Our History

The Men of Southeast Raleigh: Men of Courage, Confidence & Class (Formerly 50+Plus-Men of Color, Class, Confidence & Style) held their first meeting on June 25, 2021 at the home of Alex Craven (Sam) located at East Lane Street in Raleigh, N.C. Several months prior to this meeting in April 2021, Anthony Pope had been approached by Joni Craven-Jefferys (Sam’s Sister) about organizing and engaging a group of men to help with “Rebuilding Our Village”. There was already a Lady’s group: NC 50+Plus Women of Color, Class, Confidence & Style that had been in existence since the Spring 2018.

I had just retired on March 1, 2021, after 42 years in the workforce as a Professional Educator, and trying to organize anything and anybody was the farthest thing from my mind. I was focused on living my best life and enjoying my retirement years. However, anyone who knows Joni knows that she is quite persistent. She even went so far as to gently persuade her brother Sam to join with me in this venture. I’m not sure what Sam’s thoughts were, but I know he had been retired since December 2010. Anyway, we took on this challenge and started making calls and putting out “feelers”. To our surprise, we had 20 men to attend this first meeting on that hot and humid summer day. We met in Sam’s carport/garage where he kept his classic cars. It turned out to be a mini reunion of brothers who were from Southeast Raleigh.

We all knew each other, and a one time many of us had attended Elementary, Junior High, High School and even College together. Most of us were already connected during our years of growing up and living in Southeast Raleigh and these bonds/friendships continue to this day.  In our younger and teen years, we grew up during the era of “Segregation”, and for most of us our world was limited to our African American Communities, mainly located in Southeast Raleigh or scattered throughout other areas of Raleigh and Wake County. Our parents were working middle class folks, who were acquainted with each other, as were our teachers, coaches, doctors, lawyers, small business owners, etc. The list is too long to name them all, but basically, we had everything we needed in our communities. We were all family and if we were “poor” we didn’t know it. Everyone helped each other and parents worked hard to provide for their family. I could go on and on, but you all know what I’m talking about.

At our first meeting we opened with prayer by Sam after a brief Meet & Greet. Sam and I had previously talked about what we envisioned as the Purpose and Mission for the group. Joni also attended this meeting and shared information about the women’s group. Afterwards, we encouraged the men to engage in conversation, share ideas, make suggestions/comments, give feedback, express their opinions and address any questions. We realized that this was new to all of us and it would take time to organize/establish the group and move forward with serving our communities. This was a great way to start, because it generated some very good discussions amongst us. It was the beginning of establishing the Mission, Motto and Mantra for our organization.

Our 2nd meeting was on July 25, 2021 and there were several new men who attended. Harold Malette suggested that we do a clothing drive as our first community service project, to which the men all agreed. At one of our meetings a few months later, we discussed changing the name of the group. This is when Harold suggested the name “The Men of Southeast Raleigh”. We voted and adopted this as the permanent name for our group. This is a history of how we got started. Thus, our journey to serve and sow back into our Southeast Raleigh Communities and “Rebuild Our Village” began.

Our Mission, Motto & Mantra

The Men of Southeast Raleigh is a community service organization of like-minded men, many of whom were born, raised and lived in Raleigh and/or the surrounding areas. We are committed to using our Time, Talents and Resources to Serve and Sow back into our Southeast Raleigh communities. The geographics and diversity of Southeast Raleigh has changed over the years and many of the original residents have moved, sold their homes, or can no longer afford to live in the area due to excessive taxation. The Men of Southeast Raleigh want to ensure that our “Legacy and History” are preserved and remembered. Therefore, our visibility and service in the community is essential to keeping our legacy alive. We are not a non-profit or for-profit organization. Although, some of our members are affiliated with various Military Branches, Fraternities, Social Fellowships, Prince Hall Masonic, etc. we are not governed by their rules, regulations, bylaws, ordinances, directives, standards, etc. We are not partial to a particular religious group or denomination. We intentionally chose not to be a non-profit organization because we did not want to be limited to whom and how we served our communities.

 MISSION

The Mission of our group is to Connect, Collaborate and Partner with individuals, families, churches, schools, agencies, organizations, etc. to meet their needs and assist with the completion of their projects or goals. This is what makes our organization unique. We do have our own projects and goals that we focus on, however we are not trying to “reinvent the wheel”. We want to support other organizations in their endeavors to serve our communities. We are open to suggestions and we encourage our brothers to share their thoughts and ideas. We cannot take on every project, but if a need is critical, we will make every effort to assist.

 MOTTO

Alex Craven (Sam) came up with the Motto for our group, which is “Think And Think Again!” The basis behind this motto is to get us to look back over our lives and upbringing and consider “where would we be if our parents, siblings, families, neighbors, teachers and others in or communities did not encourage, support and help us on our journey from childhood to adulthood”? That being said, it is only our reasonable service/duty to support and help the next generations as they embark upon this same journey. Each One, Teach One!!

COURAGE, CONFIDENCE & CLASS

Men of Courage, Confidence & Class describes our character and the image that we hope to portray as we serve in our communities.

Courage: We exemplify moral and mental strength in the face of pain, grief and adversity. We persevere and withstand danger, fear or difficulty. We are not faint-hearted, but strong and mighty in the Lord. We are “Mighty Men of Valor”.

Confidence: We are sure of ourselves and our abilities, not in an arrogant way, but in a realistic, secure way. This confidence gives us the positive energy to take the necessary actions to achieve our goals by assisting and serving in our communities.

Class: We are men of distinction, who portray a high standard of personal responsibility and integrity. We are upstanding men who have a genuine interest in issues that impact our communities. Most importantly, we are concerned about the well-being of the people/citizens in our communities. We have the desire and determination help to “Rebuild Our Village” with the utmost respect and love for all people, cultures, religions, etc.

Organization Colors and Logo

We selected Blue and Gold as our colors to represent John W. Ligon High School, which was the only predominately “Black” H.S. in the city of Raleigh from 1953 until 1971.  In 1971, Wake County Schools were desegrated and Ligon H.S. was integrated as a Junior High School. Ligon High School was located only a few hundred yards from the Chavis Heights Housing Community that was established in 1939. Directly across the street from the housing community was the John Chavis Memorial Park. This park has a long and rich history in the black community dating back to July 1937. It was the “Hub” for high profile and well-known Civil Rights Leaders, Entertainers, Politicians, Sports Figures, Sporting Events, Concerts, Exhibits, Etc.

The Men of Southeast Raleigh applied for, and adopted The John Chavis Memorial Park as our “Adopt-A-Park” site through the City of Raleigh Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resource Department. This agreement is effective until September 30, 2023, at which time we will need to reapply. Adopting the park was a major step in bringing recognition and visibility to our mission.

Our Logo, which is a black silhouette of 6 African American men and a young boy was designed by Ebenezer Holden’s nephew, Nii’am Shareef. The men are dressed in what appears to be urban wear and each figure has one of the words of our mantra (Men of Courage, Confidence and Class) displayed across their chest. The silhouette of the young boy has the motto “Think Again” displayed on his shirt. The silhouette is outlined in gold to highlight and bring more visibility to the men, since the shirts are navy blue. The baseball caps are navy blue with a gold visor, an adjustable velcro strap and the words “The Men of S.E. Raleigh” printed across the front. The shirts and caps are worn to various events to show uniformity amongst the brothers and advertisement for attracting other interested men.

Conclusion

The Men of Southeast Raleigh welcome other men to partner with us, however they do not necessarily have to be from SE Raleigh. We are seeking men who are committed to our mission and desire to serve and sow back into our communities. We are serious about what we do and we expect more from the brothers than just wearing a t-shirt and cap. We realize that our men have other obligations and we don’t expect you to attend every meeting, event or project.  However, we want them to support as many of the events and projects that their schedule will permit. We are men-on-a-mission!! The Men of Southeast Raleigh: Men of Courage, Confidence and Class.