Elementary and middle school students from Tulsa inner city schools gathered into the Cox Business Center Thursday to learn life skills outside of the classroom.
The 4th annual Manhood Summit welcomed students with a session on learning how to properly tie a tie and firmly shake hands when meeting a person for the first time.
Co-founder of the MVP Foundation, Damario Solomon-Simmons, says he began the program to help mentor youth who live in single parent homes.
"We understand how difficult it is for them in this society, for them to be successful. It's a lot stacked against them, but we're standing here saying 'we are going to speak for you, we're going to stand with you, and we will fight for you because we love you,'" Solomon-Simmons said.
The all day conference also included speakers such as Eton Thomas, formerly of the Washington Wizards, and WWE superstar Titus O'Neil.
When looking for speakers Solomon-Simmons hoped to attract interesting professionals that could command a room and O'Neil says he was excited when he was invited to the event.
"I've always had a positive male role model even though I never met my biological father. So for me, I feel like every day that I wake up, it's an opportunity for me to pay back those people that invested in me when they had nothing to gain in return," O'Neil said.
Although Solomon-Simmons is still working diligently as the Crutcher family attorney, he says he wants to use the officer involved incident as a teaching tool for the students who attend the Manhood Summit.
"We have black officers here to talk to these young men about how to safely interact with the police with the proper respect and what their rights are," Solomon-Simmons said.
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