Skip to main content

Survivors


If there was such an award for serving and surviving their community's wars, I'd present Joseph Jones, President & CEO, Center for Urban families and R&B Singer "Mario" of Baltimore both purple heart awards. These gentlemen have survived and continue too fight the war on drug abuse and broken families. Joe as he's referred to by friends and colleagues is a reformed drug addict and current activist on the war on drugs. He and his team have helped countless families thru the rehabilitation process. (see http://www.cfuf.org/Jones)

Mario, was recently the keynote speaker and moderator for the Center for Urban families latest forum entitled, "Saving Our Families: The Impact of Addiction on Youth & Parenting". This young man was phenomenal! Not only did he reach the crowd with his personal story of growing up in a home of drug abuse. Mario also helped open the door for other young people to share their stories and begin the journey of the healing process.

With the passing of Michael Jackson more attention has shifted to the philanthropic efforts of celebrities and athletes. Being a former athlete, I understand the importance of sewing back into your community. If I had to chose anyone to be on the front lines of my organization I'd take 50 Mario's and 50 Joe's everyday of the week.

Below are a few of the memorable moments that I was able to capture.













Comments

Big Sis said…
WOW!!! you think you can get him to come to my event!
July 15, 2009 at 11:40 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Players That You Never Knew

With the opening Friday Night of the 2014 high school football season on the horizon, every barbershop in every small-town in America is probably buzzing with the conversation of who are greatest high school football players of all time.  It's a valid question considering the pool of talent that passes through most small towns.  People often wonder where these guys end up long after their playing days are over.  I've often asked the same question about many of my ex-teammates. Two in particular, Darius Brewnington and Kenny Shaw. If you were an athlete in the early 1990's they were arguably considered two of the most influential athletes in North Carolina's rich high school football history.  Unfortunately, like many other high profile athletes life happens.  However, even with the growing pains of life every man has his day of redemption.  With Darius and Kenny being former teammates of mine I wanted to see for myself who they are 20 years removed fr...
5 comments
Read more

The Money Shot

The "Money Shot". It's not the type of shot where you look to get paid. It's the one that tells the largest story with the least amount of words. Today as I drove through Pen Lucy park, I saw this homeless lady at the stop light. I've driven through here daily for years and today was the first time I'd ever seen this lady. She was as worn as the soles of her shoes. She appeared to have the conscious mind of a 6 year old child. I only had about 20 seconds to capture the moment. It tends to be that way driving through the district where most of the show " The Wire " was filmed. Needless to say I was able to salvage what I referred to above as, " The Money Shot". After countless hours of studying the late great visual artist, Gordon Parks life stills, I've come to the conclusion that life stills are and should be timeless. They hold the frailties of life tight enough to crush them and soft enough to doctor them back to maximum h...
1 comment
Read more

A Day At Gus's

A Day At Gus's It's not everyday that we get to experience great food let alone a great atmosphere to eat in. I'm a southern guy so you know I like good food and even better service.  Gus's is that spot for me. I frequently sit down with the owner Gus and he doesn't hold back on his views of the world or on how to run a successful small business.  Following our last conversation I decided to return the favor by grabbing a few still photos of the original Gus's location.  It will be torn down soon.  Gus is being rewarded with a new location in 2008 for a job well done for 27 years of great service.  www.gusspizza.com 
Post a Comment
Read more