Newspaper Page Text
VOL. 71, NO. 4
MOREHOUSE COLLEGE; ATLANTA, GEORGIA Thursday, October 15, 1998
Ken Regan/SPECIAL
IN FEATURES
W hen it comes to
interracial dating,
the answers are never as simple
as black and white.
Page 7
It's Friday night and
you're broke. Where
go, what
to do.
Page 8
Grasping the true meaning of Inner Strength
From sleeping in streets to
changing the lives of “at risk”
Mds,thisMonehousealumnus
is a positive influence on his
community.
By Cary Jordan
Staff Writer
At 13, Valdimir Joseph
came home to an empty house.
His mother, unable to
handle the stress of single
parenthood, had packed her
bags and left, forcing young
Joseph to spend the next year
and a half sleeping on
subways, rooftops, and
hallways in the rough city
streets of the Bronx.
Joseph vowed then that he
would never let this happen to
another child again.
Now 25, Joseph, a 1996
Morehouse graduate, is the
founder and director of Inner
Strength, a 4-year-old
development program that is
changing the lives of "at risk"
minority youths everyday.
"If it weren't for the
people who helped me during
those dark days, I wouldn't be
alive today," says Joseph.
"Someone helped me,
therefore I must help others."
Joseph describes Inner
Strength as a "holistic
development program" that
offers young males
alternatives
to the
corrupting
influence of
urban life.
"We use
tutoring
and
mentoring
to expose
these
adolescents
to different
levels of
reality, like
the power of education, the
power of self-esteem, and the
reality of their worlds," Joseph
Continued on page 3
Inner Strength/SPECl AL
Valdimir Joseph (second from right) poses with
Inner Strength participants Quentin Rogers
(far left), volunteer Sule Carpenter '98, John
Collier, and Yusef Langford.
IN ARTS &
ENTERTAINMENT
S aul Williams waxes
poetic on his new
movie, book and CD.
Page 20
Oprah Winfrey knows
what happens to a dream
deferred. It gets better and
better.
On a sunny Saturday
recently, The Maroon Tiger sat
down with Winfrey at the Ritz-
Carlton Buckhead and
discussed the realization of her
twelve-year dream to bring
"Beloved" to the screen.
The movie, which opens
today, is a testament to
Oprah's determination to
persevere when no one else —
directors, producers, even the
author of the book on which
the movie is almost literally
based — thought it could be
done.
"I am a person who does
everything based upon
instinct. Every decision that I
have ever made, that made a
difference in my life, came
from not my head but my
heart," said Winfrey.
In 1986, Winfrey had just
read Toni Morrison's Pulitzer-
prize winning best-seller and
thought, "This needs to be a
movie."
But having only starred in
one feature film, "The Color
Purple," and not knowing
what to do, Winfrey called
Morrison.
"She said 'I'm a novelist, I
write books, and [screenplay
writing] is a whole different
kind of language. Don't do it,
don't want to do it, don't want
any part of it,'" said Winfrey,
recalling her conversation
with Morrison. "And I was
like, 'OK.'"
But following her
instincts, Winfrey forged
ahead.
She said she never asked
herself how much money the
movie would make or if the
studios would be interested in
a story that dealt with slavery.
"I didn't think any of that.
I just thought it has to be told,
and I'll find a way," Winfrey
said emphatically.
Continued on page 19
Drum roll please!
Shaun Spearmon/STAFF
Homecoming 98 starts off with a bang! Yolanda Adams kicked
offthe festivities Sunday with a soul-stirring performance, and
the fashion show benefitted a good cause. With the weekend
here, things only get better. The concert boasts Outkast, and the
parade features participants from Morris Brown and Spelman
colleges. It certainly is the Rebirth of the Spirit at the House.
Complete Homecoming Coverage Begins Page 11
