For immediate release — Oct. 15, 2009

(DALLAS) — Brains, not brawn, count in school — both in the classroom and at home. And smart starts early, in elementary and middle school.

That’s the philosophy behind the first African-American Male Academic Bowl scheduled in Dallas on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010, at the El Centro College Bill J. Priest Campus. Presented by the Dallas County Community College District, Project Still I Rise Inc. and the University of Texas at Dallas, the program will feature a day of intense competition and mental focus by 200 African-American young men in grades 4 through 7 who attend school in Dallas County.

Facts will fly, answers will make or break the competition, and teams will face off during the daylong event, which begins at 8 a.m. Titled “Aiming for the Stars,” this program — which will become an annual event — is designed to encourage young African-American men to study hard, work hard and achieve their dreams ... to aim high and succeed.

“Public school data indicate that African-American males lag behind standardized benchmarks in school,” explains David Robinson, who is directing the event and who is coordinator in the DCCCD office of outreach, recruitment and community engagement. “Because they are failing in school, they become academically disadvantaged in the classroom, which leads to paths in life that can be both discouraging and destructive. They become socially disenfranchised.

“The African-American Male Academic Bowl is designed to liberate, validate and accentuate passion among African-American males to excel in school and beyond,” adds Robinson. “This event is intended to be a positive forum that promotes out-of-school learning and provides supplemental access to information and relationships that can be of paramount importance to lifelong academic success.”

State Sen. Royce West is serving as honorary chair for the event, which seeks to address the achievement gaps and academic and social pitfalls facing African-American males. Starting at the elementary and and middle school levels is key, based on a number of academic studies.

The event competition will be keen as team members seek to out-think and outscore their opponents — just like academic bowls and popular game shows that showcase bright competitors whose brains are filled with facts and figures and where correct answers are the name of the game.

Teams are forming. Study has begun. The stage is set for an exciting day of fun and competition. Now it’s time for students and schools to sign up, sponsors to sign on and the community to support brains (not brawn) in the county’s first African-American Male Academic Bowl.

Be there ... or be “pi squared!”

For more information, contact David Robinson in the DCCCD office of outreach, recruitment and community engagement by phone at (214) 378-1728 or by e-mail at drobinson@dcccd.edu, or visit the African-American Male Academic Bowl Web site.

# # #

Press contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819; ahatch@dcccd.edu
(432)