While growing up on the west side of Chicago, Jermaine Lawrence Anderson learned lessons and developed values that shaped and molded his life, enabling him to become a successful entrepreneur and businessman.
In the spring of 2016, Anderson launched the I Am A GENTLEMAN, INC. foundation. I Am A Gentleman, Inc.’s mission is to engage, enrich and empower young men for successful careers, healthy lifestyles, marketable skills, and well-balanced relationships. The foundation also provides mentorship and leadership development to young men ages 13-21 around the country.
Currently residing in the Bronzeville community, Jermaine has been recognized by Real Times Media Group as Someone You Should Know (Who’s Who in Black Chicago, March 2012) and serves on the NBC5 Community Action Board in Chicago.
In addition, Jermaine was named a 2016 Man of Excellence by the Chicago Defender Newspaper, received the Man of Courage Gamechanger Award in December 2020, and the Henry L. English Humanitarian Award by the Black United Fund of Illinois in December 2021. Most recently, Jermaine received the 2022 Waymaker Award from Louis Carr, who serves as the Executive Vice President of Media Sales for Black Entertainment Television.
N’DIGO sat down with Jermaine Lawrence Anderson and is happy to share the candid conversation regarding the success of I Am A Gentleman, INC. and its future endeavors.
N’DIGO: How did I Am A Gentleman, INC. begin?
Jermaine Lawrence Anderson: I Am A Gentleman, Inc. began in 2016 after I hosted a one-day event for Black and brown boys in our city to celebrate them on their graduation day.
I spent many years as a public speaker and traveled from the West Coast to the East Coast, speaking at graduation ceremonies. I noticed that so many Black and brown boys will make it to graduation day but do not have many tools to make it beyond graduation day. So I decided to create a program or experience that would help celebrate tangible resources for graduation day and beyond.
What is a gentleman?
A gentleman is one who gives back and takes responsibility.
Who helped implement this passion of yours?
That is a great question. I have always loved serving people and, at the same time, had a strong desire to lead people. There have been several people that have poured into me. Personally, my upbringing in serving and leading others fueled my passion for working with helping others. I am a gentleman every day.
Who do you serve?
Typically, when I find myself serving others, I am serving. I serve those who are considered to be the least of the lost. However, I often find myself wanting to serve those most people have forgotten about and those overlooked in most life sectors.
Tell N’DIGO’s readers about your “Male Mentoring Academy.”
Our Male Mentoring Academy is a 14-week program that imparts and teaches essential life skills to young men ages 13 to 21. We ensure that the young men are involved in insightful classroom conversations and community service projects. They also have a series of recreation days, and I take him on several cultural experiences that expose them to experiences outside of I am a gentleman.
How important is dressing for success?
Dressing for success is not about dressing; however, dressing for success is very important. We believe that as a gentleman, you must always be dressed appropriately and properly for the audience you serve.
At I Am A Gentleman, one of the things we teach the young men that we serve is that you must dress the way that you want to be addressed. If you want to be addressed as a thug on the street, then there’s an attire for that. But also, if you want to be addressed as one who is professional and commands respect, there’s an attire for that as well.
Let’s talk about the “White Tablecloth Experience.”
The “White Tablecloth Experience” is a lesson in dining and etiquette. At iAAG, we believe that the skills that we teach young men are ones that they will use for a lifetime. The skills taught will allow them to understand proper table manners, etiquette, conversation, and the like. We want these young men to be comfortable in a formal setting and understand why there are three forks, two knives, and four glasses on the table. We don’t want them to be ashamed for not knowing which ones they should or should not use for dining. We also want them to understand how to conduct themselves at dinner properly.
How important are life skills, and when is the best time to teach them to young boys?
At iAAG, we begin teaching them life skills at 13. However, in our many years of work with black and brown boys, hearing from parents and seeing the need requires us to start younger. We believe that the younger you can teach the skills, the better and more engrained the skills will be in the individual. So, we typically start with thirteen; we believe that some of these skills can be taught as early as six years old.
How important is teaching community to young men?
One of the things I mentioned earlier when you asked me, ‘What is a Gentleman?‘ I told you that a gentleman is one who gives back, takes responsibility, and makes life better for others. This means that we believe the pillar of service is critical, and we try to always impart that value into the lives of the young men of our organization. We also believe that being a gentleman is not just about serving yourself. If you look at the logo for the organization, you will notice that the logo is comprised of four letters, iAAG, with the letter “i” in the logo being lowercase. This was designed intentionally because we believe that there are no big i’s and little u’s within our family. At I AM A GENTLEMAN, INC. we ALWAYS try to ensure that we are uplifting others through our service.
How do you find the participants of your programs?
Well, I’ll tell you at the very beginning, we implored many grassroots and marketing efforts. We would be that organization walking down the street, passing out flyers, knocking on doors, finding single moms, and begging them to allow their sons to be a part of our program. We would be lucky to have 15 to 16 people that would respond.
Six years later, we don’t have to do any of that anymore because the young men that participate in the program find us based on their level of engagement and excitement. It’s such a high-interest level that they begin to tell their friends, little brothers, or cousins. They become ‘walking billboards‘ telling their peers, “Hey man; you must become a part of this amazing program that I am in; it’s called I Am A Gentleman.”
Who is your role model or mentor grown-up? Do you still have a mentor?
I wish I could point out one individual person that was my role model mentor, but I’ve been fortunate to have several people to cross paths with. They have been very influential in my life. But, without a doubt, my dad Frank Anderson was my number one role model and mentor. He was the epitome of what it was to be a strong working Black man. Also, so many teachers and community leaders that I have the opportunity to look up to made me want to be like that person and certainly helped me in my formation.
What’s your favorite quote of affirmation?
My favorite quote would come from words of scripture in the bible. Penned by the Apostle Paul, Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me.”
Not only is that an affirmation that I live by, but it’s one that encourages me daily. When the road ahead seems to be extremely bleak, or tasks become overbearing, I remind myself daily that I can still conquer every task, not only with my own power but through the power of Christ.
What’s your favorite restaurant?
As much as I love to eat, I do not have a favorite restaurant. But some of my cuisines are American, Italian and Thai!
What would be your favorite go-to meal?
I’m a Black man, so my favorite go-to meal would be soul food.
How many neckties do you own?
I wish I could quantify how many neckties I own, but I can’t. But I will tell you that I have far more neckties than I wear. I’m in the necktie daily, but I still have more than I can possibly wear. I couldn’t possibly wear in a month all the neckties I own.
What are your goals for the upcoming year for I Am A Gentleman, INC.?
Our goals for the upcoming year are to reach more people in less time. We love serving others. Whether we are impacting young men through our programming, impacting the lives of people through our community food drives, or making sure that families and homes have the basic necessities to live a healthy life, we want to be known as an organization of service. So that being said, we want to at least double the number of people that we have served next year as we did in 2022.
Lastly, where can N’DIGO’s readers find you on social media?
They can find us on social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. You can also search I Am A Gentleman, Inc. or use the handle @IAAGINC.
Sylvester Cosby is the Digital Editor and a Contributing Writer for N’DIGO.
