MIAMI (WSVN) - The 100 Black Men of South Florida organization is taking mentorship to the friendly skies and beyond, with their sights set on New York City.
Members and chaperones along with 22 of the organization’s middle school and high school mentees, who are part of the Dr. Harold E. Guinyard Leadership Academy, departed Miami International Airport Wednesday morning, bound for Manhattan.
The group is set to join hundreds of attendees at the 40th Annual Conference of 100 Black Men of America, Inc., which is the organization’s annual gathering of mentors, executives, policymakers and educators.
The conference provides professional development, youth programming and panels on economic empowerment. Mentees will also take part in an African American History competition and enjoy a trip to Broadway to see “MJ: The Musical.”
South Florida Chapter President Pierre Rutledge said one of the main goals is to expose the mentees to something more.
“This is what we do: We’re exposing our kids and we’re exposing ourselves to something bigger than what they can actually believe,” he said.
Rutledge added that it takes the community as a whole to make efforts like this possible.
“Pray for us as we take our trip. Thank you for all of our supporters, thank you for the families, thank you for the community, just thank you for the village who’ve gotten us this far, and we’re on our way,” he said
The South Florida chapter has also been named the 2026 Medium Sized Chapter of the Year by the national organization, along with mentee Chai Footman, II, who has been named the 2026 National Mentee of The Year. Each will receive the official designation during the annual conference, which runs from Wednesday through Sunday.
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