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