Men of Color Leadership Conference promotes hope

President-elect Barack Obama’s story has inspired many, but his accomplishments had a strong impact at the fifth annual Men of Color Leadership Conference on Friday and Saturday.

More than 350 young men from eight states spent the weekend at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center talking about their goals to succeed in a nation where color seems to be fading into the background and character is taking center stage.

The conference, titled “Realizing the Possible: Changing Tomorrow by Reflecting on Yesterday,” centered around the roles of men of color in the past and promoting leadership and higher education to propel them into the future.

“The baton is being passed to you,” said Bobby Fong, president of Butler University, as he stood at the head of a room full of young faces. “The future, my friends, is your time.”

Fong was one of two keynote speakers at the conference, the other being New York Times best-selling author Omar Tyree. The young black entrepreneur encouraged the students in front of him to stop dreaming of their futures and start planning them instead.

“You guys have the biggest opportunity in the world,” Tyree said. “Global competition is serious, and it’s yours. There are no excuses.”

The conference had impeccable timing, as the leadership of Obama and his recent election has meant a lot for the minority community. Obama served as a strong focal point.

“These are the years for you,” said Lawrence Hanks, IU associate professor of political science.

He told the students that when he was younger he never would have believed a black man could be president.

“We live in a country that changed, and everyone in your position can do or be what they want to,” he said.

Clarence Greene, a senior from Michigan State University, presented one of the 15 seminars available to the students throughout the conference. Green talked about options for graduate school and said people of color are underrepresented at the graduate level.

Along with seminars, students had a chance for personal dialogue with panel members, some of which were graduate students, while others were community leaders.

Kiwan Lawson, a first-year graduate student and IU track and field athlete, served as one panelist. He said he hoped students walked away with ideas of how to create success in their lives by looking up to empowering leaders.

“If you know people that are empowering, that are educated, that are well respected in the community such as Barack Obama, that’s what you want to follow,” Lawson said.

IU alumnus Dallas Easton, who first organized the conference in 2003, said the number of students attending has grown substantially this year.

“Obviously, the vision is being carried on,” Easton said. “I just try to do my part. This is bigger than me, bigger than you, because it impacts so many.”

Easton said IU has shown it is dedicated to improving race relations and serves as a mecca for diversity.

“Hopefully they’ll challenge other universities to jump on board as well," he said.

Conference chairman Patrick Smith said he was pleased with the growing attendance.

“Men of color are often stigmatized,” Smith said. “They are not recognized for the good things they do, so it’s good to see this large number of people here.”

Most students at the conference were enthusiastic and curious about how to improve themselves and their future and left feeling empowered.

Brandon Williams, vice president of external affairs for Student African-American Brotherhood at Virginia Tech University, said he hoped to leave the conference as a better leader.

“I came to this conference to walk away knowing how to do better at my job,” Williams said. “And so I can encourage other people to step up and be a leader on our campus and so I can help to empower and unite my community.”