In 1997, the Black Men of Greater Springfield created and implemented a collaborative youth development program. The program was born of some of the localized motivations that resulted from the persons and groups that were impacted by the Million Man March. The idea was to create a program to provide young boys in Springfield's black community with some of the information, resources and skills development that they desperately need. The areas of focus included; Academic development, Mentoring, Cultural history, and Leadership.

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In the fall of 1997, with some support from the City of Springfield, the BMGS' W.E.B. DuBois Academy Saturday School officially opened its doors. (In that first year, we operated out of the Rebecca Johnson School) The academy was originally created as a three-year pilot program. After the 3rd year, it was apparent that we were just beginning to scratch the surface of something special; and it could not be abandoned at that time. So, the BMGS made the determination that this program would be a key organizational activity; and also a vital part of future youth program initiatives of the group.

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After the first year, we moved our program to the Springfield Boys & Girls Club / Family Center on Acorn Street; where we operated our program for 9 years. In 2008, we moved the program to the Carew Street Boys & Girls Club. And in fall of 2017, the program returned to the Family Center location, and now operates out of the new Deberry / Swan Elementary School.

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Over 20 years later, our Saturday school program is still thriving. Each year, 20-30 yound men spend their Saturday morning (throughout the school year) with us. They're exposed to: lively interaction discussions, opportunities to meet several professional, industrial, educational and community leaders that offer homework tutorials awareness / support, current events discussions, cultural awareness discussions, localized visits / field trips, job readiness preparations, citizenship, and other aspects of personal development. The program offers breakfast and lunch and the program is free of charge to the families.

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Over the years, we've provided: summer jobs, college scholarships, professional references, local business tours, and other business connections and opportunities to our young men, We've  seen several of our former students successfully complete their collegiate endeavors; and grow to become strong citizens of the community. In fact, we've had a few occasions where the children of former students have been in the academy, and former students have become members of BMGS. We're very proud of the Academy's history; but the needs of our kids are greater today than ever. We must continue and expand the outreach of programs like the W.E.B. DuBois Academy.