1001 Black Men–#535

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s one more drawing from my college reunion. This is one of the undergraduate temporary workers who was staffing the college reunion events. In this image, he is peeking into the door of Sayles Hall where the members of my graduating class were attending our reunion dance. When we graduated, back in the late 1980s, the student in this drawing hadn’t yet been born. I can only imagine how curious it must have looked to see a room full of middle-aged men and women laughing and talking, and dancing to a bizarre assortment of 1980s and late-’70s tunes.

Thinking back to the moment at the dance when I saw him peering into the door of the hall, I wonder if seeing older folks come back to campus gave him the same feeling that it gave me when I was a senior. When I graduated, reunioning alums from the class of 1983 all the way back to the class of 1913 were in attendance, reconnecting with members of their classes and welcoming us, the newest crop of grads, into the family of alumni. Back when I was a 21-year-old graduating senior, the sight of all of the older folks returning to the campus gave me a profound sense of being a part of something bigger, and that recognition filled me with gratitude and pride. 25 years later, I wish all of the current grads–the members of the class of 2013–the same feelings of mingled gratitude, pride, and connection.

Ajuan Mance

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