100 Black Men of the Bay Area, Inc
1638 12th Street
Oakland, CA 94607
510-763-3661

Youth Movement

Background

The prevalence of obesity has nearly tripled for adolescents over the last twenty years. Eleven year olds are 11 lbs. heavier today than they were in 1973. If the current trend continues, 1/3 of children born today will be diabetic. Unfortunately, obesity is not the only serious health problem that confronts our children. It is disturbing that the roots of ethnic health disparities begin during early childhood, as Black children are developing conditions whose onset typically occurs in adults. These conditions include hypertension, type-II diabetes, and poor lung function. Sedentary lifestyle and poor diet are at the root of this problem. African Americans face many social and structural disadvantages that lead to limited access to nutritious food, and few outlets for physical activity. Neighborhood setting also has a profound effect on physical activity levels and among children. A common observation in poor communities is that fearful parents keep their children indoors to protect them from violence in the neighborhood. In these settings, sedentary behaviors are fostered through excessive television watching, playing video games, and eating unhealthy snack food. The decline/lack of structured sports programs is also blamed for contributing to today’s youth health crisis.

 

Youth Movement

To stem the tide of chronic disease among Black youth, creative fitness programs in our communities are desperately needed. The success of such programs depends on collaboration between parents, teachers, community organizations, businesses, foundations, and government agencies. Over the past seven years, the 100 Black Men of the Bay Area has developed a model health/fitness program called Youth Movement to improve the well being of Black children. This is a two prong school/community-based program:

 

The first component is a daily program that targets students of participating schools throughout the school year during school hours. The Bay Area Black Nurses Association, and local nursing students assist our coaching staff in assessing the health/fitness of fourth through seventh graders in Youth Movement schools in four Bay Area school districts according to Fitnessgram guidelines. They measure the aerobic capacity and body composition and the blood pressure of these students. The assessments are conducted in the fall (September through December) and serve as the baseline measure of fitness and the main instrument of the evaluation. A physical activity program based on the Fitnessgram* will be implemented into each participating school’s physical education curriculum.  Assisted by parent assistant coaches, a physical education instructor will lead the children in stretching, exercises and movement for at least 25 minutes each day. The fitness programs of each school will be tailored to accommodate their respective curricula and schedules.

 

The second component is an after school and weekend program that features athletic training, and the formation of local track & field clubs. This is the main advertising/recruiting tool for Youth Movement. Track & field training is held year round, and leads to Bay Area wide competition with other schools and track clubs during late winter and early spring. Over 500 young people participated in the Youth Movement athletic training program in 2007-08. The 100 Black Men of the Bay Area organizes and sponsors a series of athletic clinics each year from January through May. The clinics are held on Saturdays and last three hours. The day begins with a healthy breakfast followed by a half-hour “life skills” workshop that addresses topics such as eating habits, conflict resolution and “how to say no”.  Athletic training follows, and several Olympians/world class athletes lead training clinics for our students and coaches. The track & field season culminates with the Tommie Smith Youth Track Meet, at Edwards Stadium, UC Berkeley, on the third weekend in May. Youth Movement participants from around the Bay Area typically all come together at a local facility to participate in the weekend athletic clinics or track meets.

 

Overall, the Youth Movement program’s impact on Bay Area Communities has been an unqualified success. We are in fact exceeding our proposed goals. The participation of youth and parents is increasing, there is a waiting list of schools that want to participate, and Youth Movement has garnered local and national awards. The program has received an abundance of media coverage. In addition to newspaper articles, the program was presented on PBS television station KQED, and it was featured on NBC Nightly News (visit the following link:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18578168/). We now sponsor two large annual youth track meets, and co-sponsor several others. The Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports recently awarded the 100 Black Men of the Bay Area’s Tommie Smith Youth Track Meet the Spotlight Award for sponsoring the best youth fitness event in the State of California. Individuals and agencies from several cities across the nation have requested technical assistance from 100 Black Men of the Bay Area in replicating our youth health/fitness model.

 

Goals of Youth Movement --

 

• Develop a model community-driven/school based fitness program in low-income neighborhoods.

• Improve the fitness test scores of children in participating schools.

• Develop healthy food choice habits among marginalized youth.

• Establish, convene & support athletic clubs in Bay Area communities, and revitalize after-school youth sports programs.

• Enhance character development.

• Prepare youth for academic success.

 

©2010 Youth Movement