Allan Appel Photo
Reggie Coleman scored an MPG3 player, skateboard, and a WWII model airplane to build and paint. But the best present of all was that his dad was out of jail and at Wexler-Grant school to see Reggie score straight As in the first marking period.
The seventh-grader collected his holiday gifts and good cheer at a Kwanzaa celebration Friday night. The not-for-profit Believe In Me Empowerment Corporation (BIMEC) held the Kwanzaa dinner for the 20 kids like Reggie.
The kids take part in an after-school program the group runs dedicated to middle-school-age kids of incarcerated parents.
Khadijah Walker lights one of the seven Kwanzaa candles. The African-inspired holiday runs from Dec 26 to Jan. 2.
Click here for a story about BIMEC’s summer camp where the program, called Reading and Reasoning, launched.
BIMEC applied for and received a grant to launch the program through Central Connecticut State University’s Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy. The money, to the tune of $176,000,also has a more psychologically focused component working with the kids at the Clifford Beers Clinic.
Reggie said he was always a pretty good student but had never gotten straight As before. “I’m proud of myself and my dad is proud [too],” he said.
That’s music to the ears of BIMEC board chair Sauda Baraka, who said staff is in the process of reapply for a second year of money for the program, which will end in June.
They are collecting information on results, such as Reggie’s academic success, along with the reports of teachers and counselors regarding the positive behavorial and learning improvements of the kids involved in the program.
The program has a social worker on staff for counseling of kids as needed. It also has a a significant intellectual and cultural component, with Kwanzaa and its principles of community, creativity, and purpose as the cultural framework.
Seventh-grader Aymre Frasier (right) said the book he enjoyed most so far is “Hill Harper.”
Friday evening Vincent Watts and Aymre Frasier lit Kwanzaa candles, made speeches, and performed songs and dances that reflected their understanding of Kwanzaa principles, which include community, dedication, and creativity.
There’s lots of reading too, especially in books that specifically address the lives of kids in situations like Reggie’s. His mom and dad live apart; he lives with his grandmother.
Reggie said his dad has become regular presence in his life since leaving jail in October. Although he wasn’t at the program’s Kwanzaa celebration, Reggie reported that his dad said “good job” when he learned of the good school report.
He said his father told him he wants to stay out of jail to continue to see his two sons and daughter succeed in school, and life.
Sharlise Walker was at the dinner to support her niece. Her 3-month old Gabrielle carefully observed her first Kwanzaa, and then dozed off.
“I knew you could do it. Just keep your head in the books and always pay attention,” Reggie reported his father telling him.
The BIMEC program focuses on kids from three area schools, Wexler-Grant, Lincoln-Bassett, and King-Robinson ‚and is the first of its kind in New Haven.
BIMEC also offers services to people recently released from jail and runs a well patronized food pantry. Click here for a story on that aspect of their program.
