Jahmal Cole is the founder and CEO of My Block My Hood My City, a non-profit organization in Chicago focused on inspiring and providing opportunities for the city’s youth. On June 28, 2023, Cole gave an hour-long presentation at the Pedroso Center, where he talked about his life and the organization he founded.
Cole grew up mostly living with his father in a motel on the South Side of Chicago. As a child, he went to an alternative high school, only sporadically. A dream of joining the NBA led him to apply and be accepted into Wayne State College in Nebraska. Upon learning of his acceptance, his father stole a U-Haul truck and drove him for 11 hours to get to the college.
While at Wayne State, his basketball coach taught him a very important lesson: “The highest level of maturity is taking full responsibility for your actions.” He repeated this statement several times during his presentation.
While Cole never made it to the NBA, he did graduate and move back to Chicago. Where, over the next few years, he published multiple books and founded My Block My Hood My City – almost by accident.
Today, My Block My Hood My City focuses on improving communities and providing opportunity and potential to youth in underserved communities. According to their website, “My Block My Hood My City provides youth from divested neighborhoods with an awareness of the world and opportunities beyond their neighborhood.”
My Block My Hood My City has a number of initiatives and volunteer opportunities for adolescents and young adults. Their Downtown Day event, on July 8, 2023 aims to bring 1,000 young people to downtown Chicago and give them $50 to explore the area. This event aims to give youth who feel they do not belong, or cannot afford to enjoy the city center, an opportunity to experience downtown Chicago with a sense of belonging, and participate in what the center of the city has to offer, in a way they would otherwise not be able to afford.
Another initiative, Save StreetBall, aims to install basketball rims around the city for youth to unwind and release energy. According to Cole, Chicago has been removing rims due to a false connection between crime rates and the presence of basketball rims in neighborhoods. This initiative is putting them back up.
They also have the Explorers Program, an initiative to bring youth to different businesses and vocational/arts programs to show them the different opportunities Chicago has to offer them.
“Isolation is a common issue in a large number of neighborhoods in the city,” their website reads. “Many of the young people we serve have barely left their block, and have never experienced Chicago outside of their neighborhood.” A point confirmed by audience members during Cole’s Q&A.
My Block My Hood My City also has many volunteer opportunities for people to engage with each month, from alley cleanups and lawn mowing, to snow shoveling for seniors.
Those who would like to get in touch with My Block My Hood My City can visit their website at www.formyblock.org as well as on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
