The Village Nation

The Village Nation Presents “Black Brown Love”

By Janet Frnzyan

In honor of black history month, the Village nation put together an assembly at Cleveland High School on Tuesday, February 20th. The purpose was to educate students on life, love and the many struggles that everyone endures throughout their youth. News organizations from all across the Southland arrived in hopes of capturing the moment. But only the SFV news has an exclusive with co-founder’s Andre Chevalier, Fluke Fluker, and Bill Paden.

The conference, simply entitled “black brown love,” featured Village members reciting poems, and included an overwhelming performance by Richard Santana, better known as Mr. Chocolaté, “Homeboy goes to Harvard.”

Santana had a rather unique way of bonding with the students. He didn’t just stand in the front with a microphone telling them to stay in school and say no to drugs. As Fluke Fluker, Co-founder of The Village Nation introduced Mr. Chocolaté, who approached the podium. Dressed in baggy clothing, he looked like the majority of the students who had gathered in the auditorium for the event.

There was camaraderie from the start. Everything from drugs to sex was covered. When he discussed the fact that he had a 2.1 GPA in high school, there was a cheer from the students.

The entire room went silent when Santana spoke of his youth. From an abusive uncle, to burying his 15-year-old friend, an event he described in grave detail. There was a look of understanding amongst the student’s faces as Santana stated that growing up, his surroundings taught him that he wasn’t meant to go to college. But it was one teacher that brought him around.

He then went ahead and described his first day of college and how discrimination played a big role, in part due to his appearance. As he was describing the moment, and how he decided then and there he would change his appearance, he began taking off the oversized jeans and shirt that were three sizes to large.

In the end he stood in front of the entire student population in a pair of dress slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie. The response from the students was positive. There was a moment of profound silence when the supervising teachers thought that Santana had in some level reached them. In the end, that is the main thing. Even if the assembly affected just one student, then The Village succeeded in its purpose.