Newspaper Page Text
DECEMBER, 1942
PACE TWO
OLD GLORY AND
n GRAVES HALL
A new United States Flag is raised
on Morehouse campus in front of
Graves Hall. It is a fine thing to see
“Old Glory” raised during these
troubled times. It refreshes a man’s
faith in his country and reminds him
that hundreds of new flags are bgin:
raised constantly. Each new flag
symbolizes the ever-growing spirit cf
a great democracy. Every new flaj
is a never-dying oak to protect cur
soil against all would-be invaders. We
shall fear neither mighty nations
abroad nor fifth columnists at home
Some flags are large, some are
small, but they all carry the stars and
stripes wherever they are and bring
to our hearts the warmth of home.
Once in a while an enemy lowers
our flag (as at Pearl Harbor) but the
“Star-Spangled Banner still waves.”
The enemies cannot see it,,but their
prisoners see it on the walls of dark
dungeons. Yes, the Star - Spangled
Banner shall forever wave, and those
who would turn a deaf ear to the
cries of freedom shall hear the breeze
passing through its folds.
A few months ago, a freshman
climbed the stairs of Grave Hall. It
is a fine thing to see a new student
enter Graves Hall during these
troubled times. It refreshes a man s
faith in his school and reminds him
that hundreds of men are constantly
climbing these stairs. Each new stu
dent symbolizes the ever - growing
spirit of a great college. Every new
student is a never-dying oak to pro
tect our position as the “Pride of the
South.” We shall fear neither power
ful force abroad, nor fifth columnists
at home.
Not all Morehouse boys have
mighty ambitions of setting the world
on fire. Some just want to start a
flame in the Spelman girls’ hearts.
But they all carry the seal of Graves
Hall wherever they are, and they all
bring to our hearts the warmth of
home wherever they are.
Once in a while a Morehouse man
fails in some endeavor, but that which
brands him as a Morehouse man re
mains. The bad in him cannot see it,
but the imprisoned good sees More
house written on his inner parts. Yes,
the Morehouse man shall forever
stand, and those who turn a deaf ear
to the cries of humanity shall hear
the heart beat of a Morehouse man.
By James Mack
Christmas is just a few days away.
Like all other Christmases, it is a
time when we sit and think of the
many gifts that we will give and re
ceive — mostly receive. But, unlike
other Christmases that have been
witnessed by those who were born
within the last quarter of a century,
it comes at a time when our country
is engaged in a global war. Because
of this war, we do not 1 have many of
the luxuries to give and receive this
Christmas that we have had in the
past. Our resources must be pooled t>
keep flowing a never ending stream
of supplies for our fighting men. t
only must we give up luxuries, but
we must give up many of our basic
needs. In short, we must pay dearly
for the freedom that we have known
and wish to preserve.
Since we cannot have many of the
material things that we have so child
ishly associated with this the most
sacred of holidays in Christendom, it
becomes necessary for us to seek con
solation and good cheer from a source
other than these customary gifts. I
consider this an excellent opportunity
for us to turn our interest to those
abstract and spiritual qualities that
were given us in the first Christmas.
In as much as these gifts must be
changed from the tangible to the in
tangible, so must persons involved in
giving be changed. The age old cus
tom of exchanging gifts for social
distinction by persons of higher so
cial status is not practicable in this
new system of giving. The fact is
that these gifts must be given to one
by oneself.
Yes, I recognize that this is rev
olutionary. We have been taught by
moralists, religionists and idealists
that it is better to give than to re
ceive. For one to think in terms of
only receiving gifts at Christmas time
is bad; but to think of one giving to
himself is absurd. But there are
many spiritual qualities needed before
we are properly fortified to face the
many trying days, months, or per
haps years that lie ahead.
First, we must give ourselves the
attitude to become good receivers.
Though it seems paradoxical, the fact
prevails that we are not good re
ceivers. More than nineteen hundred
years ago the world was not willing
and we are nof yet willing to receive
the first Christmas gift as it was
given. Not only do we need to learn
to receive the first gift, we must pre
pare to receive the gifts that are of
fered us by the conditions in which
we find ourselves.
I do not mean that we must be
come complacent with these chaotic
Wm Maroon IDgcr
PROF. KENNEDY SAYS—
Morehouse College Department of History presents Professor M. D.
Kennedy, who will be a regular feature writer for this Column.
“History teaches us only that his
tory teaches us nothing!” Dixit.
Thus has spoken the philosopher in
our last issue. Perhaps some who read
it' may have agreed with it, and others
may have dismissed it as inconse
quential. Perhaps some may have
taken note of the witty profoundity
of this strange paradox, and then
passed it by as the product of youth
ful befuddlement arising out of the
comprehensiveness of the History 151.
Or, perhaps, some may have regarded
this dictum as a fair appraisal of the
value of history as a subject to be
studied in times like these. Or yet
still others, willing to be more opti
mistic, may have rejected it as only
the idle vagary of some pessimist 1 or
cynic who therein finds a comfortable,
if unstable, escape from hard, cruel
reality,
But perhaps it is none of these.
Perhaps this awful indictment of his
tory’s success in vindicating its true
significance to life in the very pres
ent is the honest’, though immature,
ratiocination of some youth as he
contemplates his world, that legacy
of dubious value which we call mod
ern civilization bequeathed him by all
of his ancestors. From his limited
study of history, he has seen enough
to realize that too often the story of
civilization has been an old story told
and retold, which has gained nothing
in the retelling because it apparently
has HO pui'^oc axiyL. iiv meaning. VViiat
goowi to^be progress has all too
often proved illusory. Yet he must
have been struck by the imminent
fact that history has many lessons to
teach, and that mankind has much to
gain from learning them. All that
seemed necessary was the \yillingness
to learn, and our youth must also
have been struck by the power of
man to resist'. Why, then, should such
a condition prevail ?
In the first place, the historians are
themselves very much to blame, for
in their quest for “scientific objecti
vity” they have studiously avoided
any attempt to draw from their very
fertile subject the great moral truths
to be found there. If they actually did
make such an attempt, it was usually
with great caution and even that
apologetically as if ashamed of their
transgression, On the other hand,
however, if they had been more in
clined to venture into this field, there
is no assurance that their labors
would not have negated the attitude
of their fellow-men. There is an
old pedagogical axiom which applies
here that there can be no teach
ing where there is no learning. It is
very much to be doubted that people
—society—would have heeded. So
ciety has always too frequently pre
ferred as a guide for action the par
ticularistic motive of self-interest to
any high principles. Furthermore,
perspective is necessary both to dis
cover and to understand these lessons
of history, and without understanding
they are meaningless. And it is here
that the responsibility of the his
torians is precisely plain, for they
have not been teaching perspective
but have too often assisted in the
rationalization of self-interest.
Granted that all of this is so, what
are the lessons of history? How can
they be discovered ? The answers to
these questions are easy to formulate,
and could in no case expect unanimity
of approval. Certainly, however, the
essential unity of mankind, called
brotherhood, equality, fraternity, or
whatever you like; certainly the es
sential unity of civilization, human
life in all of its activities bound to
gether by an inexorable, timeless,
boundless continuity; certainly these
are lessons to be derived from his
tory. We may venture to suggest
others: the dignify of the individual
as a lofty principle which no system,
political, economic or otherwise, can
violate with impunity; and the solemn
truth that prejudice has no value, de
spite its great weight, in the affairs
of man. And the materials for these
lessons are widely and profusely scat
tered through the story that history
has to tell, for yesterday’s superiors
are today’s inferiors, displaced by
yesterday’s inferiors, and the con
stantly imminent presence of tomor
row is likewise a constant threat to
the permanence of mastery.
Such, then, are some of the lessons
of history, although mankind has not
learned them. We will not be fool
hardy as to say that mankind will
not, or cannot, learn them. Other
species of animals than man have
lived, and died because they did not
have a history—in essence, a cultural
heritage—to guide them or to teach
them similar lessons. But man has
one great advantage over these other
animals, and that is a superior intelli
gence which has so far permitted him
to go a long way toward mastering
his environment, but not appreciably
far in mastering himself. We are now
engaged in a war that may well be
one of tbo’a^aafc£s which civilisation
1 nas faced*} before)" But never to the
same fatal?'degree. What will happen
to civilization as a result of this war
will depend upon the intensity with
which we bring our intelligence to
bear upon the problem which first
created the war, and to the problems
created by it. What is supremely im
portant now is that the success with
which we bring our intelligence to
bear upon these problems will depend
largely upon how well we have
learned the lessons of history; and
how well we have learned the lessons
of history will certainly depend upon
how well they have been taught.
We suggest that the syntax of the
platitude which began this discussion
contains the fundamental error, that
platitude should read, “History teach
es us that history has not taught us
enough.” Even so, it contains a vic
ious dualism: History has not taught
us enough for we have been unwilling
to learn; we have learned little be
cause history has failed to try pos
itively to teach us anything.
conditions, but we must receive and
accept them with hope in the future.
Thus, hope becomes the second gift
that we must give ourselves. Not the
kind of hope that turns out to be day
dreaming, but^a kind of hope that
will become fused with our energies
and efforts that’ must be utilized to
effect victory. Yes, we need hope and
faith in the ability of man to chisel
himself from the clutches of this dis
dainful situation which tends to de
stroy his civilization.
With final victory in our hands
comes the opportunity and obligation
of making peace. That this will be an
opportunity is clear to all; but that it
is an obligation may not be quite so
clear. I need only to remind you of
the numerous criticisms that have
been suffered by those who negotiated
the peace after World War No. 1 to
prove the obligation involved. To sum
up these many criticisms is to say
that the articles of peace which were
forced upon the victim are the cause
of the present struggle. With this in
mind, it becomes a staggering obliga
tion upon those who negotiate terms
of peace after this war.
Those who sit around a peace table
when this war has ceased must ap
proach their task and duty with a-
feeling of love and brotherhood
toward all men. Thus comes the third
gift. that we must give ourselves this
Christmas. We need a love for human
personality in order to construct last
ing peace. When we have given our
selves these for Christmas, I think we
will have gone a long way toward
making ourselves worthy of the per
fect gift that was given to us on the
first Christmas.
ALPHA PHI
ALPHA
We, the members of Alpha Rho
Chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fra
ternity, have been pressing constantly
forward with the aim of preparing
ourselves to fit' into the scheme of
things in the rapidly changing world
of the present as well as for the un
certainties of the post-war world.
We wish to extend our heartiest
congratulations to our Maroon Tiger
football team on their stirring and
heart-warming victory over the Ala
bama State Hornets. Brother Clar
ence Anderson, retiring President of
Alpha Rho Chapter, served as captain
of our illustrious warriors of the
gridiron for the 1942 season.
The newly elected officers of Alpha
Rho Chapter for the ensuing year
are James P. Stinson, President;
Clarence Lanier, Vice-President; I.
Owen Funderburg, Secretary, and
Benjamin F, Walker, Treasurer.
It is the sincere wish of Alpha Rho
Chapter that the dawn of the New
Year will find all men closer to an
actual realization of the true purpose
of that for which they are striving—
lest they shall be forgotten in the
confusion.
Significant Dates in the History of
Morehouse
1906—Debating as an intercollegiate
activity began in Atlanta be
tween Atlanta Baptist College
and Talladega College.
1908—The College produced a football
team that was the undisputed
champion of the Negro insti
tutions in the South.
The Minister’s Union was or
ganized by and for the mem
bers of the Divinity School.
1910—Sale Hall was erected to con
tain the classrooms, offices,
library, and chapel.
SALE HALL
1911—Knoxville College joined Atlan
ta Baptist College and Talla
dega College in debating rela
tions.
The Glee Club and Orchestra
were organized.
1912—Dr. Benjamin G. Brawley be
came the first Academic Dean.
DR. BENJ. G. BRAWLEY
1913-
-Morehouse College became one
of the eight original members
of the Asosciation of Colleges
for Negro Youth.
R. B. WARE, MORE
HOUSE ALUMNUS
CHOSEN FOR
A. C. A. O. C. S.
R. B. Ware
TUSKEGEE, Ala., December 10.—
Corporal Ray B. Ware, of Atlanta,
Georgia, was recently chosen from
the enlisted personnel of the Tuskegee
Army Flying School, Tuskegee, Ala
bama, to attend the Air Corps Ad
ministration Officers Candidate School
at Miami Beach, Florida.
He received the Bachelor of Arts
degree from Morehouse College, and
completed one year of advanced
study towards the Master’s degree at
Atlanta University. His mother, Mrs,
Evvie S. Ware, resides at 641 Par
sons Street, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia.
Corporal Ware is a Kappa Alpha Psi
f rater.
THE SOCIAL VALUE OF
THE COLLEGE BRED
To have spent one’s youth at col
lege, in contact with the choice and
rare and precious, and yet still to be
a blind prig or vulgarian, unable to
scent out human excellence or to di
vine it' amid its accidents, to know it
only when ticketed and labeled, and
forced on us by others, this indeed
should be accounted the very calamity
and shipwreck of a higher education.
UNDEMOCRATIC ?
Recently several university students
were present at a local dance hall
where they witnessed an incident dis
turbing enough to warrant serious
public consideration. The incident
amounted to the refusal of the pro
prietor to allow certain people ad
mittance into the dance. The reason
was not because of misconduct or
disorderly behaviour on their part.
He refused them admittance because
they were “coloured.”
The irony of it all was that a
Negro band was featured. Apparently
these Negroes were accepted because
they contributed to the white man’s
entertainment. The whole affair must
not be minimized. We have learned
by bitter experience that a violation
of certain fundamental rights any
where constitutes a direct threat to
our own liberty. This incident is
particularly significant because it
does not stand in isolation. It is the
expression of the same Anti-Demo
cratic attitude which refuses to toler
ate the presence of Marian Ander-
st>n and Paul Robeson in the same
place that receives hospitably travel
ling liquor salesmen and casual pleas
ure-seekers. It is this same attitude
that prevents Negroes from using
their full skill in contributing to the
war effort—a war effort dedicated to
the freedom of all peoples. It' is the
elements harboring these feelings
that have repeatedly accused Negroes
of failing to contribute their full
share to the war effort.
The case is being taken up by a
committee of those people who are
affected; amongst whom is a young
Negro graduate of the Law School
of the University of Michigan. On
Monday, he goes into the R.C.A.F.
to fight—perhaps to die—for ethnic
democracy. This Tuesday he appears
with the committee to present their
case before the Toronto Police Com
mission.
We hope that the recommendation
that the Police Commission make will
be dictated by a recognition of the
ultimate purpose of our united war
effort. The City Council has the
power to make anti-democratic dis
crimination an offense. In British Co
lumbia, the supreme court has ruled
that discrimination of this kind is
unlawful.
A statement of opinion is being cir
culated for signatures and will be
presented to the commission on
Thursday. It is our hope that those
who recognize the importance of ex
pressing their opinion on this matter
will write to the Toronto Police Com
mission — Mr. Palmer Kent, Secre
tary, c/o City Hall.
The Varsity, University of Toronto.