On Sunday, October 13, starting at 2:00 p.m., the Black Diamonds Success Academy will host its 3rd annual Black & Brown Male Unity Rally in front of The Field Library in the Neighborhood Plaza.

Founded in 2018, and led by Executive Director Martin McDonald, the Black Diamonds Academic Success Program is a program geared to help high school boys of color in grades 9 through 12 graduate on time and be prepared to enter life after high school, whether college or entering the workforce. The program is committed to working with the students, parents, and the school district to effectively engage the students so that they take ownership and internalize the belief that they can and will succeed academically. 

This year’s Black & Brown Male Unity Rally theme is “Our Collective Responsibility”. As in years past, speakers at this year’s rally come from all walks of life. In doing so, speakers will promote generational unity in the community between our high school students and men in the community. Martin McDonald believes a rally like this not only help students in the program, but it also helps all of us all in the community. 

By working together, we help to uplift our Community. Afterall, “it takes a village to raise a child”. It takes all of us in Peekskill to provide a safe, healthy environment for children, where our children are given the security they need to develop and flourish, and to be able to realize their hopes and dreams. 

Speakers at the Black & Brown Male Unity Rally this year will talk on items based around this year’s theme, as well as self-determination, economic empowerment, civic engagement, collective work and responsibility, and overall health & wellness. 

Martin McDonald hopes that by giving men a platform to speak at the rally, their talks will inspire, encourage and challenge our children, our young men, our neighbors and our next of Peekskill’s leaders to do better. McDonald also hopes the rally becomes “A call to action for men to take responsibility for the betterment of our community… things like safety, civic duty, personal accountability, health & wellness, economic empowerment and more.”

If you are interested in speaking , you must register in advance by using this link https://bit.ly/3Bsk4qj or contacting Martin McDonald at [email protected]. 

On Tuesday, October 22, 2024, from 6:00 to 8:15 p.m., the Black Diamonds Academic Success Academy will hold their yearly Benefit Fundraiser at Cortlandt Colonial Restaurant in Cortlandt Manor. This year the Program will honor Turner Construction. Tickets are $125 each and can be purchased using this link. This year Turner Construction provided a few members of the Black Diamonds a 6 week summer internship at their corporate office in New York City. Black Diamonds were able to commute to NYC every day, work in a corporate environment, learn about the different facets of the construction industry, be mentored by professional young men that look like them, and came back to tell the group “I’m not afraid to speak in public anymore”.  As stated on their September 1, 2024 Facebook post, “That is what corporate commitment to community looks like. That’s impact!”

Since 2018, the Black Diamonds Academic Success Academy has served over 150 Peekskill families helping students of color reach their highest potential. Last year, the Black Diamonds Success Academy had “over 50 meetings, 8 graduates – 7 applied and accepted to college, over 80 hours of community service, 11 college visits, 15 guest speakers, 4 community events, a week long spring break trip to Philadelphia and DC, financial planning and literacy workshops, group reading, and over 25 students and families served.” according to a July 7, 2024 post by the organization. 

The program has approximately 20 to 25 students each year and graduated members have gone on to attend distinguished schools such as Alfred University, Morgan State, Manhattanville, Cazenovia College, Hampton University, Morrisville State, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Oswego, University at Buffalo, amongst others. To hear success stories from Black Diamonds who have graduated and are currently in college, visit the Black Diamonds Alumni page.

For more information on the Black Diamonds Success Academy visit their website and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and X (Twitter). 

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