The Respected Roots Brotherhood Initiative is an outreach program based out of Atlanta, Georgia.
Founded by entrepreneurs and business partners, Jaret Patterson and Jason L. Hawkins, this program focuses on building relationships that cultivate stronger communities. By encouraging academic success and providing young men with scholarship opportunities, hands on business experience and career exploration, The Respected Roots Brotherhood Initiative gives young men a different outlook on their future.
We share a vision, to change the narrative of “the black man in America.” By committing time to communities across the country, mentoring and teaching young men about entrepreneurship and financial freedom, the organization would create a generation of independent thinkers and leaders.
This school year, The Respected Roots Brotherhood Initiative has connected with Atlanta Public Schools, in hopes of transforming the lives of students at Frederick Douglass High School. This school was the first school selected due to the lack of support services offered to young men. The goal is to touch the lives of these students, not only in the classrooms but in their homes and communities before they reach adulthood.
In addition to their mentoring efforts, The Respected Roots Brotherhood Initiative has also enlisted the help of officers from the Atlanta Police Department. At the height of so many high profile deaths surrounding police and men of color, Patterson and Hawkins both hope that by introducing students to another side of officers, they will encourage a much more favorable attitude toward the police department. In order to foster positive exchanges between these students and individuals hired to protect their communities, The Respected Roots Brotherhood Initiative plans to spark a much needed conversation and organize activities for these students to become more comfortable around their local officers.
Both Patterson and Hawkins understand how much socioeconomic status and socialization affect the outcome of student success. By providing access to opportunity for each young man in the program, The Respected Roots Brotherhood Initiative plans to plant seeds in the youth and watch them grow.
This program focuses on building relationships that cultivate stronger communities. By encouraging academic success and providing young men with scholarship opportunities, hands on business experience and career exploration, The Respected Roots Brotherhood Initiative gives young men a different outlook on their future.
