Clearing land for ‘a solution’

The nonprofit Kut Different, Inc., has plans to open an academy on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Ocala in 2027. A land clearing celebration took place at the site on June 20, 2025. [Submitted photo]

In the early morning of June 20, workers and supporters gathered at a six-acre site on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Ocala, between 29th and 31st Streets, to celebrate clearing the treed lot for the future construction of the Kut Different Academy. The goal is to open in the academy in the Fall of 2027.

Kut Different Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by brothers Jamie Gilmore Jr. and Eddie Rocker.

Gilmore told the “Gazette” that Kut Different Academy will serve male students ages 5 to 14 for grades kindergarten through eighth, “whose families are eager to take control of their futures and “hone their greatness.”

“Our target audience includes households earning between 50% to 80% of the area’s median income (AMI), particularly single-parent households, families with multiple children and extended family caregivers (aunts, grandmothers, older siblings, etc.),” Gilmore wrote following the event.

“Kut Different Academy is deeply committed to closing opportunity gaps for boys from historically underserved communities, with a focus on supporting Black and Hispanic young men who are disproportionately impacted by educational and socio-emotional disparities,” he added.

The academy intends to use AI adaptive learning which, Gilmore said, “dynamically adjusts to individual reading and comprehension levels, delivering personalized content and resources that match each learner’s unique needs and learning style.”

Gilmore opened the land clearing event by inviting his father, Jamie Gilmore Sr., to say a prayer.

In that prayer, the elder Gilmore prayed for God to make the location “a sanctuary of peace, a sanctuary of education, a sanctuary of excellence,” and lead the right educators and administrators to build a successful academy team.

“I want to ask you guys a question, ‘What if every young man’s given structure gives them belief they can do anything? If you get on your social media right now, you’ll see a problem. But this is not a problem, right? This is an answer. This is an answer to the problems that’s been going on for a while and with this (academy), it stops. Stops here today,” Gilmore said.

“When you hear poverty, enough people think of money, finance, but poverty is also a mindset. So, we’re going to give these young men a change to their mindset—it’s going to change the way they see themselves and it’s going to change how they approach the world,” Gilmore added.

Kut Different board member Rev. Mark Cummings also spoke at the event

Cummings called on the Bible story of Esther, who risked her life to save the Jewish people under Babylonian captivity and correlated the same bravery to what Kut Different was doing to save the lives of young Black boys.

“We’re saying no to culture. We’re saying no to anybody who’d want to minimize the potential and possibility of these young men. That’s what you are, an eyewitness here today. And be clear on this. This is not a Kut Different thing. This is a community thing,” Cummings said.

“Every single person will have a better and brighter tomorrow, because Kut Different exists, because the foundation will be laid on this piece of property. And as we just prayed, educators will come in and we will disciple, train and lift up these young men who will step into our culture and step into business and step into nonprofits and step into law enforcement and political arenas and make all of our lives better. So somewhere in your world, mark this moment, this day, and remember to remind yourself—I was there when the next president of the United States says out loud that he’s a graduate of Kut Different,” he added.

“This is not a Jamie Gilmore thing. This is not a Kut Different thing. This is for all of us. Through this property and what’s being created, our next mayor, our next city council will come through this solution,” Gilmore Jr. told the crowd.

To learn more, go to kutdifferentacademy.org