Twelve years ago, Talbot County natives Derick and Dina Daly, both of whom had followed their dreams to become leading professionals in their chosen fields, pondered with friends about their frustration and concern that young African-Americans, particularly boys and young men, were not able to follow their example.
They reasoned that the problems for were complex but if a program could be developed that focused on working with these young people early in their academic life, that a sense of opportunity, pride and confidence could be developed and sustained throughout the student’s elementary and secondary school years and lead to a far greater future as a result.
That was the idea behind the formation of BAAM, Building African American Minds. And through the early support of the United Fund of Talbot County, Bill Hunter and the late Jim Clark, BAAM started with first graders in 2004 to see if this bold new experiment could make a difference.
Fast-forward to 2016, and the BAAM program has indeed made the difference in hundreds of young boys in Talbot County.
In her Spy interview, executive director Deborah Short, who was part of the original team that conceived BAAM, talks about the program, the 60 participants they work with every year, and her hopes for these young people as they develop the social and academic skills to succeed in life.
This video is approximately seven minutes in length.
For more information about BAAM please go here. These Spy Community Profiles project is supported in part by the United Fund of Talbot County.
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