Organizational History
Sons of Sophistication Founded
SOS was created in Tallahassee, Florida as an after-school program partnered with a local high school.
First Day of Programming
The founders walked into a classroom of roughly 30 boys excited to be a part of SOS. Our team has personal experiences of witnessing the result of black boys who felt unseen and unheard, and how the world responds to those boys. We realized the urgent need for a safe and nurturing space where these young men could reflect, process, learn, and create positive self-images for their future.
Navigating Year 1
Despite only having an operation budget of roughly $1,000 our first year, we wrote and designed curriculum, recruited and trained over 20 mentors from Florida State University, Florida A&M University, and Tallahassee Community College, met with our boys weekly to provide programming, and organized a college tour for our boys.
First Big Gift
SOS was recognised by Florida State University’s Mentoring Institute and received our first big gift.
Continued Programming
SOS continued to successfully run programming at our partner school to provide mentorship to over 100 boys.
Community Recognition
SOS was recognised by Florida State University’s Black Female Development Circle, facilitated a panel focused on battling the misconceptions of mentoring misunderstood youth, featured twice in local newspapers, planned and hosted a Young Kings Summit, and was featured on a local radio show.
Hosted First Young Kings Summit
SOS hosted the first Young Kings Summit in Jacksonville, FL, which allowed SOS programming to become more mobile and reach youth nationwide.
Large Donation
SOS received a gift from a private family foundation of $10,000 which was used to restart programming in the beginning of 2022 in Houston, TX.
Houston, TX
SOS partnered with Texas Southern’s Upward Bound to provide mentorship to their young men, and continued to facilitate a variety of different workshops for organizations such as Collective Action 4 Youth for the next year.
Community-Based Organization
SOS launched as a fully independent, community-based chapter in Houston, TX, providing continued mentorship for young men in the Third Ward and surrounding areas.
Credible Messengers
SOS became an organization partner with Collective Action 4 Youth to host a pilot program of Credible Messengers, providing transformative mentoring services to support youth and young adults between the ages of 10–35 years old who are currently system-involved or vulnerable to becoming system-involved.