The hot generation: what do Usher, Tiger, Kobe, Venus, Maxwell & Brandy have in common?

Ebony, Jan, 1998 by Joy Bennett Kinnon

Usher, whose mother is his manager, adds that it is her direction that keeps him focused. "I've learned that this business is very demanding and stressful, but my mother's a great teacher. She keeps me grounded." Talented supermodel Tyra Banks first began modeling at 18. Now 24, her mother still acts as her manager. Jaleel White's mother also served as his manager.

Having that family closeness is a key for most successful people, says Dr. James Comer, professor of psychiatry at the Yale University Child Study Center.

"If you look around, successful people anywhere, everywhere, doing anything, you are more likely to good structure, both family and sometimes community. When people are not doing well you find the opposite," he said.

Structure through the community and church has been an important part of these young stars lives and in their success.

New singer Maxwell, 24, is one of the members of this hot young group who was raised in the church. Usher was a former church choir member, his mother was the choir director, and Brandy has not been shy about discussing the importance of faith in her life.

"I think it's because of God that I am where I am today, she says. "And I think he's the cause of all of us being here. I don't ever want to forget about him."

A McComb, Miss., native, she believes in keeping things positive. "A lot of people used to tell me I wasn't gonna be anything," she says. "There are a lot of negative forces out there that will keep you down if you let them."

Kevin Garnett didn't let negative forces affect his future. His decision in 1995 to skip college for the NBA met with some criticism. Now 21, this South Carolina native recently became one of the highest-paid players in the NBA with a $125 million contract from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Not bad pay for a kid only two years away from an allowance.

In order to have more of these very successful young adults, Comer argues society has to take more leadership in guiding young people who do not have the support they need to succeed.

"We shouldn't have rich Black people who think they made it on their own and that they don't owe anything to the Black community. "

Student activist Oriana Bolden is already dedicated to ensuring that the generation that follows her, will have that support. A 19-year-old college sophomore majoring in labor relations, she has been involved in youth advocacy, civil rights and environmental issues. Bolden has served as executive director of the Center for Young Women's Development in San Francisco, and also organized a national network of youth activists called SCREAM (Student Committee Resisting Enlistment and Militarism). She doesn't sleep much, she adds between her classes and projects.

Another young activist who is in a policy-making position is Congressman Harold Ford Jr., who last year at 26 became one the youngest members of the 105th Congress and the second-youngest member of Congress in history. He succeeded his father, who had held the seat for 22 years. Rep. Ford took the initial insult of being called "junior" and turned it into a winner's slogan.