I Am Just Like U / March 2014

MAJOR JOHNSON FINLEY

FAITHFUL / HILARIOUS / AUDACIOUS

“ I L IVE BY PURPOSE AND PURPOSE ALONE”

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info@iamjustlikeu.com @IAJLU Facebook/IAmJustLikeU

The intention behind the I Am Just Like U campaign is to be storytellers of the every day heartfelt black male and help communicate the reality of the healthy and productive lives they are living out with integrity through a series

of unique and simple images.

We will admit that the need for this campaign was sparked not only by the Trayvon Martin case and the tragedy that happened with such a young life, but also years of working with and mentoring so many creative, capable, and

amazing young black men.

…” and this is a long-term project — we need to spend some time in thinking about how do we bolster and

reinforce our African American boys… There are a lot of kids out there who need help who are getting a lot of negative reinforcement. And is there more that we can do to give them the sense that their country

cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them?”… President Obama

President Obama’s statement inspired us to think bigger. It inspired us to create a project that could tell true stories

about the young black males across our country. Words and images have a profound and long lasting affect on how we perceive things and people. It is time to tell these stories differently and flip the perception many carry.

We believe that we are all one people. We are put on this earth to work together, learn from each other and about

ourselves, continually growing. Though there have been many accomplishments and great strides with the civil

rights movement, we still have an unspoken (or sometimes spoken) prejudice or preconceived notion about black males. We are not claiming that every black male is perfect and doing things right, but simply to point out that

there are not enough images, characters or role models highlighted to really outshine the negative stereotype.

The black men we have known throughout our lives and those we have gotten to

info@iamjustlikeu.com @IAJLU Facebook/IAmJustLikeU

know over the course of starting this campaign are just like you. They are inspiring fathers, strong businessmen, faithful husbands, creative innovators, compassionate teachers and community members. I Am Just Like U helps

tell and put a face to these stories to encourage and inspire todays generation to live life to the fullest.

The I Am Just Like U campaign is invaluable because it is time to make a greater impact on society and impress upon those without much diversity in their lives to peel away the pre-judgment and start connecting.

Our hope is that this campaign will save a life or give someone perspective – be who you were created to be, not what society has categorized as a stereotype. We want to begin an honest and heartfelt dialogue – open wide the

doors of communication and go to the heart of the matter…truly (blind to color) love our fellow humans. This, after all, is a humanity campaign.

We are asking everyone to STAND UP, SHARE these photos and SPONSOR our next photo shoot. We are producing more photo shoots around the country so we can showcase more men and their stories. Stay in

touch with us to find out when we arrive in your city. Let’s show these young men that America does care about them enough to look past the stereotype

and see them as individuals.

We hope this campaign inspires people to respond with kindness and think twice about dismissing someone, accusing someone or being in fear of someone based on the color of their skin.

Love & Light

Founder - Kelley Raleigh Co-Founder - Edi Gathegi

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MARC SHERMANHUSBAND / ATHLETE / BUSINESSMAN

“ I HAVE BEEN A B IG BROTHER FOR OVER 1 5 YEARS . ”

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ISAIAH FLORESCALM / ATHLETIC / FUNNY

“ I AM OPT IM I ST IC ”

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STEPHEN “IGGY” IGWE

DETERMINED / FREE / FATHER

“ I AM A SC IENT I ST ”

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KEVIN HARBOUR

COMMITTED / LOVING / F IRM

“ I HAVE BEEN A CONS I STENT VOLUNTEER FOR OVER 3 0 YEARS ”

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JACK BRYANTMUSICIAN / SON / PASSIONATE

“CONNECT ING WITH OTHERS I S IMPORTANT TO ME”

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ERIC B. ANTHONY

BROTHER / ARTIST / BELIEVER

“ I PUT GOD F IRST ”

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KURT FLORESHUSBAND / ADVENTURER / FRIEND

“ I AM A C IT IZEN OF THE WORLD”

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LYBROAN JAMES

COMPASSIONATE / FATHER / FRIEND

“ I AM A MATHEMAT IC IAN”

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DONOVAN MITCHELL

OPTIMIST / INNOVATOR / FRIEND

“ I HAVE A DEGREE FROM CARNEG IE MELLON”

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DINGANI BEZAPHILANTHROPIST / ENERGETIC / VIS IONARY

“ I HAVE A DEGREE IN REL IGOUS STUDIES ”

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DANIEL BARNUM

FRIENDLY / CURIOUS / HARDWORKER

“ I LOVE PLAY ING GOLF ”

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CHAPPALE LINN BURTONAUTHOR / LOVING / AUTHENTIC

“ I HAVE BEEN PRACT IC ING YOGA MOST OF MY L I FE ”

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THOMAS WITTSWORLD CHANGER / AVIATOR / MENTOR

“ I S PEAK FLUENT SPAN I SH”

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BRIAN SEBASTIAN

INTELLIGENT / GENTLE / INQUISITIVE

“ I L IKE TO STAY AHEAD OF THE GAME”

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ANTHONY SPARKS

WRITER / SCHOLAR / FATHER

“ I HAVE IMPROMPTU DANCE PART IE S WITH MY K IDS ”

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ROBERT GEEHAPPY / RESPECTFUL / INQUISITIVE

“ I AM A LOVER OF ALL PEOPLE ”

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YVES MUYAMUSICIAN / WORLD TRAVELLER / KIND-HEARTED

“ I LOVE BE ING A STORYTELLER ”

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MARC EWINGFURNITURE DESIGNER / ARTIST / BUSINESSMAN

“ I ABSOLUTELY LOVE COMEDY”

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A special thank you to our team!

!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! PRODUCER!/!FOUNDER! ! ! ! Kelley!Raleigh!! ! ! PRODUCER!/!CO4FOUNDER! ! ! Edi!Gathegi!! ! ! MARKETING!DIRECTOR! ! ! ! Annie!Crandall!! ! ! PORTRAIT!PHOTOGRAPHER! ! ! Renee!McMahon!! ! ! EDITOR! ! ! ! ! ! ! Leon!Fleisher!! ! ! EVENT!PHOTOGRAPHER! ! ! ! Kelly!Sheehan!Funk!! ! ! RED!CARPET!PHOTOGRAPHER!! ! Daniel!Moriarty!! ! ! SPOKESMAN!CORRESPONDENT! ! Kristina!Johnson!! ! ! MUSICAL!GUEST! ! ! ! ! Major!! ! ! GRAPHICS!&!WEB!DESIGN! ! ! Sam!Brown,!Magicdust!! ! ! VOLUNTEERS! ! ! ! ! ! Vanessa!Manes!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Emilia!McCann!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Joy!Oladokun! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Cicely!Gibson!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Erin!Sprinkel!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Adriana!Urista!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Stefanie!Moriarty!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Jessica!Mann!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Jamie!Saltzman!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Kaitlyn!Carpenter!

A special thank you to our Sponsors!!!!

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