Newspaper Page Text
Monday, October 14
THE MAROON TIGER
PAGE 15
Morehouse Welcomes Her Shepherds Home
By Gregory L. Johnson, Jr.
A&E Co Editor
(Note: all definitions for
home are indicated in italics,
and paraphrase actual
definitions from Webster's
Collegiate Dictionary, 9th
edition.)
Luke 15:4
4 "What man of you,
having an hundred sheep, if he
lose one of them, doth not
leave the ninety and nine in
the wilderness, and go after
that which is lost, until he find
it?"
For approximately four to
six years of our new adult
lives, Morehouse is, for many,
a social unit formed by a
family living together and, for
a chosen few, the place of
origin for our mature
manhood and meaningful
leadership. Many of us leave
Morehouse wielding our
degrees as keys, opening
many doors and exploring
much of what the world has to
offer. Few of us heed the call
of the shepherd, leaving
behind the stability and
security of material success to
search ceaselessly until that
last, lost sheep is home free or
out of jeopardy.
A year has passed since
the historic Million-Man
March and Dr. Massey's
arrival at Morehouse, and we
are again called home to the
establishment that provides
residence and care for the
mental and spiritual growth
and development of a people
with special needs, the
embattled Black Male. Though
we admire the great legacies of
men like Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., Marcus Garvey, Dr.
Benjamin Elijah Mays, and El
Hajj-Malik El-Shabazz
(Malcolm X), we are all called
to lead. As men, we must
choose to be chosen, for all
men are given free will. We
must also realize that within
each problem demanding
resolution lies a blessing
awaiting a noble recipient. We
must proceed towards this
source of radiated energy,
guided by higher ideals. We
must home in on the burdens
of our people and remove
them.
Luke 15:5-6
5 "And when he hath
found [the sheep,] he layeth it
on his shoulders rejoicing.
6 "And when he cometh
home, he calleth together his
friends and neighbors, saying
unto them, rejoice with me; for
I have found my sheep which
was lost."
We' welcome home our
brothers who have gone out
into the world and made the
ideals of Morehouse a reality.
Not everyone honors the ties,
the contract if you will, that
binds each son to the other, so
we must often and loudly
praise those who have. Again,
many of us must choose to
honor and strengthen these
ties, especially during a time
when, we are called to
contribute to a new
Morehouse legacy. We must
abandon the selfishness and
apathy on all parts
(administration, faculty, and
students as well!) that threaten
to mar our mystique. For
students still undergoing
matriculation, we must MAKE
this institution our home and
base of operations if we wish
to get the most out of our time
and money. Given our access
to the number of resources
Morehouse affords us, we are
again CALLED to convert our
prodigality into prodigy, to
cease squandering our wealth
foolishly and develop
something extraordinary,
inexplicable and wondrous.
We can and must do this, for it
is written in Luke 15:32, "It
was meet that we should make
merry, and be glad; for this thy
brother was dead, and is alive
again, and was lost, and is
found."
Morehouse men who have
heeded the call are welcomed
home.
We are again CALLED to convert our prodigality into
prodigy, to cease squandering our wealth foolishly and
develop something extraordinary, inexplicable and
wondrous.
Is Morehouse Aiding In Our Community’s Brain Drain?
Career Day is one of
several events which
highlights the administration's
skill at sending mixed
messages to its students. On
one hand, Morehouse never
misses an opportunity to
admonish its students to
"never forget their
community" and urges us to
answer the Benjamin E. Mays
call to service. Meanwhile,
every May, Morehouse
auctions off their best-bred,
our "Nima Warfields," to the
highest corporate bidder.
Once again, our community
has been robbed of its
leadership. Brothers are
entitled to an honest
discussion of their role in
community development.
Annually, the Equal
Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) compiles
demographic information on
private sector employers with
over 100 employees. Based on
1995 EEOC statistics, 4 million
persons have been identified
as officials and managers.
These are administrators who
set broad policies, and exercise
overall responsibility for
execution of these policies. Of
these millions, there are only
125, 945 African-American
males.
Unfortunately, a great
number of my brothers will
interpret these statistics as a
grand window of opportunity
to join the ranks of corporate
servitude. If those brothers
were true students of history,
their vision might not be
impaired by myopic goals of
monetary gain, allowing them
to see the huge red flag
corporate America is waving.
That red flag is signalling
corporate America's staunch
resistance to African-
American men having any
substantive role in the work
place. That said, I find it
particularly disturbing that
many brothers are all too
eager to take their place in
corporate America.
Black men often enter
these corporate positions
under the mistaken
impression that they will
suddenly be poised to serve
the African-American
community. Let us assume a
Morehouse .man enters
corporate America with the
ideal of bringing more
brothers into the corporate
fold. Let us also assume some
brothers will try to funnel
money to our people through
corporate community
initiatives. In order to
effectively implement such a
plan, they would have the
near insurmountable task of
influencing executives to
embrace equitable hiring and
promotion practices and
developing an abiding sense
of community. Those
principles generally fly in the
face of most existing corporate
power structures; officials and
managers accepting such
principles would signify a
major shift in a corporate
culture founded on
capitalism. The energy
wasted on such an
undertaking would be better
spent directly on our
community.
Some brothers will
contend that we cannot afford
to turn away the financial help
that cometh from corporate
America. Haki Madhubuti
profoundly stated, "We have
survived without outside
funding." Our community
desperately needs to reclaim
the human resources that
corporate America has
swindled from us. I
understand my brother's
attraction to corporate
America and often wrestle
with the idea
of pursuing
such a career
for the
financial
security if
offers.
However,
black people
must always
keep their
sights trained
on their
obligation to
the
community.
A young
man, wise
beyond his years, asked,
"How much will your job be
worth to your people after
you're dead and gone?" Your
obligation to the community
must be measured by the
legacy you leave behind. The
reason why Malcolm and
Martin mean so much to us
today is because of the
PRINCIPLES that they stood
for, the moral legacy that they
left behind. Rockerfeller
constructs buildings, integrity
constructs men.
I submit our community is
in crisis and desperately needs
Khari Shiver/Staff
Michael Powe
Editorial Page Editor
your assistance on the front
lines in the war to educate our
youth. The positive effects of
having African-American men
physically present in the
community, in leadership
positions such as educators,
will surely out-weigh the
contributions of the brothers
removed from our reality
fighting for corporate crumbs.