Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

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 • Black Game-Changers in Tech p. 4 We Must Still Fight for Equality p. 8 r — on the web www. t hem aro ontiger.co m friday f Saturday ry ggllglg piiiiiiim mm | 1 pi m Sunday Most Influential Black Musicians p. 11 www.twitter.com themaroontiger 1 iA 39° 37° Recycle The Maroon Tiger