2009-2010 Session
begins Saturday October 3, 2009 at 8:30 a.m.

Download Application and volunteer form (PDF)

2009-2010 PRI calendar

In the Fall of 1989, The Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts, Inc. (CBMM), under the leadership auspices of its Standing Committee on Education initiated The Paul Robeson Institute for Positive Self-Development. The Paul Robeson Institute was founded to provide a vehicle of educational, emotional and personal support to young Black males and their families. Predicated on the grounds that Black children and their families are at acute risk in today's society, the Institute was formed to provide a range of early intervention and self-awareness options for elementary age youth and their families.

In an effort to create an environment to combat today's disinterest in learning; to negate the celebration of violence and self-destruction; to eradicate the need for substance abuse dependency; and to offset the enhancement of negative self-image reinforcement, CBMM assertively modeled formation of an infrastructure that targets striving for Excellence in mind, body and spirit as a paramount goal for daily living for youth and their families. The Institute is modeled in name and spirit after an African-American male whose life's work served as a paragon of achievement, strength, intellect, sensitivity, and self-conviction sufficient to overcome tremendous odds.

In a time when peer group pressure has supplanted the role of family as the primary influence shaping a child's life and values; when the loss of self-esteem becomes the normal course of development in a child's life from pre-school onward; and when mass media becomes the pabulum for value Information and verification of family and church, there is a critical need for leadership, mentorship and positive role model exposure that challenges the apathy and fear governing the lives of our youth, their families and communities. The Paul Robeson Institute for Positive Self-Development is designed to offer longitudinal strategic alternatives to these by-products of centuries of neglect and institutional racism.