Umoja: A Culturally Specific Approach to Mentoring Young African American Males

This article reports that urban inner-city African American male youth residing in communities of color are at-risk and warrant interventions custom tailored to meet their unique cultural needs. This article describes a promising community and school-based intervention and prevention program utilizing Washington’s (J Soc Work Gr 2006:14, 2007) pyramid mentoring model designed to foster the positive development of this group, prevent violence, and to reduce contacts with the juvenile and criminal justice system. It discusses and presents African drumming, Spir-rhythms as a Afrocentric cultural arts tool to engage, establish rapport, and provide pyramid group mentoring experiences for African American male youth.