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February 1, 1979 Page 4 The Maroon Tiger MARDOTl EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CHA RLES E. MA PS OX ASSOCIATE EDITOR RONALD PETTA WA Y ASSOCIATE EDITOR ROY HAMILTON NEWS EDITOR REGINALD SCOTT ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS KEITH HARRISTON DA VID MORROW FEATURE EDITOR MICHAEL STEWART SPORTS EDITOR WALTER PARISH BUSINESS MANAGER VINCENT D. McCRAW MANAGING EDITORS JOHN VEALS ARLIN MEADOWS CHIEF COPY AND PROOFREADER DAVID B. THORTON CIRCULATION MANAGER JEROME WALKER PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR ALFRED PELERS ART AND GRAPHICS EDITOR daily j. McDowell CONTRIBUTING EDITORS RODNEY THAN TON TIMOTHY BOD DIE RELIGION EDITORS CHRIS HA MLIN VINCENT SMITH OFFICE MANAGERS JOHN SOUTH A LL JAUN DUNLAP On Rev. M. L. King, Jr. by Samuel Machett Concerning Reverend Dr. Mar tin Luther King, Jr. there is very lit tle else that can be said that has not already been voiced by countless others. We are all familiar with the grandeoise of the man and have felt at one time or another the impact of his greatness. However, how many of us, as students of More house, look to Reverend King as a personal source of inspiration and motivation? Please bear with me as 1 refect upon scripture passages taken from Genesis. “And they said one to another, behold,, this dreamer cometh. Come now there fore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, some evil beast hast devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” What will become of the dreams of Martin Luther King, Jr. — our dreams? While it is within your power -and mine, what will we allow to happen to the dreams? There is, as the scriptures point out, a beast among our number who seeks to devour us all. This beast, however, as many of us are inclined to constantly believe is not, in all cases, the white man. Rather the beast that appears to be continued on page 5 Let Freedom Ring By Christopher M. Hamlin 1 totally agree with Dr. King that we should let freedom ring from Stone Mountain in Georgia and Lookout Mountains of Tennessee. But freedom should also ring from third floor Gloster Hall. The (the administration) told students: A. No offering of any kind could be collected in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Chapel. B. No tickets could be sold on the premises for any event that was not to take place in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Chapel. As a student, 1 have seen both of these “laws” broken. The fashion show that was spon sored by the women’s auxiliary sold tickets from the ticket booths of the chapel. On “Motivation Night” (January 14. 1979), an offering or donation (which ever you prefer) was collected. Was this suppose to happen? On February 20, 1978 when the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Chapel was dedicated, Dr. Gloster delivered a rambunctious speech telling everyone what the chapel stood for and what type of pro grams would go on in the chapel. Gregory Griffin, who was seek ing the office of president of the Student Government Association, stated that Morehouse College has a great advantage by having such an extraordinary chapel. He prom ised gospel and many other con certs. So far none of these have been a reality. It is to my under standing that the Atlanta Philhar monic Chorale was to be in concert in Sale Hall, but that didn’t fall through and the concert was postponed. It’s time for freedom to ring from Morehouse College. We the students put up with poor sanita tion conditions, poor housing con ditions, lack of communication between the administration and the students, and many other things that make us the students of Morehouse College NOT FREE. Before we attempt to clean up the streets, let’s clean up the HOUSE. Should Jan. 15th Be A National Holiday? by Charles E. Mapson Editor-in-Chief President Carter supported the movement to have Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday declared a national holiday, in his speech upon accepting the Martin Luther King, Jr. Non-violent Peace Prize at the Ebenezer Baptist Church on January 14, 1979. I agree fully that Martin Luther K.ing. Jr.’s birthday should be made a national holiday along with Lincoln and Washington’s. I can not. however, say that it is best to do so. Because 1 am selfish and somewhat an advocate of Black Power, 1 believe January 15th should be a holiday. But since I am also able to reason and wonder. I am disturbed by what may be the outcome. For many long years, through out many tough trials and over very tempetuous seas Dr. King had inherent in his ministry ideals of justice, equality and brotherhood. If his birthday were set aside, the entire nation would have to cele brate it by remembering what he did and what he tried to do. I fear that the nation is not ready for that. It might soon become just another day off. Instead of think ing about King the nation might take the opportunity afforded by that day to sleep longer, get drunk, do the week’s washing and other things. The birthday of Dr. King should be a feast day. Families should get together and celebrate his life along with the many dreams he had for us. Dreadful visions appear, though, when 1 pause to reflect upon what happened to the other holidays. They all became Mon days and the true date was lost to oblivion. So we celebrate Lincoln's birthday not on February 12th but on the 11th, 13th, 9th or what ever day Monday is. Thus Dr. King's birthday will be celebrated on the Monday before. That’s bad, but its done so the weekend will be longer. Hopefully Dr. King’s birthday will somehow be celebrated and preserved. Thoughts Kingly Encounters by Charles E. Mapson Editor-in-Chief Had Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. been destined to be yet living, he would have celebrated his 50th birthday on January 15, 1979. All of the students of Morehouse College remember that dark day in April of 1968. I can recall very vividly the life of the man whom I idolized as a young student. 1 can remember when he came to Newark, New Jersey and the Mount Calvary Baptist Church on March 27, 1968. 1 was not allowed to miss school to see him because my father felt that King’s work would be in vain if we missed school and the educa tion that it afforded us. Though I did not get the chance to see him I was promised that when Dr. King returned in two weeks 1 would see 'him. I patiently awaited the chance to see the man whom 1 admired and respected so much. Often I was caught up in deep debate with my more militant associates who called Dr. King an “Uncle Tom” and even more humiliating names. I had hoped to meet Dr. King in 1967 at the commencement exer cises for my brother at Morehouse but he could not be there to say the benediction as he was programmed to at Morehouse’s centennial year’s commencement and Dr. Benjamin E. Mays’final one as Presi dent of Morehouse. . With every hope I possessed I awaited the second week in April. On the morning of April 4, just one week after King’s visit to Newark I went to school knowing that I only had one more week to go. While watching “I Love Lucy” my attention was diverted by a spe cial news bulletin. “Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. has been shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennes see.” I conveyed the word to my parents and instantly, the house became silent. We all sat glued to the set. Could Calvary’s hill have been as dark as it was in Newark when the word came that Martin Luther King, Jr. was dead? Had 1 the power to stop the bullet, 1 would have made sure his trip to Memphis never occured. Had 1 the healing powers of Jesus, I would have made Dr. King my Lazarus and raised him from the dead. But Dr. King said that he didn’t mind. He was not worried because he had been to the Mountaintop and seen the promised land. The coming of the glory of the Lord had been revealed to him. So why did we weep? Why did we mourn? Why did we riot? Why did we, burn? That man, Martin Luther King, Jr. lived a fruitful life and had his life been lived before the elders of the church decided on the books in the Bible, 1 am sure there would have been a book after Matthew, Mark, Luke and John called the Gospel According to Martin. Between Paul’s letter to Timothy and his letter to Titus there would have been King’s letter from a Birmingham jail. May we never forget this Morehouse man par excellence, this drum major, this prince, this soldier on life’s battlefield. If you have any feelings about the life of Dr. King or what his life meant to you personally, the Maroon Tiger would like to hear about them. Write: Letters to the Editor The Maroon Tiger Morehouse College Atlanta, Georgia 30314