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Spelmanites Express Outrage Over Dean Carter's Remarks
The following letter was
submitted in response to Dean
Carter's Remarks in the Sunday,
October 6 Worship Service.
As a large part of the King
Memorial Church family and
as other concerned
Spelmanites, we would like to
express our deep pain and
anger in reference to your
comments made at the
worship service this morning.
We were astonished that your
main concern was for the men
in jail with no concern
expressed for the alleged
victim. We were dismayed by
the highly inappropriate story
that invited the congregation
to relate the female being
described to the young
woman who was assaulted,
and the suggestion that young
women must be responsible
for their actions while young
men need not be. While some
were compelled to leave the
service early, many more were
lead to meet this afternoon to
discuss the issues your
remarks raised. We take
exception to your statements
for the following reasons.
Lifting concern for the
young men while ignoring the
young woman's plight
divided the Spelman/
Morehouse female/male
communities and ignored our
Christian obligation to be
concerned with the welfare of
all people.
We found your
understanding of the true
issues involved in the
violent crime of rape
to be faulty. As
evidence of this, we
point to the
particularly offensive
description of the
woman wearing "a
strip of tape," the
woman whose skirt
was "sprayed on," and that
she was "an accident waiting
to happen." Although you did
not relate your remarks
directly to the alleged rape,
you certainly did invite your
listeners to draw such
conclusions. As if that wasn't
enough, you went on to make
implied criticisms of us and
our attire, singling us out for
scrutiny and making us
responsible for the actions of
others, while leaving those
others blameless. You
victimized the victim in your
remarks, and this was unfair,
inappropriate and unchristian.
Your comments ruined the
mood of worship and caused
us to ask, "Who do we turn to
for spiritual guidance when
our leaders are placing blame
rather than offering comfort.?"
Our understanding of
worship, but instead we seem
to have received your own
thoughts, along with a thinly
veiled reprimand of the
women who were present.
The issue of the alleged sexual
assault is upsetting enough,
but you added salt to the
wound with your insensitivity.
Lifting concern for the young men while ignoring the young
woman’s plight divided the Spelman/Morehouse female/
male communities and ignored our Christian obligation to
be concerned with the welfare of all people.
scripture is that judgment is
the Lord's. Therefore we
interpreted your comments
not as scriptural but as the
expression of a personal
opinion. This confusion of the
two caused disillusionment
and alienation within the
congregation.
This was a day on which
an uplifting and encouraging
message was needed, but we
did not receive one. This was
a day on which the Word of
God should have been the
healing centerpiece of the
Whom can Spelman
women count on if not their
Morehouse brothers? Yet, you
suggested that a heinous crime
of violence perpetrated against
a Spelman woman by
Morehouse men should be
excused or even justified
because the sisters are "loose,"
and the brothers are weak and
must be expected to succumb
to "temptation." Rape is not
about lust or attire; it is about
power and control.
You are daily in a position
to teach Morehouse men
healthy, Christian attitudes
about women, but this
morning you did the reverse.
We would like you to
apologize publicly, during
worship. We would also like
to meet with you to discuss
how to heal the rift you have
caused with your remarks.
Until you have responded to
all the concerns of our hearts
we will not be fully
comfortable in worship at
King Chapel.
Sincerely,
/L'* J jl '■■■■'VJ . (X.
Ms. Raena J. Harwell ’— Ms. Rachel A. Zinmao 0 ^
MS. Kristi V, MrieK
Jameelah M. Grant
%&'/**•ri>> SdJ&lo
Ms. Andrea Williams Ms. Adriana M. Spikes
Camille M. Brown
Jameelah M. Grant
Raena J. Harwell
Melinda J. Lewis
Kristi V. Mizelle
Adriana M. Spikes
Kelita L. Wiley
Andrea Williams
Rachel A. Zinman
Dean Carter Issuses Apology To
Disgruntled Spelman Students
The following letter was
issued in response to the letter
submitted by the Spelman
students who were offended by
Dean Carter's Remarks in the
Sunday, October 6 Worship
Service.
This open letter comes as
a sincere and heartfelt apology
to you and all members of the
Atlanta University Center
community for remarks I
made today in the worship
service at the Morehouse
College Chapel.
Although I did not intend
to communicate a sexist
message, I understand now
that is precisely what I did in
my remarks before the
sermon. In my impulsive and
overzealous attempt to be
dramatic, both women and
men in the congregation were
offended, and understandably
so. As has been pointed out to
me by several Spelman
women, I failed grievously on
this occasion in my role as a
spiritual leader. Please charge
my behavior to ignorance and
not to willful intention.
I utterly reject the notion
that the clothing chosen by any
individual should attract
unwanted attention, much less
abuse. I beg the forgiveness of
those wounded by my
remarks. Gender
discrimination, or even the
appearance of such
discrimination, has no place in
the liturgy of ecumenical
Christian worship or in a
community of civility,
especially that of Morehouse
College.
Tomorrow morning,
during an all-college assembly,
Provost John H. Hopps will
acknowledge my egregious
error in judgment and
underscore Morehouse's
abhorrence of gender
discrimination. This letter will
be disseminated at the end of
that assembly. Also, I intend to
apologize publicly in next
Sunday's worship service.
Meanwhile, I invite you to
share your feelings about this
matter with me in person. I am
eager to listen, learn and grow.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Edward Carter Sr.
Dean of the Martin Luther
King Jr. International Chapel
Letter to The Editor
I would like to address
this "rape" issue that has
taken place on campus.
Before I begin I would like to
say something to all my "real
sistas" at Spelman, Clark,
and Morris Brown. Don't
even trip. I'm not talking to
you. Rape is a serious crime
and I do not condone it or
take the matter lightly.
However, it is my
understanding that this was
not a rape. My
understanding is that the girl
got drunk and consented.
Then, having regretted her
actions and talked with her
roomate, got her revenge by
reporting the incident as a
rape. Add a phone call to
Daddy and it's on. Four
young Black Men are robbed
of future oppurtunities, stuck
in jail, and kicked out of
school.
To the young lady in
question, check yourself.
Don't yell smoke if their is no
fire. I understand, you felt
like you played yourself and
you felt dirty afterwards. It
was bad judgement that got
you caught up, and you felt
the men took advantage of
you. Charge it to the game,
learn from your mistakes and
move on. If you did not object
to the situation when it
occured, please do not do it
now. Do the right thing. Tell
the truth. Admit you made a
mistake and move on. The
truth hurts, but it can set you
free. Do not ruin lives for
revenge.
To the administration, do
not defend your reputations as
cowards. I thought we were
innocent until proven guilty.
Sounds familiar. Does that
apply to students at
Morehouse? No student
should be removed from
school on an allegation until it
is proved beyond a reasonable
doubt. I do not care how much
pressure you are receiving
from Spelman, the girl's
parents, or anyone else, your
first responsibility is to us.
Being accused of a crime does
not make you guilty. A college
for Black men should, of all
institutions, be aware of this
fact. Also these new visitation
rules are a joke. T/reat us like
Men and Women. Allow us to
make our own decisions and
to suffer the consequences.
Stop trying so hard to bow
down and please everyone
except your students.
To all the real
"Morehouse Men," do not
just stand by and let this
happen. We need to unite,
we need to march, we need
to let the world know that
we will "have our brothers
backs." If it could happen
to any one of us, it could
happen to all of us.
"United we stand, divided
we fall."
To my girl that says she
was raped, I was not there.
My opinions are based
upon what I have heard. If
I am wrong, if you did say
no, then I apologize, and I
support you in doing what
you feel is right. Only you
know; but if I am right, then
you have got to put a stop
to this because brothers'
lives and reputations are on
the line.
From the heart,
Frederick Draper