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INSIDE MOREHOUSE, APRIL/MAY 2009
Monica Stevenson
Fulfills Lifelong Dream
with Debut Gospel CD
Grammy-winning Jazz Trumpeter
Terence Blanchard Thanks Morehouse
By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
As a youngster, Monica Lee
Stevenson intently listened to the
blues and gospel songs that her fa
ther, mother, aunts and uncles all
performed throughout Alabama.
Her father’s group was called The
Inspirational Souls.
By the time she was seven,
Stevenson, her sister and three
cousins formed their own group,
The Little Inspirational Souls.
“My family sings,” Stevenson
said. “When that’s all you see them
do, you automatically pick it up.”
It has turned into a career for the
College’s NASA/Project Space ad
ministrative assistant. Stevenson has
been singing gospel professionally
for years, but has now released her
debut CD, “Finally...In God’s
Time.
The CD is a mix of gospel styles
that Stevenson hopes will reach a
diverse audience.
“I think it is cross-generational,”
she said. “I have something for the
older section and for the younger
group. I like a variety.”
Stevenson has been performing
locally since moving to Atlanta in
1986 from her native Wetumpka,
Ala. She was a background singer
for artists such as Dorothy Nor
wood, Dottie Peoples and Juanita
Bynum. In 1997, she formed her
own group, Lisa Stevenson and
Company, and has been on the
road, performing all over the coun
try. Her husband, Derrick, is her
music director and producer.
Stevenson’s first CD is a culmi
nation of a lifelong dream for the
wife and mother of four whose days
begin each morning with a 6 a.m.
prayer team meeting and ends
many nights after 1 a.m. in studios,
in interviews or on a stage.
“It’s a lot, but I know I’ve been
equipped to do it,” Stevenson said.
“But God doesn’t place anything on
us that we can’t bear.”
Her work is paying off. She was
named Best Female Artist at the
2008 Gospel Choice Awards.
Stevenson also won the 2008 Sickle
Smart Award from the Sickle Cell
Foundation. Her song, “Lord Keep
Me,” is featured a compilation CD
project for the Foundation.
Stevenson will also be perform
ing on BET’s “Bobby Jones Gospel”
in July.
One of the things she looks for
ward to the most: performing with
the legendary Albertina Walker on
May 18. Stevenson covered one of
Walker’s songs, “Lord Keep Me,” on
her CD.
Her debut CD is being played on
radio stations not only in Atlanta,
but throughout the nation.
“This is my dream,” Stevenson
said. “When 1 started singing, I said,
‘This is what I want to do.’ It’s been
a big thrill for me. I’m very excited
about the future.” ■
By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
L egendary jazz trumpeter Ter
ence Blanchard was about to
perform a tune with the More
house College Jazz Ensemble before
an appreciative audience on April
18. But first he wanted to show how
much he appreciated Morehouse.
The devastation of Hurricane
Katrina in 2005 forced Blanchard’s
son, Terence Jr., away from their
home in New Orleans and the
school he was attending, Dillard
University.
“Morehouse was kind enough to
take him in,” Blanchard said. “[The
College] took him in for an entire
semester. He was in the vocal de
partment and studied under David
Morrow. I tried to get him to stay [at
Morehouse], But I have to thank
Morehouse for everything.”
Blanchard then launched into
several tunes with the Jazz Ensem
ble during its annual Spring Con
cert in the Martin Luther King Jr.
International Chapel.
Performing songs by songwriters
such as Lionel Hampton, Duke
Ellington, Hoagy Carmichael and
Earth Wind and Fire, Blanchard and
the 21-piece ensemble had the
crowd swaying throughout the
evening.
Two established Atlanta-based
musicians, pianist Louis Heriveaux
and drummer Che Marshall, also
performed with Blanchard.
Blanchard is a multi-award win
ner who has scored the music for 43
films during his career, many of
those by Shelton “Spike” Lee ’79.
One was Lee’s documentary on
Hurricane Katrina, “When the Lev
ees Brok&” The documentary in
spired Blanchard to write and
record his Grammy-award winning
CD, “A Tale of God’s Will (Requiem
for Katrina),” his musical interpre
tation of the devastation the hurri
cane left on the Crescent City.
While grateful that Morehouse
gave his son a temporary home,
Blanchard said he has always had
the highest respect for the College.
“Morehouse is one of the defin
ing institutions for African Ameri
cans,” he said. “It has been that way
for a number of generations. So it
means a lot for me to be part of the
institution in any way.” ■
Terence Blanchard performs with the Morehouse College Jazz Ensemble during their Spring Concert in the Martin Luther King
Jr. International Chapel.
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Carter Brings the Underwater World
to Morehouse Through Scuba Diving
Senior Jamie Davis swims in the pool at Archer Hall during his scuba diving class.
By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
O ne thought flashed through
Nathan Carter’s mind once
he started scuba diving as an
Army Ranger 25 years ago.
“Man, this is pretty cool,” he said
with a laugh.
He liked it so much that he be
came an instructor and pushed to
bring a scuba diving course to
Morehouse seven years ago.
Scuba diving has long been popu
lar at mainstream institutions, Carter
said. But once he got out of the Army
after a 30 year career, he knew he
wanted to bring scuba diving to a
historically black college setting.
“When we started out, we had
one class per semester with 15 stu
dents,” Carter said. “Now we’re up
to three classes per semester and
every class has been completely full.
We’ve had students from the
other colleges trying to take the
class but they can’t because there are
no vacancies.”
Carter’s class is more than just
jumping into the water and swim
ming around. While it is a physical
education course, the class also
includes science, physics, biology
and math.
Then comes the actual pool time
where diving skills are taught along
with using underwater equipment
and learning emergency procedures.
But Carter is also a certified div
ing instructor which means that,
while it is not a course pre-requisite,
students can become certified to
be able to scuba dive anywhere in
the world.
“My ultimate goal is to prepare
them for open water, if they
choose,” he said. “Right now I think
we’ve had 86 students who have
been certified since we started
the course. A lot of students,
after they leave here, go on for
additional training or they’ll go on
dive trips.”
But students are hardly the only
ones in the Morehouse community
who scuba dive.
J.K. Haynes, dean of the Division
of Science and Mathematics, is an
avid diver who has been diving all
over the world, including the Gala
pagos Islands off the western coast
of South America. Biology profes
sor Errol Archibald has been diving
since 1991.
“For me, it’s an opportunity
to visit other cultures and places
and it allows me to get away from
the norm,” Archibald said. “It’s
a skill that allows me to visit another
environment - the underwater
environment - and see species of
fish and how they interact with each
other and how they exist.”
Haynes praises the work Carter
has been doing at Morehouse,
as well as in Atlanta where he
has trained many of the city’s
black divers.
“Nate is a very interesting guy,”
Haynes said. “I think he’s been ex
tremely effective in teaching scuba
diving to our students.”
That’s exactly what Carter set out
to do several years ago.
“My goal was to bring it to an
HBCU,” he said. “It’s been great.” ■