Actor Larenz Tate was joined by his two brothers who are also actors during the ‘Keep It 100’ launch at the North Division High School Boys & Girls Club in Milwaukee last week. (Photo by Robert A. Bell)
Actor Larenz Tate, star of hit movies such as “Love Jones” and “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?,” keeps it 100 percent when it comes to his performances. That is, Tate commits to do his best. On Thursday, Nov. 4 at the North Division High School , he implored local teens to give it their all academically as part of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee’s “Keep It 100” campaign.
“Keep It 100” is a catalyst program created by Boys & Girls Clubs to change negative attitudes among urban youth about doing well in school. Sadly, some teens are teased and bullied for getting good grades while others purposely do poorly at school to avoid being ostracized. Through “Keep It 100,” Boys & Girls Clubs want its members and other local youth to know it is okay to like school and to do well in it. Over the next several months, pre-teens and teens will get academic and emotional support through the Clubs’ Teen Alliance for Education. Keep It 100 will also reach out to adults in the community to change their attitudes; some do not encourage youth to pursue academic success while others have low expectations of what young people can do.
Another Keep It 100 pep rally will follow in June 2011 with Tate and a few of his Hollywood friends to celebrate the academic improvements and successes of Boys & Girls Club members and other participants.