Barbecue and Brotherhood

  • MBK Barbecue

    Roosevelt High School MBK members develop a sense of brotherhood by cooking, volunteering and taking trips together. Two of them also happen to be real brothers.   Senet and Rode Noisette are newcomers to the United States, both recently arrived from Haiti.

    “I was so excited to come to the United States,” said Senet, an 11th grader who moved to Yonkers in January.

    Rode, a 10th grader who arrived in August 2016 said, Roosevelt’s MBK has helped him make friends in his new school.

    This year, Rode attended Yonkers International Academy, a year-old program at Roosevelt designed to help ninth and tenth grade English Language Learners perform well in all subjects while supporting their literacy and language needs. Four Yonkers International Academy students are part of Roosevelt MBK’s 40 members. Others, including Senet, take English as a New Language courses as part of their curriculum.

    On a hot May afternoon behind Roosevelt High School, MBK brothers held a barbecue that sizzled with international flavor.  In addition to cooking dozens of hamburgers on a charcoal grill, they brought home-cooked treats -- chicken wings from the Caribbean, empanadas from Central America and special flaky break from Yemen.

    Roosevelt Assistant Principal Matel Hassan said, that since the program began in the fall, MBK brothers “are more focused. There are fewer detentions. For example, they couldn’t go to a barbecue if they’re in detention. It’s an incentive.”  

    Roosevelt Assistant Principal Sony Grandoit oversees the MBK program with assistance from English teacher Christopher Lopez. Mr. Grandoit is also the assistant principal of the International Academy. He is moved by the bonding he sees happening among a diverse array of students. “If it weren’t for MBK, some of these kids wouldn’t interaction with kids in other social groups. It creates a greater circle of support.”

    Roosevelt MBK meetings start with restorative practices, such as reading a famous poem by James Baldwin, listening to a TED talk or sharing a quotation about social justice, said Mr. Lopez. When talking about injustice, Mr. Lopez said the group starts with “identifying the issue and then they try to understand each other. As boys, sometimes that can be hard,” he said. Students are invited to speak their minds while holding a “talking piece,” an object that is passed from person to person around their circle indicating whose turn it is to share.    

    “They know MBK is a place where they can open up,” Mr. Lopez said. 

    Mr. Grandoit agreed and said such restorative practices are, “really about community building.”

    Shainson Charles, a 10th grade MBK brother said his advisors “teach us how to be a better people; how to be polite and raise our hands. They give us guidance in life.”

    Ninth-grader Aaron McCorvey, MBK’s designated Project Manager who gathers supplies and attendance for events said MBK, “is really fun and interesting.  We never run out of activities.”