What started as four young Black men arriving at Florida A&M University in 1987 became a lifelong brotherhood forged through struggle, laughter, chaos, and unforgettable college experiences.
DA’ PLEX CHRONICLES is a raw, hilarious, emotional, and deeply authentic coming-of-age story centered around the Centennial Class of FAMU—where pride, tradition, culture, music, and survival all collided during one unforgettable era of Black college life.
From Pattyfoote Dormitory and Gibbs Hall to the off-campus apartment complex known simply as “Da Plex,” Clarence “Clay” White, Keith Roberson, Byron Patrick, and Brian Rice navigate:
- empty refrigerators and struggle meals
- all-night spades tournaments
- road trips gone wrong
- women, parties, and broken rules
- academic pressure
- loyalty, conflict, and growth
- and the difficult transition from boys into men
Some nights dinner was just:
- grits
- grits with butter
- or grits with salt and pepper
Other nights they were somehow footing bills at fine dining restaurants, throwing impromptu parties, and living like kings with money they absolutely did not have.
Told through multiple perspectives—with humor, honesty, and cinematic storytelling—this novel captures the real rhythm of friendship: the jokes, the arguments, the silence, the mistakes, and the memories that only become meaningful years later.
More than a college story, DA’ PLEX CHRONICLES is a love letter to:
- HBCU culture
- Black brotherhood
- late 1980s campus life
- and the friendships that survive long after youth disappears
For anyone who has ever:
- struggled with roommates
- laughed until sunrise
- survived on almost nothing
- gotten lost trying to find themselves
- or realized adulthood arrived too fast
…this story will feel familiar.
Welcome to FAMU.
Welcome to Da Plex.
Welcome to the years that never fully leave you.