|
|
|
|
| PRESIDENT |
VICE-PRESIDENT |
BROTHERHOOD CHAIR |
SOCIAL CHAIR |
| Eric Smith |
Cedrick Yancey |
Dante Doig-Acuña |
Abdul Ly |
|
|
|
|
| TREASURER |
COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR |
DEVELOPMENT CHAIR |
PUBLIC SERVICE CHAIR |
| James Johnson |
Bryant Wright |
Damilare Sonoiki |
Kevin Johnson |
|
|
|
|
| FRESHMAN LIASON |
WEBMASTER |
|
|
| TBA |
Calvin McEachron |
|
|
| 2010 |
Alexander Johnson Charles Cole Clayton Brooks Darryl Finkton Derrick Barker
James Fish James Williams Jeremy Wall Jonathan Brito Jonathon Figueroa
Justin Gerrard Justin Robinson Justin White Larry Arbuthnott Maxwell Nwaru
Ndu Okereke Nworah Ayogu Patrick Menza Remy Bizimungu Richie Serna
Ryan Fitzgerald Ryan Williams Sam Enumah Sangu Delle Sean Mitchell Tabare Gowon
Anthony Britto Jarell Lee Desmond Mitchell
|
| 2011 |
Ablorde Ashigbi Anselm Beach Benjamin Arabia Brandon Asbury Charles Shannon
Elliot Ikheloa Eric Taylor Eskor Johnson Ethan Amaker Gabriel Unger
Idriss Fofana Ifeanyi Obukwelu Ifeanyichukwu Ojukwu Jaime De Coteau Jeremiah Cross
Justin Dews Keith Doelling Lucas Habte Michael Burks Nebiyou Samuel
Obi Nwachukwu Osman "D." Shawkat Rashaud Senior Spencer Hardwick Sumorowuo Zaza
Travis Tillman Abhishek Jonathan Bose-Kolanu Andre Gabriel
|
| 2012 |
Bryant Wright Allan Jean-Baptiste Babalakin Omosegbon Barthalomew Sillah
Calvin McEachron Dammy Akenfenwa Kenneth Chenault Malcolm-Wiley Floyd Malik Knox
Yohannes Constable Cedrick Yancey Glyvolner Gabriel John Hill Obi Ekekezie
Obi Okwara Roshane Campbell Nigel Deen
|
| 2013 |
Abdul Ly Damilare Sonoiki Dante Doig-Acuna Eric Smith James Johnson
Kevin Johnson Sebastian Flores Shomari Barber Winston Waters II Ainsley Faux
Andrew Vincent Travis Anderson-Hamilton Winston Gee Martin Evelyn John Azubuike
Everton Blair Hilton Augustine III
|
|
The Preamble and Pledge
As a member of the Black Men's Forum, it is my duty to uphold the standards of this organization; brotherhood, manhood and fidelity. I will prove myself a good brother by making a conscious effort to know my fellow brethren on a personal level and by providing a means for advice to those who are in need. I will prove myself a man by helping to make those who are weak as strong as I through serving my community to the best of my ability. I will prove myself faithful by attending meetings regularly, and supporting the events and programs sponsored by the Black Men's Forum. In accomplishing these duties I will best represent myself, the Black men on this campus and those throughout the world.
Download Constitution | |
|
|
The Forum was started in the 70's, but apathy in the 80's led to limited institutional memory. To prevent this from happening again, effort will be made to ensure that the history of the Forum will be annually updated with a new account. Several accounts are available and each summarizes the events of the previous year. The accounts have been written since the 1996-1997 academic year.
|
| 1996-1997
In the Seventies distinguished Black men at Harvard founded the organization, "Black Men's Forum" and registered the name with the university. In 1994 another group of distinguished Black men at Harvard, led by the Honorable Derrick Ashong '97-'98, Daniel Alexander '97, and John Waldrop '96 decided that they wanted to establish an organization and they revived the name and the organization which had been defunct.
Revived, Black Men's Forum began to re-establish itself in the 1994-95 school year. Members would meet in the Yard and discuss issues that pertained to Black men at Harvard in particular and society in general. In 1994-95 Black Men's Forum presented the first annual Celebration of Black Women. The Forum invited the prize winning poet, Gwendolyn Brooks who addressed the members and their guests. In addition to Ms. Brooks there was an entertainment showcase in honor of Black women at Lowell Lecture Hall and a Semi-Formal at Adams House. The showcase paid tribute through song, dance, and poetry with the central piece being the reading of Maya Angelou's Phenomenal Woman. The leadership of the Forum was turned over from the Honorable Derrick Ashong '97-'98, President, John Waldrop '96 Vice President, and Daniel Alexander '97, Treasurer to the Honorable Bashir Salahuddin '98, President, Mark Thompson '98, Vice President, Steven Turner '98, Tresurer, and Mark Price '98 Secretary.
In 1995-96 the Forum continued working hard to establish itself on campus and promote a sense of brotherhood. The meetings were more formalized that year, as the Forum gathered every week in Harvard Hall 102 on Monday evenings. In addition to the general meetings, the members enjoyed competing against each other on the weekends playing basketball. In the fall of 1995 many members of the Forum ventured to DC for the Million Man March. The tradition of the Celebration of Black Women continued with the welcoming of the guest, Faye Watlleton, co-founder and former president of Planned Parenthood. The Forum that year began a new tradition with the production of a Jazz show at North House that showcased talented members as well as other members of the Harvard community. At the year's conclusion the leadership of the Forum was handed to the Honorable Mike Sleet '97, President, Mark Price '98, Vice President, Diallo Riddle '97, Treasurer, Richard Phillips '99, Secretary and Kris Radcliff '00, Freshman Representative.
In 96-97 the Forum continued to build, grow and further expand its role in the Harvard community. The year began with an address from Dr. Cornel West at the first general meeting in the new more informal meeting place of the Adams Lower Common Room. A now cornerstone of the group was created that year when the Forum designed the first Black Organization Web Page at Harvard. In addition, the Forum hosted several discussions including a discourse on the relevance of Black Fraternities in the context of majority schools. The Forum also made a name for itself that year with its sponsoring of several social events including a number of mixers and parties. The Celebration of Black Women continued and the Forum was pround to invite Barbara Bostic-Hunt, Deputy Chief of Staff to teh Mayor of Baltimore. The new tradition of the Jazz Show also continued in the spring being held in the Dining Room of the Pforzheimer House (AKA North House). The leadership of the board expanded as the new positions of Service Chair, currently held by Ron Williams '98, Discussion Chair, currently held by Ian Hunt '99, Social Chair, currently held by A. Ryan Leslie, Historian currently held by Steven J. Turner '98, and Harvard Foundation Representative, currently held by Richard Phillips '99, were created. The Forum is now led by Mark Price '98, President, Keith Bernard '99, Vice President, Aaron Montgomery '00, Tresurer and Shearwood "Woody" McClelland '00, Secretary.
Submitted by
Steven J. Turner '98
BMF Tresurer 95-96
BMF Historian 97-98
|
| 1997-1998
In 1997-98, the Black Men's Forum continued to strengthen its presence within the Harvard community and took major strides in establishing a presence outside of Harvard. The year began once again with an address by Professor Cornel West '74 in Adams Upper Common Room focusing on the ideas of Brotherhood, Manhood, and Fidelity. Peter-Charles Bright '01-'02 became elected as Freshman Representative. The Forum held several intriguing discussions throughout the year, ranging in topics from the role of the Black Bourgeoisie to the perceptions of homosexual black men (a joint discussion with Spectrum). The BMF also co-sponsored the greatly anticipated affirmative action debate between Cornell West and Michael Sandel (pro-affirmative action) vs. Harvey Mansfield and Ruth Wisse (anti-affirmative action), an event which packed Sanders Theater in November 1997.
In addition, the Forum also held several mixers, including its annual gathering with Wellesley, and with groups such as the Association of Black Radcliffe Women (ABRW). The Forum also continued its tradition of energetic parties, most notably the "Ladies Night" event in November held in Adams House. The Forum also organized and held a Valentine's Day show in Pforzheimer House. The BMF also established itself symbolically, as it finalized its emblem and imprinted it on a number of sweatshirts. These sweatshirts also marked the inception of the BMF's association with the number seven (courtesy of Vice-President Keith Bernard '99).
The fourth annual Celebration of Black Women was held in April 1998 in Paine Hall. The honored speaker/Woman of the Year was Dr. Yvonne S. Thornton, Obstetrician Gynecologist/Perinatologist, and co-writer of the New York Times best-selling book turned into Cable Ace award-winning TV movie "The Ditchdigger's Daughters". Dr. Thornton's speech and awe-inspiring presentation was followed by a talent show and then an informal gathering in Loker Commons. The Jazz Show also continued in May 1998 (organized and run by the Honorable Bashir Salahuddin '98) in the dining room of Pforzheimer House. At the year's conclusion, the leadership was handed to Keith Bernard '99, President, Ian Hunt '99-'01, Vice-President, Aaron Montgomery '00, Treasurer, Shearwood "Woody" McClelland '00, Secretary,Peter-Charles Bright '01, Service Chair, Luther Williams '01, Harvard Foundation Representative, Melvin Priester '01, Discussion Chair, Jaime A. Williams '01, Social Chair, and co-Historians Cam Mason '01 and Brandon Walston '01.
Submitted by
Woody McClelland '00
BMF Secretary 97-98
BMF President 1999-2000
|
| 1998-1999
In 1998-99, the BMF spent much of its focus on its image and relationships outside of the Harvard community. This effort was most visible through events such as the Forum's intercollegiate discussion concerning the role of fraternities on the Black male and female communities, and the Forum's joint discussion with Rho Nu entitled "Malcolm vs. Martin", consisting of a debate as to whom was the more effective leader. Freshman co-representatives Brian Coakley '02 and Desmond Jardine '02 were elected, and the position of Service Chair was changed to Brotherhood Chair.
The Forum continued its tradition of mixers and parties, most notably in its highly successful "Family Reunion Party" in October, and its co-sponsorship of the Harvard/Yale weekend party in November with ABRW. Social Chair Jaime Williams demonstrated his advanced web skills, as his reformation of the web site gave it its currently professional look. The BMF also continued the legacy it began in 1997-98, as it placed its signature number seven on specially designed red t-shirts, which members often wore (and continue to wear) as a sign of unity.
To strengthen the efficiency of the board in future years, the positions of Harvard Foundation Representative and Discussion Chair were eliminated. The Secretary will now assume the responsibilities of the Harvard Foundation Representative, and the Brotherhood Chair will assume the responsibilities formerly held by the Discussion Chair. The board is now led by Shearwood "Woody" McClelland '00, President, Peter-Charles Bright '01, Vice-President, Jaime A. Williams '01, Treasurer, Isaac Weiler '02, Secretary, Harrell Conner '02, Brotherhood Chair, Desmond Jardine '02, Social Chair, and Yaw D. K. Osseo-Asare '02, Historian.
Submitted by
Woody McClelland '00
BMF Secretary 97-98
BMF Secretary 98-99
BMF President 1999-2000
|
| 1999-2000
The 1999 - 2000 school year brought the Black Men's Forum further out into the public spotlight by holding several large events. Under the leadership of the Honorable Sherwood "Woody" McClelland '00 and Peter-Charles Bright '01 we were able to plan out many of our events during the summer, leaving us freer during the year to foster brotherhood.
On November 22nd, we brought the Rev. Al Sharpton to Lowell Lecture Hall where he addressed issues ranging from racial profiling to free speech to his famous hair-do. The turnout was strong, even though there were two other international political figures speaking that same night. We also continued with our annual Celebration of Black Women. To make amends for having to cancel last year's celebration, we held two this year. "Part One" was held on December 3rd where we honored the poet Jessica Care Moore as our Woman of the Year. The Celebration was held in Eliot dining hall and consisted of a semi-formal banquet catered by Bob the Chef's. At the banquet, Jessica Care Moore blessed us by performing some of her poetry, and then called on some of the women in attendance to read their own poetry. It was an incredibly powerful evening, as we received comments from those in attendance that it was "the highlight of [their] college career." Not ones to rest on our laurels, we then held "Part Two" on May 7th. This celebration was in the more traditional manner of a talent portion followed by an address by the Women of the Year: Dr. Karen Drake. With these three large events, the Forum maintained its reputation as a group that knows how to do things right.
Along with these events, The Black Men's Forum also remained active in the general goings-on of the year. For instance, we stood behind John Burton and the Driskell-Burton team in their being elected as the first all-Black ticket for UC leadership. During the impeachment trials, Forum members led in the protests and kept a detailed account of the proceedings to ensure everyone was properly informed. Forum members also led the way in protesting the verdict of the Amadou Diallo shooting that took place in New York.
Unfortunately, with all of the public deeds that were being done, the internal side of the organization got shafted slightly. Meetings were held bi-weekly in Emerson 305, a dues-payers-only list was created for internal usage, and Justin Alexander '03 was elected as Freshmen Rep. However the year passed by without the creation of a new shirt, and without any chill events worth mentioning. Even so, the membership remained strong and committed, a testament to the strength and vitality of The Forum. This year also marked an increase in the use of the web-site.
By the end of the year, The Black Men's Forum had expanded it's membership and it's image (if not it's budget). Elections were held at the end of the year and the Forum looks to be in good hands for next year as Jaime Williams '01 will take over as President. The rest of next year's board includes Isaac Weiler '02 as Vice-President, Kenny Ebie '01 as Secretary, Harrell Conner '02 as Brotherhood Chair, Justin Alexander '03 as Treasurer, Daryk Pengelly '03 as Social Chair, and D.K. Osseo-Asare '02 as Historian.
Submitted by
Isaac Weiler '02
BMF Secretary 1999-2000
|
| 2000-2001
The 2000-2001 school year proved to be a trying time for the Black Men's Forum. The Executive Board went through four different transformations before finally settling on a reduced board of the Honorable Jaime Williams '01 as President, Kenny Ebie '01 as Secretary, Harrell Conner '02 as Brotherhood Chair, Justin Alexander '03 as Treasurer, and Marques Redd '04 as Freshmen Rep. (Isaac, Daryk, and D.K. were all forced to resign from their posts for varying reasons.) But The Forum carried on and was still able to have a powerful year, shifting its focus from the external to more internal matters.
This year showed the importance of having a social chair (first semester only) as we were able to plan several well-attended parties and created a new tee-shirt design. The meetings also played a more vital role this year than last. For starters, we returned to the Adams Upper Common Room, a space more informal and conducive to the flow of the meetings. The frequency of the meetings was also increased to every Monday, and tie days were held more often as well. All of this - including other factors like the increasing use of the handshake - brought a renewed power and prestige to the meetings. In fact, when a group of visiting pre-frosh - men and women - came up for an extended weekend trip, they requested to be allowed to attend a meeting.
We held our 7th annual Celebration of Black Women on Friday, April 20th where we honored A'Lelia Bundles '74 for her recent book on Madame C.J. Walker. We also added a new element to the Celebration this year as we honored seven graduating females for their leadership throughout their time at Harvard. Marques held down Black History Month for the entire campus by sending out a "Black Fact of the Day" throughout the month of February. However, the BMF took a step back this year from public events as we focused on our internal strengthening. (Fortunately, the BSA stepped up this year and took over where we left off last year in organizing campus wide events such as the Harvey Mansfield Debate and the meeting with President Rudenstine.) But don't think that that means our members - some of the best and brightest on campus - were taking the year off. Forum members still represented strongly in a wide array of campus events including the Living Wage sit-in and the Faces of America conference. Some members even carried their love for social justice to other campuses and helped in the sit-in on Northeastern's campus.
While this year may be remembered as the year the board fell apart, it was still a strong year for The Forum. Book-ended with controversies over elected officials, this year showed that the strength of The Forum comes from the membership and not just the board itself. The year ended off positively with membership increasing throughout the second semester and a stronger feeling of comradery and brotherhood among the members. Next year's board aims to combine the strengths of the past two years and grow exponentially both internally and externally. Leading the way will be Isaac Weiler '02 as President, Charles Moore '04 as Vice President, Alonzo Sherman '03 as Brotherhood Chair, Justin Alexander '03 as Treasurer, Ian Thompson '04 as Secretary, Desmond Jardine '02 as Social Chair, and Steven Williams '04 as Historian. (Marques Redd '04 discontinued a history of Freshmen Rep.'s continuing on in a board member capacity as he jumped ships to be Vice President of the BSA. We wish him the best of luck next year.)
Submitted by
Isaac Weiler '02
BMF Secretary 99-00
BMF Vice President 00-01
|
| 2001-2002
Bouncing back from a year (2000-2001) that started out rather chaotically with four different board configurations and suffered from dwindling membership numbers, the BMF, under the leadership of the Honorable Issac Weiler ’02-’03 experienced what is widely recognized as a renaissance year and turning point for the organization in many ways.
It did not, however, seem that this was going to be the case at first. On September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, sending the nation into a whirlwind of political and moral confusion. Inside the campus bubble, President Lawrence H. Summers’ first year at Harvard was defined by tensions stemming from the acrimonious departure of former Alphonse Fletcher University Professor Cornel West and President Summers’ conspicuous hesitance to endorse affirmative action and diversity in faculty hiring. In the face of this controversy and uncertainty, however, the BMF persevered and made a number of institutional leaps that strengthened the organization tremendously.
The organization’s move to weekly meetings was solidified this year, and the experience of interacting with brothers every Monday at 7 PM proved to be a great thing for the development of brotherhood in the organization. The BMF meetings of this year were a place of lively debate where opinions across the political spectrum were offered and debated on a number of hot topics. Guests of note at this year’s BMF meetings included Prof. West before his departure, and W.E.B. DuBois University Professor of the Humanities Henry Louis Gates, Jr. This year, the BMF also hosted a lecture by renowned white anti-racist activist Tim Wise that was a resounding success. BMF also co-sponsored a screening of Antwone Fisher starring Denzel Washington and Derek Luke, who attended the premiere. One event that should not be overlooked as a factor in the BMF renaissance is the establishment of the paintball trip, which brought members together and caused a noticeable increase in participation, excitement, and bumps on the head.
The BMF’s two biggest accomplishments this year, however, had to do with our relationship with black women. In the winter of 2001, Jason Young ’04 proposed a radical upgrade to the Celebration of Black Women event. Jason’s plan, although initially met with skepticism and uncertainty, eventually won out, and the CBW was moved off campus for the first time to the Back Bay Hilton. By accessing corporate and other forms of sponsorship, Jason Young and Vice-President Charles Moore ’04 were able to make the Celebration a grand event on the scale of our true love and appreciation for black women. That year’s honoree was Professor Evelyn Higginbotham, the renowned historian from our very own Department of African and African American Studies—an important statement in a time of uncertainty for the department.
This year was also the first year that BMF became actively involved with Take Back the Night Week, a week-long effort to raise awareness about sexual assault and sexual violence. BMF was one of the first male groups to get involved with TBTN, and the black community’s TBTN week event is now regularly one of the highest attended and most powerful events all week. BMF members have also come to be very active in the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response and other efforts to raise awareness amongst other black men of this oft-ignored issue in our community.
Pledging to build further on the successes of 2001-2002, Brotherhood Chair Alonzo Sherman ’03 was elected president. Vice-President Charles Moore left the BMF board to become BSA President, and Jason Young, fresh off a resoundingly successful CBW, was elected Vice-President. Former freshman representative Brandon Terry ‘05, and founder of the now legendary Get Yo’ Jollies pre-frosh weekend party (which was held for the first time in 2002) was elected Brotherhood Chair. The rest of the new board included Chris Hill ’05 as Social Chair, Kwame Osseo-Asare ’05 as Treasurer, Issac Weiler as Secretary, and Andre Kydd ’04 as Historian.
|
| 2002-2003
The BMF renaissance continued under the presidency of the Honorable Alonzo C. Sherman in 2002-2003. Focusing on brotherhood and institution-building, Alonzo not only brought back the paintball trip he established the previous year, expanding it to include the Hispanic student group Fuerza, but he also organized BMF’s first-ever international trip—to Montreal, Quebec for the Concordia Caribbean Students Conference. A direct response to growing complaints that BMF did not fully represent the entirety of the African diaspora, the Canada trip proved to be an amazing opportunity for BMF to recruit new members and grow closer as brothers in the organization. The momentum derived from this trip propelled the organization toward a banner year, with participation and attendance noticeably up.
Alonzo and Vice-President Jason Young ’04 enlisted the aid of black-owned event management firm Nexx Graphics to assist with this year’s Celebration of Black Women, which honored actress Phylicia Rashad, of The Cosby Show fame. The event, held at the Boston Park Plaza, garnered widespread media attention and BMF broke all expectations for attendance and fundraising, even securing the first presenting sponsor in the history of CBW, Africana.com. This was also the first black community event to do significant alumni outreach since the compilation of the black alumni mailing list. Most who attended the event were extremely impressed and delighted by the message.
For others, however, came to symbolize the growing pains that BMF was going through as an organization and sparked a passionate community debate over the core values of BMF and whether we had outgrown our mission. This sentiment spilled over into discord between black community groups exacerbated by the controversy over inappropriate comments printed in the Black Students’ Association’s (BSA) Black Guide to Life at Harvard.
With the BSA embroiled in the swirl of controversy, the BMF became a more visible presence on campus, organizing a few high-profile discussions, including a talk on reparations by former Professor of Government and African and African American Studies Michael Dawson and one with former Professor of Sociology and African and African American Studies Lawrence Bobo on affirmative action in the midst of the raging legal battle against the University of Michigan. BMF also first released the magazine REMIX this year, under the supervision of editor-in-chief the Honorable Issac Weiler. The magazine had a short run into the summer, but was discontinued for nearly a year due to budgetary constraints.
The weekly BMF meetings touched on a number of topics including black violence in the media, hip-hop, and more. BMF also made a move to focus more on business, hosting Prof. David Thomas from the Harvard Business School and CEO of Africana.com Kenn Turner. This was also the first year that the BMF hosted a meeting with representatives from the Central Intelligence Agency. The topic was, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and the rhetoric from the Bush administration indicating an Iraq invasion was imminent, on Iraq, terrorism, and WMD.
This year also saw the establishment of two important traditions in the BMF. First, the BMF presence on pre-frosh weekend was taken up a notch with the second Get Yo’ Jollies party and a newly established black faculty reception which was attended by Professors Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Kimberly DaCosta, and Lawrence Bobo amongst others. Also, the BMF started its annual end-of-the-year Senior Roast, at which the Marvin C. Pittman ’02 Award is given to an outstanding senior who has contributed much to BMF but never held a board position, and graduating seniors are roasted by the underclassmen and each other. David Anderson ’03 won the award in its first year.
Brotherhood Chair Brandon Terry was elected to serve as president for 2003-2004, and Jason Young returned as Vice-President for his senior year. Other elected positions included Kwame Owusu-Kesse ’06 as Brotherhood Chair, Tracy “Ty” Moore as Social Chair, Gbenga Okunsanya ’05 as Treasurer, Andre Kydd ’04 as Secretary, and Mikal Floyd-Pruitt ’06 as Historian.
|
| 2006-2007
I want to congratulate all the freshmen on the completion of their first Harvard semester, as well as officially welcome everyone to second semester. The purpose of the following is two-fold: 1) to review the first semester and 2) to give you an idea of what to expect in the months ahead. While the first semester was, I believe a good start to the year, I fully believe that this upcoming semester will be incredible.
The year began well and it was truly a pleasure to see so many of the freshmen take a genuine interest in the organization and all that it offers. It was especially exciting seeing the turnout in opening meetings as we addressed many of the larger issues that affect us as black men. These meetings were mixed well with meeting that addressed life at Harvard; everything from classes to a collaborative meeting with the sisters of ABHW about relations between guys and girls on campus. We began the year in a new way with the annual BMF Paintball Outing in October and followed with a number of classic events, namely the BMF Trip to Canada as well as the 2nd Annual BMF/ABHW Cocktail Party.
With that said, I will be the first to say that this semester was not without its setbacks. First and foremost, as mentioned previously, we as an organization have failed in our commitment to service. I will not linger on this subject, but will say that service is the crucial aspect that separates our organization from most. It is in our understanding of what we, collectively and individually, offer to the world around us that makes the BMF the prestigious and respected organization that it is. With that said, the minimum of 3.5 hours of community service over the course of the semester will be reaffirmed. Records will be kept, but I do not want you all to find this daunting; 3.5 hours—to give you all an idea of what that amount of time means—is the equivalent of participating two times in the David Walker Program. I will emphasize that this requirement is a minimum and truly hope that every individual who considers himself a member of the Black Men's Forum will be doing more than just this minimum.
Our second setback, I feel, has been with members of the freshmen class. Those of us in the upper classes have had the opportunity to get to know many of you, but I feel as if you all may not feel the type of bond and unity with the older guys as we all would hope. I will say, perhaps we got off on the wrong foot, and for any of you freshmen who felt a bit turned off over the course of the first semester, I truly encourage you to give us another chance. I know in my heart that you won't regret it.
With the first semester officially history, I want to give you all an idea of what the next several months will look like. Over the span of roughly three-and-a-half months we will be holding a number of the organization's premiere events, namely the 13th Annual Celebration of Black Women (CBW) in March, Volume VI of "Get Yo' Jollies" and our 2nd Annual BMF Alumni Weekend, to be held in April and May respectively. And I can promise you all one thing: the "BMF Senior Roast" that will be happening in early May will be an event you will not want to miss. Please believe it.
In addition to these now-staple-events of our organization, we will also be a part of some truly new and exciting events. In February we will be collaborating with the Harvard Foundation, the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (OSAPR) and the sisters of ABHW to present and discuss Byron Hurt's "Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes," a documentary that explores the effect that Hip Hop is having on society today, specifically black youth. In April we plan to partner with the Harvard AIDS Coalition (HAC) and the South Asian Men's Collective (SAMC) to throw an incredible AIDS awareness event that will conclude with a benefit party in which all of the proceeds are donated to an AIDS clinic, still to be named. Finally, we are planning on collaborating with the black men of the Harvard graduate schools for a true "Black Men's Forum" in which we are able to discuss some of the issues that we share as Black Harvard Men. Truly there are some exciting events down the road.
In addition to these events, there will be other additions to the second semester calendar. The reaffirmation of our service commitment has already been addressed, but we will be offering many opportunities for service over the next several weeks. As Oduche mentioned, the David Walker Program will be up and running by the middle of February and in addition, we will be launching several new opportunities that will give you a choice of the area in which you would like to do service.
We will be bringing back some of the true BMF Classics, including MAC Takeovers as well as the BMF/ABHW Challenge (featuring a Spades tournament perhaps..). Joining these classic events, we will be launching a few BMF Gaming sessions, for all of you who claim to be destructive in Halo, Madden, or Diddy Kong Racing.
Truly I could go on and tell you about all the other great things coming down the road: the release of a brand new "REMIX" in mid-February, the launching of a new (and quite improved) BMF Website or the creation of a feasible and well-structured model that will help our organization acquire an endowment over the course of the next 18 months.
However, I don't want to spoil all of the surprise…
Before closing, I want to mention two final points.
This organization has so much exciting work over the next 3.5 months, but it cannot be done on the shoulders of only a few. I encourage you all to get involved, whether that means helping out with the planning of existing events or proposing events of your own for the organization to help you undertake. As I mentioned in our very first meeting, this organization has a board which manages day-to-day and larger events, but ultimately it is about you. The organization is you. If anyone is looking for ways to get involved, please let me know because I will give you several possible options; to start, the CBW Planning Committee is at the final stretch and there is a lot of important and exciting work to be done over the course of the next seven weeks.
My final point is simply the following: we, the BMF board will be making a commitment to having more events where you don't have to pay. Period. Obviously, we can't make every event free, as nice as that would be; after all, we are an organization, not a business and thus our budget will not always cover every event we want to throw. But I can promise you a better and stronger commitment to making the events ones in which money is not coming out of your pocket, because that's not what coming to BMF events should be about.
I have said a lot, and I hope I have not taken up too much of your time, but I want to thank all of you who have been committed to this organization over the past semester. I truly look forward to sharing with you all what promises to be a fun, exciting and historic next three months.
Chas Hamilton
President '06-'07
|
| The Honorables (Past Presidents)
|
|