Black Philly Educator Praised By Will Smith

[CrimsonTide4]

I got this press release last week and due to the uproar in the Freedom Writers' thread decided to post it. Pay attention to the bolded parts.


WILL SMITH APPLAUDS EDUCATOR WHO WINS "BEST PHILADELPHIAN" AWARD


Bookcover

Author - Salome Thomas-EL
Philadelphia, PA (BlackNews.com) - Will Smith, star of the hit new movie, The Pursuit of Happyness, praises Principal, Teacher and Chess Coach Salome Thomas-EL, for answering the call to serve young people in his foreword to Thomas-EL's new book, The Immortality of Influence (Kensington – May 2006).

Salome Thomas-EL, winner of Philadelphia Magazine's 2006 Best Philadelphian Award, has helped hundreds of troubled children get into major high schools and universities. Yet, he stills finds himself devastated by the long-ago death of a promising young student named Willow Briggs. Thomas-EL worked with and encouraged the struggling boy, who ultimately became a top chess player and student. When he moved on to high school, he found no real positive influences and was murdered on a street corner at sixteen. Willow's death launched Salome Thomas-EL on his mission to be a positive influence, and to encourage all of us to set the best example possible for the young people in our lives. Over 400 people have been murdered in Philadelphia this year, many of them young black males.

Salome Thomas-EL is also author of, I Choose To Stay (Kensington – March 2003), a best-seller written by the award winning teacher, mentor and father. His work has garnered the attention of Walt Disney Pictures, which has agreed to distribute a movie based on Thomas-EL's life story. A humble yet dedicated educator, he revived the chess team of an inner-city Philadelphia middle school and led them to victory at the national championships. Thomas-EL is encouraged by Will Smith's initial reaction to the movie project. Smith, a native of Philadelphia and a promising chess player, welcomed reading the script written by Don Scott (Barbershop movies). The Disney movie will be produced and directed by brothers Greg and Gavin O'Connor, at Solaris Entertainment. They were most recently teamed together with Disney for the hit, Miracle, an inspirational movie about the 1980 Gold Medal winning USA Olympic Hockey team.

Thomas-EL frequently appears on the Fox News Channel, CNN, C-Span and NPR Radio. He has received the Marcus A. Foster Award as an outstanding school administrator and the University of Pennsylvania's Martin Luther King Award. To highlight the importance of education and influence, Salome Thomas-EL has recently delivered keynote addresses at state conventions in Florida, New York, Texas, Minnesota and Ohio. Regarding Thomas-EL's inspirational book, The Immortality of Influence, Will Smith states, "If you are not inspired to make a change in your community after reading this book, then you should read it again."
For more information about Salome Thomas-EL, please visit www.ichoosetostay.com


HAPPY NOW?

[kiml122]

I have read about him before. Last year they had 3 guys profiled that he mentored while they were in grade school and all through high school, and helped them get into college, ( and in most cases were the first to go to college) well they allo gradauted last May I think it was and there was a right in the Sunday paper about him, and them, and they were basically saying that if it weren't for him they definitely wouldn't have learned anything about chess, and they definitely wouldn't have gone to college ande graduated. They highly praised him, and if I remember correctly, 2 gradaugted from the same college and another went to a different school and they graduated on the same day, so Thomas-El was dashing from one school to the next to make it to both graduations.

[btb87]

Read the book and it was great! I should read it again. He talks about his upbringing, his life in high school and college and how he started the chess teams. If I recall, it was slow at first, then he had kids that really wanted to be on the teams. He also talked about getting sponsors, etc. for their competitions. If I'm not mistaken, he's a member of Kappa Alpha Psi.

[CrimsonTide4]

Originally Posted by btb87

If I'm not mistaken, he's a member of Kappa Alpha Psi.

I looked on his website to see if he had a fraternal affiliation, but nothing was mentioned.

Thanks!

[btb87]

Originally Posted by CrimsonTide4

I looked on his website to see if he had a fraternal affiliation, but nothing was mentioned.

Thanks!

Girl, it's been over 2 years since I've read the book! I'll try to check tomorrow for the book when I go back to work. I hope I'm correct.

*blah - back to work tomorrow. . .

[pinkies up]

Yes, I am happy.

[MexicanMami0286]

i'm pretty sure he was on a news special in the summer, talking about youth, on nbc10 for those of you who are local.

[Sistermadly]

You know, that was a happy touchy-feely story and all, but did anyone else when you read the stat about 400 murders in Philadelphia in 2006?

[AKA2D '91]

Originally Posted by Sistermadly

You know, that was a happy touchy-feely story and all, but did anyone else when you read the stat about 400 murders in Philadelphia in 2006?

And folks are "scared" to come to New Orleans!!!!

[treblk]

I'm happy for this man and his chess team, and I'm glad his story is going to be told, just like the movie coming out soon with Terrence Howard and the all black swim team.