100 BLACK MEN OF AMERICA, INC.
The idea of 100 Black Men was born in New York City in 1963 when a body of successful men from the fields of business, industry, public affairs, government and the professions decided to pool their skills, experiences and, resources to improve the quality of life for Blacks and other minorities. Among those early founders were David Dinkins, Livingston Wingate, and Andrew Hatcher.
In the 1970s, the concept of developing individual, independent chapters in other cities took hold and in 1973, the 100 Black Men of New Jersey was formed by Dr. William Hayling and others.
After New Jersey came Los Angeles, Indianapolis, SL Louis, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area, Nassau/Suffolk, and Sacramento. In 1986 these nine successful chapters resolved to create "100 Black Men of America, Inc." as a national confederation with Dr. Hayling as the founding president. The first national conference was held in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 27, 1987, where the alliance was introduced to the nation.
PURPOSE
MISSION STATEMENT - To improve the quality of life of our communities and enhance educational and economic opportunities for all African Americans.
VALUE STATEMENT - The 100 Black Men of America, Inc., is committed to the intellectual development of youth and the economic empowerment of the African American community based upon the following precepts: Respect for Family, Spirituality, Justice, and Integrity.
VISION STATEMENT - The 100 Black Men of America, Inc., seeks to serve as a beacon of leadership by utilizing our diverse talents to create an environment where our children are motivated to achieve and to empower our people to become self-sufficient shareholders in the economic and social fabric of the communities we serve.
The national organization, 100 Black Men of America, Inc., a confederation of all existing "100 Black Men" chapters, was formed in 1986 to marshal a force of outstanding men whose collective training, skills and experiences could achieve meaningful gains for the African American community. To realize our goals, our confederation focuses considerable time and resource on:
Mentoring
Health & Wellness
Economic Empowerment
Education
These form the core of activity for all affiliates as we seek a better way of life for the residents of our respective communities and endeavor to uniformly and seriously address the myriad of concerns affecting us all. The binding force for the "100 Movement" is the diversity of our members and programs.
"100 Black Men" chapters throughout the country are uniform in our charge to improve the chances of success for African American men and women by encouraging attainment of higher levels of education through greater exposure to career and societal opportunities. It is clear to us the only way to improve the chances of success for future generations is to work toward economic and social empowerment for our own people, in our own communities.
Each chapter represents men in business, industry, public administration/affairs, government, and the professions who share a common goal: improving the quality of life of African-Americans and other minorities in both urban and suburban communities. Today, there are many more chapters in throughout the country and abroad and the organization continues to grow as we reclaim our communities and ensure the future of generations to come.