Many of you have heard of Dr. Benjamin Carson, renowned neurosurgeon and professor and chair at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Carson is a product of the Detroit Public School System and an example of overcoming odds to reach success that few surgeons have attained. He is well known for his successful separation of Siamese twins.

You may not have heard of Rameck Hunt, Sampson Davis and George Jenkins but you will in the very near future. They are three young Black men who grew up in a New Jersey ghetto and despite criminal records, crack-addicted parents and poverty - became doctors. The three made a pact in high school to make it through college and medical school. Today two of them are physicians and one is a dentist and they are now talking to inner-city kids about staying out of gangs, choosing the right friends, and making education the vehicle for attaining their objectives.

"Men in White," is a new documentary about the true-life tale of three 30-year old friends from the hood. The film is based on the New York Times best-selling novel "The Pact: Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a dream.

For more information visit www.sparkmedia.org on the web.

Source: National Medical Association News. Winter 2005. p 4.

George T. Rowan, Ph.D. is a professor in the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources at Michigan State University and chairperson of the Ingham County Board of Health.