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Ed Garnes '99 Joins in National Launch of 'State of Black Men in America Tour'

Ed Garnes '99 Joins in National Launch of 'State of Black Men in America Tour'

February 4, 2004

February 4, 2004, Greencastle, Ind. - Ed Garnes, an Atlanta-based writer and a 1999 graduate of DePauw University, shared the stage with Kevin Powell, author of Who's Gonna Take The Weight? Manhood, Race, and Power in America, as Powell launched his national "State of Black Men in America Tour" in Atlanta, Sunday, January 18. Garnes was among the speakers at a town hall meeting held at the Hillside Chapel & Truth Center in commemoration of the national Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. (photos by Sandra Rose)

“The event was major step in uniting forces committed to pro-action and combating the negative forces that threaten the well being and solidarity of the black community," Garnes says. Powell, known as a former cast member of MTV's Real World, states, “I have conceived the State of Black Men in America tour, with all its solution-oriented components, as a vehicle to discuss and begin to redefine manhood for both young and older black men. After nearly twenty years of nonstop work as a community organizer, of traveling to nearly every state, to big and small cities, of working in schools, prisons, in the media, in our neighborhoods, and elsewhere, it is clearer to me than ever that there are some very serious crises affecting black males in America, crises which, if left unchecked, could mean more chaos and continued arrested development in our communities in the years ahead.”

Currently president-elect of DePauw's GOLD Alumni Council, Garnes (seen with Kevin Powell in the photo at right) says his DePauw experience laid the groundwork for his work to better his community and world. “Working on the front lines of struggle with President Bottoms, Professors John Dittmer and Leslie James, and numerous others, taught me the business of people. Plus, my scholarship gave me a top-notch education. DePauw taught me belief in self and a blatant disregard for negative obstacles that often attempt to block our progress.”

Read more about the Atlanta event by clicking here, and here

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