[Bgs-list] Special Request

[Aaron Martin]

Hi Bryant,
  I agree lt me know when and where sir,


Best Regards,
AJ

On Friday, April 22, 2016, Bryant K. Smith <smithcan at mac.com> wrote:

> Good Morning BG’s,
>
> I know you were not expecting to hear from me on a Friday, however, after
> what was a very trying week for me I feel compelled to reach out to you all
> today. Over the past several days I have been engaged in some very deep
> conversations with many of you individually and even electronically. Those
> conversations have been everything from instructive, and humorous to
> aggravating and sad. I spent yesterday afternoon talking with an older BG
> that I respect to seek counsel on how we could repair the damage that I
> think has been done to some of our relationships. Even that conversation
> was a mixed bag of emotions for me as I had to take a good look at myself.
> I know those of you that come to lunch know the history of how the BG’s
> began, but I don’t think you fully understand what the group has meant and
> does mean to me.
>
> As an undergraduate I saw Black men in faculty and administrative
> positions as being detached from the Black male students and even as a
> young professional working on a campus there always seemed to be a
> disconnect. Finally one day a Black man began mentoring me and befriended
> me. He put his title and position aside invited me into his home and spoke
> to me about things i needed to know as a Black man. It was with his help
> that those other Black male faculty members and administrators became human
> to me. Fast forward to my first days working at Clemson and the BG’s gave
> me that same sense of mentoring, and belonging outside of the titles and
> the institution we were Black men and that meant something to me. Through
> the BG’s I have met men that I otherwise would probably never have met. I
> have made friends, shared my best and worst days and have always looked
> forward to the first and third Wednesdays. I learn something new almost
> every time we meet. Even in our jokes and disagreements I am uplifted.
>
> The BG’s for me represents the hope that we as Black men can get together
> and carve out space to support, challenge, mentor, nurture, uplift and
> encourage one another for no other reason than the simple fact that we care
> about Black men. Not sure about the rest of you but that is important to
> me. Over the years I have seen the BG’s serve as mediator, sounding board,
> and a space where complex issues and concerns are strategized over argued
> about and plans created. It is my hope that this will continue to be the
> case. However, I must say that many of the dialogues that I have been
> engaged in this past week leave me very worried that some of us will not be
> able to rebound and separate the love we have for one another as BG’s from
> the professional and/or personal stances we have taken on the issues
> brought about from the Sikes sit-in.
>
> So why am I writing this to you today? I am writing because I am hoping we
> can find some time between now and the next week to have a special BG
> dinner (dinner so we don’t have to rush back to work) at a location where
> we can dine and in true BG fashion have a serious dialogue about our
> disagreements without being disagreeable of course. If you share my
> concerns about the group and would be open to our dining I am opening the
> floor for suggested dates and locations. Please only reply to me so that
> our inboxes are not filled with multiple comments from each of us. Once I
> get some input I will send something out that says when and where. Thanks
> in advance for your time.
>
> The Concerned List Keeper.
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>
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