It took Nathaniel and LaTonya Turner eight days to name their only son. It was important that they gave him a strong name that not only represented his personality, but also encouraged him daily to be the best that he could be.
Naeem Khari Turner-Bandele, a junior at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School has a 3.5 GPA, is a member of the National Honor Society and yearbook staff, president of the Black Student Union, was nominated for a Power of Children’s Award from the Indianapolis Children’s Museum and is a star soccer player.
“My wife and I decided that we were going to give him a name that reminded him constantly of where he’s from,” said Nathaniel Turner.
Naeem (Arabic) means benevolent, Khari (Swahili) means kingly and Bandele (Yoruba) means born away from home. Nathaniel said they decided to give him a new last name because Turner is a slave name.
“His full name is, he’s a benevolent king despite being born from slavery and being born away from home,” said Turner. “Everyday that he has been on this planet he’s reminded he is a benevolent king.”
Turner-Bandele embraces his name.
“I do feel a responsibility with my name but more of a need to live up to it,” he said. “I think the name is a lot to live up to but at the same time, it inspires me to move forward.”
Turner-Bandele also inspires his friends and peers at Brebeuf. Earlier in the school year, after learning a friend was homeless, Turner-Bandele turned to the website dosomething.org and worked with the school’s administration to organize a Teens for Jeans campaign for homeless youth. He collected over 200 pairs of jeans.
“It motivated me to want to do something,” he said.
In addition to the Teens for Jeans campaign, the 16-year-old recently established a foundation, Social JustUS League, which is dedicated to build sustainable communities where issues such as homelessness are eliminated. He’s also working to develop a program called Soccer Scholars. The goal will be to increase graduation rates and test scores of disadvantaged students so they can attend college and play soccer.
Turner-Bandele takes just as much pride in his education. He was recently chosen out of hundreds of high school students to be featured in the December issue of Honor Student Magazine, which strives to profile students who succeed academically and is a role model to their peers.
When asked what impresses him the most about his son, Turner admits there isn’t enough time to run down the list.
“He’s not only a great student but he’s a great young man,” he said. “I’ve never called him a boy, I’ve always called him my MIT, which is my man in training. He’s always been progressing to be a great man and that is what I’m most proud about. He’s involved in a lot of things, he cares about other people, he cares about his community and he cares about himself. If he wasn’t my son, I would still be very impressed.”
Is there a blueprint to raising a MIT? Turner says yes. He’s even created a blog – www.raisingsupaman.com – to help other parents.
“There is a blueprint and it isn’t based upon your socio-economic standing,” he said. “It’s all about leading by example.”
Turner-Bandele, whose parents began taking him on college visits during family vacations at 6-years-old, said his advice to parents is give your children something to focus on.
“I also think it’s important to give children room to explore exactly what they want to do,” he said. “Give them the option and help them develop what they want to do.”
