Ellington

I first saw Robert Little, a very handsome toastmaster-by-trade and Jacksonian, take on a young, somewhat skeptical audience Nov. 19 at the North Midtown Community Development Center. He was the guest speaker, the guest motivator, at the gathering of about 40 parents and kids from Brown Elementary and Rowan Middle schools, schools scoring far below the levels deemed acceptable by No Child Left Behind federal standards.

Standing and jumping around in front of a huge yellow and blue hand-painted RESPECT banner, Little slowly turned the pages of his colorful self-published book, "What Can I Be?" (Solutions Training & Development, 2002, $20), summarizing a message that every adult, regardless of race, could also stand to hear.

In the book, 11-year-old Jamaal, a black fifth-grader, gets disgusted with his life and its challenges and starts confiding in Mr. Cleo, an elderly black custodian at his school. Mr. Cleo, who quit school in the seventh grade to work on the family farm, got his GED when he was 52. "You're never too old to learn, Jamaal," he tells the boy. Jamaal reveals the barriers he faces, through no choice of his own.

Both the parents and kids nodded at the long list of barriers that can be unsettling to people from outside their community: a poor neighborhood, an at-risk label, no daddy at home, friends who are mean to you if you're smarter than they are, not having any "tight," as in cool, clothes, always being told what you can't do, gangs, what if I'm not black enough?

Mr. Cleo—who is based on Little's father, Willie Little—demystifies each challenge in a straightforward, non-judgmental way. For instance: "Most people who join gangs join because they want to belong to something. Many times, it's because they don't feel loved by their family. Some join because they have too much time on their hands and are not putting it to good use."

At the end of his talk, Little asked for a volunteer from the audience to perform in exchange for a DreamPower T-shirt. A shy, giggly Equilla McClendon, 11, came to the front and sang a halting version of "Silent Night." He then asked her to yell at the top of her lungs the answer to "Do you believe you're smart and talented?" Finally mustering her courage, Equilla bellowed, with confidence, "Yes, I believe it!"

As he signed books afterward—he brought a free book for each family—Little said that when he was growing up poor in Macon, Miss., he never saw people who "bothered to come back and say, 'Let me tell you how I became successful.'" After attending Tennessee State and the University of Nebraska, Little returned to Mississippi in 1995 ready to share. Last year, he gave 130 motivational speeches, 65 percent of them in public schools.

The book, at a 4.6 reading level, contains vivid illustrations by Audrey Fitzpatrick. His next children's book, "Jamaal's Lucky Day" (3.0 reading level, $15.95) will be published in December, and another next year. His books share one message: "Each of you young people have got to believe you have something to offer to the world."

Visit http://www.robertlittlespeaker.com to purchase his books or for more information on his motivational seminars.
— Donna Ladd, Nov. 26, 2003