PHILADELPHIA – The saying is true that opportunities can come from anywhere, even under a bridge in Nicetown.
What they’re saying:
“Nice can also mean foolish, and sometimes a lot of foolish things happen under this bridge,” said Michael OG-Law Ta’Bon, the Chief Executive Servant of National Love Team.
Ta’Bon’s mobile community center and his team of referees are helping change that.
“Our young people deserve an opportunity to be safe when they play, that’s right ya’ll Hard Knock University,” yelled one of the referees over a loudspeaker.
A preschool that focuses on giving youth in the area some wisdom.
“This is Hard Knock University. We knock hard because kids are hard-headed, so, we have to knock hard sometimes,” said Ta’Bon.
This university’s lessons aren’t taught in a classroom but instead in their neighborhood, doing the things they enjoy from eating water, rice, and playing basketball to ax throwing and boxing.
“Sometimes I like playing football, and then other times I like playing basketball,” said Amiyah Sheppard, a young girl who attended the center.
With every activity there’s a life lesson.
“For instance, boxing, keeping your head out the way, sometimes you have to move your brain out the way of something, somebody’s conversation that can lead you in a negative way. We take these sports, these artistic activities and just apply life lessons to them,” said Ta’Bon.
Lessons that have gone a long way for Zayvion Hamiel, who at a young age uses his music to promote positivity with his lyrics and his organization.
“It’s a lot of kids dying here to these songs, saying they got opps and they going to kill each other, they about to sell all these drugs. My music is about positivity, it’s clean,” said Hamiel.
That’s what this university is all about clean, safe, and educational fun.
“We are sending a message about peace on the streets, put down the guns, bury the hate,” said one of the referees.
The center received some funding recently from the city to be a summertime program.
The center is mobile, so when the school year begins, Ta’Bon says he will find a new spot in the city to continue spreading that brotherly love.