Melody Marketing
Stone Mountain, GA) DEKALB COUNTY SCREENING OF MARIO VAN PEEBLES’ AND THE 21ST CENTURY FOUNDATION FILM BRING YOUR “A” GAME featuring Black Male Icons
Screening will reach 500 middle and high school students in DeKalb, Rockdale and Gwinnett.
SCREENING SCHEDULE
Saturday, February 20th 1 pm – 5 pm –at Sun Trust Plaza 303 Peachtree Center Ave-Atlanta, GA.
Saturday, March 6, 2010, 3 pm – 7 pm, Berean Christian Church, 2201 Young Road , Stone Mountain, GA 30088; Saturday, April 24, 2010, 2 pm – 6 pm, Stephenson High School
701 Stephenson Road - Stone Mountain, GA 30087
February 8, 2010 - The Georgia Youth Prevention Policy Board (GYPPB), a statewide organization founded in May 2009, Young People Matter (YPM) and Simone Joye, will host three free community screenings of Bring Your “A” Game in the Atlanta metropolitan area in hopes of transforming the number of students in Georgia who drop out of school. The event will create community discussions to help youth, while providing mentors for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Atlanta. A study, “The Economic and Fiscal Costs of Failing to Reform K-12 Education in GA, released in December by the Friedman Foundation and the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, found that Georgia's graduation rate is lower than many have estimated, at 65 percent, and that each new class of dropouts costs taxpayers $95 million annually for the rest of their lives. Dropouts earn $7,200 less a year than high school graduates and far less than college graduates. In addition, the study notes, high school dropouts have twice the rate of imprisonment, higher rates of addiction, more reliance on government assistance including Medicaid and a higher percentage of children out of wedlock.
“We know the dropout rate is critical across the nation and in Georgia. However, I believe it is more beneficial for us to begin to focus on sharing the stories of local adults in our communities who have completed their education, work hard and enjoy a good life. The film is unique in that it gives inspirational stories of hope and options with key Black male icons we are all familiar with,” stated Simone Joye, Chairperson of the GYPPB and a candidate for State Representative to the Georgia Assembly for House District 88. Five hundred tickets will be given away to middle and high schools in DeKalb, Rockdale and Gwinnett and County.
DeKalb County Screenings Invited Moderators and Panelists
Morse Diggs, Reporter FOX 5 News Atlanta and Art Terrell, On-Air Personality, KISS 104.1FM
Hill Harper, Actor and Activist-Manifest Your Destiny Foundation
Dr. Brian Bolden, Principal, Stephenson High School
James Forrest, Former pro basketball player-Commissioner, Rock Chapel Youth Association
Robert L. Newkirk, ex NFL-Player, Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints
Larry Johnson, DeKalb County District 3 Commissioner,
Rick Spann, Author of “Man-up” A Plan for the Spiritual and Organization Retooling of Blk America
Albert Murray, Commissioner, GA Department of Juvenile Justice
David Manuel, Author of “I Am A Father”
Kool DJ Red Alert, Hip Hop Pioneer and Willie Prophet-Stiggers 50/50 Music Group
SCREENING SCHEDULE
Saturday, February 20th 1 pm – 5 pm – General Meeting of the GYPPB with youth members at
Sun Trust Plaza 303 Peachtree Center Ave-Atlanta, GA. Guest Speaker: Marva Reed, Director, Family and Child Well-Being Unit, GA Department of Human Services (DHS) and GA Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS). Topic: 2010 summer subsidized work experiences for youth members.
About The Film
To generate a national conversation on the plight of Black men and boys, the Twenty-First Century Foundation (21CF) partnered with actor–director Mario Van Peebles and producer Karen Williams to create BRING YOUR "A" GAME — a documentary film that, in Van Peebles’ words, “sheds light on the resilience and influence of Black males.”
Bring Your “A” Game, aired on Black Entertainment Television (BET) in September 2009 and interviewees include such Black male icons as Richard “Dick” Parsons, Chris Rock, Spike Lee, Dr. Cornel West, Ice Cube, Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Kevin Liles, Lou Gossett Jr., Lupe Fiasco, Hill Harper, Damon Dash, Kevin Powell, Melvin Van Peebles, Geoffrey Canada, Bruce Gordon and former NBA star Alan Houston, among others.
View film promo online at: http://www.21cf.org/
About the Georgia Youth Prevention Policy Board
Founded in May 2009, the GYPPB is an organization of 50 nonprofits who meet monthly to work together helping GA’s young people and is creating the state’s first Youth Services Directory dedicated solely to youth services. Member agencies include Big Brothers Big Sisters, Girl Scouts Council, Governor’s Office for Children and Families and YPM, among others.
About Simone Joye
For the past 16 years, Joye has served as a nonprofit executive leading successful efforts for faith-and community-based organizations, which work to make the world a greater place for all. Currently Joye is the founder and Executive Director of Young People Matter, a Georgia-based nonprofit which works to provide teen employment and scholarship assistance. Joye also serves on the DeKalb County’s Juvenile Court’s Judicial Review Panel which recommends placement of children who have been removed from their homes by DFACS.
