Black Men Lead is one of ETHS’ newer clubs, just starting up last year. Even so, they have a strong goal: change the perception of black men.
“On the 9 AM news, the first thing you see is a black man committing a crime, hurting the community,” said Olatunde Thomas, the club’s president. “That’s not what Black Men Lead does. We help the community. We build bonds, we strengthen each other, academically, socially, emotionally and every way we possibly can. And we have fun while doing it, that’s what this club is made for.”
“It’s just kind of being a part of the community and uplifting each other, especially in predominantly white settings,” explained Senior Jackson Stroth. “I think just kind of being like resources to one another is really important.”
To change this perception of black men, the members of Black Men Lead do many projects to give back to the community, including sandwich making for the homeless, toy drives and gift drives.
The club is partnered closely with the Northwestern branch of Black Men Lead, which has been around since 2017, and played a big part in the creation of the club at ETHS.
“In 2017, a woman named Miss Perkins, who is a connection between Evanston and Northwestern, came up with the idea of how to start a club like this,” mentioned the club’s advisor, Marvin Green. “We started out by trying to get a group of young black men in the high school to come together, and then from there, kind of change the narrative.”
Even though Green was approached with the idea in 2017, it took around 7 years for the idea to take off here at ETHS.
“Before it was basically me going into the lunchrooms or going into the hub and trying to pull interest into, ‘hey, let’s go to a Cubs game, let’s go bowling,” stated Green. “So I was given interesting things for the young black men to do, and then within that pool, Northwestern undergrads would accompany them, and then it’d become a social gathering.”
Green’s main role is to support the boys in their mission to stop the stigma that comes with being a black man in America.
“We have a common stride, and that stride is to support one another, to support each other’s ideas,” said Green.
The group is currently planning a trip to the DuSable Black History Museum on February 22nd. This is following their recent cook off with the Northwestern branch of Black Men Lead, which multiple members listed as their favorite activity. The trips that the members of Black Men Lead take are appreciated by their members, as some wouldn’t have gotten those opportunities otherwise.
“I would say that it’s been a good experience,” said Junior Jaden ___. “It’s a good way to keep young black boys off the streets. We go out and help others, do stuff, like the Cubs game, not everyone gets to do that, that was a new experience for me.”
Black Men Lead continues to move forward into 2026, trying to make bigger strides than ever.
