‘Put Some Respect on My Name,’ family foundation says
From left to right are Carlton Marshall, Dr. Alvin F. Marshall, Fred L. Marshall Sr., Bishop Freddie B. Marshall, Freddie A. Marshall III and Reverend Justin S. Marshall. (Photo by Timothy Ramsey)
From a young age, Bishop Freddie B. Marshall was taught to have strong family values and to help others in their time of need. To expand on those principles, the bishop and his extended Marshall family has started a foundation. Their flagship program is called “Put Some Respect on my Name.”
The foundation, the idea of the entire Marshall family, was started to help the family give back to the community. The Put Some Respect on My Name program is a comprehensive eight-week mentoring program for African-American young men ages 12 to 16 that teaches self-respect and cultural pride.
The program stresses the importance of proper manners, appearance and academic excellence. The young men will receive a suit, shirt, and necktie free of charge to show them the proper way to dress in a professional setting. The base of operations for the program will be the Carl Russell Sr. Recreation Center.
“For the majority of our life, our parents have made sure that we were very much aware of our responsibilities to our community,” Bishop Marshall said. “We thought it would be good for us as a family to pool our experiences and resources to really touch the lives of young men in our community. Our parents made education a priority and they made family a priority as well, so we want to share that with others.”
Bishop Marshall, lead pastor of Christ Cathedral Church of Deliverance, said this is not a church program but something his family felt passionately about and wanted to make a difference. Because of the three generations of professional gentlemen raised in the Marshall homes, they will be the face of the program.
The eight-week program will run during the first semester of the academic year for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and will run from Sept. 19 until Nov. 7. Throughout the program there will be principles taught from the Bible. Bishop Marshall will also relate biblical stories and contexts to show the young men the proper way to carry themselves and handle adverse situations, for example. The mission is to not overwhelm the young men with religious tones in fear of having them shut down but to present them with parallels from the Bible to make certain points.
During the program, the young men will receive assistance in academic pursuits, seminars to enhance their cultural respect, ways to dress appropriately and forums on current events, to name a few. The participants in the program will be referred to as “fellows” because the Marshall Foundation looks to make this an annual event. It hopes to follow up with them after the program concludes, also.
“There will be classes on social etiquette because some equate that as being weak or bougie when it is just what’s a part of what makes one successful. We will have classes and seminars and taking the young men to different environments where they will be exposed to other segments of society. There are young people who don’t know what’s out there on the west side of town past the mall. I think its part of our responsibility to expose them. Exposure births expectations, and we want them to know the neighborhoods where they might not know a person now, but they themselves may one day live in the future,” Bishop Marshall said.
Marshall Foundation Executive Director Brittani Lane said relationship building is going to play a major role with the young men. She says they will encourage the mentors in the program to continue the positive relationships with the young men after the program is over to show them that they care and have a role model to look up to.
According to Bishop Marshall, fraternities from local universities have shown strong interest in being mentors to the young men. He said that kind of relationship building is a strong example of brotherhood the young men need to be exposed to.
Parents are not exempt from participating in the program as well. They are expected to encourage the young men to attend all sessions of the program and to reinforce the principles in the home that are being taught in the classes.
Any potential “fellow” within the target age range will be eligible for the program. The foundation is also looking for local professionals and college students to serve as mentors as well. The target is to have 20 to 25 fellows in the program. Registration for the program started June 1 and ends July 31.
To find out more information on the program you can visit the website at marshallfamilyfoundation@gmail.com or contact Brittani Lane at 843-312-2417.
