My name is Jason Gray . I am a student at the Thorne Institute of Technology. It's a small private college that's like no other school on the planet. I'm a young black man who also happens to be bisexual. This is the only place where I've ever truly felt welcome. Lots of people and establishments claim to accept everyone regardless of race or sexual orientation. Lots of them are lying. That's why so many good people get the shaft in today's world, and not in a good way. I'm originally from Boston , Massachusetts . Yet I'm currently living in a small predominantly black town in Alabama , where tomorrow's young black men are prepared for life in a challenging world.
The Thorne Institute of Technology is a private, accredited, technical college offering Associate's and Bachelor's of Science degrees in forty programs generally geared toward persons of color. It's a historically black, all-male private college founded in 1989 by Edward Thorne, an African-American millionaire and former industrial businessman. Edward Thorne saw that lots of young black men weren't attending college and were going down the path of criminality and perdition. So, he used every dime he had to create the Thorne Institute of Technology. An all-black, pro-male educational institution. He spent the next ten years turning it into the school of his dreams. The result was one of the best damn schools on the planet. Today, the Thorne Institute of Technology is a respectable educational institution. For an aspiring mechanical engineer like me, it's the best place to be.
The Thorne Institute of Technology has sixteen hundred students and a faculty of five hundred people. It's a very vibrant, dynamic place. Young black men from a variety of cities. Some of these guys come from all over the USA , and even Africa and South America . The year I came to the Thorne Institute as a freshman was also the year the school created its first Athletic Department, which resulted in several varsity teams. Sports are important to men, especially black men. If you look at the NBA and the NFL, you will see that some of the best players are young black men. Well, Thorne decided not to let its brothers down. The Thorne Institute of Technology Department of Athletics offered more varsity sports than most colleges and universities around the country.
The Thorne Institute of Technology varsity teams, also known as the Black Racers, competed in varsity Archery, Baseball, Badminton, Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Fencing, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Pistol, Rifle, Rowing, Rugby, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track, and Volleyball. For club sports, we had Sumo Wrestling, Boxing, Equestrian, Squash, Racquetball and Cycling. Twenty one varsity sports and six club sports supported by the Athletics Department. Jonathan Brown, the Athletic Director endeavored to make the Thorne Institute the envy of the world. The college president, Dr. James Luther shared his hope. Both of them were accomplished black men and alumni of schools like Morehouse and Georgia Tech.
I was really loving the place. Finally, a place where a black man could be himself. Most colleges were increasingly feministic, racist and downright anti-black male these days. Black males felt unwelcome, even when they had the knowledge, willpower and financial support to attend college. This school was all-black and all-male. Which is really cool. I wish there were more schools like that in the country, if not the world. I fell in love with Thorne. And it would always be dear to me because it's the place where I met the love of my life. I met Jackson Kane my freshman year. He was attending Thorne and joined the all-new intercollegiate football team. This would be a first in history. An all-black intercollegiate football team ready to take the NCAA by storm. The Thorne Institute varsity sports competed in the NCAA Division One. We had a chance to take on the likes of Harvard, MIT and Princeton someday. Show them what the brotherhood could do. I felt so damn proud it's hard to put it into words.