Black Diamonds give a shout out to Peekskill Rotarians

By Ornella Al-Sayah

October 27, 2023

It was a lively celebration with food and music at Ofori’s World Cuisine last Thursday as the Black Diamonds Academic Success Program honored the Peekskill Rotary Club for their support.

There were speeches, from Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg and Peekskill resident Amy Perlow praising the Black Diamonds program for being a pillar in the community.

Martin McDonald, the executive director of the Black Diamonds program, shared that the program helps high school boys of color graduate on time and be prepared to enter life after high school, whether college or entering the workforce.

McDonald is passionate about this initiative because he has noticed challenges young black and brown boys face in graduating high school, enrolling in college, and their overrepresentation in dropout rates. “I’m very concerned about it, and it’s very personal for me to try to give back and help these young men have a better life,” said McDonald.

Members of the Black Diamonds meet weekly, listen to guest speakers such as members of the Wall Street Warriors project that teaches them about stocks and trading. At the completion of a Wall Street Warriors project participants receive $100 to purchase stock and advance in financial literacy.

Black Diamonds also engage in volunteer opportunities. Rotary President Richard Swann noted how the volunteers come to Rotary events, “always prepared and polite, [and] are great members of our community”.

The Rotary Club assists the Black Diamonds with Historic Black College and University tours to help them, “see and prepare for a world outside of Peekskill. The more they can prepare now the better they will be prepared for the future,” said Swann.

Delvin Paul-Heath describes being a member of the Black Diamonds as being part of a brotherhood. The Black Diamonds taught him to mature, manage his time, and dress well all while helping boost his confidence, he said. Heath delivered a heartfelt poem he wrote titled “My Hoodie”, describing the distress stigmatization has on people of color.

My Hoodie by Devin Paul-Heath

My hoodie. My mom keeps telling me to take off my hoodie, but it’s cold outside, I want to leave my hoodie on. Momma keeps screaming at me ‘take off my hoodie’, she’s afraid I’m going to be next. The cops might mistake me as a thug. My hoodie.

Mom is scared the teachers won’t see who I am. I’m a good kid, I’m a good guy, but all they see is my hoodie. Trevon walking home with his skittles, his life was taken while he was wearing his hoodie.

It’s cold outside, I need to take the garbage out, but I wanna wear my hoodie. Momma keeps saying son, take off your hoodie. So many black falsely accused because the white man just saw another black person in a hoodie. My hoodie. My mom’s begging me to take off my hoodie, she fears my safety. So many wrongly killed because of their hoodie. Hoodies are not new to the US. So many white hoodies terrorizing my people. But we don’t talk about those type of hoodies That was the past but society wants us to move on. I’m just going to go out and take the garbage out and hope nothing happens to me and my hoodie.

By providing important tools to support students such as work site and college visits, the Black Diamonds have a 100 percent high school graduation rate and a 100 percent college acceptance rate. The Black Diamonds Academic Success program contributes to the community by closing the achievement gap and impacting students both socially and economically.

The Black Diamonds can be supported by donating here.

About the Contributor

Ornella Al-Sayah

Ornella graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor of science. She focused on researching underserved communities throughout college and soon after completed an environmental engineering internship funded by the CDC. By writing for the Peekskill Herald, Ornella hopes to contribute to her community through reporting and writing.