When Lincoln School students arrived Friday, they had their own cheering section

As the kids filed into Lincoln School on Friday morning, the first full day of school for all the facility's children, they got a little something extra: Their own cheering section.

"Good morning!"

"Have a good day!"

"You got this!"

All of those encouragements, and more, rang out from either side of Lincoln School as students walked in. Men from the Southern Indiana Mentoring Academy (SIWA) stood nearby offering handshakes, high-fives and hugs to students entering the school.

This is just the beginning − especially since the kids will see them throughout the year, according to SIWA's acting president, James Clements. 

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“But to be here from when they start, as well as when they're finished, is a very powerful signal and message that we're able to send to the kid. And so we get excited, more so probably than the kids do,” he said.

Clements was among 19 men lined up to greet the kids. Members from the Evansville Commission of the Social Status of African-American Males and SIWA joined forces to kick off the Million Father March.

The Million Father March started in 2004 as part of the Black Star Project. The Black Star Project was created in Chicago by Phillip Jackson to "improve the quality of life in the black American and Latino communities of Chicago by eliminating the racial academic achievement gap."

Since then, it has spread to other cities to encourage fathers and families to engage in their children's education.

“Being here on the first day back, certainly lifts their sail, it encourages them and gives them the motivation that they might need … We are there to fill that void, if you will,” Clements said

Including Evansville, there are more than 700 cities around the U.S. that host their own version of the march at the beginning of each school year. 

Since its founding in 2018, SIWA has been stationed at Lincoln and available to other schools around the city. 

“Our core heart's desire is to impact the school-to-prison pipeline,” Clements said. "From being in the school for mentoring and helping out teachers and students to planning trips and providing supplies for parents and students, we want to have a big impact in the children’s life."

The assistance is something staff at Lincoln really look forward to, Principal Tijuanna Tolliver said. This is the first year she was able to open the school with them. 

“I just think that kind of sets the tone that, ‘Hey, we are here’, and, ‘We're here to support you,'” she said.  

Tolliver retired in 2020 to take care of her father who fell ill but she still missed being in the school and interacting with children. 

Her love for the school comes from her father, Anthony Brooks Sr., a known civil rights leader and principal in the city. 

After his passing, she knew getting back into the school system was a goal for her. In October 2021, her goal was fulfilled after being asked to be principal of Lincoln School.

Something she believes happened for a reason. 

“I think our kids need to see men that look like them,” she said. “ Not only just look like them but just show interest in their education.”