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MOREHOUSE
AND THE NOT LIKELY
CHALLENGE
Brothers,
On the eve of the re-election of Barack Obama, we, the
black man, have never been so high in prominence and low in
status in American history. This is evident when only 17% of
black males who enter kindergarten will be affordedJhe op-
portunity to graduate from college. Not surprising, when only
41% of black males nation wI3e graduate from high school, and
consequently for every three "Rock metun college, four are in
prison. Hence, we have mandate to appreciate the divine value
of Morehouse College as the only institution dedicated to the
academic .success of black men in higher education.
On July Twenty-Fourth, Morehouse was faced with
unprecedentedjaggs and stark realities about its institutional
stability. Mother Morehouse was diagnosed with a potentially
life-threatening illness diagnosed by Moody’s Investors Ser
vice, a leading provider of credit ratings, research, and risk
analysis. They downgraded Morehouse from a rating of A2 to
A3. The analysis summary reads as follows:
“The A3 rating is based on Morehouse College’s estab
lished market niche, ability to generate favorable gift rev
enue, and an adequate balance sheet cushion to debt and
operations. Offsetting factors include a highly competitive
student market coupled with low net tuition per student,
thin unrestricted liquidity, and weak debt service cover
age. The negative outlook is driven by year-over-year
enrollment declines, declining financial resources and
liquidity, weakening cash flow, and a transitional senior
management team.”
Notwithstanding, the validity and the gravity of these
indictments is not where the problem lies. If not in these inade
quacies, then where might a son of Morehouse find contempt in
such a scathing report? The trouble comes in the section entitled
“What Could Change The Rating Up,” which the first sentence
reads:
“Not likely due to the negative outlook.”
This statement should pierce the heart of every man
who has ever benefited from graduating from our highly-
coveted institution. For this declaration, above all else in the
findings, insinuates that there is no solution to fixing the issues
Morehouse faces. Most importantly, do Men of Morehouse ac
cept this indictment of our academic, financial, and transforma
tional prowess? Once again, Morehouse is the only institution..,,
of higher education that services the mind of the black male,
and Tor that reason we do and cannot subscribe tothe constric-
tions of anyone else’s evaluation. Our education forbids this.
Our sixth president, Dr. Benjamin g. Mays, proclaimed,
“Not failure but low aim is sin.” ThusT^&ch Man of Morehouse
should set his sights on what are the necessities to the advance
ment of his institution and his brothers, present and future. How
can each student do more to champion the mission and better
serve Mother Morehouse? This man should stand in the mirror
and demand better habits and have firm grasp of his value to the
world.
Famed alumnus Howard Thurman ’23 stated. “Tfrere
ire two questions that we have to ask ourselves. The first is
‘Wjie.re ?m T going?Ljmd the, second is “Who will go wijji
me?” To answer the first, each man should analyze the trajec-
tory of hischosen studies and determine how he, can -blaz£_a_
trail
rail on behalf of a young boy with dreams in his heart. Most
ffmportantlw each man should be emphatic about receiving more
'guidanceTrom Morehouse Men who have passed before you.
This is imperative considering that in 2011 college graduates
Were unemployed or underemployed at roughly 52%.
The second question offers direct challenge to the
brotherhood that we regard so highly. For four or more years,
we walk the campus sharing our experience with hundreds of
en, each man with his own tale of determination, his own
reams of prosperity. Though, we may not always agree, we all
old the same responsibility to be extraordinary men regardless
of pathology. In order to carry out this clarion call, you deserve
hgjter amenities, transparency, and more professional develop-^
mggtjpd fflfiQt<">rshipjppportUflitil
No longer can Morehouse Men go without hearing the
resounding voices of Men of Morehouse, for that luxury has
disappeared. No more can the complaints of the Men of More
house go unanswered while the cost of attendance rises infinite
ly. There is an air of expectancy of you mighty men to evolve
beyond the customary practices of institutional deprivation; for
your acceptance will be our institution’s demise.
In Habakkuk 2~2-T, God spoke these words. “Write the
vision, and make it plain upon tables... For the vision is yet for
an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie.”
My younger brothers, it is your time to^tandas men before the
chastisement of antiquated Ideals and powerful position^. Stand
tall in jhe face of opposition, but most importantly stand as
men, stand as brothers.
Et facta est lux,
Carlton R. Collins ‘ 11
Secretary, Morehouse College National Alumni Association
WWW.THEMAROONTIGER.COM
THE SANCTITY OF
SALE HALL CHAPEL
Andrew Kimble
Contributing Writer
aedki mb! e @ gmail .com
As I prepared to write this ar
ticle about Sale Hall Chapel, I realized
how unprepared I was. Where lies the
history of the college? Through whom
could the story of Morehouse be told?
My thoughts commenced and ceased
with Dr. Lawrence Carter, the Dean
of King Chapel who is the man with
extensive knowledge about things seen
and unseen, a man who could tell me a
little bit about this place - good, dear,
Morehouse.
Upon meeting with Dean Cart
er, I assumed we’d sit in his office as he
let the history of Sale flow, as I would be
quickly typing anything my ears heard
in hopes of having a decent amount of
information to write an article on the
sanctity of Sale Hall Chapel. Contrary
to my belief, he told me nothing. In
stead, we walked across campus to this
room, unknown to many, and looked at
historic, classic photos of Dr. Mays, the
Danforths, Dr. King, and Howard Thur
man.
His words were scarce, but
instructive. He told me to get my hands
on the history of the college, a book in
low demand and no longer being pub
lished, titled “A Candle in the Dark.”
I got to the library, turned the
cover of the book, and was immediately
hit with something heavy. It read, “The^
storv.of Morehouse College is a saga
of man’s struggle to conquer prejudice
and ignorance.” Read that again. “The
*sfory of Morehouse College is a saga of
man’s struggle to conquer prejudice and
ignorance.”
It took me a second to move for
ward. Actually, I couldn’t move forward.
I sat, stuck in a region of my mind,
examining the realities of Morehouse,
and wondering if a contour line could
be drawn linking the ethos of More
house of the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s with
the ethos of Morehouse today. But then
I snapped, telling myself I would have to
entertain those thoughts another time.
I was supposed to be looking
up Sale Hall, so I flipped to the index
and finally did. What I read was inter
esting. As John Hope transitioned into
becoming the president of the college,
the school was in an overriding need
for money (perhaps a contour can
be drawn). Hope’s friend, Major R.R.
Moton, who served as Commandant at
Hampton Institute, wrote to Dr. Wallace
Buttrick, the Secretary of the General
Education Board. Moton implored him
to appeal to two philanthropists, An
drew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller.
It turned out Carnegie and
Rockefeller would rather have noth
ing to do with the concept of a liberal
arts college for “Negroes”, let alone help
them expand and grow. So Moton put
President Hope in contact with Booker
T. Washington at Tuskegee Institute.
Apparently, “Mr. Washington was the
one Negro educator capable of tapping
the sources of Northern philanthropy.”
As a result, strangely, money
poured in from Carnegie and the Gen
eral Education Board. Subsequently,
The American Baptist Home Mission
Society donated funds as well, and vot
ed a portion of the sum be put towards
the construction of a new building, Sale
Hall. This was 1910.
Since its construction, Sale Hall
has been used for many purposes. The
space most utilized is the Chapel. What
is a chapel? One dictionary defined it as
“a small building for Christian worship,
typically one attached to an institution
or private house.” Another defined it as
“a private or subordinate place of prayer
or worship.”
It was undoubtedly used for
this purpose in past times. There is
evidence. Go see the pictures around
campus of well-dressed men listening
intently to a speaker giving his or her
address or sermon.
That stage? Dr. King used to
stand on that stage. Those rows? San
ford D. Bishop Jr., Calvin O. Butts III,
Hugh M. Gloster, Maynard Jackson,
and Edwin Moses used to sit in those
rows. That peace? Yes, as you meditate
and listen closely, the solemn voice of
Howard Thurman can be heard. Let his
meditations become your meditation.
If you didn’t know, the soul of
the college rests in Sale. It should be
treated as such. It should be cherished
as if those moments we see plastered on
the walls of Dansby, Wheeler, and Chiv-
ers were actually moments. Nothing
more. Nothing less. Just due respect.
COLOR ME WRONG
NINA SIMONE’S BIOPIC INCITES DEBATE ON
COLOR DISCRIMINATION IN HOLLYWOOD
Neah Morton
Opinions Editor
neahmorton @ ao 1 .com
The color complex is a taboo phenomenon Af
rican Americans know far too well. Although it's often
an intra-racial mechanism of discrimination, our com
munity's struggle with colorism pervades mainstream
assumptions of appropriate forms of blackness as well,
hence the perpetual whitewashing of Hollywood. The
lives of the rich and famous are shrouded by color poli
tics.
This controversial topic currently has the en
tertainment industry buzzing as Zoe Saldana prepares
to portray Nina Simone in the biopic “Nina.” Saldana,
the Afro-Latina actress known for her roles in “Avatar”
and the upcoming film “The Words,” is slated to appear
in the motion picture as it tells the story of the woman
known as the High Priestess of Soul,
j Nina Simone’s cinematic transition remains un
authorized by the late singer's estate.
For the those of you unfamiliar with the issue
of such a casting, allow me to paint a picture of Ms.
Simone. The classically trained preacher's daughter
ascended to fame in the mid 1960s, a revolutionary
period in which her appearance echoed the Black Power
movement as it, too, rose to prominence. The essence
of her time, Simone’s raven Afro and ebony skin spoke
of African diasporic excellence in its most natural form.
However, her particular brand of beauty presented
professional challenges that onlqy seemed to come in
shades of black.
After finishing her high school education, the
gifted pianist auditioned at the Curtis Institute of Music-
in Philadelphia, PA. Despite an exemplary performance,
Simone was rejected not only due to her race but due to
her rather “ethnic” features as well.
“As a child |Simone] was told her nose was
too big and she was too dark,” said her daughter, Lisa
Recycle The Maroon Tiger
Celeste Stroude. The world of classical music had little
*
room for deviation and Simone’s physical appearance
did not fit the bill. Speaking of her mother once more,
Stroude stated, “Had [Simone] become a classical
pianist, which was her dream ... shattered, I doubt she
would have found her true destiny. Nina Simone was a
voice of her people.”
I hate the idea of questioning anyone’s blackness,
but we have to consider that casting a light-skinned
woman in a role marked by color discrimination is to
make a caricature of Simone’s biography. Had this film
been a work of fiction, Saldana's casting as an imagined
black woman would be a non-issue. However, “Nina” is
the retelling of a life and placing Saldana in the titular
role is a byproduct of the public’s narrowing frame of
mind in terms of Black female beauty.
Consider biographical portrayals of African-
American women in the past. In Martha Coolidge’s
"Introducing Dorothy Dandridge,” Halle Berry was per
fectly cast as the fair-skinned screen siren. When Oprah
Winfrey announced that her studio would produce a
Lena Horne biopic, Alicia Keys was to play the role of
the songbird.
There is no issue finding actresses to play the
parts of women on the lighter end of the color spectrum.
However, when it comes time to fill roles of dark-
skinned women, suddenly the talent disappears.
The media continues to alter the face of African-
American beauty to make us more palatable to the pub
lic. When our features are deemed unfit for mainstream
standards of beauty, it fuels the perception that black
women are less acceptable in relationship to females of
other ethnic groups. Idealized images of feminine beau
ty portrayed in the media have created a crooked room
of light skin, European features, and long hair in which
few Black women can stand.
But as Nina Simone sang in the first line of the
1966 female anthem “Four Women,” “my skin is black,”
and regardless of how Hollywood recreates her image,
the truth of her experience cannot be denied.
OCTOBER 3- 10, 2012