David White readily acknowledges that he had not been very productive during the summer vacations away from school. This summer, he was determined to chart a new course, but never thought he’d end up where he did last week.

“We are all Africans,” said Hugh Masekela during a luncheon at the Safara Restaurant on South Main.

Maurice Williams shows Jessica Clark (right) and David White (left) that he can still command their attention, even after their eight-week, summer training program.

White was one of the 20 top graduates in the 2008 class of the Memphis Tourism Foundation’s Hospitality & Tourism Workforce Readiness Institute, which operates under the auspice of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. And he was in a room at the Safari Restaurant on South Main with world-renowned trumpeter Hugh Masekela.

“I needed something better to do with my summer and I wanted to learn stuff about how to be employed. I just didn’t want to stay home all summer and do nothing,” he said.

White, a 16-year-old who attends Mitchell High School, had never heard of Masekela. Maurice Williams, director of foundation development and education programs, said most of the other students were in the same boat.

“I gave them my historical spiel (about Masekela) and later they went ‘ooh and wow; now we understand.’ A lot of young people in America don’t get what we call good world history and this has been our way of giving them it live.”

The Cultural Development Foundation of Memphis was pivotal, said Williams. The Foundation, under the watch care of founder Rebecca Edwards, brings big name entertainers to Memphis and all commit to share mentoring and education time with area young people.

The students who participated in the Hospitality and Tourism Workforce Readiness Institute began eight weeks ago and all hailed from City of Memphis youth Services. They applied in January and were part of the pool of 1,200 students employed during the city’s summer youth program.

Naomi Dyson, the assistant director who works alongside Williams, said some of the students came in with low esteem. “They were very raw and needed direction,” said Dyson. “When we gave them direction plus love, then now we know where we going. We know who we are and what we are and what we are supposed to be and now we want to act like that.”

Numerous special guests, including many from the City of Memphis and the National Civil Rights Museum, joined the student’s at the celebration luncheon. Masekela gave them all a view of themselves.

“The one thing that most African Americans don’t know is that all over the world, a whole lot of people, especially in urban areas, want to talk like them, want to walk like them, want to sing like African Americans, want to dance like African Americans, they want to move like African Americans, they want to cook like African Americans, they want to play music like that,” he said.

It is important, he said, for each person to know and remember where each came from, reminding them that, “We are all Africans.” He recalled a lesson from his grandmother after he became famous.

“She said when you are shaking all those people’s hands just remember who you really are because if you ever forget where you came from, you ain’t going nowhere and that’s for sure.”

Like White, Jessica Clark, an 18-year-old graduate of Central High School, had not heard of Masekela. “Now I know that he is a very important person and that he helped in the 1950’s toward the end of apartheid. He’s a very accomplished musician,” she said.

The opportunity to meet Masekela was part of really good experience, said Clark. “It (the summer program) has allowed me to be more open with people. I used to be shy. I’ve gotten to meet a lot of influential people and that will probably help me during my college years.”

Clark is headed for Wesleyn in Connecticut and plans to take with her Masekela’s lesson about how African Americans are viewed – something that surprised her.

“I do now that America as a whole has influence on the rest of the world, but I didn’t really think that Africans would be influenced by us (African Americans) since technically we are an embarrassment to them when we sag our pants and do other ignorant stuff. I never really thought of us being a real influence.”

Now that she does know the effect will be to “have me do the best that I can do.” Clark said. “And be the best I can be.”