The Bible lists nine “fruits of the spirit”: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. King Randall’s mission for The X for Boys program he founded is to teach boys to strive for every one of them. His hope is that, as men, they will be equipped to live out those important attributes.
Randall, 27, whose family hails generationally from Albany, Georgia, launched his initiative just eight years ago, but he is already experiencing its impact. Faith, morality, and hands-on skills learned from his immediate and extended family have been passed on to boys in his community who were not exposed to the same. Some of them are now young adults and are reaching out to share appreciation for what they learned and how it transformed them.
“The X for Boys helped me learn discipline, communication, and how to carry myself as a young man,” Bryson Pittsshared with American Essence. “A lot of the things they taught us—being on time, respecting people, speaking clearly, and handling responsibility—are things I use now in the Navy every day.”
“Another one, Monterrius Haynes, wrote to me,” Randall said. “‘Hi, Mr. King, I’m stationed in Japan. Thank you for all the time you spent teaching me. That made a difference in me. You were a father figure to me.’” Randall added, “These examples are why I started this program.”
Men in the Making
Focusing on the underprivileged youth in Albany’s greater metropolitan area, with a population around 150,000, The X for Boys is a mentoring and after-school program aimed at instilling not only basic life skills but applicable and employable skills. According to an Albany Police Department report, black boys and young men make up 55 percent of criminal offenders in the southeastern Georgia city. Many come from impoverished homes. These are some of the reasons that Randall launched his program.
“Kids are getting lost to the world—sex, smoking, drugs—earlier and earlier,” he said. “In contrast, I learned while growing up in the country and from my step-father how to garden, raise chickens, collect eggs, hunt, cut grass, landscape, change the oil in a car, and so much more.”
As a teenager, he began to realize that many of the peers he encountered were not having the same experiences. Some had no positive family role models, or parents were absent from their lives. And then, when a friend was implicated in a murder and faced prison time, Randall began attending stop-the-violence community meetings to determine what kinds of programs might help his friend and other boys on troublesome paths.
“There was always a lot of talk, but nothing was being done,” Randall said. “I wanted to do something. So, I just started working with kids, first by teaching them how to change the oil in a car. About 20 showed up. I gave them a certificate if they learned to do it. For them, to get a certificate and be proud of something was a confidence builder. That encouraged me.”
From Problem to Solution
At age 19, in 2018, Randall began The X for Boys. The algebraic X is because “we are solving for X, which is a math equation, to find the answers.” The complicated answer, in this case, is how to help raise boys to become good men. “So many boys don’t know what it means to be a man,” Randall said. “God wants to use men to teach boys how to be men. … Kids can learn so much from the older people in a community.”
The X is a free after-school program offered every day of the week from 2 to 9 p.m. It assists with school studies, reading, and homework, and it also provides free snacks and an evening meal. Some of the program’s promoted values are honor, commitment, discipline, and consistency. Plus, Randall and his paid staff spend time teaching practical skills.
Randall stressed that the 25 boys enrolled in the program, starting at age 7, focus on positive endeavors after school instead of hanging out in an unsupervised home or with criminals and troublemakers. Teenagers who stay in the program become mentors for the younger boys. Additionally, The X offers a summer program, and, newly, a similar program for girls.
All of Randall’s efforts are supported by individuals and businesses. In 2024, he completed a 200-mile walk from Albany to Atlanta to raise awareness and funds. “We stray away from government grants and just trust that people will have a heart for giving,” Randall said.
Donations for the nonprofit support full-time employees for the after-school and summer programs as well as enabling boys to take home a monthly care package that includes eggs (from chickens raised by the boys), basic hygiene products, school supplies, underwear, socks, cleaning products, and so on. Food is purchased with donations or donated outright. Haircuts are provided. The X provides additional funding to families if they request help with daily necessities such as paying utility bills or transportation costs.
Social Media Sensation
Randall’s Instagram account recently surpassed a million followers, and his Facebook account is well on its way. His most viral videos capture him with 10 or 12 boys paying close attention while he demonstrates everything from how to book a medical appointment to how to interact respectfully with a member of the opposite sex. In one Instagram video that received almost 6,000 likes, 250 comments, and over 400 shares, he lines up boys and has them practice shaking his hand, looking him in the eyes, and introducing themselves.
Randall does not just teach them in a classroom setting. He takes the boys to roadsides or to a hardware store and gives them enthusiastic, practical instruction. He takes them to a restaurant and shows them how to pay and tip. The boys answer affirmatively, “Yes, sir,” to Randall, and he role-plays with them to make certain they truly understand.
Videos “going viral” caught the attention of White House officials in 2020, resulting in an invitation for Randall and some of the boys to visit Washington. After the trip, he posted on Instagram (October 10, 2020): “This is an honor. What’s crazy is, I always have the boys write me a list of things they want to do while they’re with me and one of them wrote that they wanted to go to the White House. I told him God would make it happen.”
Eye on the Future
Randall said he is always considering future benefits for the boys at The X, and for the Albany community at large as well. He is working with the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Georgia Grown to establish a community garden. And, understanding the impact baseball can have in a young boy’s life, Randall is creating what he calls Strike Zone Baseball. He hopes to open an indoor and outdoor baseball training facility sometime this year and make baseball affordable for all.
Constructing the business model has been another teachable opportunity for The X boys. “They are learning, by observing and listening, what is involved in starting a business,” Randall said. “As they get older and grow with the program, they’ll take on more and learn about what it takes to sustain a business.”
He also attends community, city, and county meetings—serving on several boards—to stay informed, glean ideas for The X program, and share his thoughts on how to benefit Albany as a whole.
Randall is playing his part in a big way, and he has no plans to stop. “I’m young and I want to work hard now while I can. There is a hymn with the words, ‘I have a charge to keep and a God to glorify.’ I have a charge to keep, and I just have to do this.”
From Sept. Issue, Volume VI
