Two Moultrie men have been brainstorming ways to help improve the future of young African-Americans in our community.

Brian Knighton and Ralph (R.J.) Taylor are both African-Americans who want to give back to a community that gave them opportunities.

Knighton is assistant principal at Okapilco Elementary and Taylor now works for Edward Jones in Atlanta.

They want to target such issues as teen pregnancies, poverty and fatherless homes.

While high school sports helped propel them into college opportunities, both are acutely aware that this cannot happen for everyone.

Knighton came from a fatherless home, but he was blessed with a caring mom and caring uncles.

“Breaking cycles” is sort of a theme of their approach and this week they appeared before the Archway Project executive board to discuss their ambitions.

It’s indeed a noble cause these two men have embraced. And their desires parallel much of what Archway has embraced since its inception.

It’s great to see this kind of leadership come up through the ranks with a desire to “break cycles” that can only produce dispair.

At the moment they don’t have specifics. They are looking for answers.

We suggest a good starting point would be to examine the efforts already under way via the YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, Boys to Men, and perhaps other organizations. This might be a good time for an umbrella philosophy to be applied. Make sure the left hand knows what the right hand is doing if in fact their goals are the same. That way duplication is minimized and energies are maximized.

Once again we applaud these efforts, and we wish them tremendous success.