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Our History

National History

At the peak of the Civil Rights Movement in New York during the early 1960s, a group of determined professional men, consisting of public officials, businessmen, lawyers, retailers, government personnel and others who were then known as One Hundred Men agreed to change their name to One Hundred Black Men. The hope was that through re-identification with our Black heritage and with collective effort, they could help chart the direction in human rights and improve the quality of life for Blacks and other minorities. The original chapter, founded in New York City by J. Bruce Llewellyn in 1967, set an example to which all successive chapter aspire.

In the early 1980s, David Dinkins, then Manhattan Borough President and future mayor, focused national attention on this organization by referring to “100 Black Men of America, Inc.” the name that remains with it today.

In 1963, the same year that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, the first meeting of 100 Black Men of America was held in New York City.

A group of successful businessmen from a variety of social, educational and economic sectors came together for the common purpose of making a difference in African American communities – by making a difference in the lives of African American youth. The idea quickly caught on and soon independent chapters began forming across the nation until 1986 when nine individual chapters joined together to create the alliance known today as “100 Black Men of America, Inc.”

Now with more than 100 chapters and 10,000 members strong and still growing, 100 Black Men of America, Inc. remains committed to its founding mission: To improve the quality of life in African American communities by improving the educational, economic and social status of African Americans across the entire nation.

Dedicated members of 100 Black Men have mentored more than 125,000 youth across the nation. 100 Black Men of America’s Four For The Future TM signature program areas are Mentoring, Education, Health & Wellness, Economic Empowerment. Leadership Empowerment serves as an overlay to the 100’s Four For the Future programs.

100 Black Men of America has the following primary objectives:

Mentoring – to serve as role models and mentors for our youth
Education – to provide scholarship assistance for our youth
Economic Empowerment – to promote economic development in our community
Health & Wellness – to promote health and wellness and non-violence

Chapter History

The Bay Area Chapter was officially recognized as the fifth National Chapter on June 10, 1988.

In 1992, 100 Black Men of the Bay Area established the Young Black Scholar Program and hosted the first statewide Young Black Scholars Conference in June 1993.  The Young Black Scholar Program continues to be the cornerstone of the Chapter’s Role Modeling, Mentoring, Scholarship, and Fundraising endeavors.

Each year, scholarship awards and financial assistance is given to students throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Awards are given out each year at our Annual Scholarship Reception which takes place in July and our Annual Scholarship Benefit & Awards Gala which happens in December.

In July 1993, the San Francisco Business and Professional Women recognized 100 Black Men of the Bay Area as the “Civic Organization of the Year”. December 18, 1993 was proclaimed “100 Black Men Day” in California by the Governor of the State.

In 1994, the Young Black Scholar Program was expanded to include the adoption of two schools, the S.R. Martin College Preparatory School in San Francisco and Frick Middle School in Oakland.

In 1998, 100 Black Men of the Bay Area partnered with the task force on the education of African American students of the Oakland Unified School District. This partnership allows us to reach even more students throughout the entire school district.

In April 2016, the 100 Black Men of the Bay Area was recognized as the “Non-profit Organization of the Year” by the California Association of Black Lawyers at their statewide conference in Oakland, CA.

In 2018, the Chapter established a mentoring partnership with the Oakland OK Program. Working together, our school-based Mentoring Program has grown to serve over 350 students on two middle school, four high school, and one college campus offering daily guidance sessions, weekly study halls, weekly Saturday sessions, field trips, and family events. This past year, members of 100 Black Men of the Bay Area have contributed over 8,900 volunteer hours to our Mentoring Program.

    The founding members of the 100 Black Men of the Bay Area are:

  • The late Carl D. Washington, Founding President
  • The late Will Bass
  • The late Len Canty
  • The late Gene Nash
  • The late Walter Shervinton, MD
  • The late James W. Thigpen
  • The late Earl H. White
  • Robert C. Brackins II
  • Barry E. Breaux, MD
  • John Douglas
  • Robert Johnson, Esq.
  • Lloyd A. Lawrence, Jr.
  • Willis T. White

    Since its founding in 1988, the Chapter Presidents have been:

  • Carl D. Washington 1988 – 1989
  • Len Canty 1989 – 1990
  • Will Bass 1990 – 1992
  • Lloyd A. Lawrence, Jr. 1992 – 1994
  • James W. Thigpen 1995
  • Jake Sloan 1995 – 1996
  • Alfred Reynolds 1996
  • Ronald Busby 1997
  • Lloyd A. Lawrence, Jr. 1998 – 1999
  • Mark A. Jones, Sr. 2000 – 2001
  • Dr. Phillip Saddler, DDS 2002 – 2003
  • Jake Sloan 2004 – 2005
  • Daryle L. Whyte 2006 – 2009
  • Dr. Mark Alexander, PhD 2010 – 2012
  • Carl Hackney 2013
  • Frank A. Tucker 2014 – 2016
  • Muhammad A. Nadhiri 2017 – 2020
  • Chuck Baker Current