My Brothers’ Keeper
University of West Georgia program focuses on creating a brotherhood of successful Black male students.
By Ernest Holsendolph
Carrollton, Ga.
Dressed in crisp white shirts and ties, a group of African-American men are in a deep discussion about Black manhood. The discussion is led by Dr. Said L. Sewell III, an assistant professor of political science at the University of West Georgia. The students, all freshmen, live together, counsel together and reinforce one another in the effort to learn, achieve — and graduate.
Called the West Georgia Learning Community, the students under Sewell’s tutelage are learning to trust one another, almost as brothers, and then are learning to care about one another’s success. These are the rudiments of cooperation that so many other students take for granted.
Sewell, a Texas native who also happens to be a Baptist preacher, is clear on his objectives.
