Where Boys Become Men

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Early in the school year, members of a youth gang came to our Oakland, Calif. campus. Their target was a young woman from the ninth-grade class. As the rival youth approached her, several of our boys stepped up,  formed a protective wall around the young woman and even took punches to the face. They had no intention of fighting. The young men later defended their actions saying, “I am not indifferent.” 

The young men who shielded their peer are members of a campus group called “Be A Man,” lovingly referred to as B.A.M. The group meets weekly for 90 minutes and is formed around eight “points of unity.” One of those points is the mantra “I am not indifferent.”

The seven remaining points are:

• I am respectful for all things equally.
• I will honor my surroundings.
• I am honest and will follow-through.
• I have self-control.
• I will treat women with respect.
• I will become organized to take care of business.
• I will achieve. 

Originally proposed and developed by two former teachers at our school, B.A.M. really took off when Julio Magana, hip-hop artist and educator, stepped in as the adult facilitator. Under his leadership, with deep roots in Native American traditions and the United Farm Workers’ movement (his parents worked alongside Cesar Chavez and Delores Huerta), students developed the points of unity and recite them at meetings.

In addition to rituals of recitation and sage burning, the young men share meals, name the people and moments in their lives for which they are grateful and set intentions for living with integrity. The goal of the group is to “disrupt patterns of hopelessness, increase our self worth, recognize our ability to improve our own lives and recognize our responsibility as part of a larger community,” Magana said.

As a result, the young men feel more responsible to their community. It is now common to see a cohort of 20 or more young men dressed in button-down shirts and slacks. Some wear full suits and ties. Their “uniform” has infiltrated the rest of the school community. 

On a deeper level, the young men of B.A.M. have publicly decried violence and stood up for peace in their community. This winter they launched the Season of Peace, a 74-day relay fast when students agreed to fast on certain days, to protest the senseless killings of Oakland youth. Along with their female counterparts, R.A.W. (Real Ambitious Women), they organized a march and rally on Cesar Chavez’s birthday.

B.A.M. also teaches basic life skills, like how to prepare a meal or iron a dress shirt, but allows students to discuss what it means to be a man and offers explicit advice for handling life situations.

To the young men, B.A.M. is a place to be sensitive and honest. It’s a place to challenge cultural expectations and set new norms. And it’s something that’s missing from most high school programs. Ninth-grader Rodney admits he doesn’t have a male role model. For boys like Rodney, it’s essential to have a group like B.A.M. where there are young men “brave enough to share feelings and speak their life,” young men who stand up for peace and who are not indifferent. It’s where boys become men.

Thomas is an English teacher in California.