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INSIDE MOREHOUSE. OCTOBER 2010
Inside Morehouse is
about the people who
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Director of Public Relations
Toni O'Neal Mosley
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International Group of Ambassadors Get Close
Look at Morehouse and King Collection
Ambassadors from around the world view documents from the Morehouse
College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection.
By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
A mbassador Bockari Kortu
Stevens of Sierra Leone
has long been an admirer
of the Rev. Martin Luther
King Jr. ’48.
“The ‘I Have a Dream’ speech,
I learned it by heart as a student
in those days,” Stevens said after
he and 50 ambassadors from
around the world were intro
duced to King and Morehouse
during an Oct. 13 visit to the
Atlanta University Center’s
Robert W. Woodruff Library.
“To this day, I can say every
single word of it by heart,” he said.
“It shows my affinity towards
King and my admiration for what
he did. So for me, Morehouse
represents that legacy.”
Stevens’ story is just one of
many as the international digni
taries got an up close look at
Morehouse and the Morehouse
College Martin Luther King Jr.
Collection. It was part of their
“Experience America” tour of
Atlanta. Sponsored by the U.S.
State Department, the tour gives
ambassadors an opportunity to
see U.S. cities they’ve been curi
ous about.
Their interest in Morehouse
mirrors the College’s emphasis
on international relations, said
Julius Coles, director of the
Andrew Young Center for
International Affairs and Office
of Global Education.
“We also are taking the whole
process of internationalization of
our curriculum very seriously,” he
said. “We are seeking to double,
even triple, the number of stu
dents who participate in study
abroad programs.”
Chinese Studies Program
seniors Sean Haythe and
Jermaine McMihelk recited
poems in Mandarin Chinese;
senior Ali Osman talked about
his study abroad experiences in
China and Turkey; and Boris
Dobrijevic, a freshman from
Johannesburg, South Africa,
talked about his journey to
Morehouse.
Vicki Crawford, executive
director of the Morehouse King
Collection, gave an overview
of the 10,000-piece collection
housed in the Woodruff Library.
The ambassadors also saw a
video detailing the College’s
acquisition of the Collection.
“I was very moved when I
was looking at the video. I had to
fight back the tears,” said
Ambassador La Celia Prince of
St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“This is a rich legacy. Atlanta
is the home of the civil rights
movement and it would have
been a sin and a shame for these
documents to not be vested in
the rightful owners, which are
the people of Atlanta. So I was
very moved and I think it even
heightened my appreciation of
Dr. King.”
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed
agreed.
“When you see the enormous
amount of human sacrifice that
was put forth to provide the lives
we have today - for both black
people and white people - it’s
hard not to be moved by the
details of it,” he said. “It’s one
thing to have a view of the archi
tecture, if you will. I think it’s
another thing altogether to look
at the details that make up Dr.
King’s life.” ■
Executive Editor
Vickie G. Hampton
vhampton@morehouse.edu
Editor
Add Seymour Jr.
aseymour@morehouse.edu
Calendar Editor
Julie Pinkney Tongue
jtongue@morehouse.edu
Photographers
Philip McCullom
Add Seymour Jr.
Graphic Design
Ellis Design
Web Services
Vince Baskerville
Hana Chelikowsky
Kara Walker
Administrative Assistant
Minnie L. Jackson
Inside Morehouse is
published monthly during
the academic year by
Morehouse College.
Office of Communications,
Office of Institutional
Advancement. Opinions
expressed in Inside
Morehouse are those of
the authors, not
necessarily of the College.
Two Streets Renamed
to Commemorate
Atlanta Student
Movement
By VICKIE G. HAMPTON
Fifty years ago, Lonnie King
’69 was a foot soldier in the
civil rights movement, racing
through the streets that connect
ed Atlanta University Center
schools as he strategized and
recruited for the non-violent
Atlanta Student Movement.
The movement grew from
lunch counter sit-ins to a boy
cott of downtown Atlanta shops
and restaurants. It dealt a blow
to Atlanta’s Jim Crow laws and
triggered one of the nation’s
most significant movements for
social change.
Because of King and 4,000
other AUC students’ historic stance
against segregation and racial injus
tice, two AUC-area streets now have
been renamed to pay homage to
their accomplisJiments.
Fair Street from Northside
Drive to Joseph E. Lowery
Boulevard has been renamed
Atlanta Student Movement
Boulevard, and SNCC Way is the
new moniker for Raymond Street.
But King, who went on to
serve as SNCC chairman, does
not want to stop there. As the
Morehouse representative on a
commission established in
August to plan the commemora
tion of the student movement,
he insists more must be done In
Atlanta and on AUC campuses
to honor thestudents.
“We have to do more than just
change a street name,” King said.
“All of the [AUC] institutions
need to rededicate themselves to
bringing forth this legacy.”
“The 22 people on the com
mission will do their best to
address this oversight of our city
founders and others by making
more visible representation of
what those young people did 50
years ago.”
Andrew Young Joins Leadership
Center as Scholar-in-Residence
Ambassador Andrew J. Young,
has accepted an invitation to
serve as Distinguished Scholar-
in-Residence with the Lead
ership Center at Morehouse
College.
In his position, he will con
duct public lectures, participate
in academic programs, forums
and workshops and serve as
a critical resource on his areas
of expertise.
“We all know Ambassador
Young for the role in played in
the civil rights movement and
his illustrious career as con
gressman, ambassador, mayor,
author and entrepreneur,” said
Melvinia King, interim execu
tive director and professor of
Leadership Studies should be
Melvinia King, interim execu
tive director of the Leadership
Center and professor of
Leadership Studies. “He brings
an extraordinary gift to the
College. Now more than ever
we need an advocate for peace
and justice.”
Last year, the Center began
working closely with the
Andrew Young Foundation and
its executive director, Andrea
Young in developing a special
topics course Social and
Political Change in the 20th
Century that is being offered
this semester. His joining the
staff seemed a natural extension
of this work.
“Beyond titles and acco
lades, his presence on the cam
pus provides the platform and
opportunity for student, faculty
and staff to experience firsthand
his wisdom and unmatched cre
dentials,” King said.