1000 Black Boys: London organisation aims to save and inspire thousands of young Black men

Social enterprise 1000 Black Boys wants to help create a fresh generation of Black entrepreneurs.
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“When I see a story about a young Black boy murdered, I think about the lost potential. I think about all we’ve lost that we aren’t even aware of. How many Bukayo Sakas have we lost? How many Marcus Rashfords?”

Ademola Adeyeba founded 1000 Black Boys on a mission to help teenagers and young men in the community to prosper, through mentorship programmes and other support.

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The social enterprise, based in Farringdon, held its first session in March 2019 with an audience of more than 100 people, and went on to create an online resource, reaching thousands of people during lockdown.

Founder Ademola Adeyeba said: “It’s often about getting them to see that it is possible. Once they know their dreams and ideas can become reality, it’s more likely to come true.”

1000 Black Boys focuses not only on the issues surrounding opportunities for young Black men, but also on knife crime in the community.

Metropolitan Police statistics show that in 2019, 83% of teenage male homicide victims were Black, having risen from 60% in 2020.

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Ademola said: “When we launched, I often got told I was racist because the programme focuses only on Black boys, so I looked into the statistics…It’s just obvious that this is such a big problem for these young men”.

1000 Black Boys holds events, Honouring the Parents, for parents and family members of Black boys killed as a result of knife crime.

Ademola AdeyebaAdemola Adeyeba
Ademola Adeyeba

Ademola remembered a story he heard from a mother at one of these meetings: ‘It was really difficult to hear. After her son died, she had to choose between paying for his headstone or paying her bills.There just isn’t enough support available.

“When I see a story about a young Black boy murdered, I think about the lost potential. I think about all we’ve lost that we aren’t even aware of. How many Bukayo Sakas have we lost? How many Marcus Rashfords?”

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Ademola had experience in “mindset coaching”, from his company, Get Hench, to encourage entrepreneurship, success and excellence.

Asked why he took up the cause, he said: “Living in Tottenham, I saw so many young men that had so much potential, that could be superstars, with the right opportunity and inspiration...Especially during the 2011 riots, I saw the veracity and the violence first-hand, and it really affected me.”

He recalled one moment which really impacted him: “I can remember it so clearly. It was a Thursday evening when I got a call from my sister and the first thing she said was: ‘Are you sat down?’ She said: ‘It’s about your nephew.’”

A fellow pupil had threatened his 10-year-old nephew’s life, before chasing him home from school.

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He said: “I was so angry - I could feel my blood boiling - but I thought: No, you can’t add anger to an already combustible situation.

“I actually ended up speaking to the family of the young boy who threatened my nephew. He was only 11. I was able to talk to him about why he felt the need to do it, instead of just punishing.”