The Coming of SAVE Institute

BY ATIBA JONES

(C) 2020

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Atiba Jones is a passionate advocate for the power of agriculture and youth development as engines for Black liberation. He is also a poet and spoken word artist. Atiba grew up in West Philadelphia in a family culture of community outreach, upliftment and self-actualization. A trip to Africa during his college years led to an epiphany. While still a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, he decided to dedicate his life to uplifting Black youth through effective education that would provide character development and interpersonal skills, along with the vision and practical skills for nation building.  

Atiba continued studies designed to support his vision for education. He earned a BA in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership. Prior to founding the SAVE Institute in Atlanta in 2006, he worked as a teacher, counselor, school leader, program director and community organizer. The mission of the SAVE Institute, as described on their website, is to “SAVE Black boys from cycles of poverty, crime, incarceration and lack of purpose through engagement is Service, Agriculture, Vocational training and Entrepreneurship.”

The SAVE website goes on to say: “These elements, along with our concentrated focus on character development, emotional intelligence, leadership and purpose discovery make up the foundation for all of our programs.  SAVE launched a full-time accelerated high school in Atlanta in September 2021, where students can earn their diploma while being immersed in the above elements that SAVE is founded upon. The goal is to transform them into leaders that will go back into their communities as agents of change. Our current educational systems and justice systems continue to produce the same negative results. Our approach is to create an alternative system that will uplift rather than suppress.

“Students spend the majority of their school experience working on our farm, working within their vocational trade, leading service projects and piloting their own business ventures, with minimal time sitting inside of classrooms. The long-term goal is for the high school to become a boarding school, which would allow for these young men to get away from their home environments, which often pull them down, and be immersed in an uplifting environment that is propelling them forward. They will return to their communities as solutions to the problems rather than being a part of the problem.”

Atiba wrote and performed the following poem describing his motivation and vision for SAVE.

The Coming of SAVE Institute

by Atiba Jones

(c) 2020

Only 59 percent of Black males graduate

Public high school in this nation

And only 17% go on to earn bachelor's degrees,

Is the reality of the situation.

And even blacks with degrees,

Statistically earn far less 

Than their uneducated white counterparts

Throughout their career’s duration.

So it's no wonder why

African Americans Are far more likely to end up on probation

And consistently have the highest percentages in prison,

AKA the new plantation.

Yes, we've come a long way

But I believe there’s still need

For a lot more salvation.

What happens to the other 41 percent of Black males

Who didn't complete high school?

What happens to the other 83%

Without a bachelor's to use as a tool?

Are they to just be forgotten about 

As if the problem is merely minuscule?

Our educational system has failed them,

And no, it's not cool.

It's time for an alternative system

That goes beyond the surface,

It's time to interrupt their cycles of

Poverty, crime, incarceration and lack of purpose.

It's time for our youth to be exposed to agriculture,

Vocational trades, entrepreneurship and humanitarian service

start of service has been used for centuries as a tool

For character development and spiritual training

And instills humility, gratitude

Decreases complaining.

It rids one of arrogance and hypocrisy 

And leaves nothing but purity remaining,

And His one on benefiting others

Rather than seeking that

Which is merely entertaining.

And the beauty of agriculture is that

It reconnects us with nature and our natural state.

It helps us to understand where the food comes from

That ends up on our plate.

It helps us to experience through our hands

What God can create

And it allows us to

Feed our communities

Healthy foods

From what we collectively cultivate

Over the past few decades, 

From high schools,

We've seen vocational education

Gradually disappear.

“You have to go to college,”

Is all that we've begun to hear.

Perceptions of inferiority from not having a degree

Has become a real fear. 

While many tradesmen earn far more

Than the average college graduate per year.

So why is it made to seem as if the only options

Are either college or the street,

With the only exception being

The possibility of becoming a professional athlete?

Or maybe you could make it by learning

How to rap some destructive lyrics to a beat

Presenting these as the only options

Is blatant deceit.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with going to college.

However, it is not the only way to economically compete

And if you don't have a degree,

There is no need to feel as if you're somehow incomplete.

And besides this,

Entrepreneurs are consistently

The wealthiest people on Earth

And they create situations for children to inherit enterprises at birth.

Beyond money, entrepreneurship helps one

To discover their true worth.

It shows you that you can build and lead.

You can create jobs for those in need.

But the key is to not fall into the trap

Of arrogance or greed,

Because the objective is to save ourselves

So that we can save our families and others.

So that we can uplift our sisters

And Us by our brothers,

Provide hope and support

For all the single mothers.

So this is not just about some economic or material pursuit.

It's about radically changing the trajectory

Of the poor and destitute

Providing a new career path

For the dope boy and the prostitute.

Snatching up misguided youth from out of the streets

And showing them that there's a different route.

And this, my brothers and sisters,

Has sparked the coming of SAVE Institute.