Our young black men struggle day to stay alive, not to fall to peer pressure of negative influences, and to stay on the successful rite of passage. Since this is such a treacherous for our young black boys and men successes should be celebrated to encourage and motivate them to continue on that right path. Such young men are being honored for an achievement that few have earned. It is the highest and the most distinguished honor for a member of the Boy Scouts of America, the Eagle Award.

Eight young men in Boy Scouts Troop #242 are feeling a sense of pride after recently earning their Eagle Scout award. The award is given to scouts after completing projects that significantly demonstrate leadership and illustrate services demanded. Before the Eagle Scout award can even be earned, young scouts have to complete at least 21 merit badges and demonstrate Scout Spirit ( ideal attitude based upon the Scout Oath and Law, service, and leadership). Then the scouts use higher level thinking to plan, organize, led, and manage an extensive project of service that benefits any religious institution, any school, or his community but not the Boy Scouts of America. According to Wikipedia, only 4% of Boy Scouts are granted the Eagle Scout award.

The eight scouts of Troop #242 are as follows:

• Darryl R. Smith, a senior at the High School for Law Enforcement, helped to relieve stress felt by the families of officers with the Houston Police Department with a teddy bear drive for his project.

• Benjamin Avery Brown, a senior at Strake Jesuit High School, created a safer environment by landscaping a traffic area near the Varnett School for his service project.

• Gerald Barnett II, a freshman at Texas Tech University, used his skills in STEM to create an irrigation system for the residents at Madge Bush Transitional Center.

• Titus Bryant, a sophomore at Prairie View A&M University, made a center that is a pillar of the community better by renovating a pool storage area at the Blue Triangle Community Center.

• Christopher Bryce Houston, a sophomore at Early College High School, helped to clothed the less fortunate by hosting a clothing drive where people donated clothes as an entry fee to a basketball tournament. He collected over 250 items.

• Steven Francis Wright, a senior at Jack Yates High School, addressed the need for vegetables in his community by constructing a raised vegetable garden bed at an Assisted Living facility.

• Adrian Larone Earle started something that will be an ongoing project for the entire troop. Earle adopted seven METRO bus stops and cleaned them. The troop will continue to do maintenance at these stops.

• Evan Alexander Remington Lord, a freshman at Chapman University, helped students know their history through an education. He taught kids about Black History and included a variety of speakers.

The scouts were officially presented their Eagle Scout awards during the formal Eagle Court of Honor ceremony during December of 2016. And are being recognized again at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church during Boy Scouts Sunday. The troop, which marked its 50th anniversary, in 2015 meets regularly at the church and was first youth organization established by founding pastor William A. Lawson and his wife Audrey.

Since its creation in 1965, over one thousand boys and young men have gone through the church’s Scouting program. Troop 242 is proud to report that more than 173 of their own have attained the rank of Eagle Scouts; one of the largest number of Eagles to come out of an African American troop in the country. Troop 242 Scouts are trailblazers in business, education, medicine, politics and other professions. There are many, many stories of boys who have been provided support, training and positive role models.