VIDEO: 2017 MSU “The State Of Black Man” Symposium

STARKEVILLE, Miss.(WCBI) – Issues centered around race have plagued our country from its beginning and continue today.

In almost every chair at the Mississippi State Men of Excellence conference there’s a man, who has always felt a little different. They’ve seen stares or heard comments about their skin color.

They want to break stereotypes and give everyone a new vision of an African-American man in 2017.

“I guess it’s more of an identity thing. I feel like we come here and it’s like some of us are lost. We kind of get lost in this crowd and that crowd . Men of Excellence is here to actually help you find yourself and build you up so you can be great when you leave,” said Organization President Brandon Flowers.

The conference targets black men that are in college in the Southeast.

Brevin Luckett has  attended the State of Black Men Symposiums before. He says what keeps him coming back each year is the information that helps guide his future.

“It always leaves people with something else to think about. You learn something every time you come to this and you leave with something else, a message to spread basically. You come out more informed than you did,” said Luckett.

Men of Excellence Vice President Blake Lewis says after seeing the the mug shots of mostly young black men flash across his local news, he hopes this conference help to break stereotypes.

“Student leadership and how you can develop yourself on a professional level as well as a social level of being a student because you have to have all these aspects to get to a professional level past graduation,” said Lewis.

The event is geared toward males. MSU Student Bria Henderson says there’s too much good information to miss out on.

“I think understanding black men for the entire country is a big issue and I think women if they go to these events and they hear what black men have to face, there issues, there perspectives then we can learn how to be advocates for them and be a more unified body,”said Henderson.

Luckett says he plans to take what he learned on the Starkville back to the Capital City, to inspire others.

“I’m from the Jackson Metro Area and I know coming from where I come from, people see me at Mississippi State. I post pictures on Instagram Facebook. They see me doing different things then like lets say some of my friends that are back home because this is my way of standing out. This is my way of standing out and leaving an impact on my little brother,”said Luckett.

The next State Of Black Men Symposium is scheduled for 2019.