Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Martin.
Hi Brandon, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As a Black boy growing up in Atlanta, I doubted my full potential due to severe imposter syndrome. My outlook was restricted to the day-to-day experiences of the area where I lived. Looking for a change of scenery, I decided to go to The University of Georgia for undergrad. Although I majored in business, I took a class that allowed me to teach kindergarten at a local elementary school and that changed my life forever. As a teacher to 27 Black five years old, I noticed that they also suffered from the same imposter syndrome I faced as a child and it was rooted in the lack of exposure. I was startled when one of my five years old students asked me, “Mr. Martin, what position do you play?” It hit me that he had already internalized that his only form of access to attending The University of Georgia, a college that literally sat in his backyard, was limited to athletics. I knew then that my life’s work would be to expose Black boys to opportunities that would remove imposter syndrome and allow them to reach their full potentials. I returned to Atlanta as a middle school science teacher for KIPP Metro Atlanta schools and founded Close Ties Leadership Program, Inc. to close the opportunity gap for Black boys by cultivating leaders and providing opportunities through exposure, mentorship, and individualized social-emotional support.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This work is not easy by any means. Working with youth is difficult because no matter how much you believe in them, they face so much negativity from other people around them, social media, and even themselves sometimes. The biggest obstacle is getting them to believe in themselves even more than you believe in them. The main way that I do this is by showing up as my true and authentic self 100% of the time. This authenticity encourages the young people I serve to also show up as themselves. Once they are comfortable in who they are, it makes it so much easier for them to see and become who they want to be in the future.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Close Ties Leadership Program’s mission is to close the opportunity gap for Black boys by cultivating leaders and providing opportunity through exposure, mentorship, and individualized social emotional-support. Far too often, we see data that shows Black boys as the lowest performing demographic across schools in Metro-Atlanta and some would associate this to Black boys’ inherent lack of skill or will. However, we know this is not true. The truth is that it is incredibly hard for Black boys to survive, better yet thrive, in schools that were not created with them in mind. Close Ties Leadership Program provides our Black boys with the exposure to opportunities, in-school mentorship and accountability, and individualized social-emotional support necessary for them to be successful as not only students but human beings in general. To date, we have directly impacted over 50 Black boys in our city, toured eight colleges and universities across five states, accrued over $20,000 in college scholarships for 8th grade students, and have completed over 5,000 hours of community service in the city of Atlanta.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
To be honest, I do not believe in luck at all. I believe that I was created for a specific purpose and I am blessed to have been able to identify that purpose and pursue it passionately. Luck is based on happenstance. My success in the work that I do is more than happenstance. It is directly tied to the selfless fulfillment of my life’s purpose to support and serve Black boys and create pathways to a brighter future for them.
Contact Info:
- Email: bmartin@closeties.org
- Website: www.closeties.org
- Instagram: @close_ties
