L-FORCE: From Legacy to Leadership — A New Force for Civic Change

By Kenneth Braswell, CEO, Fathers Incorporated

Legacy doesn’t begin when someone passes. It lives in the seeds they plant while they’re still with us. Lawrence Wilbon, my colleague and dear friend, was a man who planted deeply. Through his passion for empowering youth, his belief in servant leadership, and his quiet conviction that men, especially Black men, have an essential role to play in strengthening families and communities, Lawrence left an indelible mark on the mission of Fathers Incorporated. Today, that legacy has a name: L-FORCE.

L-FORCE is a movement grounded in civic responsibility, community restoration, and intergenerational leadership. It is Fathers Incorporated’s bold new initiative to advance civic engagement by training and deploying Servant Leaders — not just mentors. Our goal isn’t simply to place adults with youth, but to equip men and women with the vision, skills, and support to lead at all levels of community life through mentoring, volunteering, voter registration, coaching, and public advocacy. In doing so, we’re not starting something new; we’re continuing a story that Lawrence helped write — a story of compassion, service, and courage.

Too often, we look at service as something reserved for the “qualified.” But what qualifies us more than lived experience? What makes someone a leader more than their willingness to act in the face of apathy? 

L-FORCE is built on the idea that leadership is born in community, nurtured by commitment and shaped by purpose. And now, through Gentle Warriors Academy and our Next Level Life Skills curriculum, we’re developing a new generation of change agents equipped to turn their convictions into community impact.

America is facing a crisis of trust, participation, and connectedness. While polarization dominates our headlines, communities are quietly starving for leadership rooted in presence, empathy, and action. This is where L-FORCE steps in.

According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, also known as Americorps, people who volunteer regularly are 27% more likely to find a job after being out of work than those who don’t. Volunteering enhances both mental and physical health, builds social capital, and strengthens community resilience. Families in which parents volunteer and serve together also report higher rates of family cohesion, shared values, and youth academic performance.

In other words, service builds families, and families build futures.

Despite these benefits, too many of our fathers, especially Black and Brown men, are excluded from civic life, not because they lack the will to serve, but because no one has shown them how their lived experience qualifies them to lead. L-FORCE exists to change that.

The Five Pillars of L-FORCE

To guide its mission, L-FORCE stands on five foundational pillars:

1. Leadership Development – Cultivating integrity-driven, empathetic leaders at the community level.
   
2. Civic Engagement – Empowering participants to engage in activities like voter registration, public advocacy, and community organizing.
   
3. Mentorship and Coaching – Training individuals to guide others through both structured and informal mentoring relationships.
   
4. Community Empowerment – Supporting service projects that meet urgent local needs and amplify resident voices.
   
5. Legacy and Service – Honoring Lawrence Wilbon by embedding a lifelong commitment to service in every participant.

These pillars aren’t theoretical. They are lived values we will measure in metrics and, most importantly, in moments: a youth who feels seen for the first time, a father who finds his purpose through service, a community uplifted because its members chose to act.

This isn’t about optics. It’s about ownership of our streets, our schools, and our stories. It’s about building coalitions across differences and lifting voices from the margins. It’s about showing up — consistently, confidently, and compassionately — and inviting others to do the same.

As we prepare to launch L-FORCE officially on September 25, 2025, to coincide with the 20th Anniversary of the Million Fathers March, we invite you to join us. Whether you’re a father seeking purpose, a mother looking to lead, or a young adult yearning to give back, this is your call. L-FORCE isn’t just about what we can do — it’s about what we must do, together. For Lawrence. For our communities. For the future.