Farmers Insurance Finds Little Value In Church's Mission

 Dear Partners and Friends (Farewell) 

by Dennis S Murray Sr

While working at the Department of Labor (DOL) headquarters in Washington, DC for the undersecretary office I was asked by my supervisor to talk with some youth at one of the high schools about creating upper mobility and internship programs. The next day in April 1980 I went out in the Southeast community ward 8 where Anacostia High School is located and requested a meeting with its principal to discuss opportunities with there feature juniors and seniors at the school. One of the first students I encounter among the forty that was picked was 16 years old senior name Sherrie Easely-Deadymler who was out spoken about what her career goals were but also reserve in her mannerisms.

The following day I reported my finding back to my supervisor on what I had accomplished. I requested that we help all forty youth and to know surprise he said yes, but he also told me that I had to schedule all the interviews and find each one of them a position within the Agency. This wasn’t hard because I had already shared what I needed earlier that week, thus we hired all forty to internships and upper mobility summer positions. Ms. Deadymler and many other have enjoyed long careers in federal and private sector and some of them are about to retired now in 2021.

Thus, moving forward I ask some of my former fraternity members from Phi Beta Sigma organization and other fraternities to join me as well. I also enlisted some of my industry entertainment business associates to help me in forming a non-profit that would help underserved youth and they all said yes. Without a doubt! The organization was formed but not legally on paper, however, we came together as brothers to change the world for so many underserved communities and youth as we grow across America. Many of us were from different states and I knew one day they would retreat for personal reasons. In deed that what happen so we branch out even more as members left DC. While working for DOL and running a small commercial advertising entertainment business we all managed to help thousands of youth in a small amount of time. However, the interest of some was heavy on all of our shoulders thus many of the members did ultimately leave the Washington, DC area and couldn’t commit to the programs any longer. We had a good run with those brothers and sisters and we were proud of the work we done together.  

I personally had optical that were hard to anchor and I had to retreat as well in a way that seem unbearable to think about, so I took a brief timeout for my self and figure it out despite having some personal and family issues pushing me down. After over coming so much racism and discrimination issues in my life as a black man I felt that I couldn’t stop helping those in needs just because I was having a hard time in and around my life. So I enlisted some knew friends and business partners like Peter Dean who was well respected in the DC Metro area and one of my best friends in life. He is now deceased. He helped me plan another strategy, goals, and projection on how we were going to be successful and what it meant to be successful with these youth. As our progression move forward throughout the years we gave the non-profit a legal name.

We named the organization “Youth Development and Capacity Building Inc” and launch it as a national organization to serve underserved and disenfranchised youth and communities thus becoming a servant leader to the communities in Washington, DC metro area, Baltimore, MD; Harrisburg-Philadelphia, PA; Brooklyn NY; Charlotte, NC; Columbia, SC; Lawrenceville-Atlanta-West-End-Macon, GA; Jackson-Crawford-Columbus-Louisville, MS; Oklahoma City-Wewoka, OK; Dallas-Desoto, TX along with the 1890’s and HBCU Institutions where we introduce our students to started their academics journey after high school. Over the decades we have had thousands of non-compensation volunteers through our door in numerous states and counties we served as mentors and counselors for the 10 of thousands of youth.

As the Executive Director/founder I had the privilege in partnership with national organizations leaders that included government agencies, non-profits, and higher learning institutions: DOL DC; Department of Treasury DC; USDA DC; Martin Luther King Jr. foundation (DC/ATL), Cerebral Paralysis Foundation (DC), LULAC, Black Historical Research Project (OKC), Zoe Group Foundation, Inc. (MD), Fort Valley State University; Alcorn State University; Tuskegee University; Howard University; Emory University; Clark Atlanta University; Peyton Forest Elementary School-Young Middle School-Inman Park Middle School-Sylvan Middle School, and Westlake High School, Atlanta, GA; and many more.

We also engaged with Africa Children’s Fund Program, Atlanta, GA; We Are Graduate (WAG), Dallas TX feeding over 250 thousand youth during the summer; Oyo Nigeria, Africa teaching youth and adult communication programs; Co-Chaired Joseph Lowery’s Criminal Justice Forms; Chaired Rainbow Push youth Judge Mathis Academic for Excellence “Parents Have the Power” to delete the stressors among these community alliances while balancing the culture differences among numerous outreach educational programs and community base education initiatives during our existence nationally. We were honored to work with Judge Greg Mathis regarding “My Judgment for Academic Excellence Parents Have Power” program that deals with our juvenile detention center across 3 states while being celebrated by Former President Obama on these efforts and other accomplishments among underserved communities.

The following leaders has also call on us numerous times to speak about our youth education program including: Janice Mathis, Formerly Senior General Counsel for Rainbow Push and now Executive Director for NCNW, DC; Helen Butler, Executive Director of Georgia Progressive ATL; Dr. Neil Schulman of (Who Noses “What in a Doctors Bag)/ Formerly publisher of the movie blockbuster “Doc Hollywood” and Associate Professor at Emory University; Michael Ashley “ Assistant Principal, Inman Middle School; Victor Mbaba, CEO of Africa’s Children’s Fund and former State Representative Clayton county Roberta Abdul-Salaam; Willard Tillman of Executive Director, Black Historical Society, Oklahoma City; Tammy Steele of Executive Director, National Women in Agriculture; Oklahoma City; along with the thousands of youth and this made us pride of our work.

Despite all that we have accomplishment we are most prided of our youth achievement who gain nationally recognition in graduation ratio productivity when our “Back to Schools programs and summer camps began some nineteen years ago engaging thousands of youth with the generosity of our sponsors, volunteers partners, and mentors. We continue to see an increase of 80% of the youth in a numbers in locations where we serve. Many youth had mental health challenges also but they too increase there ability to excel in the classroom. Our programs were also assisted by those change agents above that resulted in the existing scores on “Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)” and also increase the ACT score up 18% for youth heading to higher learning institutions across the nation in a 14-year period. National social media outlets, news outlets, local municipalities, and states have honored us from the community of Washington, DC; Mississippi; OKC; and Georgia for never forgetting those underserved youth and their families.

We have done all that we could over a 40 years period despite numerous national financial crisis that destroyed many non-profits, grassroots organizations, small businesses, and tornados that have destroyed some of the regions we served in as well. However, in 2020 the world is suffering with Covid-19 pandemics killing over 350,000 people and more. These figures are just in the US therefore, we can’t continue our work especially with the lack of funding. But the lack of funding didn’t begin with this pandemic. We continued to witness denial and regret letters from corporations, foundational philanthropist, and government agency closing their pockets to us and many national and grassroots organizations like us. Despite being under funded for the last 6 years or more we will shut our doors on April 6^th 2021 for good with regret but its time.

The website will be dismantled along with all our social media outlets including our Facebook page, but you can still Google us and view past programs on You-tube as well.

In closing I want to thank icon Dr. Joseph Lowery (deceased) for his guidance’s and kind words when I step in the weekly “People Agenda Progress” meetings; Chountell Bullock President of CBull Enterprise for introducing me to Senior counsel attorney Janice Mathis Esq. formerly Rainbow Push organization; Willard Tillman Executive Director of Black Historical Project for being a friend and partnering on a numerous programs in so many ways, Oklahoma City; Savannah Williams of Surry, VA former University Professor and SARE Youth Director for always providing guidance’s with a smile while educating me on just about everything; Chuck Barlow Jr. and Sr. for allowing my organization to contribute our professional expertise and supplying the needed materials during their summer camps, ATL; Dr. Latimore, Dean of Fort Valley State University Agricultural Department for being a mentor to so many of my students whom have attend the institution and a fellow Sigma; Dr. Edmund Buchner, Dean of Agricultural at Alcorn State University; and Bruce C Carter of Texas who has a heart of gold and workers harder than anyone in saving the lives of youth nationally.

However, Dorothy “Jean” Harper of Louisville MS for 25 year we were joined at he hip,  saving the youth in her community, but her love and commitment for all especially for me personally is most rewarding. Love you!

Without my former USDA Farm Service (FSA) Outreach Director (decease) Dr. Clifford J Herron who guided and mentored me during the good and hard times while working as a Public Affairs Specialist for USDA and his commitment to funding us until he pass on. His gift of life is still most important to me and it is mounted on the wall of my office. We are also extremely grateful to Hubert Hamer Chief Administrator and Joshua Troy of USDA National Agriculture Statistical Service (NASS) for funding our “Read One Teach One” program and “Data collections” on graduates from 2007-2018 and most of all being a mentor to 35 young men in Louisville, MS.

All of them have graduated from Louisville High School along with graduating from Higher Learning institutions nationwide. We will never forget your commitment. I personally was honored to work for Mr. Alfonzo Drain as his Public Affairs/Media Officer for USDA Small Farms prior to having a heart-attack; he practically saved my life prior to the ambulance taken me out of the agency. Mr. Drain has been a lifesaver to me as his employees and after I recovered from my near deaf experience health scare. He played a key role in helping me in my career after and he continued to work and sponsor our programs. Thank you, Mr. Drain for grace!                                                         

I know I have missed many that have been true soldiers in the fighting to save our youth but you know who you are and I am extremely grateful to all that risk they time and money to save these undeserved communities. It would be impossible write everyone so thank you all for sharing your passion, vision, and journalistic work over 40 years to save the disenfranchised that many corporations have overlooked. Poverty and a good education continues to haunt these communities but I feel that we have made progress and covered all the needs of thousand of youth and their communities with love while serving them I say goodbye.

Especially, thanks to my (deceased) sister Gail Deloris Williams who had a design business in NYC whom made everything your business needed to be productive commercially. She is still watching over me and I hope that I have made her and my deceased father pride. Love you both! 

Thank you all for a wonderful ride