Nottingham High senior Quay Robinson dances during a May 13, 2015 practice for the Gentlemen’s Ball. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)
By Aliza Alperin-Sheriff
Kevin Baxter was a senior in Ewing High School in 1985, when he learned about the Gentlemen’s Ball, an annual event that celebrates the accomplishments of young black men in the community.
His mother had heard about the ball and urged him to apply, but Baxter, now a member of the Ewing Council, was reluctant to be involved at first. “My first instinct was, ‘Why do I have to do that?’ I was a senior in school, worried about prom and finals and here was something else to be part of,” he said.
However, his mother kept pushing him to get involved, saying that he would come to appreciate the opportunity.
“As mothers are, she was right,” Baxter said.
Today, Baxter is serving as the chair of this year’s Gentleman’s Ball, which will give him the opportunity to share the experience he had with 19 high school senior from Ewing, Hamilton, Lawrence and Trenton. The Trenton chapter of the Urban League Guild has been holding the Gentleman’s Ball since 1982.
“The purpose is to recognize young men who have excelled academically and athletically,” said Jonnie Mae Page, the president of the chapter.
The criteria for being a Gentleman include having a GPA of at least 2.6, involvement in the community and not having children or a criminal record. The ball is fashioned after a debutante ball. It involves an introduction of the Gentlemen, a dinner and several dances including a waltz. It is a formal affair with the men dressed in tuxedos and the women dressed in ball gowns.
The tuxedos, in addition to the meals and pictures, are provided for free to the Gentlemen by the Urban League Guild, but in return the guild requests that they sell $300 worth of ads for an ad booklet. In order to prepare for the dancing, the participants attend 10 weeks of practice sessions.
As chair, Baxter is in charge of every aspect of the all from selecting a venue to scheduling practices, rap sessions and outings such as a service at Kingdom Church in Ewing and a Trenton Thunder game. While he has help from various committees, he answers all the questions and has the final say.
Baxter has also been involved in outreach to raise awareness about the event. In addition to contacting schools and community to identify participants for this year’s ball, he also reached out to high school underclassmen.
“I want them to think that this is something they want to be part of. Some have a 2.4 or 2.5 GPA, so they know they need to work a little harder so when they’re seniors they’ll be ready,” he said.
Being a Gentleman consists of more than just preparing for and attending a formal dinner dance. The young men who participate gain a close community and a network of connections to the more than 700 alumni of the program who can offer advice and guidance.
One important piece of this are the two or three rap sessions that the Gentlemen participate in.
“Our motto is what happens in the rap sessions stays in the rap sessions,” said Baxter. “It’s young men talking to older men. We give them real life talk. We don’t censor it. Many of them have never really had a man to talk to about being a man—especially an African American man.”
The program also allows young men who live in different towns in the area to get to know one another.
At first many of the Gentlemen didn’t know each other, or only knew each other through sports rivalries, but throughout the practice sessions, they have bonded.
Several Hamilton residents are being honored at the event, including Nottingham High seniors Nnamdi Banks-Eke and Quay Robinson and Hamilton West senior Malik Snead.
Nnamdi Banks-Eke has been on the honor roll, is a member of the National Society of High School Scholars, and was team captain in football.
Banks Eke has an athletic scholarship to Alverson and Broaddus University in West Virginia where he will study business management. He hopes to eventually play professional football. If that doesn’t work out, he wants to own a barber shop.
As a middle schooler, he was involved in Minding Our Business, an entrepreneurial program at Rider University, which got him interested in the idea of owning his own business.
His mother, Cebrina Eke, has been eager for him to be a Gentleman since she heard about the program a few years ago.
“I love it,” she said. “There should be more things like this for kids to do and be recognized for their accomplishments.”
Eke works in retail, as does Banks-Eke’s father.
Eke said that she is most proud of Banks-Eke’s accomplishments on the football field. He transferred from Hamilton West as a senior, so he could play for the football team. At Nottingham he was excelled, was made captain and earned several awards.
“He had to learn a new system. I really respected him, just to watch him do what he really loves and to be good at it. It just brings me to tears sometimes,” said Eke. She said she was hesitant to let him transfer as a senior, but it has been a very good experience.
Malik Snead is a senior at Hamilton High School West. He runs track and plays football, and basketball. He was one of the top players in the state in football and went to the state Tournament of Champions in track, where he came in 19th for the triple jump.
Next year he will be attending either Lincoln College or American National College. He wants to studying communication arts, which includes film and telecommunications.
“I want to film movies or maybe be a producer one day,” he said.
He has been enjoying participating in the Gentlemen’s Ball.
“I’m thankful to be here to be honored,” he said.
“It’s just a real honor,” said his mother, Terria Howard, who works for the post office in Trenton. “It shows his character, who he is, how well mannered, that he has respect for others.”
Howard said that she is especially proud of Snead because he will be the first member of her family to go to college other than community college.
She is also looking forward to the ball.
“I’m excited to see it all put together,” she said. “I’m ready to have a nice gown, see my son in a nice tux and being honored. He truly is a gentleman.”
The Gentlemen’s Ball is an event that is unique to the Trenton chapter of the Urban League Guild, but Baxter hopes that others will emulate the program.
“Unfortunately in society—the things going on in Baltimore, in Ferguson, in New York—young African American men’s lives are being taken,” he said. “Here, young African American men’s lives are taking off. The goal is to celebrate young men doing the right thing. It’s just what the world needs.”
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