LOS ANGELES — It is a special day for 11-year-old Coleman Armstrong, who, after a year meeting virtually, is getting ready to meet his brothers in person.
"Well, it's really like comforting, I guess you could say, to like know that people around you, are like you," Coleman said.
They're not brothers by blood, but Coleman said they feel like it.
About 40 boys, 6-to-16-year-olds, make up the Young Ambassadors Leadership Academy, or YALA, where they learn principles to become the responsible leaders of tomorrow.
Coleman is required to wear a suit and tie, a bonding moment with his parents, Michael and Lori Hall Armstrong, who say they wanted him to be part of a community where he felt a sense of belonging.
They moved to the Valley from New York a little over three years ago, and at his private school, Coleman is one of just five Black kids in his entire grade.
"Watching Coleman at this age really discover what it means to be a Black man in this society and have a chance to have a community with other Black boys. YALA really provides it," Michael Armstrong said.
"I think it's also, it's an affirming space," his mother, Lori Hall Armstrong, added.
As they head to the group's first in-person meeting since Coleman joined a year ago, they're grateful for their friends and YALA founders, Deanna and Andrew Thomas.
Last year, they taught the boys entrepreneurship and managing money and stocks. This year, they're focusing on opportunities in sports, but off the field or court.
"You could be a sports agent," Andrew Thomas said to the group. "You could be a team owner! How about that?"
The couple unintentionally started this organization 20 years ago, teaching their 5-year-old son self-worth and life skills in their living room. It worked so well that their friends began asking what they were doing differently with him and how they could get their sons involved.
Deanna Thomas said the lessons grew to about 10 boys.
"We would basically talk to them about everything. How to tie a tie, how to shine your shoes, what type of conversation we need to have," she explained.
Etiquette, sitting down at the table, opening the door for their moms, the list goes on. The group continued to grow until the couple finally created the nonprofit. Now it's about more than good manners.
Andrew Thomas introduced them to his friends who have become brothers. A pilot, a chaplain, media executives, all successful Black men to show the boys that they too can accomplish whatever it is they put their minds to.
"You can say, 'Wow, that guy's a pilot, he talked to me. That guy's an executive at Disney; I could be that.' So I think it's important to bring those things close," Andrew Thomas explained.
Coleman said this safe space gives him the confidence and motivation he knows will help him grow up to achieve his own goals.
"Being here is just really good for me," he said.
For more information about YALA, or to donate to their nonprofit organization, visit JoinYALA.com.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the name of the Young Ambassadors Leadership Academy. This has been updated. (Feb. 25, 2022)