Newspaper Page Text
The Organ of Student Expression Since 1925
Morehouse College • Atlanta, GA
February 29 - March 6, 2012
Volume LXXXVI, issue 12
Black History Month Edition
Students Experience a A
Night in Harlem”
Tre’vell Anderson
Campus News Editor
anderson.trevell@yahoo.com
A 7elcome, welcome,
V V welcome,” were
the words that resounded in
Sale Hall Chapel as audience
members filed into their seats.
Adorned with photos of influ
ential members of the Harlem
Renaissance, the stage was set
for the experience that would
soon ensue. It was official; it
was “A Night in Harlem.”
The productions focus was
on poetry this year, a slight
deviation from the content of
the production in past years.
Performers featured in the
production included Miss
Maroon and White Lauren
Wicker, First Attendant Ash
ley Calloway, Second Atten
dant Jessica Williams as well
as the writer and producer
himself, Quinterrence Bell.
In response to the focus
on poetry, Jordan Gleaves,
a freshman sociology major
from Evans, Georgia offered
his comments about Black lit
erature in general.
“It’s all important,” Gleaves,
who acted as the productions
narrator, said. “It’s Black art.
The Harlem Renaissance is
not really recognized, so to do
so, in this way, is a big issue. I
congratulate [Bell] on his ac
complishment.”
Perhaps one of the more
standout performances came
from a first-time “A Night in
Harlem” performer, Jamal
Thomas, a sophomore mu
sic major from Atlanta. Af
ter singing Billie Holliday’s
“Strange Fruit,” the crowd
roared in approval.
In an interview prior to the
Feb. 22 event, Bell reflected on
the humble beginnings of “A
Night in Harlem.”
For the past three years, as a
resident advisor (RA) of Wi
ley A. Purdue Hall, Bell, a se
nior English major from Ma
con, has hosted this annual
production shedding light on
the literature and lived experi
ences of people from the Har
lem Renaissance.
“As a Purdue Hall RA, a hall
that focuses on artistic ex
pression, I felt like we needed
to recognize and highlight Af
rican American art,” Bell said.
“The Harlem Renaissance is a
big part of what we classify as
art today.”
Bell remembered the words
of his resident director at the
time, Jeffrey Murphy, as an
initial inspiration for the pro
duction.
“Think outside of the box,”
Murphy said.
So he did. The first year, the
event took place in the lobby
of Purdue moving to Sale Hall
in its second and now third
year.
Jireh Holder, a senior from
Memphis, TN, directed “A
Night in Harlem” with cho
reography done by Dwight
Holt, a senior business major
from Nashville, Tenn.
“A Night in Harlem” was
sponsored by the Morehouse
Office of Housing and Resi
dential Life and the Harlem
Renaissance course of the
English Department taught
by Leah Creque.
An Ode to Black History:
The Talented Tenth
Mentoring Program
Tre’vell Anderson
Campus News Editor
andersoin.treveU^TaftoO'.cocM
S ome simply pay homage
to all that is Black history.
Others, like the mentors of
the Talented Tenth Mentoring
Program, make Black history
every week by furthering W.
E. B. Dubois’ Talented Tenth
theory.
“The Talented Tenth pro
gram embodies what Black
History Month should stand
for,” sophomore political sci
ence major Jarvis Gray said.
“It’s about celebrating our
selves. We celebrate what we
are and what we can achieve
with our mentors with hopes
they will pass it on.”
Gray also serves as the di
rector of finances and fund
raising for the organization.
The Jackson, Miss, native ini
tially got involved with the or
ganization because of his love
for community service.
“I like what the organiza
tion stands for: those who are
educated, giving back to the
community,” Gray comment
ed. “Through our actions,
we teach our students to give
back.”
The aspect of developing
relationships with a particu
lar mentee, or set of mentees,
is what sophomore Daniel
White likes about the pro
gram as well.
“I really enjoy going into
underprivileged communi
ties, educating them, and
ensuring that my particular
mentee receives knowledge,”
White, a Nashville, Tenn. na
tive said. “Knowing that they
go back into their communi
ties during and post-college
makes this gratifying to know
our efforts have not been in
vain.”
The Talented Tenth Men
toring Program is currently
at South Atlanta High School
on Wednesday evenings every
week. Once a mentor, each
person is paired with a men
tee. The mentee is then able
to learn from his or her men
tor and get insight on what
it means to go to college and
succeed.
“The program is enrich
ing for not only the mentors,
but the mentees as well,” Gray
said. “The mentees leave with
more information than they
See TALENTED, page 2 ►
SUSTAINABILITY
CO
Jordon Nesmith
Associate Campus News Editor
I n the United States, envi
ronmental concerns, pol
lution, recycling and green
issues in general, like so many
other issues of major concern,
are not equally inclusive in
our society. Issues of envi
ronmental concern affect all
people, but African-Ameri
cans and individuals of lower
socioeconomic status are not
often taken into consideration
when resource shortages
have the potential to hit these
groups the hardest.
While in an interview with
one of Spelman College’s
Green-For-All Ambassadors,
senior International Studies
major Sache Jones brought to
my attention the internal and
external concerns that plague
our communities.
Externally, low income
neighborhoods, which in
many cases are heavily popu
lated by minorities, especially
African-Americans, have
played host to encroaching
toxic waste dumping grounds
R N
and landfills that threaten the
health and conditions of Afri
can-Americans.
Internally, there is an over
arching concern about the
distribution and consump
tion of food and its nutrition
al values. Individuals in low-
income neighborhoods are
unable to give as much atten
tion to the nutritional value
of their foods given the lack
of suitable grocery stores and
the influx of fast food chains.
Many African-Americans
are negligent about what they
consume due to insufficient
knowledge about appropriate
portion sizes and continuous
advertisement of food items
that are processed, low in nu
tritional value and high in ad
ditives and artificial coloring
toward African-Americans.
“I don’t think we do enough
in our community,” Jones
said, “to mitigate the effects of
externalized pollution i.e. tox
ic waste, landfills, and carbon
emissions through food and
nutrition.”
A lot of our health issues
are associated with the food
that we eat and healthy eating
E R
habits have been known to re
verse illness. Fast food chains
and corner carry-outs plague
our communities and rarely
represent the healthiest din
ing options.
Restaurant chains, such
as McDonalds, play a role in
causing environmental con
cerns as well as health con
cerns. McDonald’s need for
cattle grazing space has heav
ily contributed to deforesta
tion is South America.
These are environmental is
sues that concern everyone,
especially the Black commu
nity in many instances. It is
very important that mem
bers of the African-American
community become more
aware and concerned about
the products we use and the
presence of certain businesses
within our neighborhoods.
In remembrance of Black
History Month, I encourage
everyone to take deeper pride
in their neighborhoods and
communities by contributing
to more sustainable efforts
and creating change by con
tinuing to THINK GREEN!
inside track
News 1 World & Local 3 Business & Tech 4 Features 6 Opinions....
8 A&E
10 Sports 12
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Black Game-Changers in Tech p. 4
We Must Still Fight for Equality p. 8
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Most Influential Black Musicians p. 11
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