Henry Crosby

Take advantage of the opportunity that is in front of you, have some fun, but also learn how to take things seriously. Challenge yourself. Know it is okay to take some risks. It’s okay to step outside and do some things that maybe you haven’t done before.

Henry Crosby

My name is Henry Crosby. I was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 9th, 1953. I want to share a little bit about my family. It’s important for all of us to understand who is responsible for us being here, what they’ve done, and the impact they’ve made. I was the youngest. There was a twelve-year difference between my older three sisters and me.

We were poor. We lived in the Projects. The area that I grew up in was called Princeton Park. My parents stayed in that place for fifty years. Growing up in Chicago was very tough. The thing that impacted me the most was getting back and forth to school. It was really, really tough. There was a lot of gang recruiting taking place. I either had to participate or find a way to avoid being involved in those gangs. I chose to avoid it. I was in fights all the time trying to figure out how to get back and forth to school.

I always wanted to know how to make the world a better place. I wanted to figure out how I could do things better. So I tried to focus on my academics. The gang stuff got so bad and I was under so much pressure to join, I eventually ended up leaving Chicago. My mother asked me to go live with my sister in San Diego, California. It was my first time being out of Chicago. I stayed in California for one year. I got to meet other people from other ethnic groups. I got a chance to see a pretty part of the country. I got a chance to figure out what I needed to do to fit in. I had a blast!

I came back to Chicago and went to CVS technical school. I learned to do things with my hands. I was able to be creative, but one of the things I did not get enough of was math, science, English and reading. I was always interested in business. I wanted to go to college. My drafting teacher, though, told me that I wasn’t college material. I took a real offense to that. I felt I could do more.

I applied to a college in Alabama. I went to Tuskegee, Alabama. It’s a long way from home. It was really scary, but it was also very exciting because I had to learn how to work and live within a different environment of people who I didn’t know. I majored in business. I really wanted to do the best I could because I know my parents worked really hard for me to be there. I considered it a privilege.

I was the first in my family and among my friends to go to college. Not many of my friends went to college. Not many are alive and several of my friends are in jail. So I asked myself, “Why did I get this privilege?” I wanted a better life. I didn’t want anyone to tell me that I couldn’t, so I took that bus trip to Tuskegee.

I took a job in corporate America. I was the first African-American male in a Fortune 500 company. It was a challenge. It wasn’t something people were used to. I spent 23-years in corporate America. I decided to walk away from that job. I found a job that allowed me to stay in Minneapolis and do the things I wanted to do as a father. I took a job with the United Negro College Fund. It helps young people figure out how to apply to college and how to get money for college and how to figure out a path to be successful.

I am now the Executive Director of North Community YMCA Youth and Teen Enrichment Center. It is the first YMCA in the country that is dedicated for youth and teens. We designed the facility just for you, so it would be a safe place after school.