INSIDE MOREHOUSE, FEBRUARY 2015
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Dalton Becomes New Morehouse Police Chief
College’s First Female Chief to
BY ADD SEYMOUR JR.
WHEN VALERIE DALTON first joined the Atlanta Police Department
as an officer in the late 1980s, she made it clear that she didn’t want to
sit behind a desk.
“I stood toe to toe with everybody,” she said. “I was on the streets. I
did the chasing. I did all of those things. I was determined that I was not
going to be looked at as a female, but as a fellow officer.”
It’s a mindset that propelled her up through the APD ranks during a
27-year career where she eventually became a major and zone commander.
She’s now blazing a new trail at Morehouse, as she has become the first
female to be sworn in as the College’s police chief. Dalton also becomes the
associate vice president for Public Safety.
“I am confident that we have chosen the right person at the right time
for the right assignment, and that’s our new chief,” said President John
Silvanus Wilson Jr. ’79.
Dalton said she understands the significance of being the first female
chief, but she is focused on providing a safer campus for the Morehouse
community, especially students.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to be part of a team that is responsible
for securing and providing a secure atmosphere for future leaders,” Dalton
said. “That’s a wonderful thing to have the opportunity to do.”
A Cincinnati, Ohio, native who moved to South Georgia as a young
ster, Dalton wants to tackle an issue plaguing many of the nation’s HBCUs
- decaying communities that surround them.
Her answer comes in community policing, a concept that Dalton said
makes community stakeholders partners with law enforcement in proac
tively combating crime.
“That’s one of the things that I’m definitely excited about doing here
because even though we’re providing this atmosphere of safety and security,
students should understand that they have a part in it,” she said. “And I think
Focus on Community Policing
Morehouse Police Chief Valerie Dalton speaks after her swearing in.
the best way to do that is to develop things where there is some connectivity
and partnerships. I’m excited about making sure that happens and there is
not that disconnect between the police and students here on campus.”
Dalton took her new post on Jan. 5 and was officially sworn in by
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard ’72 on fan. 27 during a cere
mony in the lobby of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel.
“Here in the audience today are a number of other law enforcement
officials, Howard said. “We have had an opportunity to work with
Valerie and to see her excellent performance over a number of years and
under a lot of very pressing circumstances. So we want you to know
that you have selected an outstanding candidate.” ■
Inside
MOREHOUSE
King’s Legacy Commemorated in January With Speeches,
Music and His Own Words
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Inside Morehouse
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MOREHOUSE STUDENTS have the ability to change the world, Ben Jealous
told a group during his Jan. 16 Martin Luffier King Jr. Lecture Series speech in
the Bank of America Auditorium.
But they first have to get organized, he said.
“If you look at any movement and see its future, look at the position
of young people in that movement,” Jealous said. “If young people are...
kind of on the side, that movement, which could be extraordinary, is des
tined to be mediocre. If young people are pushing their way out front, it’s
probably headed towards being successful.
“Social media activism is important and starting your own thing is
important,” he said. “But at the end of the day, you’ve got to figure out
how to get organized. Figure out what you want to change about this
world and get organized.”
Jealous, the former national president of the NAACP and currently
a member of the Morehouse College Board of Trustees, gave an address
that was part of the College’s monthlong celebration of Martin Luther
King Jr. ’48.
A number of events were held across campus to remember King’s legacy
through books, music and his own words.
‘I was very excited about how the month of commemoration turned
out because it was really important to revisit King’s legacy this year, especially
in the context of all the events happening in the nation and the world, such as
what happened in Ferguson, Missouri,” said Vicki Crawford, executive direc
tor of the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection.”
King’s own words were on display during a King Collection Open
House in the Woodruff Library on Jan. 26.
The Ritz Chamber Players gave the concert, “Ties That Bind: From
Swastika to Jim Crow," in the Emma and Joe Adams Concert Hall of the
Ray Charles Performing Arts Center. Students discussed the book Bloody
Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama’s Black Belt with
author Hasan Jeffries, an associate professor of history at The Ohio State
University on Jan. 22.
The Rev. Rafael Wamock ’91 spoke during the Martin Luther King
Jr. Sunday service in the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel.
During the service, oil portraits were unveiled of King’s sister, Christine
King Farris, and Juanita Abernathy, wife of one of King’s confidant, Ralph
David Abernathy.
On Jan. 21, award-winning film legend Danny Glover, who stars
in the movie Supremacy, took part in a tjuestion-and-answer session
with the film’s director, Deon Taylor, and Stephane Dunn, director of the
Morehouse Cinema, Television and Emerging Media Studies Program.
The Rev. Richard Willis Sr., pastor of First Baptist Church of
Hampton, Va., gave the annual King Day Crown Forum in King Chapel
on Jan. 15.
“Dr. King was born for that world, but Morehouse I’ve stopped
by to remind you of your birthright. You were bom for this day. Don’t
let anybody turn you around. Don’t let you turn you around. Don’t let
your doubts turn you around.” ■
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