When William Dingle got ready to choose a platform to compete in the Mr. Black North Carolina pageant, he chose to go with something he knew a lot about.

“My platform was titled, ‘A King’s Journey’,” he said.

Dingle is a 2008 graduate of North Carolina A&T State University. He was crowned Mr. Black North Carolina in March after competing in a pageant in Raleigh at St. Augustine’s College. He chose “A King’s Journey” because it is also the name of a rites of passage group he co-founded to help at-risk boys.

“Many of them don’t have a father in their lives and they have a tough time trying to transition from boyhood into manhood,” Dingle said about the boys in the programs.

Dingle is a young adult pastor for St. James Baptist Church in Greensboro and says that “A King’s Journey” began as a part of another Christian organization for youth.

“We wanted to show them that they are the child of a king and we were teaching them about their African history and how we were the children of kings and queens and even though we’re here, nothing has changed,” he said. “We still have a royal blood line and they should walk and act as such.”

The first group was co-ed but A King’s Journey has split from that group to focus more on the male-specific issues.

“It’s like a junior fraternity,” he said. “We take the “bad” kids and we change their view on life.”

At this time, the group is working with 12 boys on Saturdays, exposing them to culture, introducing life skills and doing community service.

“We teach them about managing their money and taking care of their families as well as what they need to know to survive in this society,” Dingle said. “This is a refuge where they can go and be around other guys like them.”

“Because they’re at risk, we have to break down those stigmas. They have to deal with society telling them one thing and them not really knowing who or what to listen to.”

Now that Dingle has been crowned Mr. Black North Carolina, he is hoping to become an example for the boys in the program.

“Once you have a crown or a sash, people are watching,” he said.

At this time, Dingle is working to grow the program in Greensboro and has been working with other contestants from the pageant to expand the program to other cities in the state.

“I’m talking to a couple of nonprofits that deal with at risk populations,” he said. “We’re trying to work with them because some of them have the facilities and equipment that we can use to help as many youths as possible.”

Dingle started A King’s Journey one year after he graduated.

“A&T taught me book smarts and street smarts and I try to pass that on and show them that nothing is going to be handed to you,” he said.

So far, Dingle has shared with the boys N.C.  A&T’s rich history and debunk the myth that it is a “party school.”

“If you want a party at A&T, you can find it. If you want an education, you can find that, too – it’s all about what you’re looking for,” he said.

“This is our heritage. They didn’t give us our 40 acres and a mule, they gave us land grant institutions to go to and better ourselves and that’s what we have to do.”

Dingle is currently looking for local volunteers, especially males, in all areas to help him teach the boys the things they need to know to stay out of gangs, decrease their rates of incarceration and put them on the path to better themselves so they may better their communities.

“Whatever they specialize in, we need their help,” Dingle said about A&T alums. “These are our future leaders and I want the boys to see that there are a lot of great people who come out of A&T.”

To learn more about the program or how you can help, e-mail Dingle at Mrblacknc2012@gmail.com.