Articles

A MESSAGE OF TRIUMPH IN HONOR OF LOU E. DANTZLER

SOAAP Annual Breakfast BGCA National Conference

May 17, 2007 Orlando, FL

Presenter: Judith J. Pickens, M.Ed. Senior Vice President Program & Youth Development Services 1275 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, GA 30309 404-487-5758 jpickens@bgca.org

A MESSAGE OF TRIUMPH IN HONOR OF LOU E. DANTZLER

LUCIUS EMMANUAL DANTZLER . . . PAPA LOU . . . MR. LOU . . .MR. DANZLER . . . LOU E. DANTLER . . . THE DEAN . . .

What manner of man is this???

Today we have come to pay tribute and proclaim triumph for a revered sharecropper's son who once drove a tractor and chopped cotton in the fields of Cameron, South Carolina . . .

The youngest of 22 children or Narvis and Arthur Dantzler . . .

A pioneer, a trailblazer, a visionary, a servant leader, a man whose 3 R's were RESPONSIBILITY, RESPECT and RELIABILITY. . .

An icon, a father-figure, a family man, a friend, a Christian soldier, an advocate for the disadvantaged and the disenfranchised, a LEGEND. . .

A man who did MORE at the age of 69 than most people ever imagine to achieve with 2, 3, 4, or 5 lifetimes.

Today, may 17th, on Lou's 70th birthday, we honor and pay tribute to a PRICELESS TREASURE who left us the GIFT of his rich legacy . . . INDEED A TRIUMPH!

It all began in the hot summer of 1968, three years after the tumultuous Watts riots, that a school custodian with a pickup truck had a vision.

Lou invited 12 fatherless boys to ride in the back of his pickup truck to take a trip to CENTINELA PARK in Inglewood. These boys had never even been to the park and were desperately looking for something to do, some place SAFE to go to stay out of trouble.

With each subsequent outing, the numbers grew . . . word-of-mouth spread about this SPECIAL man who CARED and took time with these boys to have FUN!

The group called themselves a Club and formed their name after comic book heroes, "Challengers of the Unknown".

They became the "CHALLENGERS BOYS CLUB". Soon the truck was making several trips, back-and-forth to the park, to accommodate the numbers of eager boys seeking to be exposed to new opportunities and friendships.

At the corner of 51st and Vermont, in one of the TOUGHEST areas of South Central L.A., stood an abandoned VON'S SUPERMARKET: 20,000 square feet with an ideal parking lot that could be the perfect playground.

Lou's reputation was already like an urban folk hero and the Von's family deeded that old market to Lou for $1.00!

A construction crew told Lou that it would cost $5,000 to remove the old, damaged, decayed roof. Lou thanked the crew and proceeded to round up his own crew of neighborhood buddies who removed the roof for FREE and sold the lumber for $3,000.

ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE IF YOU ONLY BELIEVE . . .

VON'S SUPERMARKET became CHALLENGER'S BOYS CLUB, later CHALLENGERS BOYS & GIRLS CLUB, a Clubhouse that became a sanctuary of HOPE. A GLORIOUS TRIUMPH! CHALLENGER'S was a safe haven built on LOU'S fundamental principles of LOVE, DISCIPLINE and PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT. Behind its doors were all the ingredients to INOCULATE children and teens against drugs, gangs, sexual promiscuity, dropout risks, school failure or truancy.

LOU implemented a dress code that prohibited gang attire and a CODE OF CONDUCT that made cursing, bullying, fighting or weapons, TABOO.

The floors of the Club were buffed and waxed to a SHINE so vivid you could actually SEE your reflection. WHY? Because to LOU the Club members deserved the BEST and were just as good as ROYALTY!

Challengers was an OASIS and LOU became the community's anecdote to HOPELESSNESS.

LOU personified the adage, "Hard work is an investment for your future." His astounding work ethic was revealed whenever the phone at BGCA Headquarters would ring at 9:00 A.M. It was LOU. After of minute the realization sunk in that for him, it was actually 6:00 A.M. - Pacific Time. LOU must have been at his desk long before dawn, probably when most of us were hitting the alarm clock for the last time. . .

TODAY, Challengers Boys & Girls Club, the house that LOU built, is a multi-million dollar facility that occupies FOUR CITY BLOCKS complete with a TRACK, A STATE-OF-THE-ART TENNIS PAVILION, BASKETBALL COURTS, A LIBRARY, A RADIO STATION, and a DENTAL CLINIC. - AN ASTONISHING TRIUMPH!

Last year, Rodale Publishers published this GEM of a classic, "A PLACE TO GO, A PLACE TO GROW: SIMPLE THINGS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR AT-RISK KIDS", by Lou E. Dantzler.

The book opens with a congratulatory letter from former President GEORGE H.W. BUSH who called him a genuine Point of Light.

The Foreword is written by basketball great MAGIC JOHNSON who first visited Challengers in 1979 when he toured with L.A.'s Mayor TOM BRADLEY.

LOU'S unforgettable memoir recounts the cavalcade of stars, politicians, luminaries and community constituents who all marveled at him and had to see for themselves, "THE CHALLENGERS WAY".

Guests included: President Bush, Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger, Barbara Walters, Denzel Washington, Shaquille O'Neal, Sidney Poitier, Fred Williamson, Richard Roundtree, Richard Pryor, John Singleton, Tom Garth and Roxanne Spillett, to name a FEW.

With all of this star power, LOU could very easily have become ego-maniacal in his behavior or braggadocios. Instead, he was INTENSELY MODEST, a HUMBLE HUMANITARIAN who preferred to give others credit to deflect any glory or self-aggrandizement of himself.

LOU was mentally TOUGH, had nerves of STEEL and GUTS to take RISKS when confronted with some of life's most INTRACTABLE, DIFFICULT ISSUES. He also had the wisdom to know when to step out on FAITH.

He said (and I quote), "Often people ask me, what school did you go to? And I tell them, the School of Life. I learn by doing." The School of Life afforded Lou the privileged of flying on Air Force One with the President of the United States and meeting in the Oval Office.

For BGCA, LOU was a FAVORITE SON, a man whose actions spoke much louder than his words.

LOU was honored as a recipient of the Herman Prescott Award; he was inducted, the same year I was, as a Master and Mentor; and received the highest honor when he was bestowed the prestigious THOMAS G. GARTH CHARACTER AND COURAGE AWARD: A MARVELOUS TRIUMPH!

On the historic dates of SEPTEMBER 17 & 18 in 1999 in St. Louis, MO, LOU catapulted this Movement in history by serving as one of the founders of the SOCIETY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PROFESSIONALS. This giant of a man became our very FIRST DEAN of the Society.

At the 2005 SOAAP Breakfast in San Diego, just before I was to introduce the SOAAP Founders, LOU handed me a FIRST PRIZE winning essay from Citibank's Black History Month Contest. It was written by a 14-year old Challengers Club member, SHAWN HONORE. When I found the essay recently in my files, I knew immediately that I wanted to close this tribute to LOU with the words of a child. Here is SHAWN'S Award-winning essay about her HERO . . .

The most influential person in my life is NOT someone in a magazine, on a television show, in movies, an extraordinary athlete or entertainer. He's not in The Guiness Book of World Records nor does he own vast amounts of real estate, have a fleet of luxury automobiles, or wear diamonds and platinum wrist watches. Hand made Italian suits and expensive shoes have long been passed over for the jeans and sneakers he wears. He's never been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, an Oscar, an Emmy or a Grammy. Though he is truly a great man, his is not a household name like, Martin Luther King, Jr. or Thurgood Marshall or Harriet Tubman or even Sidney Poitier. But like these important Americans and dozens more like them he means so much to the people that come in contact with him everyday. If impacting young peoples lives was measured by length, the Lou Dantzler's total would be infinity! To say that Lou has had a positive effect on so many of the young persons in and around south central Los Angeles is like asking is the earth round[?]. I think Lou has the biggest heart any human can have. There seems to be no end to his giving AND taking. What I mean by taking, is he continue to take in kids from different backgrounds, cultures and religions. Some have been taught manners and some have not. A few have learned to be anti-social and some have not-so-good school records. Some might look at these young people and say their halfway to no where. Lou looks at these same young folk and says they are halfway to being a positive part of this community. You see, I am one of these young folk that, like so many others have, could've been kicked aside. Left out to find my own way or my own trouble. But because of Lou and the organization he founded, Challenger's Boys & Girls Club, I have experienced so many positive things! Through Lou and Challenger's I have become a radio personality . . . a real DJ! I'm involved in the video production program. I have met countless celebrities, professional athletes and community leaders. I've visited museums, been on many field trips and traveled to different places. All because Lou Dantzler and Challenger's. Lou is part father figure, part grandpa and part favorite uncle. Plus, he is ALL about respect. Self respect and respecting others. We are all so thankful that God has put Lou in our way. Through him and what I have been exposed to at Challenger's, I am a better person. I believe he has that effect on everyone who comes through the doors at Challenger's. . .even if they don't admit it. He has provided all of us with opportunities and positive choices. People like Lou don't come along every day. I wish I could invite every person between the ages of 6 and 17 to come through the Challenger's program and see how their life could be improved. I realize we are not with Lou twenty-four hours a day, but it's what we learn while we're with him that prepares us for life after and outside of Lou and Challenger's. It is because of Lou and what I see him doing everyday that I believe you can make the world a better place. . . even if you have to start one community/one child at a time. Lou Dantzler is the most influential person in my life.

A PHENOMENAL TRIUMPH! Happy Birthday Lou!

May God Continue to Richly Bless Each of You.

By: Mrs. Judith J. Pickens, M. Ed. - Senior VP of Program & Youth Development Services
Boys & Girls Clubs of America