Investing in programs like the Men Of Color Initiative is not charity; it’s a strategy. It strengthens individuals, families and communities.
Keiuntae Dunson grew up in a rough neighborhood in Milwaukee. He became a father when he was 16 years old. “Back then my goal in life was to make it through the day,” he said.
Jose Solorzano, the grandson of Mexican immigrants, was the first person in his family to attend college. He had two children by the time he was 20 and worked two jobs to support his family while attending the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. “There were many times I wondered how I was going to do it,” he said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gary Morimoto was confronted by several people who told him to go back home to Asia, “where the disease came from,” he said.
All three men, all men of color, could have given up. Instead, they found ways to move forward and achieve success. On March 31 at Milwaukee Area Technical College, they gathered to share their stories of perseverance at a makeshift barber shop — a longtime locale of communication, conversation and community among Black and Brown men.
The barbershop panel was part of a daylong event hosted by MATC’s Men of Color Initiative (MOCI), a group dedicated to giving men of color at the college the support needed for academic and personal success.
“Everything gets talked about in the barbershop,” said Will Johnson, MOCI’s coordinator. “Even things we’re really not supposed to talk about, like religion and politics, get talked about.”
Panel participants, flanked by two barbers tending to two customers in barber chairs, told a crowd of more than 150 students, faculty and staff how they overcame adversity, shattered stereotypes, showed resilience and found success.
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The panel consisted of Dunson, an MATC alum who works as a critical care registered nurse; Solorzano, an insurance professional who previously worked in the college’s recruiting department; Morimoto, a lieutenant in the college’s Public Safety department; and Victor Zarate, lead faculty of the college’s Barber program.
Moderating the discussion was Jasmin Spain, assistant vice president of student life at Pitt Community College in Greenville, North Carolina, and founder of the Males Addressing Issues and Needs (MAIN) Initiative, a consulting agency.
“Resilience is not only about bouncing back, but about bouncing forward,” Spain said.
Zarate attended MATC and dropped out a semester before earning his diploma. He went on to open his own shop and then join the MATC faculty. “Today I can understand what some students are going through,” he said. “With my experience, I can help lift them up and navigate challenges.”
Solorzano said that despite being a good student in high school, no one ever talked to him about college. “I was never nudged and asked what was next for me,” he said. He visited his first college by tagging along with an English as a second language class from his school, he said.
Dunson, who rose from his rocky upbringing to attend MATC, made the dean’s list, earned a degree and passed two national nursing licensing exams on the first try. He has learned to be himself in all circumstances, confident in his competence and compassion on the job, and experience in life.
“I show up as I am,” Dunson told the crowd. “I try to dismantle stereotypes with the job I have. I am unapologetically myself.”
In the past, Morimoto found himself frustrated that people saw just his uniform and not a person. He became an advisor for the college’s Asian Student Association, works out twice a day and meditates to focus himself. He also completed his bachelor’s degree five years ago, emulating his father, who earned his master’s degree when he was 60 years old. “It wasn’t easy, but I did it,” he said.
And successes should be celebrated, the panelists said.
“You need to be yourself and stand proud for who you are,” Solorzano said. “Create your own space if you need to. Remember your roots and know your worth. And when you make it to the top, send the elevator back down.”
Programs like MOCI are critically needed, the panelists agreed. Statistics show that only 17% of Black men and 15% of Latino men at two-year colleges earn a certificate, degree or transfer to a four-year institution within six years.
“Investing in programs like MOCI is not charity; it’s a strategy,” Solorzano said. “It strengthens individuals, families and communities.”
Nearly 3,000 men of color attend MATC each semester, Johnson said, and MOCI would like to have 10% of them participate in the initiative. Right now, about 130 men participate each semester, he said.
Events like the MOCI Summit aim to empower, inspire and connect these students, and foster meaningful dialogue on leadership, academic achievement, personal development and social justice, Johnson said.
“I didn’t have a program like this when I went to college,” said Michael Rogers, the college’s vice president for student engagement and community impact, at the event. “There were people who looked like me there, but they just seemed to disappear, and no one really knew where they went. No one seemed to care. We do care. That’s why these programs are important.”
About MATC: As Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 30,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 180 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 40 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.