By Rita Howell
The death of a North Panola High School student in a gunfight after a football game last August received widespread attention throughout Northwest Mississippi.

In the aftermath, a group of men from a five-county area began to hold meetings to address the issue of youth violence.

“Saving Our Sons” has been their rallying cry as they have met together in DeSoto, Marshall, Tate, and Tunica counties.

On Thursday, the group will meet in Panola, hosted by the Boys & Girls Club in Batesville.
All men and boys of all ages are invited. A meal will be served. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.

“The purpose is to encourage men to stand up to be mentors to our boys and young men,” Dennis Hoskins of Batesville explained.

He has been associated with the group and is coordinating the Batesville meeting. Hoskins directs activities at the Batesville Boys and Girls Club where an after school program has operated for 14 years.

Local law enforcement officials have also been invited to the meeting. The group wants to collect data and statistics regarding crime and drop-out rates of local youth, Hoskins said.

“We want to rally men from the five-county area to explain to them the need to save our sons,” said Charlie Reese, pastor of Rising Son Church in Hernando, and leader of the group, along with Michael Smith of Southaven.

“We became concerned after research showed that many of the young men turning to gang violence and criminal activities did not have positive role models, men to give them direction in their lives,” Reese said.

One statistic that the group cites is that 80 percent of third grade black boys cannot read at the grade level.

Poor academic performance can often lead to disciplinary problems. Reese points out that school suspensions increase the chance that the student will become involved with the justice system.

The group promotes mentorship to provide encouragement and positive direction in the lives of young men who need it, to cultivate productive citizens.

“We are losing so many of our young men to violence and apathy,” he said. “We have to show them there is more to life.”

For more information, call Reese at 901-490-9625.