The Westside Gazette

5000 Role Models Of Excellence Project In Partnership With The Miami Heat

Carma Henry

Celebrating Decades-Long Collaboration With Miami-Dade County Association Chiefs Of Police

       MIAMI, FL —The 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project held its Police and Youth Conference with the Miami Heat and Dedication 2 Community at Kaseya Center, home of the Miami HEAT.

   The annual Police and Youth Conference was held for several schools located throughout the South and Central Regions in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Broward County Public Schools. Law enforcement officers from municipal districts such as the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, North Miami, City of Miami, Broward Sheriff’s Office, and more were in attendance.

    Founder of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson said, “Year after year, this event has become a catalyst for dialogue, allowing our youth to exchange their thoughts, fears, visions, and concerns with law enforcement. And let’s be frank: on the news, we still see all too often cases of deadly encounters between police and our youth, and some of you may even have personal examples. But events like these play a pivotal role in reducing the number of deadly encounters between police and our youth.

       Congresswoman Frederica Wilson also noted that this conference started after a tragic incident in which a Coral Gables Police officer mistakenly shot one of the Role Models boys, leading the Congresswoman and then school Principal to work to build trust between the law enforcement and children.

Miami Heat legends Alonzo Mourning and Glen Rice led an interactive panel discussion with local police chiefs and Role Model students.

    Former Miami Heat Player Alonzo Mourning said, “The media should know about conferences like this, and that can have a positive influence on future police and youth interactions.”

Former Role Model and Vice Chair of the Miami-Dade County Commission Kionne McGhee, County Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins, and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez were also in attendance.

Role Model Semaj Gilliard from Coral Reef Senior High School said, “Education and familiarity is key to improving police and youth relations. More police programs should be available for police and youth to interact more.”

Law enforcement officials from Miami-Dade and Broward spoke to the students about how to handle interactions with police officers. They also led an interactive demonstration of getting pulled over while driving, walking the boys through real-life scenarios on the best ways to engage with law enforcement. This included a 5000 Role Models pamphlet that includes all the steps on what to do when interacting with the police.

“These conferences are super important and create impactful impressions on police and youth interactions,” North Miami Police Chief Cherise G. Gause said. “I want to thank Congresswoman Frederica Wilson for continuing to pour into this community through the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project.”

During the session, students had the opportunity to ask officers questions, express their concerns, and discuss their experiences.

Throughout the conference, Role Model boys wore their signature red ties.  Dedication 2 Community also sponsored a giveaway to all the boys in attendance of the event.

Founder and CEO of Dedication to Community, M. Quentin Williams said to the Role Models, “I implore youth to randomly walk up to an officer and thank him or her for their service and introduce yourself “

The schools involved in participation included:

The Police Departments present included:

More than thirty (30) years ago, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project created a platform to promote better youth and police relations. The 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project finds that mentorship, positive and progressive relationships with law enforcement is vital for young men: especially young minority males.

Editor’s Note: The 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, Inc. was founded in 1993 by then Miami-Dade Public School Board Member Dr. Frederica S. Wilson. As an arm of the public school district, it has fulfilled the mission of guiding minority boys along a carefully charted path to manhood and sending them to college. The project is a mentoring program that operates on Frederick Douglass’ principle, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” It addresses the critical need to interrupt the school-to-prison pipeline; don’t build a jail for me … prevention not detention.

“Thank you for all that you do on behalf of our children!”

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