In the fall of 2019, Victor Adejayan ’23 began scrolling through his freshman group chat to find a message from one of his friends discussing the possible revival of the African American Male Coalition (AAMC) on campus.
“I thought that was a splendid idea, you know, we’re all going to get together … I’ll get to hang out with all of these cool Black men on campus,” Adejayan said.
Adejayan explained that in the revival of the AAMC, the Center for Student Diversity (CSD) reached out to Alton Coston ’23, the current AAMC president, in order to be involved in more campus events. Coston decided to make an official executive board, making Adejayan the AAMC social coordinator. In his position, Adejayan manages everything from social gatherings and outreach to some work with the AAMC social media.
Adejayan says that the most meaningful part of his position has been witnessing the formation of a community of Black men on campus.
“There’s not that many Black men on this campus, so it’s very likely there are Black men you’re just not going to see here,” Adejayan explained. “Having this space for everyone to come together … and I’m helping facilitate that is really touching for me.”
“There’s not that many Black men on this campus, so it’s very likely there are Black men you’re just not going to see here,” Adejayan explained. “Having this space for everyone to come together … and I’m helping facilitate that is really touching for me.”
The AAMC had been previously shut down due to turnover after senior executive board members graduated and other members were not prepared to take their place.
“Alton made it a serious point that we had an executive board, but we’re trying to set everything up for the future,” Adejayan said. “We have a lot of good turnover. New executive members know exactly what they’re doing.”
Over the past three years, the AAMC has been revived to its original form, working with the CSD and various other multicultural organizations.
“The Center for Student Diversity has been a huge help for the AAMC,” Adejayan said. “They’re our sponsoring body … I really appreciate them.”
Adejayan put a special emphasis on his appreciation for Dr. Kimberly Weatherly and Shené Owens, the Assistant Dean and Director and Associate Director for the CSD.
For Adejayan, the AAMC meetings are something for him to look forward to. One of the events that he passionately highlighted was “The Barbershop.”
“The Barbershop is kind of our staple meeting,” Adejayan said. “We have food and we have a couple of barbers come down and cut people’s hair. The idea is that for Black men, going to a barbershop is like entering this community. You get to come here, you talk to your barbers and whoever is in the shop, and you talk about life.”
For Adejayan, The Barbershop is a space for him to comfortably discuss his experience as a Black man on campus as well as meet upperclassmen and younger members that can share in those conversations. The AAMC also has alumni, deans and a police officer who occasionally attend meetings.
“It’s not even just students, it’s Black men community-wide, and that brings a lot of good networking with it as well,” Adejayan said.
Courtesy Photo / Victor Adejayan
Adejayan also emphasized the importance of community members attending meetings as something that has good mentorship value.
“There’s something I used to say — you can’t think of being what you don’t see,” Adejayan said. “A lot of Black men grow up in communities where we don’t necessarily see other Black men in these positions … so being able to see a Black dean, a Black male doctor, is really inspirational … you keep pushing. You know it’s not impossible. As a Black man, we’re kind of in a place where people don’t expect us to be. So you have these people looking at this group of Black men coming together to talk about this, especially esteemed Black men. It’s just really powerful.”
“There’s something I used to say — you can’t think of being what you don’t see,” Adejayan said. “A lot of Black men grow up in communities where we don’t necessarily see other Black men in these positions … so being able to see a Black dean, a Black male doctor, is really inspirational … you keep pushing. You know it’s not impossible. As a Black man, we’re kind of in a place where people don’t expect us to be. So you have these people looking at this group of Black men coming together to talk about this, especially esteemed Black men. It’s just really powerful.”
Outside of the AAMC, Adejayan is the vice president of the Black Student Organization, secretary for diversity initiatives for Student Assembly and is involved in the African Cultural Society and Minorities in Medicine. As a pre-med student, he declared his major in health sciences and kinesiology after realizing during his first few years that biology was too broad a field for him.
“I try to be relatively well-rounded – just be everywhere I can be,” Adejayan said “Minorities in Medicine is a great place. A lot of great people from similar backgrounds, some different backgrounds.”
He also expressed that the Black Student Organization and Student Assembly have not only allowed him to connect with the Black community, but have helped him get involved with community advocacy and diversity initiatives to advocate for many of the diverse groups on campus.
“When I got here, one of the first things I did was look for all the Black people,” Adejayan said. “All of these various communities who are going the same place I wanted to go.”
After his time at the College, Adejayan has plans to go to medical school after completing his undergraduate degree. Though he originally planned to get his MD, he has now become more interested in the sociological aspect of public health and is hoping to get his MD/MPH.
“So a dual degree with a masters in public health and work in a clinical setting as a doctor while also working in public health policy,” Adejayan said. “I don’t know exactly where this string is going to take me, but I know that’s what I’m interested in.”
Adejayan believes that COVID-19 made it incredibly difficult for students to find their communities on campus.
“Community is vital and I think everyone should strive to find their community,” Adejayan said. “If you’re a Black man and you want to get into a community with other Black men, come out to the African American Male Coalition.”