About BMLDI
The Black Male Leadership Development Institute (BMLDI) is a program which brings together African American males in grades 9 through 12 for a year-long program designed to increase educational and leadership opportunities for the selected participants. BMLDI allows young African American men to take the competencies that they already have and expand them into a repertoire of leadership skills which can have a practical impact on their local communities. By creating a supportive learning community and offering a challenging curriculum, the program enhances the participants' internal and external awareness-an accomplishment that helps change the outcomes for African American men and boys in this region.
BMLDI, which is co-sponsored by the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh and Robert Morris University (RMU), kicks off with a week-long residential stay on the RMU campus in June. Throughout the week participants engage in seminars, workshops, panel discussions, leadership exercises. The workshops focus on topics ranging from value clarification, community engagement, and visioning to the media’s portrayal of African American manhood, fatherhood and personal accountability. Staffed by a faculty consisting of mostly local African American leaders, whose diverse backgrounds range from the pulpit to the boardroom, these sessions are designed to motivate the participants and provide a venue for positive adult males to share their stories.
The week-long residential program is followed by the BMLDI Saturday Institute, which is an ongoing year-round series of activities and workshops on leadership development, community advocacy, college and career preparedness and more. These activities take place at the Robert Morris University Downtown campus one Saturday a month from 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. from July through May. Concurrent to the Saturday Institutes, BMLDI hosts Guys' Night Out two Wednesdays a month from 4:45 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh downtown offices. Guys' Night Out serves to engage participants in discussions and activities centered on self-identified areas of interest; the topics covered can include peer pressure, personal growth, and life after high school as a young adult. This goal of these sessions is to provide a platform of voice for the young men and create a positive environment of and brotherhood to help young men deal with the stressors of life.
Criteria for selection into BMLDI includes a record of good school attendance, good standing based on character and performance and a completed application. It is open to students attending all schools districts in the Greater Pittsburgh area. The program is supported by a grant from the Heinz Endowments, and the Buhl Foundation.
For questions about BMLDI or the application process, please contact us.
BMLDI, which is co-sponsored by the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh and Robert Morris University (RMU), kicks off with a week-long residential stay on the RMU campus in June. Throughout the week participants engage in seminars, workshops, panel discussions, leadership exercises. The workshops focus on topics ranging from value clarification, community engagement, and visioning to the media’s portrayal of African American manhood, fatherhood and personal accountability. Staffed by a faculty consisting of mostly local African American leaders, whose diverse backgrounds range from the pulpit to the boardroom, these sessions are designed to motivate the participants and provide a venue for positive adult males to share their stories.
The week-long residential program is followed by the BMLDI Saturday Institute, which is an ongoing year-round series of activities and workshops on leadership development, community advocacy, college and career preparedness and more. These activities take place at the Robert Morris University Downtown campus one Saturday a month from 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. from July through May. Concurrent to the Saturday Institutes, BMLDI hosts Guys' Night Out two Wednesdays a month from 4:45 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh downtown offices. Guys' Night Out serves to engage participants in discussions and activities centered on self-identified areas of interest; the topics covered can include peer pressure, personal growth, and life after high school as a young adult. This goal of these sessions is to provide a platform of voice for the young men and create a positive environment of and brotherhood to help young men deal with the stressors of life.
Criteria for selection into BMLDI includes a record of good school attendance, good standing based on character and performance and a completed application. It is open to students attending all schools districts in the Greater Pittsburgh area. The program is supported by a grant from the Heinz Endowments, and the Buhl Foundation.
For questions about BMLDI or the application process, please contact us.
