Gentlemen On The Move - Created by Dr. Deryl Bailey, assistant professor of counseling and human development at the University of Georgia, project Gentlemen on the Move is a developmental and comprehensive initiative. It aims to transform adolescent African American males, by assessing where they are, where they should be (academically and socially), and providing them with the necessary tools to complete the transformation. Bailey created GOTM 15 years ago while working as a counselor in North Carolina high schools. The major purposes of project Gentlemen on the move are to provide positive group experiences for male students, especially African American males; exciting cultural, educational, and recreational experiences for group members; instill in its members a true sense of unity; develop realistic academic, social, and personal goals and opportunities to accomplish these goals, give group members an opportunity to provide services to the community via community service projects; provide opportunities to serve as role models to younger students in the community, and assist members in realizing and using their abilities and potential. Many of the young men in the program have had no male role models before joining GOTM and several are from single-parent homes. The program tries to fill a void left by the schools, which have very few African-American men as teachers. GOTM participants meet every Saturday on the UGA campus to study and work on social skills with graduate students and teachers from UGA and Cedar Shoals High School who volunteer as teachers and tutors.
