Muhammed Akil is an organizational administrator who serves as executive director of the Parent Coalition for Excellent Education in Newark, New Jersey. Muhammed Akil also founded the New Jersey youth charity More Than a Race.
An organization established to provide inner city youth with outdoor educational activities in a traditional camping environment, More Than A Race collaborated with multiple youth organizations and community members to create Project: Rest, Relax & Respect, an initiative that uses nature to combat the prevalence of dysfunctional family dynamics and violence in the inner city.
Project: Rest, Relax & Respect begins by recognizing that many young people in inner cities rarely journey outside of their neighborhoods. Driven by the belief that exposure to the larger world is a key element of engendering personal empowerment and growth, the project brings young males out of the stressful urban setting and into a natural environment of trees and lakes. Emphasizing the value of quiet contemplation and educational growth, Project: Rest, Relax & Respect features both traditional camping activities and a series of workshops on personal responsibility.