If you walk into the Maleek Jackson Boxing Gym in Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties neighborhood, you’ll find boxers at every level shuffling around in the ring. The gym’s owner, Maleek Jackson, offers one-on-one training, group sessions, family training and even bridal bootcamps. While his boxers build muscle, they also build their confidence and self-esteem.
Yet the gym offers much more than just a workout. It’s also a way for Jackson to give back to the community and help kids avoid making the same mistakes he made when he was younger.
"So boxing was a form of therapy for me. It was my coping mechanism."
Jackson, who grew up in South Philadelphia, went to prison when he was only 16-years-old and spent ten years behind bars.
“Prison is the lowest form a human being can exist on without actually being dead,” Jackson said.
While he was incarcerated, Jackson turned to boxing to become stronger, both physically and mentally. He also earned his GED.
“So boxing was a form of therapy for me,” he said. “It was my coping mechanism.”
Beyond the Violence
Jackson lost three of his brothers to gun violence. When he was 7-years-old, he watched his older brother Pudd get shot. Pudd was then killed a few months later. During Jackson’s first year in prison, his other brother Darrell was killed. Then, a few years before he was released, Jackson’s younger brother Azzim was killed.
"It's a celebration if a young Black kid makes it to 18, especially to 21."
“Everybody is going to experience their fair share of pain in this world,” Jackson said. “And the strongest of us is those who try to turn that pain and make it something that is impactful.”
Jackson has turned his pain into triumph with the Azzim Dukes initiative, a youth and anti-gun violence boxing program that was named in honor of his brother.
“Our communities, the kids, they die off young,” Jackson said. “It’s a celebration if a young Black kid makes it to 18, especially to 21.”
The Azzim Dukes Initiative serves children and teenagers growing up in the same neighborhoods that Jackson did. The program is based on his own journey, what he needed and what he didn’t have. Children can join the program and the gym for only $5 a month. Boxing gives them a safe place to go and encourages them to redirect their focus, practice discipline and perseverance and feel a sense of community.
“They come to me with heaviness. Some of them don’t got no mom. Some of them don’t got no dad. Some of them, they contemplate suicide. Right? And sometimes, I’m the only person they tell,” Jackson said. “When they leave me, they feel good about themselves. Right? Because that’s what boxing did for me when I was at the lowest of the low.”
Jackson also offers a program for teen girls. They can apply for year-round tuition to the gym, sponsored by the Ellis Trust Fund. The Azzim Dukes Initiative currently serves about 150 children with a waitlist of over 3,000.
“I mean, I had kids that went off to college. I had kids that took their own life. I had kids that took lives. I had kids that went to prison. I had kids that had kids when they was young,” Jackson said. “At least 50 to 60 percent of the kids that we service go on to enjoy another year of their life and another year of their life and another year of their life. And to me, that’s a win.”
Jackson wants the work that he’s doing now to improve his community to be part of his legacy.
“The most important thing is to continue to work and once I leave, to continue to leave something that can leave an impact for those who are still coming up,” he said. “Like little Azzims and little Maleeks.”
