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Jill Tindal mentors North and Salisbury students.

Attorney Fredrick Evans chats with Salisbury High students.

Salisbury student intoduces himself.

Kenny Hardin adressing the students.

Kenny Hardin and Salisbury High School Band Director, William Smith.

By Kenneth L. Hardin

I don’t believe in criticizing young people for their nefarious behavior nor laying all the blame on them for their misguided actions, especially when we do nothing in the way of offering them positive alternatives. There’s no such thing as rehabilitation, so efforts to make them whole again is pointless if all they’ve ever witnessed is misery and degradation. What life are you taking them back to and what future are you preparing them for if that’s your only solution? We have a lot of well-meaning people with good intentions, but we’ve all heard the verse that these feel-good intended vibes only pave the path straight to hell. Wishing things would get better is not a plan and hoping that young people will simply grow out of the juvenile, yet sometimes criminal and deadly acts, aren’t a process for success. We have to stop entertaining our children with sports camps and festivals and put in some tangible means of addressing these youth concerns

The troubled youth of this city and the illegal and illicit things they engage in can’t be assigned to one specific racial demographic. The solutions have to be colorblind and amenable to all our young people regardless of their incidental and irrelevant physical, social, gender and ethnic composition. If we choose to pour into our young folks, we have to pour the liquid evenly, consistently, sincerely and without regard for who gets the credit. With that in mind, I set out to walk the talk by organizing a mentoring event with 30 students from Salisbury and North Rowan high schools. My nonprofit, The High Road, Inc., partnered with Jill Tindal, owner of Tindal Touched, Inc. and RSS school board member and business owner Sabrina Harris

I reached out to Salisbury High School Band Director William Smith and North Rowan cheerleading coach Shontae Hosch was contacted to select the students. Both fully supported the effort. We reserved the patio at the DJ’s Restaurant, and on Saturday of last week, the event was held with success. Business and community leaders were invited to serve as mentors for the students. A fundraising effort was started, and all the money needed to hold the event was raised within a week. Sponsors from as far away as Colorado and Virginia chipped in, as well as local residents like former Register of Deeds Bobbie Earnhardt. Local business owners like Matt Marsh, of the Forum Fitness Center, sponsored several students. Richard Reinholz, COO of the J.F. Hurley YMCA, donated 30 passes for a month-long free entry. The guest mentors who participated and offered guidance and encouragement along with Tindal and Harris were Rowan County Commissioner Craig Pierce, Salisbury native and former Rowan County Assistant DA Frederick Evans, who currently serves as legal counsel for the city of Winston Salem, and Darryl Roach, who is a celebrity jewelry designer. He shared that he has created designs for artists such as Beyonce and Rihanna.

The students were told to dress in business casual attire with no hoodies, sneakers, jeans or athletic wear. Each student was given $20 and allowed to order independently from the menu. They were then tasked with talking with the mentor seated at their table. At the beginning of the event, I challenged the students to redefine their priorities and focus their attention on self-improvement. At the conclusion, a North Rowan senior said, “This was so great. We’ve never had the opportunity to do things like this. No one has ever given us the chance to meet with business and political leaders.” Each student had to stand and make an introductory statement identifying who they were, their class year and what their future plans were. I was impressed with the poise and confidence each student displayed when presenting.

Evans thanked me for inviting him to participate. He said he was impressed with how focused the students were and how they’ve already thought out their futures. Tindal said the students at her table were all academic focused and had a plan for after high school that included college with a specific major. Harris shared that she loved the fact they were off school campus and showed initiative by coming on their own time. She added how they could’ve done anything else on Saturday but got dressed and came out. Pierce summed it up by adding how much he appreciated all the leaders that gave their time and compassion to the students. He added he was impressed with how well behaved and polite all the students were, contrary to the reports he hears about students in the RSS schools.

Pierce closed by saying, “Let’s build on this momentum and schedule another session sometime soon.” I assured him my pitcher wasn’t empty and I was making plans to pour into a lot more students’ cups.

Kenneth L. (Kenny) Hardin is the founder of the High Road, Inc., and a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.