The old saying about being given lemons and making lemonade holds true in the case of Sherod Reed of Greenwood.
Reed, an officer with the Itta Bena Police Department, also is a motivational speaker. He travels throughout the area to spread his message of spiritual growth and rising above the hard-knock life.
He said his mission was inspired by going to schools and talking to students about what a policeman does. "It just branched from there," he said, "linking communication to the Police Department."
He has been speaking for almost five years now. Although he divides his time between the Itta Bena Police Department, the Fire Department, and emergency medical services in Sunflower, he still finds time to push his message: good, moral living.
Some may see his delivery as too blunt, but he says not "sugar coating" real life is the best way to reach children, especially in the black community. "You have to tell it like it is," he says.
"I grew up with nothing," he tells students, knowing that the circumstances of poverty are faced daily by black children. He says he took care of himself while his mother was gone most of the time, raising himself and depending on an elderly family member from time to time for basic needs. He says this lack of supervision led him to the streets, where he lived a wild and promiscuous life.
Reed stresses to students that determination in education is mandatory.
"A GED won't get it," he tells them. Employers "aren't going to hire you. …They are going to hire the person with the diploma because he was the one who stuck it out."
Reed also emphasizes developing a sense of spirituality as a guide, especially for hard times like the ones he experienced growing up. He often describes events in his own life prior to him finding God to prove that anyone can be saved. He tells students that spiritual guidance provides balance in life.
He does not hesitate to key in on issues about self-esteem, drugs, alcohol and gang violence. He also focuses on parents and community groups.
"If we as a community and as leaders would get excited about our young people, then they in turn will get excited about their own well-being," he said.
A member of Greater Restoration Revival Temple in Greenwood, he serves as a choir director and workshop coordinator, and he takes his message to churches, also.
One of his concerns is black males. Some don't have the guidance they need because they live in single-parent families with mothers as the head of household. He stresses that getting an education is the priority over everything, including "girlfriends and nice rides."
Reed says that life boils down to choices versus consequences. He tells listeners they have to make good choices because there is always a consequence.
He tells students that they are the ones selected by God to lead the world into the future.
"Turn the negative into the positive," he urges students. "And surround yourself with positive people."
