The Bakari Project
The Bakari Project is an outgrowth of the Passport to the Future Program. Derived from the Swahili language, the word Bakari means "one who will succeed." The Bakari program was designed and conceptualized by Dr. Thomas Parham, of Irvine, California in consultation with his colleagues in the 100 Black Men of America, Orange County Chapter (100 BMOC). It was developed as an intervention model with the specific intention of anchoring the 100 BMOC chapter's educational initiative.
The program has been in effect for over 10 years (as of the date of the publication) and has been very effective in working with African American males. Dr. Parham has also used the same conceptual model in designing a Rite of Academic Passage for the College Bound program located in Los Angeles County, California. Thus, in its application, the program has been implemented within an all male group (100 BMOC) and a mixed group of females and males in the College Bound program.
As you consider implementing this program, it is appropriate to utilize these curriculum modules with young females or males. It is also my belief that because of the universality of African centered principles and constructs, the program may have a broader utility and can be adapted for youth across demographic boundaries (Caucasian, Chicano-Latino, Asian, and American Indian) and social context (youth in communities, school systems, incarcerated youth, etc). Currently, the program is being applied and evaluated in its use with juvenile offenders in the New York city area, in a collaborative project between John J. College of Criminal Justice, The Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES), and the Brooklyn Juvenile Court.
It is my hope that you will find the information contained within this website to be beneficial in helping you discover how the Bakari Project can be used to transform lives of youth, from where they are, to broader visions of human possibility.
Thomas A. Parham, Ph.D.
Past President, and Distinguished Psychologist, National Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi)
Past President of 100 Black Men of Orange County
National Education Chair for the 100 Black Men of America
Past President, Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD)
The program has been in effect for over 10 years (as of the date of the publication) and has been very effective in working with African American males. Dr. Parham has also used the same conceptual model in designing a Rite of Academic Passage for the College Bound program located in Los Angeles County, California. Thus, in its application, the program has been implemented within an all male group (100 BMOC) and a mixed group of females and males in the College Bound program.
As you consider implementing this program, it is appropriate to utilize these curriculum modules with young females or males. It is also my belief that because of the universality of African centered principles and constructs, the program may have a broader utility and can be adapted for youth across demographic boundaries (Caucasian, Chicano-Latino, Asian, and American Indian) and social context (youth in communities, school systems, incarcerated youth, etc). Currently, the program is being applied and evaluated in its use with juvenile offenders in the New York city area, in a collaborative project between John J. College of Criminal Justice, The Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES), and the Brooklyn Juvenile Court.
It is my hope that you will find the information contained within this website to be beneficial in helping you discover how the Bakari Project can be used to transform lives of youth, from where they are, to broader visions of human possibility.
Thomas A. Parham, Ph.D.
Past President, and Distinguished Psychologist, National Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi)
Past President of 100 Black Men of Orange County
National Education Chair for the 100 Black Men of America
Past President, Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD)
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"Thomas Parham is the towering black psychologist of his generation. He also is a grand freedom fighter whose love for black people is deep. His Bakari project is what we've been waiting for!"
Cornel West
Princeton University
Cornel West
Princeton University
