Last week, I wrote about getting involved on campus, especially if you’re bored.

Being involved in Black Male Initiative (as an executive board member) led me last weekend to an enlightening experience I will never forget.

This experience was the “Am I My Brother’s Keeper?” African American Male Collegian Conference at the University of Kansas.

I met so many inspiring speakers who truly care for the rest of the black population. I pray their speeches, along with my column, will influence black students at NIU to make a change not only in hometowns, but also in DeKalb.

African Americans from several universities listened to six speakers and 11 conference workshop lecturers discuss issues affecting our community.

We conversed about the educational system, images of the black family portrayed on TV and its adverse effects on our community, hip-hop’s culture and its role in negative stereotypes, strengthening black males inside and out, accountability and responsibility of our actions and even Terrell Owens’ situation with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The dialogue was, at times, very direct and brutally honest as the speakers held nothing back and participants spoke their minds.

Two of the orators who profoundly touched my heart were Kevin Powell and Jonathan Sprinkles.

The first name may sound familiar. Powell, as stated in the AIMBK booklet, is “a poet, journalist, essayist, editor, cultural curator, hip-hop historian, public speaker, political consultant, fundraiser and community activist. He was also an original cast member on the first season of MTV’s hugely popular show ‘The Real World.’”

Powell set the tone Thursday with his speech about the issues at hand. When I asked Powell what the media can do to bridge the gap with minorities and the general public in a question and answer session following his speech – shaking in my shoes – he responded “what can YOU do?”

The following day, another speaker said a book (the title escapes me) calls men ages 15 to 26 the warrior class that usually takes the daunting task of bringing about change within our society and community.

Not to sound like a groupie, but I spoke with Powell after the Q&A session for a few seconds, and he gave me advice on my career path.

The next afternoon he even remembered my name and told me it was good I wanted to write for well-known newspapers and said, “We need more faces like ours in [the newsroom].”

To me, this showed just how much Powell cares about people. He almost cried at the end of his heartfelt second speech.

The second speaker, author and professional orator Sprinkles, encouraged positive thinking and personal power.

“Personal power is the ability to choose your circumstances,” Sprinkles said.

This is a man who, at age 15, lost his father, a man he felt was the closest friend he ever had, to lung cancer. Overcoming peer pressure to be in the “in-crowd” and defeating self-image and self-esteem issues, he rose to graduate from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in marketing.

Sprinkles’ approach to life, I think, is needed today more than ever. He exudes positivity in a world that still promotes negativity everyday.

Other speakers emphasized changing the world through changing yourself first, then influencing change within your community. I learned so much in this conference that one column would not do justice to its cause.

However, I would like to influence black people in my community, as well as the NIU community, to make changes. One issue that continues to haunt this university is the unfortunate relationship between many black people and the police in DeKalb.

We all should make a change. Let’s start today by taking responsibilities for our actions and reestablishing a relationship with the such organizations.

After returning from a truly life changing experience like this, I now realize I am my brother’s keeper.

It is my responsibility to look out for the best interests of all my brothers. To help those in my community take a stand against issues holding them back.

If, for example, you think a professor isn’t doing his job, and other students feel the same way, lets do what is necessary to either make changes in the administration, or at least talk to that professor so your goals are met.

What I learned more than anything else at this conference is change is a slow process.

At the same, if we join together in that mission of change, that same process may not be as slow.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.