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Hank Aaron Cicely Tyson «>jr. Actress Cicely Tyson and Scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. to Address Class of 2009; Hall of Famer Hank Aaron to Receive Honorary Doctorate By ADD SEYMOUR JR. 520 Morehouse seniors enter the lush Century Campus on May 18 for their final few moments as men of Morehouse, they will be given advice from Emmy-award winning actress Cicely Tyson and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. during the College’s 125th Spring Commencement. Tyson is a trailblazing actress and activist who, through an award-winning film career playing strong black women, has raised the consciousness of audiences world wide. She was the first black actress to co-star in a television drama se ries; she portrayed “Rebecca” in the memorable film “Sounder;” and she won an unprecedented two Emmy awards for the title role in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.” A world ambassador for UNICEF and a volunteer for Save the Chil dren, Tyson is also a founder o f the Dance Theater of Harlem. Currendy, she is involved with the Market Women’s Project with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and FuturePac, an organization dedi cated to raising funds to support women with political aspirations. Gates, one of the nation’s pre- mier African American scholars, has become a chief storyteller of African American history and lin eage. The Harvard professor has edited influential anthologies such as The Norton Anthology of African American Literature and the Schomburg Library of Nineteenth Century Black Women Writers, and co-editing many others, including The Civitas Anthology of African American Slave Narratives. Among his many groundbreak ing pieces of work, Gates has been behind the African American Lives series in which he traced the roots of celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Tom Joyner, Chris Rock and Tina Turner back to their fam ilies’ beginnings in Africa. Tyson, Gates and baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron will each re ceive an honorary doctorate of Hu mane letters. Aaron is one of the most re spected figures in sports after a 23- year baseball career that ended with him being a near unanimous choice for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Amid repeated death threats, Aaron became best known for breaking one of baseball’s most revered records: he hit his 715th career home run in April 1974 to break Babe Ruth’s long-standing mark. Aaron finished his career with 755 home runs. After leaving his playing career behind, Aaron spent 13 years as director of Player Development for the Atlanta Braves, becoming a senior vice president in 1989. Aaron also has become a distin guished businessman. Also during Commencement weekend, alumni from across the nation return to campus for Re union 2009: A Gathering of Men. Classes with graduating years end ing in four or nine will be honored during activities that include the May 16th Reunion Banquet at the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Atlanta. One alumnus likely to have the most fun will be Rynalder D. Ram- beau Sr. ’34 as he returns to campus. The retired educator from Donaldsonville, Ga„ is 98 years old and will be the oldest alumnus on hand during Commencement/ Reunion this year. But he won’t be the only one celebrating in the Rambeau family. His son, Rynalder Jr. ’64, will also be attending Reunion 2009. For a full schedule of Commence ment/Reunion events go to page 8 or go online to:http://www. more- house.edu/events/2009/commence- ment/index.html. ■ Morehouse Hosts Rare Public Appearance by Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke By ADD SEYMOUR JR. When the world witnessed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke tell a Morehouse College audience the economy was slowly improving, the nation’s fiscal health was hardly the only newsworthy item. What turned heads was the fact that Bernanke was at Morehouse. Rarely do Federal Reserve board members make public appearances. But seeking to sooth frazzled nerves over the economy, Bernanke has been looking to explain to people how the Fed works and to detail the steps he is taking to fix the nation’s fiscal problems. So in the midst of a global economic nosedive, he chose Morehouse as the place to speak. “To me, it was indeed a coup,” said Denise Moore, director of Government Relations. “He could have gone to his own alma mater Harvard or even Yale.” Bernanke spoke for 25 minutes in the filled Bank of America Audi torium as national print media and cable television outlets such as Fox Business News, CNBC, CNN and MSNBC followed every moment. He then took an array of probing questions from Morehouse senior business and economic students, Tristan Allen, Anthony Roberts, Ricardo Rabathaly and Zantoine Truluck. “I think it’s important for people to understand [what’s happening (Please see Morehouse Hosts Bernanke' page 4) Fed Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke (second from left) gets a tour of the Martin Luther King International Chapel from Phillip Howard '86 (left). President Robert M. Franklin Jr. '75 (second from right) and Lawrence E. Carter Sr, (right), dean of the Chapel. Inside Morehouse is Going Green and Online We are doing our part in the College's efforts to go green and be environmentally conscious as you are now holding the last printed edition of Inside Morehouse. Start ing with the September issue, Inside Morehouse will be available online at www.morehouse.edu! Each edition, every story and picture, will be available to a much wider audience as anyone with Internet access will be able to see what's happening with faculty, staff and students at Morehouse College. If you have questions about the change, contact editor Add Seymour Jr. at aseymour@morehouse.edu.