morehouse magazine winter 2008/spring 2009

MOREHOUSE COLLEGEOFFICE OF ADMISSION

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Define YOURSELF.

Redefine THE WORLD.

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 / S P R I N G 2 0 0 9W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 / S P R I N G 2 0 0 9

MOREHOUSEMOREHOUSEM A G A Z I N EM A G A Z I N E

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• Named “the hottest men's college” in the nation in Kaplan/Newsweekmagazine's August 2007 listing of “25 Hottest Schools”

• Named one of the best schools in the Southeast by The PrincetonReview in its listing of 2008 Best Colleges: Region by Region

• Recognized by The Wall Street Journal as one of the top feederschools for the 15 most prominent graduate and professional schoolsin the country in September 2003

• One of only two Historically Black Colleges or Universities to produce three Rhodes Scholars

THE VALUEof a

MorehouseE D U C A T I O N

THE VALUEof a


S P E C I A L I S S U E

CARRYING THE TORCH: A GUIDE TO GIVING

MOREHOUSE MILITARY MEN • FIRST LADY CHERYL FRANKLIN • COMMENCEMENT ‘09


�MOREHOUSE MILITARY MEN • FIRST LADY CHERYL FRANKLIN • COMMENCEMENT ‘09

CARRYING THE TORCH: A GUIDE TO GIVING 2007-08 & 2006-07M

OREHOUSE MAGAZIN

E WINTER 2008/SPRING 2009

ProfessionThe Luella Klein Associate Professor and

Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division,

Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; Full-

time faculty member, Emory University,

OB/GYN

EducationBachelor of Science, Morehouse

College, 1975; Medical Degree, Yale

Medical School, 1979; Master of

Public Health, Emory University, 1991

PassionsMarried to Lorna Douglass for 28

years; Sons, Jonathon, 24, a 2006

Morehouse graduate, and Kenneth, 20, a

senior at Emory University

Mark of DistinctionLargest donor to the Morehouse

Annual Fund in 2006. For 22 years

Michael Lindsay ‘75 has given to the

Annual Fund to help a man of

Morehouse realize his dream of

becoming a Morehouse Man.

Why does he give? “I went to Morehouse on a scholarship—

otherwise, I would not have been able

to get a Morehouse education. I am

repaying the anonymous people who

funded my education.”

http://giving.morehouse.edu • (404) 215-2658

Michael Lindsay ’75and Lorna Douglass Lindsay

Mor

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emor

ies

features

RAISING THE BARAbraham Davis ’61 taught and mentored 17 judges, 16 doctoral recip-

ients, two ambassadors and one United States Congressman. Many of

his protégés were able to pass the bar with flying colors because, as a

professor of political science, Davis raised the bar of excellence.

PHENOMENON: THE OBAMA EFFECTWhat do you call an African American politician who galvanized

black political activism, raised voter participation to dizzying

heights, shattered fund-raising records, and inspired a nation with

a few well-chosen words? Phenomenal. Morehouse professors and

students talk about how President Obama changed the world.

THE DOCTOR MAKES A HOUSE CALLAs the new First Lady of the College, Dr. Cheryl G. Franklin

shares her medical expertise in talks and lectures as she encour-

ages more minority participation in the health professions,

including establishing a scholarship for Morehouse students.

MOREHOUSE MILITARY MENThink Morehouse Man and you undoubtedly think business suits

and ties—not the immaculate uniforms of the U.S. military. The

Morehouse military man does, however, wear something in common

with his civic counterparts: a commitment to leadership and service.

FOUNDER’S DAY 2009: WEATHERING THE STORMMorehouse celebrates 142 years of weathering storms by contin-

uing its weeklong observance of its founding with undampened

enthusiasm.

THE VALUE OF A MOREHOUSE EDUCATIONThe current economic storm is blowing many Morehouse stu-

dents off course as they face unprecedented financial pressures.

But when you consider the College’s storied legacy and close-knit

brotherhood, the value of the Morehouse experience is priceless.

COMMENCEMENT 2009: LIFT THEM UPTwo speakers, two valedictorians and two salutatorians added up

to a very memorable Commencement 2009. The one thing all the

speakers wanted the 440 graduates to do: reach back and lift up.

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6 INSIDE THE HOUSE

12 HOMECOMING

14 IN THE NEWS

16 ON THE FIELD AND COURT

18 DEVELOPMENT NEWS

22 ON THE SHELF

49 BROTHER TO BROTHER

50 ALUMNI NEWS

53 CLASS REUNION

55 CLASS NOTES

58 THE ROAD TAKEN

46

Phillip H. McCall Jr. ’69President [email protected]

Lonnie C. Johnson ’58Vice [email protected]

Collie Burnett Jr. ’72Executive [email protected]

Guy B. Richardson ’[email protected]

Marvin C Mangham ’69Financial [email protected]

James D. Henry ’61General [email protected]

Calvin H. Harris ’92 [email protected]

Jeffrey L. Riddle ’90ParliamentarianOffice: [email protected]

Harold O. Braithwaite ’77Faculty [email protected]

Henry M. Goodgame, Jr. ’84 Director, Alumni [email protected]

BOARD MEMBERSREGION I-IX VICE PRESIDENTS – 2008-2010

Kevin R. McGee ’93Vice President, Region [email protected]

Kenneth J. Thompson ’82Vice President, Region [email protected]

James M. Boykin II ’81Vice President, Region [email protected]

Mark W. Hill ’67Vice President, Region [email protected]

Charles H. Neal ’64Vice President, Region [email protected]

George W. Thompson ’66Vice President, Region [email protected]

Kevin V. Riles ’95Vice President, Region [email protected]

Donald E. Long ’64 Vice President, Region [email protected]

Nashon Hornsby ’93Vice President, Region [email protected]

MOREHOUSE COLLEGE NATIONAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

2006-2008 OFFICERS

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 / S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 3 MOREHOUSE MAGAZINE

Honoring Leadership and Service

e are fortunate that, since its inception, Morehouse has had as part of its corecommunity men and women who model ethical leadership and the kind of serv-

ice that changes the lives of its recipients, as well as its givers. Leadership and serv-ice are traditions upon which the College is built, and we continue to honor the individuals whotypify those ideals.

In 1989—under the administration of Dr. Leroy Keith ’61, our eighth president—the “A Candlein the Dark” Gala was organized to enhance the Founder’s Day celebration and raise funds forthe College’s endowed scholarship funds. This Valentine’s Day, approximately 1,400 membersof the Morehouse community of supporters attended the celebration, making the 21st year ofthis fund-raising event both a memorable part of the 142nd Founder’s Day Celebration and asuccessful part of our campaign to support students through endowed scholarships.

Each year, we proudly assemble for an evening of camaraderie as we recognize AfricanAmerican men for their contributions to their respective professional fields. In honor of Dr.Benjamin E. Mays, the College’s longest-serving president, honorees who are alumni of theCollege receive the “Bennie” award for service, achievement and trailblazing. The “Candle” isawarded to non-alumni for professional excellence in a variety of professional fields.Individually and collectively, our “Bennie” and “Candle” award winners are a testament to theheights to which Morehouse College students can—and are expected to—rise.

This issue of Morehouse Magazine is timely in that it sheds light on achievements under a varietyof circumstances. Though Morehouse—as are many other colleges and universities—is steelingfor what may be more difficult economic times to come, we are in no way deterred from produc-ing the next generation of high achievers. We remain singularly focused on what has been theCollege’s long-term mission: developing young men with disciplined minds who will lead lives ofleadership and service.

It is my hope as you read the features herein, you will be inspired and strengthened for the roadto success.

Sincerely,

Robert M. Franklin Jr. ’75

p r e s i d e n t ’s m e s s a g e

W

”We remain singularly

focused on what has been

the College’s long-term

mission: developing young

men with disciplined minds

who will lead lives of

leadership and service.”

The Morehouse College’s Career Planning and Placement Officeis excited to unveil its latest service, designed with MorehouseCollege alumni in mind: Experience Alumni!

EXPERIENCE REQUIREDeRecruiting is the system currently used to coordinate all jobpostings and interview schedules for students. Now, ExperienceAlumni! offers a similar service designed specifically with moreexperienced candidates in mind.

Experience Alumni! gives Morehouse alumni a safe, secureplace to look for employment opportunities by providing jobpostings from companies looking to recruit experiencedMorehouse Men. Job opportunities from sites such asCareerBuilder, DICE and HotJobs are also posted.

BROTHER TO BROTHERIf you know of positions within your own company that youwant other alumni to know about, you can post them directlyinto the system yourself. It is a great system for recruitingother Morehouse Men!

Experience Alumni!OFFERS MOREHOUSE MEN A NEW NETWORKING TOOL FOR JOB HUNTING

Taking some of the workout of networking

For more information contact:Kellye Blackburn EcclesCareer Planning and PlacementNon Business MajorsMorehouse [email protected]

Pat BowersCareer Planning and PlacementBusiness MajorsMorehouse College404-681-2800 [email protected]

Log in and check out Experience Alumni! at http://morehouse.experience.com


MOREHOUSEM A G A Z I N E

Defining Value

Dear Friends:

n this current economic climate, students and parents are making hard decisions aboutcollege choice. Even the few parents who have planned to pay for a college education arestill considering affordability and value when choosing a college.

At the same time, colleges and universities across the country are grappling with risingoperational costs as students’ need for financial support increases.

Over time, Morehouse has defined its value in the highereducation marketplace. In this issue, we talk about howMorehouse is an exceptional investment in “The Value of aMorehouse Education” (see cover story on page 42). What wefound is that even as many liberal arts colleges are facing dwindlingenrollments , they encounter stiffer competition from public insti-tutions. Yet, the College’s enrollment increased by 10 percent dur-ing the first semester of last year, and we expect to maintain ourideal enrollment of 2,800 students in the upcoming academic year.

Morehouse has to make the case for the value of the liberal artsexperience to students and their parents in a climate that forces them to think more about gain-ing the hard skills necessary to get a job rather than the soft skills associated with becoming abetter thinker. Our focus on academic excellence, leadership development, community service,and the tradition of brotherhood, along with exposure to a broad spectrum of national andinternational leaders (see coverage on Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke’s visit onpage 6), continue to make Morehouse the college of choice for many young men and give par-ents a reason to make the financial stretch to send their sons here, even in this economy.

It is this unique mission of educating mostly African American men that also keeps fac-ulty engaged. Morehouse is a lifetime career for many, like Abraham L. Davis ’61, who steeredmore than 600 of his students into law and pre-law related careers over the past 41 years.Davis left Morehouse this past year to pursue a lifelong passion in global relations as a con-sultant with the State Department.

Every accepted student has made the choice to attend Morehouse – often in the midst ofcompetitive offers from other prestigious institutions. Morehouse parent Jacky Akbari ofNashville, Tenn., whose son Alex is a senior this year, puts it best: “Life is a series of choices,and now we absolutely have to use our resources better than ever; and the best resource wehave is Morehouse College.”

Keep Reading,

Toni O’Neal Mosley

Executive Editor

Please Note: As the College took precautionary measures to reduce spending, we combined the Fall/Winter

and Spring/Summer issues of Morehouse Magazine to reduce annual printing and postage costs.

I

e d i t o r ’s n o t e sW I N T E R 2 0 0 8 / S P R I N G 2 0 0 9

Robert M. Franklin Jr. ’75President

John WilliamsInterim Provost and Senior Vice President

for Academic Affairs

Phillip Howard ’87Vice President for

Institutional Advancement

STAFFExecutive Editor Toni O’Neal MosleyEditor Vickie G. HamptonWriter Add Seymour Jr.In the News Editor Elise DurhamContributing Writers Mae Gentry

Kai Jackson IssaRichard Jones

Eric StirgusChandra Thomas

Class Notes Julie Pinkney TongueContributing Photographers Philip McCollum

Wilford HarewoodJames Robinson

Graphic Design Glennon Design GroupAdministrative Assistant Minnie JacksonWeb Hana Chelikowsky

Kara Walker

Morehouse Magazine is published by MorehouseCollege, Office of Communications, Division ofInstitutional Advancement. Opinions expressed inMorehouse Magazine are those of the authors, notnecessarily of the College.Letters and Comments: Letters must be onetyped page in length and signed. Please includecomplete contact information. Send to: Morehouse Magazine Editor, MorehouseCollege, Office of Communications, 830 WestviewDr., S.W., Atlanta, GA 30314. E-mail: [email protected]: 404-215-2729

Change of Address and Class Notes:www.morehousealumniandfriends.com

Morehouse College is the nation’s largest liberal arts col-lege for men. The College is accredited by the SouthernAssociation of Colleges and Schools and is a member ofthe Atlanta University Center consortium of five schools.Morehouse does not discriminate on the basis of race,color, age, handicap, or national or ethnic origin in therecruitment and admission of its students, in the adminis-tration of its educational policies and programs, or in itsstaff, as specified by federal laws and regulations.

insidethehouse

MOREHOUSE MAGAZINE 6 W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 / S P R I N G 2 0 0 9

new pact will give students from Georgia’s third-largest public higher education institution anopportunity to become men of Morehouse.

Morehouse President Robert M. Franklin Jr. ’75 andGeorgia Perimeter College President Anthony Tricoli signed aTransfer Admission Guarantee agreement in January that willallow GPC students who follow and complete a specificcourse of study and met certain criteria to transfer intoMorehouse for their junior and senior years.

“[This] partnership… is groundbreaking and offers atremendous opportunity to students looking for a common-sense, cost-effective approach to quality higher education,”Franklin said. “Dr. Tricoli and I believe that, by entering intothis agreement, we are serving both institutions well and,more importantly, meeting the educational needs ofGeorgia’s future leaders.”

GPC, which has transfer agreements with 30 institu-tions, has 23,000 students (including the most AfricanAmerican students of any Georgia institution) and is one ofthe fastest growing two-year institutions in the nation. Totransfer to Morehouse, GPC students must complete theirassociate’s degree with a 2.5 grade point average and at least

60 transferable credits, 30 of which must be earned at GPC.Sterling Hudson, dean of Admissions and Records at

Morehouse, said the College gets nearly 100 transfer studentseach year, with 35 to 40 coming from two-year institutions.

“That number should be boosted with this articulation,” hesaid. “It’s going to provide greater access for Morehouse to localmales, mostly Atlanta males. That’s been a tough market for us.”

Tricoli said he is excited about being in partnershipwith Morehouse.

“In this year of historical firsts, it is appropriate that ourtwo powerhouse institutions do what none other in thenation has done to clear the pathway to success for AfricanAmerican students who are transferring from an outstandingtwo-year college to Morehouse,” he said. ■

Morehouse and GeorgiaPerimeter Enter TransferAdmission Guarantee Pact

AGeorgia Perimeter College President Anthony Tricoli and PresidentFranklin enter admission agreement.

FOR AMERICA TOthrive, each citizenhas to believe in themain tenant of cul-tural democracy:shared power andvoice by all partici-pants, said DeloresAldridge, a sociology

and African American studies professor atEmory University.

“And if cultural democracy is to fulfillits promise, it must ever challenge our val-ues of America, which makes the land ofthe free and the home of the brave elusivefor a lot of our brothers and sisters,” shecontinued during the 18th Annual

Benjamin E. Mays Lecture on Jan. 27.Former President Leroy Keith ’61

established the Benjamin E. MaysLecture series in 1990 as a way to honorthe memory and legacy of Mays, theCollege’s revered sixth president whoserved for 27 years and shepherded theCollege into international prominence.

Aldridge, a 1963 Clark College grad-uate, was the first African American facultymember at Emory. In 1971, she establishedEmory’s African American studies depart-ment, the first of its kind in the South. Shealso has been a consultant for more than90 foreign governments, and has been theauthor and or editor of at least 160 writ-ings. Her latest book is The Invisible

Pioneers: Black Women Sociologists and sheis working with the Georgia StateLegislature and Georgia Coalition on BlackWomen to develop an encyclopedic vol-ume, The Social and EconomicContributions of Georgia Women.

Aldridge, who as a student at Clarkcame to the Morehouse campus to lis-ten to Mays lecture, said she was movedby his inspirational messages andbelieves he stepped up during the civilrights movement when other collegepresidents stepped back.

“Dr. Mays worked diligently to chal-lenge a racist America,”she said.“But he alsoknew that as African Americans, we must bewell prepared in heart and mind.” ■

Dolores Aldridge

Emory’s Delores Aldridge Gives Benjamin E. Mays Lecture


Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin Is InauguralSpeaker for Vivian Malone Jones LectureATLANTA MAYOR SHIRLEY FRANKLIN deliveredthe first annual Vivian Malone Jones Lecture onCivil Rights during the Jan. 22nd Crown Forum.

“Vivian Malone Jones didn’t give up and did-n’t give out,” Franklin said. “She acted with courageand she executed resolve…But she took the roadless-traveled as a young woman, not muchyounger than you…The question is how strongwill your shoulders be that others stand on?”

Jones and classmate James Hood made history in 1963 by defy-ing Gov. George Wallace, who stood in front of the University ofAlabama doors to keep them from becoming the school’s first blackstudents. Hood transferred after two months (he got his doctoratefrom Alabama in 1997), but Jones went on to become the school’s firstAfrican American graduate. She worked for the U.S. Department ofJustice and eventually moved to Atlanta to become head of civil rightsand urban affairs for the Environmental Protection Agency. She retiredin 1996 and died of a stroke in 2005.

Franklin was chosen to give the lecture because of her politi-cal accomplishments and nearly four decades of work with thecity of Atlanta.

President Robert M. Franklin Jr. ’75 added, however, that MayorFranklin also should be recognized for brokering the $32-milliondeal that brought to campus the Morehouse College Martin LutherKing Jr. Collection, which includes 10,000 hand-written lectures,sermons and other papers that belonged to King, a 1948 graduate.

“Without Mayor Franklin’s courage and vision, it wouldn’t haveoccurred,” he said. “We should honor her for that.”

The mayor was honored with an oil portrait that will hanginside the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel. ■

N E W S B R I E F SHBCU Week Highlights Importance of Black CollegesWHEN PRESIDENT ROBERT M. FRANKLIN JR. ’75 addressed ses-sions at the 2008 National Historically Black Colleges andUniversities Week Conference in Washington, D.C., this September, heshared his vision of producing Renaissance men with a social con-science and suggested that all HBCUs consider the same.

The conference was sponsored by the White House Initiative onHBCUs, whose goals are to advocate for and strengthen the fund-raisingcapacity of HBCUs. Conference participants shared information onresearch and funding trends, educational opportunities, equipment, grantand contracting opportunities, faculty development and internships.

With the theme, “HBCUs: Established to Meet a Need, Evolving Withthe Times,” the conference celebrated September 7-13 as NationalHBCU Week. Highlights included speeches by then-Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Morehouse Police Chief Vernon Worthy, founder and immediatepast president of the HBCU-Law Enforcement Executives Association(LEEA), served as a panelist on “Securing the Campus – Meeting theChallenges for Students and Community.”

David Morrow ’80, director of the Morehouse College Glee Club,was a regional conductor of a national choir representing 105 HBCUsduring the world premiere concert of 105 Voices of History at theKennedy Center.Submitted by Denise Moore, director of the Office of Government Relations

Morehouse Named One of the Nation’s Best HBCUsMorehouse has again been recognized by a national publication as oneof the country’s top historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

The U.S. News and World Report named Morehouse the nation’sNo. 3 HBCU. Rounding up the top three were Howard Universityand Spelman College. The magazine based its rankings on six fac-tors: peer assessment, retention, faculty resources, student selectivity,financial resources and alumni giving rate.

It is the second year the magazine has ranked the nation’s HBCUs.

Atlanta MayorShirley Franklin

Morehouse Raises $18,000 for Breast Cancer Research THE 400 WALKERS who took part in the Ninth Annual MorehouseCollege Breast Cancer Walk raised $18,000 in the effort to fight the disease.

The Oct. 4 event pushed the grand total that the College hasraised for the American Cancer Society to $145,600, according toSandra Walker. She, along, along with 11-year breast cancer survivorMary Peaks, has organized the popular walk around the AtlantaUniversity Center. Walker is the executive assistant to the vice presi-dent of business and finance while Peaks works in the CounselingResearch Center.

“Your support has assisted in enhancing awareness and advanc-ing research for this life-threatening disease that strikes women andmen,” Walker said. ■

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Nearly 400 people participated in the 9th Annual Breast CancerAwareness Walk.

hen the world witnessed Federal Reserve Chairman BenBernanke tell a Morehouse College audience the economywas slowly improving, the nation’s fiscal health was hardly

the only newsworthy item.What turned heads was the fact that Bernanke was at Morehouse on

April 15,2009 as part of the College’s Executive Lecture series.Rarely do Federal Reserve board members make public appear-

ances. But Bernanke has been looking to explain how the Fed worksand to detail the steps he is taking to fix the nation’s fiscal problems.

So in the midst of a global economic nosedive, he choseMorehouse as the place to speak.

“To me, it was indeed a coup,” said Denise Moore, director ofGovernment Relations. “He could have gone to his own alma materHarvard or even Yale.”

Bernanke spoke in the filled Bank of America Auditorium asnational print media and cable television outlets such as Fox BusinessNews, CNBC, CNN and MSNBC followed every moment.

He then took an array of probing questions from Morehouse sen-ior business and economic students, Tristan Allen, Anthony Roberts,Ricardo Rabathaly and Zantoine Truluck.

“I think it’s important for people to understand [what’s happeningwith the economy] so they can understand why policies are what theyare,” Benanke said.

Moore pointed to relationship building as the main reasons whyBernanke, a former economics professor at Princeton and Stanford,came to Morehouse. Bernanke met Moore, President Robert M.Franklin Jr. ’75 and Philip Howard ‘87, vice president for InstitutionalAdvancement, at a Congressional Black Caucus banquet in 2008.Later, Franklin was on a panel with Bernanke’s wife, Anne.

“It’s apparent to me that Dr. Bernanke‘s team had decided theywanted to do some type of outreach and have him involved in educa-tion,” Moore said.

According to Franklin, Morehouse was the natural choice to hostsuch an event.

“This really highlights Morehouse’s role as a national convener ofthought leaders and change agents who inform and shape Morehousestudents to become responsible civic leaders,” he said. ■


peopleatthehouse

Morehouse Hosts RarePublic Appearance by FedChairman Ben Bernankeby Add Seymour Jr.

WMorehouse students are exposed to many of the nation’s top movers and shakers. InApril 2009, students had the opportunity to question Chairman of the Federal ReserveBen Bernanke, who rarely does public appearances.

Ben Bernanke enjoys a tour of the King Chapel, with President Robert M.Franklin Jr. ‘75 and Lawrence E. Carter, dean of the chapel.

layborne Carson, publisher ofsix of the planned 14 volumes ofThe Papers of Martin Luther

King Jr. and the nation’s pre-eminent Kingscholar, has been named distinguishedscholar and executive director and the10,000-piece Morehouse College MartinLuther King Jr. Collection.

“I’ve always felt that connection, eversince the first time I came to this campus,”Carson said. “It is part of what madeMartin Luther King Jr. and, of course, Ithink every African American grows upwith the mystique of Morehouse,Benjamin E. Mays and the MorehouseMan. So this is a very special place.”

Carson has been in the history depart-ment at Stanford University since 1971,serving as the director of the Martin LutherKing Jr. Research and Education Institutealong with directing the King Papers Project

It was as a teenager who sneaked offto Washington, D.C., for the 1963 Marchon Washington that he first became influ-enced by the civil rights movement. Seeingdedicated young civil rights workers like

John Lewis andStokely Carmichaeldecked out in over-alls and work bootsinspired him.

He joined thecivil rights and anti-warmovements when hewent to college atUCLA. He later became

a journalist,writing mainly about the blackpower movement.His first book,In Struggle:SNCC and the Black Awakenings of the 1960s,became the definitive history of the StudentNonviolent Coordinating Committee.Carson’sother writings include Malcolm X: The FBI Filesand African American Lives: The Struggle forFreedom, in which he was a co-author. He’s alsobeen a senior adviser for the award-winning,public television series on the civil rights move-ment,“Eyes on the Prize,”and the editor of thecompanion reader for the series.

He earned his doctorate at Stanford andremained to teach in the history department.

Carson takes over the collection ofKing’s personal writings, sermons, speech-

es and other works at an exciting time forthe project. For the first time, researchersand even the casual scholar now have digi-tal access to the collection, as well as King’sworks at Stanford and Boston University.

“I have had chills run up my spineeach time I look at some of the materialsin that collection,” said President RobertM. Franklin Jr. ’75. “The collection isgoing to be an extraordinary field ofresearch for scholars and field of discoveryand learning for Morehouse students and,for the public at large as they come toview, exhibit and study the papers.”

Carson said heading the collection ispart of his calling.

“To me the responsibility is about thelegacy—how do you convey a legacy ofsomeone who helps change the world as weknow it?” he said. “King did his work inabout a dozen years. It has taken me nearly23 years to get halfway through his publiclife… So I know the immensity of it.

“All I can do is say this is my mission,”Carson said. “This is what I was put onEarth to do.” ■


peopleatthehouse

HERMAN “SKIP” MASONJR., the College’s archivist,was elected general presi-dent of Alpha Phi AlphaFraternity, Inc.

He was inaugurated asthe 33rd national presidentof the nation’s oldest AfricanAmerican Greek-letteredorganization during the fra-ternity’s convention inKansas City, Mo., in July2008. Worldwide, more than200,000 men have been initi-ated into Alpha Phi Alpha,including icons such asMartin Luther King Jr. ’48,

Thurgood Marshall andAdam Clayton Powell.

“Twenty-six years as amember of the fraternity andhaving known 10 of the past 12national presidents, watchingthem grow up in the fraternity,it’s an honor being in the circle,”said Mason, who will serve afour-year term.“But moreimportantly, I understand thetremendous responsibility inhelping to refocus the fraterni-ty’s goals and objectives on thosecritical issues affecting AfricanAmerican men, specifically get-ting young boys interested in

education. That way we don’thave to just intervene.We willprevent.”

Morehouse hostedMason’s inauguration theweekend of Jan. 23-25 in theMartin Luther King Jr.International Chapel. Theceremony was the fraternity’sfirst-ever public inauguration.Honorary co-chairs of theevent included PresidentRobert M. Franklin Jr. ’75, for-mer U.N. AmbassadorAndrew Young and AtlantaMayor Shirley Franklin. ■

Mason holds the symbolic keys to thefraternity’s corporate offices.

C

Skip Mason Elected 33rd National President of Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc.

Clayborne Carson

Renowned Historian Clayborne Carson Leads College’s King Collection

peopleatthehouse


Yang Introduces Chinese Language to CollegeHENRIETTA SHU-FEN YANG remembers the talk about the People’sRepublic of China becoming a future player on the political and eco-nomic world stage.

“I had been hearing that the 21st century would be China’scentury,” said Yang. “Well, there’s no doubt that China has got-ten stronger and stronger in politics and the economy.”

As assistant professor of Chinese and the new director ofChinese Studies, Yang hopes to get Morehouse students outfront on the global surge of interest in Chinese business, tradeand culture.

With the ever-increasing potential that students could someday beworking or doing business in China – the world’s most populatedcountry with 1.3 billion people – Yang is teaching MandarinChinese, which is spoken by nearly three-fourths of the people inChina. That makes it the world’s most-spoken, indigenous language.

“Because of business and the economy, there is lots of interaction– plus the world has gotten smaller and smaller (because of theInternet),”she said. “The Chinese market has drawn people there.And in order to do business in China, you have to speak their languageand understand their culture.”

Yang, a native of Taiwan, who came to the United States to studylinguistics at California State University-Fullerton. She studiedjournalism in Taipei, but developed a love for teaching Chineselanguage and culture. She has teaching stints at the Universityof Texas-Austin and most recently at the Defense LanguageInstitute’s Department of Chinese in Monterey, Calif. ■

—AS

Henrietta Yang introduces the College to a taste of China.

amuel J. Eaves ’62 saw something in JosephDixon ’86 during the early 1980s that Dixoncouldn’t even see in himself: his potential to

become a Morehouse Man.“I had no concept of college,” said Dixon,

who became the College’s vice president forInformation Technology in May 2008. “I neverreally thought about it.”

But Eaves, Dixon’s high school guidancecounselor at the time, did.

“He came from a difficult situation in a dif-ficult part of town,” said the now retired Eaves.“But he still felt that education was important to him. That’swhat drew my attention to him. I knew he had the potential.”

Eaves’ instincts were correct.Dixon majored in both math and computer science at

Morehouse, graduating in 1986, and one year later, earned amaster’s in computer science from Georgia Tech, where he alsocontinued to pursue doctoral-level study.

It also brought him into the midst of one of themost scrutinized areas of any organization today: infor-mation technology.

“What I found is that the department had a mixed reputa-tion. The biggest service issue is to arrive at agreeable service

levels and customer expectations. If we can’t pro-vide a level of service that provides real value forthe customer, we’re dropping the ball.”

Dixon grew up in a rough part of Jacksonville,Fla. Neither computers nor college were on his minduntil he ran into Eaves. Once Eaves heard thatDixon’s grandmother—who only had an eighth-grade education—wanted her grandson to go tocollege, he made it a personal quest to get Dixonthere, thinking Morehouse would be the perfectplace for him.

But it wasn’t easy.“I remember he had a deadline to get his papers in to

Morehouse, but he kept procrastinating,” Eaves said. “I tookhim to the dean (of the high school) and told him that if Dixondidn’t have his papers the next day, he needed to paddle him. Iwasn’t going to let him lose that opportunity (to go toMorehouse).”

Dixon ended up becoming a stellar math student who fellin love with computer science. He has worked at AT&T/BellLaboratories, the University of Oregon System and was thefirst director of school technology for the Fulton CountySchool System. ■

—AS

Concerned Alumnus Helped Pave Joseph Dixon’s Path to Morehouse

S

Joseph Dixon ’86

peopleatthehouse

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

Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta Air Lines,

Sept. 24, 2008

Sheila A. Penrose, chair of Board of

Directors for Jones

Lang LaSalle, Oct. 9, 2008

John F. Brock,chairman

and CEO of Coca-Cola

Enterprises,Sept. 23, 2008

Roy E. Barnes, Barnes Law Group, Oct. 21, 2008

Carla Harris,managingdirector of

Global CapitalMarkets for

MorganStanley,

Jan. 28, 2009

Gwendolyn Sykes, CFO for Yale

University, Feb. 5, 2009

Floyd Green (left), head of EmergingMarkets for AETNA, Feb. 24, 2009

Harsha Agadi (front, center), president and CEO of Church’s Chicken, Sept. 5, 2008

Cam

pus

Visi

ts


Robert A. Malone, chairman and president ofBP America, Inc., Oct. 14, 2008


The weekend may have started out coldand rainy, but the skies gave way to sunand fun during a festive Homecoming 2008weekend. Miss Maroon and White, JoiJackson and her attendants Isata Yansanehand April Curry, were coronated in a color-ful student production. Hip-hop superstarYoung Jeezy and neo-soul stalwart Dweleeach performed before hundreds andAtlantans lined the streets around campusfor the annual Saturday morningHomecoming parade. Thousands of tail-gaters–and the scent of their barbecue andother goodies–filled the Spelman parking lotand areas throughout the Morehouse cam-pus. And a huge crowd packed B.T. HarveyStadium as the Fighting Maroon Tigersgrabbed a thrilling, come-from-behind victory over the Albany State Golden Rams.Here is a pictorial look at the weekend thatwas Homecoming 2008.


■ May 22, 2008, Los Angeles

Times

Morehouse College faces its own

bias – against gays

Michael Brewer ’08 was strolling

purposefully around the storied

Morehouse College campus on a

hot spring day, clutching a small

stack of fliers that read: “No more

hate” and “No more discrimina-

tion. No more.” This is the lead

of an article in the Los Angeles

Times written by a reporter who

attended several campus forums

associated with a week of gay

rights events.

■ May 31, 2008, San Gabriel

Valley Tribune

Priorities pay off for business-

man: Founder of paint, coatings

firm balanced work and family

Vice Board Chair Robert C.

Davidson Jr. ’67, recently retired

founder of CEO of Surface

Protection Industries Inc, grew a

business that has become one of

the top African American-owned

manufacturing firms in California.

But the Pasadena resident is more

proud that he has managed to

keep his family a top priority in

his life. This story was covered by

several papers in the southern

California area after Davidson

received the Father of the Year

Award, presented by the National

Father’s Day Council and the

American Diabetes Association, at

the Beverly Hills Hotel.

■ June 4, 2008, “NBC Nightly

News with Brian Williams”

Obama Clenches the Nomination

When Barack Obama clenched

the Democratic presidential nom-

ination, media outlets across the

nation wanted to know how black

men felt about the historic

moment. Greg Hall, chair of the

political science department, was

interviewed by Ron Mott of NBC

News, as were a group of

Morehouse students. The story

also was covered by “ABC World

News Tonight” and CNN.

■ June 5, 2008, Philadelphia Sun,

CNN, The Washington Sun, CNN,

NABJ choose college winner for

CNN’s Black in America Contest

Travers Johnson ’08 was the

grand-prize winner of CNN’s

Campus iReporter contest, which

featured first-hand accounts of

the black experience through

video, photo, audio and text sub-

missions to promote CNN’s

“Black in America” multiplatform

programming initiative. Johnson

beat more than 11,500 students

from eight HBCUs. The contest

was co-sponsored by the National

Association of Black Journalists.

■ June 8, 2008, The Network

Journal

Roundtable on the Economy: A

difficult agenda ahead for the

next president

Greg Price, professor and chair of

the economics department, was

featured in a roundtable discus-

sion on the nation’s failing econo-

my. When asked about his out-

look for the second half of 2008,

Price replied: “Given rising hous-

ing inventories and gasoline

prices, I suspect that the second

half of 2008 will also be anemic.

This could change if gas prices

halt their rise and/or generous

residential mortgage refinancing

for defaultees emerge.”

■ June 12, 2008, Memphis

Business Journal

Following the Call: Elliot leads

technology initiatives for City of

Memphis, but his passion for

theology grows

Charles Elliott ’91 was profiled

after a move back to his home-

town brought him one step closer

to his life’s calling. Elliott super-

vises the handling of all things

technology for the city of

Memphis. But in 2002, he became

an ordained minister and, in

insidethehouse

MOREHOUSEin the

NEWS■ July 28, 2008, Atlanta Journal Constitution

Mr. Sensitive & Ms. Feisty: How Harpo and Sofia of‘The Color Purple’ keep it real onstage and in life

Stuart James Flemister ’89 was featured with Felicia P. Fields as thestars of the hit stage play, “A Color Purple.” Flemister, an Atlantanative, returned home when the national tour of the musical played atthe Fox Theatre.

■ May 12, 2008, Associated Press, CNN, “The CBS Early Show,”“The View,” “NBC Nightly News,” “ABC World News Tonight”

Valedictorian is Different Kind of Morehouse Man

From his first day at Morehouse, Joshua Packwood ’08 was astandout. His popularity got him elected dorm president as afreshman; his intellect made him a Rhodes scholar finalist andvaledictorian of the class. But it was his skin that made him ananomaly. Packwood is the first Caucasian to graduate as valedic-torian of Morehouse. The story made national and internationalnews, running in hundreds of papers across the country, as wellas on several network news programs.

2006, took on the role of tempo-

rary pastor at Golden United

Methodist Church. He became

the permanent pastor of the

church in 2007.

■ June 17, 2008, The Plain Dealer

Radio personality encourages

students to go the extra mile

Basheer Jones ’06 went back to

Cleveland to help inner-city kids

overcome some of their struggles.

Now he hosts a talk show for

WERE AM/1490 from 6 to 9 a.m.

“If you want what average people

don’t have, you have to do what

average people won’t do,” he said.

Along with his radio show, Jones

talks to students from the greater-

Cleveland area about overcoming

struggles, regardless of where they

come from.

■ July 1, 2008, Florida Trend

The Mitre Touch

Jimmie Davis Jr. ’90 was profiled

in the Aerospace and Technology

section for his recent honor as

Black Engineer of the Year in the

community service industry cate-

gory. The award is sponsored in

part by Lockheed Martin. Davis,

who leads an Air Force Electronic

Systems Center-led project, was

cited for creating educational

opportunities for minorities,

anti-drug work and mentoring

students in his field.

■ August 14, 2008, Atlanta

Journal Constitution

Morehouse fully embraces works

by Purvis Young

The Miami-based Rubell Family

Collection has given Morehouse

109 of Purvis Young’s paintings.

Worth an estimated $1 million,

the gift will be hung in its entirety

on the second floor of the Martin

Luther King Jr. International

Chapel. It is the largest single gift

of art Morehouse has received,

and its display will be, it is said,

the largest permanent installation

of Young’s work in the world. The

story was also covered by the

Associated Press, ArtInfo, Miami

News Times, Miami Art Guide,

The Network Journal, Miami

Herald, Art Circuits and several

television stations across the

Southeast.

■ August 28, 2008, “CBS Early

Show”

Lonnie King and Charles Black

celebrate Obama’s nomination

“CBS Early Show” interviewed

Lonnie King ’69 and Charles Black

45 years after the historic march on

Washington. As Barack Obama pre-

pared to accept the Democratic

nomination, King and Black

remembered the significance of the

historic moment. WSB-TV also

interviewed King for a similar story.

■ September 11, 2008, Atlanta


United Way looks to kick off new

campaign

Demetrius Jordan ’93 began his

workday where he believed he

could do the most good. For most

of his life, Jordan has been saying,

“We’re with you,” a mantra he

adopted while growing up in

Atlanta’s Ben Hill community. It’s a

sentiment that Jordan says is part

of the organizational culture of

United Way of Gwinnett. In

September 2008, Jordan, who

heads the Gwinnett office of the

United Way, was charged with rais-

ing $4.7 million toward the $82-

million campaign launched by the

United Way of Metropolitan

Atlanta.

■ September 19, 2008, CNN

The Relevancy of HBCUs

CNN’s T.J. Holmes did a story

about the relevancy of HBCU; It

ran during HBCU Week on Capitol

Hill. He interviewed alumnus

Terrance Dixon ’87, assistant dean

of Admissions and SGA president

Chad Mance for the story.

■ December 7, 2008, Atlanta


Morehouse wants men with class

Morehouse President Robert M.

Franklin Jr. ’75 is talking about a

Renaissance. He said a

Renaissance man is one who is

“well-read, well-traveled, well-

spoken, well-dressed and well-

balanced.” The story ran on the

front page of the AJC.

■ January 13, 2009, Atlanta


King papers go public today with

online access

The Morehouse College Martin

Luther King Jr. Collection is now

accessible for scholarly access.

The story was covered by the

Atlanta Journal Constitution,

CNN Headline News, ABC World

News Now, Associated Press,

CNN, “Fox and Friends” and all

of the local television stations.

■ Jan. 20-21, 2009, CNN,

WAGA-TV, WSB-TV, WGCL-TV,

Religion & Ethics Newsweekly

King Holiday/Presidential

Inauguration

Morehouse was front and center

during the historic inauguration

of the 44th president of the

United States and television sta-

tions and newspapers from across

the country witnessed the

College’s participation.

insidethehouse


Election Night HistoryThe world paused to celebrate theelection of Barack Obama as thenation’s first African American presi-dent of the United States andMorehouse was center stage in itsefforts and elation. The eyes of thenation and the world watched as theNo. 1-rated ABC News Network andthe British Broadcasting Company(BBC) made Morehouse a live loca-tion during their five hours of elec-tion coverage. Just after Obama’svictory, President Robert M. FranklinJr. ’75 was broadcast around theworld on BBC as he reflected on theremarkable moment.

■ November 4, 2008, ABC News, BBC, HBO, Associated Press

onthefieldandcourt


THE FLYING MAROON TIGERS did what they have donefor each of the past four years—win the SIAC Trackand Field championship.

In the championship meet’s 21 events held atEdwin Moses Track at B.T. Harvey Stadium fromApril 16-18, Morehouse continued its SIAC domi-nance by finishing first with 209 points. Albany Statewas a distant second with 153, while Benedict Collegehad 145.

Top individual performers included DreyfusClemons, who won the 800-meter and 1,500-meterruns and was second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase;Abraham Kiprotich, who won the 5,000-meter runand finished third in both the 10,000-meter run andthe 3,000-meter steeplechase; Barry Batson, theSIAC’s Field Athlete of the Year, who finished first inthe long jump and triple jump, and Matt Tuffuor,who won the javelin and was second in the decathlon.

Clemons was named first team All-SIAC in threeevents, while Batson, Tuffuor and Turner Cogginswere also named to the first team. Khiry Lee, StevenPatterson and Norvell Van were chosen for the secondteam.

The Maroon Tigers also were honored for havingthe highest team grade point average among SIACtrack and field teams.

Also, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross CountryCoaches Association named sprinter Damian Princethe South region’s Track Athlete of the Year and Batsonas the region’s Field Athlete of the Year. ■

T R A C K A N D F I E L D

Track and Field, Golf and Tennis Squads Win Conference Titles

Drefus Clemans leads the pack during the SIAC Track and FieldChampionship.

Spring 2009 turned out to be a banner season for Morehouse

Maroon Tigers spring sports teams as the golf, tennis and track

and field teams each won their respective Southern Intercollegiate

Athletic Conference tournament titles.

Several Maroon Tigers from each squad were named to All-

Tournament teams and each head coach was named the conference’s best.

By Add Seymour Jr.


The Maroon Tigers Tennis Squad celebrates after winning the SIAC Tennis Tournamentchampionship.

The Morehouse Golf Team win the College’s first SIAC Golf Tournament title since 1980.

T E N N I S

PHILIP ALLEN PICKED UP where he left off in 2008 as he helpedlead Morehouse to the 2009 SIAC Golf Tournament champi-onship.

Morehouse finished 28 strokes ahead of Benedict College towin the College’s second-ever conference tournament golf titleand first in 29 years: the Tigers last won in 1980.

“It came around. When we first started off in September, itwasn’t good,” said first-year head coach Bill Lewis, who wasnamed Coach of the Year. “It definitely came together. We defi-nitely played better golf.”

Allen finished five shots ahead of his nearest competitorand was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for thesecond year in a row. He also earned a spot on the SIAC All-Tournament squad.

“He’s the captain of the team and he’s probably the bestplayer, so he’s leading by example,” said Lewis.

Two other Maroon Tigers finished in the tournament’s topten players: Olajuwon Ajanaku (third) and Thaddaeus Hill(10th). Ajanaku joined Allen on the All-Conference team.

Allen, Ajanaku, Hill and Bryan McElderry were named tothe regular season All-SIAC team. McElderry was namedFreshman of the Year while Hill, a business administrationmajor with a 3.59 grade point average, was chosen for the All-Academic team. ■

BEFORE THE 2009 MAROON TIGERS tennis season started, headcoach Terry Alexander was hoping his team would finish theseason just as the 2007 squad had done – with a SIAC champi-onship.

That is exactly what happened as the Maroon Tigers nettersdefeated the regular season’s top team, Fort Valley State University,to win their second SIAC championship in three seasons.

“Definitely, it’s exciting for two reasons,” said Alexander,who was named the tournament’s most outstanding coach.“Historically, we’re still always a contender or the team to beat.So that’s one thing to be able to uphold that. But then this is oneof the first years the team didn’t win just because we had superi-or players. I feel like my actual coaching – being able to strate-gize with the lineup, being able to strategize on the court –played just as big a part as the players’ ability did. Those thingsmake this one feel much more special.”

Josh Harris and Tory Martin were named to the All-Tournament singles squad, while Martin and Ben Seagle werenamed to the All-Tournament doubles team.

Maroon Tiger tennis players also won several regular-seasonhonors. Harris and Martin were named first team All-SIACwhile Michael Steward has a third-team pick. Steward also wasnamed SIAC Freshman of the Year. Martin and Seagle werenamed to the All-SIAC doubles team. ■

G O L F

�� To see athletic schedules , go to www. morehouse.edu/athletics

D E V E L O P M E N T B R I E F S


developmentnews

Tom Joyner CampaignRaises More Than $460,000in Scholarship Funds forMorehouse Students

FACULTY, STAFF AND STU-DENTS lunched with a pur-pose every Friday inNovember 2008 whenMorehouse was the TomJoyner Foundation’s Schoolof the Month. The campuswas asked to brown bag itand donate the day’s lunchmoney to the Foundation.

“The size of the contri-bution did not matter,” saidToni O’Neal Mosley, director ofPublic Relations. “We just want-ed to get 100 percent participationfrom all faculty, staff and students.”

The effort was one of several inNovember as the Foundation sought to raise scholarshipfunds for Morehouse students. The campaign goal was$220,000 – nearly $50,000 more than the campaignraised in 2004 for Morehouse. The total raised was$460,930.77—more than double the goal.

Announced during Joyner’s nationally syndicatedradio show, “The Tom Joyner Morning Show,”Morehouse students were awarded need-based scholar-ships worth $1,500 and $2,500, including the Denny’sSingle Parent Scholar, the Budweiser First GenerationScholar and the Coca-Cola First Generation InternationalStudent Scholar. Also awarded was the Tuesday TomJoyner Scholar and the Thursday Hercules Scholar.

Alumni were involved as each chapter of theMorehouse College National Alumni Association was chal-lenged to raise $5,000. Additionally, the Reunion ClassChallenge asked alumni classes to designate a portion oftheir class gift for the Annual Fund for the Foundation.

Tom Joyner started the Foundation in 1998. Sincethen, the Foundation has raised $55 million forHBCUs.

“We help students with continuing education atblack colleges,” Joyner said in an August 2008 interviewwith Diverse: Issues In Higher Education magazine.

“That’s our charter. That’s what we do.” ■

BEAN BEATLE GRANT

Biology professor Lawrence S. Blumer and Emory University biologyprofessor Christopher W. Beck have been awarded a $500,000 grantby the National Science Foundation. The two are developing a hand-book, website and workshops that will give biology-based instructorsnationwide more expertise in using bean beetles in inquiry-based lab-oratory courses and to increase the involvement of under-representedminorities in inquiry-based research. Inquiry-based research promotesa more investigative way for students to ask questions and findanswers to their questions. The grant will be funded from March2009 through February 2013.

MOREHOUSE RECEIVES CCRAA GRANT

Morehouse College was awarded $961,197 from the U.S.Department of Education’s College Cost Reduction and Access Actgrant for fiscal year 2008-09. The projects approved for fundingunder the CCRAA grant include:• SACS Quality Enhancement Plan Implementation (curriculum-relat-

ed projects), activity director Ron Sheehy• Instructional Facilities Maintenance Projects in Sale Hall, Hope Hall

and McBay Hall, activity director Curtis Davis• Support for Library Acquisitions, activity director, Woodruff Library staff• Procurement of Instructional Materials and Lab Equipment, activity direc-

tors Wallace Sharif, biology; Jeff Etheridge and Robert Tanner, music

developmentnews

EIGHT YEARS AGO, PURVIS YOUNGhad five days to get his rent money togetheror he and all of his belongings would be outon the streets. Art collectors Don and MeraRubell, who had relocated from New Yorkto Miami, could not let that happen, espe-cially since Young’s belongings included anextensive collection of his original paintings.

“(His paintings) told the story of hislife; he told the story of his neighborhood,”said Mera Rubell. “The story he was tellingcouldn’t be sent to a dump.”

The Rubells’ saw the impact and valueof Young’s 15 years of work, staved off hiseviction, bought his paintings and fundedthe storage and reconditioning of hiswork. And they provided Young a finan-cial stream that will keep a roof over hishead for the rest of his life.

Now Young’s expressionist, urban artis featured in more than 50 museumsworldwide. He is also featured in the 44-

year-old Rubell Family Collection, one ofthe world’s leading collections of contem-porary art.

On Aug. 28, 2008, the Rubells donatedto Morehouse 109 pieces of Purvis’ originalpaintings — valued at more than $1 mil-lion. It is the largest, single collection of artdonated to Morehouse and became the

world’s largest set of Young’s work outsideof Miami. The collection hangs in theAfrican American Hall of Fame. NorthernTrust sponsored the installation of thework. The collection is overseen by theDivision of Humanities and SocialSciences with artist and instructor CharlesNelson heading up a group that willdecide how it will be integrated into edu-cational programming.

“Not only is Mr. Young a masterfulartist, but his work reflects a part of our cul-ture that should be preserved for future gen-erations,” said President Robert M. FranklinJr. ’75. “We are extremely pleased and excit-ed to have this modern American collectionat Morehouse College and to be able toshare this visual art, not only with membersof this campus community and the AtlantaUniversity Center community, but with thecommunity at large.” ■

-AS

Rubell Family Donates $1-Million Purvis Young Art Collection

Delta’s Million-Dollar Gift Endows Joseph E. Lowery Business ScholarshipTHE DELTA AIR LINES FOUNDATION is honoring civil rights leg-end Joseph Lowery’s life work while helping community service-mind-ed business students by committing $1 million over the next 10 years tobegin the Joseph E. Lowery Business Scholarship at Morehouse. Thescholarship will be awarded annually to a full-time student with a 3.8 orbetter grade point average who is studying business with a concentra-tion in accounting, management, finance, or computer science. He alsomust exhibit a consistent record of community service.

Richard Anderson, CEO for Atlanta-based Delta, said it was appro-priate to fund the scholarship at Morehouse because it is the almamater of Lowery’s friend and comrade, Martin Luther King Jr. ’48.

President Robert M. Franklin Jr. ’75 added: “TheMorehouse College community could not be more pleased bythis gift from Delta Air Lines, a dynamic corporate citizen andour long-term friend. The Joseph Echols Lowery BusinessScholarship is a fitting tribute to Dr. Lowery and, indirectly, toDr. King, both of whom played integral roles in the civicprogress of our country. This scholarship affords academic andemployment opportunities for a deserving student, which is themost important part of our mission.”

Delta also has created travel accounts at Spelman College

and Clark Atlanta University that will provide support for,among other things, recruiting needs and exchange programs.

“Delta has demonstrated its commitment to the leaders oftomorrow and the Atlanta University Center with the creationof both the scholarship and travel accounts,” said Lowery. “I amhonored to have been selected as the namesake representing thespirit of these substantial gifts.” ■ -AS

Don and Mera Rubell donated $1-million Young col-lection to College. Young’s art is in the background.

Delta CEO Richard Anderson (left) presents $1-million check to PresidentRobert Franklin ’75 and vice president Phillip Howard ’87 in honor of JosephLowery (2nd from left).


developmentnews

JUNE GARY HOPPS believes that con-tributing financially to MorehouseCollege is the gift that keeps on giving.She hopes to inspire fellow widows ofMorehouse Men to donate to the schoolin their husbands’ names.

Hopps, an alumna of SpelmanCollege and former chair of its board oftrustees, established the Dr. John HoppsMemorial Endowed Scholarship Fund inMay 2004, following the death of her hus-band of 41 years. John Hopps, a 1958 PhiBeta Kappa graduate and namesake ofMorehouse’s $7-million “Tech Tower,” waswell known for his pioneering efforts inthe field of science. The formerMorehouse provost also enjoyed an illus-

trious career at the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology, the NationalScience Foundation and the U.S.Department of Defense.

In addition to the memorial scholar-ship, June Hopps was instrumental inhelping to establish the Dr. John H. HoppsJr. Defense Research Scholars Program,whose goal is to increase the number ofMorehouse students pursuing graduatedegrees in the sciences, technology, engi-neering and mathematics.

“She’s very much involved with theHopps Scholars and has played a vital rolein securing ongoing financial supportfrom the Department of Defense,” saidKathleen L. Johnson, special assistant tothe president of Morehouse and associatevice president for Leadership Giving.

Rahmelle Thompson, executivedirector of the Hopps Scholars program,praises June Hopps for her energetic,enthusiastic involvement in the program.

“She has always been a strong sup-porter,” Thompson said. “She’s gone ontrips with me to make sure that the stu-dents are well-received. She’s supportiveof them gaining research opportunities.We have 65 young men who are benefit-ting from the [program].”

Hopps, who is a former University ofGeorgia Parham Professor and formerdean of the Boston College GraduateSchool of Social Work, believes that givingto Morehouse will honor her late hus-band’s legacy, and she encourages othersto do the same.

“The many who have enjoyed success inlife, like my husband certainly did, shouldgive to the institution that has helped somany men reach the highest heights ofsuccess,” she said. “I’m doing exactly whatmy husband wanted me to do.”■

-Chandra R. Thomas and Mae Gentry

Hopps’ WidowKeeps AliveHer Husband’sSpirit of Giving


THE MOREHOUSE LEADERSHIP CIRCLE

Left: June Hopps, the widow of John H.Hopps Jr. ’58, touches her husband’spicture during the dedication of theJohn H. Hopps Jr. Technology Tower.

Bottom: June Hopps receivesLeadership Circle Award fromPresident Franklin ’75 and Willie“Flash” Davis ’56.

developmentnews


MICHAEL ROSS ‘81 is a big believer inkarma and he feels that giving to hisalma mater is an extension of that phi-losophy.

“Giving back to Morehouse meanscontributing to a long legacy of socialresponsibility,” he said. “I believe whatyou give always comes back to you.”

Ross, who is chief executive officerof the Atlanta-based constructionmanagement firm MHR International,was recently inducted into the HenryLyman Morehouse Society, whosemembers support Morehouse at alevel from $100,000 to $249,999either through one-time gifts orcumulative giving. He has given$100,000 to the College, including$80,000 toward the Michael H. RossScholarship for Entrepreneurship andSocial Responsibility. The scholar-ship will support a student whoaspires to become an entrepreneur andis actively involved in the community.

“I come from a family where givingback to the community was always empha-sized,” he said.“Giving back to Morehouseis a way to fulfill my family’s legacy.”

Ross grew up as part of the AtlantaUniversity Center. His parents, HubertRoss and Edythe Lively Ross, both taughtat Atlanta University: he a noted anthro-pologist, she an author and a professorof social work. Both had a strong appre-ciation for African American history andculture, international relations, educa-tion and social service.

After graduating from Morehouse,Michael Ross earned a law degree fromthe University of Virginia before turningto entrepreneurship. In 1992, helaunched MHR International, which has

managed the construction of many ofAtlanta’s signature projects, includingthe 1996 Centennial Olympics, theFulton County Capital ImprovementProgram and the Hartsfield-JacksonAtlanta International AirportDevelopment Program.

“Michael’s spirit of giving is conta-gious,” said Kathleen L. Johnson, specialassistant to the president and associatevice president for Leadership Giving.

“He was inspired by his parents,and he then becomes an inspiration toothers, and that really is what a legacyis about.

“He sets the bar high, and he’s

challenging his fellow alums to step up,to embrace the College and play anactive role in ensuring its future.”

Ross personifies President RobertM. Franklin’s vision of Morehouse Menas “Renaissance men with a social con-science and global perspective.”

“At Morehouse, it was alwaysemphasized to us the importance ofachievement and social respon-sibility at the same time, withoutsacrificing one for the other,” he said.“We all have an obligation toMorehouse and the African Americancommunity at large.” ■

-Chandra R. Thomas and Mae Gentry

Michael Ross ’81 Inducted into Leadership Society

Michael Ross ’81 receives Leadership Circle Award from President Franklin ’75.

THE MOREHOUSE LEADERSHIP CIRCLE


ontheshelf

WALTER E. FLUKER, executive director of the Leadership Center at Morehouse College, islooking to spark a deep public discussion on ethical leadership in his new book, EthicalLeadership: The Quest for Character, Civility and Community (Fortress Press, 2009).

“Our nation is involved in two costly wars; struggling with a financial crisis precipitat-ed by unscrupulous practices on Wall Street and Main Street; we’re recovering from apresidential campaign that degenerated into character assassination based on religion, raceand an unresolved cultural war,” he said. “And now we’re hearing from a confused andbewildered citizenry asking the question, ‘Which way is north?’ What we try to do in thisbook is address this question, based upon traditions.”

Fluker uses the moral traditions of the African American community as a model ofwhere ethical leadership should start.

“What we try to do is ground it within the cultural narrative of African Americans,”he said. “If you want to understand how you get a Barack Obama, or a John F. Kennedyor a Fannie Lou Hamer…you must examine the traditions and cultural narrative thatshape a certain sense of character, civility and community.”

Fluker wants readers to come away with two main lessons: accepting a new model ofethical decision-making that focuses on discernment, decision and deliberation and anunderstanding that leaders have to not only have a deep knowledge of their externalworlds, but also of their internal environments. ■

MOST COVERAGE of the civil rights movement focuses on efforts in the South, but the suc-cesses of that historic era were also secured by the enormous effort and personal sacrifice ofothers who fought racial discrimination and poverty in other parts of the country, as well.

Arthur L. Johnson ’48 was one of those soldiers on the frontlines of the fight. Race andRemembrance tells his remarkable life story, in his own words, as a Detroit civil rights andcommunity leader, educator and administrator whose career spans much of the last century.

A Georgia native, Johnson graduated from Morehouse College in 1948 and later AtlantaUniversity then moved north in 1950 to become executive secretary of the Detroit branch ofthe NAACP. Under his guidance, the Detroit chapter became one of the most active and vital inthe United States.

Johnson says he had never planned to write a book, until about three years ago when a completestranger approached him on the street and urged him to share all of his “great work.” Johnsonmulled it over then decided that a memoir could remain as a legacy for future generations.

“I want them to know that nothing is impossible,” he says. “This last presidential election istestimony to that.”

Along with his dedicated work with political organizations, including serving as deputydirector of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, Johnson also maintained a steadfast com-

mitment to education and for nearly a quarter of a century served as the vice president of uni-versity relations and professor of educational sociology at Wayne State University. Johnson alsogives readers a look into his personal life, including his relationship with his grandmother, hisencounters with Morehouse classmate Martin Luther King Jr. ’48 and the loss of his sons. ■

Ethical Leadership: The Quest for Character, Civility and CommunityBY WALTER E. FLUKERPUBLISHED BY FORTRESS PRESS

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Editor’s Note: This column is open to Morehouse alumni, faculty and staff who have recently published books. Please contact Add Seymour Jr. at [email protected] to submit your work.

Race andRemembranceBY ARTHUR L. JOHNSON ’48PUBLISHED BY WAYNE STATEUNIVERSITY PRESS

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ontheshelf

Baad Bitches and Sassy Supermamas: Black Power Action FilmsBy Stephane DunnPublished by University of Illinois Press Stephane Dunn remembers being a child during the color-ful decade of the 1970s when blaxploitation films withstars such as Richard Rountree and Pam Grier appearingin films like “Shaft” and “Foxy Brown” were all the rage.

“These were always the people in the cultural sphereof things,” said Dunn, a visiting professor in the English depart-ment specializing in African American cultural studies, film and literature. “But prior to the lastfour or five years, there has been a lack of intensive dialogue that highlighted the genderdynamics and also highlighted the females in these films.”

Dunn hopes to spur quite a bit of discussion with her first book, Baad Bitches andSassy Supermamas: Black Power Action Films, published by University of IllinoisPress (2008).

In chapters such as “Race, Gender and Sexual Power in Cleopatra Jones” and“Black Power and the New Baad Cinema,” Dunn explores the evolution of the role of blackfemales in blaxploitation films. In her straight, in-your-face style, Dunn talks about howblack women were initially portrayed as hyper-sexual, yet docile, obedient and submissiveas in “Shaft” and “Superfly, ” but evolving into lead characters who were strong, tough andempowered women in films like “Foxy Brown,” “Coffy” and “Cleopatra Jones.” She alsotackles the hip-hop community’s embrace, to some degree, of the icons of that era.

“I thought there was a lot more to say and talk about, what is really the role ofwomen and what are problems with the gender dynamics of film,” Dunn said. “It wasmy own great, big critical shout-out to films that still had that nostalgic history.”

Dunn is an Elkert, Ind., native and graduate of the University of Evansville andNotre Dame, where she earned two master’s degrees and her doctorate. She is anavid writer who is also a playwright. Dunn plans two more books in the near future,including one on former baseball player Curt Flood. She then plans to focus on playsshe has been working on.

“I’m already off to the next project,” Dunn said. “I’m always writing in my head.”

Howard Thurman’s Great HopeBy Kai Jackson IssaPublished by Lee & Low BooksKai Jackson Issa, the managing director of the HowardThurman Papers, hopes her book, Howard Thurman’sGreat Hope (Lee & Low, 2008), will introduce theworld-renowned author, theologian and educator toyoungsters who may know little about Thurman andhis influence on such leaders as Martin Luther KingJr. ’48 and President Barack Obama.

“Children know about people like Dr. King,” she said, “but they also need to knowabout people in black history who shaped and molded these people. Thurman wasinstrumental in helping shape King’s non-violent protest thinking.”

Thurman, who died in 1981, was cited by Ebony magazine as one of the 50 mostimportant figures in African American history. His soaring oratory and teachings on non-violence and civil rights helped shaped the philosophy behind the civil rights movement.

The Promise of JusticeEdited by Mac A. Stewart ’63Published by the Ohio State University PressOn many accords, the Brown v. Board of Education of TopekaKansas case in 1954 was a landmark United States SupremeCourt decision in the 20th century. It overturned the highcourt’s earlier Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that declared separatepublic schools for black and white students as inherentlyunequal. But, more importantly, it paved the way for integration in public schools andsparked the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

The Promise of Justice, edited by Morehouse alumnus Mac A. Stewart ‘63, features14 essays that assess both the importance and the legacy of the Brown decision. In examiningthe case from a variety of angles, the essayists uniformly agree to its importance, but share theirunique interpretations of its meaning and impact.

“I feel it is one of the most important rulings in the country that has affected thelives of African Americans and other underrepresented minorities in this country,” writesStewart, an administrator at Ohio State University.

The diverse mix of contributors to this volume include legal specialists, sociologists, educators,political scientists, a child plaintiff in a related case and a federal district judge responsible fordeciding in favor of integration, and then overseeing its enforcement in a major northern city.

Promise also provides a history of the legal milestones of integration in this country,judgments about the progress that has been made and the need for additional actions toassure racial equality under the law. Stewart says he was inspired to work on the bookwhile compiling 10 of the essays for a special Brown anniversary issue of The NegroEducational Review, where he previously served as editor-in-chief. The four other pieceswere written specifically for the book.

Fighting for a Life By David Hadden Published By Clearlake PublishingIt’s a modern-day David and Goliath story. Fighting for a Life by David Hadden chron-icles Hadden’s true story as a young down-and-out African American man who took on acorporate railroad giant and triumphed. His fight started after he was fired from his job asa train conductor for UTDC. Convinced that his termination was racially-motivated, herefused to accept the injustice without a fight and filed a discrimination lawsuit against hisformer bosses—albeit with little money and no lawyer to represent him.

Undeterred by the challenge, Hadden wrote his own legal motions longhand onschool paper, all while studying case law at the local community college. Drawing inspi-ration from the Bible and Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches, he ultimately prevailed—win-ning $400,000 in the four-year court battle.

“I underwent a spiritual conversion that led me to take this path,” says Hadden, whoattended Morehouse from 1999 to 2001 until he pursued his career as a professional boxerfull time. In this inspirational memoir, the courtroom and the boxing ring (he eventually wona middle-weight division Golden Glove championship) serve as a metaphorical representationof his life, which he navigates with a strength and conviction driven by his faith in God.

Hadden is now a licensed minister and founder of a non-profit organization thathelps financially disadvantaged adults get back on their feet.

F O O T N O T E S

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By Kai Jackson Issa

RAISING


n preparing black men for lawschool and careers in the legalfield, few names in the nationstand above that of Morehousepolitical science professor,author and constitutionalscholar Abraham L. Davis ’61.

Many educators claim to measuretheir success by the yardstick of their stu-dents’ accomplishments. For AbrahamDavis, the metric is genuine. He hassteered more than 600 of his studentsinto law and law-related careers over thepast 41 years, with many entering someof the most prestigious law schools in thecountry. Twenty-six of his students areHarvard Law School graduates. Amonghis many successful students are two cur-rent college presidents, including currentMorehouse President Robert MichaelFranklin Jr. ’75, as well as 17 judges, 16

Ph.D. recipients, two U.S. ambassadorsone U.S. Congressman.

The secret behind such prolificresults: raising the bar.

“In all my years teaching atMorehouse, I refused to lower standards.I never compromised,” he says. “My phi-losophy is to reach students where theyare, and if you always keep your stan-dards high, there is a greater possibilitythat students, even average or below aver-age students, will rise to those standards.

“My distinctive contributions toMorehouse are the number of studentswho are success stories and in teaching acadre of lawyers who are in very strategicpositions throughout the U.S.”

One former student is Greg Griffin ’80,chief legal counsel of the Alabama Boardof Pardons and Paroles.

“Dr. Davis inspired me to dream

more, learn more, do more and becomemore,” he says.

Davis himself was an early pupil ofhigh expectations. Both his parents hadcollege degrees and instilled in their ninechildren the value of education. All of hissiblings completed college, and from theDavis clan sprang two doctorate holders,a lawyer and even a heart surgeon.

Tuskegee (Ala.) Institute, his home-town pride, was an early source of inspi-ration. “We took a lot of pride inTuskegee Institute. It gave youngsters alot of faith that they’d be able to attendcollege someday. Parents would go out oftheir way to take their children to pro-grams and performances at the chapel.”

His older brother, Lowell, graduatedfrom Tuskegee and became one of thenation’s earliest African American open-heart surgeons. Ironically, however,

ITHE BAR

inperson


Lowell insisted that his little brotherattend Morehouse College. It was 1959and the Brown vs. Board of EducationSupreme Court decision had recentlydeclared segregated educational institu-tions unconstitutional. The state ofAlabama was still refusing blacks entry towhite state institutions, instead grantingthem tuition waivers to attend collegesoutside of the state.

Alabama’s stubborn prejudicesafforded Davis the opportunity of a life-time—on the state’s dime.

“What I received at Morehouse was agreat sense of self-confidence and a highlevel of motivation,” says Davis.

No one inspired him more atMorehouse than the eminent social scien-tist Robert Hughes Brisbane, who found-ed the College’s political science depart-ment. “During Dr. Brisbane’s time, politi-cal science was a one-person depart-ment,” Davis recalled.

After graduating, Davis decided tocontinue his study of political science at

the University of Wisconsin at Madison,where he received a master’s degree, andthen on to Ohio State University, wherehe received his Ph.D.

By 1967, Davis was an up-and-com-ing political science scholar when a chancemeeting with then-Morehouse PresidentBenjamin Mays steered him back to hisalma mater. Davis was in Atlanta inter-viewing for a teaching position when hedecided to pay a visit to his old collegepresident. “He [Mays] was an inspira-

tional presence to me as a student,” Davisremembered. “I was always impressed byhis integrity, his speeches and the highmoral standards he set for us.”

The two had a casual conversationand Davis thought that was the end of it.“I never thought I’d end up teaching atthe same place I attended,” says Davis. Afew weeks later, days before he was plan-ning to accept a teaching position atMichigan State University, he received a 6a.m. phone call from Mays inviting himto join the Morehouse faculty.

The rest, as they say, is history—or,in Davis’ case, the substance of legend.For four decades, Davis helped toincrease the size and prominence of thepolitical science department, servingtwice as department chair. He alsoauthored numerous books, including TheSupreme Court, Race and Civil Rights,which is used in undergraduate class-rooms throughout the country.

Davis’ two signature classes, Raceand Law and Constitutional Law (known

as “Con Law”), were among the mostpopular and widely enrolled of any atMorehouse, drawing students from theAtlanta University Center and otherAtlanta campuses.

Davis’ masterful teaching of the legalbrief in his constitutional law course islegendary. He exposed his students to abroad range of constitutional cases, fromfreedom of the press, to religion, to vot-ing rights—igniting in many of them anappreciation for the transformative

power of law.“I put an emphasis on how to brief

cases thoroughly, and to pick out coreprinciples in a case, because I knew that’swhat our students would need in order tosucceed in law school,” Davis says.

It is no surprise, then, that many ofhis former students are among the finestlegal minds in the nation. Like MichaelTyler ‘77, a Harvard Law School graduateand the first African American partner atKilpatrick Stockton LLP, one of Atlanta’soldest and largest law firms.

“When we arrived at law school, wefound out that we were actually betterprepared than most of our classmatesbecause we had been subjected to the rig-ors of Dr. Davis’ concise, yet comprehen-sive, constitutional law course.”

After 41 years of service at theCollege, Davis resigned in 2008 to pursuehis lifelong passion for global relations.Now a consultant with the StateDepartment, Davis frequently travelsinternationally—most recently to SriLanka and Maldes—serving as a U.S.judicial system expert to many interna-tional groups. His work at the statedepartment is a culmination of the par-ticular genius he brought to educatingindividuals about the law.

Perhaps no one appreciates the Davisinfluence more than Ronald Sullivan ’89a graduate of Harvard Law School whocurrently serves as clinical professor oflaw and director of the Criminal JusticeInstitute at Harvard.

“At the time I applied to HarvardLaw, no one for whom Dr. Davis hadwritten a recommendation had beendeclined admission,” recalls Sullivan. “Iwas elated when he agreed to write a rec-ommendation for me.

“Dr. Davis was far and away one ofthe best teachers I had at Morehouse,” hecontinues. “He had a lasting and profoundinfluence not only on my academic devel-opment, but my character development. ”

“I owe a lot to Doc.” ■

“In all my years teaching at Morehouse, I refused to lower standards. I never

compromised. My philosophy is to reach students where they are, and if

you always keep your standards high, there is a greater possibility that students,

even average or below average students, will rise to those standards.”

PHENOMMOREHOUSE MAGAZINE 26 W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 / S P R I N G 2 0 0 9

PHENOM

MEN NMEN N

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The bama Effect

He galvanized political activism, raised voter participation,

shattered fund-raising records, and inspired a nation and

a world with a few well-chosen words.

he frosty December day worried Democratic strategists nationwide. A runoffelection was being held in the Georgia U.S. Senate race between RepublicanSaxby Chambliss and Democrat Jim Martin. A Martin win would give senateDemocrats the numbers they needed to nearly guarantee their agenda – led byPresident Barack Obama.

The problem: African Americans historically turn out in low numbers duringrunoff elections, especially in less than perfect weather. But Barack Obama is whyMorgan Bryant, a Morehouse sophomore from Decatur, Ga., withstood the cold thatmorning to vote for Martin.

“There is a trickle down,” said the 20-year-old marketing major as he shivered.“If you voted for Obama, you should vote for Jim Martin. It’s like second nature.”

Would Bryant be out in the cold had there not been a President Obama?“Honestly, no. I don’t think so,” he said.Though Martin lost the runoff to Chambliss, Bryant’s story is indicative of

many others during a historic presidential election campaign that saw Obamabecome the nation’s first African American president. Obama’s accomplishmentushered in an unprecedented surge in African American political activism. It alsobecame a source of inspiration for minorities, a segment of the American politicalsystem that has long either been ignored or exploited.

Political experts nationwide said Obama’s candidacy did everything from giv-ing voice to people who felt excluded by the nation’s political system to forcingothers to question their political loyalties. It even began a cottage industry for any-one on a street corner who wanted to sell anything with Obama’s face or family onit—from ubiquitous T-shirts to Rubik’s Cubes.

The entire phenomenon has been called a lot of things, but most notably ithas been dubbed “The Obama Effect.”

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By Add Seymour Jr.

The numbers give a similar account.In Georgia, for example, 834,000 African

Americans voted in the 2004 November presi-dential election, compared to nearly 1.2 mil-lion in 2008. That’s 350,000 more than previ-ously. In early voting for the 2008 presidentialelection alone – the weeks before Nov. 4 whenabsentee ballots can be cast in Georgia – nearly721,000 African Americans cast ballots. Thestate also hit an all-time high with 1.7 millionblack registered voters.

Further south in Florida, 1.2 millionAfrican Americans cast ballots in the 2004 presi-dential election. That number increased bymore than 200,000 in 2008. Other states hadsimilar increases. The cause: Obama’s candidacy.

Not only were more African Americansvoting, many became more politically activebefore the election.

“Obama shows people that they can beinvolved in their government and the direc-tion of this country,” said Georgia State Rep.Rashad Taylor, who attended Morehouse and,before running for office, was political direc-tor for the Georgia Democratic Party.

“They realize the power is within theirhands. What [Obama] has shown people is

that when you get involved in the politicalprocess you can make a difference in theworld and in your own individual lives.”

Morehouse students boarded buses andvans to stump for Obama in not onlyAtlanta, but also in South Carolina and—justdays before Election Day—in Ohio. On cam-pus, 70 students manned phones at DouglassHall as part of the Election ProtectionCoalition, a national effort to monitor votingpolls and ensure that voters across the coun-try were being treated fairly.

“You had students stepping up andassuming leadership positions – and (Obama)won,”said junior Mark Anthony Green afterObama’s win in South Carolina. More than 150students had made the last of their three tripsacross South Carolina to campaign for him.

“His charisma has bled beyond the bor-ders of politics and seeped into the areas ofsocial and political activism,” said author andlecturer Michael Eric Dyson in November justbefore participating in a panel discussion atMorehouse.“People are now renewed in theirdesire and determination to see justice doneand to believe that their particular form andaction — and particular behavior — can

affect not only social change and the outcomeof an election, but also the mood of a people.So in that sense his effect has been to inspireand ignite new social motion towards the goalof greater and enhanced democracy.”

One late October afternoon in 2008,legendary network television anchor TomBrokaw sat on a bench outside of the MartinLuther King Jr. International Chapel, reflectingon his days as a young journalist in Atlanta inthe 1960s.

“You know, I thought we’d be furtheralong, 40 years after Dr. King,” said Brokaw,who was in town to interview five Morehousestudents for a story on their reactions toObama’s candidacy. “I now stand back andrealize that we have made a lot of progress.Forty years in the long reach of history is not along time.”

He pointed to the men of Morehouse hetalked to as examples of what Obama’s runmeant to the country.

“The fact that he got the nomination is anindication for those people in America, 45 andyounger, that they have a whole different attitudeabout race and race relations than people 45 andolder who still remember the bad old days andare still struggling with the demons,”he said.

“The younger people who’ve come alongafter civil rights acts are going to integratedschools,working in integrated work places,watching television where they see black middleclass and professional families and have a differentattitude,and I think Obama is a symbol of that.”

But there are many young people, partic-ularly minorities, whose daily concerns havelittle to do with what’s happening within theWashington beltway.

Danny Bellinger ’92 heads the College’sProject Identity program, which helps spur col-legiate interest in minority middle school stu-dents, especially those in high-risk communities.He wonders how the Obama Effect affects thosecommunities still hanging on the margins.

“How will all of this impact the state ofblack boys in this country, many of whomare fatherless [5.6 million of them], are grow-ing up poor [40 percent live in poverty], orwatch as black men languish in jail [840,000black males are incarcerated in this coun-


President Franklin joinsstudents at a viewing party

on election night.

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try]?” Bellinger asked.“Obama’s nomination should motivate

black boys to be more confident about theirchances of becoming developers, doctors,senators, writers—even presidents of largecorporations. Or even president of theUnited States,” he said. “But notice I saidshould. The fact is, black boys—at leastmany of the ones I encounter—still see theirrole models living in the “bling” lifestyle,sometimes as drug dealers and gangbangers, rather than politicians.”

On the night that Obama won the presi-dency, the cheers and smiles of Morehousestudents gathered at Douglass Hall to watchElection Night returns beamed across theworld. Besides the lens of ABC News, areporter and cameraman from the BritishBroadcasting Corporation also were on loca-

tion to show the world the euphoria.The fact that the BBC even cared about

an election that wasn’t British proved howimportant Obama’s impact is worldwide.

That’s why former Atlanta MayorAndrew Young believes Obama signifies arenewed emphasis on America’s place insolving global problems.

“That says that we’ve got to think of ourleadership role—and it always has goingback to W.E.B. DuBois, Dr. Benjamin E.Mays, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and theMorehouse style of leadership—as neverbeing just domestic,” he said. “I would saythat Martin Luther King Jr. was not just ablack leader. He led America. He led theworld and he didn’t have to tell black folksanything about racism. He had to help whitepeople in the world understand the effects.So he was really a change agent for white

America. So in that sense, Obama is beingcalled upon to be a change agent to heal theworld. If the world is going to survive, he isgoing to have to heal the planet.”

No matter what its present meaning,the Obama Effect, said Martin LutherKing III ’79 during a speech to students inApril 2008, has to become tangible actionand not just an avowed affection for thenew president.

“I’m excited about what I see in rela-tionship to young leadership,” King said.“I’ve never seen the kind of enthusiasm thatexists today in America. Somehow we mustgalvanize this energy beyond the election, butinto 2009 and beyond to ensure that, ultimate-ly, we will eradicate poverty, racism and mili-tarism. That would be a part of the dream andvision that our father had for freedom, justiceand equality for all humankind.” ■

THE EYES OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. ’48 sternly gazed from afront wall in a ballroom in the Historic Willard Intercontinental Hotel inWashington, D.C., towards the sea of Morehouse Men in the room.

On the opposite side of the wall was the face of the soon-to-beinaugurated president, Barack Obama.

The space between the two was a symbolic gap that MorehouseMen expect to bridge by connecting the legacies of the two leaders inthe new era of political leadership.

Alumni and friends gathered the day before Obama’s inaugurationon Jan.19 – King’s birthday – for the panel discussion, “King toObama – The Dream Realized: Where Do We Go from Here?”

A panel of prominent Morehouse men, including Africare PresidentJulius Coles ’64, CNN contributor and political consultant Jamal Simmons’93, the Rev. Otis Moss Jr. ’56, the Rev. Calvin O. Butts III ’72 , along withMorehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection executive directorClayborne Carson and a current student, Terrence Woodbury, spoke aboutwhere Morehouse Men will make their mark in the new political era.

“He will need us to hold him accountable,” Simmons said of Obama.“It is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease and if we don’t squeak fromtime to time, we may not get all the grease that we want to have.

“I’m also clear that, in this environment, I am much more inter-ested in what Barack Obama does for black people than I am in whatBarack Obama says about black people,” he said. “I want to see thepolicies that he institutes and what the impact of those politics will be

on our community more than I need to hear his voice.”“That seems to have always been the role of the Morehouse Man,”

Butts added. “…The Morehouse Man was born on a spiritual level torebel until we see the dream realized.”

Woodbury, a senior, said he believes the Morehouse Man has tobe the community’s tension to make things happen.

“If we know something is wrong, we will acknowledge it,” he saidof Morehouse Men. “I think we must remain that annoying mosquitothat continues to bite society and to remind it that…we have not com-pletely fulfilled the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

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President Robert M. Franklin ’75 leads the discussion on the roles ofMorehouse Men in being positive tension in their communities. Panelistsinclude (left to right) Clayborne Carson, Julius Coles ’64, Lamell McMorris’95 and The Rev. Otis Moss Jr. ’56.

Where Do We Go From Here?Alumni Meet on Eve of Obama’s Inauguration to Discuss New Political Era


regular day for Cheryl Goffney Franklinis anything but uneventful.

One minute, the long-time OB-GYNphysician and surgeon may be seeingpatients at Grady Memorial Hospital. Latershe can be found sharing knowledge withstudents at the Morehouse School ofMedicine. Add a lot of time serving asMorehouse’s first lady and the day becomesvery full for the other Dr. Franklin.

The evening means personal time as sheslips back into her role as the mother of two andthe devoted wife of hard-working,MorehousePresident Robert M.Franklin Jr.‘75.

“Just coordinating all those pieces cansometimes be difficult,” she said, with alaugh. “You have to keep yourself fromfeeling overwhelmed. But I love it!”

The past two years have been a whirl-wind since her husband became theCollege’s 10th president. But being First Ladyis a role that Franklin – or Dr. Cheryl assome affectionately call her – wants to puther unique stamp on.

“I take this role as first lady very serious-ly,”she said while relaxing after work one after-noon in the president’s family residence,

Davidson House. “I want to learn from it, but Ialso want to contribute to it. I do want—more than just build my own legacy—to devel-op the president’s legacy. So whatever I can doto assist in that goal, I will.”

A native of Houston, Texas, Franklingrew up the youngest of four children toparents who are both graduates of TexasSouthern University. Education was heavilystressed in the household, and all four chil-dren went off to various colleges and univer-MOREHOUSE MAGAZINE 30 W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 / S P R I N G 2 0 0 9

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By Add Seymour Jr.


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Southern University. Education was heavilystressed in the household, and all four chil-dren went off to various colleges and universi-ties. In fact, there is another doctor in thefamily and two attorneys.

Franklin attended Stanford University,Harvard Medical School and ColumbiaUniversity, where she earned a master’s inpublic health. She is now enjoying her 20thyear of practicing medicine, focusing mainlythese days on gynecology. She sees patientstwo days a week at Grady and also works inthe Morehouse School of Medicine, thoughshe wants to do more research, teaching andwork in public health.

That love for medicine has become amajor thrust for her: enhancing the College’salready firm reputation for developing leaders

in the health professions.“There have been several students and

alumni who have lamented to me thatMorehouse has a strong, rich legacy ofpreparing men for careers in medicine, andother health careers, industry, public health,etc,” she said. “The person who spearheadedthat effort for so long, the late Thomas J.Blocker ’74, was a very charismatic personwho made a lot of that happen for genera-

tions of students. But the rebuilding of that[after Blocker’s 2004 death] is a difficultprocess. So one of the legacies that I’mworking on now is to help to develop schol-arship money for the students headed tohealth professions.”

Franklin established the Dr. Cheryl G.Franklin Health Professions ScholarshipFund in 2008 to help support students inter-ested in health-related professional careers.Six students were the scholarship’s inauguralrecipients.

She has hosted the successful LadiesLuncheon the past two years during theCollege’s Founder’s Day observance. Fiftyindividuals, along with nine businesses, wererecognized during the 2009 luncheon forcontributing to the fund, which has raised

nearly $30,000 so far.“But there’s more to it than just doing

scholarship,” she said. “There’s also pro-grammatic efforts that must be made. I feelvery strongly that Morehouse alumni needto be very intimately involved with helpingrejuvenate and mentor and do the thingsthat need to be done to rebuild that legacy inhealth professions.”

The potential legacy that women on

campus can leave on a daily basis is an impor-tant issue for Franklin. Her goal is to strength-en their role in contributing to theMorehouse experience.

“One of the things I’m doing this year… ishelping create a way that women who weremarried to physicians who are now deceasedcreate legacies for their husbands. Two of thosewomen [Joy San Brown and Jan Meadows]helped coordinate the luncheon we had thisyear.They also will participate in the scholarshipeffort by doing named,restricted scholarships intheir husbands’names. That’s actually a piece

that I want—that widows whose husbandsdearly loved Morehouse will really have a way ofleaving that kind of legacy.I want people tohave a means to put a historical significancebehind the people who’ve been here before.”

At the other end of the spectrum are thewide-eyed young men who are at the begin-ning of their Morehouse careers. It’s themoment during the Parents’Parting Ceremonywhen the gates of the College are ceremoniously

makes a ’house call Cheryl Goffney Franklin Examines Her Role as the College’s Leading Lady

Pictured with Dr. Franklin are this year’s Ladies’ Luncheon honorees Jan Meadows, with photo of her husbandDr. Warner Meadows, and Joy San Brown, with photo of her husband Dr. Calvin A. Brown.

Cheryl Franklin is joined by President Robert M.Franklin Jr. ’75 at the luncheon, which took placeduring the Founder’s Day observance.


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shut,separating parents—some of them weep-ing—from sons who are taking their first stepsinto adulthood. Franklin said watching mothersin particular leave their sons in the College’s carehas made her more aware of the matronly roleshe has to assume.

“I have mother after mother coming upto me and saying, ‘I’m so glad you’re here. Ifeel so much better now,’” she said. “Forthese women, and many single mothers,leaving the apple of their eye—that youngman—is the be all and end all. And theyare leaving them here in our care. I actu-ally see it in their eyes, so I feel a responsi-bility. I want to do more things with stu-

dents here at Davidson House; I want tomake sure the students are included ineverything we do.”

A few minutes of relaxation are nownearly over and a busy, new day beckons.There will be patients to see, a course to teach,Davidson House events to plan and twoteenagers to raise. She also continues to for-mulate a bevy of ideas to enhance theMorehouse experience.

“I don’t have a clear, big vision of what Iwant my own legacy to be—except that if thatlegacy is to enhance my husband’s legacyand Morehouse College, then that willbe my own legacy,” she said. ■

Mrs. Billye AaronMr. & Mrs. Randy AdamsMr. & Mrs. John Aldridge ‘51Mrs. Henrietta AntoininMr. & Mrs. Karl BellDr. & Mrs. John T. Blasingame ‘82Rev. Dr. Juel Borders-BensonDr. & Mrs. Eric Brown Mrs. Joy San BrownDr. Anne BullockDr. Jettie M. BurnettDr. & Mrs. Darrell J. CarmenMs. Dana Chambliss Esq.Ms. Marianne ClarkeDr. & Mrs. Samuel D. Cook ’48Dr. Jong DavisMrs. Sharon DavisDr. & Mrs. James DenslerMrs. Marymal DrydenDr. & Mrs. Bernee Dunson ‘87Mrs. Brooke Jackson EdmondMs. Mary McKinney EdmondsDr. Marsha EdwardsDr. & Mrs. Walter Falconer ‘82Mr. & Mrs. Rufus FearsDr. Cheryl G. FranklinMr. & Mrs. Winston GandyDr. Shawn GarrisonMrs. Yvonne King GlosterMrs. Gladys R. Goffney, Esq.Ms. Fawn GordonMrs. Paula Gordon

Mrs. Kelly GreeneDr. & Mrs. Emerson Harrison ‘82Dr. Kyra HarveyMrs. D’Anna HawthorneMs. Patsy Jo HilliardDr. Carol Rowland HogueMr. & Mrs. C.O. HollisMrs. Amelia IronsMrs. Sonja JacksonMs. Carrie JohnsonMrs. Melody JohnsonDr. Sylvia JohnsonMs. Thalia JohnsonDr. Bess JonesMrs. Yolanda JonesDr. & Mrs. Lewin R. Manly Jr.Mr. & Mrs. Kent MatlockMrs. Leshelle MayMr. John Ross McDougallMrs. Louise McKinneyMrs. Jan MeadowsMrs. Catherine MitchellMrs. Marjorie MitchellMrs. Cynthia MorelandMrs. Valerie MunningsMrs. Jill PembertonDr. Booker PoeDr. Valerie Montgomery RiceMrs. Avis Ridley-ThomasMr. & Mrs. Herman Russell Sr.Mr. & Mrs. Michael RussellMrs. Laura Turner SeydellDr. Naim Shaheed

Dr. Harvey Smith ‘43Mr. & Mrs. Jerome SnipesMs. Lynn StewartMrs. Ginger SullivanDr. T. K. TaylorDr. Edwin A. Thompson ‘49Mr. Larry Thompson Dr. & Mrs. Frederick D. Todd IIMr. Quintin TookesMr. Rick & Dr. Imani VannoyMrs. Mary WardMr. & Mrs. Carl WareDr. Carl Washington Jr.Mr. & Mrs. Bobby WilliamsDr. & Mrs. Bryant WilliamsDrs. Keith & Sylvia WrightDr. Kneeland Youngblood

Atlanta Neurological & Spine InstituteAnkle and Foot SpecialistsGYN CareHome MedicalImpact United Methodist ChurchJack-n-Jill Atlanta ChapterJackmont HospitalityMacy’s Inc.Matlock & Associates, Inc.Meharry National Alumni AssociationOnsite Rehab Physical TherapyOrthopedic & Clinical SolutionsPCCC, LLCSullivan Family FoundationTookes & Associates, Inc.Turner Foundation

DONORS TO THE CHERYL GOFFNEY FRANKLIN HEALTH PROFESSIONS SCHOLARSHIP

Cheryl Franklin works closely with Shirley Manor,executive services manager, in running DavidsonHouse, the presidential residence.


orehouse is unparalleled in its tradition of building strongblack men for leadership positions throughout the world.But there have been some Morehouse Men who have

taken their commitment to lead to an even higher plateau.Trading in jeans and sneakers for dress blues and/or

fatigues, they become military Maroon Tigers who many timesserve on the nation’s front lines, domestic or abroad.

Many were prepared on campus during their undergradu-ate years as part of the Army or Navy Reserve Officers’ TrainingCorps, in which they become commissioned officers the sametime they receive their bachelor’s degrees.

The Army ROTC program has a reputation for excellence andis represented by the Panther Battalion consisting of Morehouse,Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University students.

In 2007, the Naval ROTC program celebrated its 20th yearof being commissioned on the Morehouse campus.

“These are the men and women who are going to lead,” saidU.S. Navy Capt. R. Wayne Radloff, who is in charge of theNROTC program for Atlanta, which includes Morehouse.

The military recognized it needed more African Americanleaders in its ranks to thrive in a rapidly changing world. TheAUC, Radloff said, was a logical place to look.

“We knew we were going to have to improve our diversitywith our officers and knew we had to reach out to the HBCUs,”he said. “Morehouse has a great reputation for character.”

The ROTC programs represent only the beginning of sto-ried Morehouse military careers.

There are many Morehouse Men who have gone on tolong, illustrious military careers that have them holding someof the highest ranks, receiving some of the most distinguishedmedals and honorably serving the United States in noble ways.

Here are just a few of those distinguished MorehouseMilitary Men and their stories.

Continued on next page

By Eric Stirgus

M

MOREHOUSE MAGAZINE 34 S P R I N G 2 0 0 9

feature

Personnel Privileges

Ronald Kenyatte Booker ’96came this close to living out his boyhooddream. Raised in Bay St. Louis, Miss., asmall Gulf Coast city, Booker excelled atfootball and planned to accept a scholar-ship at Grambling State University in

neighboring Louisiana, where hewould play under one of the mostsuccessful coaches in American his-tory: Eddie Robinson.

But Booker wanted to studybiology, and that presented adream-deferring problem.

“Robinson was truthful,” Booker recalled. The legendary coach toldhim: “If you want to study biology, Grambling is not the place for you.”

So Booker realigned his sights and spotted Morehouse. He had rela-tives in Atlanta and the city was home to the acclaimed MorehouseSchool of Medicine.

Today, Booker is a major in the U.S. Air Force, where he serves as Aidede Camp to Gen. William Fraser III, the Air Force’s vice chief of staff.Booker is the right-hand man to Fraser, who assists the chief of staff withorganizing, training and equipping nearly 700,000 active-duty guard,reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas.

In the Air Force, Booker said he’s learned many lessons he was firsttaught at Morehouse. One is service before self.

“When people see you are a Morehouse Man, they expect you todo greater things,” he said.“That’s what the military wants. They expectyou to lead.”

Booker used a ROTC scholarship to pay his way throughMorehouse, where he earned his psychology pre-med degree. After grad-uation, he wanted to pursue a career in Special Forces. Again, his planschanged when his commanders pushed him toward specializing in per-sonnel. However, he soon discovered the advantages of working in per-sonnel. He went on assignments to Afghanistan, Belgium, Bosnia,Kyrgyzstan, Italy and Turkey. He also assisted counterterrorism units insearch of al-Qaeda and Taliban forces, investigated domestic disputes,performed evaluations and helped organized special deployments.

“I didn’t realize how rewarding it was until I returned fromAfghanistan,” he said. “On my flight home, the airline put me in firstclass. Once we landed, the flight attendant announced that we have aspecial passenger on board who just returned from his deploymentin Afghanistan… Everyone on the plane began to clap. Some said‘USA.’ Many said ‘Thank you for everything you do.’ It was very mov-ing to me.” ■

Of God and Government

They way Glynn Harden ’96explains it, he serves God and fights forUncle Sam. His two devotions are notincongruent.

“Although war is a military reality bornof political necessity,our troops are not

lovers of war,”he said. “I am nowarmonger —I am no Hector [theGreek warrior]. I am a peacemak-er,cousin to Achilles,willing to go towar out of love of God,family,country and friend—to ultimatelysecure the greater peace.”

As a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, Harden serves as theStrike Group Officer for Space and Naval Warfare Systems CenterAtlantic, responsible for overseeing the technical support onboard Mid-Atlantic cruisers, destroyers and frigates. He professes his faith as anevangelist at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Portsmouth, Va. Harden nav-igates life, and these two distinct worlds—he said in one sermon—byopening his Bible to Psalms 90 and 91.

“No matter what is going on around me,” Harden said, his voice ris-ing in the familiar hoarse and husky tone of a Baptist preacher as herecites Psalms 91:7.“A thousand may fall at your side…It shall not comeupon me.”

He gets much of his strength and comfort from the Bible and fromthe lessons he learned at Morehouse, where he earned a degree in gener-al science.

God never takes you to a place that has not been prepared for you.A rising tide raises all ships.You keep the doors open for the people behind you.Harden’s road to Morehouse began in Detroit, where he was born

and raised. His teenage years came during the mid 1980s, when the citywas an urban desert of dreams for many African Americans, with itsendless stretches of boarded-up homes. Harden did not want to staythere. He was accepted into the Navy’s Broadened Opportunity forOffice Selection and Training Program. The year-long program in SanDiego was geared toward people like Harden – smart and talented withthe potential to become a Naval officer, but lacking the required educa-tional background.

A fan of “A Different World,” the hit television sitcom about life at afictional historically black college, Harden watched an episode during histraining. He saw many similarities between Morehouse and the show’scollege and decided to come to Atlanta.

“It was great to be at a place where black manhood was affirmedand incubated,” said Harden, who earned his degree in 1996.

After graduation, Harden served as the fire control and gunneryofficer on the USS Saipan. He’s completed deployments to theMediterranean and the Adriatic seas. ■

Ronald Booker ’96 Glynn

Harden ’96


feature

The Great Communicator

Otha Thornton ’89 grew up inElberton, Ga., a small town 110 miles eastof Atlanta that is known as the “GraniteCapital of the World.”

About twice a month, Thornton isamong a group of highly-selected people

who spends the day working in acity and a building that are a littlemore recognizable than Elberton.

The White House,Washington, D.C.

There, Thornton, 41, a lieu-tenant colonel in the U.S. Army,

serves as the director of human resources and the presidential commu-nications officer for the White House Communications Agency Directorof Human Resources.

“This is a long way from Elberton,” said Thornton, who graduatedfrom Morehouse in 1989 with a degree in urban studies. He is responsi-ble for the planning, preparation and execution of communications forthe president. Thornton organized the communications for an eventwhere Bush visited wounded servicemen and women. The agency isresponsible for making sure that the president has instantaneous com-munications anywhere and anytime around the globe, which is no smallfeat. The agency is also known as “the voice of the president.”

A quiet, soft-spoken man, Thornton is modest about his duties andthe people he has met on the job. He met former President George W.Bush twice, U.S. Sen. John McCain and the famed Italian opera singer,Andrea Bocelli. He commanded a counterdrug unit that chaseddruglords—some drug dealers offered a bounty on him—and humantraffickers. In September, he received the Knowlton Award for his workin military intelligence.

Thornton was recommended by a senior commander for his cur-rent position. In a three-hour interview, he was asked details about hislife and morals, as well as technical questions. He credits Morehousewith helping him get selected for his current position, saying his almamater nurtured his desire to serve other.

Thorton began his military career as an infantry officer in Hawaiiand has since traveled to 20 countries. Two of his brothers, Charles, fromthe class of 1999, and Eric, from the class of 1995, also graduated fromMorehouse. Both are in the military.

“Between all of us, we’ve probably covered every corner of theearth,” he said. ■

Getting the Job Done

U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Milton Troy III ’95sat down with his eight-year-old son shortlyafter learning he was being deployed to Iraq.

“I’m going away to help people,” saidTroy, hoping to remove any fear his son mayhave about the assignment.

“Are you going to find someburied treasure?” Milton Troy IVasked his father.

“If I find some, I’ll bring ithome to you,” Troy replied.

Troy was sensitive to what hisson could be thinking about his

current mission. His own father, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, hadsimilar conversations with him before embarking on assignments.

Troy left Dec. 1 for his training for Iraq, a critical battleground inthe war on terror. His specialty is logistics: making sure people get whatthey need. His job will largely be to make sure his crew has the equip-ment it needs to complete its mission.

“If I don’t do my job, then they won’t do their job,” he said.According to Troy, most Americans do not understand the threat of

terrorists.“When people think of war, they think World War II, with a start and

an end,”he said.“This isn’t like that. It’s not your average war. How do youidentify the enemy? It might be a woman with a bomb strapped to her. Itmight be a plane striking the World Trade Center. This is totally different.”

He credits Morehouse with teaching the importance of serving oth-ers. Even today, Troy says he relies on the support system of theMorehouse Military Alumni affinity group, which he also credits withhelping scores of young people graduate from college.

“Master Chief [Jeff] Hutchinson [who is now retired] is worthy ofthe utmost respect, and many of the [Navy ROTC] alumni and Atlantametropolitan high schools will be forever in his debt,” Troy said.

Born in Mullins, S.C., Troy grew up understanding the military life. Heearned a ROTC scholarship with the Navy, but he wasn’t sure he wanted amilitary career. His perspective changed, thanks to the mentorship of hissecond boss, Michael Rutten. Rutten told Troy he could make the military acareer and steered him to programs that helped Troy earn his master’sdegree in business from the University of Georgia. Troy, who served as alogistics adviser to the Kuwaiti Navy, also has a master’s degree in nationalsecurity and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College.

“He really turned it around for me,” Troy said of Rutten. “I’mglad I stayed.”

Troy said he is excited about his latest mission.Nervous?“A little,” he admitted.Troy said some friends have stared sadly at him when he told them

he was headed to Iraq.“I’m coming right back,” he assures them.After all, he has some buried treasure to bring back to his son. ■

Otha Thornton ’89 Milton

Troy III ’95

MOREHOUSE MAGAZINE 36 W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 / S P R I N G 2 0 0

founder’s day observance

f there was any doubt that the economic climate would affect the celebration of theCollege’s 142nd Founder’s Day Observance, it was, well, unfounded. As President RobertM. Franklin Jr. ’75 said during the 122nd “A Candle in the Dark” celebration on Feb. 14,Morehouse has long been accustomed to producing “Ivy League results with HBCUresources.” The Gala, the College’s most anticipated fund-raiser, drew more than 1,400 sup-porters to witness eight luminaries receive Candle and Bennie

awards for their extraordinary achievements.“Since 1989, this Gala has honored the achievements of

145 outstanding leaders and has raised more than $7.5 mil-lion for the Morehouse College Scholarship Fund,”President Franklin said to applause. “Morehouse’s com-mitment to making sure that our young men can – anddo—complete their education and become change

Founder’s Day 2009:142 Years of Weathering Storms

I

The Rev. C.T. Vivian speaks

during the Founder’s Day

convocation.

Clifton E. Strain ’85, F. Euclid Walker ’94 and Rod Hardemon ’98 with director of AlumniRelations Henry M. Goodgame ’84

agents who alter the course of history is criticalto sustaining the level of leadership thatMorehouse has always provided to the nationand to the world.”

Morehouse pride was on full display ateach event during the four-day celebration.The observance kicked off on Feb. 12 withnoted civil rights strategist, the Rev. C.T.Vivian, delivering a convocation speechthat credited Morehouse and graduates likeMartin Luther King Jr. ’48 with giving thenation its moral and spiritual base.

The following night, at the Founder’s Dayconcert featuring R&B artist Fantasia and elec-tric violinist Ken Ford, nearly 2,000 peopleswayed and rocked to old-school and new-school tunes.

On Saturday morning, during one of themany highlights of the weekend, was theReflections of Excellence forum, which allowedthe Bennie and Candle Award recipients anopportunity to talk about their careers and lives.

Continued on page 39

Below: C.D. Moody ’78, Louis W. Sullivan ’54, Willie “Flash” Davis ’56 and Robert C.Davidson Jr. ’67 (far right) join Congresswoman Maxine Waters and her grandson CameronTitus, a senior, and President Robert M. Franklin Jr. ’75.



honoreesBENNIE ACHIEVEMENTJerome Farris ’51

Jerome Farris’ passion has alwaysbeen the courtroom. He earned abachelor’s degree with departmenthonors in mathematics atMorehouse in 1951 and a master’s insocial work from Atlanta University.He also attended the University ofWashington Law School, where hewas one of only three black students.Undeterred, Davis made law reviewand was elected president of the stu-dent body, all while working as ajuvenile probation officer for thestate of Washington.

Graduating in 1958, Farris washired by the Seattle law firm ofWeyer, Roderick, Schroeter andStern, becoming part of a new gen-eration of black lawyers who inte-grated white law firms. He becamea partner a year later.

In 1969, Washington Gov. DanEvans appointed him to one of the12 seats on the newly createdWashington State Court of Appeals,where he was unanimously electedas its first presiding chief judge. Hemade history in 1979 whenPresident Jimmy Carter appointedhim to the U.S. Court of Appeals forthe Ninth Circuit, making him thefirst African American judge to holdthe position. He credits Carter for“changing the face of the judiciary.”

In his 30-year tenure on the U.S.Court of Appeals for the NinthCircuit, Farris has authored severalhundred decisions, covering thegamut of legal issues from bankruptcylaw to employment practices, juvenilesentencing to gay marriage.

Farris has taken his vast experienceas a judge to the classroom,serving as afaculty member for the NationalCollege of State Judiciary at theUniversity of Nevada and a lecturer atthe Salzburg Seminar in Austria in 1991.Morehouse awarded him an honorarydegree in 1978,and he continues toserve the college as a trustee.

BENNIE LEADERSHIPC. David Moody ’78

C. David Moody, one of Atlanta’spremiere commercial builders formore than 20 years, erects struc-tures that are making an indelibleimpression on local and nationallandscapes, from AtlantaHartsfieldJackson International Airport toDisney World.

His commitment to communi-ty is not only the foundation of hisbusiness, but is what Moody creditsfor his phenomenal success. Hefounded the C.D. MoodyConstruction Company on theprinciple that construction is morethan a brick-and-mortar business—that it is, in fact, a people business.

Moody, a gifted leader who reg-ularly mentors other entrepreneurs,established the C.D. MoodyConstruction Co., Inc. Foundationin 1989 and has since awarded 80scholarships to deserving students.The company also has adopted twoschools, and the staff mentors localstudent groups.

A 1978 graduate of Morehousewith a degree in psychology, Moodyalso earned a bachelor’s in architec-ture from Howard University in1981. His career began as an architectin the nuclear power department atBechtel Power Corp., Ann Harbor,Mich., office for two-and-a-half yearsbefore returning to Atlanta, where heworked as a project manager for sev-eral small companies. He got hisfooting in construction as a joint ven-ture general contractor working inthe City of Atlanta minority businessprogram. Over the years, he has builta construction empire with a consis-tent 12 percent annual revenuegrowth rate.

The Morehouse experience,nowshared by his son and other familymembers,came full circle for Moodywhen his company was hired to con-struct the Leadership Center facility.

BENNIE TRAILBLAZERRichard C. Caesar ’40

Richard C. Caesar isn’t the kind ofman to make a big fuss about hisaccomplishments--even thoughthey are monumental. He is amongthe first group of African Americansto fly combat aircrafts in the U.S.AirForce. He saved a fellow pilot fromimminent danger.

Caesar is one of the TuskegeeAirmen, the elite group of AfricanAmerican fighter pilots that overcamesegregation and prejudice to becomeone of the most highly respectedfighter groups of World War II. Theirheroics paved the way for full integra-tion of the U.S. military.

An engineering officer and pilotwith the 100th Fighter Squadron,Caesar ascended through the ranks tobecome lieutenant colonel, servinghis country with distinction untilretirement in 1978.

In 1943,Caesar helped to rescueCommander Roscoe Brown Jr.from apotentially disastrous plane crash.Caesarmodestly says he was just doing his job.

The Tuskegee Airmen’s acts ofpatriotism and valor were finallyrecognized in March 2007 whenGeorge W. Bush awarded them theCongressional Gold Medal ofHonor. More recently, at the invita-tion of the 44th president, surviv-ing airmen attended the inaugura-tion of President Barack Obama.

After graduating fromMorehouse, Caesar earned a doctorof dental science from MeharryCollege in 1951. While practicingdentistry in southern California, heserved as president of the SanFrancisco Dental Society, theNorthern California Medical, andDental and PharmaceuticalAssociation, and as chairman of thePacific Area Section of the Academyof Dentistry International.

Caesar was among the firstMorehouse alumni to contribute$100,000 to the College as a classreunion gift.

BENNIE SERVICEArthur L. Johnson ’48

Arthur L. Johnson’s fire for actionwas first sparked as a child growingup in Americus, Ga., by a grand-mother whose own activismimbued him with the strength ofcharacter to question the validity ofsegregation. It was further stokedas a student at Morehouse, wherehe organized alongside classmateMartin Luther King Jr., a 1948graduate of Morehouse.

Johnson’s pursuit of justice ledhim to take a job as executive sec-retary of the Detroit branch of theNAACP in 1950. Under his 14-yearguidance, the Detroit chapterbecame one of the most active andvital in the country.

He founded the Shop Detroitcampaign to encourage the supportof local businesses and was nameddeputy director of the MichiganCivil Rights Commission. While hededicated his life to political organ-izations, education also was a stead-fast cause. He served as vice presi-dent of university relations andprofessor of educational sociologyat Wayne State University for nearlya quarter of a century before retir-ing in 1995.

Observers curious about thescars and scrapes of being on thefrontlines of social change can walka mile in Johnson’s shoes throughhis revealing memoir, Race andRemembrance.

The impact of Johnson’s life asan activist is rivaled only by hisrole as an arts advocate. Perhapshis second greatest passion, art is avital force in activism and changeand must be given light throughrecognition, Johnson believes. Tothat end, he is founder of both theDetroit Festival of the Arts andArts Achievement Awards at WayneState University, and serves on theboards of ArtServe Michigan andArts League of Michigan.



(Continued on page 36)

“What kept me going was going to Morehouse College,”said Richard Caesar ’40,a noted dentist and an Tuskegee Airman. “I got everything that’s made mewhat I am today at Morehouse and I want to thank you for that.”

A common thread among the honorees – Caesar; builder C.D.Moody ’78;retired educator Arthur Lee Johnson ’48; U.S. Court of Appeals Judge JeromeFarris ’51; Dr. Ernie Bates; retired pastor Samuel Berry McKinney ’49; andOlympic hero Tommie Smith – was the importance of commitment and giv-ing. (Congressman Charlie Rangel was unable to attend because of his involve-ment in negotiations on President Barack Obama’s federal stimulus plan.)

“What I’ve been able to do is possible because of what others havegiven to me,” Johnson said. “I am determined not only to be good, butto do good…”

The celebration concluded with the Worship Service sermon by theRev. Dr. D. Darrell Griffin ’87, senior pastor of the Oakdale CovenantChurch in Chicago. ■

President Franklin (fourth from left) and actress Lorraine Toussaint, mistress of ceremony for the “A Candle in the Dark” Gala, with the 2009 Bennie and Candle award recipients.

The Rev. Dr. D. Darrell Griffin ’87 delivers the Founder’s Day worship service sermon.



Electric violinist Ken Ford andGrammy-nominated singerFantasia perform during theFounder’s Day Concert.

Below: The “A Candle in theDark” Gala, the College’s mostanticipated Fund-raisingevent, has raised more than$7.5 million for theMorehouse College


honoreesCANDLE IN MEDICINEErnest Bates

Ernest Bates likes to tell the storyof being pulled over by a CaliforniaHighway Patrol officer while bar-reling down the highway at 100mph. It was 1972 and Bates, thensporting a big Afro, was putting hisnew Rolls Royce to the test.

“The officer’s first words were, ‘Isthis your car?’ and I responded‘Yes,’” Bates recalls. “The officerrolled his eyes and said, ‘I supposethe next thing you’re going to tellme is that you’re a brain surgeon,too.’ Lucky for me,” says Bates, “Icould answer, ‘Yes officer, I am.’”

The cool brain surgeon in theRolls dodged a traffic ticket that day.The story illustrates both the luckybreaks Bates has enjoyed, as well asthe barriers he’s faced to becomeone of the first African Americanneurosurgeons in the country.

Although Bates attended JohnsHopkins University as an under-graduate, in 1958, the medical schoolwas still segregated so he insteadattended the University of RochesterMedical School on scholarship.

Bates went on to become a highlysuccessful board certified neurosur-geon. He wrote chapters in theTextbook on Brain Tumors andBlack-Related Diseases and is cur-rently working on developing theoperating room for the 21st centuryin collaboration with Johns HopkinsUniversity and the University ofCalifornia, San Francisco.

Although no longer a neurosur-geon, he is far from retired. He isfounder and CEO of AmericanShared Hospital Services, a publiclytraded medical imaging companybased in San Francisco.

His latest avocation, proprietorof Black Coyote wines in theNapa Valley, places Bates amonganother elite and exclusive club:he is one of only a handful ofAfrican American vintners.

CANDLE IN GOVERNMENT AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Charles Bernard “Charlie” Rangel

Congressman Charles B. Rangel,known as the “dean” of the New Yorkcongressional delegation, is servinghis 19th term as the representative ofthe Upper Manhattan area of NewYork City (15th CongressionalDistrict) in the U.S. House ofRepresentatives. He has devoted hisentire career to public service.

In 2007, he made history whenhe became chairman of the HouseWays and Means Committee,becoming the first AfricanAmerican to lead this powerfulcommittee of Congress.

Rangel earned degrees from NewYork University and St. John’sUniversity School of Law. From thebeginning of his career, he quicklygained a reputation for defendingblack civil rights activists. He servedon the New York State Assembly andquickly emerged as one of the leadingblack legislators in the state. In 1970,he made headlines by defeating AdamClayton Powell Jr., the legendarypreacher at Abyssinian Baptist Churchand long-serving congressman, tobecome representative of the 15thcongressional district. He has been re-elected to each succeeding Congress.

Rangel has authored legislation torevitalize urban neighborhoods,such as the Low-Income HousingTax Credit.

He also serves as chairman ofthe Congressional Narcotics Abuseand Control Caucus, working tosolve the nation’s continuing drugabuse crisis.

Rangel is a founding member andformer chairman of the CongressionalBlack Caucus and also was chairmanof the New York State Council ofBlack Elected Democrats.

In 2008, Morehouse inducted himinto the Board of RenaissanceLeaders. His portrait hangs in theHall of Fame in King Chapel.

CANDLE IN RELIGIONThe Rev. Samuel Berry McKinney ’49

The Rev. Dr. Samuel BerryMcKinney preached his first ser-mon at the historic Mount ZionBaptist Church in Seattle, Wash., inFebruary 1958 and his last oneexactly 40 years later in February1998 when he retired—the datesbookending an extraordinary legacyof service, leadership and ministry.

During his leadership at MountZion, the church membership grewexponentially, from 800 to approx-imately 2,800. Among its manyexpansions, Mt. Zion constructed a64-unit retirement home, an addi-tional educational unit, and estab-lished the Mt. Zion Pre-School andKindergarten, which has beenaccredited for 25 years. The Mt.Zion Federal Credit Union, estab-lished in McKinney’s inauguralyear as pastor, has since beenexpanded and renamed TheNorthwest Baptist Federal CreditUnion and has assets in excess of$5 million.

The church sponsored a CocaineOutreach and Recovery Program,created the Mt. Zion Mental HealthTask Force, and sponsored a weeklymeal ministry for the homeless,sick and shut-in. Members alsosponsored donations of more than$20,000 per year in academicscholarships and grants to collegeand graduate students.

The Seattle Times listedMcKinney among its Metro List of150 Most Outstanding Citizens. Thetop floor of a new 13-story MartinLuther King, Jr. County office build-ing has been named in his honor. Heearned the Spiritual EnlightenmentAward at the 14th Annual TrumpetAwards in 2006 and the 2008Lifetime Achievement Award fromthe Washington NAACP.

CANDLE FOR LIFETIMEACHIEVEMENT IN SPORTS AND

ENTERTAINMENTTommie Smith

In 1968 ,when it came time forTommie Smith, along with fellowU.S. Olympic Track team memberJohn Carlos, to stand in front of theworld to accept a gold medal for aworld-record win in the 200-meters(Carlos won the bronze), the twodidn’t let Olympic protocol stopthem from standing up againstracial and human oppression.

Smith raised his black-glovedright fist to represent black power inAmerica. Carlos did the same withhis left fist, representing unity inblack America. Smith also wore ablack scarf for black pride and blacksocks without shoes to representblack poverty in America.

During that historic 19th Olympiadheld in Mexico City,Smith broke theworld and Olympic records with atime of 19.83 seconds to become the200-meter Olympic champion.However, the silent gesture got themkicked out of the games. Their story iscaptured in the 1999 HBO documen-tary,“Fists of Freedom.”

Smith also won recognition forhis extraordinary athletic ability. Hehas been featured in periodicalssuch as Sports Illustrated, Time,Newsweek and Ebony. He is a 1978inductee into the National Track &Field Hall of Fame; a 1996 inducteeinto the California Black SportsHall of Fame, the 1999 Bay AreaHall of Fame and the 1999 San JoseState University Hall of Fame.Among his other honors are the1999 Sportsman of the MillenniumAward; the 2000-01 Commen-dation, Recognition andProclamation Awards from theCounty of Los Angeles and theState of Texas; and the 2004 dedica-tion of the Tommie SmithGymnasium in Saint-Ouen, France.


midday stroll across campusduring the spring of 2007completely crystallized forCarlton Willis, now a senior,why Morehouse has beenthe right place for him.

It was in the midst of his walk that hecame across a man who was relaxing underthe bright, Atlanta sky. Turns out he was avice president for the PepsiCo Corporation.

“I saw him sitting on a bench on cam-pus and walked right up to him and startedtalking,”recalls Willis.“He told me that helikes Dunkin Donuts, so I took him there.Wehad the opportunity to talk one-on-one and

eat donuts. He asked me to shoot him aresumé. That’s how I got an internship.”

Willis is quick to point out that hischance meeting wasn’t just a lucky break.Not only did Morehouse give him accessto influential movers and shakers, he said,but the College educated, trained andtaught him how to the make the most ofwhatever opportunity comes along—evena chance meeting with a top executivehungry for donuts.

It is one of many examples of whatallows Morehouse to continue to providea special educational value, even as thenation is going through the most severe

economic downturn since the GreatDepression. The global economic melt-down, triggered by the collapse of the U.S.housing market, buckled Wall Street as theDow Jones Industrial Average, at one point,sputtered to 6,000—less than half of the13,000 average one year ago. A standstill inthe credit markets followed as financialinstitutions became extra cautious in mak-ing new loans and tightened the qualifyingcriteria for credit applicants.

The effect of Wall Street’s woes on MainStreet has been a ballooning unemploymentrate that hovers around 8 percent, the highestit has been in 25 years. An estimated 4 mil-

By Add Seymour Jr.

A

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Valueof aof aTHE

lion jobs have been lost since December 2007,according to MarketWatch.com.

American families are now in a seriousbelt-tightening mode as they keep a closerwatch on expenditures of every type,including the escalating cost of sendingtheir children to college.

With ominous economic conditionsforecasted to persist for a while yet, it is nosurprise that financially insecure parents areasking the big “A” question: affordability. Theeuphoria of receiving an acceptance letter isoften tempered by the subsequent award let-ter and the question,“How can we afford acollege education for our son?”

Tuition, room and board, fees, booksand supplies and other expenses will be$39,497 at Morehouse for the 2009-2010academic year.

But Financial Aid Director JamesStotts says his office is diligently working toassist students and parents in identifying allpossible financial resources, such as schol-arships, grants and loans, for makingMorehouse affordable.

“The College makes a number of awardsto students in recognition of their accom-plishment either in pursuit of academic excel-lence or demonstrated skills and talent,” hesays. “In addition, numerous corporations,employers, professional organizations andfoundations make scholarships available toMorehouse students.”

Morehouse offers an array of financialaid programs and invests some of theCollege’s institutional resources to assiststudents. Approximately 75 percent of stu-dents received some form of scholarship –academic, talent or athletic – support dur-ing the 2008-2009 school year.

Some of those scholarships come fromthe Oprah Winfrey Foundation, the BillGates Millennium Scholarship program,United Negro College Fund, along withother Morehouse endowed and restrictedscholarships.

The College also hired a scholarshipcoordinator to counsel and assist studentsand parents with finding additional fundsthrough a wide variety of internal andexternal sources.

Besides adhering to all deadlines, Stotts

offers one important bit of advice:“Students/parents should develop a finan-cial plan for College to make sure that theyare able to cover the appropriate costs asso-ciated with their educational expenses,” hesays. He suggests a six-step plan:1. Apply for financial aid2. Understand the cost-of-attendance

budget3. Develop your budget4. Review and secure all funding sources5. Do calculations6. Determine if additional resources are

needed

“The financial plan will help studentsunderstand the direct cost and the actualcost of attendance, allowing them to deter-mine what is needed from one year to thenext,” Stotts says.

Investing in Black Male DevelopmentColleges and universities, privateand public, large and small, are in a fierceand competitive search for talented AfricanAmerican male students.

The rough economy has parents andstudents seeking new ways to afford a col-lege education. But it also has institutionsdigging deeper and being more creative inattracting black males.

That makes the job of Terrance Dixon ’87,associate dean for Recruitment, a little tougher.


feature

“From the moment you step

onto campus as a freshman,

you are indoctrinated into a

fraternity of brotherhood. You

immediately feel the support

system that’s 2,800-men strong.”

–Alex Akbarisenior psychology major

DESPITE THE TOUGH FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES MANY FAMILIES ARE FACING,

FEW STUDENTS HAVE GIVEN UP ON ATTENDING COLLEGE. ONLY 4 PERCENT SAID

THAT THE RECESSION HAD PROMPTED THEM TO MORE SERIOUSLY CONSIDER WORKING INSTEAD

OF ATTENDING COLLEGE; 78% SAID THEY HAD NEVER CONSIDERED THAT OPTION.

–Based on findings from a student survey conducted

by the College Board and Art and Science Group


feature

“And it’s tough because I think morenow than ever people are shopping foreducation like they are shopping for any-thing else,” he says.

But Dixon urges parents who areworried about actual costs to calculate thevalue of intangibles, like the College’slegacy of producing leaders and its uniquefocus on black male development.

“We spend a lot of time telling parentsabout what makes Morehouse the value thatit is,” he says.“We think we do somethingdifferent for an African American man thanthey’d get from any other campus.”

What’s already well known isMorehouse’s stellar academic reputation:from 2002 to 2004, Black Enterprise maga-zine ranked the College the best in educat-ing African American students; the Collegehas produced three Rhodes Scholars,scores of local and national politicians,several college presidents, a surgeon gener-al and history’s pre-eminent civil rightsleader, Martin Luther King Jr. ’48.

Classes have a 15:1 student-to-professorratio; 100 percent of tenure-tracked andtenured faculty hold Ph.Ds in their academicarea, and students are getting placed intosome of the top graduate school programsin the country.

In 2003, The Wall Street Journal namedMorehouse one of the top 50 most successfulschools across the nation when it comes tosending students to well-known, well-respected graduate and professional schools.

But Dixon speaks not just about thehigh-level education that the College pro-vides, but of something different and intrin-

sic in the Morehouse experience: the processof building strong, knowledgeable blackmen who are full of spirit and self-worthand ready to contribute something to theircommunities, both locally and abroad.

Says Will O. Cobbs Jr. ’95, presidentof Chicago-based, federal government sta-tistical consulting firm Ahiman Consultingand Research, Inc.: “Morehouse made meredefine what it is to be a black man—and it’s belonging to a group that showswhat the epitome of what a black mancan be.”

“I don’t think that is cultivated inother institutions…It may be, but not tothe degree of Morehouse.”

The experience comes together in anenvironment completely unlike any otherhigher education institution in the worldas the student population at Morehouse isalmost totally comprised of males ofAfrican and African American descent.

“So the gender piece is removed andthat’s important for a lot of brothers,”says psychology professor Bryant T.Marks ’94. “Morehouse provides a spacewhere black men can bond and be vul-nerable, to an extent, and be accepted.”

Artist and theologian Carey Wynn ’70points to the vague, indescribable, yet very

real concept dubbed the MorehouseMystique. It is, in simple terms, whatmakes Morehouse so different, he says.

“The Morehouse Mystique is trans-lated in various mantras, manners, virtuesand visions that call to mind the salientcharacteristics of manhood that are criticalto the reformation of the African

American community, particularly theAfrican American male,” Wynn says.

“Through [the weekly, mandatorygathering for students] Crown Forum,classroom experiences and general extra-curricular activities, each student every dayis provided with an opportunity – in fact, itis demanded of him – that he serves to seehimself as a purposeful student who is ableto challenge the stereotypes that havedogged the African American community,and the African American male, since thedawn of African slavery,” he says.

The Value ofBrotherhoodFrom the first day of NewStudent Orientation, men of Morehouseare taught not only how to become schol-ars, but how to develop into moral andethical leaders – and to hold their ownMorehouse brothers to those same highstandards, day in and day out.

“From the moment you step ontocampus as a freshman, you are indoctri-nated into a fraternity of brotherhood,”says senior psychology major Alex Akbari.“You immediately feel the support systemthat’s 2,800-men strong. I know that I’mgoing to become a doctor and Morehouseis going to help me get there.”

That brotherhood becomes a uniquebond that lasts a lifetime.

For example, Marks said he was oncealone in a new city, his car adorned with aMorehouse license plate. After leaving andthen returning to his car, he saw a noteon the windshield: a fellow MorehouseMan – someone Marks had never met –saw the plate and left a number for the fel-low Maroon Tiger to call.

When Terry Mills, dean of the Divisionof Humanities and Social Sciences,went toBeijing,China,in 2008,Marketus Presswood ‘98and Shaan Price ‘98 were his interpreters andtour guides.

HALF OF STUDENTS IN A RECENT SURVEY SAID THEIR FAMILIES HAD SAVED MONEY FOR

COLLEGE, BUT ONLY HALF OF THOSE HAD SAVED MORE THAN $20,000. TEN PERCENT SAID THEY HAD

SAVED BETWEEN $40,000 AND $70,000, AND 5 PERCENT SAID THEY HAD SAVED MORE THAN $100,000.

-The College Board and Art and Science Group

Presswood is the founder of the BSAMinority Study Abroad Program, whichgives minority college students opportunitiesto study in countries around the world.Price is the program’s student adviser.

Presswood believed that students athis alma mater needed to be a part of hisprogram.

“A college is only as strong as the gradu-ates it produces, as well as the different formsof capital those graduates produce for the col-lege,”Presswood says. “It was a logical step forus to reach out to Morehouse students in con-junction with Dean Mills, who shares a similarvision of preparing students for a competitiveglobal economy.As a Morehouse alum andstudy abroad advocate who has spent 10 yearsliving abroad, I obviously would like to see themajority of Morehouse students have somekind of overseas experience.”

Adds Mills of what has now become aone-week Asian/Middle East cultural immer-sion program:“We came up with this idea ofdoing this winter break tour. It’s not only anexample of what Morehouse offers students,but more importantly, how students respondto what Morehouse has to offer.”

Marks is now director of the MorehouseMale Initiative,a program that, throughresearch,surveys and focus groups,will scientifi-cally measure for the first time the impact ofthe Morehouse experience. He says that for allof the tangible evidence of the strength of theMorehouse experience, there remains an “X-factor”that makes it different.

“There is something we will never be ableto totally identify, that makes this such a uniqueplace,”he says. “There is something specialabout this place – that’s the mystique piece.”

The spirit of helping students and fel-low Morehouse brothers was never more ondisplay than during the beginning of thespring 2009 semester.

More than 200 students who had juststarted the semester were on the verge ofhaving to pack their bags and head homebecause they couldn’t come up with theneeded 60 percent of their total bill to payfor school, even though the school extended

the deadline by three weeks.President Robert M. Franklin Jr. ’75

stepped in and wrote a letter asking alumni,fraternities and other organizations to diginto their pockets to help keep those stu-dents in school.

“To be sure, these are extraordinarytimes that call for extraordinary sacrifice,”Franklin wrote in his Feb. 4 e-mail. “…Now,I’m calling on you to help keep these studentson track to becoming Morehouse Men.”

The response: within a few days, 200gifts totaling more than $88,000 were given,keeping 188 students in class.

“These acts of generosity demon-strate the commitment to our great College

that has always been a part of theMorehouse value system,” Franklin said.

For Cobbs,who gave one of those gifts, itis only a small price to pay to be part of astrong Morehouse family.That,Cobbs says, isthe value that is gained over a lifetime.

“It is like the motivation to continuea relationship that has been an importantsource for me,” he says. “I struggledthrough Morehouse financially. But thosestruggles made me stronger. I wantedcurrent students to have the opportunityto overcome those adversities and tobecome stronger because I know what avalue Morehouse has been to me.” ■

–Chandra Thomas also reported for this article.


IN A SURVEY OF NEARLY 40,000 HIGH SCHOOL JUNIORS AND SENIORS

AND THEIR PARENTS, ABOUT 61 PERCENT OF THE SENIORS AND 64 PERCENT OF SENIORS’

PARENTS SAID CONCERNS ABOUT THE ECONOMY “SOMEWHAT” OR “GREATLY”

AFFECTED THE COLLEGES TO WHICH STUDENTS APPLIED.

-The 2009 College Decision Impact Survey, Maguire Associates

Reputation NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AS A TOP FEEDER SCHOOL TO THENATION’S MOST PRESTIGIOUS GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS

Selectivity COLLEGE OF CHOICE FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN

Academic Excellence ONE OF TWO HBCU TO PRODUCE THREE

RHODES SCHOLARS

Focus on Leadership Development ONE OF ONLY A FEW

LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES THAT OFFERS A LEADERSHIP STUDIES MINOR

Emphasis on Community Service NEARLY TWO-THIRDS

OF THE STUDENT BODY PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAMS

1

2

3

4

5

Top 5 REASONS WHY Morehouse IS STILL A Good Value

ammy Harris could barely keepfrom smiling and tearing up. Shewas about to become the motherof a Morehouse graduate as herson, Joshua, one of approximately

440 graduating seniors, would soonbecome a Morehouse Man duringCommencement 2009.

“To have a son finish college and mebeing a single parent of four, I’m excitedand overwhelmed,” she said as family mem-bers smiled around her.“He just did it up!”

Harris was one of an estimated 10,000

family and friends who filled the CenturyCampus on May 17 for the ceremony thatcapped off the three-day Commencement/Reunion 2009 celebration.

Hundreds of alumni, many inMorehouse hats and maroon blazers,returned to campus, especially thosefrom classes with graduating years end-ing in four or nine. They were honoredthroughout the reunion weekend.

“This is absolutely wonderful,” said97-year-old Rynalder D. Rambeau, whowas celebrating his 75th year as a

Morehouse graduate.The 1934 graduate lit the Candle of

the Mystique during the Rite of Passageceremony on May 15 in the Martin LutherKing Jr. International Chapel. Alumniseated on both sides of the class of 2009shared the light from that candle with thegraduating seniors, illuminating theChapel as they all held their candles highin a moving gesture of passing the torch.

Sunny skies greeted thousands oncampus on Saturday, May 16. Alumniclass meetings were held throughout the

Commencement 2009

Lift Them UPSpeakers urge graduates to use their education to empower those caught in ‘the teeth of despair’


By Add Seymour Jr.

T


morning followed by the festive reunionpicnic at B.T. Harvey Stadium. Alumnithen marched from the Century Campuscrypt of the College’s sixth president,Benjamin E. Mays, to King Chapel.There, Bishop Charles E. Blake, presidingbishop of the Church of God in Christ andpastor of the West Angeles Church of Godin Christ, challenged the seniors to reachback and help those who are less prosper-ous, especially those in Africa.

“These are the best of times becauseyoung people like you are graduating andembarking on a journey of service andaccomplishment,” he said. Blake then saidthese are also the worst of times as he wentthrough a list of statistics showing howblack people lag behind others in health,wealth and education, and not just in theUnited States, but wherever the AfricanDiaspora deposited them.

“But this is not the time to obsess overthese things,” he said. “It’s time for us totake charge of our destinies…I propose thatGod has blessed African Americans in theUnited States not just for ourselves, but so wecan reach back to our 750 million brothersand sisters in Africa.”

President Robert M. Franklin Jr. ’75presented Blake with a Presidential Award ofDistinction for his community and faith-based work.

Saturday’s sunny skies had darkened bySunday morning as Commencement daystarted out overcast and chilly. Nevertheless,the smiles on the faces of the thousands ofpeople who filled the Century Campusbrightened the morning.

The class of 2009 received commence-ment reflections from Emmy-award win-ning actress Cicely Tyson and Harvard pro-fessor Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr.

In the voice of one of her most stirringcharacters, “Miss Jane Pittman,” Tyson chal-lenged the class of 2009 to remain steadfastleaders as they leave Morehouse and headinto a difficult world.

“I would say, you are the one – each oneof you,”she said.“But I would ask you to

remember that life ain’t going to be no crystalstair…But all the time, you’ll be climbing,reaching landings, turning corners and some-times going in the dark where there ain’t nolight. So I’m going to ask you not to turn back.”

Gates urged the audience to be ardentsupporters of the nation’s affirmative actionprograms and to also help preserve AfricanAmerican history.

“My entire professional career has been anattempt to get black people our history back,”hesaid.“Too much of our history has been lost or

buried, hidden or stolen, and I decided thatwhen I was an undergraduate, just like youguys, that I wanted to dedicate my life toreturning that history to where it belongs – intothe hearts and minds of our people.”

Tyson, Gates and legendary baseballplayer Hank Aaron each received the hon-orary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.

This year, for the first time,Morehouse had two valedictorians andtwo salutatorians – Harris and AnthonyRoberts were valedictorians while

Hank Aaron, Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cicely Tyson all receive honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degreesduring Commencement.

Commencement brings out an average of 10,000 relatives and friends each year.·

Michael Blevins and Bolaji James werethe salutatorians.

Blevins, a double major in theatre andeconomics from Richmond,Va., is a member ofPhi Beta Kappa along with Roberts,Harris andJames.He is moving to Los Angeles to pursuean acting and screenwriting career.

James, an economics major, claimsLagos States, Nigeria, and New York City ashis hometowns. He will be working for theColgate-Palmolive Company.

The valedictory addresses by Harris, apolitical science major from Thomasville,Ga., and Roberts, an economics majorfrom Richmond, Va., were both met withstanding ovations.

“What we have acquired here atMorehouse gives us the opportunity to liftsomeone from the teeth of despair to the voiceof hope and transfer dark and desolate valleysinto sun-lit paths of inner peace,”Harris said.

“Thus we have no choice but to succeedbecause at the very moment of commitment,the entire universe conspires for our choices.”

Roberts said:“Our work is finished hereand the mandate is clear: we must go forthbeyond this place and find our new mark andour new purpose.Class of 2009,now is ourtime to leave our mark on the world.”

Franklin reminded the graduates of theirtwo-word mantra,“no excuses,”that theychanted in King Chapel days after the inaugu-ration of the nation’s first African Americanpresident, Barack Obama.

“Now it is up to you. The world is watch-ing you, gentlemen,”he said.“No excuses forintellectual underachievement; no excuses forunethical behavior.You have no excuses fornot practicing the art of non-violence that Dr.King taught us.

“And we will accept no excuses... Upyou, mighty men! You can accomplish

Commencement 2009


�� For more on Commencement 2009, go to www.morehouse.edu/events/2009/commencement/index.html

Henry M. Goodgame ’84 (second from right) leads alumni in singing “Dear Old Morehouse” during the Reunion Welcome Luncheon.

Bishop Charles E. Blake delivers the baccalaureatesermon.


brothertobrother

n Inauguration Day, when President Barack Obamaplaced his hand on Lincoln’s Bible, I couldn’t help butrecall the words I overheard in a popular rap song—

as hackneyed as they might seem: “Rosa Parks sat so MartinLuther could walk/Martin Luther walked so Barack Obamacould run.”

As President Obama solemnly pledged to preserve, protectand defend the United States Constitution, the entire worldtook notice. More than a million people gathered on the Mallin Washington. Some were in awe, others in disbelief. Some alittle bit of both. In Pasadena, Calif., a live audience watchingthe ceremony via satellite sat in hushed silence. In Memphis,Tenn., a local church assembled to witness history, their eyesfixed on a large overhead monitor.

In Kenya, the native land of Obama’s father, childrendanced in the streets. People on the streets of Times Squarepaused in the middle of their daily activities. Others on thestreets of Harlem waved U.S. flags as a sure sign of their patriot-ism. A friend of mine watched the entire event in streamingvideo on his cell phone from his desk at work. Another huddlednear an office water cooler with a hundred co-workers. And inFacebook, nine of 10 statuses commented on the event.

Amid all the excitement, one CNN analyst accuratelyobserved, “This isn’t just a transition—this is a transformation.”

The entire world tuned in not simply because of BarackObama, but also because of what his presidency symbolizes. Nottoo long ago, America was a place where Jim Crow was en vogue,

and the very humanity of black people was called into question.I never doubted, not for one second, that America would

elect a black president in my lifetime. Growing up in EastElmhurst, N.Y., I received a pre-school education at a small pri-vate school named the Learning Tree. Most of my teachers therewere black. They taught me a slanted version of American histo-ry that emphasized its black heritage. I knew about FrederickDouglass and Harriet Tubman way before I knew aboutThomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin. What’s more, DavidDinkins—the first black mayor of New York City—was inpower when I was a toddler. For me, his example was the rule,not the exception. Also, I was fortunate enough to have parentswho told me I could be anything I wanted to be. And I held onfirmly to their words.

The election of President Obama does not mark the real-ization of King’s dream. The scope of King’s dream is muchlarger. King’s dream pleads for sweeping reform in all ofAmerican society, not merely the election of a black president.Still, Obama’s election undoubtedly draws us one step closer.His election validates King’s dream—“a dream deeply rooted inthe American dream”—and signals to every little boy and girl inAmerica that absolutely nothing is beyond their reach.

All things are possible. ■

—Trevor Delmore II graduated cum laude from Morehouse with abachelor's degree in English in 2007. He currently resides in Stamford,Conn.

By Trevor Delmore II ’07

THE VALIDATIONOF A DREAM

O

“King’s dream pleads for sweeping

reform in all of American society, not

merely the election of a black president.”


alumninews

“It is obvious that

people in the know are

very much aware of

our reputation for

producing the ‘best and

the brightest.’ “

Brothers,

n the night of the presidential election, ABC News made its way toMorehouse to gauge the reactions of students as the election returns camein from across the country. This was no accident or merely ‘filler’ for a

nightly news story. The decision to come to Morehouse was rooted in our years ofdeveloping young men to accept the challenge of providing ethical and moral leader-ship throughout the nation and the world. It is obvious that people in the know arevery much aware of our reputation for producing the ‘best and the brightest.’

Your Alumni Association has accepted Dr. Franklin’s vision of creating“Renaissance Men” both as a challenge and an opportunity. In order to provide ourstudents with the development opportunities to assist in solving global challenges, weall must now step up and be counted! At the fall meeting of the Board of Directors ofthe National Alumni Association, we established a very clear objective for the nextthree years. We will increase our active alumni participation by 30 percent.Additionally, we will become more relevant as an Association to our members by pro-viding job assistance and business to business connections for our alumni searchingfor alumni owned businesses in there geographical areas.

Our next major fundraising effort will be in the spring. Each local chapter will beasked to conduct a first ever Association sponsored Prostate Cancer & ScholarshipWalk. We continue to seek corporate partnership; the most recent being with Google.Please take advantage of our Bank of America Credit Card Program and LibertyMutual Insurance products designed specifically for our alumni.

A special recognition is due to our 2008 Alumnus of the Year, Brother BradMinnefield ’00 from Chicago and 2008 Chapter of the Year, Washington, D.C.

Also, a special recognition is due to the 2009 Alumnus of the Year, Brother JamesD. Henry ’61 from Washington, D.C., the 2009 Chapter of the Year, Atlanta MetroChapter and the 2009 Region of the Year, Region 8. Please join me in congratulatingthese men and the Chapters for there contributions to the College and the Association.

I would like to recognize Dr. Joseph Draper ’57 for his many years of service tothe Association as Executive Director upon his retirement. We are all indebted to himas a living example of a “ Morehouse Man.” I would like to welcome Collie Burnett ’72to the team as Executive Director. Collie will be responsible for enhancing theAssociation by among other things, upgrading the operational and fiscal managementof the Alumni Office along with Ms. Vernell Morton, operations manager.

Please contact us at the National Office and provide your recommendations andfeedback to enhance the Association.

Thank you all for your continued support of the College and Association.

Regards,

Phillip H. McCall Jr. ’69

NOTE: MCNAA is an independent 501c3 organization.

O

national alumni association president’s message


JEH CHARLES JOHNSON ‘79 has been tapped to become the next general counsel for theDepartment of Defense. He is a partner in the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & GarrisonLLP, based in New York City.

Johnson’s career has been a mixture of successful private law practice (as an experienced trial lawyer)and distinguished public service (as a federal prosecutor and presidential appointee). At age 47, he waselected a fellow in the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers.

His career as a trial lawyer began in 1989-91 as an Assistant United States Attorney in the SouthernDistrict of New York, where he prosecuted public corruption cases. He served three years as a federal prose-cutor. In 1998, Johnson left Paul, Weiss for 27 months when President Bill Clinton appointed him generalcounsel of the Department of the Air Force, following nomination and confirmation by the United StatesSenate. While in that position, he was awarded the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service.

In 2007-08, Johnson served as a foreign policy adviser to President Barack Obama’s campaign and is cur-rently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. ■

Jeh Charles Johnson ’79

DREXEL B. BALL ’72 has been appointedexecutive vice president Claflin University inCharleston, S.C. Before joining Claflin, Ballserved for the past 19 years as an administratorin higher education at historically black col-leges and universities, including executive assis-tant to the president at Delaware StateUniversity. In his new position, Ball will assistuniversity President Henry N. Tisdale in thedaily operations of the university. He replacesDr. George Bradley, who left the university tobecome president of Augusta’s Paine College.

Ball, a Charleston, S.C., native, landed his first position in higher educa-tion at North Carolina A&T State University, where he served as assistant direc-tor of public relations from 1982 to 1989. He then became director of publicrelations at Delaware State University, a position he held from 1989 to 1993,when he was promoted to executive assistant to the president. In January 2006,he became director of public relations at Lincoln University of Pennsylvania,where he was credited with enhancing the public relations operations andbringing increased visibility to the institution.

After graduating from Morehouse in 1972, Ball earned a master’s degree inadult education from North Carolina A&T in 1986. He did further studies atthe University of Delaware.

Ball has held leadership positions in several community organizations,including chair of the United Way Campaign for two years and president of PsiIota Chapter of Omega Psi Fraternity Inc. for six years. He was twice the recipi-ent of the chapter’s Man of the Year Award. ■

Drexel Ball ‘72 Named Executive Vice President at Claflin

alumninews

Jeh Charles Johnson ’79 Named General Counsel for the Department of Defense

COLLIE BURNETT ’72 was appointedexecutive director of the MorehouseCollege Alumni Association, succeedingJoe Draper ’57.

Burnett, president and CEO ofAtlanta Interfaith Broadcasters (AIB),also has worked for WSB-TV, the MetroAtlanta Regional Transportation Agency,Atlanta Regional Commission, GeorgiaCable Television and Media One.

“Collie, a life member of theAssociation and past vice president,brings many years of leadership experi-ence to the position,” said MCAA presi-dent, Philip McCall ’69.

Burnett’s appointment becameeffective July 1, 2008. ■

Collie Burnett ’72 is AlumniAssociation New ExecutiveDirectorDrexel Ball ’72


OVER THE PAST YEAR and a half, Duke Bradley III ’98 has beenengaged in the education reform movement in New Orleans, La.Earlier this year, he submitted an application to the Louisiana StateBoard of Elementary and Secondary Schools to open a Type-5 trans-formation charter school. After defending his 200-page charter tothe National Association of Charter School Authorizers, Bradleyreceived word that the school has been approved and will open in fall2009. The school will be officially known as Benjamin E. MaysPreparatory School—Mays Prep for short—named in honor ofMorehouse’s legendary sixth president.

Bradley relocated to New Orleans from Atlanta to partici-pate in the highly selective New Leaders for New SchoolsPrincipal training program and is currently completing the NewSchools for New Orleans School Founder Fellowship.

A native of Columbus, Ga., he received a bachelor’s degreein English from Morehouse in 1998. While at Morehouse, heserved as president of the Benjamin E. Mays Teacher Scholars

Program, which positioned him for acceptance in the Institute forthe Recruitment of Teachers (IRT) at Phillips Academy inAndover, Md.

Bradley went on to complete graduate studies as a fellow atBrown University. He is also a 2003 graduate of John Marshall LawSchool and will soon complete requirements toward his doctoratein educational administration. Over the past 10 years, he has taughton the secondary and post-secondary levels, worked for educationalnon-profits, presented research at national and international con-ferences, and served as an intern for US. Congressman John Lewis,where he conducted research on educational policy.

Benjamin E. Mays Preparatory School will be an open-enrollment public charter school (Pre-K thru 8th grade) thatserves the children of New Orleans. The school’s mission is toprepare every student for success in high school, college andbeyond. ■

alumninews

WHEN JAY SHEATS ’93 got the request tohelp his alma mater, he did not hesitate.

The College is in the midst of fiercecompetition with other colleges and uni-versities to recruit a stellar pool of AfricanAmerican young men each year for its 800freshman spots.

That’s where Sheats and other alumnicome in.

Terrance Dixon ’87, associate dean ofAdmissions and Recruitment, and HenryGoodgame ’84, director of Alumni Relations,have formed the Morehouse AlumniRecruitment Team (MART). The group willserve as an extra front in the recruitment bat-tle for prospective students in 15 cities. MARTwill follow up with students who have beenthe focus of the College’s recruiters.

“We want to make sure we are arm-ing our Admissions and Recruitment staffwith people in these cities,” Goodgamesaid. “We did a similar program in 2004and we thought with the challenge offinding Renaissance Men, we needed todo a refresher.”

Dixon said the MART members, whorepresent a wide range of class years goingback to the mid-1960s, will help in theinterviewing process, the follow-upprocess, on-the-ground recruiting andwith measuring the quality and characterof prospective men of Morehouse.

“We’re doing something a little bit dif-ferent,” Dixon told MART members. “Youguys will serve as a support organization tothe recruitment team by attending localjob fairs, presenting for your local recruit-ment information sessions and interview-ing during the admissions process.”

Fifteen alumni came to campus a dayearly during Homecoming weekend inOctober to attend a three-hour trainingsession with Dixon and Goodgame.

They were given an overview of theCollege’s recruiting efforts, trained incharacter assessment and interviewingtechniques and shown the kinds of thingsthey should focus on when trying to helpthe College to “seal the deal” withprospective.

That’s what attracted Sheats.“There’s an urgent need for us to give

back,” he said. “People have laid founda-tions for me particularly and many of usbefore, so there’s no excuse for me not todo the same to help others out.”

Said Dixon: “I need you to interviewthem and I need you to talk to them.The market is just that competitive. Butthis is about fit.” ■

-AS

Duke Bradley III ’98 to Open ‘Mays Prep’ in New Orleans

Recruiting Effort Gets Boostwith Morehouse AlumniRecruitment Team

Terrence Dixon ’87, associate dean of Admissions and Recruitment, leads a MART session.


alumninews

19641959

19541949

1934

2009

Commencement Reunion


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Jerry Braswell ’74 was recentlyawarded the North Carolina Governor’s“Old North State Award” for communityservice. He was honored for streamlin-ing courtroom and jail activities toreduce overcrowding, which saved thestate approximately $800,000 in oneyear. His courtroom is ranked No. 1 inthe state of North Carolina in the dispo-sition of criminal cases.

C. Victor Lander ’75 wasrecently appointed administrative judge,or chief judge,for the MunicipalCourts of the Cityof Dallas, Texas.In this role, he isthe judiciarydepartmentdirector for theCity of Dallas and responsible for theoperations of the 10 Municipal Courts,in a city of 1,300,000 residents, aswell as a budget for the courts inexcess of $3 million.

Asa Yancy Jr. ’75 was recentlynamed one of the top doctors inDenver, Colo., by 5280 Magazine forthe eighth consecutive year. He special-izes in the field of child and adolescentpsychiatry.

Shelton “Spike” Lee ’79 wasrecently honored by Chrysler with the6th Annual Behind the Lens Award.The Chrysler Foundation will donate$25,000 in Lee’s name toMorehouse. The donation will bene-fit the Morehouse College Journalismand Sports Program that was createdto expand the field of sports journal-ism for African American students.The program, which began with seedmoney donated by Lee, launched itsfirst course offerings in January2007. To date, Lee’s efforts haveraised more than $1 million to bene-fit the program.

David Morrow ’80, director ofthe Morehouse College Glee Club,recently conducted the group when itperformed for the soundtrack of arecent movie, Miracle at St. Ana, pro-duced by Shelton “Spike” Lee ’79.

Dewey Clayton ’81 was recentlypromoted to professor of political scienceat the University of Louisville. He also is theauthor of the book African Americans andthe Politics of Congressional Redistricting.

Lee B. Stephens III ’81 wasbeen appointed chief administrator forthe Asia Pacific region for The Bank ofNew York Mellon. He joined the bank in1990 and previously served as a mem-ber of the Global Client Managementteam where, as executive vice presidentand head of public sector banking, heled the company’s efforts in the U.S.covering key supranational, government,municipal, endowment and foundationand other public tax-exempt enterprises.

A. Scott Bolden ’84 was recent-ly honored by the National Partnershipfor Community Leadership (NPCL) withits 2008 Favorite Father Award for out-standing leadership as a father and rolemodel in the community and for improv-ing the well-being of children and fami-lies. The award was given at NPCL’s10th Annual International Conference atGallaudet University Kellogg ConferenceHotel in Washington, D.C.

Rufus H. Rivers ’86 was recent-ly appointed to the board of directorsfor Thomas & Betts Corporation. He is amanaging director of RLJ EquityPartners, LLC, part of which, RLJEquities, is a private investment firmfocusing on middle-market companiesin the media, consumer products andprofessional services sectors. In 2005,Rivers became a member of theMorehouse Leadership Circle of Donorswhen he contributed $100,000 toname a classroom in The LeadershipCenter at Morehouse and supportedthe Board Opportunity Fund.

Prior to joining RLJ Equity, Rivers

served as co-founder and managingdirector of Carlyle Mezzanine Partners,L.P., a private debt and equity fundassociated with The Carlyle Group, oneof the world’s largest investment firms.He also has held executive positionswith TCW/Crescent Mezzanine LLC,Heller Financial, Inc. and the FirstNational Bank of Chicago.

Stuart J. (a.k.a. Stu James)Flemister ’89 recently reprised the roleof “Harpo” in the Color Purple at the FoxTheatre in his hometown of Atlanta. Heperformed on Broadway as “Benny” inRent. His movie credits include BillCondon’sDreamgirls;Downtown AStreet Tale; Houseof Grim and theD.K. Holmes fea-ture BurningSands. Televisionaudiences know him from roles onGeneral Hospital, All My Children andBarbershop. Flemister is currently puttingthe finishing touches on his debut albumLove Is (www.myspace.com/stujames-live) and he is working on a one-manshow titled Son of the South.

Tony Lamar Burks II ‘93 hasbeen awarded a doctorate of educationin educational leadership after success-fully defending his dissertation titled“Testifying: ACase Study ofStudents’Perceptions ofExperiences asMembers of aSchool-BasedYouth Court atan Early College High School.” Burksrecently accepted a dual appointmentas executive director of Small SchoolInnovation and an assistant superin-tendent with the San Diego UnifiedSchool District. In his new roles, hesupports a cohort of 18 small highschools, an early college, and a mid-dle college and leads district-wideefforts to establish early and middlecollege high schools.

Richard Watkins ’97 was recentlyappointed to the associate board of theChicago Committee on Minorities in LargeLaw Firms. The Chicago Committee is amembership-based, non-profit organization

classnotes

19 7 0 s 19 8 0 s 19 9 0 s

Nicholas Austin ‘06 Hired by D.C. Law Firm

Nicholas Austin ‘06 has beenhired to work in the law firm Foley &Lardner LLP in its Washington, D.C.,office. He graduated fromGeorgetown Law School in May2009. While at Georgetown, he waselected president of the GeorgetownBlack Law Students Association and amember of Georgetown’s Barristers’Council, Appellate AdvocacyDivision. Austin also was appointed

to serve as assistant director of Appellate Advocacy for the Council.He and a teammate also competed in the European Law Students

Association (ELSA) Moot Court Competition and battled againsteight law schools from the U.S. and Canada for the chance to repre-sent North America in the ELSA Moot Court World Finals. His teamqualified to represent North America in Geneva, Switzerland, for theworld finals in April.


founded in 1987 as a networking andsupport organization for minority lawyerspracticing in big law firms. Watkins joins aboard of 13 other minority attorneys from lawfirms throughout Chicago. He is employed byBrinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, one of the largestintellectual property law firms in the nation.

Elijah Watson ’98 was honored bythe Charlotte North Carolina Mayor’sMentoring Alliance as the Mentor of theYear for his exceptional work founding andmanaging the STARS [Striving TogetherAchieving Real Solutions] Academy, a localtutoring and mentoring group in partnership

with the Charlotte Chapter of the MorehouseAlumni Association and Big Brothers/BigSisters of Charlotte. He also was recentlyfeatured in The Charlotte Post for changingthe lives of students and making them intomasters of math, English and finance.

Jasaun “Jay” Boone ’01, veteranpolitical consultant and managing partnerof Gateway Strategies LLC, has entered theworld of journalism as a political commen-tator and Democratic strategist for FoxNews and MSNBC Networks. Boone pro-vided commentary to the two major net-works for the presidential electoral cycle,beginning with the race between BarackObama and John McCain during summer2008. He can be seen during variousnews segments throughout the week.

Harold Martin ’02 was recentlyhonored by The Bert King Foundation forhis dedication to service and history ofacademic, professional and leadershipaccomplishments at Yale Law School.Each year, several members of the AfricanAmerican Student Union are presentedwith this award to recognize their poten-tial, determination and self-awareness tomake significant contributions to society.

Jimmy L. Davis ’02 was recentlyhired as a consultant to DevelopmentDimensions International (DDI) in New YorkCity. He will provide hiring and developmentsolutions to DDI clients for this globalhuman resource consulting firm. Prior tojoining DDI, Davis was employed at TheHome Depot, including positions in merg-ers and acquisitions, talent management,staffing and most recently, diversity andinclusion. He also served as an adjunctprofessor of psychology at Morehouseand Spelman colleges and was honoredas Black Engineer of the Year byLockheed Martin and an engineeringdeans council from historically black col-leges and universities.

Ashton Dunn ’08 has been hired asa digital media analyst for Fry HammondBarr, a leading, full-service marketing andcommunications agency based in Orlando,Fla. As digital media analyst, Dunn isresponsible for the monitoring and analysisof interactive campaigns and website use-ability. Dunn’s previously worked at Apple,Grapevine Notlobbyists, Inc. and the City ofOrlando.

classnotes

ProfilesinLeadership

Expected to Lead Terrance Carroll ’92

TERRANCE DAVID CARROLL ’92 was raised in one of the worst neigh-borhoods in Washington, D.C., by a single mother. But his mother, thedaughter of sharecroppers, expected greatness from her only child—andCarroll delivered. Carroll, a fourth-term U.S. representative, recentlybecame the first African American Speaker of the House for Colorado.

“My mother didn’t have more than a third-grade education. Shewas the daughter of a sharecropper and the granddaughter of a slave,”said Carroll after his election. “I saw her doing the worst kind of work- on her hands and knees cleaning other people’s homes for most ofher life - yet she still taught me that it was our responsibility to makea way for other people and to be a voice for others. She taught methat, though we lacked money, we still had the ability to make a difference in people’s lives. I take that role -advocating for other people - very seriously. Almost everything I’ve done goes back to my role as a voice forother people.”

Carroll chose to attend Morehouse because he wanted to feel he was part of something greater thanhimself. “Morehouse gave me that opportunity,” he said.

Professors like Aaron Parker ’75 of the philosophy and religion department significantly influenced histheological development, and Hamid Taqi, Abraham Davis ’61 and Tobe Johnson ’54 of the political sciencedepartment were the mentors behind his political development, he said.

“But above all, Morehouse’s culture of excellence, commitment to community service and theexpectation that Morehouse men be leaders—all three of which reinforced what I learned from mymother—have shaped my life and career,” he said. “It was the knowledge that I had a responsibility tomake a difference in my community.”

The fact that he is making that difference is irrefutable. Besides being a politician, Davis is also a lawyerand an ordained Baptist minister. His ability to tackle diverse interests began at Morehouse.

“I was president of Chi Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. During my senior year, I was also SGAchief of staff during Otis Moss III’s tenure as SGA president,” he recalled. “I was also very active as a volun-teer in various community groups in Atlanta.”

He graduated with honors with a degree in political science and continues to be involved with his almamater as an active member of the Colorado Chapter of the Morehouse Alumni Association. In 2006 and2008, he was on the planning committee for the Morehouse College Glee Club’s performance in Denver.

Living the lessons from his mother and Morehouse, Carroll now offers the following advice to students:“I encourage future Morehouse Men to follow the example of Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays by pursuing excel-lence in scholarship, service and leadership.”

—Richard Jones

Terrance David Carroll ’92

2 0 0 0 s


BirthsAaron Ellison '98

and his wife, Raycinia,are the proud parents ofa son, Aiden Jacob,born on Jan. 28, 2009,in Charlotte, N.C.

MarriagesKatende Kinene ’02 was married

to Sanyu Senkolo on March 15, 2008.Curtis W. Douglass '92 was married

to his wife, Capucina, on June 21, 2008.

PassagesWilliam Amos “Bill” McGill ’47

recently passed away in Detroit. McGillretired after a stellar career in many are-nas. He was the principal for StatesboroJunior High School, Statesboro, Ga., andpolitical science teacher at both GramblingState University and Wayne CountyCommunity College. He held numerouspositions in both the City of Detroit,Wayne County government and the Stateof Michigan.

Elliot Ernest Franks III ’56 passedon Oct. 16, 2008. In 1964, he managedmarketing activities for the Atlantic BottlingCorporation (now known as Pepsico) for blackretail outlets in South Carolina. His illustriouscareer in public service began as the director ofEconomic Development and Employment forthe Columbia Urban League in 1967. He even-

tually was appointed by Gov. Richard Riley asthe president and chief executive officer of theJobs Economic Development Authority.

Daniel Arthur Williams Jr. ’49recently passed awayin New Britain, Conn.

Richard G.Griffin Jr. ’49recently passedaway. During hisdistinguished career,Griffin served asdirector of library services at the New YorkInstitute of Technology, director of libraryand information services at FayettevilleState University, and was commissioned tothe rank of captain in the United StatesMerchant Marine Academy.

Alexander “A.C.” Brown ‘61recently passed. His funeral was held atSalem Bible Church in Atlanta where heserved as an elder. Brown was retiredfrom the City of Atlanta Housing Authorityand, while at Morehouse, became a mem-ber of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

William James Harding ’63recently passed. His funeral was held at

Antioch Baptist Church North in Atlanta. Thefamily has requested donations be made toOur Lady of Perpetual Help in his honor.

Melvin Earl Walker III ’95recently died as the result of a motorcycleaccident. Celebration of Life services wereheld at the Peach County ComprehensiveHigh School in Fort Valley, Ga. He wasemployed by Warner Robins Air ForceBase (WRAFB) as a mechanical engineerfor the past six years. While there, hereceived a letter of commendation for hiswork on the Lavatory Service TruckImprovement/Safety Modification.

Ryan Smith ’99 recently died after along battle with lymphoma at NorthwesternMemorial Hospital in Chicago. He was afirst-year ensemble member of the LyricOpera of Chicago’s prestigious artist devel-opment program. This past spring, after

years of setbacks and struggles, Smith ful-filled a dream when he sang on stage atthe Metropolitan Opera, playing the minorrole of “Don Ricardo” in the rarely per-formed Verdi opera Ernani.

Makoyle Pambi ’03 recently diedas the result of an automobile accident inMacon, Ga. Pambi was the son of DanielPambi, curator and instructor in thechemistry department at Morehouse. Hisfuneral was held on campus in Sale HallChapel on Jan. 24.

Jasiri L. Whipper ’06 died frominjuries suffered after a vehicle struck himon Interstate 95 in South Carolina.Whipper, a reporter for The Post andCourier newspapers, covered NorthCharleston and Berkeley County commu-nity news. ■

classnotes

HOMECOMING 2009October 19-25, 2009

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143RD FOUNDER’S DAY CONVOCATION

February 11, 2010 • King Chapel

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REFLECTIONS OF EXCELLENCEFebruary 13, 2010 • King Chapel

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LIONEL C. BARROW JR. ’48 passed away on Jan. 23, 2009, just days after he wit-

nessed the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama. The election of the nation’s

first black president was a fitting end to a life of fervent political involvement, which

began in the ’60s with the Unity Democratic Club in Brooklyn, N.Y., that resulted in

the successful election of Rep. Shirley Chisholm to the U.S. Congress to his recent

campaigning for Obama as he sought to become a super delegate.

Barrow, an educator, journalist and civil rights activist, graduated from Morehouse in 1948. He was initi-

ated into Alpha Rho chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, at the College in May 1944.

Throughout his distinguished life and career, he provided leadership to many organizations. In 1968, he

became vice president and associate director of research for the nation’s third oldest advertising agency, Foote,

Cone and Belding in New York. He served as dean of the School of Communications at Howard University

from 1975 to 1985, during which time the school radio station was established.

As a member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC),

Barrow founded the Ad Hoc Committee on Minority Education in an effort to recruit, train and place

minorities in communications. In 1970, he founded and became the acting head of the Minorities and

Communication Division of AEJMC. The AEJMC honored him by establishing the Lionel C. Barrow

Scholarship in 1970 and by giving him its Presidential Award in 1997.

Barrow is survived by his wife, Frederica, five daughters, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. ■

Lionel C. Barrow Jr. ’48 Served As Howard’s Dean of the School of Communications

Help Morehouse and your classmates keep up with what’s happening in your life—both personally and professionally—by sending Class Notes items to the addressbelow. We’d like to share the good news about everyone’s accomplishments.

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lthough some would define ‘diverse HBCU’ as an oxymoron, it was thebreadth of cultures, interests and values flowing throughout theMorehouse student body that most inspired me to travel. After grad-uation, I found myself at the London School of Economics, a well-blended community reputed for vaulting across the typical racialand religious divides of Europe. London was full of ethnicenclaves permeating nearly every Metro stop; but my journey

spilled over to France, Scotland and Spain, where I discoveredentirely new worlds of food, music and art. A new, broader

perspective awaited my return home.My mother, Dr. Joyce Young, was the first of her humble Kittitian family

to graduate high school. Needless to say, the value of education was well-respected at home, which is why the pursuit of a degree in physics broughtme to none other than Morehouse College. It was during my time in Atlantathat I realized how the absence of educational opportunity could cripple acommunity. Watching unemployment and despair run parallel through thestreets of the city hailed as the black mecca genuinely moved me.

It was late in the fall of 2006 in Durham, N.C., when I linked thisMorehouse inspiration with meaningful action. My father, a life-time educa-tor and engineer, lent his experience to help me incorporate an academic-enhancement non-profit established to serve our metro communities.Although the services offered have evolved since that time, OsborneEducational Services still rests on a basic devotion to delivering scienceand math tutorials for students in need, at flexible, affordable rates.

Young on the campus of the University of North Carolinaat Chapel Hill.

By Michael Young ’06

“It is these intimateencounters I’ve shared thatinspire me towards service,so that the quiet voices of

the famished, poor andoppressed can still be

heard during the pivotaldiscussions on our

society’s future.”

‘MOREHOUSE INSPIRED

A


TheRoadTaken

The following year, I was blessedwith even further opportunities to liveout the servant-leader ethos imbued byour alma mater. As a University of NorthCarolina (UNC) master of publicadministration student, I became part ofthe largest, university-based governmentadvisory organization in the UnitedStates. Presenting an opportunity tomaster the principles of public servicemanagement, organizational leadership,and policy analysis, the coursework wasriveting. The program also provided afield of student development activities,such as public-sector consulting projects.My first consulting assignment: To drafta housing development bid procurement

policy for the Town of Chapel Hill’sHousing Department. Followingmonths of research, countless meetingsand tireless effort, I helped design a planaimed at creating local jobs and enhanc-ing the businesses of minority andwomen entrepreneurs. Ensuring align-ment with HUD federal guidelines,North Carolina law, and local communi-ty needs was certainly challenging, but itpiqued my interest in the legal field, andI began forming my own notions ofsocial justice. Then, I took the next step.

A year later, while jointly enrolled atUNC’s law school, I was confronted byan unexpected challenge. An EasternEuropean immigrant, recently convictedof a state felony, saw the refugee statushe rested upon the past four years quick-ly receding from beneath his feet. Thispro bono matter was the first time I hadto wrestle a legal question with more atstake than my grade in a course. It waseerily exciting. I met him at the localoffice of an international law firm.

There, his wife and the partner

responsible for his case translated hislanguage and the legal question intosomething I could understand. No soon-er than I left the office, the heavy weightof this new duty descended on me. Onlya newly developed sense of urgencyallowed me to plow through the murkyfield of immigration law to deliver somemuch-needed answers to the client.Over the following weeks, we filed theappropriate papers.

The summer I clerked at the NorthCarolina Court of Appeals brought mul-tiple lessons on how the rule of law istruly the cornerstone of our society. Inthe chambers of the second most seniorjudge of what was reverentially referred

to as “the working court,” there was nospace for an idle mind. I spent that sum-mer buried in memos, briefs and opin-ions. But in a generous exchange, almostdaily, Judge Wynn provided a bounty ofinvaluable judicial gems. Judge Wynnworked as a JAG officer and was chair ofthe ABA Judicial Committee. The pas-sion with which he advocated for justicethroughout his several stations was mon-umental. As a parting gift on my finalday, an aged copy of Simple Justiceaccompanied an inspirational, but sobercharge: “They will try, but don’t let themstop you.”

With all of these inspirational memo-ries fixed in my mind, the concept ofpublic service has gradually evolved fromthe abstract onus it once was to a morecomfortable, unassuming fixture in mylife. It is these intimate encounters thatinspire me towards service, so that thequiet voices of the famished, poor andoppressed can still be heard during thepivotal discussions on our society’s future.Although this essay reflects mostly upon

the subsequent years, it couldn’t possiblybe overstated how influential my time atMorehouse College was in molding theimage of the man I am today, as well asthe one I hope to be tomorrow. ■

_________________________

Michael Young ‘06, a Durham, N.C.,native, is in his third year of a joint-degreeJ.D./master of public administration pro-gram at the University of North Carolina atChapel Hill. He may be contacted [email protected].

If so, we want to hear about it.

Send to: [email protected]

Taking the Road Less Traveled?

N

S

EW

Taking the Road Less Traveled?

ME TO BECOME A SERVANT-LEADER’

Show Your True Colors on the Green...AND SUPPORT THE MOREHOUSE NATIONAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

BUFFALO VINYL HEAD COVERS:MODEL #MH34• With the look and feel of leather• Logo Embroidered on TopHEAD COVERS PRICE: $60.00 for set up (5)

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OR, MAIL TOMorehouse College

National Alumni Association Office 830 Westview Drive, SW • Box 93

Atlanta, GA. 30314

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ProfessionThe Luella Klein Associate Professor and

Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division,

Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; Full-

time faculty member, Emory University,

OB/GYN

EducationBachelor of Science, Morehouse

College, 1975; Medical Degree, Yale

Medical School, 1979; Master of

Public Health, Emory University, 1991

PassionsMarried to Lorna Douglass for 28

years; Sons, Jonathon, 24, a 2006

Morehouse graduate, and Kenneth, 20, a

senior at Emory University

Mark of DistinctionLargest donor to the Morehouse

Annual Fund in 2006. For 22 years

Michael Lindsay ‘75 has given to the

Annual Fund to help a man of

Morehouse realize his dream of

becoming a Morehouse Man.

Why does he give? “I went to Morehouse on a scholarship—

otherwise, I would not have been able

to get a Morehouse education. I am

repaying the anonymous people who

funded my education.”

http://giving.morehouse.edu • (404) 215-2658

Michael Lindsay ’75and Lorna Douglass Lindsay

Mor

ehou

seM

emor

ies

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• Named “the hottest men's college” in the nation in Kaplan/Newsweekmagazine's August 2007 listing of “25 Hottest Schools”

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• Recognized by The Wall Street Journal as one of the top feederschools for the 15 most prominent graduate and professional schoolsin the country in September 2003

• One of only two Historically Black Colleges or Universities to produce three Rhodes Scholars

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