Boxing, Books Combine to Create Opportunity in West Baltimore

Landon Saunders, the man called "Coach" at the UMAR Boxing and Youth Development Center, has known Marvin McDowell since the two men worked together at the Urban League years ago. "And [I] knew about his dream to use what he learned from boxing," Saunders says, "to help kids make a better life."

Since 1996, McDowell has been doing just that in a gym above a pawn shop on North Avenue in the heart of West Baltimore.

A Baltimore native and member of the Maryland Boxing Hall of Fame, McDowell had a pretty good career as a professional boxer. He was Maryland state welterweight champion for two years and rated the USA Boxing Federation's number six welterweight from 1978 through 1981. It is McDowell's work since stepping out of the ring, however, that has helped change lives for the better.

"Our kids need a lot of help," McDowell says while kicking back in his office with video of a classic Ali-Frazier match playing in the background. "They're missing things they need to be successful in life. They need lots of structure, and we provide it. I've become a parent or big brother to many of them." 

The essence of UMAR's structure is best captured by the center's tagline, No Hooks Before Books, visible on several signs throughout the gym. For the 2,000 boys and girls who've made their way to North Avenue, the slogan means they must first spend time mastering schoolwork before their boxing lessons and coaching begin.

Every UMAR participant age six through thirteen is required to spend time in the homework lab after initially having their reading, writing, and math skills assessed. There's a full-time teacher in the lab, with additional teachers coming in to volunteer. One of them currently teaches Spanish.

"The key to our success is consistency," McDowell tells a visitor. "Consistency earns respect."

But McDowell's dream is not just about success in school or in the boxing ring. It's about success over the long haul. "I'm not here to create champions in boxing; I'm here to create champions in life," he emphasizes. In fact, Umar is an Arabic word which means 'life or lifetime.'

"The same things that make them successful in boxing make them successful in life. We help our kids think before they act and give them a conscience so they can make the right choices."

Beyond that, McDowell recognizes the need to provide something missing in the lives of many of the kids when they first walk through UMAR's doors. "All kids need to know someone cares about them with no strings attached. I want to give these kids what I missed out on."

One of the kids whose life has been impacted by McDowell is 19-year old Dominique McGlotten, now completing her freshman year at Stevenson University. "Mr. Marvin is like a father to me. He's always around; he's always there to help. He keeps me on track with school and with life."

Dominique spent five years in the UMAR program. "UMAR helped keep me focused; without it, I would not have been ready for college. I would have had nothing to do after school."

As a result of her experience at UMAR, Dominique will be studying medicine and pursuing her dream to become a doctor.

Marvin Johnson first became involved with UMAR in the ninth grade. "Everything I'm doing is the result of Marvin McDowell and UMAR. I had to keep my grades up to stay in the program.

"Mr. McDowell puts his heart and soul into the program and the kids. He's straight with the truth, kind-hearted and loving. UMAR kept me out of a lot of trouble. If it wasn't for UMAR, I'd be on the streets doing stuff I shouldn't be doing."

Instead, Johnson is enrolled in community college and looks forward to attending Coppin State to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.

One of the things McDowell is proudest of is the high school graduation rate of UMAR's participants. "Eighty-five percent of our kids graduate from high school," he says. And since almost all of them are in the Baltimore City Public Schools, this figure provides more evidence of the difference UMAR makes in their lives.

With financial support from several Baltimore philanthropies, including the Casey, Weinberg, and Abell Foundations, the UMAR Boxing and Youth Development Center plans to be around a long time. Moreover, word of UMAR's success is beginning to spread beyond Baltimore with a similar program underway in DC and recent visits to UMAR by delegations from El Salvador and other Latin American countries. McDowell also recently told the UMAR story to a class at Johns Hopkins University.

And when more than twenty kids are just as excited about being in the homework lab as they are in the boxing ring, it's clear that something special is happening every afternoon above the pawn shop on North Avenue. Because Marvin McDowell made his dream come true, the kids who walk through his doors at UMAR have a fighting chance to do the same.


Paul Sturm facilitates the Baltimore Nonprofit Leaders Circles for executive directors and senior managers of nonprofit organizations. He also teaches at the College of Notre Dame and University of Baltimore. He lives downtown, where he feeds his addiction to crab cakes and Berger cookies.


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Photos by Arianne Teeple:

- Marvin McDowell, founder, of the UMAR Boxing & Youth Program in Baltimore
- Andre Thomas, 23, trains at UMAR Boxing club in Baltimore
- UMAR Teacher Landon Saunders teaches in the UMAR Youth Development Center
- Coach "D" Dennis James works with boxers in the UMAR program
- UMAR aid Anthony Higeon works with Tyrez Countess, left, and Anthony Miles, right, in the UMAR Youth Development Center
- Awards won by youth in the UMAR program
- Zoria curry, 10, trains in the UMAR program
- Ronnie Boodoo, fitness and conditioning coach in the UMAR boxing program