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Respect the Creation, Jones Says During
Science and Spiritual Awareness Week
By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
R espect for a higher being goes hand
in hand with respecting the earth,
environmentalist Van Jones said
during the 2011 Science and Spiritual
Awareness Week.
“The way you show you love the cre
ator is your respect for the creation,” he
said. “Do not live in a society of eco-
apartheid anymore.”
Jones’ speech was one of several
events during the annual celebration of
the union of science and spirituality at
Morehouse. This year, the focus was on
the spiritual connection between renais
sance and vocation, said Lawrence E.
Carter Sr., dean of the Martin Luther
King Jr. International Chapel.
“We’re coming out of a time in his
tory where people have viewed their
career choices in a very limited way,”
Carter said. “But the interrelatedness
and interdependence of all humanity
require everyone to think of their voca
tion in moral cosmopolitan terms, in
terms that transcend all boundaries. We
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Environmentalist Van Jones
have got to
think in terms
of the effect
that the deci
sions that we
make have
beyond our
immediate sur
roundings.”
University
of Washington
humanities professor Michael Honey
spoke about the part labor unions played
in the civil rights movement and their
continued need today.
“I’m not sure why they are trying to
destroy the unions,” Honey said during his
talk in the African American Hall of Fame.
“But if you take the unions out of the pic
ture, we re going to be in deep, deep trouble.”
Twelve alumni preachers and current
Chapel assistants gave speeches on the
themes “Hearing the Call” “Answering
the Call” and “Nurturing the Call.”
Twenty-nine preachers, laity and
scholars were inducted into this year’s
Martin Luther King Jr. College of
Ministers and Laity, Board of Sponsors
and Collegium of Scholars, including
Jones, who delivered the keynote address.
The final event of the 2011 celebra
tion was the Easter Sunday address by the
Rev. Joseph E. Lowery. Lowery and his
wife, Evelyn, were honored for their work
in the civil rights movement with the
Gandhi-King-Ikeda Community Builders
Prize and a new oil portrait that will hang
in the Hall of Honor in King Chapel.
Next year, the week will have a new
name: the 27th Annual Martin Luther
King Jr. College of Ministers and Laity. It
will be the first reunion of the Morehouse
College alumni clergy, former chapel assis
tants and the MLK Jr. Board of Preachers,
Sponsors and Collegium of Scholars.
“By establishing it next year as the
27th assembly, we are able to build on
our tradition of inducting clergy, laity
and scholars,” Carter said. “Continuing
this annual program as an event for
those three groups during the school
year gives us an opportunity to
enhance the quality of the program
ming for our students.” ■
Evelyn and Joseph Lowery (left) view their oil portrait with President Robert M. Franklin (right) during Easter Services.
CIA Journal Needs New Resources, Says Mills
By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
NEW RESOURCES WILL BE NEEDED for the 54-year-old,
Morehouse-based CL4 Journal (College Language Association) to
thrive in the future, said Terry Mills, dean of the Division of
Humanities and Social Sciences.
The Journal, which is housed at Morehouse and led by editor-in-
chief Cason Hill, is funded by the College Language Association.
Former Morehouse President Hugh Gloster founded it in 1937.
The CLA Journal is a selective, peer-reviewed humanities journal
that fosters professional development and cultivates student achieve
ment and creativity at historically black colleges and universities.
The Journal, which has an international readership, publishes contri
butions from leading scholars in literature and the humanities.
“In order to sustain this legacy at Morehouse in the 21st century,
the Journal must expand its staff and increase its funding,” Mills said.
“An expanded budget would allow for summer stipends, which would
bolster the editorial leadership of the Journal.
“Increases in funding would make it possible to extend the CLA
Journal’s national and international footprint—and lead to a new
status as a periodical that emphasizes African American and Africana
literary studies, as well as interdisciplinary contributions,” he said.
For more information or to support the CLA Journal contact
Dean Terry Mills at tmills@morehouse.edu. ■
Tyrese
Encourages
Students To Get
Rid of Negative
Influences
By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
SINGER AND ACTOR Tyrese Gibson told a
group, of Morehouse students that when they i
saw his portrayal of 'Jody" in the movie "Baby
Boy," they saw a lot of his own life, minus the
violence towards women.
Now he wants young black men to
understand like he eventually did - that there is
much better in store if they work hard and keep
a arde of five positive friends.
"The problem I see in black men.. .is
we’re all about profiling," he said to a group
of sophomores and juniors in the Bank of
Amenca Auditonum on March 18. "We’re
all about trying to prove something to eveiy-
body so they don’t look at us like we’ve
changed.. .and so you dummy yourself
down. You devalue yourself to keep it real
with people who don’t matter anpore.
"Who you share your heart, your
time and space with is a direct reflection
of who you are," he said. "There are so
many different ways of furthering who you
are, your dreams, your visions, your ideas
from surrounding yourself with the right
circle of five friends. It’s about change.
Make yourself better. Help introduce me to
a better version of you. That all goes back
to the circle of five."
Atlanta was a stop on Tyrese’s tour of
HBCUs to talk about his new book, How to
Get Out of Your Own Way. The book talks
about how to become a strong black man
by not allowing mistakes to become long
term issues.
Journalist Jeff Johnson, who has
been moderating the tour's discussions,
joined him.
"I was excited someone.. .chose to
provide some level of insight and inspiration
to a generation that seldom reads books,"
Johnson said. "It’s about who’s willing to
take whatever spirit and energy they have
and share it with the worid. So it has been
an honor to be with Tyrese on these days,
especially at Morehouse."
Tyrese said it was an honor for him to
be at Morehouse. ■