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N! W S
INSIDE MOREHOUSE, SEPTEMBER 2008
Rubell Family Donates $1 Million Ben Carson Conies to
. _ A . Morehouse to Award
Purvis Young Art Collection to Morehouse “S; 38
By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
E ight years ago, Purvis Young had
five days to get his rent money
together or he and all of his be
longings would be out on the streets.
Art collectors Don and Mera Rubell,
who had relocated from New York to
Miami, could not let that happen, es
pecially since Young’s possessions in
cluded an extensive collection of his
original paintings.
“(His paintings) told the story of
his life; he told the story of his
neighborhood,” said Mera Rubell.
“The story he was telling couldn’t be
sent to a dump.”
The Rubells’ saw the impact and
value of Young’s 15 years of work,
staved off his eviction, bought his
paintings and funded the storage
and reconditioning of his work.
And they provided Young a finan
cial stream that will keep a roof over
his head for the rest of his life.
Now Young’s expressionist,
urban art is featured in more than
50 museums worldwide and he has
been called “the Picasso of the
Ghetto.” He is also featured in the
44-year-old Rubell Family Collec
tion, one of the world’s leading col
lections of contemporary art.
The Rubells have donated to
Morehouse 109 pieces of his origi
nal paintings - valued at more than
$1 million. It is the largest, single
collection of art donated to More
house and becomes the world’s
largest set of Young’s work outside
of Miami. The collection will hang
permanendy in the African American
Hall of Fame. Northern Trust spon
sored the installation of the work.
The gift was announced during a
press conference in the lobby of the
Martin Luther King Jr. International
Chapel on Aug. 28.
“Not only is Mr. Young a master
ful artist, but his work reflects a part
of our culture that should be pre
served for future generations,” said
President Robert M. Franklin Jr. 75.
“We are extremely pleased and ex
cited to have this modern American
collection at Morehouse College
and to be able to share this visual
art, not only with members of this
campus community and the Atlanta
University Center community, but
with the community at large.”
Born in Miami’s Liberty City in
1943, Young became a street artist
who used much of what other peo
ple considered junk or trash to cre
ate art. Self-trained without much
formal education, Young began fo
cusing on painting during a stint in
jail. From his small home/studio,
Young, who is recovering from kid
ney replacement surgery, has cre
ated pieces that chronicle life in
his poverty-stricken, crime-infested
neighborhood in Miami.
“In thinking about what institu
tion [should house Young’s work],
I thought the perfect institution to
take a collection like this would be
Morehouse,” said Northern Trust’s
Sheldon Anderson who grew up in
Miami and admired Young’s work.
The collection will be overseen
by the Division of Humanities
and Social Sciences with artist
and instructor Charles Nelson
heading up a group that will decide
how it will be integrated into
educational programming. ■
SKIP MASON ELECTED
33rd National President of Alpha
Phi Alpha Incorporated
Alpha Phi Alpha Inc., national president Herman "Skip" Mason Jr., interm vice
president of Student Services (left), greets Morehouse Alphas.
Herman “Skip” Mason Jr., in
terim vice president for Student
Services and the College’s archivist,
will be adding another prestigious
title to his resume: general president
of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Mason was elected to a four-
year term as the 33rd national pres
ident of the nation’s oldest, African
American Greek-lettered organiza
tion during the fraternity’s conven
tion in Kansas City, Mo., in July
2008. More than 200,000 men have
been initiated into Alpha Phi
Alpha, including icons such as
Martin Luther King Jr. ’48 and
Thurgood Marshall.
“Having known 10 of the past
12 national presidents...it’s an
honor being in the circle,” said
Mason. “But more importantly,
I understand the tremendous
responsibility in helping refocus
the fraternity’s goals and objectives
on those critical issues affecting
African American men, specifically
getting young boys interested
in education.”
Mason plans programs to
nurture young men and encourage
academic achievement.
Morehouse will host Mason’s
inaugural the weekend of Jan. 23-
25 in the Martin Luther King Jr. In
ternational Chapel. The ceremony
will be the fraternity’s first-ever
public inauguration. Honorary co
chairs of the event include Presi
dent Robert M. Franklin Jr. ’75. ■
I'm Home'
(Continued from the cover)
“Howard Thurman would fasci
nate us kids,” Freeman said. “He was
such an outstanding individual. John
Hope was the president and Samuel
Archer was the No. 2 man. I even
remember being in the same room
with W.E.B. Du Bois.”
But America was in the Great
Depression, the nation’s worst eco
nomic downturn. The College strug
gled financially and so did students.
The situation forced Freeman to
leave Morehouse in 1931.
“No money,” he said. “Just didn’t
have it. The conditions required that
I leave (school). My education had
to be disrupted.”
He went back to Missouri, even
tually becoming a government clerk
in 1942 and rising to civil service ex-
aminer-in-charge. He retired in 1971
after an acclaimed 29-year career.
But he missed Morehouse.
Years later, his daughter, Rebecca
Freeman-Adams, became a professor
at Spelman College.
“I bought Daddy on (the
Morehouse) campus when he was
90,” she said. “He walked up to Graves
Hall, straight up to his old room. It
was amazing. That’s how impression
able Morehouse was to Daddy.”
Then earlier this year, her daugh
ter Jasmine was talking with her
grandfather.
“I was just asking about his
past and what he was proud of and
what he would do if he had the
opportunity,” she said. “He said, T
would definitely like to go back to
Morehouse.’”
Jasmine picked up the phone and
called the office of President Robert M.
Franklin Jr. ’75. She left a message.
“Then literally 15 minutes later, I
get a call back on my cell phone and
it was Mr. Franklin himself,” she said.
“I was blown away.”
Freeman was given a certificate of
attendance and was introduced as an
associate member of the Morehouse
College National Alumni Associa
tion, representing the class of 1933.
He is the only living person associ
ated with that class.
“It was a proud moment for the
entire Freeman family,” Jasmine
Adams said.
For Freeman, the day was the
completion of a 79-year journey.
“I kept pinching myself,” he said
of the Summer Commencement cer
emony. “I couldn’t think. I was too
excited. It was a thriller.” ■
Pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson
told 38 Atlanta students that
they hold the key to their educational
success.
"The responsibility for obtaining
a good education is not with your
teachers, not with your parents," he
said in the Executive Conference
Centers Bank of America Auditorium
on Aug. 22. "It’s your own. So there is
really no excuse for not accomplishing
what you really want to accomplish."
Carson and his wife, Candi, were
in Atlanta to present $1,000 scholar
ships from the Carson Scholars Fund
to the 38 Atlanta Public School stu
dents, who ranged from fourth grade
to high school juniors. The scholars
maintain high grades, but also excel
in humanitarian pursuits. The schol
arship money is invested on their be
half until the student attends college.
Jordon Nesmith was a 2004 Car-
son Scholar who is now entering his
freshman year at Morehouse. He told
the group that winning the scholar
ship is only the beginning.
"It is not about how you got
there, but what you do along the
way," he said. "Your job is to go out
and make a difference." ■
ARCHE Study Finds
Metro Atlanta Tops
Nation in College
Enrollment Growth
Metro Atlanta continues to be the
nations hottest spot to pursue colle
giate studies.
Since 1989, the area's percentage
growth in college enrollment was up
62 percent by 2005, according to a
study by the Atlanta Regional Council
for Higher Education (ARCHE). That is
the highest percentage increase
among the nations eight largest higher
education centers and outpaces metro
Atlanta's population growth.
"Our colleges and universities are
national role models for working with
regional leaders in promoting prosper
ity, educating a skilled workforce and
improving quality of life," said ARCHE
President Michael A. Gerber.
The study ranked the nation's 50
largest metropolitan areas by college
students enrolled and found metro
Atlanta ranks third with 47,548
African-American students.
Some of the other findings: metro
Atlanta is seventh in degrees earned;
in the top 10 for degrees earned across
14 academic fields; and fifth in univer
sity research.
To view the entire study, go to
www.atlantahighered.org/MetroAreas.
Morehouse is one of 19 private
and public institutions in ARCHE,
which builds awareness of the size,
scope, impact and value of higher ed
ucation in the region and helps its
members share strengths through
cooperative programs. ■