BY JANE BLOODWORTH ROWE
Kelvin Braxton Jr. always dreamed of attending college and carving a career in business.
In the spring of 2020, Braxton, then a senior graduating from Norview High School in Norfolk, came a step closer to his goal thanks to mentoring and a scholarship awarded by the Hampton Roads Committee of 200+ Men, a regional organization that aims to encourage African-American young people to achieve success.
Braxton, the son of Kelvin Braxton Sr. and Peggy Braxton,/ and his peers participated in the Scholars Academy, which is the organization’s mentoring program. He also attended the annual Scholars Breakfast, an event held to honor high-achieving graduating high school seniors and to inspire younger students to follow in their footsteps.
“Not only are we honoring students, but we hope to bring in younger students and inspire them,” said Jimmy Gray, the president of the board of directors for the 200+ Men and the vice mayor of Hampton.
This year’s Scholars Breakfast is scheduled for 9 a.m., Saturday, May 20, at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, and the nonprofit foundation hopes to raise awareness about its work and find sponsors to help it in its mission and to support the event. The breakfast includes all students who participated in the Scholars Academy from around the region, as well as their mentors and parents.
It is the 25th year for the breakfast. All students who attend are awarded a medallion, and the 10 students who receive the George C. Crawley Scholarship through the 200+ Men are recognized at the event.
The recognition is particularly meaningful to the parents, according to Gray.
“I enjoy seeing the parents get so excited,” he said, adding that some of them “have tears in their eyes.”
The Scholars Academy focuses on enabling young African-American men to reach their highest potential and to graduate from high school with the skills and grades necessary to pursue a career or enter college. This program matches students with mentors who provide guidance and support. It also includes guest speakers and field trips, and organization members recruit participating students by working with public and private school officials.
“We talked about academics as well as life skills,” said Braxton, who said that the program helped him to perform well in school and encouraged him to participate in leadership activities such as Boys State.
The Scholars Breakfast also inspires younger students by bringing them together with the graduating seniors, Gray said.
The Scholars Breakfast and the scholarships are funded through sponsorships, and the organization hopes to attract more sponsors this year, Gray said.
Braxton, who is now a junior at James Madison University, hopes that other young men will take advantage of the scholarship and other programs that the charitable organization offers.
He said that these helped him to achieve his dream of attending college.
He wants to eventually own his own business.
“It lifted a large burden off of me,” Braxton said. “I always wanted to go to college. Education is a big part of my life.”
“We want to change the narrative,” Gray said. “All too often, young African-American men are seen on the news as criminals. We want to show a positive image.”
Information about the 200+ Men is available online via hr200plusmen.org. Details about supporting this year’s breakfast are at hr200plusmen.org/breakfast2023. The organization can also be reached with questions by email via info@hr200plusmen.org or by calling (757) 455-9260.
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