100 Black Men of DeKalb inducts new members

The  DeKalb County Chapter of the 100 Black Men of America, Inc. (100BMOD) welcomed a new class of members at its 2021 Spring induction in March: Jeremy Abernathy, Muddessar Ahmad, Omari Crawford, Joshua Davis, Reginald Fortson, Roger Harris, Johnston Pope, Art Roman and George Shealey, Jr.

Family, friends and other 100 members witnessed the swearing-in ceremony during the socially distanced event, which was held at Fernbank Museum.

Also recognized during the ceremony were members of the Fall 2020 class including: Phillip Battle, DeKalb County Commissioner Steve Bradshaw,  Pastor Jamal Bryant, and Roderick Cunningham.

The board of directors spoke highly of the chapter’s newest members as pastors, attorneys, judges, entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, a professor and veteran and senior executives.

“Beyond their professional accomplishments, these men have demonstrated excellent character in their service work and I’m delighted to have them lock arms with the chapter,” President Andre Deas said.

Chairman Thomas W. Dortch Jr., brought greetings from the 100 Black Men of America, Incorporated and welcomed these men to the movement while charging each to commit to the children as communities battle a number of challenges like the impact of the pandemic, increased poverty, gun violence, social injustice and a growing list of ills.

The overall concept of The 100 began in 1963 in New York City when a group of concerned African American men began to meet to explore ways of improving conditions in their community.  These visionaries included businessmen and industry leaders such as David Dinkins, Robert Mangum, Dr. William Hayling, Nathaniel Goldston III, Livingston Wingate, Andrew Hatcher, and Jackie Robinson.  Since inception, the vision has materialized to be shared by more than 10,000 members reaching over 125,000 underserved, underrepresented minority youths annually.  The organization’s motto, “What They See Is What They’ll Be,”  expresses how our programmatic services rendered to disadvantaged, disenfranchised and low-income youth and families positively change their life trajectory.

The 100 Black Men of DeKalb was formed in 1991 by 14 businessmen from DeKalb County.  The chapter is registered with DeKalb County as “The DeKalb County Chapter 100 Black Men of America, Inc.”  The organization continues to serve DeKalb through various service activities and programs.