Theo Morgan is one of the founders of Terre Haute Day, which began modestly during the COVID pandemic in 2020.
It’s actually a week of events leading up to Juneteenth, a recent national holiday observed on June 19 to celebrate the date that Texas finally freed its slaves two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
One of the events Morgan created to take place during Terre Haute Day is called Young, Black and Empowered, allowing teenagers to find out about different career paths, entrepreneurialism and adjusting to professional settings. On Wednesday at the Scott College of Business on the Indiana State University campus, 15 boys and 15 girls took part in the proceedings.
They sat through panel discussions with representatives from Rose-Hulman, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and ISU. They also heard from union representatives, young entrepreneurs and Barbara Barleston of Madame Barbara’s Accelerated Cosmetology School.
Each participant received a new outfit to wear on job interviews as well as professional headshot photographs.
“We let them know that college is definitely an option but there are other options — trades, unions, beauty college and things like that,” Morgan said. “We want them to know that we’re here for them.”
In selecting participants, Morgan said, “We just go through the community and see what the need is and talk to different parents and see if they want to be involved.”
He won “Dancing with the Terre Haute Stars” last year while he lived in Indianapolis and is in the process of moving back to Terre Haute to create events that emanate a good vibe, like Young, Black and Empowered.
One of the messages imparted by the event, Morgan said, is “It’s OK to have dreams and to not allow your friends to be a bad influence.”
Recent Terre Haute South graduate Jeremiah Moore was a participant, after meeting Morgan last year.
“We met miraculously when I was hustling — I was selling lemonade at a corner by a church,” Moore recalled. He even stayed with Morgan in Indianapolis while working at Lucas Oil.
He said he attended Young, Black and Empowered “just hoping to meet new people, to get new experiences and make connections that help me and others in the future.”
Moore has also participated in Terre Haute’s CEO program, in which young people meet with business owners around Terre Haute and learn entrepreneurial skills and how to grow a business. He will attend ISU this fall, majoring in mechanical engineering.
And he already owns a company that sells shirts, Lunar World.
“It’s a neutral point clothing brand — you can wear it with anything to break through cultural norms,” Moore said. Originally, he made the shirts himself, but found he couldn’t make them with consistency, so gets from a local manufacturer. People can peruse his wares on his Instagram page, @lunarworldz.
Despite his accomplishments, he said, “I have a real long way to go. I’m just starting out and getting my bearings in this big industry. I’m not even a little fish just yet.”
When Angel Tapia, 23, and Jordan Pope, 24, spoke about opening Hype Vault, a shoe and vintage clothing store between Haute City Center and the AMC Theatre, Moore saw a potential new client for his shirts.
Last year, Terre Haute South graduate Samuel Reyes attended Young, Black and Empowered. This year, he’s helping run the show.
“Last year, I was still adjusting to moving to Terre Haute and finding ways to get involved in the community,” Reyes said. “I was given this opportunity through my school. As soon as I saw what they offered and the opportunities, I jumped on board.”
He added, “It taught me grit — if I really want something, I will work and push myself towards it. I learned more about the business world and dressing professionally and adjusting to professional settings.”
On Wednesday, he moderated panel discussions. On Thursday, he will participate in Pitch Black, in which Black entrepreneurs pitch business ideas that could launch Black-owned businesses in Terre Haute.
As an attendee, Reyes received a new suit and dress shoes.
“The suit helped me in different programs I was involved in,” he said. Like Moore, he participated in the CEO program and met with business owners around Terre Haute.
Tony Brewer, owner of the Classic Man store in the Meadows Shopping Center, is the man providing suits for teens.
Sporting a tape measure around his neck, he said, “I’m here to get measurements so we can come back with the suits that are going to fit appropriately.” After taking measurements, he returned to his store to fetch clothing that he would distribute in the afternoon.
This is Brewer’s second year providing the suits. Last year’s experience, he said, “was nice — we took group pictures after we suited everybody up. We talked about appropriate attire for appropriate events — what to wear, not to wear. For interviews, you want more of a moderate outfit.”
A suit goes a long way to achieving an empowering self-confidence, he said.
“The suit don’t make the man but the man does make the suit,” Brewer said. “It instills confidence in how you look and how you present yourself in the community.”
Tevin Studdard, who was 11 when his cousin Reuben Studdard won “American Idol” and went on to study communications and public relations at ISU, was the event’s keynote speaker.
“To see your cousin win ‘American Idol,’ it made me feel like my dreams and aspirations were real,” said Studdard, who lives in Indianapolis.
Studdard can boast some musical talent himself.
“I got a scholarship to write a song for the school,” he said of his time at ISU. “I performed it at football homecoming my freshman year.”
Studdard can’t remember the title of that song, but said, “It was about ISU and what I pictured my experience being. It was a catchy jingle that people could sing around campus.” Later he wrote a song entitled “Young, Black and Educated.”
Since his time at ISU, he has created songs for 100 colleges in 33 states and written jingles for the Indianapolis newspaper. He has also published 29 children’s books and coloring books. His writing career was boosted by a cousin who served 14 years in the Terre Haute prison before getting pardoned.
“He helped me with my process of writing books,” Studdard said. “He was overjoyed this morning when he heard I was coming here to speak.”