St. Petersburg College Supports Black Males In Breaking Generational Poverty

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — St. Petersburg College President Tonjua Williams joined the Presidential Panel at the annual Black, Brown and College-Bound Summit in Tampa to highlight SPC’s commitment to provide resources to help students of color succeed.

The conference, hosted by Hillsborough Community College, brings speakers, educators, students and the community together to address the national problem of a lack of student success amongst Latino and Black male students.

Williams shared SPC’s robust programming, which seeks to address low success, retention and completion rates among African American male college students by addressing their barriers to success.

“We’re creating stepping stones for students to break generational poverty,” Williams said. “Our programs are designed to stand in the gap on behalf of men to help them be successful and make them aware of the opportunities they have.”

Program Support At SPC

In February, Helios Education Foundation awarded a community investment grant for $1.6 million to SPC in support of the Florida African American Male Experience (FAAME) to empower African American male students in their journeys from grade school to the workforce. FAAME is a nucleus of student programming from middle school to college, and includes programs like Keys to Manhood, Brother to Brother and PITCH.

Brother to Brother is one of the signature initiatives within FAAME, in partnership with the Local College Access Network/LEAP Tampa Bay and Take Stock in Children. SPC’s Brother to Brother program was reestablished at SPC in 2020 to improve the retention, progression and degree/certificate completion rates for African American male students.

“There are a lot of young men who look like me who are lost in society,” SPC student and Brother to Brother member Anthony Venson said. “Brother to Brother is a supportive mentorship program that provides guidance in school and for the future.”

The annual Keys to Manhood seminar focuses on middle and high school male students, and brings inspirational speakers in to offer valuable tools and information to assist in overcoming obstacles, finding healthy coping techniques to address future challenges, and learning skills to grow as a young man and leader.

SPC Student Life and Leadership coordinator Jason Nicholson said it is important for young men to hear success stories of others who have struggled.

“Challenges are also growth opportunities,” Nicholson said. “It’s important for young men to not only know and understand that, but to hear how others have built their own futures, despite past adversity.”

PITCH, which stands for Providing Instructions for Tomorrow’s Collegians and Hires, is a partnership with the city of St. Petersburg’s Cohort of Champions. PITCH coordinator Ernest Gant said the group’s goal is to provide workforce training for young Black men in St. Pete.

“We strive to serve as catalysts to provide Black males aged 18 -24 with the essential tools to be successful in careers throughout their lives and leave a legacy for generations to come.”

Anyone interested in learning more about any of these or other support programs offered at SPC can click here.