Life for black young men in urban cities is violent, hopeless, and short. 

Despite only making up 7.6% of the population in the state of Minnesota, they are disproportionately represented in detention centers and prisons, comprising 35.9% of the imprisoned population. 

They are simultaneously the perpetrators and victims of senseless crimes, repeating generational curses that keep young children fatherless and their communities bound in poverty and despair. But one man hopes to change the narrative of their stories, giving them a voice and a place to find guidance and, in doing so, shifting the trajectory of their futures and creating ripples of change across time.

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We are proud to partner with The Man Up Club starting January 4, 2024, as they launch their new show on The Man Up Club Presents. James “Trig” Rosseau, CEO of Holy Culture, shared, “We are excited to welcome Korey and The Man Up Club to the station as it aligns with our organizational aim of empowering people to reach their potential, particularly historically underserved youth.”

Founder Korey “XROSS” Dean will take a deep dive into the lives of the young men he mentors each week, unpacking the past and bringing perspective and wisdom that ultimately leads to healing. 

To fully appreciate the mission and vision, first, we must look at where it all began. 

An Unlikely Place

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Dean grew up in a Christian home in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, surrounded by family and the sound of gospel music. From a young age, he found a love of rap to contribute to the melodies that surrounded him. As time went on, however, his athletic abilities would land him a football scholarship at St. John’s University, where he was later recruited to play at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. After setting records and becoming one of the top 50 blue-chip players in Missouri, tragedy struck as his girlfriend and son were involved in an accident that left her paralyzed and with amnesia. Instead of heading to the NFL, Dean was left to raise his son alone.A move to California allowed Dean to pursue his music career, and he became known in gangsta rap circles, where he partied, hustled, and became steeped in the lifestyle. But God would find him in the most unlike place, a strip club. Dean recalls a voice asking him, “Are you happy?” and with a resounding “No,” he turned his life around. Dean would marry his now wife, Mariaha, and leave California and secular music to devote the next year to studying the Word. His first job back in Minnesota was helping build the charter school Learning Adventures Middle School Midway, St. Paul- where he found his passion for youth work.He returned to the University of Minnesota, graduating with a double degree in Sociology and Youth Development Studies. Seeing that he could only help kids outside school hours, Dean fashioned an afterschool program called The Man Up Club.As a student advocate to 500 or so students, Dean was able to hone in and assess the needs of young black men. He found that compared to their peers, they had more obstacles to overcome and struggled more in school, their graduation rates fluctuating between 68-71% in the last four years. Dean knew the importance of mentors, and with a plan, he set out to tackle the obstacles keeping these young men down, one mentee at a time.

Building Men of Character

In 2012, The Man Up Club started as a grassroots organization to empower young black males to make positive life choices and prepare them for a post-high school world.They have three goals:

1. To help their students graduate high school.
2. To keep them out of the prison pipeline.
3. To get them to attend college or acquire a trade. 

With six chapters across the Twin Cities Metro area, and a youth center in Minneapolis, The Man Up Club seeks to reach young men ages 13-24 and teach them life skills, social skills, academic discipline, and civic responsibility. A high-touch process of mentoring and tutoring provides a safe place for the youth to build relationships, address past trauma, and learn to heal productively. Involving them in community projects builds character and compassion for their neighbors, while time spent together sharing meals means they have a support system of people who look just like them.

Through his program, Dean hopes to make productive members of society who will, in turn, mentor others to do the same. With the vision that every urban city across America has a Man Up Club center, Holy Culture has extended its long-standing relationship with the non-profit to give it a platform to amplify its mission. 

The Man Up Club Show

Listening to Dean speak to his mentee hits deep. A conversation between two men generations apart that have much in common. One in cusp of manhood, and the other a product of life transformed and redeemed with the love of God. The show is a picture of conversations black men should have had all along and is sorely missing in today’s culture—one of introspection, perspective, and vulnerability.By broadcasting these conversations, Dean says “I hope The Man Up Club Presents will give the Holy Culture listening audience a much deeper insight into the mind of young black males and how they view life challenges and how they process family, faith and culture as it relates to them.  Our desire is to allow the young black male’s voice to be heard uninterrupted and directly from them and not be filtered or projected, or explained through the lens of others. That they would speak for themselves and be viewed and accepted as valued contributors of society.”Dean’s commitment to fostering an open dialogue bridges the gap between their shared realities and serves as a testament to the power of faith and mentorship.