DES MOINES, Iowa — It may be a Saturday, but Drake University was hosting a very different kind of class. It was a place for youth of color—to win, win, win. At the 2022 Greater Des Moines Conference for Young Men of Color, organizers gathered community leaders, millionaires, and more to help set Black youth up for long-term success.
"Hip-Hope's doing its part in making Greater Des Moines even greater by addressing its most vulnerable, and probably their most valuable asset, which is our young men of color," said Bo James, executive director of Hip-Hope.
But hearing from the adult presenters wasn't the big draw. Any teacher can tell you that sometimes, kids just tune that out. The real power is in getting to hear from other young people who've been through it, just like them.
Take Vijay Williams, for example. Williams attended the conference in 2021; one year later, they're majoring in film at Morehouse College after receiving an academic scholarship from Hip-Hope, and they paid that support forward to the new attendees.
"To be able to see someone that's only a couple years older than you, that's already starting to have a successful career, just to know that that's a possibility for them, they can get out there," Williams said.
That peer-to-peer influence is the core of the conference's mission. Lessons about finance, professionalism, and beyond mean a lot more, coming from other men who've been in their shoes.
"I just want them to be able to walk away from this, like, just proud of who they are, know that they can, like, stand up for themselves as like, young men of color in Iowa, and just maintain that strong sense of self," Williams said.