]]> http://www.thewhitegoldenbull.com/2011/03/21/the-white-golden-bull-daily-blog/feed/ 1 http://www.thewhitegoldenbull.com/2011/01/31/from-chet/ http://www.thewhitegoldenbull.com/2011/01/31/from-chet/#comments Tue, 01 Feb 2011 04:46:34 +0000 Chet Grimsley http://www.thewhitegoldenbull.com/?p=18

Chet "The Hog" Grimsley

I have always been the type of person who accepted challenges that many others would not choose for themselves. My story is unique, funny, and, although at times hard to believe, it is all true.

The roster of my unique experiences and accomplishments as a student of Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) reads fairly long. I list them in summary here as a badge of honor and an example of success through perseverance.

First and foremost, I was the only white male living on campus at Johnson C. Smith University in year 1974. In 1977, I was fortunate to be chosen for the First Team All-Conference and receive the honor as team MVP while being a JSCU football player. I was inducted into the J.C. Smith Sports Hall of Fame in 1995, and it was such an honor for me to participate in the Bicentennial Football Classic, which represented the first historical game played between two black colleges in the Intercollegiate Association.

One of my most important accomplishments was becoming one of the first white members to cross over Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship, Inc. at JCSU. Back in the 1970s, hazing was extremely tough and brutal, and crossing over meant you pledged a minimum of 13 weeks of physical and mental challenges and trials. Looking back on pledging, I realize that every experience taught me a lesson, and each lesson simply made me a better person.

It was a great experience for me to play black college football in the 1970s. It’s been such a gift for me to receive both a great college education and also a first-hand education on cultural diversity. Throughout the years, I’ve continued to appreciate the first-hand knowledge of how one person can make a difference to so many. By reading my story, you’ll become keenly aware that I am a religious man. Not only was I raised with a strong foundation of faith in God, but through my story, you’ll understand how my faith played a large part in my tenacity and conviction that the good in people outweighs all the troubles.

To share the details of my journey with others, especially those who helped me along the way, is something I hope will emphasize to my readers that all things are blessed and made possible through prayer and dedication to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Through my experiences and testimony, I hope all people, no matter what race, will gain the strength to meet all of their life’s challenges head on and find peace within themselves.

– Chet Grimsley

]]> http://www.thewhitegoldenbull.com/2011/01/31/from-chet/feed/ 44 http://www.thewhitegoldenbull.com/2011/01/31/about-chet/ http://www.thewhitegoldenbull.com/2011/01/31/about-chet/#comments Tue, 01 Feb 2011 03:36:18 +0000 Donna Grimsley http://www.thewhitegoldenbull.com/?p=9

Chet and Donna Grimsley

For years, my husband was encouraged to write a book about his life experiences because they were not typical “southern boy” experiences. It took time for him to complete his journal, and I’m very proud of his accomplishments. I attest that all the historical facts within this book are true and can be researched and proven. It is with a tremendous amount of appreciation to all his loyal friends and Groove brothers that this book is made possible.

This book recollects a period in time when pledging in college could not only be extremely challenging, but sometimes very dangerous. Due to his allegiance and oaths to Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship, Incorporated, much has been left out of this story. However, if you can place yourself back into the 1960s and 70s, you will have a clear understanding of what a “white boy” going to an all-black college went through. Playing football and being one of the first Whites to cross over an all-black social fellowship at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the mid 1970s tells a story that is amazing, funny, unbelievable and shows how nine banded together pledging for weeks with the Grace of God and Faith, and how each person became a champion for diversity and multi- culturalism of the black and white truths of a nation. They stood together, united to show that Diversity is obtainable through God, and we all can live together in America through Faith and prayer. This book shares Chet’s compassion for the journey traveled here and the harsh realities that would be endured for as long as hatred is fed. His line brothers stood steadfast for black and white to come together as One Nation under God and Groove at J.C. Smith University.

This book portrays my husband’s struggle to overcome racial boundaries by showing people that he is an individual, a white boy who respects all cultures and believes in working together as a team, despite what popular culture practiced at the time. This is a story of hope, perseverance, faith and the testimony of true friendship. In a way, Chet’s story evokes cultural healing for all involved – a turning point from being a reverse racial student to becoming a survivor and, more significantly, a brethren of a historically black social fellowship. His experience inspires the practice of what is good and right in an era of hate and strained racial relations in the southern states in America. My husband to this day considers all his Groove brothers as if they were blood brothers. I have seen how they band together as a group of fellowmen with respect given by all to each, for each in those days earned the “brand” of the Groove, respected in Historically Black College Universities (H.B.C.U.) and in America.

What I do know for certain is that God had a plan for Chet. I cannot tell you his true motives for attending J.C. Smith University, where he stood out and was separated from not only his family and friends, but from the predominance of white culture as well. Chet is not your everyday nice guy. He is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. We come from two different worlds, but both of us are as one in our beliefs. I have said many times that I married him because he is “color blind.” It is my belief that God makes us different so that we will challenge ourselves, to step out of what we know, to share and accept our differences. The Bible tells us to love one another as we love our self.

The stories Chet told me in the three years before our marriage were pretty unbelievable at first, but as we visited Charlotte and as he introduced me to friends, I realized then that I had so much more to learn from Chet’s experiences. Through understanding Chet’s journey to overcome the challenges he faced in his college years and beyond – and through my own personal experience – Chet helped enhance my belief that if you are angry or broken in heart and spirit, if you are scared and there is no one in your life to give you comfort and understanding, you shouldn’t lie down and lose your heart and soul to anger. Just stop what you are feeling and ask the only one true God to help uplift your spirit and help you find peace and love.

– Donna Grimsley

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