Good evening. Can you all hear me okay? Uh-huh, all right. All right, we want to welcome you all for
coming this evening. We know it's a cold, chilly Sunday afternoon and you could be almost anywhere else
but here today, so we really appreciate you being here. We also, before we go further, I'd like to introduce
the Men of Color, Men of Style Committee, Planning Committee. And you can kind of wave your arm if you're here.
Liz Mitchell, there you go Liz, all right. Kevin Jones, he's in the back. I might also add that this
evening we'll have two co-hosts for you today. I'll do the first part and Kevin Jones will do the second
part and bring it up. But Kevin's also on the committee. William Knox, our Mr. DJ, man extraordinary
in the rear. Dana Burton,
She's probably running around. Dana is an employee here at the library. We couldn't pull this function
off without her for sure. And of course myself. Couple things that we'd like to try to do this evening
besides show you or this afternoon besides letting you see some of our men of color in the community
as we like to say strut their stuff. And I think you're going to see that these people really look sharp
as we always have known some of them to be.
However, what we'd also like to do is share a few black history month facts along or throughout this
show. We're gonna start off with, and I'm sure everyone's quite aware of Tony Dungy and Lovey Smith
and the significant contribution that they made in the historical impact. Way back in 1924, there was
another African American coach that coached in the NFL. His name was Frederick Douglas Pollard, but
his nickname was Fritz.
So Fritz Pollard was his name. 1924 was the first African American NFL coach. And he also, it was about
68 years later before Archelle, the next first coach was hired in the NFL. Okay. Also from
a local standpoint, I know most of us know Mr. George Talaferro. Well, I hope many of you know that
George was the first African American that was drafted into the NFL.
Now of course he didn't go there, there was another league that offered him some more money and a little
bit better treatment I think, and he ended up in the NFL two seasons after that. But that's something
that we should know and should be very proud of. First African American to be drafted into the NFL.
And we'll give you a couple more of those throughout the evening. And I'm sure afterwards there will
be a reception as we're mingling and networking and you may have a few that you can share with me. I
would really truly appreciate that as well.
To move on with the show, I think we all understand that over the history of African Americans since
our arrival into America, we've always just had a sense of pride and style about the way we dressed.
Other than that very critical and oppressed time during slavery, we've always found a way to be more
colorful, to kind of add some style and put our own spin to certain things. Of course, when we wanted
to dress, we of course
We wanted to look like the mainstream. We wanted to look like the white man who wore the suits. That's
what we wanted to look, so we could be accepted into the mainstream. But even though if it was a white
shirt, black jacket, we always found a way to put a little something in the pocket, or maybe just flip
that collar just a little bit, which is the style that we're talking about this evening. One of the
most important things I think we have to do this afternoon
and I'm really proud of the gentlemen here. Before we get into looking at some of the clothing, we'd
like to recognize some of our men of color public safety officers this afternoon. We have several of
them in the back, and before we bring them out, there's a couple of comments that I'd like, or a couple
of quotes. I think in the Black History Month profiles that's been in the Hero Telephone, have we been
following those? Aren't those great? I think those are fantastic.
One of those persons highlighted was Officer Troy Thomas, who is a sergeant in the Monroe County Sheriff's
Department. Troy is a lifelong Bloomingtonian, and if not, I believe he's lifelong, and if not, the
great majority of his life, but I think I remember when Troy was born. We're getting old, aren't we?
But Troy is the only black officer in that department, and in the article, if you remember,
He says they never had a black officer and he felt it was a long shot for him to become employed there.
He also goes on to say that the reason that he finds the history of African Americans and Black History
Month important is because people like that who have paved the way to make things like his position
and where he is at now, that's what made it important. So he recognizes that. He also goes on to say
don't believe the stereotypes. It's a good department and a good place to work.
One more officer and I hope I don't embarrass these gentlemen because they kind of talk to me and I'll
just use paraphrase some of their things. Officer George Robinson III. He's with Indiana University
Police Department. He is a 20-year veteran from the Louisville Police Department and he now works here
on campus at IUPD. In talking with him, I said, what do you think is kind of important that we would
like to let folks know about you and what it is you all do? He says, first of all, he wants everyone
to understand that he works in a service
oriented organization. So in his heart, and I think most of these officers feel like they're providing
a service to the community, and that's the way they look at it. He's also very interested in talking
to anyone. If you have an interest in law enforcement or want a career in that field, he'd love to talk
to you and give you a little inside advice or a little help or whatever you may need. And also,
and I said, well, you know, if you get involved in a situation, what is your approach?
Like, if you pull someone over, there's a situation you have to kind of control. And very astutely,
the man says, you know, you should think, and what I think is, when I'm walking in this, I think, what
can I do to help this situation? And he would prefer that the people that he's dealing with, if they
thought the same way, what can I do to help the situation, it would be a much better, much better situation.
So without further ado, we'd like to bring these gentlemen out and share them with you.
at the end of the day, and we'll talk a little bit more, and we'd really like to give them some love
and show them our appreciation. First and foremost, I believe that is Mr. Lafayette Chamberlain. Now,
Lafayette is an employee with the United States Department of Agriculture. That's USDA.
You can just kind of stand there. Thank you. His position is law enforcement and investigation. Again,
that's with the USDA and that's federal, y'all. That's bigger than the county. That's bigger than the
state. That's federal, y'all. So I want you to understand. And we really appreciate it. It is entitled
Our Men in Blue or Our Men in Uniform on your program, but as you can see, our man looks really nice
in green as well. Thank you, sir. Thank you.
I will add that even though he's a Chicago Bear fan, we still love him. Who we have coming out next?
Mr. Donnie Bean. Donnie Bean is in the Bloomington Fire Department, exhibiting nicely our men in blue
style. I've known Donnie for several years. Donnie used to work at GE years ago, had a heck of a jump
shot back when he could jump.
And now he's a good man. We share duties and do good work at Second Baptist, and he's just a good person.
I'm proud to know Donnie, and thank you very, very much for coming out this afternoon. I also forgot
to mention, we were talking about law enforcement. We also invited a few military folks this afternoon
as well. We think it's very important, the things that they do. All right, brother. The things that they do.
to fight for our country and for our freedoms. This is, I'm not doing, Staff Sergeant? Sergeant First
Class, thank you. William Brown, with the United States Army. And I, are you active now, sir? No, he's
retired now. Thank you, sir. Therefore, I mentioned earlier, I mentioned Sergeant Troy Thomas.
And of course, our man in brown looks just as well as our man in blue. Was I correct in your lifelong
blooming, Tonya? You're correct. I am correct. I think I did. I think I did. Troy has turned out to
one of the common things with all of our folks is that they are great people beyond in the uniform,
these sorts of things. So thank you very, very much, Troy.
We have representatives again from IUPD. This is Officer George Robinson III. And to make sure I get
my notes correct, we have Officer Kevin Sadler. IUPD officers look good in their uniforms. And I work
on campus, and I got to tell you, these gentlemen treat people as nicely as I've ever seen law enforcement
folks. OK, right here with us now, Bloomington
Police Department's finest, Officer Jim Mitchell. Now Officer Mitchell is my understanding. I do know
he came here from Indiana State Police. Don't know if he retired or if he just came to Bloomington,
but I know he had substantial years of service there and he has substantial years of service here. So
Jim's my neighbor. We talk a lot, him and Liz and I.
We know someday that they may very well leave this town, and I know we're going to lose or miss them
when and if they go. We're going to try and talk them to stay in, though. Officer Anthony Gohmett.
You know, these retired folks, isn't it amazing that they still fit these nice uniforms? I mean, they just
Looked good. All right. Here's another of our men in blue. Officer Anthony Gomez currently works down
at Crane Naval Base. Also another hardworking individual at Second Baptist Church. We appreciate him
being here this evening as well. Does that finish up what we have? Okay. If I could, let me read a couple
quotes. And these are from, well, I'll just let you say. One is, I wish you could feel the hurt
as people verbally and sometimes physically abuse us or belittle what I do or as they express their
attitudes of it will never happen to me. Another quote, I wish you could know the brotherhood
and self-satisfaction of helping save a life or preserving someone's property or being able to be there
in time of crisis or creating order from total chaos. Now the point that I'm trying to make there is
that when you ask these
officers, what they think, and how they feel about their position. These are the type of things that
they would say. They're not the people that I know you hate when you see those lights in your wherever
you're in, or rear view window. It's like, oh, what did I do? Why are they? And we say a couple things,
I'm sure. These are good people, and they just want to wonder, how can we help the situation? So they're
all in the back of their reserve seats. We had to leave a few step out. If you wouldn't mind joining
me in showing them our true appreciation, I would truly, truly appreciate it. Thank you.
Thank you, gentlemen. Moving on into the program, one other quick black history fact. And as you can
tell, a lot of these are sports-oriented. I really like sports and enjoy. But there are a few things
that I didn't know. When it comes to African-American sports, I pretty much know some stuff. But there
are some things I didn't know. I'll mention the name Ceto Gaston. Does that ring a bell with anyone?
All right.
There you go. Manager for the Toronto Blue Jays was the first African American manager that won a World
Series pennant with the Toronto Blue Jays. Also, they repeat it. That was in 1992. They repeat it and
they won again in 1993. So probably something a lot of us maybe didn't hear about, but maybe we'll get
to some point someday where we won't have first anymore for African Americans. It'll just be something
that we do.
Something else that you could think about in this time of Black History Month, since that time,
I think Mr. Gaston managed two or three more years after, and believe it or not, has not been interviewed
or offered another manager's job since. So as I saw in a comic one day, as far as managers go, when
we're able to lose, get another job, lose, get another job, then I think we'll be on even kill with
a lot of the other managers. Okay, moving on to our next category,
the motherland roots. We thought that would be important after we talked with the servicemen to kind
of give you a little historical journey up into our current clothing. African wear was very colorful
and it flowed. Different colors denoted your religious affiliation or your tribal affiliations or your
social status. Now of course when we
were picked up and brought over in slavery, a lot of that was lost. So during that time of slavery,
our traditional African dress was sort of, well, it's flat out oppressed and suppressed. But back in
the motherland, that's what that signified. So you'll see men with long flowing garments. They'll be
very colorful. I think you will learn something today if, and I know most people are more astute than
this than I am in most cases, but African wears a lot more than Kenteclaw, trust me on it.
a lot more than just Kente cloth. If we're not further ado, if we'll, this gentleman coming out, Mr.
Cornelius Wright. Demonstrating a pullover tunica, and as you can see, it is flowing. Generally, that
would be worn with pants or sandals over in the motherland, and he might even have on a Kofi hat if
he were over there at this time. Thank you, Cornelius.
Coming next on the stage, Mr. Thomas Doyle. As you can see, he has the flowing, the bright color. Yeah.
And of course, he has the matching pants. Something like this may in fact, it may in fact symbolize
that he was of a higher social status over in Motherland. Of course, we cannot be sure.
It may signify that he's just above homelessness. However, he looks good in this. Thank you, Popcorn,
thank you. Okay, coming to the stage. And I might add, Mr. Larry Brown, and when we're in our reception,
talk with him. He is a businessman, a proprietor, and he can order and sells African wear via catalog,
but Larry would gladly help you.
Look at his outfit today. He, of course, has the matching coffee hat, the flowing garb. And again, it's
more than Kenny cloth. Look at some of these designs, folks. And these are things I think many of us
have forgotten that were original. Now, of course, later on, we started wearing bits and pieces. And
I even had a Dai Shiki myself back in the late 70s. And I think most of us did. But these are the real
deal, folks. Thank you, Larry. Coming next?
Next, it is my pleasure to introduce to you Dr. James Mafer. Yes. Now this brother has an extensive
collection of African wear. He is well traveled and it is an honor with us to have him here with us
this evening. I wish I had the exact of what everything is, but he has his Kofi hat.
And this outfit may symbolize his affiliation with a certain religion over in the mother country. Doesn't
he look good? All right. All right. The next person, our very own Eric Love, or what we call E Love.
E, of course, works on campus. He's director of the diversity programs. And in addition to the dreaded
hair, he also has a very nice outfit.
printed on the front with a nice braided look, and he has his Kofi hat to match. And note the work at
the hem of the pants. Note the work there, folks. Is this man tight or what? All right. All right, another
privilege. This man has an outfit straight from Guyana.
This is Brother Patrick Smith. He's director of the Phase Mentoring Program. Again, pay attention to
the detail, the vivid colors. It's just not the black, the browns, the gray. We have a lot of earth
tones, but we also have a lot of colors, straight from Guyana. Thank you, Brother Patrick. And one of
our military folks, he's a quick change artist. However, look at this.
He has a flowing top with a matching hat. It is simple color. Over in the motherland, that may symbolize,
again, religious affiliation. As you know, most of us were Islam over in those days, but there were
different versions, and it could signify your allegiances to tribal or religious or your social status.
If these were symbolizing social status, I would say that every one of these gentlemen up here would
be highly regarded in the motherland.
Can you give him another round of applause? Thank you, gentlemen. Now, if I can. Brother Kevin Jones
in the house. He is the other co-host, and this is when he's supposed to take over. So I'm trying to
buy a little time. All right.
If you know Brother Kevin Jones, he of course was the MC at the women and their crowns program last
year. He was the MC for our kickoff ceremonies this year. If you haven't heard this man speak, you're
in for a treat. He can speak, he can do things that no other man can do. I will let you allow him to
entertain you for the next couple of minutes. Thank you, Kevin.
gentleman right here, the gentleman that we just experienced, Brother Sims, he didn't need any notes.
He could just look at the outfits and describe them in great detail. Some of us are not quite that astute.
So I brought my reference materials. Well, I believe it's time for me to enter into a little bit of
a discussion on the urban style, urban style and hip
hop flavor. Now back in the good old days when there was leisure suits, high-waisted pants, platforms.
All right, now come on now. Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. There's somebody out
there that knows what I'm talking about. And, you know, you would take your blue platforms with your
baby blue pant bell bottom, bigger the better,
and your silk shirt with your chains, and you would make sure your afro was just right. Now that was
urban style. So sometimes people want to say, well, this new stuff is so different and so unusual.
Come on, dig back in your memory. When you dig back in your memory, when you were 18, 20, 25, even 30
sometimes,
You wore the contemporary wear. So what we're going to see is a little bit of the contemporary.
Young men, come forward. Show us what you got. Now, as you see, there's a flair. It starts with the
hair. Two styles. Two styles.
and the headband which sets it off. Now look at those shoes. You've got to see the shoes. Multi-colored,
black, green, and yellow. And you see it picks up with the wristbands. The wristbands set out the whole
outfit. You know, comfort is supreme when we talk about young folks. You know, a tie is okay, but you see,
a nice shirt is even better. And when you look at these young men, you know, some of the things that
are said about young black men, it's just wrong. Look at these fellows. These are hard working fellows.
These are studying fellows. These are fellows that watch your young ladies. I mean that in a good way.
Hey, we're just glad to have them here and glad to
have them a part of this presentation for us today. Let's give them a hand. Now I think they have something
else for us too. They're going to let you hear a little bit of that urban flavor.
I guess that's up to me. I will now rap for you. Here we go. Here we go. Let it go. Make the move. Hey,
hey. There it is.
The cousins in motion. Come on back out, brothers, come on back out. Let them see you one more time.
Come on back, brothers. The cousins in motion. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Yes, yes, yes.
Did you enjoy yourself?
Did it make you want to get up with them and do it too? Yes, yes. Well, now we all pumped up. And,
you know, some of us used to be, and some of us never were. So since I'm talking about myself, it's
time to transition. Well, now what we're going to go from is the urban style influence, the hip hop flavor,
to now the men making the clothes. And let me take you back a little bit. I just happened to walk upstairs
in our library and there was a book, A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present, Reflections
in Black by Deborah Wills. Now, what I found in looking in this book were styles, styles.
Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Dubois. You see, when people took pictures back in the day, they dressed
to impress. Some of you may even remember back in our black history, when we would go to downtown. Anybody
remember that? When we would go to the downtown, we would do what? We would dress up.
we would put our best clothes on. When we went to church, what did we wear? Our best dress. Now, did
it matter whether you were a domestic? Did it matter whether you were a bus driver? Did it matter whether
you were a factory worker? The answer was no, because when it came time to
dress the black man dressed to the top. My grandfather was a crane operator. Crane operator. But you
know what? Whenever he stepped out on Sunday morning, he had a suit and a tie. You see, he was exemplary
of many men of his era who said, you know what?
I'm working for the future. You see, I may not be where I want to be right now, but I'm looking forward
to what's coming. And so I'm going to set the stage for what's to be. And you know what? He was right.
While he went to work in overalls, came home dirty,
I go to work like this. My hands don't get dirty. My fingers don't get dirty. I go to work like this.
He can only go to work when he was prepared to go to work, but not in dress clothes. His legacy and
the legacy of many other
black men enable us today to go to work, not just in the uniform, not just in overalls. Nothing wrong
with that either, by the way, but something that did not exist in the 1950s outside of church. We can
go in the boardroom today and dress in a suit and tie. We can go
anyplace five days a week and dress any way we like. You see folks, that's what we call progress. We're
not there yet, but we on our way. So now I just wanted to say that to you because that's the preface
for the men make the clothes. You're now going to see gentlemen dressed up
in that apparel that they can wear to church, to work, and sometimes to the places that they want to
go. So let me get my notes out here. As you see, my notes are in a variety of disarray here. Let me
first start with a man and his son continuing that legacy.
Here are the Vances. What you see is what you get. Look at first, Brother Bill, the man setting the
example. You see, that's a great example.
He has this blue shirt with a nice, beautiful suit. You see, now look how the red and white specs pick
up and coordinate with that outfit. He's got the pleated pants that you gotta take a look at. Black
leather shoes. But now check this out.
No tie, because the man does what he wants to do. He can go without a tie and still know he's the man.
That's brother Bill Vance. Now when you set a good example in your home, you get positive fruit. Look
at this young man with this purple,
long coat suit. I want you to take a look at those buttons. Look at those wonderful buttons on the side
of his coat. You see, that has a certain flair to it. Now, you see, he also, like his dad, has the pleated
pants and the black leather shoes following the legacy.
So if you take a look at these two people, a father and a son, you know that we're gonna be all right
today and in the future because they look good everywhere they go. One note before I close. Grandparents
purchased this suit because they wanted to make sure that their grandson follows the legacy, the Vances.
some other folks, very good folks. Michael Edwards, step to the stage. Watch as Brother Edwards comes
down the aisle way. And right away, you're going to see something that grabs you.
Now you see, this is a businessman suit with a flare. Now look at that tie right there. That sets off
the light blue shirt. Yes. Now, this is something that I was talking about earlier. We can do what we
want to do now. And you see,
He has a hat and a kente cloth, and you know what? He's still ready for business. Look at this man.
He's ready to do any kind of business, any kind of education, anything that you can imagine. This man
is ready for it. Thank you, Brother Edwards, for showing us some style. Brother Lorenzo Dilworth.
he comes down, put a picture in your mind of a very serious thinking brother. Now, you see, we're going
to start from the bottom up with this gentleman. Those shoes, the shoes.
It must be the shoes. Stacy Adams. Stacy Adams. Now, he's got a nice shirt and tie combination that
works with that Zandello tailored suit. You see, Brother Dilworth has the look right now to do some
damage. Now, I don't know Brother Dilworth's status,
But I'll just say, Brother Dilworth, if you got somebody, don't step too far. And it looks like he has
somebody. You got the right man. That's Brother Dilworth. Brother Larry Brown.
Yes, Brother Brown. Now, you see, that is full of statement right there. Look at that shirt, all right?
That formal shirt with the dark suit. Now, here's something that we know, all right? There are many
shades among African American people, all right?
One of the nice things about being a black man is you can wear black and look very good. Now,
these shoes, again, make a statement. Look at this. Those shoes say something to you. But you see, it's
set off with, of course, the hat, the sash, but okay, you all saw it.
When he first walked in, what did you see? That's right. And you see, you have to be a self-assured,
confident man of the hour to step out in a bow tie. And Brother Larry Brown does that for us. Brother
Larry Brown. Brother Thomas Doyle, step on out.
Now you see, someone said his nickname is popcorn. And you see, he's popping it for you. Yes, sir. Now
you see, when you're smooth, you're smooth in every way. You see, the single color says smooth.
It says, you know, I'm not just any old man. I'm one of the best. You see, he breaks out the African
colors, the kente cloth colors, with the bow tie, with the hat, and then it says, explosion, popping
out for you. It says,
You want to know me, don't you? But if you don't know me, I'll let you see if it's time. This is Brother
Popcorn Doyle, a man of many talents, styling for us. Brother I, James Tory, step on out.
You see, this man is an intellectual. He's ready for the classroom. He's also a businessman, ready for
the boardroom or an evening out in this casual but stylish collection. Now you check James pleated front
black slacks paired with a black cotton mock turtleneck.
Now, you see, James tops it off, tops this off with chocolate brown microsuede. You see, you gotta check
this, folks. It's fully lined. The single-breasted sports coat. You see, the slacks and the turtleneck
are by Liz Claiborne.
and his sport coat is by Ciani Cellini. Now you see, we saved this gentleman for the fashion show side
of our program. You see, he can step out in New York, he can step out in D.C., he can step
out in Bloomington, and his presence will be noted. This is brother I. James Torrey.
We have some other gentlemen. Come on out. Step out and we're gonna check you out. Oh, it looks like
it's the Sims. The Sims. How about it? You know, this speaks for itself. Look at that style. You see,
hey, hey, hey.
Who's that out there? Calling him out because he does look good. Now, see, brother, are you attached
or are you with someone? Oh, no, I'm with my family. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, take notes. He's unattached.
But remember, tell your young girls, your ladies, please, please,
Don't touch. Just look and appreciate what is there. Wonderful businessman, wonderful style,
educated man. Looks good, does he not? But you see, it has to come. It has to come from somewhere. OK?
You know, you don't just fall off the tree. You come.
from a root and you grow up into something special. So look at this man right here, our emcee,
Brother Jim. Now, okay, what can you say about this? Well, look at it. First, it matches his sense of
style. You see, when you first meet him, you don't know that he's a man with a good sense of humor.
When you first meet him, all right, comments from the Pima Gallery now. When you first meet him,
you say, wow, this is just one super serious brother. But you know what? This style says he can go anywhere,
anytime, and be comfortable, and make you comfortable. You see, he has made his son comfortable. He's
very comfortable with you.
And look at that man right there. He is comfortable with all of us here. He was behind this program.
You see, style is not just what you wear. Style is how you carry yourself. Style is what you say. Style
is what you do. Style is what you accomplish. This man right here and his son have done it.
for us. So I would like each of these gentlemen to come on out one more time and show everybody what you have.
That concludes our program for today, but we have a reception. We'd like to see everybody in the reception.
Down the hall, 1B. Thank you for coming out today.