“In order to be a man, you’ve got to see a man. We can tell them different things, but most of them are going to have to learn by seeing what’s going on around them. They need to see successful people that look like them from their community.”
“So many boys are missing a role model – more than 95 percent of boys that I work with don’t have a father in the picture. At the same time, there were no recidivism or rehabilitation programs here for juvenile offenders. People were complaining about the kids and crime, but they didn’t have anything else to do. They need true consistency, not one speech. This is something you have to give them consistently on a daily basis.”
“And that was my biggest reason for wanting to start a program. I was raised in a full family with a lot of men, so I instill in our students all the principles that I learned growing up.”
“Three years ago, I made a flyer online for a summer camp and had 20 parents bring their kids. During that camp, I was doing reading workshops and I realized a lot of these boys couldn’t really read. They were in middle school and they couldn’t read.”
“That’s where The X for Boys started. Our motto is ‘Let US make a man.’ X is the unknown, like in a math equation. In addition to discipline and reading, I also teach the boys automotive repair and general contracting and we take them on field trips around the country to expose them to different places and things.”
“When I realized how much the kids were struggling academically, I told them ‘one day I’m gonna start you guys a school,’ even though I didn’t know how or where to do it. This fall, the school will open for our sixth-grade students, then it will grow one grade every year along with the boys. We will start as a homeschool hub, but we’ve also applied to become a charter school.”
“The school is completely people-funded–from top to bottom–and I’m truly grateful for that. There have been no grants, no government assistance or anything like that. We’ve had the program free the entire time and the school will be, too.”
“These kids just need some consistency, transparency and real discipline. It’s not their fault, especially when you’re younger; they just lack somebody to give them adequate support, and an adequate example to look at. All they know is what they see on TV and social media and what looks cool at school.”
“We just have to change what cool is.”
King Randall
Albany, Georgia
King Randall is the founder of “The X For Boys”, an educational and mentorship program in Albany, Georgia. Their mission is to provide boys with new outlets to explore their unique interests and talents so they grow into educated, well-rounded men.
