(upbeat guitar outro) ♪ good morning, and welcome to "mosaic." i'm ron swisher. it's always a privilege to host "mosaic." on behalf of my cohost, elizabeth eckdale. many of you know the musical "hamilton" has take the country by storm for a number of years now. miranda, the great creator just finished 26 programs there in puerto rico. sold out fundraiser. great fundraiser for many, the hurricane relief there.

many of our communities and churches have contributed to that relief. i had the privilege of seeing the "hamilton" on broadway and listened to the sound track many times and i read some of the history. what i discovered miranda said, every musical has to have a signature song. and i think this one has many signature song. he said after working on it for a year, his song would be, "my shot, and in that song he talks about basically i'm not going to throw away my shot, the opportunity to have an education, to have the doors open, to go through those doors. he says, i'm hungry like the country, and i'm young and scrappy. and you need to rise. but sometimes you can't rise unless you have help, unless you have sometimes parents who are supporting you, teachers can't do it all, mentors can't do it

alling but they help a great deal, they help you get that shot, that opportunity, and you can't waste it. so it's a thrill to have with us today one of the police officers who is working in a program called "okay" program, robert smith. thank you for coming. >> thank you for having me. >> tell us a little bit about your background before we go into what you do in the okay program. >> my name's robert smith. i was born in baltimore, maryland. i left baltimore in very early years and went to mississippi. grew up in mississippi until about high school, and fast forward through a few states i ultimately settled down in california. >> okay. >> and here i am. >> you have been a police officer how long? >> six years. >> six years. >> yes, sir. >> what motivated you to be a police officer? >> i was talking to a good friend of mine's mother, and the opportunity came across the

internet. and she said you'd make a good police officer. so i decided to apply and the rest is kind of history. >> when they said you'd make a good police officer, what did they see in your character that lent to that? >> i love helping people, i love community. i would like to say i'm very kindhearted and just i like to serve, so policing is a big -- serving is a big part of policing, so -- >> but isn't it extremely successful? >> in a sense, but you just -- day-to-day. just get through it. they have different things, you know, for officers. they have a lot of wellness -- you know, wellness is a big thing, but they provide a lot of opportunities to destress if -- >> when you talk about wellness, what does that entail? >> just self-care.

self-care. balancing work and, you know, home, just making sure you're taking care of yourself. >> okay, okay. now, the "okay" program, tell us about that. >> the "okay" program, it's leadership -- it's a leadership development model that focuses on african american males 12 to 18 years old, and our goal in the program is to develop leadership and critical thinking skills of the young men we have, promote academic excellence, and also produce the high risk of incarceration and homicide among african american males. >> i think i read it start in the 1990. >> yes, start in the 1990 by a sacramento county sheriffs after deputy, donald northcross. his sorry, he says often when he was a sheriffs after deputy he got tired of african american men go to jail at such a high rate. he looked for a solution. said he wouldn't find one, so he

started the okay program. >> that's great. that means he's given many young people a shot. we all need that help. >> yes, sir. >> we're appreciative of the work you're doing, continue that. we're going to hear more about that in the future segments and maybe the deputy chief might be here. >> yes, sir. >> great to have you, robert. >> thank you. >> please join us, robert smith, and the "okay" program, our kids. our kids.

welcome back to "mosaic." i'm ron swisher. we have been talking to robert smith about a program called "okay" program. our kids. when i first saw it i might it might mean oakland kids, but this program ndshrouout tho hnge about that and the fact that it's in other part of the country. >> currently we have o.k. program i believe in seven states. chapters just like oakland. we call them chapters. and a chapter is a middle school that we start in that feeds into a high school. so all the chapters are ran by african american police officers, and they try to follow those young boys that we recruit into the program from sixth grate grade all the way to 12th grade to build that rope and stick with them to get through any issues they might encounter. >> do you find them open?

do they feel intimidated by seeing the police officers? how do you find that experience? >> so, at first, you know, just because of, you know, what's been going on in the news, the media, the young kids, especially african american boys are concerned when you first approach them. you know, i'm officer smith, and this is my program. but really when the young men -- if you stay consistent and they find out you're genuine and they become to trust you, they ease into the program, eventually sign up, and it's a good thing. >> have you seen any become a police officer yet themselves? >> i have a few youngsters that want to be police officers. they ask questions about and it are interested, but i've only been doing the program now for four years, so none of my boys are actually old enough yet to become police officers. >> and you're in charge of the program, right? >> yes, sir, i run the oakland o.k. program. >> so, that is your main

responsibility as a police officer now? >> correct, that's my full-time assignment. so i'm off of patrol, and i work in the program full-time just dealing with the youngsters and running this program. >> that is important. it's amazing that you're able to get -- when i think of police officers many time they're doing a lot of paper work, they're out on the streets. it's so demanding in that regard become you this is fretremendou work, too. >> correct. if you think of an officer on the street, it's all after the fact. this is more of a preventive measure. so, you know, just trying to deal with things on the front end so that way officers who work on the street -- reduce that work on the back end. >> i have a passage coming up in scripture that's going to be preached on about what's most important and what does god really want from us and, the passage says god wants justice and love and mercy and kindness and god wants humility, those three important things. what would you say the most

important qualities and characteristics that are needed for the youth that you're teaching and mentoring? >> just really -- like i said, the leadership and critical thinking piece, knowing how to handle situations. just learning how just to deal things, a lot of our young men unfortunately don't have fathers in their lives, so, you know, a father is supposed to be there to help mentor and guide and help you become a men, so when that's missing in your life, we're not trying to be their fathers, but we are trying to bring in this village, if you will, to help just mentor and guide and teach the young men in the program how to just handle certain situations. it's always said, especially african american boys, if they have a legitimate threat on their life, they're less likely to call the police and more likely to put a gun in their pocket, and that could be because of history or, you know, whatever, but in the o.k.

program, we build relationships with these young men, and when they do have a threat or an issue, they know they can call their o.k. program officer to handle any situation, and they feel comfortable doing that. >> that's excellent. i want to ask a little bit more about the leadership, but i think you said something in the introduction, during the break, about a leadership conference you have in march. >> yes, sir. >> tell us about that. >> yeah, we start in the oakland. it's called black boys need black mentors, and capital m-e-n. it's a lunch-on we put on. last year was the first one. we had 400 men show up and 200 mentors. >> i think you have a picture of it. >> yes, sir. this year we're doing the same thing. it will be our second annual lu luncheon. we're going to call on black men to come out and basically help >> w will it ,o you

thin school in bruarystails we'llo le with all ?motion. >> inhat >> at the beginning of the conf conference, we have a -- basically a career day where we have the men come out in different career fields and teach the boys and have them learn about different career fields they might be interested in. and then the second part of the conference is just a presentation on what we do in the program. you know, our founder donald northcross will be there, he'll. he'll speak about the program. we come together, eat lunch, fellowship with the boys. men have an opportunity talk to the boys. we give away a few awards, and then we'll invite the men who attend the luncheon to attend a training so they can become a teammate, the mentors. >> i read a little bit about northcross. i'd like to hear more about him,

the founder. seemed to be highly motivated and committed and has quite the background of support of different organizations that have supported him. different politicians have come out from both republicans and democrats recognized his so it goes beyond any partisanship. he's involved and committed to these kids. >> very passionate. >> i just read about him. i know you know him more. we'll be come, back and talking more. >> okay. >> thank you very much. >> yes, sir. >> please join us with robert smith.

welcome back to "mosaic." i hope you have been with us. during the break, speaking to robert, he mentioned a number of persons that are on the board. in fact, the chairman of the

board is bishop bob jackson. so tell us a little bit about the involvement of the church and involvement of the community and schools and how that works. >> basically how o.k. program is put together, this is a partnership between the police department, the school district of that city, and the community, which is a church that the o.k. program looks for a pastor that's, you know, very active in the community. and they make that pastor the chairman of the board, and that pastor for oakland and bishop bob jackson. and basically he funds the program. he raises all the money for the program so these boys can eat every weekend when we have other sat mentoring sessions with them, when we incentivize them for their behavior, grades and different, you know, things we have put in police in the program. bishop jackson's responsible for all that in oakland. >> could you have done that without him? >> absolutely not. it takes somebody strong and dedicated like bishop jackson to

be able to help us go forward and move forward. the police department's big, because obviously they supply the officer, and the school district is a big piece of that, because they supply the kids. and then you have to have somebody maintain the program, make sure it continues to go forward of any obstacles and funding is a big part of it. >> is the funding strictly through the church, or is there other sources? >> bishop jackson raises money through the church, the community, through different aspects. he'll put on a ski mask to get that money for the youngsters if he has to, but -- [ laughter ] everything comes through him, so whether it's through donations, letters, different people. >> i see. like when i was here in oakland i knew of bishop jackson, so when i heard his name i'm glad

to hear testihe's so involved. takes it to heart, determined. and one of the mentors you talk about. that's just excellent. we talk about skills. again, what are some of the leadership skills you teach them, the kids? >> so, on saturdays we have a session, it's called a kick it session. and we focus on anger management, money management, critical thinking skills, decision-making, how to interact with the police. >> we could all use that. >> if you're pulled over, what to do. different things look that. that's our curriculum for saturdays. >> arrange management, financial -- >> financial management, critical thinking skills, decision-making, how to interact with the police, and a slew of other things in the curriculum. >> that's extremely important. i'm glad you're doing that, because you have to start young. >> absolute will. >> i very good we have one more segment. we don't know if the deputy chief will make it. he had an emergency come up.

>> yes, sir. >> but you handled it quite well. tell him to look at this. you'll get a promotion. >> yes, sir. >> please join us in our last segment, robert smith be the o.k. program.

if you have been with us, to have a great program like o.k.

program you have to have many volunteers. i first need to shout out to troy belton of good media. he made the contact with these officers, and now we have join us deputy chief gro haveu.>> to >> your man has job here. >> yeah, he has. he's a very unique officer. >> i'm glad he could come. tell us a little bit about your background and your experience with the program. >> well, i have been with the oakland police department for over 20 years. born and raised in oakland. >> okay. >> i grew up in west oakland and graduated from high school. i've always had a connection, obviously to the city that i work in, and growing up where i grew up with some challenges in our community, a program like our kids, the o.k. program, was one which i wish was there when i was a kid. >> i'm sure. >> so, as a leader in the oakland police department to have officers like officer smith

who are willing to go into our communities and work with young men of color, particularly african american young men to give them positive role models, give them opportunities both academically and socially, and also giving them a positive resource, somebody they can talk to as you sort of navigate your experiences in the city of oakland. >> with that long history, what motivated you to become a police officer? >> my motivation for becoming a police officer is really rooted in a care for my community, that i grewn munity. my family lf m own brother when i was young, him being killed. i wanted to serve my community. and i wanted to put a different face on law enforcement in the city of oakland. and so that was my passion, to be a different kind of police officer, to be a part of a culture change within a police

department that had a tremendously marred history. >> northcross is the founder, right? >> yes. >> tell us a little bit about his motivation. >> well, i think i call him dr. northcross, because when you listen to him speak, it's like he's a doctor, and he really understands what's needed, what's prescribed to help improve outcomes for african american boys. and so when you meet with mr. northcross, you see his passion. you also understand from his own experience being a deputy in sacramento county that he understands from the law enforcement perspective what it is to work with young men. and so i think his grassroots sort of coming out of a place of care. you know, him and the young men that he touched when he started the program, you can see the impact because these young men still come back and support the program to this day. and so him being a positive role

model to them and them coming back to show the success that they have had in their lives is showing us the important role that people like officer smith play, that at some point we hope to see other young men, freshman men come back and talk about what he noent them and how he helped them change their lives. >> i asked robert earlier some of the skills and leadership skills. what do you think the most important thing you teach the kids? >> well, i think the most important thing is how you have relationships with people, right? and how you treat people. how to be respectful to one another. and one of the things i appreciate is the volunteer men. i really think that, to me, is the most powerful part of the program. a lot of young men don't have fathers in their homes, unfortunately. and for other african american men to volunteer their time to come in and be mentors to these young mens, that's vital. it's vital to our community, but it also shows them there are

positive african american men doing things in the community and there are african american men that care about them, and they're taking time out of their own schedules to give back to them. and i think that's powerful when you come from, sometimes, a broken family and don't have that role model at home. >> absolutely. you were going to mention of volunteer before the depy ch you wanter eputy chief was son. >>s chair talk about, we re recruit and train men. i'm only one man. when we have the boys come, there's anywhere between 40 and 60 men. the men come out and help us just be a positive role model, you know, talk about life experiences with the boys, and give advice on different -- just different things. >> what success have you seen,

deputy chief? >> well, i've seen students that were struggling, that have very low gpas in school -- i remember one young man had a 1.0 and was really struggling and suffering academically. i've also seen one of or former o.k. officers rich williams wrap his arms around that young man and support that young man and watch that young man's gpa elevate to over a 3.0. so it really shows that when you have somebody cughten,o suppo t youn thatthings. and so i do understand that some people ask, why -- i'm like, why so much focus on african american men? because the reality is that african american men face the greatest risk. >> amen. >> and so if we want to have a realistic conversation about how we can improve outcomes for african american men, we have to focus on them. and so this program allows us to to provide them the folk and

attention that they need. and it's really bringing in role models, people that look like them in front of them saying that you can do well, you can be successful, and you can be great. >> i've seen on the website some of the, what, seven cities? you have the grade point average, the people who have stayed out of jail, incarceration, and all of that. so you track it. >> yeah. yeah, we're tracking all of those things. dr. northcross is very specific about what it is he wants to you track and make sure that we're getting those positive outcomes that he knows the program can achieve. and i think to bishop jackson's credit, he continues to lead our oakland program, and i think he does a really good job of supporting the program both financially as well as motivating other people to come be a part of it. >> you both are an inspiration. i'm glad you came today. thank you for coming. keep up that great work.

you have been with us here on "mosaic," and these police officers are all great what they're doing. i began with "hamilton." let me end with "hamilton". who lives? who dies? who tells your story? they're telling the story of these young people, but we also have to tell our story, and god tells your story that you count, someone loves you. god loves you. thank you for being with us.

live from the cbs bay area studios, this is kpix5 news. right now on kpix5 and streaming on the bay area news air, reverse is in the air as covid restrictions are reversed for travelers. and what is not leaving the homeowners on the hook for repairs. and what is killing the bay area's brown pelicans. i'm jus tin evans in for devin fehely. >> hello, justin.