The Founder
Rev. James Turner II
Rev. James Turner II has a heart for youth. The Nashville, TN native is one of the most sought after individuals in the country, and rightfully so. Educated in the Nashville public school system, Turner has become one of the nation’s most knowledgeable gang experts, and most visible advocates for youth affiliated with gangs.
Rev. Turner’s zest for leadership began in high school and continued on the college campus of Tennessee State University where he served as President of the National Midwest Baptist Youth Conference and Youth President of the Nashville City District Association. After college, Turner moved to Atlanta where he became a student at Morehouse College of Religion. While there, he was asked to speak at several youth conferences, as well as a host of groups and organizations in Atlanta. He also worked as Youth Specialist with the ITC Health Initiative and Curriculum Editor of the United Negro College Fund Hope Program.
After college, and the birth of his son, Rev. Turner returned to Nashville and became the Executive Director of the National Midwest Youth Conference and served as Steering Committee Vice-Chair of the Nashville Youth Violence Prevention Center. But it was while working as a probation officer with the Juvenile Court of Nashville that his advocacy for at-risk youth and gang members was sparked. While working as a parole officer, Rev. Turner became attuned to some alarming trends: 200 of the youth on his caseload were gang members, and 90% of them were placed in the State’s custody and tried as adults. He wanted to find a way to reach these young men before they got caught up in a culture of violence, crime and the court system. Immediately, he organized and hosted The State of Black Youth Summit to begin a dialogue on the epidemic of gang life and its effects on today’s youth. After the summit, he met Cornelius Carroll, a former gang member and national gang expert. They joined forces to begin a gang awareness and counseling program called The Dream Team, which currently presents to over 250 organizations and youth groups annually. Because of the Dream Team, young gang leaders and members have refocused their lives, graduated from high school and are now in college.
In 2008, Rev. Turner relocated to Baltimore, MD, a city known for its soaring number of youth involved in gangs, and lectured about gangs and violence prevention to many schools, churches and community leaders. He became a board member of the Woodbourne Center for Boys and was a committee member of the Johns Hopkins University Center of Youth Violence. After a year, he moved back to Nashville, where he currently works at the Oasis Youth Center as a Youth Specialist and Resident Gang Expert.
Rev. James Turner hopes to be a catalyst to help save a generation by creating avenues to success.