Producer Amadeus And Boxer Ky Shut It Down Help Launch 2022 Black Male Initiative

Platinum producer Amadeus, champion boxer Ky “Shut It Down” Davis, AHH’s Chuck Creekmur, and film maker Jet Phynx helped kick-off 2022 Raising Kings, a Wilmington, Delaware initiative for young Black youth.

The program, a facet of the One Village Alliance, seeks to redefine what it means to be a “King” to young men.

OVA says Raising Kings seeks to redefine what it means to be a “King” with the theme “Rise of the New Kings.”  The tremendously popular and influential program was founded by Chandra Pitts, who started it as a positive nod to her son. The initiative has disrupted the generational crisis of failure to create a counter-culture of fortitude, greatness, cultural awareness, and self-respect.

Amadeus, also an author, Creekmur, who is a cultural critic, Ky Shut It Down, and Phynx, both musicians, all spoke at McKean High in Wilmington. The auditorium was full of young people of all hues for a live panel presented as a partnership between the Red Clay Consolidated School District, the Concert Crew Podcast, the Delaware Humanities and Born4Brothers, a youth program at McKean. Carl Chancy of the Concert Crew served as the moderator.

Last month, Creekmur announced that he would be increasing his involvement with Raising Kings, which is now in its 10th year.

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He wrote:

I have taken a greater leadership position Raising Kings, a Delaware-based program that I have been a part of for 10 years. Under Chandra Pitts, RK has consistently been active in the state and the surrounding areas as have other programs like Girls Can Do Anything! and Around the World in a Summer.

Going forward, we are re-committed to raising the next generation of leaders with ancestral guides like Martin, Malcolm, Rosa, Harriet, Medgar, Coretta and so many more employing progressive tactics. And we’ll do it without shame or fear.

“The New Kings Defined” will be rebroadcast in the future on OVA’s Facebook page. In 2022, Raising Kings is a year-long experience. 

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