Missouri Legislature black caucus to visit with Honorable Young Men Club

Local youth mentorship program the Honorable Young Men Club will host members of the Missouri state legislature this Friday in part to see how the successes of the program might be replicated elsewhere.

As of Tuesday, seven members of the state legislature’s black caucus were slated to tour Cape Girardeau Central High School, Central Junior High School and Central Middle School to learn more about how the mentorship program has positively impacted grades, graduation rates and attendance for at-risk students.

The legislators’ visit was proposed by former Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, a Cape Girardeau native, after Kinder learned about the efficacy of the HYMC, which was founded in 2016 by four former Southeast Missouri State University football players — Kweku Arkorful, Wyky Jean, Cantrell Andrews and Aaron Adeoye.

“I think we have a national model here that’s been created right here in Cape Girardeau,” Kinder said. “I was so impressed, I guess you could say the wheels started turning. I wanted to do something to bring a wider audience [to the group’s work.]”

While the legislators will be taking notes on the group’s approach to mentorship, co-founder Arkorful said the visit will be an opportunity for the honorable young men to learn about how citizens can effect change through lawmaking.

“It’s important for [the kids] to know there are black legislators out there that look like them, to show them they can be that, too,” he said. “So they know there are people in Missouri doing great things that look like me instead of thinking there’s just a football player or basketball player as their only options.”

Kinder said he wanted to highlight the example of HYMC in part because of the breadth of skills fostered in the program, including how to deliver a firm handshake with eye contact, how to dress for a job interview and other soft skills, in addition to the improvements in scholastic metrics such as test scores.

“We want to show to the visitors the measurable hard data, and show that there’s proof that this model works,” Kinder said. “But also, how have these kids changed? How have the trajectories they are on changed since [the HYMC co-founders] became involved?”

Co-founder Andrews said his favorite part of working with the young men is how honest and genuine they can be.

“Honesty, because with most adults, you don’t know where you stand with them. They smile on your face one moment and talk behind your back next,” he said. “While kids, on the other, will let you know if they like you or not. There is no guessing on where you stand in a kid’s life and if you don’t know, ask. Trust me they will tell you. I can respect that.”