Raleigh, N.C. — Lou Jordan, 56, uses basketball to mentor at-risk teenagers.

Jordan, a retired Raleigh police officer and graduate of Shaw University, has been working to as a youth mentor since the 1970s.

“Once you gain their trust, they’re willing to listen to you and cooperate and take your suggestions as to how they should handle certain situations,” he said.

Jordan said he can relate to the lives of the young men he helps at community centers around Raleigh. From tough neighborhoods and even tougher economic realities, the Philadelphia-native knows they need him.

“I had an older brother, a father. I had uncles. I had coaches. It was a community effort,” he said of his mentors.

Jordan said he hopes the young men he mentors will finish high school, go to college and “establish themselves as reputable citizens.”

WRAL-TV celebrates Black History Month with Living the Legacy. This month-long campaign spotlights the accomplishments of local individuals who are living the legacy of their ancestry and great African-American leaders.