We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Matthew Dormus a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Matthew, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents, Lesly and Ruth Dormus, instilled in me the importance of faith and education. As immigrants from Haiti and Antigua respectively, they understood that America takes more from Black people than it provides. So, they wanted us to be rooted in Jesus Christ and empowered by the opportunities that focusing on school brings.

Here’s a part of my original poem titled “Black Boy Toy” that illustrates this point:

Black boy joy or black boy toy?
Black boy joy or black boy toy?
As a black boy, a black man,
It feels like joy is on ban.
In replace of black boy joy,
Is this new reality…
Of being a black boy toy.
What is a toy?
Might I suggest that…
Black boys are being played with.
From A to Z, let me expound.
Adversely angered, but not actively affirmed.
Belligerently brutalized, but not bountifully benefitted.
Corruptly criminalized, but not creatively commended.
Dishonorably denied, but not delightfully distinguished.
Effectively enraged, but not earnestly encouraged.
Frankly failed, but not fortunately flourished.
Grossly guilted, but not generously gifted.
Harmfully hated, but not happily honored.
Insanely ignored, but not inclusively incentivized.
Jarringly judged, but not joyfully justified.
Maliciously maligned, but not meaningfully motivated.
Notoriously neglected, but not noticeably nourished.
Oppressively overwhelmed, but not organically overjoyed.
Painfully patronized, but not phenomenally protected.
Quickly questioned, but not quantifiably qualified.
Ruthlessly rejected, but not reassuringly respected.
Severely stressed, but not successfully supported.
Terribly threatened, but not thoughtfully trusted.
Unfairly undermined, but not unselfishly uplifted.
Violently victimized, but not vitally valued.
Woefully wearied, but not willingly welcomed.
And you’re asking, what is there to say for y and z?
Let me ask you a question.
Y can’t the world use its zeal to create a safe space for black boy joy?
Y is the world so zealously for this notion of playing with us as a toy?

I am forever grateful for the wonderful people that are my parents.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Annually, exemplary Oakwood University students take part in the Mr. and Miss Oakwood University pageant. The winners are crowned as the campus king and queen and represent the university and student body for a year.

The royalty platform at HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) dates back to the 1920s and centers on tradition, African American culture, and empowerment.

I recently ran for and was crowned the 11th Mr. Oakwood University. This is one of the most meaningful projects that I’ve undertaken for several reasons. At Oakwood, I have figuratively and literally had blood, sweat, and tears. But, I have also healed, grown, and overcome. Having the opportunity to represent the school that I love means the absolute world to me!

The following excerpt from my original spoken word that I performed at the pageant gives more insight into what this all means to me:

“It is no wonder that depression and anxiety plague our community.
Because this toxic cycle of robbing joy continues in perpetuity.
As I think back on a November 2022 bleak autumn night,
I am reminded of my crushing mental health plight.
But I dare to choose another path.
A path laced with the golden possibility of opportunity.
A path surrounded by an opportunity for community.
A path empowered through a community of unity.
I choose hope, you choose hope, we choose hope,
Because when life plays with me, I play back.
When life plays with you, you play back.
When life plays with us, we play back.
We do not play how the system plays.
We play with honor no matter the days.
We play with courage no matter the fight.
We play with determination no matter the slight.
I stand before you no longer a toy,
But a man filled with black boy joy.
Because when the world tries to take,
I have learned there is more at stake.
For every tear cried,
Is one tear to be dried.
Not of my own, but of another mans.
Because my struggle is in my hands,
To be used as a compassionate testimony that there is more.
I choose hope not as a toy, but as a man with joy who will soar.”

It’s truly an honor to serve in this capacity.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I have served in a variety of leadership roles throughout my life. I used to have a habit of overpromising and underdelivering. Now, I have learned the bitter lesson multiple times that it’s better to underpromise and simply deliver. If a leader underpromises and then over-delivers, it’s only a bonus.

This applies to my reign as Mr. Oakwood because I have made a hard and fast choice to promise only one initiative in my platform. I will be elated should I provide more value for the student body and university. But, if not, I will be satisfied knowing that I at least said what I’d do and did what I said.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The campaign platform that I ran with for Mr. Oakwood is entitled “We Choose Hope.” Often students focus on what won’t change and what can’t change. I aim to inspire students in the spirit of my tagline: “Instead of focusing on what won’t change, we choose hope and change what can change.” A change that I believe can be made is in the resources provided to Oakwood students to bolster their mental health.

I have experienced the campus grieving and recovering from the recent death of Jeavonn Barracks, a 20-year-old who was an Oakwood sophomore at the time of his death. His passing which resulted from an unfortunate swimming incident on campus has exacerbated the mental health struggles students have already been facing. As a sophomore and someone who interacted with Jeavonn, it has been a heavy blow for me too. But, we choose hope!

As the next Mr. Oakwood, my platform centers on the mental health safe space room on Oakwood’s campus that I’m working to bring to life. The room I’ve dubbed “The Story Room” will be a direct response to not only the spirit of heaviness presently on campus, but also the mental health struggles students face yearly. I’m eager to bring this dream to fruition.

Contact Info:

• Website: matthewdormus.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthewdormus/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdormus/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@matthewdormus
• Other: matthewdormus@gmail.com