By Chad Anderson Cavalier Daily Senior Writer
Wednesday evening saw what several people in attendance deemed a historic day at the University. The Second Annual Conversation with Black Men gathered in the Physics building, an event sponsored by the Office of African-American Affairs and facilitated by Assistant Dean of Students David Bynes and Dean of African-American Affairs M. Rick Turner.
The event, which Turner developed and led last year, is an effort to bring African-American male students together to discuss issues related to their individual lives as well as to the broader University and Charlottesville communities. In fact, community proved to be a common thread throughout the evening.
Turner said he wanted to open the doors to the entire community, admitting he made a mistake at last year's Conversation when women were not welcome and he asked a Hispanic man to leave.
"I'm not going to exclude people," Turner said. "If women come, if white men come, I hope they learn as much as we do as we talk about us."
Both Turner and Bynes began the dialogue by stressing the importance of communication among black men and discussing the silence within the black community. Turner said he wanted the event to be an opportunity to foster new friendships and acquaintances among the attendees.
Bynes also said he hoped to start a sense of community through the event.
"We've come here to hold true to our commitment to be our brother's keeper... that we will agree to be brothers," Bynes said.
The students broke up into six groups to discuss topics chosen by the deans prior to the forum. The topics included issues concerning black male apathy, the gender gap between black men and black women, assimilation and its effects, black pride, the increase of racial inequality even after the Civil Rights Movement and the responsibility of black students to the black community of Charlottesville.
After meeting for 45 minutes, the groups reconvened as a large body to talk about what they had learned and discussed in their small circles.
While there were many responses to each of the topics, each of the six groups called for more support among African-American men as well as a stronger African-American community in general.
Bynes said he appreciated the way everyone came together and learned from one another.
"I enjoyed watching the seasoned African-American men interacting with our young African-American men," Bynes said. "I enjoyed watching the cultivation that was taking place. I think there was a lot of cultivating of the mind that was happening, cultivating of ideas that was happening."
Fourth-year College student Patrique Denize said he enjoyed the opportunity to gather with his fellow black students and share experiences and commonalities with each other.
"I think it was a good unity where everyone was able to discuss, vent out and talk about issues that affect black men, not only at U.Va., but also in the community and outside the community, and in the United States for that matter," Denize said. "We were able to talk about ways we can become better, not only as individuals, but as a collective whole."
Third-year College student Dare Magnus-Lawson said he was pleased that the participants were able to relate to each other despite their differences.
"One thing that I found tonight was that even though we used different words to explain it, it was all the same problem," Magnus-Lawson said. "And I feel that we made a very progressive step here, by all finding out that as black men, we're all going through the same problems, no matter what socio-economic background we come from, we're all black here. And we have to find some type of headway or some type of process to get where we need to be."
In fact, those who attended the event came from a variety of backgrounds. Attendance was not limited to undergraduate students, as University Law students, graduate students, administrators, professors, hospital staff and Charlottesville citizens were also present.
Graduate Education student Brandon Isaiah said the dialogue did a good job of bringing people together.
"I think it's a good chance for all these different types of people, whether it's athletes, people in the [Charlottesville] community, or students, just to come together to hear the different views and aspects of how we feel as black men in the community and all the burdens and responsibilities that we have," Isaiah said.
Event officials said they were pleased with both the diverse nature of the audience as well as the number of people that came to the event.
Bynes said he and Turner had not anticipated so many people.
"It's a great turn-out," Bynes said. "We counted and we have about 70 people here. I think it was a great discussion. I think the dialogue was rich. I think people learned a lot. It was a good few hours spent for me."
Keith Roots, director of corporate and foundation relations, also said he was impressed with turnout and considered the event to be almost historical.
"This may be one of the largest gatherings of black men since slaves were working on the Rotunda and the Lawn," Roots said. "This was a significant cultural event, and hopefully everybody that participated tonight can take this and learn from it both as individuals and as a greater community."
After the forum, Turner discussed the future of A Conversation with Black Men and announced plans to provide the opportunity for the students to choose a speaker for next semester and make the event bi-annual.
Bynes said he is excited about the future and would even like to hold conversations more frequently.
"I wouldn't mind myself seeing this done maybe on a quarterly basis," Bynes said. "Just a time when people can come together and really let their hair down and just talk about their experiences, whether it's from the University perspective, from the community perspective -- but really I think the overall goal is how do we get the University and community together and make that experience one enriching experience."
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