Black Intelligent Gentlemen have “BIG” plans for growth
The president of the Black Intelligence Gentlemen, dubbed BIG, held a meeting Thursday focused on recruiting new members to the group that has shrunk since its formation in 2012.
BIG was first formed in 2012 by former student Matnique Williamson at the suggestion of Henry Morris, the former interim dean of Institutional Diversity. Williamson and Morris’ goal for the group was to foster a community among black men at Minnesota State University, Mankato and motivate them to stay enrolled at the university.
“There are issues with black males in higher education across the nation; it’s nothing unique to MSU,” Morris said to the Mankato Free Press at the inaugural meeting in 2012.
Many RSOs shrunk in membership or dissolved completely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its unfortunate upheaval of university life. Before the pandemic, the group had roughly 40 members. Thursday’s meeting had 13. MSU junior and BIG President Xavier Thomas plans to grow the group’s membership back to its original average of 40-50 members soon through events, marketing and collaboration with other RSOs.
“Before COVID, this was an entirely different group,” said Thomas about the dwindled number of members. “It gets me sad. It should be packed.”
Thomas began the meeting by having each present member introduce themselves and share why they decided to join the organization, which Thomas dubbed a “brotherhood.” When the group members took turns introducing themselves, they all shared that they wish to meet people like them and connect with their community.
New member Kaleb Howze said that he wanted to join during his freshman year in 2017 but held off due to a lack of time with his other groups, and then the pandemic put it off further.
“Now is the time to be able to do something that I wanted to do, and connect with my community more,” Howze said.
Thomas said his main goal with these events is to get people’s minds off the stresses of academic life. When Thomas started his freshman year in 2020, he did not feel the sense of community he feels he would have if he had been a part of this group.
“I felt like I was the only one here in Mankato. I had friends of course but [let’s say] I need someone to cut my hair, or if I’m struggling with a class and need upperclassmen to help me,” Thomas said.
Thomas’ goal with returning BIG to its original level of impact is to help other Black students connect with each other so they have a network of others with shared experiences. He also mentioned how he views other Black people as his “family” because “we all come from the same people” and that he wishes he had the opportunity to connect with them in this way when he first came to college.
“A lot of Black students start school, but they don’t finish school. If you see the percentage that don’t finish school, it hurts. I think the main reason is because they think it’s just them. They go to class and they might [think] ‘no one looks like me, no one talks like me, I’m alone’. When you feel alone, things get dark,” Thomas said. “It’s struggling and I don’t wanna see my family struggling.”
BIG will be hosting a Halloween costume party that will occur from 6-8 p.m. on Oct. 28 in CSU 253. The school-wide event will be open to all who want to participate.
Header Photo: The Black Intelligence Gentlemen group hosted their first meeting of the year last Thursday. The group aims to gain membership through marketing, collaboration and events hosted on campus. (Dominic Bothe/The Reporter)
Write to Carly Bahr at caroline.bahr@mnsu.edu