Resuming Its Mission of Service

100 Black Men of Orange County Inc. was barely 5 months old and still hadn’t quite defined its mission in December 1993 when the organization found itself enmeshed in a controversy over a tragic incident with potential racial overtones.

An Orange County sheriff’s deputy--a black deputy--had been shot and killed by a fellow deputy, who is white. Sheriff’s officials described it as a freak accident. Local black leaders were concerned that it was race-related.

Enter 100 Black Men.

Political advocacy wasn’t the purpose of the group whose national charter calls for leadership and participation in social and civic activities. Yet, before long, members--all of them African American businessmen and professionals--were holding news conferences and meeting with law enforcement authorities to demand an investigation into the Christmas Day fatal shooting of Deputy Darryn Leroy Robins.

That was then, when the organization was still searching for direction. Now, 100 Black Men is in the process of “straightening up the house,” its president said, and is back to its original focus of socially oriented causes.

“We are not about politics. The Robins shooting just showed a gap--a lack of representation for the community--and we stepped in, and somehow it was one of those things that just snowballed,” said Ron Coley, the group’s president. “But that is behind us now. We have begun to turn ourselves to our primary mission.”

Generally, Coley said, that means members will work with the community to improve the educational, social and economic status of African Americans in Orange County. And unless a situation is so dire that the group’s involvement is required, 100 Black Men will resolutely stay out of controversies, he said, adding: “It’s not our mission.”

The organization 100 Black Men was conceived in New York City in 1963 when a group of successful men from various professional backgrounds decided to pool their skills, experiences and resources to improve the quality of life for African Americans and other minorities. Among those early founders were David Dinkins, the former mayor of New York City, and baseball great Jackie Robinson.

The Orange County chapter, one of about 60 chapters in the country, was formed in July 1993 with 28 founding members who saw the need for a civic group that would unite the county’s widely dispersed African American community of 42,000.

*

Adhering to the guidelines of the national body, the local chapter of 31 members is composed of successful men from business, industry, public affairs, government and other professions who pool their resources to improve the quality of life for African Americans.

The chapter earlier this year launched with great fanfare its Passport to the Future program, a four-year plan that tracks the educational progress of 15 African American boys selected from four local high schools.

For the next four years, members and supporters of 100 Black Men will provide these students with social awareness classes, mentorship and apprenticeship opportunities. Once the boys complete the program, they will each receive a $1,000 “passport” to apply to their higher education or vocational schooling.

At a recent “Rites of Passage” class one early Saturday morning, the boys were taught African history, a session that was also peppered with impromptu talks about personal pride and community responsibilities.

Rites of Passage is the first phase of the program, in which the boys attend a three-hour class once a month. Here, they are taught self-awareness, cultural history, relationships, communication skills, leadership and responsibilities.

Nothing is held back. When students mumble, Coley tells them to speak louder and with conviction. When they slump, he orders them to walk tall, with pride.

“We want to instill in these young men self-confidence and cultural pride,” said the Rev. Randall Jordan, a guest speaker at a recent session.

By the time the students complete the program, 100 Black Men member Elliott Sherrell told the boys, they’re going to “project [themselves] with a sense of pride and confidence.”

Developing programs such as Passport to the Future, Coley said after the class, was the main reason for the formation of 100 Black Men. But then came the shooting of Robins, which catapulted the group into political activism.

In the bizarre incident, Robins was fatally shot in the head by Sheriff’s Deputy Brian P. Scanlan in what authorities said was a reenactment of a traffic stop behind a Lake Forest shopping center.

Led by 100 Black Men’s then-president, Eugene M. Wheeler, a coalition of local African Americans aggressively headed campaigns that resulted in a federal inquiry. The U.S. Department of Justice last year ruled the shooting was accidental.

Neither Wheeler nor Coley regrets the group’s involvement, but said that if the same incident were to occur today, the organization probably would not take an active role.

“There was no one there to speak out about what we felt was the injustice” of the shooting, said Wheeler, who has since moved to Mississippi. “We’d rather it had been the NAACP, but I think we served a purpose at the time, and that was to pull the community together.”

At the time, the local chapter of National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People itself was undergoing a reorganization, said its Orange County chapter president, James Tippins, so it was content to let Wheeler act as a representative of the community. But the NAACP is ready to resume the leadership mantel, he added.

That is just fine with Coley and his organization.

“Some might say we lost an entire year or two by our involvement” in the shooting controversy, Coley said. “Do I think we did the right thing? Yes, but it’s time to move on.”