Community of Believers: Mays Hosts Third Annual Brotherhood and Sisterhood Summits

Benjamin E. Mays High School hosted its third annual Brotherhood and Sisterhood Summits, where influential professionals from the community come to offer their insights, advice, and mentorship to students.

Every year, the school puts together a focus group for each summit where students share the topics that they want to discuss. Between the two mentorship summits, over 100 men and women visited Mays High School to talk to students about a variety of topics including preparing for college, mental health, relationships, entrepreneurship, and more.

“This shows that our city cares,” Mays High School Principal Ramon Garner said. “When we’re able to reach out to individuals, and they stop their busy lives to come back and give back to our kids, it means that our city cares and our city is locked in to keep the legacy of Atlanta and Mays High School going.”

APS Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson was the guest speaker for the Brotherhood Summit, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis delivered words of wisdom at the Sisterhood Summit.

“This opportunity is really unique,” Dr. Johnson said. “There aren’t many schools that take the time to put together a day such as this. There aren’t many schools that have a school community, or as Dr. Alonzo Crim — the first Black male superintendent of APS — said, that have a community of believers that are willing to pour into you.”

Both summits hosted a “Link and Learn” speed networking session, where students met and connected with volunteers to discuss career paths, and potentially develop relationships that could help them along their journey.

They met with entrepreneurs, attorneys, financial advisors, flight attendants, barbers, and other professionals who offered their counsel.

“The girls loved how interactive their sessions were,” Mays High School assistant principal LaToya Howard said. “They enjoyed the speed networking room because they liked connecting with the ladies and learning about different careers.”

“[The boys] noticed and appreciated the difference between the Link + Learn and the Trade Career Showcase,” she added. “They noticed that the speed networking was an opportunity for them to talk to professionals who received a degree to get to various careers, and the Trade Career Showcase was for them to learn about careers that did not require 4-year degrees. They also enjoyed the other sessions that let them have real talk about what they’re going through as young men.”

The mentorship summits were launched in response to a tragic gun violence incident at the school back in 2024. The administrators at Mays created this opportunity to strengthen its school community and provide students with a support system that would encourage them to reach their goals.

“We were determined not to allow that [incident] to be the narrative of our school,” Garner said. “We have amazing students that are here, so we started talking to our young men [and women] about some of the things that they wanted to learn more about that may be non-traditional or outside of the classroom.”