Jamaal Eubanks had a vision to host a fun and informative back-to-school summit for Black boys in the greater Madison area. That vision and dream came to fruition at the inaugural “Determination to Succeed Back to School Summit” at Capital High School on Regent Street on Saturday, Aug. 17.
“The event was amazing. The volunteers and the student participants were very engaged through the activities and there was a lot of valuable information,” Eubanks tells Madison365. “I was super excited about just the level of engagement that everybody had along with the community support of the event.
“It was a powerful and engaging event. It was great to see the young people taking all of the information in and starting to open up more. It was empowering.”
Eubanks is the founder of a variety of community organizations including Pivotal Transition, a mentorship organization serving youth aged 8 to 19 looking to uplift Black young people and their families. The inaugural “Determination to Succeed Back to School Summit” hosted many talented and brilliant young black males who were able to listen to and learn from some of Madison’s best and brightest professionals in a series of panels and workshops.
“The speaker panel was amazing. There were a lot of shared stories and vulnerabilities. There was gems that were dropped,” Eubanks says. “The kids really took hold of a lot of information because some of the stories that were being shared hit home with a lot of them as well.”
(Photo by David Dahmer)
Eubanks wrote the book, “The Determination to Succeed,” a story of perseverance and resilience through the lens of self-reflection, for young people in the summer of 2020. Since then, he has developed The Determination to Succeed program which has been contracted by local area schools and has had a great deal of success.
At the first annual Determination to Succeed Back to School Summit, two groups of African American boys converged from throughout Dane County to attend this event which had morning and afternoon sessions. The young people attended the Determination to Succeed workshops and then the luncheon panel.
“There were young people at the event from Oregon, MMSD, Middleton, Verona, Sun Prairie,” Eubanks says.
“We had some intimate conversations. I know when I talked about deaths of people close to you, that it resonated with some students,” Eubanks continues. “For some, the discussions on fatherlessness resonated with them. For some, understanding the importance of education and how it changes outcomes resonated with them.”
A panel moderated by Dr. Paris Echols addressing fatherlessness stressed to the young people to be thankful for the people they have in their lives, to seek mentors, to have structure and be understanding, and that “anger is OK, but don’t let it hold you back.”
(Photo by Dynae Allice Photography)
