Men of Color conference draws more than 200

In a turnout deemed "an absolute success," more than 200 people attended the second annual Men of Color Leadership conference this weekend at IU. Participants came from Indiana, Savannah State University in Georgia and Morgan State University in Maryland.\nSenior Dallas Easton founded and coordinated the event, held in the Indiana Memorial Union. Last year, only 20 people showed up to the minority leadership gathering.\nThe multi-ethnic crowd met to focus on the issues black, Latino, Asian and Native American men face in the United States.\nThroughout the day, conference participants split up and attended smaller group sessions. Topics covered men of color incarceration rates as compared to higher education enrollment, the importance of social capital, self and cultural identity, the difference between cultural and ethnic identity and the manifestations of homophobia and how to confront it.\nAs the participants reconvened for lunch, Vice President for Institutional Development and Student Affairs Charlie Nelms surprised Easton with the first Jimmy L. Ross award in honor of his dedication to the leadership conference. Ross was the first director of the IU Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid and the first black person to lead a major administrative, non-academic unit at IU-Bloomington. He died in May 2002.\nThe award stunned Easton and left him speechless. \nEaston later said he couldn't believe the amount of support from the community and hopes it continues in years ahead.\n"The young men are truly concerned about their issues, and they're doing something about it," Easton said. "I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart."\nSavannah State junior Ebony Williams said she was proud to see men of color and their supporters taking leadership initiatives. She said students from other schools can learn from each other. \nBelinda De La Rosa, special assistant to Nelms, said the entire country would benefit if men of color had opportunities to pursue higher education and earn degrees. \n"Our labor force will deteriorate to the point that all well-paying jobs will be outsourced to countries that invest in people," she said. "This conference proves that minority communities value education and its youth."\nState Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, told a smaller group about self and cultural identity and said words are able to shape how people view themselves and each other.\n"The saying 'sticks and stones may break my bones' is the biggest lie ever told," Smith said. "Words stick with you. They have power." \nSmith said he learned to talk positively to himself. "Tell yourself 'I can,' and eventually you'll be able to get to the point where you say 'I did.'"\nHe told his audience that the challenge for men of color is not over. Even though they're already in college, they must continue to have goals because they have an obligation to make a difference.\nEugene G. White, superintendent of the Indianapolis Public School Corporation, addressed the conference as the keynote speaker.\nHe said he wanted to convey relevant issues from his "bebop generation" to the current "hip hop generation," so young people can continue to learn from the experiences of those in the past.\nWhite encouraged the audience to be serious about what they say they're going to do and have a plan. "Vision without a plan is just a hallucination," he said. \nWhite urged the audience to continue the legacy left by Rosa Parks and continue fighting for equality. \n"The future depends on your dreams," he said. "Wake up and make them come true"