For more than two decades, I have practiced criminal defense. I have sat beside young men on some of the worst days of their lives. I have watched judges impose sentences measured in decades. I have looked at autopsy photographs of young men whose lives ended far too soon. And I have stood in courthouse hallways with families trying to understand how one decision or one moment could change so many lives forever.

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Through it all, one thought has stayed with me:

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We have to reach our young men before the courtroom does.

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In 2026, that thought became a call to action.

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I represented one of six young men tried together following the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy. What began as an argument and a fist fight ultimately ended with one young man dead and six others facing the possibility of spending much of their lives in prison.

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After trial, all six were convicted of serious offenses. One by one, the judge sentenced each of them to 40 years in prison.

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I held back my tears in the courtroom. I held them back as my client's mother cried in my arms. I held them back as I walked through a courthouse filled with grieving families.

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When I reached my car, I couldn't hold them back anymore.

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I wept for my client. I wept for the young man who died. I wept for the other young men and all of their families.

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And I wept for my son.

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That day reinforced something I had been feeling for years: we cannot wait until our young men enter a courtroom to start fighting for their futures.

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But The Village Project isn't simply about keeping young men out of the criminal justice system. It's about helping them understand their value and exposing them to the possibilities available to them.

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I want our young men to know lawyers and tradesmen, doctors and teachers, entrepreneurs and artists, coaches and community leaders. I want them exposed to colleges, careers, businesses, travel, financial literacy, leadership and experiences that allow them to imagine bigger futures for themselves.

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Most importantly, I want them to have good men they can call—when they're struggling, when they're succeeding, and in those critical moments when the right conversation might change the direction of their lives.

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After that trial, I shared my experience publicly and ended with a simple promise:

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If your son, nephew, little brother, cousin—or any young man you know—needs a mentor, let me know and I will find him one.

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Parents responded asking for mentors.

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Men responded volunteering to become mentors.

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The Village Project is my effort to connect them.

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This isn't about one person trying to save every young man. It's about building a village of men willing to share our time, experiences, mistakes, lessons, connections and opportunities with the generation coming behind us.

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I don't believe mentorship can prevent every bad decision or solve every problem.

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But I do believe the right person, at the right moment, can change the direction of a young man's life.

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Sometimes he just needs someone who will show up.

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Someone who will listen.

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Someone who sees something in him that he hasn't learned to see in himself yet.

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Every young man deserves a village.

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Let's build one.

In solidarity, 

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Mutaqee Akbar
Founder, The Village Project