Morehouse Magazine Spring/Summer 2004

MOREHOUSE M A G A Z I N E

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A THINKER AND AN ACTIVIST Morehouse College’s third Rhodes Scholar plans to use his scholarly achievements to advance his personal commitment to improve conditions in developing countries.

by Monét Cooper COMMENCEMENT 2003: AWASHED IN PAGEANTRY, ACCOMPLISHMENT AND RAIN Even rain soaked clouds and a muddy campus green could not dampen the spirits of the 500 graduating seniors or the thousands of family and friends who gathered for the 119th Commencement on the Century Campus.

by Kenneth Rollins 137TH FOUNDER’S WEEK CELEBRATION With names like Calvin O. Butts ’71, Peter J. Gomes and Yolanda Adams on the roster of speakers and performers, the 137th Founder’s Week Celebration was destined to live up to Morehouse College’s long-standing history of celebrating African American leadership in a way unlike any other institution in the nation.

by Vickie G. Hampton THE GALA OF GALAS Highlighting the Founder’s Week Celebration was this year’s “A Candle in the Dark” Gala, an event that will certainly go down in the annals of history as being the “Gala of Galas.”

by Michael K. Watts ‘92 MAYNARD THE MOREHOUSE MAN Statesman, politician, civil rights activist, entrepreneur, father, husband – Maynard Jackson ’56 was many things to many people. Yet, no matter where he went, he made sure people knew he was a Morehouse Man.

by Lee R. Haven

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SPRING/SUMMER 2004

INSIDE THE HOUSE Homecoming 2003 Passages: Thomas J. Blocker ’74 ALUMNI NEWS Passages: Samuel Nabrit ’23

insidethehouse MOREHOUSE

in the

NEWS ■

June 3, 2003- The Oprah Winfrey Show profiled the Miller triplets. Craig, Cedric and Cornell Miller ’03 are the first set of triplets to graduate from Morehouse College at the same time with the same major. The Oprah Winfrey Show sent a crew to Morehouse to interview the St. Louis natives before flying them to Chicago for a live appearance on the show that featured amazing graduation stories. BET Nightly News with Jacque Reid also profiled the Miller triplets.

■ June 2003- The death of alumnus Maynard H. Jackson ‘56 was featured in several publications and on television programs nationwide. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote: “Starting at noon, mourners filed into the [MLK] chapel to view the former mayor’s body.

By 3 p.m., Atlanta police estimated 3,000 to 4,000 people had passed through since the viewing began.” Some of the other media outlets that chronicled the events surrounding Jackson’s death were Ebony, Jet, The New York Times, ABC World News Tonight News with Peter Jennings, NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, CNN and C-Span ■ June 2003- Morehouse College received national attention from various media outlets after a baseball bat-beating incident that rocked the College.

Some of the outlets to cover the incident, subsequent trial and aftermath were Southern Voice, The Atlanta JournalConstitution, Washington Blade,

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Philadelphia Tribune, the Chicago Defender, the Washington Times and all of the Atlanta-area television stations.

■ July 2003- The Christian Science Monitor mentioned Morehouse is a story titled “Pride and Paradox,” which reported on the struggles for some HBCUs to survive.

■ July 16, 2003- The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel profiled Morehouse student Samuel Ross in a story about the growing gender gap among minority students and the United Negro College Fund. Ross said of his UNCF Scholarship: “It’s like a blessing. My mom had to take out loans my first year and it wasn’t something she wanted to do. With the scholarship, we won’t have to take out as many loans.”

■ August 23, 2003- Dr. Lawrence E. Carter, dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, was quoted in the Faith & Values section of The Atlanta JournalConstitution in a story about faith-based programs at colleges and universities. Carter said: “The students at Morehouse play an active role in Sunday services. They put together the services. Together we select who the preachers will be.”

■ August 26, 2003- Dr. Massey was interviewed for one of the first installments of the new radio program titled “The Players.” The program airs on WGST in Atlanta and is hosted

by Atlanta Business Chronicle columnist Alf Nucifora. It features the top business players in metro Atlanta.

■ September 2003- Ebony magazine profiled Maroon Tiger editor Christian Nwachukwu Jr. in an article titled “What Black College Students Think About Sex, Money & Civil Rights.”

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September 2003- Associate Dean of Admissions Terrence Dixon was interviewed by the Augusta Magazine about the College’s admission process.

■ September 5, 2003- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a story titled “Would-be Robber Shot at Downtown Bank.” The hero in the story was Morehouse College Lt. Johnny Weaver, who happened to have been at the bank at the time of the attempted robbery. Weaver apprehended the suspect at the scene. The news was covered on all Atlanta television stations and several local radio stations.

■ September 17, 2003- The Wall Street Journal mentioned Morehouse College in a story about the challenges surrounding alumni giving. The article titled “The Call To Give Back,” referred to Morehouse as one of the “titans of historically black colleges.” Alumnus Robert Davidson ’67 was quoted in the article: “Philanthropy is a responsibility. The success of historically black colleges will be determined by the willingness of our graduates to support them.”

■ September 25, 2003Morehouse student Edward Smith-Lewis Jr. was profiled by Black Issues in Higher Education. The story, titled “Whatever it Takes,” appeared in the special report: Focus on Diversity. Smith -Lewis was one of only 15 blacks out of a class of 320 at his high school in Oakland, California. He said he has looked “all my life” for a place like Morehouse College.

■ September 26, 2003Morehouse College was named one of America’s top 50 most successful feeder schools by The Wall Street Journal. Morehouse ranked No. 26 on the list that only included one other Georgia institution in the top 50. The Atlanta Journal

Constitution did a subsequent story on the ranking inn an article titled, “Morehouse, Emory, Tech can brag.”

■ September 2003- Dr. Walter E. Massey ‘58 wrote a commentary for the Final Word section of the Network Journal based in New York City. The title of the commentary was “Education Dedicated to Black Males Still Relevant.” Massey wrote: “Morehouse men compete favorably with male and female graduates of all races from other colleges and universities for coveted spots in the top graduate and professional schools, as well as for career positions in corporations and other organizations. Simply put, if Morehouse did not exist, there would be a critical, unmet need in higher education.”

■ September 2003- News of alumnus Lerone Bennett’s ’49 decision to retire from the helm of Ebony magazine after 50 years made news in several publications. Among those that covered his retirement was the Philadelphia Tribune, the oldest black newspaper in the country.

■ October 5, 2003- The New York Times crossword puzzle featured Morehouse College as a clue in the October 5th edition.

The NYT puzzle is considered one of the most challenging puzzles in the world. The Clue: “Unlike Morehouse College.”

The answer: Coed.

■ October 15, 2003- Alumnus and Morehouse professor Marcellus Barksdale ‘65 was featured in the Gainesville Times for his participation in Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue’s racial reconciliation forum. Barksdale was a featured presenter at the forum.

■ October 15, 2003- The Wheaton Gazette in Gaithersburg, Maryland, featured

insidethehouse Morehouse student Marvin Brooks in an article titled “College’s Federal Work-Study Students Give—and Get a Lot Back in Return.” Brooks said: “I have worked and volunteered in community service with kids since high school and can really see the benefits of helping others.”

■ November 11, 2003- In an article titled “College Students Should Plan Ahead,” The Wall Street Journal began with a profile of Morehouse College senior Jason Tolliver. The story was about students who are taking steps to get jobs after graduation.

■ November 19, 2003- Dr. Preston King, distinguished professor of political philosophy and scholar-in-residence at Morehouse, was interviewed live on “The Tavis Smiley Show” on National Public Radio. King spoke in detail about the political and social ramifications of the war on Iraq as it relates to the United States and Britain.

■ November 20, 2003- Dr. Walter E. Massey ‘58 and Mrs. Shirley Massey were featured in a photo on the ABC News.com website. The photo was taken during a state dinner in London at which the Masseys were guests. Maria Saporta, a business columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, also mentioned the dinner in her column.

■ December 2003- The New York Times was one of several publications to announce that Morehouse College has claimed its third Rhodes scholar, Oluwabusayo “Tope” Folarin.

The news was carried in The Dallas Morning News, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine, Black Issues in Higher

Education, Ebony, Jet, Journal of Blacks in Higher Education as well as on every Atlanta-area television station.

■ December 2003- Southern Living magazine did an extensive profile of the Morehouse College Glee Club and the annual Christmas Carol Concert.

■ December 2003- Ebony magazine did a report on black philanthropy. It featured mentions about Morehouse College and a photo of Dr. Walter E. Massey ‘58 with Ray Charles.

■ December 12, 2003Morehouse College was featured very prominently in The Congressional Quarterly Researcher. The in-depth report was titled “Black Colleges: Do They Still Have an Important Role?”

■ December 14, 2003- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution featured a story on Morehouse’s Celebrating the Arts Initiative and plans for a Center for the Arts. In the article titled, “Morehouse Thanks Major Donors,” vice president of Institutional Advancement Phillip Howard ’87 said, “As much as anything, we want to raise the visibility of Morehouse as it relates to the arts.”

■ December 2003- The Hollywood Reporter carried news of David Geffen’s $500,000 gift to Morehouse.

The money will support arts programming and scholarships at Morehouse.

■ December 2003- The Morehouse College annual Christmas card got a nod in Jet magazine. It was mentioned in the National Headliners section of the magazine.

■ January 6, 2004- The death of Dr. Samuel Nabrit ‘25, Morehouse College’s oldest living alum, made national news.

Some of the publications to carry the news were The New York Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Houston Chronicle.

■ January 14, 2004Alumnus Sanford Watson ‘85 was profiled in the Cleveland Plain Dealer after being named the new public safety director of that city.

■ January 15, 2004- Dr. Massey and Dr. Lawrence Carter, dean of the Martin Luther King International Chapel, was interviewed as part of a 30-minute program on WXYZ-TV in Detroit. The program was the Ford Freedom Awards, which honored Dr. Benjamin E. Mays and Dr. William “Bill” Cosby Jr. ■ January 16, 2004Alumnus Jerome Farris ‘51 was featured in front page stories in the Sacramento Daily Recorder and the San Francisco Daily Journal. Farris is a senior judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

■ January 16, 2004Alumnus Bill Humphrey ‘63 was featured in an article in the Portsmouth Herald. The chemist for Collins and Aikman, a global automotiveparts supplier, gave “A Living Lesson in Black History” to children during black history month.

■ February 10, 2004- News that alumnus Michael Lomax ‘68 will take the helm of the United Negro College Fund spread nationally. It was carried in Black Issues in Higher Education, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and all of the Atlanta-area local television stations.

■ February 2004- More than 200 news outlets picked up the news about Oprah Winfrey’s second $5-million gift to

Morehouse. Winfrey made the announcement during her acceptance speech at the 16th annual “A Candle in the Dark” Gala, where she received the first ever Candle for Lifetime Achievement in Humanitarian Service. Some of the outlets that carried the news were Entertainment Tonight (ETonline.com), the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, USA Today.com, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Newsday, the Boston Globe, Atlanta Magazine, Rolling Out Magazine, Jet, People magazine and the Associated Press wire service, WSB-TV, and WXIA-TV. ■ February 2004Morehouse College Founder’s Week was the subject of several interview segments on Atlanta television and radio stations.

The segments, which aired on WSB-TV, WXIA-TV, Good Day Atlanta/WAGA-TV, Praise 97.5 FM, and V-103, highlighted the Yolanda Adams Concert and the A Candle in the Dark Gala.

■ February 2004- An exhibit by William Anderson, assistant professor of art history, was featured in several publications.

The exhibit, titled "Love Now," was a black history month photography exhibit that appeared in 15 Nordstrom department stores across the country. The exhibit was mentioned in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Washington Afro-American, The Herald Sun (RaleighDurham), The Atlanta JournalConstitution, The News & Observer (Raleigh-Durham) and Howard University's radio station WHUR/96.3 FM.

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–Elise Durham

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insidethehouse ROYAL SEATING: Masseys Dine with the Queen in London PRESIDENT WALTER E. MASSEY ’58 has been to many soirees and conversed with the rich and famous from all walks of life. He and wife Shirley “know how to work a room.” But when he received an invitation from President George W. Bush to hob knob with the “Royals” in London this past November, he confessed to having butterflies. “I haven’t been nervous for a long time—but I was nervous,” he said. He figured there would be hundreds of guests and that once he was seated—presumably somewhere in the back—he would be good to go.

Boy, was he wrong. Turns out, there were only 60 guests—30 Americans and 30 Britons. After finding his place card at table three, he glanced at two of the other cards on the table. It was virtually a royal flush: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth would be sitting right next to him—and President Bush next to her.

So what did the college president and the Queen of England discuss? Politics? Education? The paparazzi?

“We chatted—literally most of the evening, nearly 90 minutes,” said Massey. She’s very charming, very knowledgeable, very relaxing. We talked about children and grandchildren. She

lamented the fact that no one writes letters anymore—everything is e-mailed or faxed.”

Massey knows a royal opportunity when he sees one. Upon returning to the States, he sent the queen—a woman who has everything—something she didn’t get enough of: a handwritten letter. ■

Spiritual and Science Awareness Week: Change and Controversy

MOREHOUSE COLLEGE’S ANNUAL Spiritual Awareness Week offered both change and controversy this year. The name change to Science and Spiritual Awareness Week offered an interesting foray into topics that juxtaposed the two disciplines, as evident in lectures with such titles as “The Relation Between Quantum Physics, Spirituality and the Soul.”

Held from March 28 to April 4, 2004 the week featured several prominent personalities, including F.W. De Klerk, former president of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Nobel Prize Laureate Betty Williams, spiritual teacher Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati, all of whom were either MOREHOUSE MAGAZINE

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featured speakers or award recipients.

De Klerk was the keynote speaker for the Inter-Faith Assembly. He was invited to the College because of his call for a non-racist South Africa, which led to lifting the ban on the African National Congress (ANC) and former South African president Nelson Mandela’s release. Just as De Klerk and Mandela jointly received the Nobel Prize in 1993, they both received the Gandhi, King, Ikeda Community Builder’s Prize, administered by the King Chapel.

(Mandela will be presented the award when Lawrence Carter, dean of the King Chapel, travels to South Africa this fall).

However, De Klerk’s invitation to speak on the topic “Do the Right Thing” was also an open invitation for irony. Indeed, many questioned, whether Carter had done the right thing by inviting a man who had— until his presidency—supported apartheid and the oppression of millions of Africans.

De Klerk’s speech was an eloquent appeal for forgiveness and reconciliation.

However, few students got the message.

Earlier during the week, nearly 800 of them had signed a petition to protest De Klerk’s presence on campus. On the night of De Klerk’s speech, there was only a smattering of Men of Morehouse in the audience.

De Klerk’s presence in a chapel named after an African American who sacrificed his life for freedom, on a stage that represents the best in black scholarship and achievement; and on a campus that provides an insulator from the “isms” that fetter learning at many other institutions, was a rare study in irony— which was not lost on De Klerk.

“I can think of no institution in the United States that I would be as honored to receive this award than from the alma mater of Martin Luther King Jr.,” he said.

“May this symbolic act of giving this award to someone of my history act as a symbol for all the peacemakers…. May it be seen as an act of reconciliation and inspire others to work together to close the book on the past.” ■

insidethehouse Three Renowned Speakers on Ethical Leadership NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO’S TAVIS SMILEY electrified an audience of Morehouse College students, faculty, staff and administrators during his lecture on “The State of Black Leadership: Ethical Issues and Challenges.” Smiley’s visit to the College on April 11, 2003, was part of the annual Coca-Cola Leadership Lecture Series sponsored by the Morehouse College Leadership Center. Called one of the most political voices of his generation and selected as one of America’s 50 most promising young leaders by Time magazine, Smiley is making waves Tavis Smiley across many mediums. As host of The Tavis Smiley Show, he is the first African American to host his own signature talk show in the history of National Public Radio. Smiley also hosts The Smiley Report for the ABC Radio Network, which is heard daily on urban contemporary radio stations across the nation.

He appears twice a week on the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show.

DR. MICHAEL ERIC DYSON shared some of his knowledge, quick prose and wit with Morehouse College during the Coca-Cola Leadership Lecture Series on October 20, 2003. His topic was “Why We Can’t Wait: The Need for Ethical Leadership.” Dyson is known as one of the most thought-provoking authors and lecturers of African Studies and hip-hop culture. Dyson, the Avalon Professor in Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania in Religious and Africana Studies, has been hailed by The Chronicle of Higher Education as “one Michael Eric Dyson of the youngest stars in the firmament of Black intellectuals.”

The Coca-Cola Foundation endows the Coca-Cola Leadership Lecture Series, which provides an opportunity for world-class leaders to share insights about contemporary leadership issues as well as the challenges and opportunities likely to confront tomorrow’s leaders. A leadership lecture is held each semester JUDGE GLENDA HATCHETT, the former chief presiding judge of the Fulton County (Ga.) Juvenile Court, has seen and heard it all. Like the 15-year-old girl who was ordered to kill her own mother if she wanted to join a gang. Without ethical leadership, she said, such horror stories could hit closer to home.

“The Morehouse class of 2025 is being born this year,” said Hatchett, who spoke during Crown Forum on Nov. 13, 2003. “If things don’t get better, one in six black boys will Glenda Hatchett drop out of high school; one in nine will use cocaine before the age of 30; one in 20 will be locked up before the age of 30. And every two days, a black boy will give up on life and commit suicide.”

Rather than “lingering in a pity party,” Morehouse men in particular must weave together our unraveling community, said Hatchett. “If you fall by the wayside, then we all suffer, because [Morehouse] is where the power and potential are… So the only question left is, really, are you willing?”

The Glee Club In Concert

77TH ANNUAL SPELMAN-MOREHOUSE CHRISTMAS CAROL CONCERT For more than three quarters of a century, the SpelmanMorehouse Christmas Carol Concert has kicked off the holiday season of celebration for the Atlanta Community. This year, glee club members again lifted their voices in song for three performances, December 5-7, 2003.

The combined choir performed both new selections and the old traditional songs the community has come to love, including “Holy Radiant Light,” “Behold The Star” and “The Holy and the Ivy.” Patrons enjoyed the sing alongs, as well as the Morehouse College Glee Club’s rousing performance of the Yoruba folk hymn “Betelemehu.”

Each year, more than 6,500 participants attend the concerts, which are free and open to the public. “Many people have asked why we don’t charge for the concert,” said Dr. David Morrow, director of the Morehouse College Glee Club. “We don’t charge because the founders of the concert envisioned it as a gift to the Atlanta community.”

A KING CELEBRATION The 12th annual King Celebration Concert was held in the Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel on the Morehouse campus on January 16. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) Music Director Robert Spano, the Orchestra and members of the ASO Chorus, the glee clubs of Morehouse and Spelman colleges, Soprano soloist Arietha Lockhart, and special guest National Black Arts Festival Executive Director Stephanie Hughley, paid tribute in words and music to Martin Luther King Jr. ’58, the man whose harmonic spirit — in times of calm and in times of crisis — embodies the noble musicality of life.

The concert was broadcast over more than 250 public radio stations nationally on NPR’s daily classical music program, Performance Today.

Morehouse cosponsors the concert each year in partnership with the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change Inc., National Public Radio, Spelman College and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

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Homecoming 2003

It’s More Than Just A Game...

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0 omecoming 2003 was an exciting weekend of tradition and celebration. The game was a much anticipated clash between the AUC’s big cats—the Tigers and the Clark Atlanta Panthers. The Tigers mauled the Panthers 48 to 33.

For the first time, Morehouse welcomed many of her sons back home for the inaugural Homecoming Showcase and Conference—a unique opportunity for alumni to reunite and discuss their careers with students and faculty.

From the Homecoming Parade to the National Alumni Association Golf Classic to the Homecoming Step Show, Morehouse brothers were on the scene in record numbers.

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Get ready for Homecoming 2004...

It Will Be More Than Just A Game

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insidethehouse “I don’t regret that I had to study Beethoven, Bach and Mozart. I do regret that I was not required to study Armstrong and Coltrane.”

–William McDaniel Jr. ’67 Director of jazz studies Ohio State University

Homecoming Conference and “If Morehouse has unintentionally created this much creative power, imagine what power it will have in taking this initiative intentionally,” Michael Lomax ‘68 President of the United Negro College Fund

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Q

uick. Think of some of the leading African American men in Hollywood.

Spike? Sam Jackson? Bill Nunn?

Now, think hats—big “why did you have to sit in front of me” church hats and Atlanta’s Woodruff Arts Center.

We’re not finished. Think about the National Black Arts Festival, and the draw it has for countless African American artists and those who seek out their work.

What do they all have in common? Morehouse.

Those leading men in Hollywood—Shelton “Spike” Lee ‘79, Samuel L. Jackson ’72, Bill Nunn III ‘76—are all Morehouse Men. At Atlanta’s Woodruff Arts Center in November,“Crowns,” a book co-created by Morehouse alum Craig Marberry ‘81, was featured in two of its incarnations: an exhibition in the High Museum of Art and a gospel play, directed by acclaimed actress Regina Taylor, in the Alliance Theater.

Finally, the National Black Arts Festival was founded by Morehouse alum Michael Lomax ‘68, president of the United Negro College Fund.

“If Morehouse has unintentionally created this much creative power, imagine what power it will have in taking this initiative intentionally,” said Lomax during the opening of the first ever Conference and Showcase during Homecoming Weekend 2003.

Indeed, the power of the Morehouse influence was felt during the conference as dozens of participants—including luminaries such as actor casting director Reuben Cannon (Hon. ’02), director and producer Oz Scott and visual artist Kojo Griffin ‘92—shared stories about their challenges and success in the arts industry.

Topics discussed during the conference included “Making Movies and Making the Cut,”“Why We Write: An Author’s Perspective,”“Defining the Acting Role,” and “Success in the Arts and Entertainment Industry,” among others.

“Each year, we will invite alumni from different disciplines to come back home and share their experiences,” said Henry M. Goodgame Jr. ’84, director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving and the Conference coordinator. “We will continue to find creative ways to fully engage alumni in the life of the College.” ■

“I’ve lived in so many cities, walked so

“Investing in art is a spiritual investment you’re making in yourself and your family. And that’s something you can’t put a price tag on.”

many blocks, and talked to so many different people. And there are so many stories out there. All you have to do is frame them, follow them through, and put them

--Kojo Griffin ‘92 Visual artist

in pages that people can read.”

–Kenji Jasper ’97 Author

Showcase “We are the most creative people on earth— and we don’t get credit for it. We don’t appreciate [our artists] until someone outside of our own culture comes along and says, ‘This is great.’…If we don’t love ourselves first, no one else will.”

–Alton C. Brothers ‘69 Visual Artist

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insidethehouse Three-Peat Winner of Honda Campus All-Star Challenge

PHOTO CREDIT: PRESTON MACK

For the third time in four years, Morehouse College has become national champion of the 15th Annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge. The three-day competition pits students from 64 Historically Black Colleges and Universities against one another as they answer questions on a range of topics— from African American history to science. Morehouse beat the team from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Florida A&M University is the only other team that has won the competition three times.

Morehouse was awarded a check for $50,000, which will be used to provide equipment and materials for future teams, as well as fund the newspaper program, which provides students with free issues of USA Today and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspapers.

Anderson Williams, the team’s coach and chairman of Business Administration, said that he is very happy about this year's victory. "With the players that we have coming back next year, I think we have a good chance at making it four out of five victories."

Morehouse College senior John Thomas III was named to the competition's All-Star Team, which earned the College an extra $1,000 in award winnings. He also received an honor for exemplary sportsmanship.

Team captain Christopher E. Lee said it is great to be back on top. "Everyone wanted us to bring the championship back home," he said. "This team was probably the best team that has ever participated in this competition. Our chemistry was incredible. We operated like one huge brain."

The Honda Campus All-Star Challenge was established by American Honda Motor Co., Inc. in 1989. Since its inception, approximately 50,000 HBCU students have taken part in the program and nearly $3.5 million in grants have been awarded to the schools. The National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) and the Association of College Unions International are partners in the program. ■

Morehouse earned the national academic champion title at the 15th annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge after team members John Thomas III, John Ramsey Clarke, Christopher E. Lee and Jordan A. Harris prevailed in competitions.

Morehouse Launches Multi-Year Initiative That Helps Build ‘Human Infrastructure’

of

Institutional Values Project Year I work for Morehouse.

I take responsibility.

Responsibility

THE INSTITUTIONAL VALUES PROJECT is the first multi-year initiative designed to build a better community at Morehouse College by developing the College’s “human infrastructure.” The project, which was launched at the start of the 2001-2002 academic year, has an overall goal of equipping students, faculty and staff with the ethical tools they need to support the shared vision of making Morehouse one of the finest liberal arts colleges in the nation.

Students, faculty and staff came to a consensus to determine the appropriate values for the community. In the first year, “The Year of Dialogue,” members of the campus community formed small groups to determine how perceptions about values are different or similar for different age and constituency groups.

The nine values that emerged as those that guide campus interactions and are most important to building a better community at Morehouse are accountability, civility, community, compassion, honesty, integrity, respect, spirituality and trust. However,“respect” was identified as the primary value that should provide the framework for community interactions.

The goal for the second year, “The Year of Reflection,” was to have the campus community reflect on their own behavior and values. Following a student assault incident on campus, however, the Institutional Values Project began focusing on issues of tolerance and diversity. As a result, student dialogues, focus groups with the campus community, and a survey helped to inform a local and national advisory group on the “climate” for tolerance and diversity on campus.

Now in its third year, “The Year of Responsibility,” the Institutional Values Project seeks to institutionalize the values into the fabric of the College. In October 2003, the College launched its “I Take Responsibility” campaign, which was designed to improve customer relations with both internal and external customers.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to display a desktop placard that reads: “I work for Morehouse. I take responsibility.” The College is also conducting a student-satisfaction survey to be used to help improve key services throughout the College.

The Institutional Values Project has resulted in the placement of two current initiatives. As a part of Freshman Orientation, the freshman dean will hold mandatory small-group discussions that thoroughly examine tolerance and diversity. The second initiative are values forums that explore the “rules of civility.” One such forum, titled “Coffee and Conversation,” is sponsored by Student Services and is held the first Friday of each month to provide an opportunity for the campus community at large to have ongoing conversations about institutional values. ■ –Reneé Calhoun

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insidethehouse The Wall Street Journal Ranks Morehouse Among the Top Feeder Schools in the Nation The Wall Street Journal, the nation’s most widely circulated daily and a virtual bible for business leaders the world over, has recognized Morehouse as a leader when it comes to sending students to top graduate schools.

The Journal found the alma maters of more than 5,000 incoming students at 15 of the nations top graduate programs—five each in business, law and medical schools—and published the results in its Sept. 26 issue. Morehouse is number 29 in the listing of the top 50 feeder schools.

Following are other highlights.

• Morehouse is the highest ranking private feeder school in Georgia.

• Only two private institutions ranked in Georgia: Morehouse at #29 and Emory at #36 • Morehouse is the only HBCU ranked in the top 50 Of the two Associated Colleges of the South schools, • Morehouse ranked #29 and Washington and Lee ranked #48. ■ Students were surveyed at the following graduate schools: MEDICAL SCHOOLS: Columbia Harvard Johns Hopkins University of California, San Francisco Yale

LAW SCHOOLS: Chicago Columbia Harvard Michigan Yale

MBA: Chicago Dartmouth’s Tuck School Harvard MIT’s Sloan School Penn’s Wharton School

Morehouse Listed Among The “Most Connected” College Campuses The Forbes/Princeton Review ranked Morehouse No. 250 among the nation’s 351 most connected campuses. The ranking was based on student/computer ratio and breadth of computer science offerings, among other criteria.

Ranking of Georgia schools: Georgia Tech, #3 Wesleyan College, #27 University of Georgia, #57 Emory University, #117 Mercer University, #156 Morehouse College, #250 Agnes Scott College, #300 Oglethorpe University, #346 Spelman College, #351

Sheftall Appointed to SACS Committee

Drumming Up Excitement: THE ANNUAL MOREHOUSE College Breast Cancer Awareness Walk marched to the beat of several drummers on last October. The Maroon Tiger Marching Band led the processional from the King Chapel to the Morehouse School of Medicine.

The addition of the band renewed interest in the four-year-old event, says event co-coordinator Sandra Walker (center), executive assistant to the vice president for Business and Finance. Over the past three years, Morehouse has donated $38,000 to the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. ■

WILLIS B. SHEFTALL JR. ’64, senior vice president for Academic Affairs, has been appointed to serve on the six-member Central Review Committee of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

The Central Review Committee will be responsible for reviewing and approving the work of eight Commission on Colleges subcommittees that are studying core requirements and comprehensive standards in the areas of institutional effectiveness, mission, faculty, educational programs, governance and administration, learning resources, student support services, finances and physical resources.

The Committee also will oversee the development of a companion document to the Principles of Accreditation that will pose questions designed to stimulate ideas about issues that institutions need to consider when providing evidence of compliance with each standard. ■ S P R I N G / S U M M E R

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Passages “Dean” Prescribed Success For His Students THOMAS J. BLOCKER ‘74,

AN ADVISER,

PROFESSOR AND ROLE MODEL TO PREMEDICAL AND PRE-DENTAL STUDENTS, DIED ON MAY 8, 2003. HE WAS 52.

“BLOCKER WAS A STERLING EXAMPLE OF WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE A

MOREHOUSE MAN,” SAID PRESIDENT WALTER E. MASSEY ’58. “INDEED, IN HIS VERY QUIET, BUT VERY POWERFUL WAY, [HE] EMBODIED VALUES AND VIRTUES TO WHICH ALL MOREHOUSE MEN ASPIRE.” BLOCKER’S LIFE WORK WAS A TIRELESS PURSUIT OF EDUCATING OTHERS, MASSEY CONTINUED. “HE KNEW THAT KNOWLEDGE IS LIGHT. HE WAS A LEADER—IN THE CLASSROOM, ON THE MOREHOUSE CAMPUS AND THROUGHOUT THE NATION. HE WAS NOT OUT IN THE FRONT—BUT HAD A QUIET INFLUENCE.” With 27 years of service at Morehouse, Blocker, who was dean of the senior class and director of the Office of Health Professions, will be remembered most for his role as a mentor and role model.“Hundreds of men and women of medicine are indebted to him,” said Marcellus Barksdale ’65, professor of history at Morehouse. “The lyrics of the song,‘If I Can Help Somebody,’ reflect the life of my dear friend.”

Indeed, Blocker’s legacy is his legendary advocacy for students.

“Tom was the most student-oriented person I have ever known,” said Dr. J.K. Haynes ’64, dean of the Division of Science and Mathematics.

“When he talked, students listened. And it wasn’t so much because he was an imposing figure, but because he walked like a king.

“Students believed in Thomas Blocker. They knew he would do everything in his power to help them achieve their career goals.”

Speaking at Blocker’s “Celebration of Life,” Dr. Roderick Earl Edmond ’83 provided testimony to illustrate that Blocker, indeed, did whatever it took to encourage and guide his students.

Edmond recalled how, at age 20, he suddenly felt disillusioned about the path he was on, and was ready to drop out of school.

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Blocker invited him to his office and sat him down for a long talk.

“We sat there for four to five hours,” Edmond recalled.“I’m sure we solved the origin of civilization. We cured cancer that night. I don’t remember what we talked about, but—guess what—the next day I was in class.”

Edmond told accounts of other times in his life when Blocker had been there for him. As he paid a final tribute to his mentor and friend, he said that now it was his time to be there for Blocker. He challenged the large number of doctors, dentists and scientists in the audience to begin giving back to the College.

Blocker graduated from Morehouse in 1974 with a degree in biology. While at Morehouse, he studied abroad as a Charles E. Merrill Scholar at the University of Vienna, Austria, in the Institute of European Studies from 1972-73. After graduating from Morehouse, he went on to earn a master’s degree from Atlanta University and was admitted to Clark Atlanta University as a Ph.D. candidate and completed 70 graduate hours.

He returned to the College in 1976 as an instructor in the Biology Department. Thousands of students came under his tutelage in his various roles with organizations.

As pre-medical adviser for 27 years, Blocker recruited and enrolled more than 2,100 young men and women in the summer programs. A large number of these students, as well as others whom he has mentored—entered and completed medical and dental programs, as well as doctoral programs.

In 1997, Meharry Medical College awarded Blocker the honorary doctorate of humane letters. After serving on the Princeton Review Advisory Board, the Princeton Review praised him for “making an outstanding contribution to the education, counseling and role modeling for African American male students.”

Blocker received funding for grants supporting education, research, health careers and health care totaling more than $3 million from the government, foundations, organizations and industry. He also organized and directed many conferences—several of which were the only ones of their kind in the nation—and was responsible for establishing 41 scholarships to assist students who otherwise might not have been able to complete their undergraduate degree and attend a medical or professional school.

Among Blocker’s honors are receiving the General Biology Student’s Outstanding Teacher award six times. He also served on several national associations, including Beta Kappa Chi Scientific Honor Society and the National Association for the Advancement of Science. ■

Recent Campus Visits

insidethehouse SEVERAL TIMES EACH YEAR, the Morehouse College Corporate Alliance Program and the Leadership Center invite senior-level executives from the world of business to participate in its Presidential Chat Series and Executive Lecture Series to share their experiences and expertise with a select group of business students and other members of the campus community. The session includes a short presentation by the visiting professional and an opportunity for informal interaction between the executives and students.

Edmond “Ted” Kelly, chairman and CEO of Liberty Mutual Group, Nov. 25, 2003, with Dr. Massey and Director of Corporate Foundation Relations, Dennis Long

Tom Karsh, executive vice president and general manager of Turner Classic Movies, Jan. 29, 2004

Timothy Collins, senior managing director and CEO of Ripplewood Holdings LLC., Oct. 31, 2003

Lloyd Trotter, president and CEO of GE Consumer and Industrial Systems, Feb. 9, 2004

William A. Clement Jr., chairman and CEO of Dobbs, Ram and Co., Nov. 24, 2003, with sophomore Ken Jones

Bill E. Mayer of Park Avenue Equity Partners, April 7, 2004, with student Guy Etoundi.

Thomas D. Bell Jr., vice chairman, president and CEO of Cousins Properties Inc., Sept. 30, 2003

James Blanchard, CEO of Synovus, Sept. 11, 2003

Ken Barun, president and CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities, Feb. 23, 2004, with senior Oluwabusayo Topé Folarin and President Massey ‘58

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John J. Mack, vice chairman and CEO of Credit Suisse First Boston Group, Oct. 8, 2003 Calvin Darden, senior vice president for UPS, Oct. 27, 2003

Duane Ackerman, chairman and CEO of BellSouth, Nov. 4, 2003

James Houghton, chairman and CEO of Corning, Inc., Jan. 20, 2004, with Morehouse vice president for Institutional Advancement Phillip Howard ‘87

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James Cantalupo, chairman and CEO of McDonald Corp., Oct. 28, 2003 (Cantalupo died suddenly on April 19, 2004.)

Recent Campus Visits

Jeffrey A. Sine, vice chairman and managing director of UBS Investment Bank, Oct. 10, 2003

Arnold W. Donald, chairman of Merisant Corp., March 2, 2004

Arthur Ryan, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc., Nov. 25, 2003

Erroll Davis Jr., chairman, president and CEO of Alliant Energy Corp., Feb. 24, 2004

inperson

A Thinker and an Activist

W

HEN OLABODE FOLARIN FIRST CAME TO THE UNITED STATES NEARLY THREE DECADES AGO, HE SETTLED IN

CALIFORNIA. A POOR NIGERIAN IMMIGRANT, HE HAD NO OPTIONS IN HOUSING AND RELIED ON THE CHARITY OF A CHRISTIAN ORGANIZATION TO PROVIDE HIM WITH A PLACE TO LIVE. HE WAS PLACED IN THE HEART OF WATTS. HIS HOUSE, HE SAYS, WAS A FEW SHORT BLOCKS FROM THE CITY’S CRIME-RIDDEN PROJECTS. HE

REMEMBERS LIVING THERE ONLY A SHORT WHILE BEFORE WITNESSING FOUR DIFFERENT SHOOTINGS. AFTER THE LAST SHOOT-

by Monét Cooper

ING LEFT SOMEONE DEAD, HE PROMISED GOD THAT IF HE WERE GIVEN CHILDREN, NOT ONE WOULD MEET THE SAME FATE.

Folarin was given five children. And to say he’s made good on his promise is an understatement. His oldest son, Oluwabusayo “Topé” Folarin, has been named a 2004 Rhodes scholar. The Morehouse senior is majoring in political science and is the College’s third Rhodes scholar — no small feat for a historically black institution. In fact, Morehouse is only one of two HBCUs to produce three Rhodes scholars.

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Anne W. Watts, associate vice president for Academic Affairs says Morehouse “raises the bar and scales it.” She oversees the College’s Rhodes nomination process, which trained Folarin for the interviews and reviewed his application. Watts says he honed his interviewing skills with a hand-picked group of administrators. The training prepared him well.

Folarin remained cool under pressure during the

inperson

Folarin has grown accustomed to bending against strenuous day-long process in Texas.

How Folarin became a Rhodes Scholar it is a lesson in strategy. His is a life built on it and the plan of parents with a vow to keep. He and his father recount tales of Folarin’s childhood.

Homework was to be done as soon as Folarin arrived home. No video games.

No television except for the Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. His parents’ demand for academic focus kept him slightly disgruntled, but astute. He also learned priceless lessons that would carry him through his college years. “It taught me how to manage time,” he admits. “I read voraciously because we weren’t allowed to do anything else. It definitely contributed to my ability to speak and write.”

But what Folarin reveals “altered the course of his life” was not learned in his parents’ house or by poring over books. It would come in Cape Town, South Africa, from a young girl.

It was two years ago when he was in the country working for a nongovernmental group while on summer break.

Each day, he rode the minibus into Cape Town. Amid the bustle of college students, a small child stood out. Her face was dirty. Her clothes were mere rags.

And her brown hair reached just below her thin shoulders. For days she followed Folarin through the city’s streets asking for money.

At first he ignored her. But one day, he turned and asked her name. She gave him her name and her story.

Her name was Thandeka.

She had AIDS. She had been raped.

At 13, it was up to her to provide for her siblings any way she could.

They shared walks almost every day after that—but she never again asked him for money. “That affected me a great deal.

The first-world, third-world divide that existed in South Africa was egregious, ” he says solemnly. “One of my good friends

the trend. It’s the reason he chose Morehouse and turned down offers from Stanford and Dartmouth universities.

had family in South Africa and they lived in this palatial mansion just outside of Cape Town, and then five minutes from that you’d see people in the townships who just didn’t have anything.”

But Folarin’s desire to help developing nations hits even closer to home. “I’m really passionate about helping people in third-world countries because both of my parents are from Nigeria and a lot of my cousins definitely don’t have the things that I have here,” he said. “I need to make a difference, I’m not sure in what capacity yet.… Public service is where my heart lies.

“Being in South Africa brought everything into focus because of the struggles I had...It hurt me to see that people were making a living with next to nothing. They began to think that this was almost as it should be since they had lived that way for so long.”

Dr. George Kieh Jr., political science department head and one of Folarin’s mentors, says that he has seen Folarin’s focus shift from academic matters to a shared interest in scholarship and activism—a rarity for thinkers like Folarin. He says he also is sure that it is in the area of making an impact on the developing world that the Rhodes scholar will make his mark.

“Intellectuals analyze society’s problems and tend to be less involved in trying to resolve them. The discovery of an activist is the discovery of a rare person,” Kieh says. “If Topé went into the academy, that’s essentially the person he would be: a scholar-activist. He would make an impact on people’s lives no matter what he does.”

Oprah Winfrey talks with Folarin at the 2004 “A Candle in the Dark” Gala.

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inperson Folarin has grown accustomed to bending against the trend. It’s the reason he chose Morehouse and turned down offers from Stanford and Dartmouth universities.

At his majority white high school in Utah, he was oftentimes the only African American high achiever. The battle to prove himself was one Folarin fought all his life. He decided he would not spend his college years fighting, too.

Morehouse was the right choice, he says. He had dreamed of obtaining the Rhodes since high school. Folarin is a tutor and a member of the debate team.

He’s confident that he couldn’t have found such purpose at any other institution.

“It’s incredibly empowering to see that I’m not the only one because I’ve always been the only black on the honor roll. I got sick of that and that’s not the case here,” he says. “When I go off into the world, and perhaps I may have to

encounter that again, I can draw on the experiences I’ve had here.”

Folarin will travel to England this fall to begin a two- to three-year study in politics with a concentration in comparative government. It will be the first steps he will take to making a difference. Seven black

students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities have been awarded the Rhodes—a fact not lost on Folarin.

“I really want to have a hand in changing that,” he says. “I think Morehouse is one battleground where we can begin to win that fight.” ■

Folarin with His Excellency FLT. LT. Jerry John Rawlings, former president of the Republic of Ghana, during a recent visit to London.

RHODES SCHOLAR NIMA WARFIELD ’94 Received degrees from Oxford and the University of London. Worked for The Wall Street Journal as a copy editor for three years. After September 11, drastically changed his lifestyle and left journalism.

Now owns the Alkalight Group International, a health and wellness company, and has a four-year-old daughter Kiara Elon Warfield.

RHODES SCHOLAR CHRISTOPHER ELDERS ’02 Finishing doctorate in modern history at Oxford University. Plans to go to law school and pursue a career in U.S. and Asian foreign policy.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

ABOUT THE RHODES Rhodes Scholarships provide two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England. The scholarship is the oldest international study award available to American scholars. The value of the scholarship varies depending on the academic field, the degree (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral), and the Oxford college chosen. The Rhodes Trust pays all college and university fees, provides a stipend to cover necessary expenses while in residence in Oxford, as well as during vacations—and transportation to and from England. The total award averages approximately $28,000 per year.

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Commencement:

Awashed in Pageantry, Ac

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feature

complishment and Rain!

by Kenneth Rollins

T

hroughout the rain-soaked morning, the pair of concessionaries, stationed on the portico of Charles Kilgore Student Center, enjoy a brisk business. First, it is the umbrella and rain poncho vendor, who outfits scores during a spirited run on the merchandise.

However, before the day was complete, the Tshirt concessionaire, whose wares included T-shirts emblazoned with “Proud Dad of a Morehouse Grad” or “Proud Mom of a Morehouse Grad” lettering, grows more and more popular. You could find T-shirts for every relationship imaginable. There were garments for grand dads and grand mamas, for aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, even distant cousins and good, good friends. Eager relatives, amassed four or five deep, engulfing the table, anxious to purchase one or more. By ceremony’s end, the T-shirt was the ubiquitous emblem, trumping the rain poncho as the attire of the day.

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feature THE SHORTEST COMMENCEMENT SPEECH IN MOREHOUSE HISTORY "Your robes might be wet and your mortarboards might be wet, but the degrees that you have just received are dry and fresh. I hope that you will take them and make use of them in the tradition of Morehouse Men. And may you take with you the words of Herman Melvil: We cannot live by ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads. And along these sympathetic fibers our actions run as causes and return to us as results."

-Vernon Jordan Senior Managing Director of Lazard Frères & Co. LLC

Great, proud traditions typically outdistance the momentary milieu. You don’t need Aesop for that moral. The rain did indeed fall on the Commencement ceremony, but the celebration of accomplishment ultimately ruled the day.

The graduating seniors themselves are the best illustrations. They felt destined to fulfill the call of that hour. At times, the class roared in throaty defiance as torrent after torrent washed across them. They seemed to galvanize their strength in the maw of adversity.

“We would have been there if it were rain, sleet, hail or snow. This was a day we surely weren’t going to miss,” said Darrell Mason Gray II, biology major bound for medical school. “Nothing can stop Da’ House.”

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That put the day into perspective, and framed the unforgettable backdrop for the 119th commencement ceremony honoring the Class of 2003.

It was a wet and wicked morning indeed, with rain showers so relentless that an abbreviated ceremony was, mercifully, ordained. Even the honorary degrees given to Rev. Dr. Gardner C. Taylor and Dr.

Joseph Earl Marshall Jr. were hastily delivered. Commencement speaker Vernon Jordan’s address may go down in the annals of Morehouse history as the greatest commencement speech never delivered.

He did rise to the podium—but only briefly. Jordan, a high-powered Washington D.C. attorney, National Democratic Party kingmaker and veteran of many civil rights campaigns, spoke just over a minute.

There were other equally significant moments to mark the occasion. The grads were welcomed onto the main campus by an archway of their brethren, Morehouse graduates, sporting white straw hats—like Mack Stewart ’63 and Bob Mackey ’91—who formed a friendly Continued on page 38

“We would have been there if it were rain, sleet, hail or snow. This was a day we surely weren’t going to miss.”

feature << V A L E D I C T O R Y

A D D R E S S

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“Morehouse has activated, distilled and increased intelligence, integrity, brotherhood, tolerance, compassion and character.”

F. Christopher Eaglin ’03

Rep. Sanford D. Bishop ’68 (D-2nd District, GA.) was one of many alumni to return to the House for Commencement ’03.

Sing, O Muse, of the Birth of the Cosmos, Our Cosmos, Morehouse College! …We are here today because all things in the cosmos are on an inexorable path to their highest form—the quintessence. This Commencement ceremony is the culmination of an evolutionary process, an alchemy that has activated, distilled and increased that which was already present.

The philosopher Jean Dubuis said: “Alchemy is the art of manipulating life and matter to help it evolve.” For more than 136 years, through its unique alchemy, Morehouse College has helped her students evolve. It has vitiated the worst and cultivated the best human qualities in order to prepare wholly developed men. Morehouse has activated, distilled and increased intelligence, integrity, brotherhood, tolerance, compassion and character. Bringing out these qualities is neither facile nor immediate, but continually rewarding.

When I began my pursuit of higher education, I was hesitant to undergo this Morehouse transformation. I questioned whether this institution was relevant to the modern era. But, persuaded by my family and friends, I came. I reluctantly came.

During my freshman year, I began to comprehend the value of the Morehouse alchemy, to understand that the process one undergoes here is not just academic enrichment, but a life-affirming development. In the classroom, I was challenged to think beyond the superficiality of texts and ideas, to understand their assumptions and to penetrate their essence. Through discussions in Graves Hall, work with the Leadership Center and involvement with the Maroon Tiger, through the philosophies of the 145, and the labyrinth of Gloster Hall, I realized these extra-academic experiences also were teaching me how to use and increase the best in me.

Every moment at Morehouse was important in my alchemic process, as it was to each member of this class. Every person we encountered helped in our awakening. Now, at the end of the Morehouse road, we, the graduation class of 2003, have been activated, distilled and increased. We have been transformed.

Brothers, we leave these gates more refined, more aware of ourselves and our potential—and more aware of a world that we know to be antagonistic to us. We see it in the media, our government, the places we work and even in our daily interactions.

Although we do not face the overt racism of our forefathers, we face one of a much more insidious kind. This institutional racism, characterized by inconspicuous condescension, which demeans us; debilitating favoritism, which limits us; and circuitous exclusion, which exasperates us at every turn, destroys us and our peers without our knowledge.

To fight this destructive, anti-alchemic process, we must take the lessons we learned from our Morehouse transformation and unerringly apply them to our every endeavor. Having been changed by the Morehouse alchemy, we, ourselves, must become alchemists and revolutionize the world around us. Thus, the process that we began here at Morehouse will never end—for we still have miles to go….

F. Christopher Eaglin, a 2003 Marshall Scholar, is currently attending the University of Oxford, in England, where he is pursuing a master’s degree in philosophy and development studies.

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feature Commencement, cont’d gauntlet as the class paraded through the campus. When President Walter E. Massey ’58 recognized Dr. Samuel A Nabrit ’25 as the oldest living Morehouse grad in attendance, it earned hearty, respectful applause. This ceremony even charted a little history: it inaugurated the practice of awarding degrees by the College’s three academic divisions. “They will never forget this one,” said Jerome C. Jenkins ’53, who observed the entire scene near quaint Danforth Chapel.

Jenkins fumbled for his 50-year commemorative pin to display while he recounted his own graduation, which he and his classmates celebrated during Reunion Weekend ’03. There were only 81 graduates in his class.

“Dr. Mays knew just about every kid on campus,” he recalled fondly, referring to former president Benjamin E. Mays.

Fifty years is a vast distance between Jenkins’ Class of 1953 and the Class of 2003, between these two generations of Morehouse men, between two different Americas in two different centuries. But the country was certainly no less perilous then or more promising now.

Nationally, the college-age African American male has become an endangered

species. Approximately 33.8 percent of black males, ages 18-24, were in college during 2000-2001. In contrast, 43.9 percent of black women in the same age bracket attended the nation’s colleges and universities. Perhaps an even more sobering and unsettling statistic puts more young African American men in prison cellblocks than in college classrooms: 791, 600 versus 603,032, according to the Justice Policy Institute, a Washington-based research and advocacy organization, in a recent study.

That seemed to be the unwitting subtext of the morning, brilliantly outlined by Fulton Christopher Eaglin in his valedictory address: “Brothers, we leave these gates more refined, more aware of ourselves and our potential – and more aware of a world that we know to be antagonistic to us. We see it in the media, our government, the places we work, and even in our daily interactions.

Although we do not face the overt racism of our forefathers, we face one of a much more insidious kind....To fight this destructive, anti-alchemic process, we must take the lessons we learned from our Morehouse transformation and unerringly apply them to our every endeavor.”

That kind of assuredness elevates Morehouse, the largest independent college educating African American men, onto a rarefied plateau and casts the

The Reverend Dr. Gardner Calvin Taylor receives an honorary doctor of humane letters from Dr. Willis B. Sheftall ’64.

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College as a definitive national treasure.

“The event is a powerful statement in itself,“ said Sterling Hudson, dean of seniors. “Where else can you come to see 500 African American men receive baccalaureate degrees?”

Since 1993, Morehouse has consistently graduated impressive young men in impressive numbers. Like the Class of 2003, most classes have averaged 500 graduates. And, like their brethren before them, this class made great strides.

Approximately 300 graduates entered advanced-degree programs at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, Stanford, Howard and Ohio State universities, to list a few. Still, a significant number entered the corporate ranks of Chase Manhattan, JP Morgan and other Fortune 500 companies; while others will apply their Morehouse-honed skills to entrepreneurship.

Indeed, as the 500 young men embarked upon their personal sojourns into the “real world,” the unique, individual stories began to emerge. Rodrick Hobbs, for instance, couldn’t wait. As the ceremony waned, he broke rank and, with his biology degree cover in hand, he departed early. But he paused to reflect upon his tenure.

“It’s a great day, because so many Continued on page 40

Dr. Joseph Earl Marshall Jr. recieves honorary doctor of humane letters during Commencement, May 2003.

feature <<

B A C C A L A U R E A T E

THE REVEREND WILLIAM E. FLIPPIN SR. affirmed the transition of 500 Morehouse scholars to their places in the universe during the 2003 baccalaureate service held in the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, Saturday, May 17, 2003.

Among the young scholars donned in black caps and gowns was Joseph Charles Flippin, the speaker’s youngest of three sons who, like his brothers, chose to attend Morehouse, as well as follow his father’s footsteps into the ministry.

“This is the third time my wife and I have witnessed one of our sons seated in this place after four years of sacrifice, hard work, and … rising tuition payments.

“The risk of asking a parent to preach this particular sermon is that they may lose it. …I am about to [burst] wide open….

Thank you Lord,” shouted the 51-year-old preacher of the Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church in Atlanta. Flippin is also the author of Church Etiquette: A Practical Guide for Church Behavior in the Black Church; A Workbook for Black Churches Reaching College Students, and Selected Sermons of Reverend Frank Jones.

Switching gears from proud parent to sage preacher, Flippin addressed the newest crop of Morehouse Men. “Do not compromise goals, don’t lose heart or hope,” he advised. “Excellence has become a curse word. Mediocrity is the norm. In the face of challenges to our faith, it becomes quite easy for people with promise, purpose and potential to give up.”

Flippin spoke of the apostle Paul’s descent in the basket when the Jews sought to kill him. Although the apostle—who before his conversion once persecuted Christians—was on Jerusalem’s “most wanted list,” he defended the faith.

Flippin warned graduates that they, too, were on a hit list. But,

>>

like Paul, they must grab hold of something deep inside as if it were a rope, and hold tight.

“The rope, some may say, is the Morehouse mystic…The rope has been thrown to you…Take the rope from the white racist who once used it to place [a noose] around our necks to show superiority, to shut us up, to cause us to lose our dignity…. Hold onto the rope that benefits and serves. Tie a knot. Tie a double knot…a square knot…any other kind of knot you can think of.

Hold on to the rope. Hold on to God’s unchanging hand.”

—By Merlin JnBaptiste

Unveiling the Masseys

Oil portraits of President Walter E. Massey ’58 and first lady, Shirley Massey, were unveiled during the baccalaureate services, May 2003. Their portraits now hang in the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel.

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feature Commencement, cont’d

Class of ’03 graduate Kevin Bryson strikes a pose with his family after receiving a bachelors of arts degree in music.

great men got their degrees today,” said the Detroit native.

You could tell he was not referring only to himself, but to his fellow graduates. Like Brandon Nash, whose mom, Vanessa Nash, encouraged her son to enter Morehouse, even though he had a free ride to any college or university in Arizona. It became singularly important, she said, primarily because Morehouse thoroughly grooms its graduates to become outstanding scholars and gentlemen.

“He is the perfect gentleman,” she

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P R O F I L E

said. “He’s more responsible. He’s more outgoing. He’s more rounded.”

Later, Ms. Nash could be spotted along the departure route for the recessional, a digital camera in hand. When she spied Brandon, she waved him to a halt, slowing the procession momentarily, while she snapped his picture, a memento bound for the Nash living room mantle.

Back at the Kilgore portico, the three Bailey sisters pose for a photograph, too. They all purchased T-shirts, touting their connection with a Morehouse graduate, W. Dwight Bailey.

His mother, Shirley, wore the “Proud Mama of a Morehouse Grad shirt.” His

>>

Beating the Odds SENDING A CHILD TO COLLEGE can pose a financial challenge for some. But imagine sending not one, not two, but three children to college at once and dreams of them receiving degrees may seem unattainable. The Miller brothers, Cornell, Craig and Cedric, like many other African American college students, experienced several financial challenges.

For the Millers, getting accepted to Morehouse was the easy part. Staying at Morehouse was the challenge. Their mother, Carol Miller, has been unemployed due to a heart condition for nearly 10 years. To help her sons attend the College, she rented out her home in St. Louis. The twins themselves fell back on a family value they had learned years earlier as toddlers: sharing. This principle was behind their decision to attend the same college, because they would be able to share everything from off-campus living quarters to a car to textbooks.

“We took out loans, received grants and scholarships and worked full-time jobs, leaving little time for extracurricular activities,” says Craig. It was making sacrifices like these that enabled the Millers to overcome those monetary trials, making them the first triplets in Morehouse history to graduate the same year with the same major.

Surprisingly, the Millers welcome the battles, believing challenges only make them stronger. “You want a challenge because in the real world, it’s going to be hard,” says Cedric. “I think it

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Cedric, Cornell and Craig Miller are the first set of triplets to graduate from Morehouse at the same time, during the College’s first independent summer Commencement in 2003.

shows you that perseverance and determination work… and that’s with anything in life.”

The Miller brothers plan to start Skies the Limit, a non-profit organization aimed at empowering economically challenged youth with technology know-how. And in the tradition of giving back to their alma mater, they hope to establish a scholarship for siblings, helping families to finance the growing price of higher education.

Soon after, they plan to go to law school.

Sounds like the brothers have set their sights very high, but success is possible. Says Cornell, “There is a different way. Times don’t have to be difficult. You can actually succeed in life.”

–by Cherie S. White

feature << S U M M E R C O M M E N C E M E N T >> aunts Edna Bailey-Woody and Tara Bailey, wore their appropriate shirts.

After five years—her son was a dualdegree major in industrial engineering— Ms. Bailey has embraced her role as a Morehouse mom with aplomb. “[Morehouse is] a school that is vested in a long, proud legacy and tradition,” she said. “They come in as young men, not confident. But they leave confident in knowing who they are and of wanting to be of service to the world.”

From the Century Campus, President Massey, bolstered by a megawatt amplifier, uttered his customary charge to the graduates. For persons assembled yards from the scene, his magnified, disembodied voice rolled across the campus, laden with sonorous weight and mythic echoes of prior lords of Morehouse, like Quarles, Hope and Archer, Mays and Gloster: “Morehouse has done all it could to prepare you–personally and intellectually– for this challenge. Now, it is up to you to go out and make good on the promise.

As you do, the world will be watching. The bar has been set high and some may doubt your ability to leap over it. But always remember: You are not average men, you are Morehouse Men.” With that pronouncement, the 119th Commencement ceremony became another Morehouse historic memory. ■

Morehouse Holds History-Making Summer Commencement Nearly 40 Men of Morehouse made history last summer as the first class to graduate during an independent summer commencement at Morehouse.

Though the graduates were fewer in number, the ceremony itself had all the pomp and circumstance of its May counterpart, including the ringing of the bell, the charge to graduates and, of course, the joy and excitement of proud parents.

Summer commencement speaker was Morehouse alumnus the Rev. Dr. Robert Michael Franklin ’78, former president of ITC and Distinguished Professor of Social Ethics at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. ■

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137th Founder’s

by Vickie G. Hampton

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Founder’s Day Convocation: The Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III ‘71

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alvin O. Butts ’71 wears two hats equally—and equally well: as the pastor of the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York and as president of the State University of New York (SUNY), Old Westbury.

The two roles, however, are not merely complementary, but are so synergistic that they seem to be singular in nature and purpose. As Butts put it, religion and education are like the Tigris and Euphrates, twin rivers that are the source of our redemption.

Butts, the 137th Founder’s Day convocation speaker, perhaps once or twice punctuated his speech with the pulpit’s customary harrumph, but his message of redemption would have been just as relevant coming from a lecture hall as a sanctuary.

He focused on how the 21st century has become an era of concentration of power—from the gigantic AOL Time-Warner merger to the unification of European nations. The result, he said, has been a loss in our sense of individual power.

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The 2004 Otis Moss Jr. Oratorical Contest winners: (l-r) Jarrett Crochet ’07 (honorable mention), Xavier Collins ’07 (honorable mention); Lenardo Major ’04 (4th place); Reuben Burney III ’06 (3rd place) and Justin Dandridge ’05 (2nd place.) Also pictured are Anne W. Watts, associate vice president for Academic Affairs, President Walter E. Massey ’58, Otis Moss Jr. ’65, chairman of the Morehouse Board of Trustees, and Dr. Walter Fluker, director of the Leadership Center.

Day Celebration “The concentration of power reduces the importance of the average person. You can be left feeling like a man trying to build a highway with a shovel,” he said, alluding to a story he had told earlier about a highway being built with an impressive array of heavy machinery, and a lone man with a shovel.

Butts—now the educator in him taking center stage—also lamented the condition of public education in America. As the population gets browner, the quality goes down, he asserted. But what is really upsetting is that there is still little information in schools that affirms minority groups’ achievements and contributions.

“Can you imagine that in the 21st century, there’s nothing about us in the curriculums of public schools that help us feel appreciated and respected,” said Butts.

“That’s a sin and a shame. It’s unconscionable, and it must be changed.”

“Uninspired and uneducated” students are falling by the wayside, he added.

“They’ve been disrespected so long that they start to disrespect themselves. Then they try to convince you that your desire for an education is weak, ‘white’ and wimpy.

“One thing I want you to do is help

every little black child feel appreciated,” Butts continued. “Encourage our children.

Make them feel like they’re somebody. Tell them, ‘You look good.’ ‘You are so pretty.’

‘Boy, you’re going to be smart.’ Because if you help someone feel appreciated and respected, he can’t be stopped.” ■

Gloster Memorial Hugh M. Gloster ’31, president emeritus, is given a final resting place on the east lawn of Gloster Hall, the main administration building.

The Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr. ’56 extends a hand to Founder’s Day Convocation speaker The Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III ’71 as President Walter E. Massey ’58 and Helen Smith Price, assistant vice president and director of Corporate Contributions for the Coca-Cola Co., offer congratulations.

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Yolanda Adams: A Night of Inspiration

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rom a medley of church hymns to a string of contemporary gospel tunes, acclaimed vocalist Yolanda Adams’ remarkable display of musical range and undeniable charisma showed a standing-room-only crowd at the 2004 Founder’s Week Concert that “Gospel Diva”was an honor she had rightfully earned.

Adams has accomplished what few singers before her have achieved: the ability to attract fans from all walks of life without straying from the gospel roots that nurtured her Grammy-winning voice. Her Grammy came in the year 2000 for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. Other honors include five Stellar Awards, two Soul Train “Lady of Soul” Awards and five NAACP Image Awards.

Before Adam’s performance, the College’s new Church Music Concentration was announced (see related article on page 21). The concentration, which will be offered beginning fall 2004, was supported by a generous donation of $5,000 from Apostle Johnathan Alvardo, pastor of Total Grace Christian Center.

Also in performance that night were several students, including vocalists Charles Bryant ’05 and Anthony Gause ’05, and pianist Antonio Hunt ’99. ■ MOREHOUSE MAGAZINE

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T

To challenge a wise, widely accepted adage it takes a wise, widely acclaimed thinker. That’s exactly what happened during the Sunday service that culminated the 137th Founder’s Day celebration.

The adage: We are defined by our experiences.

The wise thinker: the Rev. Peter John Gomes, the Nathan Marsh Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church at Harvard University. Gomes is considered one of the greatest preachers of our times.

His challenge: Experience is a great teacher, but it does not define our future.

“Consider your founders,” said Gomes. “What experiences were there for them to look back on?

The slave master’s lash? The deprivation of their minds and souls? What could come out of their experience of racism, segregation and outright discrimination? They were living in a world where nothing good was expected of them. What could be expected of sons of slavery?”

Something good did come forth—not from their tortured past, but from their great expectations.

The key was that the founders didn’t look back, said Gomes, but looked forward. Looking back they would have seen slavery and its ravages; looking forward they saw possibilities, the opportunity to educate their sons.

Great Expectations

Gomes said that the lessons of the founders are applicable today.

“The danger of having a long and distinguished past is that it encourages people to dwell in that past,” said Gomes. He then quoted an old Buddhist saying: “Seek not to walk in the footsteps of men of old. Seek what they sought.”

“Instead of looking back at them,look at what they were seeking,” said Gomes. “I dare to say that Dr. Mays would be horrified if he thought you spent too much of your time and treasure looking back on him….

“America does not need one more self-centered, self-serving, greedy little liberal arts college producing little self-serving automatons,” said Gomes, who then quickly assured the audience that, having heard of the great things the College was doing, Morehouse was not among those ranks.

Moreover, his experience the previous night at the “A Candle in the Dark” Gala, solidified the point.

“It led me to believe that at the heart of this College was joy and that the great expectations of its founders to educate its sons was being met,” he said.

“You are a community, not so much of the past, but of the future. You constantly live in the possibility. There is something unique, special and different about this College, and that is its great expectation that you are producing men who will not conform— but transform.” ■

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Key Supporters Reception

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etween the opening convocation and the ever-popular “A Candle in the Dark” Gala and the Founder’s Day concert, is the Key Supporters Reception—perhaps one of the most significant events in the weeklong Founder’s Day celebration.

The Key Supporters Reception honors the top donors for the year, many of whom are alumni. The people who give generously to ensure that Morehouse College continues to educate African American men in a tradition of excellence are honoring the vision, dedication and sacrifices of founder William Jefferson White.

This year, the Class of ’78 was awarded the A.Z. Traylor Sr. Award, which is presented to the reunion class that contributed the largest financial gift to the College in their reunion year.

The Greater Boston Morehouse Alumni Chapter was presented the Maynard Holbrook Jackson Sr. Award, which is presented to the alumni chapter that contributes the largest financial gift to the College in the past fiscal year.

President Walter E. Massey ’58 and first lady Shirley Massey are presented their award by Dr. Otis Moss Jr. ’56, chairman of the Morehouse Board of Trustees.

MOREHOUSE COLLEGE KEY SUPPORTERS 2002-03

$25,000 and Above Emma and Joe Adams Herbert A. Allen Allen & Company, Inc. Charles A. Bibbs Benjamin A. Blackburn II ‘61 Linda and Reuben Cannon Timothy C. Collins Ripplewood Holdings Chester C. Davenport ‘63 Rose and Harold A. Dawson, Sr. ‘63 MOREHOUSE MAGAZINE

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Joel Z. Hyatt Charles H. James III ‘81 Spike Lee ‘79 Lorna and Michael K. Lindsay ‘75 Shirley and Walter E.Massey ‘58 Charles E. Merrill Jr. Eugene Mitchell Charles David Moody Jr. ‘78 Jim Moss ‘70 Hazel R. O’Leary

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$10,000 to $24,999 Fred B. Renwick ’50 John Thornton Gary L. Tooker John A. Wallace John C. Whitehead Oprah Winfrey Samuel A. Young, Jr. ‘70

Billye S. Aaron Leroy W. Aiken William G. Bowen Susan A. Buffett Herman Cain ‘67 Darlene and Herbert Charles James W. Compton ‘61 Willie J. Davis ‘56 Macie and Luther W. Dennis ‘50 John B. Fuqua

Alvin A. Harris ‘73 Julius H. Hollis ‘72 Calvin W. Jackson Jr. ‘52 William M. Jenkins Jr. ‘53 Jeh C. Johnson ‘79 Mattie and Michael Lawson Arthur J. McClung Jr. ‘66 Rufus H. Rivers ‘86 David Satcher ‘63 B. Franklin Skinner James O. Stallings ‘68 Mac A. Stewart ‘63

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Receiving their awards from Dr. Otis Moss Jr. ’56, chairman of the Morehouse Board of Trustees, and President Walter E. Massey ’58 (l-r) are:

James W. Compton ’61

Class of 1978 represented by Calvin Vismale and C. David Moody

Samuel A. Young Jr. ’70

Boston Chapter represented by LeJuano Varnell ’95 and presented by James R. Hall ‘57

MCNAA president Arthur J. McClung Jr. ‘66

Fred B. Renwick ‘50

Jim Moss ‘70

Lorna and Michael K. Lindsay ‘75

Rose and Harold A. Dawson Sr. ‘63

Macie and Luther W. Dennis ‘50

Mattie and Michael Lawson

Chester C. Davenport ‘63

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by Michael K. Watts ‘92

M CIRCLE AT THE

IN THE

MISSION

TO

YOUNG

MEN

FOR

16TH ANNUAL “A CANDLE

137TH ANNIVERSARY THIS

TRAIN

EXCELLENCE CAME FULL

DARK” GALA,

FOUNDING.

COLLEGE’S

OREHOUSE

THE

FEBRUARY

CELEBRATING THE OF THE

COLLEGE’S

BLACK-TIE AFFAIR, HELD

AT THE

HYATT REGENCY

ATLANTA’S CENTENNIAL BALLROOM, BROUGHT TOGETHER STUDENTS, ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF THE COLLEGE TO HONOR SEVERAL NOTED INDIVIDUALS FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS.

The G The College raised a recordbreaking $5.5 million at this year’s Gala, thanks to substantial contributions from alumni, sponsors and a surprise $5 million donation from Oprah Winfrey Hon. ‘89, who received the first ever Candle Award for Lifetime Achievement in Humanitarian Service.

“My dream was—when I first started making money—to pass it on, and I wanted to put 100 men through Morehouse,” said Winfrey whose contribution to the College totals $12 million to date. “Right now we’re at 250 and I want to make it a thousand.

Before I leave here tonight, I want to leave another $5 million check.”

President Walter E. Massey ‘58 MOREHOUSE MAGAZINE

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ala of Galas was visibly overjoyed by Winfrey’s unexpected announcement. “I think Oprah Winfrey expressed it best when she said: ‘When you empower a Morehouse man, you empower the world,’” Dr. Massey said. “We are grateful that Ms. Winfrey not only shares our passion for educating these young men, but also generously shares her resources to help us make their education possible.”

The Gala is the College’s largest annual fundraiser, and is a key component of the College’s Campaign for a New Century. The College embarked upon this ambitious $105- million campaign in 1997 to raise funds for faculty and curriculum development, infrastructure improvements, facilities upgrades, and

permanent endowments for student scholarships. The Campaign has raised $84.6 million to date, including this year’s Gala proceeds of $5.5 million, a big jump from $255,700 and $305,900 in 2002 and 2003, respectively. In its first 14 years, the Gala raised $2.5 million for student scholarships. The College awards scholarships from Gala proceeds twice annually to numerous ‘Candle Scholars’ based on need and merit.

Training for Excellence Each year, attendees get to witness their donations at work as Morehouse students take the stage to present the evening’s awards. The Gala’s tradition of selecting talented students to present the

Master and Mistress of Ceremonies, Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker, from the Showtime series "Soul Food ".

evening’s awards brings budding educators, financiers and civic leaders face to face with accomplished medical doctors, CEOs and journalists. The students serve as ambassadors for the College, escorting their respective honorees throughout the evening and, in turn, getting a mentor for the day.

“Dr. [Isaac] Willis told a great story about receiving an award from the International Biographical Centre in Cambridge, England, and the [surprised] reaction he received there,” said Michael Weaver Jr. ‘04, Dr. Willis’ award presenter.

“He said they weren’t expecting an African American to have done the great things he had done. I found that to be a testament to our recognizing him as a trailblazer.”

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Gala honorees (l-r): Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr. ‘68, Congressman, 2nd District, Ga., Bennie Achievement Award; LaSalle D. Leffall Jr., Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery at Howard University Hospital, Candle Award in Medicine; Isaac Willis ‘61, dermatologist at Northwest Medical Center, Bennie Trailblazer Award; Howard H. Carey ‘57, president and CEO of Neighborhood House Association, Bennie Service Award; Oprah Winfrey, chairwoman of Harpo, Inc., and founder of the Oprah Winfrey Foundation and Oprah’s Angel Network, Candle Award for Lifetime Achievement in Humanitarian Service; President Walter E. Massey ‘58; Jessie Hill Jr., retired chairman of the Atlanta Life Insurance Co., Candle in Leadership; Ossie Davis, acclaimed actor and activist, Candle Award for Lifetime Achievement in Arts and Entertainment; and Tom Joyner, nationally syndicated radio host and founder of the Tom Joyner Foundation, Candle Award in Arts and Entertainment.

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Troy Causey ‘04 said that his experience presenting Winfrey’s award taught him a lesson in humility. “I couldn’t believe that this first black female billionaire was [emotional] because I just presented her,” said Causey. “I didn’t realize the magnitude of my speech.”

Causey says Winfrey took him under her wing and chatted passionately about her 2002 trip to Africa. “I told her I’d like to go to Africa with her the next time she goes, and she said, ‘The next time I go, you’re there!’ I couldn’t believe it!”

These incredible connections between students and honoree are the hallmarks of the Gala. Henry M. Goodgame Jr. ’84, director of Alumni Relations and Gala chairman, says it is important that Morehouse students have up-close and personal contact with some of the nation’s most influential leaders. “If we place in front of our students those achievers who look like them, it will hopefully encourage them to [one day] look beyond the glass-ceiling level,” he said.

“The more we do that, the more consistent we are with our mission to be the center for African American male excellence.”

Each year, student presenters are chosen from a competitive pool of candidates. They train under speech coach Dr. Anne W. Watts, who arms them with effective oratorical skills. “It’s very important for people to see the Morehouse product to understand why we need to continue supporting it financially,” said Watts, associate vice president for Academic Affairs. “These men to become ambassadors for the institution send a powerful, needed message.”

A Busy Day Morehouse’s big night capped off a busy day for the honorees. That morning, they gathered on campus to reflect on their achievements and share insight on their chosen fields at Reflections of Excellence. The public forum gave students and members of the community the opportunity to tap into the honorees’

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vast knowledge on topics like choosing the best medical school, plotting a road map for success, and climbing the corporate ladder versus starting a business.

Actor Ossie Davis encouraged students to always remain rooted in their black communities. “Black folk may not make you rich, but they’ll never let you starve,” he said. Davis said that he and wife, actress Ruby Dee, took gigs at funerals and weddings in the black community when roles were scarce in the entertainment industry. “It was working out a way to belong to our own group and ultimately to express the thing that our own group wanted us to express that enabled us to survive.” .

The Gala of Gala’s Later that afternoon, as the honorees dined at the Davidson House, home of President and Mrs. Massey, final preparations for the evening’s Gala were in full swing. The Hyatt ballroom buzzed with hotel staff decorating elaborate tables.

The drone of student presenters rehearsing “My name is…” competed with the sounds of the Morehouse College Jazz Ensemble tuning up on stage. Amidst the ballroom bustle, gala co-creator and consultant Robert H. Bolton ‘86 intently checked table assignments.

Bolton was there for the first gala in 1989. As one of the College’s public relations staffers, he and former Alumni Affairs director Hardy R. Franklin Jr. ‘83 wanted an event that would honor alumni and other noted achievers, as well as

showcase students and raise funds for student scholarships. Former President Leroy Keith ‘61 green-lighted the idea and, in a few short months, the first Gala was held.

Franklin remembers it well. “That first Gala was awe-inspiring. Spirits were high. It was just something so brand new to everybody that it was just really a great thing.”

The Gala was named after the title of the College’s official history book written by Edward A. Jones ‘26. Like the Essence Awards, the Trumpet Awards and the NAACP Image Awards, the Gala has become one of the nation’s premier events that celebrates African American achievement.

“When one develops something, you have the belief that it’s going to be successful,” said Bolton. “But it’s icing on the cake when it blows up and becomes a household name for events in the city and across the country.”

The event has honored more than 100 individuals, including noted plastic surgeon Dr. Peter Chatard Jr. ‘56; actors Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson ‘72 and Danny Glover; renowned historian and educator John Hope Franklin; legendary sports figures Henry “Hank” Aaron, Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe; retired New York Transit Authority worker

Clarence “Kappa” Brown ‘40; civil rights leaders Andrew Young and H. Julian Bond ‘71; former Postal Rate Commission Chairman George Haley ‘49; former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher ‘63 and noted scholar and professor Cornel West.

A Homecoming Experience Although the Gala has grown in national appeal, it is steadily drawing alumni back to the House. Some come to reconnect with college buddies; others to take advantage of the Gala’s incredible networking opportunity. Regardless of what attracts them to the Gala, they all take pride in the event and what it accomplishes for the College.

“There really is no other event, other than Homecoming, that has such a unifying affect,” Franklin said. “This is our signature event.”

Michael Pierce ‘94 was happy to have the chance to sing the college hymn again.

“Singing ‘Dear Old Morehouse’ with my old roommate, other classmates, and older brothers was just a good homecoming experience.”

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feature Dr. Anne Watts, associate vice president for Academic Affairs, coaches the Men of Morehouse who introduce the Bennie and Candle award recipients, as well as the master and mistress of ceremonies. This year’s presenters were Jason Leon Miles ‘04, Kevin John Peters ‘04, Brian DeQuincey Newman ‘05, Michael John Weaver Jr. ‘04, Christopher Edward Carter ‘04, Gene Anthony Gibbs ‘04, Reginald Hayes Wilborn Jr. ‘05, Julian Michael DeShazier ‘05, Beryl Monroe Whipple ‘04, Edwin Troy Causey Jr. ‘04.

Alternate presenters were Darren Hicks and Shyboyd Cannon.

See a photo of Watts and the presenters in the table of contents.

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Julius Pryor III ‘79 says he has gotten every company he has worked for over the past eight years to serve as a Gala sponsor, including his current employer Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. “We are building a partnership that is going to be beneficial to the company and the College,” said Pryor. “Morehouse is an American institution, and this event reflects what Morehouse is all about.” He also cites the Gala’s reputation as “an unbelievable networking event for alumni and the business

community” as an attraction for attendees, regardless of their relationship to the College.

“We’re the only institution in the world that can do something like this,” said Euclid Walker ‘94, an investment banker with Morgan Stanley who recently pledged $100,000 to the College’s campaign. “This is a unique Morehouse experience—people coming out, paying tribute to leaders in the community, and paying homage to the history and tradition that Morehouse has built.” ■

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Maynard The Morehouse Man

M

OREHOUSE WAS WRITTEN ALL OVER

MAYNARD JACKSON.

THE IMPRESSIVE, DARN NEAR REGAL BEARING. THE COURAGE, CONVICTION AND MORALITY.

THE

ERUDITE ORATIONS THAT

OFTEN SWAYED THE MASSES TO DO “WHAT WAS RIGHT.” JACKSON GRADUATED

by Lee R. Haven

FROM MOREHOUSE IN 1956, BUT THE COLLEGE NEVER LEFT HIM. IT SHOWED IN THE WAY HE REPRESENTED ITS BEST IDEALS.

“MAYNARD

WAS THE QUINTESSENTIAL

MOREHOUSE MAN,

PART OF

THE SCHOOL’S TRADITION OF LEADERS WHO MAKE TREMENDOUS CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY,” SAYS

WALTER FLUKER, DIRECTOR

OF THE

MOREHOUSE

COLLEGE LEADERSHIP CENTER. Continued on page 54

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feature Maynard, cont’d Leading the city to international greatness as Atlanta’s first black mayor ranks prominently among Jackson’s myriad contributions. Much of that was due to his overseeing the successful expansion of Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, helping to make it the world’s busiest airport and the largest economic generator in the southeastern part of the country.

But more importantly, following in the tradition of prominent alumni like Howard Thurman ’23 and Martin Luther King Jr. ’48, Jackson was an “ethical leader,” says Fluker, whose Leadership Center promotes ethical leadership and offers a minor in Leadership Studies.

Through his groundbreaking affirmative action program,

Jackson created opportunities for all citizens to benefit from Atlanta’s development. His triumphant stance to not begin expansion on the Hartfield International Airport until blacks and women were fairly represented in the awarding of city contracts is the stuff of political legend.

“Maynard was moved by his spirituality to do what was right. His spirituality formed his ethical insight,” Fluker says. “To miss Maynard is to miss his spirituality.”

Spirituality is a large part of an ideal Morehouse Man, said Dean Lawrence Carter, dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel. According to Carter, Jackson demonstrated the “highest form of spirituality—cooperation” when he was able to work with former segregationists to make Atlanta a better city for everybody. Carter, who is also a professor of religion, as well as the curator and archivist for the Chapel, recognized

Morehouse Class of 1956. Maynard Jackson top row far left

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feature Jackson and his place in history by hanging a portrait of him in the Chapel’s International Hall of Honor. The Hall celebrates the contributions of nearly 100 individuals who used the tenets of King’s Beloved Community, such as non-violence, to fight for social and economic justice.

Again true to his Morehouse roots, Jackson was committed to producing leaders to follow in his formidable footsteps. “His interest was always in developing leaders for the 21st century.

Morehouse has always been about producing leadership, and Maynard took the issue seriously, especially black leadership,” said Fluker.

Jackson was a hands-on honorary chair of the advisory board of the Center, often keeping Fluker informed of the best practices of leadership to impart to young Men of Morehouse.

Jackson was also the first member of the board to make a significant monetary contribution to the Center.

His commitment to developing youth wasn’t restricted to the Morehouse campus, however. In 1992, he established the hugely successful Maynard Jackson Youth Foundation, a teaching program that develops leadership and mentoring skills for high school students in the Atlanta public school system (see sidebar.)

But as much as he did for others in his capacity either as lawyer, mayor or successful businessman—his Atlanta-based Jackson Securities, with branches in several cities, ranks among the top black-owned securities businesses in the nation— Jackson always found time to remain engaged with his alma mater.

An intellectual prodigy, as well as a son of a Morehouse Man (Maynard Jackson Sr., ’14), Jackson graduated from the College at the age of 18, a time when many students enter college—four years after his early matriculation as a Ford Foundation Early Admission Scholar. Tobe Johnson, a Morehouse political science professor who shared a class with Jackson in the ‘50s, believes that Jackson was especially appreciative of the “milieu of Morehouse…imbuing in you the idea you can and will achieve.

“I think that’s why he spent so much time and energy at Morehouse [after he left]. It was his way of paying the school back,” says Johnson, who served as an “informal advisor” in the Jackson administration.

Jackson’s long-term commitments to the College included membership on the Morehouse College National Alumni Association and 18 years of service on the Morehouse Board of Trustees, including tenure as chair of the policy-setting Governance Committee. Words like “active” and “tireless” pop up when members of these bodies talk about Jackson’s contributions.

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Maynard Jackson and his co-panelists, Sinbad and Kareem Abdul Jabbar respond †o student’s questions a† the 1994 Reflections of Excellence program. Later that evening, he received the Bennie Achievement Award.

“He was a strong supporter of the Alumni Association, very active,” said John Draper ‘57, who serves as the Association’s acting director. “We could always depend on him to speak to the metro chapters of the alumni association. I wish we had more like him.”

Said President Walter E. Massey ‘58: “As a board of trustees member, Maynard was a tireless advocate for excellence, a visionary who believed his alma mater’s future role in the education of African American men would be even greater than its past.”

There is a belief—perhaps a hope—that a departed person’s spirit will dwell with the people and places that he held dear in life. Jackson, the consummate businessman, made the necessary arrangements to ensure that there would be tangible evidence of his spirit, leaving a scholarship for political science students and his political writings to the College. In turn, to honor his spirit of tested, tried and true commitment to the ideals of ethical leadership, the Morehouse Board of Trustees recently passed action to name the new Leadership Center in his honor.

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Jackson died June 23 while traveling to Washington, D.C., of a heart attack. A few days later, on June 27, Maynard made his final visit to the campus. Thousands came to say farewell as he lay in state in the King Chapel. Later that evening, a program was held to celebrate his community spirit…an indomitable spirit that led him to volunteer his time and talent to the House, impart his wisdom to young and old alike, give generously toward scholarships and champion the Leadership Center and its call for ethical leadership.

On the day of his funeral, June 28, Atlanta mourned the loss of a political giant in a ceremony attended by thousands at the Atlanta Civic Center on June .

It seemed everyone—from former presidents to Atlanta politicians to Morehouse staff—had a “Maynard moment” to share.

While Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin recalled how Jackson was the impetus for her seeking the City’s highest office, people like Phyllis Bentley, director of Academic Operations at Morehouse, told of a brief, slightly less momentous, but equally memorable encounter with Jackson.

Bentley had on occasion held short conversations with Jackson when he visited the campus. But then again, so had countless other faculty, staff and students. One day, as she passed him near Gloster Hall, she said a quick “Hello, Mr. Jackson” and kept moving, not expecting the busy ex-mayor and businessman to remember her name.

As she walked away, Jackson replied: “Bye, Phyllis.”

She was impressed. ■

Indeed, Atlanta had lost a mayor that had put the city on the international map, but Morehouse…she had lost a beloved son.

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‘I want to be like Mr. Jackson’

Wayne Martin, junior political science major

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Corporations funding the foundation include Coca-Cola, Georgia Pacific, Home Depot, First Union Bank, Georgia Power and Jackson Securities. Foundation students meet at the Maynard Jackson Youth Foundation’s office in the Equitable Building during the first and third Saturdays of months comprising the school year. For more information about the foundation, call 404-681-3211.

Maynard Jackson Youth Foundation 100 PEACHTREE STREET SUITE 2275, EQUITABLE BUILDING ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303 TELEPHONE: (404) 681-3211 WEBSITE: WWW.MJYF.ORG

Maynard Jackson changed the way Wayne Martin thought about everything. The college he wanted to attend. The career he wanted. Even about being late for band practice.

Martin, a participant in the Maynard Jackson Youth Foundation, had every intention of moving out of Georgia to attend college. Because of Jackson’s influence, he is now at Morehouse studying political science. And, like Jackson, he plans on becoming a lawyer and practicing in Atlanta.

What also impressed Martin about Jackson was the man’s dedication to the Youth Foundation. “He never missed a session,” Martin recalls. Up until then, Martin had thought missing high school band practices was no big thing. “But I saw how dedicated he was and that made me become more disciplined. That’s what stands out now most about those [Youth Foundation] sessions and that’s what I use today to help me achieve my goals.”

But beyond career goals and dedication to the task at hand, Martin was enamored by the entire Maynard Jackson package.

“It was his presence, the way he handled himself, his confidence that I really admired above everything else,” said Martin, now 20. “I said, ‘I want to be like Mr. Jackson.’”

Jackson became Martin’s mentor when Martin began participating in the Maynard Jackson Youth Foundation as an 11th grader at Therrell High School in southwest Atlanta. The foundation partners with Atlanta public schools to identify at-risk, low-income eleventh-graders who show leadership potential.

“Even more than top grades, [these participants] have a spark of leadership so that we can develop them for leadership positions in the workplace,” said John Holley, the foundation’s president. The foundation recruits nearly 20 students a year and teaches them to master the spoken and written language, hone salesmanship skills and learn the stock market, among other subjects. They also are encouraged to give back to the community by serving as mentors, tutors or counselors. The program features guest speakers, mentors and field trips, such as the one the group took to the Chicago Stock Exchange.

Nearly 130 students have gone through the program since its inception in 1992. Some of the foundation’s participants have gone on to such institutions of higher learning as Morehouse, and Emory and Harvard universities—or service in the military.

Holley credits Jackson’s leadership skills and his commitment to excellence for the success of the program. “We don’t tolerate failure,” he said.

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alumninews Morehouse Well Represented at Caltech MOREHOUSE GRADUATES HAVE MADE their mark at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for more than 40 years. Pictured below at a Caltech event are Terrell D. Neal '99 (left), Christopher Boxe '99 (right) and Caltech graduate William D. Hutchinson, Ph.D '60 (center).

Terrell Neal completed the Dual Degree Program while at Morehouse, earning a bachelor’s in mathematics from Morehouse and a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech. He entered Caltech in September 2000, earning the masters’ in electrical engineering in 2001. He is continuing his studies for the Ph.D in Electrial Engineering. as a David and Lucille Packard Foundation Fellow, where he is working to develop nanofabricated devices for optical fluidic, and electrical analyses and applications. He anticipates receiving the Ph.D in 2005.

Christopher S. Boxe received the bachelor’s in chemistry with a minor in mathematics from Morehouse in 1999. He entered Caltech in the fall of 1999 and began the masters’ program in planetary science, receiving his degree in 2001. Transferring to the Environmental Science and Engineering Department in 2001, he received the M. S. in 2002 and now is in the Environmental Science and Engineering Ph.D program. He anticipates completing his studies in the fall of 2004.

William D. Hutchinson received a bachelor’s in chemistry from Morehouse and completed the doctorate in chemistry with a minor in physics at Caltech in 1960, where he studied the chemistry of abnormal hemoglobins. This work focused principally on sickle cell hemoglobin and culminated in his identifying that portion of the hemoglobin molecule that produces the well-known clinical manifestations of sickle cell disease. In this work, he was associated with Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling. Entering the aerospace industry after graduate school, Hutchinson worked 40 years in rocket propulsion, nuclear and laser weapons effects, and optics. He retired in 1999 as manager of the Advanced Research Labs at the Rocketdyne Division of Boeing. Over the years, he has maintained contact with and provided support to many generations of African American students who have matriculated at Caltech. He has worked closely with the Caltech administration to increase the ethnic diversity of the faculty and student body. ■

Lomax ’68 Named President of UNCF MICHAEL LOMAX '68,president emeritus of Dillard University and former chairman of the Fulton County (Ga.) Commission, was recently named president of the United Negro College Fund.

He plans to build a massive endowment that will ensure the organization's continued support for its 39 member schools by raising $1 billion.

The fund is the nation's oldest minority higher education scholarship program and contributes significant financial support to private historically black colleges and universities.

Lomax had been president of Dillard University in New Orleans since 1997. He helped double enrollment at the historically black school and spearheaded a $60 million renovation campaign. He also taught literature for 20 years at Spelman and Morehouse colleges and Emory University. He ran twice for mayor of Atlanta and founded the city's National Black Arts Festival.

Lomax said he intends to divide his time between the UNCF headquarters outside Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, where he and his wife, Cheryl, still own a home.

He said his ties to Atlanta and the schools within the Atlanta University Center will serve as a fund-raising advantage. "These schools have a long, rich and powerful history," he said.

"Morehouse and Spelman,especially,are exemplars of the very best in higher education. The city of Atlanta has long been a generous supporter of the fund. I'm hoping I can continue that trend." ■

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alumninews

Passages A Long Life of Firsts: Oldest Alum, Samuel Nabrit ‘25, Dies at 98 SAMUEL NABRIT ’25, prominent educator, scientist and scholar, died on December 30 in Atlanta. At age 98, he was the College’s oldest living alumnus. Nabrit was eulogized at Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta. The Rev. William Guy officiated.

Nabrit’s long life included an impressive roster of firsts. He was the first Morehouse graduate to earn a doctorate and the first African American to receive a doctorate from Brown University in 1928. He also became Brown’s first black trustee. He was the first African American to serve on the Atomic Energy Commission, as well as several other national committees.

“Dr. Nabrit was the quintessential Morehouse Man,” said Henry L. Goodgame ’84, director of Alumni Relations at Morehouse. “He was an academician,statesman and scholar.” Goodgame came to rely on Nabrit’s ubiquitous presence at some of the College’s most significant events, including New Student Orientation, Commencement and Founder’s Week. “He had a rich history with the institution and could remember every detail,” he said.“It was a joy to get to know him.”

Nabrit devoted his distinguished career to helping educate black students. A developmental biologist, he spent several decades as a college professor and administrator. From 1927 to 1932, he headed the biology department at Morehouse. He also taught at Atlanta University, where he was dean of the graduate school of arts and sciences, and—at age 86—served as interim director of the Atlanta University Center for 15 months.

He once said that he adopted his paternal grandmother’s “yearning to develop functional literacy.” Among the accomplishments he was most proud of as an educator was training black doctorate recipients. “The 30 Ph.D.’s I turned out, I relish,” he was quoted as saying. “I’m so delighted to see them become successes.”

In 1955, Nabrit began an 11-year term as the president of Texas Southern University in Houston. It was an era where, throughout the South, student protestors were staging sit-ins and other demonstrations. Before long, TSU students staged their own demonstrations in an effort to integrate Houston. Unlike some of the other schools that were paving the way to integrated facilities, however, TSU was a public school and Nabrit was an employee of the state. As he prepared to speak in chapel before his students, some of whom had recently participated in a sit-in, Nabrit was forced to make a conscious choice about the stance he would take.

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“I said, ‘If all the other black students in this country have come to the feeling that racial discrimination and segregation are wrong, and if they are making an effort to do something about it, and if our students don’t feel the same way, well, then there is something wrong with our teaching at TSU,” he is quoted as saying.

Nabrit knew that the speech could cause him his job. He and Mrs. Nabrit had earlier decided, however, that “…With frugal living, we could make it to the end of our lives with what we had. I had no fear of my position being taken away, or of reprisal from the state.”

Nabrit did not lose his position, but instead a year later was appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower to a six-year term on the National Science Board. He also went on to serve as the president of the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools from 1960-61 and on the board of directors of the American Council on Education in 1961.

Nabrit’s tenure at TSU came to an end in 1966 when he was nominated by President Lyndon Johnson to serve a four-year term on the Atomic Energy Commission. A third president, John. F. Kennedy, named him representative to Niger.

A tireless advocate for education, Nabrit founded and operated the Southern Fellowship Fund for nearly 15 years, disbursing more than $22 million to assist African American students who were pursuing doctoral degrees.

The Nabrit name has become legendary at Morehouse.

Samuel Nabrit was the son of a Morehouse Man, the late Dr. James Madison Nabrit Sr., class of 1898, and the brother of two Morehouse pillars, the late Dr. James M. Nabrit Jr. ’23 and the late Rev. Dr. Henry C. Nabrit, JD’37.

Now, his own name, Samuel Nabrit, has become legendary in its own right: as a scholar called to served his country under three presidents; an education pioneer credited with championing more than 30 African Americans to receiving doctoral degrees; a college president who was willing to sacrifice his career for the cause of justice; as the recipient of numerous honorary degrees (including from Morehouse in 1960); and as a devoted Morehouse alumnus.

“I have no regrets, having gone to Brown, or having taken any of the forks in the road I took,” he was quoted as saying.

“If I had to sum it up, I’d say that no kite can rise unless it’s going against the wind.” ■

alumninews Thornton Named Secretary of the General Staff MAJOR OTHA THORNTON ’89 has been tapped to serve as secretary of the general staff for Major General Bennie Williams, commanding general of the 21st Theater Support Commander in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

The 21st Theater Support Command is the largest forward logistical support command in the United States Army with over 7,900 soldiers, civilians and local nationals.

Currently, this support command is involved in ongoing Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Thorton’s duties will include managing the commanding general’s calendar and special events. He will also manage military, civilian, and foreign dignitary official visits, including United States Congressional visits. Major Thornton will also be responsible for managing a protocol, security, and transportation staff for the commanding general. This position is equivalent to that of an Executive Assistant to a Chief Executive Officer of a 7,900 person corporation. Thornton has served in the U.S. Army since 1989. ■

Region I Conference in Atlanta

Walter Massey ’58 To Receive Honorary Degree from Tufts DR. WALTER E. MASSEY ’58, the ninth president of Morehouse College and former National Science Foundation director, received an honorary doctorate of science degree at the 148th commencement excercises held on May 23. Other honorees included an astronaut, singer, senator and businessmanl.

Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong received an honorary doctorate of engineering; musician and Tufts graduate Tracy Chapman received an honorary doctorate of fine arts; and Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Richard Lugar (RIN) received an honorary doctorate of laws; and former University Board of Trustees Chair Nathan Gantcher received an honorary doctorate of business administration. ■

Charlie Moreland ’51, Joseph Arrington ’58 and Clyde James ’62 enjoy a moment of camaraderie at the Region I conference May 1, 2004, in Chivers Dining Hall.

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