The reason TalkBLACK is thriving really crystallizes the first time you visit this urban discussion group. It is a monthly reunion, inviting ambiance and fireworks events all in one. Every first Saturday, provocative and lively conversations pertinent to the African American community swirl about the room, sometimes in dramatic fashion, creating a wonderful concentration of energy that is enlightening, edifying and uplifting.
Ironically, even as all of this spirited discussion fills the overflowing room — filled with intellectuals, professors, professionals, ministers and blue-collar workers — the African American soul is at complete rest. And it is from this cocoon of tranquility that the mind can be recharged, rejuvenated, refined and, yes, even undergo a metamorphosis.
“Our discussions are often therapy and inspiration for those who attend,” summarizes Aileen Harris, a member of TalkBLACK’s board and a communications associate for a nonprofit organization.
TalkBLACK live was co-founded in 2003 by Chandra Thomas, an award-winning journalist who feasts off great conversation and debates that span the spectrum of sociopolitical issues impacting urbanites nationwide.
“I felt there was a great need for a consistent outlet for networking and intellectual exchange in metro Atlanta,” says Thomas, whose eyes widen in wonderment and dance in their sockets when a great topic has been broached.
As outlined in Black Enterprise, Thomas points out that TalkBLACK “is one of the few, if any, that has made supporting African American businesses a priority.”
Which brings up a good point. While TalkBLACK makes it a point to hold their discussions at an African American-owned eatery or establishment every month, the members and attendees nevertheless dine from the menu of thought-provoking topics, receive mental nutrition from the expert panelists and drink from the cup of camaraderie and kinship. Attendees leave the discussion groups fully fed, yet are ravenous for more. Why is that?
“TalkBLACK allows for dialogue of discussions of topics that might not be covered in depth my mainstream media,” says Jabari Butler, an entrepreneur and minister at Ray of Hope Christian Church who wants to make a difference in the community. “Where else can you get healthy, positive, in-depth discussions and dialogue that connects various persons with varying ethnic, socioeconomic, political and spiritual backgrounds on a consistent basis for a two-hour period?”
Actually nowhere, Mr. Butler. And there is something else you rarely find elsewhere: such a group like TalkBLACK that actually backs what it talks about. In too many cases, people become disillusioned with discussion groups and community organizations whose hollow rhetoric is not translatable into action goals. But TalkBLACK automatically validates its existence through various community efforts that help cultivate and harness the exuberant energies of Atlanta’s youth into valuable characteristics.
For example, TalkBlack has adopted students of KIPP Vision Academy charter school and will actively engage them from fifth grade to graduation in 2018. So if you join TalkBLACK, they will implore you to help them with their community endeavors. “We have fun, but we also give back to the community and explore very important issues facing the African American community,” Thomas says.
Moreover, all of the members seem to operate off the indelible words of Ralph Emerson: “Every man [and woman] is my superior in some manner. In that way, I can learn from him [or her].”
Makes perfect sense to Mischandra Smith, a PR consultant. “Personally, being a part of TalkBLACK has allowed me to step outside my own reality and appreciate the full scope of the black experience,” says Smith, a member of TalkBLACK’s public relations committee. “I learn something new at every meeting — no matter if the topic has relevance to me personally [or not].”
As the group can attest, being involved with TalkBLACK changes its participants in ways they never fathomed.
“I was even inspired to become a full-time entrepreneur,” Harris says, adding: “TalkBLACK has even been party to a few successful romantic relationships. I [myself] have formed dear friendships, become more confident as an individual and have matured in my thinking.”
And, most of all, it is the place where the soul can rest in the company of others, even if for just a few hours.
–terry shropshire
The group meets every first Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. Log onto www.talkblack.net to find out the latest meeting spot and topic of discussion.
