The Rites of Passage Philosophy

The Rites of Passage (ROP) program is a comprehensive, nine month long program of mentoring, learning sessions, tutoring and field trips involving 20-25 African-American boys (called initiates) ages 13-17.  In many ways, this is the ideal age for young men to enter this program: early enough that negative behaviors have not set in, but late enough that entering manhood is meaningful process.  ROP is a community-based effort begun in 1990 by members of the Durham Business and Professional Chain.  The Chain itself was founded in 1938 to promote the growth and development of Black businesses and involvement of business in the community.  The founders of ROP based the program on traditional African rites of passage that mark the progression from childhood to manhood.  This transplanted Rites of Passage has the same goal; it teaches boys that entering manhood is more than a physical transition.  Although these young men have reached physical puberty, many do not have the social maturity and responsibility necessary for becoming responsible and productive adults.  One of the guiding principles of Rites of Passage is that discipline; respect, self-confidence, and knowledge are obligatory milestones in becoming men.  The comprehensiveness of the ROP program is a crucial factor.  Simply being involved with a mentor would likely have little result if other aspects of the boys’ lives (for example, their ability to do well in school) remained the same.  The program recognizes that any one intervention would likely fail if tried alone.  Violence and delinquent behavior are complex problems with multiple interacting causes.  Similarly, any attempt to decrease violence must be equally multi-faceted and promote success in all domains of the boys’ lives: school, home, among peers, and within themselves. ROP acts on each of these levels.  Mentors are the foundation of this effort, but Rites of Passage is more than a series of activities between mentors and initiates.  It is a coordinated effort to transfer values from one generation to the next.