FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ATLANTA, July 23, 1999 Ð The Morehouse Research Institute (MRI), which recently drew national attention for its report on African-American fathers, hosted a week of leadership and life skills training, July 18-24, 1999, for 30 rising high school juniors and seniors.

"Young Men Behaving Responsibly," is a program developed two years ago by the 100 Black Men of America, Inc. to develop training modalities and best practice models that would work for African-American youth in the area of health promotion and violence reduction. The project is funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Population Affairs.

"Youth gain much of their knowledge about health practices from their peers," said Travis Patton, associate director of MRI. "What we have tried to do in this intensive, one-week workshop is to expose the students to facts on poor health practices as they relate to transmission of communicable diseases in many inner-city neighborhoods. It is hoped that what they learn here, they will share with others in their communities."

In an effort to motivate the high schoolers, the 100 Black Men of America Inc., will pay the youth to distribute health and disease prevention literature in local businesses in their neighborhoods, including churches, barbershops and beauty salons. Their pay will be tied into the number of venues encouraged to display literature on health issues, including hypertension, prostate cancer, diabetes, HIV, and unwanted teen pregnancies.

"Young men are the best way to get to other young men," said Obie Clayton, director of MRI. "The skills that the youth have been exposed to are all of the skills required to be an effective leader. In essence, these youth are serving as health advocates and therefore we have tried to expose them to a range of experiences required to be effective in a role as advocate, leader and concerned citizen."

The rising juniors and seniors from Atlanta, Texas and Wisconsin, spent the week learning about leadership, public health issues, social, organizational and business skills, and emotionalintelligence. Professionals from the various areas conducted workshops during the week and the students spent afternoons participating in activities related to the morning lecture.

Their schedule included a Ôropes' course for problem-solving and leadership exploration, touring the Morehouse School of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to receive information on public health concerns in the African-American community; touring the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolence Social Change; and touring a number of African-American owned businesses in Atlanta. The students will participate in a graduation ceremony at 9 a.m. Saturday on campus.

Founded in 1867, Morehouse College is the nation's only historically black, private liberal arts college for men. The College enrolls approximately 3,000 students and confers bachelor's degrees on more black men than any other institution in the world.

Prominent alumni include Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize laureate and civil rights leader; David Satcher, U.S. Surgeon General; Louis W. Sullivan, president of Morehouse School of Medicine and former secretary of health and human services; and Michael L. Lomax, president of Dillard University and former president of The National Faculty.