged and applauded by the IDJJ.”

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