Empowered Men of Color, a multicultural student organization, is celebrating 10 years of campus involvement at the University of Memphis with a weeklong series of events titled the “Week of Empowerment.”
The events began on Nov. 17 and will go on until Saturday, Nov. 22.
Current EMOC president Kevaughn Griffith said he wanted to celebrate the 10-year anniversary by showing how the organization has grown over the last decade.
“We really wanted to do something that embodies who we are as an organization, and we’re just now doing it because we didn’t do anything last school year to commemorate it,” Griffith said.
EMOC was founded at the in the spring of 2003 with the help of Lonnie Latham, former Dean of Multicultural affairs. Because the organization didn’t celebrate their 10-year anniversary last year, Griffith decided to celebrate larger than they originally intended.
EMOC works to promote greater awareness and understanding of issues concerning the minority male while also becoming “role models, mentors and [a] brothers' keeper.”
Coordinator for Multicultural Affairs Linda Hall has seen first hand the development of EMOC over the past decade.
“They are successful because they have consistent leadership that keeps the organization strong,” Hall said. “They are deliberate about following their mission. You can’t say that about a lot of organizations.
One of the organization’s biggest events is the Men’s Conference, which is in its sixth year. Hall thinks the conference is a productive way to achieve the purpose of the organization.
“The Men’s conference is a great way to address issues that men may face in college or after,” Hall said.
Malcolm Dorsey, the conference chair of EMOC, wants this year to be better than the past.
“This year we wanted to be even more intentional on doing those things and setting even higher standards not only with our members, but also on the executive board,” Dorsey said. “We also want to make more of an impact with bringing diverse members to our conference and be intentional on attracting a student wide attendance.”
EMOC’s “Week of Empowerment” leads up to the conference, and will include service activities, fundraising and social gatherings.
The idea for the week stemmed from a conversation between Griffith and Dorsey after their election in April.
“We wanted to do something different from just promoting our annual Men’s Conference,” Griffith said.
The week will end with this year’s conference keynote speaker, Fonzworth Bentley, an Atlanta based musician and author whose first single “Everybody” featured Kanye West and Andre 3000.
Griffith said that Bentley has a drive and passion that aligns with the goals of EMOC.
“Mr. Bentley encourages the youth and college students alike to set high goals, chase their education, follow their dreams, meanwhile, highlighting the importance of personal style, which is ultimately why we picked him,” Dorsey said.
The Men’s Conference will be held in the University Center Memphis Room on Nov. 22 at 9 a.m. Students can contact the Multicultural Affairs office for more information.
