After receiving a D in an African-American history class in college, Nixon was pulled aside by his teacher and admonished for not taking his history seriously. "I didn't consciously start to understand my role in this world until I understood my history," Nixon said. Nixon, who also is an accomplished spoken word artist, uses poetry and art as teaching tools and a way to reach youths. He does not judge the boys he mentors, but he does want them to strive to improve themselves. He challenges them and tells them that they don't have to be a product of their environment and how a true leader stands on his own. "We are starting at the most basic principles, and that's teaching them to love themselves," Nixon said. MPS Superintendent Gregory Thornton said Nixon is helping to break the cycle of hopelessness. "He comes into the room and talks about his parents and his family and where he comes from, and it sounds a lot like their own experiences," Thornton said. "I don't know of anyone else who can relate to the kids like he can." Nixon knows he can't reach them all and that will take a community effort, but he's not willing to wait around for that to happen. Our city is good at identifying the problems, but we fail at the execution. Too many of us sit back and wait for others to carry the torch. We can no longer afford to sit on our hands because our children are dying or being locked up and ruining their lives. In the past, Thornton has expressed frustration at the lack of outrage in our community when we lose young people to senseless violence. Nixon feels the same way, but that has not stopped him from continuing to help those who need him. Nixon's story is similar to the stories of a lot of the
boys he mentors. His father was shot and killed in Chicago when Nixon was 11. His mother was young and battled a drug addiction. His grandfather - who was active in the civil rights movement - suffered a massive stroke, and Nixon was looked after by caring uncles, who had a hard time watching his every move. Nixon was not perfect, and there were times when he straddled the fence. But he made it. A lot of his friends did not. Since 1984, he has been to about 50 funerals - most of them for young men and most who died as a result of black-on-black crime. Nixon said basketball was his first love, but his backup plan was writing - mostly plays and short stories - and spoken word poetry. His Poetry Unplugged, which brings local and national poets together every week, is celebrating its 10th year this year. Nixon uses the power of words to help black boys express themselves, and those stories are powerful. In one exercise he calls "I wish," boys talk about what they wish for. Most wish to have a relationship with their fathers or to have male role models in their lives. Others wish to be in a safe environment. One boy sadly told the group that he wished a family member would have never said that she wished he was never born. Thinking outside of the violence and poverty boxes for these youths may prove difficult, but Nixon and others are showing kids that they have options to break the cycle of hopelessness. That's part of a successful formula that needs to continue.
THE FUTURE IS NOT WITH ME; IT'S WITH THOSE COMING AFTER ME, NIXON SAID.
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