Lt. Michael Murphy asked the young men around him whether they had ever considered becoming police officers.
Lots of hands went up. Murphy, from the Akron Police Department, followed up with his next question.
“Now, who still wants to become a police officer?”
All of the once-raised hands lowered.
Deeper conversations and exchanges similar to this were held Saturday at the inaugural MLK Male Youth Summit 2026, a morning of workshops aimed at pouring knowledge into young men ages 11-17.
Participants interacted with community leaders, asked questions, listened to discussions and engaged in a variety of collaborative exercises.
The event was significant because several organizations including the Akron Urban League, which hosted the summit, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and the Akron chapter of 100 Black Men collaborated to present it.
“We all serve youth to collaborate, join forces and impact a larger mass,” said Jermel Wilkerson Sr., the director of educational activities for the Eta Tau Lambda Akron chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
“One organization can’t do it alone. So, every organization is serving in their own way,” he said. “Being able to bring all of them together, these young men seeing us — we think that’s probably the most impactful thing of this summit, them seeing us.”
Breakout sessions use real-world examples around emotional and conflict-filled topics
Students rotated between three rooms, with speakers who discussed emotional intelligence, listed non-violent solutions to handle conflict, and held friendly conversations about ways to interact with police officers and firefighters.
Marteecé D. Waters, a resource specialist at Kent State, started one conversation by helping the young men to understand five components of being emotionally aware: self-awareness, empathy, self-regulation, social skills and motivation.
Students walked away from the discussion thinking beyond themselves about how their reactions could impact others.
“Stop before you think,” said Ian Stewart, a 13-year-old eighth grader at Buchtel Community Learning Center.
“And just think about what’s going to happen later in life if you make that decision.”
The leaders of the sessions engaged with the young men and left a lasting impression by dropping subtle reminders that they were once in their shoes.
“I feel like he was in the same position at one point,” said Dontae Payne Jr., a 14-year-old freshman at East Community Learning Center.
“Because his parents had him at like, 15 and 17, and I feel like he was just a person I could relate to because he had to take care of his family when his parents couldn’t.”
In a session led by Murphy and APD Deputy Chief Michael Miller, students discussed how to interact with the police to improve their experiences.
Miller began the session by reminding the young men that they matter, that they are worthy and that they deserve to be treated with respect.
A few of the young men shared past incidents where officers had mistaken their cell phones for weapons. This conversation opened the floor for young men to meet police officers in a classroom setting. From following instructions to controlled reactions, the officers guided the students on how to navigate encounters with law enforcement.
“What I hope they gain is, number one, they see and feel their purpose,” Miller said.
“We want them to know that in every police interaction, we hope for the best possible outcome and give them the tools to better manage themselves when they have an interaction, is what we hope they take from that.”
