Join us for DBMG's 26th Annual Christmas Gala, held on Friday, Dec. 6, from 6:30 p.m. to midnight at the Doubletree by Hilton Pleasanton, CA. This elegant evening will feature a gourmet dinner, live and silent auctions, live music, and dancing.

We are offering a $25 Early Bird Discount, available until November 1st—so don't miss out!

Proceeds from this cherished holiday event will support our **college scholarship program, benefiting college-bound high school graduates from Contra Costa and Alameda counties.

In the spirit of the season, we will also host our annual Toy Drive. Please bring an unwrapped toy, game, or book to add to our Toy Bin and help brighten a child’s holiday.

The Early Bird Discount ends on November 1st. CLICK HERE to reserve your tickets and take advantage of the savings before time runs out!

Thank you to all of our incredible supporters!

Brentwood Mayor Joel Bryant stopped by the booth to meet DBMG members Horace Gipson, Alain Dangerfield, Andre Darby and Michael Carroll to learn more about the organization.

On Wednesday, June 19, 2024, Diablo Black Men's Group had the honor of attending Brentwood’s inaugural Juneteenth celebration at City Park. This momentous event brought the community together to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved African Americans and to celebrate the rich heritage and contributions of the African American community.

Hosted by the charismatic Kevin "Cuz Kev" Brown, the event was a vibrant gathering filled with live performances, delicious food trucks, craft vendors, and activities for all ages. The highlight of the evening was a powerful performance by legendary musician Lenny Williams, which filled the park with soulful energy.

In our booth, DBMG members had the pleasure of sharing information about our organization’s mission and upcoming initiatives, including our College Scholarship Program and the much-anticipated 26th Annual Christmas Gala in December. The celebration was a perfect opportunity for us to connect with the community, share our vision, and spread awareness of our work.

A special moment captured in the event’s feature photo shows some of our DBMG members standing alongside Brentwood’s Mayor Joel Bryant, symbolizing the unity and collaboration that made the day so meaningful.

We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to participate in Brentwood’s first Juneteenth celebration and look forward to attending future events as we continue our mission of education, empowerment, and community support.
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For more information about our scholarship program or upcoming events, visit our website or contact us at [email protected].

We are thrilled to announce that the 2024 Diablo Black Men's Group Annual Golf Tournament was a record-breaking event, selling out with an all-time high number of golfers! Hosted once again at the beautiful Callippe Preserve Golf Course, this year's tournament brought together members, supporters, and community leaders for a fantastic day of friendly competition and camaraderie.

The weather was perfect, and the energy on the course was high as golfers enjoyed a challenging but rewarding 18 holes, all while supporting a great cause. This year's sold-out event not only reflects the growing popularity of our tournament but also the increasing support for DBMG’s mission to uplift and empower young men in our community.

Proceeds from the event will go directly toward our College Scholarship Program, which provides financial assistance to deserving young men pursuing higher education. We're proud to say that with each year, this event helps us extend our reach and make a bigger impact.
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our golfers, sponsors, and volunteers who made this year’s tournament such an incredible success. Your participation and generosity continue to drive our efforts forward.

We look forward to seeing everyone again next year for another exciting day of golf and community spirit!
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For more information on how you can get involved in future DBMG events or support our scholarship program, please contact us at [email protected].

DBMG members Carl Bass, Phil Tucker and Families man the DBMG Booth at the Juneteenth Celebration.

On Saturday, June 15, 2024, Diablo Black Men's Group proudly participated in Livermore’s 3rd Annual Juneteenth Celebration, hosted at the vibrant Bankhead Plaza. The event commemorated the liberation of enslaved people in Texas, marking two years after the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in the Confederate States.

Organized by Tri-Valley for Black Lives, Livermore Valley Arts, and Las Positas College, the celebration brought together a rich array of cultural expressions, including music, drumming, dancing, and performances from talented local groups. The festival also featured food vendors, local businesses selling unique products, and several non-profit organizations providing community resources.

At our booth, DBMG members and their families proudly shared information about our organization’s initiatives. We promoted our College Scholarship Program, designed to support young Black men pursuing higher education, and provided details about our upcoming 26th Annual Christmas Gala, set for December. The gala promises an evening filled with dinner, live music, auctions, and dancing, all to support our scholarship fund and further community engagement.


We were grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this important celebration, and we look forward to continuing our participation in future Juneteenth events in collaboration with the City of Livermore. These gatherings are a meaningful way for us to engage with the community and spread awareness about our mission.
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For more information about our scholarship program or upcoming events, visit our website or contact us at [email protected].

At the University of Vermont not long ago, it was move-in day for the class of 2027.  About a thousand incoming freshman were meeting their roommates, finding their dorm rooms, and getting settled on campus. At first glance one might have thought this was an all-women's college – 62% of this year's class are women, a gender gap that has earned Burlington, Vt., a nickname: Girlington. 


"You see six or seven women for every three or four men," said UVM's vice provost for enrollment Jay Jacobs. His job is all about student diversity, and these days the male/female divide is now part of that equation. "Sure, I thought about racial and ethnic diversity," Jacobs said. "Sure, at a public flagship in the state of Vermont, I've thought about geographic diversity. Never gender diversity like that. That's where we are."
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UVM is hardly an outlier. Nationwide, women make up almost 60% of college undergraduates.
In 1972, when Title IX was passed to help improve gender equality on campus, men were 13% more likely to get an undergraduate degree than women; today, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, it's women who are 15% more likely to get a degree than men.


"We have a bigger gender gap today than we did when we passed laws to help women and girls; it's just flipped," said Richard Reeves, a former Brookings Institution senior fellow. He says, no one really has been able to explain why so many men are so absent in higher education. What is known is the gender disparity starts as early as kindergarten, where girls are just generally the stronger sex in academics.


Reeves said, "If you look at high school GPA, and those who are getting the best grades in high school, two-thirds of them are girls. Those with the lowest grades, two-thirds of them are boys."


It's been theorized girls and women today are just fulfilling their destiny – that once the limitations on their achievements were lifted, they soared. Reeves, who's just launched the American Institute for Boys and Men, fears that things have changed so quickly, it's left many boys and men struggling to catch up, not just in the classroom, but at work and at home, too.


"What does it mean to be a successful man today? That was a question that was pretty easy to answer a generation or two ago," said Reeves. "But actually, what is the answer today? A lot of these guys just don't know."


In short, he says millions of boys and men don't understand how or where they fit anymore, and their reaction is to generally disconnect. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, men's participation in the labor market has dropped more than 7% in the last 50 years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21% of men report binge drinking (almost double the rate of women), and men account for nearly 80% of suicide deaths (four times the rate for women).


Reeves said, "The two most commonly-used words by suicidal men to describe themselves were useless and worthless."


But even to suggest there's some kind of male crisis is perilous these days, said Reeves: "Merely raising it will cause people to eye roll, and say, 'Really? Ten thousand years of patriarchy, and now you're worried?'"

After all, women still earn only about 80 cents for every dollar earned by a man (according to Pew Research Center). Only a fraction (10.4%) of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. And women make up just a quarter (28%) of the members in Congress, and (so far) zero U.S. presidents.

Those numbers leave UVM students Sarah Wood and Maxine Flordeliza pretty skeptical that men are barely treading water. "I think it's very interesting that there is kind of a big fuss about – not a fuss, but it's a conversation that people are having," said Wood. "But I don't think it's necessarily a problem?"

"I think that just the fact that the playing field has been a bit more evened out, shouldn't be the reason as to why men don't really know where they fit," Flordeliza said.

"Sure, do we need to do more to encourage more women into politics and into board rooms? Yes," Reeves said. "But meanwhile, can I not see that one group is struggling here, and another group is struggling there? And if I can't do that, we're in really deep trouble."

And those in the most trouble, he says, are working class and African American boys and men.

Von Washington Jr., executive director of community relations with The Kalamazoo Promise in Michigan, said, "Before it used to be, you graduated high school, 'Goodbye, you're on your own.' A lot of people said, 'Hey, you're outta my house.' Or 'It's time for you to go.' But we're understanding now those supports need to continue."

The Kalamazoo Promise program offers high school graduates in Kalamazoo scholarships covering up to the entire cost of in-state college tuition. The impact?  The number of Kalamazoo women getting a college degree has increased by about 45%. But the number of Kalamazoo men getting college degrees didn't budge.

"We're working with them, we're talking with them," said Washington. "We're trying to find out what is it that, even with this opportunity, you have some of the same challenges as someone in another community that doesn't have this opportunity."

One solution that seems to be working is making sure those men who are struggling have a place to freely admit they're struggling. Staffers with The Promise are tracking down those men still eligible for the scholarship, finding out why they never used it, and helping them get what they need to finally do it – like Daniel Jaffari. "I just started wandering around in life and doing random jobs, getting tired of doing random jobs," said Jaffari. "And now I'm here!"

He joined with dozens of other men at what the Promise was calling their Males of Promise event. Another participant was Denis Martin, who graduated high school six years ago. He said, had the Promise not tracked him down, he might not have realized he was ready for something more. "I feel like now I have the discipline to be in a five-year program or a four-year program," he said. "As a kid I feel like I was still bouncing off the walls, and my mind didn't know what exactly was out there."

Back at UVM, administrators have changed their marketing and communication strategies to reach out to men, especially those who might not think they want to go to college at all. The college is also hiring a diversity coordinator to focus specifically on helping men.

Jacobs said to Cowan, "The world is built for people like you and me to succeed, so why do we need to help men succeed here on our campus even more? But I think once people start to understand the nuances and challenges that we're talking about here today, people understand that all students need support."

UVM junior Lucas Roemer doesn't see it as a sort of affirmative action – putting the finger on the scale for men. He sees it as a way to help anyone who's been hanging on and feeling left out.  "I think there's ways to promote both femininity and masculinity on campus equally well," he said. "I think there's definitely a path forward that could be beneficial to everybody."

The coordinator of the Men and Masculinities Program will be housed in the Women & Gender Equities Center – ironic to some. But it's also a recognition that men's problems can co-exist with those of women. "You lift the edges up, the center will be lifted up as well," said Jacobs. "And here, the edges include men."

It's the kind of reaction to the very real problems of boys and men that Richard Reeves says needs to be the rule, and not the exception: "This is not a made-up crisis of masculinity. This is an actual hard fact. There is real suffering here, and if we don't address real suffering, then what are we here for?"

Source: CBS NEWS

By GOODBLACKNEWS
[Photo: Philanthropists Calvin E. Tyler Jr. and Tina Tyler with ‘Tyler Scholars,’ students with scholarships from the fund established in the Tylers’ name. September 2017, at groundbreaking for the Calvin and Tina Tyler Hall Student Services Center.]

Morgan State University recently announced receipt of a $20 million commitment from alumnus and philanthropist Calvin E. Tyler Jr. and his wife Tina Tyler, increasing an endowed scholarship fund previously established in the Tylers’ name.

In 2016, the Tylers made a commitment of $5 million to Morgan State — at the time the largest in Morgan’s history—bolstering the Calvin and Tina Tyler Endowed Scholarship Fund established in 2002 to provide full tuition scholarships for select need-based students residing in the Tylers’ hometown of Baltimore.

In light of the financial hardships and challenges a number of students and their families are facing as a result of the current pandemic, the Tylers were compelled to expand their giving to the HBCU. Once exclusive to students from Baltimore, the endowed scholarship is now national in scope and will benefit generations of future Morgan students seeking a college education.

To date, the endowed fund has supported 222 Morgan students by way of 46 full-tuition and 176 partial scholarships, with the promise of benefiting more ‘Tyler Scholars’ with the increased multimillion-dollar pledge and expanded scope.

“Morgan is so proud to call this son and daughter of the great City of Baltimore our own, and through their historic giving, the doors of higher education will most certainly be kept open for generations of aspiring leaders whose financial shortfalls may have kept them from realizing their academic dreams,” said David K. Wilson, president of Morgan State University.

“For public institutions, like Morgan, our charitable alumni are testaments to the legacy we collectively uphold, and the Tylers’ generosity over the years, culminating with this transformative commitment, is a remarkable example of altruism with great purpose. We are forever indebted to the Tylers.”

Calvin Tyler enrolled at Morgan State College in 1961 to study business administration. The first of his family to attend college, he later interrupted his matriculation in 1963 due to lack of funding and eventually took on a job as one of the first 10 United Parcel Service drivers in Baltimore in 1964.

At UPS Tyler would then work his way up the corporate ladder, ultimately ending up as senior vice president of operations before his retirement in 1998, and joining the company’s board of directors.

Through his 34-year career at the multinational package delivery company, Tyler committed with his wife Tina to support those who, like him, encountered hardships and financial insecurities while pursuing their college degree.

“My wife and I have become keenly aware of the effect that the pandemic has had on a number of young people trying to get an education [and] we have the resources to help a lot of young people,” Tyler shared. “This is why we are increasing our commitment at Morgan; we want to have more full tuition scholarships offered to young people so that they can graduate from college and enter the next stage of their life debt free.”

Students attending Morgan come from diverse backgrounds, often with unique circumstances, and a myriad of financial needs with 90% of students receiving financial aid.

Students applying for the Tyler Scholarship must meet certain financial criteria and maintain a minimum GPA requirement of 2.5.

The gift is believed to be the second largest contribution of its kind to any Historically Black College or University (HBCU) from an alum.
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Source: GoodBlackNews