Post your Brother Author Letters Below:
Greetings, Dear Future Brother Author,
I write this letter to you because I learned so much from this program, and I want you to get the same lessons the program passed on to me - if you can, more. I came into this lesson only partially educated about black writing, and I wrote solely for the benefit of a good grade. Here, however, I was able to write from the depths of my heart, from the brother I held down there because I didn’t want to write words that would offend others, that would speak my mind without a care as to the feelings of my audience. Coming here released me from those bonds, it showed me that I was free to tell the world how I felt. I didn’t need an MLA format or rubrics to tell me what I should write; instead, I received a pencil and paper (actually, a laptop) and faced a wide horizon, with my first step facing anywhere I wanted it to go.
At first, it feels weird, to just write what you feel. Why get paid to write what was on your mind if you can do that for free? When I came here, I thought that Mr. Tatum either actually was going to restrict our writing was just throwing money at us, and that we’d learn nothing from this program.
I’m utterly glad that I’d seen that my thoughts about the program were completely wrong.
What I learned from here, what I am now able to carry along with me for the remainder of my life, is much more than I could have ever hoped to learn from a single place. Like you, I learned to just write whatever comes to mind, and to share my thoughts with fellow Brother Authors. It actually felt pretty good to share my thoughts with others, since I’m usually reserved and feel that others would render my thoughts towards my own culture as unimportant. Being in a midst of other young black males has not only encouraged me to share these thoughts about my race, but to take in what they had to say about us and to see how their voices come out in their writings, which was a fantastic experience.
By now, you would have written at least 14 different works. I truly hope that you have poured your soul into your writings, as I have done for mine. Now that we are Brother Authors, writers who are striving to make a change “for the benefit of others and ourselves,” I will be looking forward to reading your excellent pieces on the blog. I know Mr. Tatum has done a fine job of tasking you with several objectives, and I have one last task for you as you set out after this program is over: keep your warrior intact with your soul. Don’t ever take it out because someone may have felt offended by your writing. Keep true to what you feel, and stay proud in knowing who you are. That’s the lesson we’re setting out for other brothers, for those who have a voice and those whose lips are forever silenced. Keep this in mind as you walk out that door, and I promise you that your life will never be the same.
With best hopes,
Keelun J. Lawrence
Brother Author # 7
Dear Future Brother Author,
I write this letter to you because I want you to have the same experience I had in this institute. It was great to let my words of feeling flow on paper. I got a few things off my chest that I wouldn’t tell anybody too. I came to this institute expecting to sit down and write anything on my mind but there are different areas where you have to let your writing take over to poems, short stories, children’s stories, and three chapters of a story of your choice. I was excited to soon get that $150, but I had to work for it and be in my seat every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. You will expect to write for the benefit of others and yourself. You will also use your language, which is English, prudently and unapologetically. Marking our time and lives from slavery days to MLK and Obama becoming president. You will learn to not hold back on your own writing about anything.
You will remember your ancestors of the past and keep them alive in the present. So, if you are reading this short letter just know that you will like coming to this institute to write about your feelings and what ever else you have on your mind. Dr. Tatum is a good guide to help you find something you can’t think of at any moment. I can just say it’s easy to trust him.
Jabari Harrell BA#6
Dear Future Brother Authors,
I write this letter to you because I want you to understand that you should always educate yourself. The mind is a terrible thing to waste and so is your youth! You should never waste time worrying about trivial issues! You are a writer! Go out and save people! You have so much power with your pen! Writers have the power to incite emotions, to convince, to empower, and to create webs of details that have the minds of others wandering! You have power within your pen!
When I came to this institute I never expected to gain so much knowledge. As a writer, the knowledge I have gained are precious jewels that I will always treasure. In school, I never really learned that you should always become more intelligent after you write. Before the institute I only wrote about things I knew about. My writing never expanded. After the institute I can honestly say that my writing has expanded drastically! You can expect to grow as a person and as a writer through this institute. At the beginning of the institute you may feel like you are lost as writer but at the end of this institute, I assure that you will find your voice.
When writing, you should always think outside of the box. You should never feel like you have limits. Write to save yourself and identify who you are. The pen is a deadly weapon; use it with caution.
Dear Future Brother Author,
I write this letter to you because I want you to know that you shouldn’t be afraid of what you write. It’s time people heard your voice and saw what you're capable of. There is a something tamed inside of you that wants to come out, so let it out. Much more can be accomplished with a pen and paper. Wars were ended by the stroke of a pen. Why not show what you can start? This institute is the place for a reserved writer to become an “Author.”
From White Shoe Willie, to Juice Johnson, or a knight in shining armor anything is possible. Who will you make next to peak the minds of others? I came into this institute thinking it was all smoke and mirrors with no way of showing me how to hone my skills. But it turned out to be a wonderful experience with lessons I never knew. The people you’ll meet are one of a kind, and the opinions are much needed. Trust me, it helps me improve drastically.
You will learn how to become the voice others need. You will learn things certain schools don’t teach and come to know what a real “Brother Author” is. You aren’t just given the title you earn it so show Dr. Tatum and the world how to speak “prudently and unapologetically.” I loved this program and how it brings young brothers together, I’ll use what I learned here to teach the minds of everyone I know and you should do the same.
Corey Ellis
Brother Author #2
Dear future Brother Authors
I write this letter to you because I want you to understand what a beautiful opportunity you have to write in this program. In this program, your writing will soar to new heights, your writing will go to a place where it’s never gone before.
I came to the institute expecting another boring program that my mom signed me up for.
You can expect a fun, challenging program where you meet other Brother Authors and learn new things about writing different kinds of pieces like short stories, children’s stories, poems and more.
You will learn how to use language in an unapologetic way where you use your writing to touch others and engage others.
Have fun and write to benefit others as well as yourself. If your writing can make a father reconsider leaving his children or prevent a teen pregnancy than your writing has helped others.
Diwani Greenwell
Dear Future Brother Author,
I am writing this for you because I am trying to bring the best out of you. You’re the next generation of powerful, black men that can lead their communities. You have the power to change your city for the best because there is nothing we cannot do. I am positive that the world will recognize you, and you have to go out and get that recognition. The only way people will know that you exist is to tell them, and the best way to tell them is to write. I can tell you that the institute will be fun. There are a lot of great people around you, and you will want to stay here forever. Nevertheless, the institute is only for 5 weeks. I hope that you will realize your full potential because it is there. The capacity to change yourself comes from within. Always believe that you can actually change the world, and you will go far.
Sincerely,
Jhaylin Benson
Brother Author #5
Dear Future Brother Author,
I write this letter to you because I want to help you realize that you are far more powerful than you think you are. The power of a writer that lurks inside you is waiting to explode; be seen, heard, read, and felt! I came to the Institute expecting to just be writing and writing, and write some more. I was right! Moreover, my writing was critiqued by fellow Brother Authors, and with their insights on my writing, helped me develop the skills I needed to make my writing more powerful and realistic. You can expect to not only improve your skills as a writer, but also expect to develop a bond with your fellow Brother Authors. One that will hopefully, last a lifetime. You will learn how to live the Preamble through your writing, by expanding your knowledge on certain topics and widening your imagination.
Quote from Ryan Blackwell
“Let your words shape your future.”
From last summer’s
Brother Author 4
Dear future Brother Author
I'm writing this letter to raise the sprit that is within you. You have a great deal of authority within the hands that follows power, peace, joy, pain, and happiness. I want tell you to be prepared to write when you walk through the doors of the Reading Clinic. Don’t be afraid to walk through the fire with your writing.
I came to this institute expecting to learn how to write better than I all ready knew how too. I was also expecting just to write with a lot boy who wanted to be writers. I was expecting to set my soul free through my writing. I was expecting just to write a black people and there struggles in life.
Expect to live with your eyes open at all time of the day. Expect to learn the preamble because it is the yellow brick road in which we walk talk and write.
Expect to write from your soul. Expect to look at all angle of life.
You should learn the voice inside of the cage that wants to be released. Learn how to define yourself in many different ways in your writing. You will learn your how to engage others with your writing; encourage the reader so they know that they can make it through the storm.
To conclude this letter is to remember that there is a writer in all of us. We can change the world with one pen at a time. Talitha Cumi Damsel Arise mean rise up and be you.
Brother Author 14
Jarell Charleston
Dear Future Brother Author,
I write this letter to you because I want you to ignite the power available at your fingertips. You have the greatest responsibility to empower the generations to come with your knowledge, experience and efforts through your pen. It's daunting, but the reward that comes with your talent is so much greater. Writers learn to warp their words to help and inspire others, and you will do the same. As a returning brother author, I came back expecting to improve on what I had learned from the first time at the institute. Through what I learned from my time away, I practiced shaping my craft into something to be shared with my colleagues and the children that would come after me. I had the privilege to have my writings critiqued and be pushed for publishing by Dr. Tatum, and I will be forever grateful for being given the opportunity to have my writing shared among hundreds of people. You can expect to write—everyday. You will learn not only to write from a personal, creative space, but a universal one. People will look to your writing and be able to connect from their own experiences. You will be responsible for the inspiration of your posterity, and use that. Shape the minds of people who are lost in the world, let them know that someone is writing out there for them and their feelings. There are people who need a book, something to hold in their hands that contain so much knowledge and a spore of information. Writers should be afraid to share their stories. Being afraid of it means that you have something to lose. You put something into your story that you want to be heard, and made yourself vulnerable in the process. Use those nerves to your advantage. It is time for you to understand the power you have been given and abuse it. Make yourself vulnerable, because information is easier to convey through emotions rather than rhetoric.
Joseph Jordan-Johnson
Brother Author 10
2012
Dear future brother author,
I write this letter to you because I want you to understand that your writing can make a change to this society, help others, and define who you are to the world. When I came to this institute I was expecting to be pushed and taught new ways to write. I will take this new learning to high school so I can exceed to the highest level I can. You will learn how to write in your comfort zones and your uncomfortable zones. I had a great time and a great experience here at this institute.
From, Derek Beavers BA15
Dear Future Brother Author,
I write this letter to you to because I want to explain what goes down here in AAAMSLI. I came to this institute expecting that we would just…write, but it was more to it than that. You see, I had to learn that I couldn’t write from just experience, but from research. Dr. Tatum, your brilliant teacher, told me I needed to teach and learn when I write. Not only does it teach, it makes writing more powerful. You can expect to make many revisions to make writing sweet and for you to be strong. You’ll learn what a pen can do and, trust me, it’s much stronger than a sword.
Write Hard!
Ellington Webb BA 12
Dear Future Bro Authors,
You will learn a lot from Tatum so take as much as you can.
He will help you with your trouble
And he’ll tell you all he can
Make him your friend and you will not regret it.
Brother Author 11 - AV
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