In the News

Amid the chatter, shenanigans and silliness that is the Real Housewives TV franchise, comes a moment of real import.

And there’s a Miami-Dade connection.

On Sunday’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta, airing at 8 p.m. on Bravo, U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami Gardens, is seen welcoming the cast of the reality show to her Washington, D.C., office to bring attention to the struggle of African-American boys.

Wilson, founder of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Program, a school dropout prevention and mentoring program for at-risk boys, was approached by cast member Phaedra Parks. Parks, a single parent of two sons after her husband was jailed, wanted to set up a mentoring program called Saving Our Sons.

Cast members Kim Fields, Porsha Williams, Sheree Whitfield and Parks met with Wilson in her office on Oct. 10, the same day the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March took place in the city. The group discussed 5000 Role Models and mentorships.

According to Wilson’s spokeswoman, Gwen Belton, the congresswoman hopes her appearance on Sunday’s broadcast inspires people to share her passions and inspire others, like Parks, to start mentoring programs for African-American boys.

“Congresswoman Wilson says some of her comments on the show might offend some people, but this is how she feels, she has breathed, lived and shared, for over 40 years, her passion for mentoring at-risk boys,” Belton said in an email to the Herald.

Parks didn’t have a hard time getting through to Wilson. The congresswoman, Belton says, is “familiar with The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”

On Monday, Wilson and some cast members from the show are scheduled to appear at the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Foundation’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast in Miami.