James, or Jai to friends, was born in Athens and moved around before ending up back at Cedar Shoals High School, where he graduated. He attended Fort Valley State University, DeVry University and graduated from Southern Ohio College with a degree in Computer Information Systems. James works as a Workforce Development Specialist/Operations Assistant for Paxen Workforce Development. His passion is the nonprofit he started, Strong Base Inc. Youth Development working with minority young men starting in middle school emphasizing: Knowledge, Community, Career and Wellbeing. The organization currently is running a program called Career Groove, exposing young people to different career tracks by bringing in professionals in various fields to talk about how they got into their chosen profession. It also offers ABC: Academic Behavior Coaching, which teams an individual student with a program director, teacher and administrator to achieve successful academic outcomes, as well as a tutoring program that utilizes Kahn Academy online tutoring and SAT/ACT prep. Additionally, James works with Carlos Strong providing training in basketball fundamentals. James lives in North Athens with three of his children, Hampton, Harper and Harlem. His daughter, Havilland, is a student at the University of Cincinnati.
What is your favorite part of your career?
The main part I enjoy working with youth is just watching growth. I talk to people all the time about youth development and I don’t think the average citizen knows the plight we face when it comes to youth, even in parenting. One of my favorite quotes from Frederick Douglas is, “Its easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” This is so relevant today. So the most rewarding part is just seeing that growth of an individual when you make that investment in them. A lot of times we want to just put things in a box and look at things one way, but we have to know it’s not always going to be exactly the way we picture it but as long as you see growth and at the end of the day that child is mentally well, is socially well and they’ve identified something they can do to take care of their families, that’s the reward. When I have been a part of helping a young man to change his direction from jail to career, that is rewarding. I enjoy watching them grow and putting in the work. The first thing I ask a kid when I meet them is what is your dream job, and I tell them to dream big. So if they turn around and ask me the same: my dream is to help as many youth as I can to identify and reach their dreams. So when I have a kid and I’ve worked with them and they have good grades, progress in behavior, high character, parents are happy, active in extracurricular activities and are happy youth, that’s the best reward.
What are your favorite things to do in Athens?
I tell everyone: I have six degrees in barbeque. I love to barbeque, love to barbeque with the kids and family, that’s probably my favorite thing to do is hang with the kids, barbeque and watch some sports. But the other thing I like to do is take advantage of Athens. The Classic City has parks, trails, two museums, there is always something going on in the community. So, I just like going and hanging out in our community, downtown. When my kids were young, I’d grab a Flagpole on Thursday and start looking at all the things going on and Saturday morning we’d start hitting the streets. If there was a festival, we’d hit that. If there wasn’t a festival we’d go to a farmer’s market or Sandy Creek. There is always something to do here. I love being out in the community. I love engaging people; and so other than barbecuing and watching sports I guess the other thing I love to do is watch kids play sports. I love basketball, but I can’t watch too much NBA. Can’t watch it. Maybe a little college, but more than anything if I know a kid and he’s playing, I don’t care how good he is, I want to watch him play. I like watching youth sports, middle school sports, high school sports; that’s what I love to do.
If you could see any band, anywhere, who would it be and where?
I would love to see, again, Outkast. In Jamaica. Or Atlanta. Somewhere in the South, somewhere warm in an outside venue.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
To be forward thinking and to appreciate and take advantage of opportunity. I also would have read much more. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized the amount of wisdom that came from books. So probably to have much better focus and the biggest thing is to take advantage of your education in the present.
Do you have a favorite book or a book you find yourself referencing, or re-reading or gifting most often?
I have a few. The Bible, Assata [by Assata Shakur], The Autobiography of Angela Davis and Up From Slavery [by Booker T. Washington].
Do you have a favorite movie or remember the first movie you ever saw in a movie theatre?
First movie I saw in the theatre was probably The Color Purple or Gremlins. But my favorite movie is tough, cause I’m a movie junkie, but I guess I’d say Remember the Titans. And anything Eddie Murphy. But if I get to listing movies I could go on forever!
If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go and why?
The Maldives. I love mountain areas and beaches. Although I love nature in general, my favorite is probably clear water beaches. The Maldives are beautiful. A simple hut sitting in the water, off the grid with good food.
What’s something interesting about you most people might not know?
I use the term Fordtown to represent my family and people might not know what that refers to. Down in South Georgia, Early County, the Ford family owns a good bit of land that has been passed through generations, it’s called Fordtown. Years ago so many Ford family members owned land that the area was called Fordtown. It is an unincorporated little community that is mostly used for farming now. It is very, very rural, still has dirt roads, but it is called Fordtown. Even today, we still own the land. My dad worked for the USDA for forty-two years, his mission was to help farmers and people keep their lands. So, one of the beauties of Fordtown is even in 2021 we still own it. I am so proud of my legacy, so I do what I can to keep it alive.
If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and where?
I would have lunch with Frederick Douglas. Just to have a dialogue with him about comparisons politically and socially of then compared to now, because I’m pretty sure a lot of things are still the same even though that was a long time ago. Where? I tell you where: I would love to have that conversation with Fred Douglas and have that exact same conversation but with a forum of say 1000 young black males. Just sit there and listen. 1000 young black males just sitting there and listening. And maybe some of it would go over their heads, but I always believe sometimes you just plant a seed and you might not see it next month, you might not see it next year, but eventually you’ll see that seed will grow.
If you could put any message on a billboard, what would you put?
That’s easy: Spread Love, Dream Big, Change the World.
What three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word home?
Love, family, groceries.
