WHAT WE DO... EMORY UNIVERSITY We sponsor a Fall semester college visit to Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia for the 7th grade students of color at Ernest Everett Just Middle School in Prince George's County, Maryland.  The 7th graders, led by some of the University's brightest and most gifted students, are given a walking tour of the campus, are exposed to the history of the University, and are matched with an Emory student and/or alum who is able to discuss such issues as "College Readiness", "Financial Aid", and "Greek Life."   The T.H. Evans Foundation believes that it is absolutely imperative that black students and their families begin preparing for college even sooner than some of their white counterparts.  While many schools and programs begin to expose students to college fairs and tours in the 11th grade, we understand that colleges and universities are looking for the process of academic and social development that dates back to the applicant's Freshman year of High School.   Thus, students and families must operate according to a "game plan" that is developed no later than the applicant's final year of middle or junior high school. RHYTHM PRODUCES MOVEMENT (RPM) We are also the innovators of the "Rhythm Produces Movement" Project, which seeks to use Hip-Hop as an attraction and medium through which various political and community campaigns are launched.  Additionally, this initiative is a resource used to foster inter-generational and cross-cultural dialogue, and it has elements that allow it to serve as an outlet from the many issues that plague today's black youth.  The "Rhythm Produces Movement" Project, or RPM, builds off of the knowledge that each movement that has sought to empower Black people in the 20th century, i.e., the Civil Rights or Black Power Movements, have been strongly connected to music.  Despite all of the negative publicity, there is much positivity that can be found in Hip-Hop culture, and in its many artists.  The RMP "moves the crowd" to impact the community in various ways, including the mobilization of Voter Registration campaigns, "Town Hall" meetings at which youth can voice their concerns, talent shows, and other after school and week-end programming which encourage creative expression. WATANI INSTITUTE The Watani Institute is a Rites of Passage program.  It is designed to serve males and females between the ages of 13-18.  "Watani", which means, "To thunder in the East, and strike in the West", is a strong communication of the faith that the T.H. Evans Foundation has in young people, and it speaks of our hope that the participants of the Institute would be the possessors of grace and formidable presence, and that their presence would have positive and resounding effects for the black community, and the world. For more information about any of these programs, please contact us.