Close Ties: Tying on a New Tradition

Close Ties: Tying on a New Tradition provides an intimate look at a rites of passage ceremony that connects teenage boys with male role models. Dr. Perry and barber “Chill” Wilson created the tie-tying ceremony as a solution to consistently low academic performance by Black male students. The statistics show that many of these boys never graduate from high school and of those that do, most do not obtain a college degree. In New Orleans, city leaders, policy experts and scholars are working together to find solutions that will reverse the statistics and help more Black males become college graduates and community leaders.

The youth participating in this tie-tying ceremony are boys selected from several schools in New Orleans. The aim of the event — to bring a rites of passage ceremony to the community that encourages self-actualization, college attendance and professionalism among urban males.

During the event, the boys participate in a tie-tying demonstration, where role models from around the city instruct the youngsters on how to create distinguishing knots with their neckwear. Each of the boys also receives the opportunity to get professional grooming with a haircut and a shoe-shine. The final component of the event is one-on-one mentorship that each student receives from a male role model from the community. The ceremony, which celebrates the transition from boyhood to manhood, goes far beyond the intricacies of tie-tying by using the silk garment as a starting point for discussions on academic and professional achievement.

According to Dr. Perry, “Teaching a boy how to tie a tie requires a closeness that is often the missing ingredient in transforming boys to men.” Mentorship and involvement in the boys’ lives makes tie-tying more than a ceremony. This rites of passage event is fostered and supported by a group of influential New Orleans residents who participate as mentors. They are lawyers, doctors, teachers, journalists and other Black professionals who take pride in giving back to the community. Close Ties documents the mentors and the youth during and after the ceremony, where we see the men encourage and support the boys’ academic and career endeavors. The development of these mentoring relationships creates a lasting impact, one felt by students, parents, teachers and the community as a whole.

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