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Got Faith? AUC Muslim Students
Enjoy Welcome Back Dinner,
Discuss Challenges for New Year
ANNICK LAURENT
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
DSPILLER@SCMAIL.SPELMAN.EDU
Often setting a tone for the year,
the first social or ceremony is a chance for
returning members to reunite and for new
comers to see what a group is all about. It
has the potential to increase membership
and generate presence on campus.
The AUC Muslim Student Association
staged its kickoff event Sept. 12 in the
African American Hall of Fame. It was a
modest turnout of old and new guests.
Returning members reacquainted with
one another while freshman met the
board, and received information about
upcoming events. There were appear
ances by poet Anwar Johnson, and Rufus
and Jenny Triplett, Ebony’s 2012 Couple of
the Year.
Muhamed Samateh, a Morehouse
senior psychology major from Gambia,
served as president of the organization
his sophomore and junior year and vice
president his senior year.
‘‘[There's been] a lot of growth
and change in the organization. Each
year has been different, each year we
grow in terms of membership and...I feel
like we just get a lot more efficient every
year,” Samateh said.
In comparison to the original
model, three vice presidents spend time
at their respective campuses to plan
events and address student needs.
Amirah Mitchell, a Spelman junior
environmental science major and cur
rent vice president, believes the board's
structure is a necessity. As president of
Al-Nisa, a women’s Muslim group, Mitchell
states that gender can make religion very
personal. However, she does not think it
stands in the way of having equal partici
pation between male and female mem
bers.
“The guys are actually good at
being inclusive. They're always looking for
more opinions,” Mitchell said in reference
to men.
With distractions such as partying,
it can be challenging for Muslim students
to stay true to their moral code.
For Na’il Salahu-Din, a junior Sociology
major from New York and the current
president, the MSA helped him remain bal
anced.
“For me, I feel like I get more out of
it than I put into it,” Salahu-Din said.
Salahu-Din's frequent involvement in the
organization enabled him to stay ground
ed by surrounding himself with people with
similar experiences.
The MSA plans social and spiritual
events attracting different people. Salahu-
Din hopes future functions will solicit a bet
ter turnout of people regardless of religious
affiliation. He wants people to know that
everyone is welcome.
Samateh recalls negative dia
logue starting his sophomore year and
continuing until last semester. A brainchild
of the MSA along with other religious
groups and chapel assistants, the Inter
faith Council makes its debut this semester.
It is supposed to provide an open forum to
instill tolerance as well as raise awareness
about groups with differing approaches to
practicing their faith.
Like other underrepresented
groups on a predominantly Christian
campus, the MSA faces many administra
tive challenges. Funding for resources and
accommodating people of multiple faiths
is difficult to accomplish, but they remain
hopeful.
Askia Bashir, a 64-year-old officer
for Spelman Public Safety Department,
has been an advisor for MSA and Al-Nisa
for about eight years.
“ MSA's purpose is] to be an
example for goodness and good works,"
Bashir said.
Bashir was even present when the
organization, in collaboration with other
institutions' groups, met to develop the
current MSA constitution.
While uplifting each other, the MSA
is dedicated to including others in their en
deavors of religious equality and activism.
They hope to increase membership with
the freshman class to continue their work.
Tassili’s Raw Reality:
Urban Eatery or TRRUE for short
KADIJAH NDOYE
WORLD AND LOCAL EDITOR
KNDOYE@SCMAIL.SPELMAN.EDU
"Tassili’s Raw Reality: Urban Eatery”
or TRRUE for short is an “urban oasis" dedi
cated to nourishing the mind, body, and
soul by way of organic food and juices,
yoga instruction, Tai Chi, and other forms
of calming exercise. The quaint estab
lishment is located at 1059 Ralph David
Abernathy Blvd., just an eight-minute walk
from the West End Mall.
The owner, Tassili, otherwise known
as the master food chef has been fea
tured on Fox 5 and has recently been
selected as a Michelle Obama Let's Move
chef. In addition, she conducts health
panels at Morehouse School of Medicine
and Emory University.
The foundation of TRUEE, she said,
was “born out of a health challenge to
live a vegan lifestyle” after learning she
had arthritis.
“I used my body as my labora
tory,” Tassili said.
After collaborating with other
people dedicated to the cultivation of
natural food and the promotion of black
entrepreneurship, she created dishes in
her kitchen for various venues. The de
mand for her wraps served as a catalyst
for what would become “Tassili’s Raw
Reality: Urban Eatery.”
She said, one of the “goal[s] is to
be sustainable and "self-sufficient”. Tassili
relies on her own garden located at the
front and rear of the establishment, black
farmers (depending on the financial stabil
ity of the business), and the farmer's mar
ket to supply the kale, green peppers, and
other essential ingredients to her dishes.
She comments on the presence
of chemically processed or transitional
food sold in the area. “Anytime you take
a stand against the death industry...that is
revolutionary,” Tassili said. By death indus
try, she is referring to the businesses utilizing
unsafe practices to produce products
consumed by the masses.
The establishment, resembling a
home, is filled with the aroma of cloves,
natural oils, and incense. Another vendor,
“Yetunde”, sells black soaps, shea butter,
and other cremes and natural potions.
The seating arrangements, in addition to
the aroma, provide a calm and soothing
atmosphere.
Local artists feature their work
throughout the establishment. In addition,
quotes of self-cultivation and purity along
with the 42 Ideals of Ma'at are placed on
the wall.
Marwan, the publicity manager,
says it is “superb that [the food] tastes so
good. He commends the owner on being
an entrepreneur as a woman of color.
He explains that fast-food restaurants like
McDonalds appeal to college students.
He enjoys that an alternative to a fast-
food lifestyle is affordable, accessible, and
nutritious. Of all the items on the menu,
he recommends the wrap with corn and
couscous.
Sarah Brokenborough, sophomore
Political Science major at Spelman Col
lege, tasted the mild kale wrap with avo
cado, tomato, and onions. “The avocado
blended so well in the wrap,” Brokenbor
ough said. She also noted the gracious
and filling portion sizes.
“Tassili’s Raw Food Reality: Urban
Eatery" provides an alternative atmo
sphere to a hectic lifestyle. The dedica
tion to producing and serving organically
grown food is critical to a community
predominantly populated by African-
Americans. In addition, TRUEE serves as
one of the few oases in this food desert.
TASSILI’S RAW REALITY MAINTAINS AN ONLINE PRESENCE THROUGH TWITTER
(@TASSILISRAWREAL), FACEBOOK, AND THEIR WEBSITE (HTTP://TASSILISRAWRE-
ALITY.COM/). FOR PROMOTIONAL CODES, TEXT “RAWREALITY” TO 72727.
WORLD
AND LOCAL
AN OPEN LETTER
TIFFANY PENNAMON
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
TPENNAMO@SCMAIL.SPELMAN.EDU
The Atlanta University Center is home away from home for most students over the next four years of
their collegiate lives. The AUC hosts the largest adjoining consortium of African Americans in higher educa
tion in the United States and is historically home to Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta
University, and the Morehouse School of Medicine. In previous years, that list of member institutions included
Morris Brown College. Last month, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, president of Spelman College and current chair
of the Council of Presidents of the Atlanta University Center Consortium, addressed the student body in an
open letter on behalf of Morris Brown’s well-being as a member school of the AUC.
In the statement she writes, “I wrote the Honorable Judge Barbara Ellis-Monro...to express our con
cern about the potential disposition of the land associated with Morris Brown College.” Until 2002, Morris
Brown College served 2,500 students and held 21-acres of land for its administrative, housing, and recre
ational buildings. The same year, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools revoked the college's
accreditation as a direct result of financial fraud by former president, Dolores Cross. Filing for bankruptcy in
late 2012, the school had an accumulated debt of more than $30 million.
Recent attempts to buy out the school have come to a halt—radio host Tom Joyner offered to buy
the school, and in June 2013, the Board of Trustees declined a $9.7 million deal from the city that would pay
off all remaining debts. On Friday, Sept. 6th, Morris Brown lawyers said that the school had “come up with
two different financial plans to secure its land and its accreditation.” The presiding bankruptcy judge over
the case, the Honorable Judge Barbara Ellis-Monro, granted the school 30 days to file a financial plan and is
the key factor in determining what happens to the land linked to Morris Brown.
The letter received mixed reviews from the students of the AUC. An anonymous Spelmanite said, “I
don’t feel that it's morally right for Spelman, Morehouse, or any other school in the AUC to pass judgment on
what should be done with the land that Morris Brown stands on. We all have our own situations that require
fixing, from Spelman’s lack of housing and the possible demolition of Friendship Baptist Church, to More
house’s 50% 6-year graduation rate and complete residence hall shut down. There is absolutely no reason
that either of these schools should be giving any kind of say over what happens to another school. If we
wouldn’t allow a PWI to tell us what to do within our gates, we shouldn't do such a thing to another HBCU.”
On the contrary, Edward Fultz, a junior at Morehouse College said, “I believe this proposition to be very ben
eficial in order to ensure the safety of the students in the Atlanta University Center.”
Administration from the schools that make up the AUC are concerned with ensuring an optimal liv
ing and learning environment. "We wrote Judge Ellis-Monro to request that during deliberations she take into
account the well-being of the anchor institutions that comprise the Atlanta University Center Consortium,
institutions committed to the long-term health and well-being of our neighborhood and the more than 8,000
students we serve,” Dr. Tatum said in the conclusion of her letter. As the saying goes, “What happens to one
of our institutions, affects all of our institutions.”
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THE RECENT LETTER FROM DR. TATUM?
WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS.
Spelman’s Museum Showcases Black Beauty
SARAH BROKENBOROUGH
STAFF WRITER
SBROKENB@SCMAIL.SPELMAN.EDU
On the evening of Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013,
Spelman College's Museum of Fine Arts held its
opening ceremony of their fall exhibit entitled, Pos
ing Beauty in African American Culture.
Museum staff members wore shirts with “#thi-
sisbeauty” to encourage attendees to find examples
of beauty and post them on twitter using the hash
tag.
Atlanta University Center students began
the night taking notes for class reports and scholarly
critiques, but soon after the necessary pictures were
taken, visitors discussed the theme of black beauty.
The popular idiom, “Beauty is in the eye of the be
holder”, became especially relevant when visitors
debated the meaning of each work.
The exhibit prompted onlookers to ques
tion why black beauty was often neglected and
shunned when persistent evidence proved other
wise.
"This exhibit puts in proper context the sense
of beauty that many people have known for 100
years,” Museum enthusiast and Morehouse freshman
John Michael said.
The photographs showcased black beauty
across the ages. A few of the pieces featured no
table figures within the black community, including
Denzel Washington, Serena Williams, and Lil Kim.
In addition, the exhibit incorporated albu
men prints on cabinet cards from the 19th Century
displaying unidentified women and children, pag
eant contestant editorial pieces, and portraits of
ordinary college students, couples, and self-portraits.
Morehouse student Vincent Chester says, “As some
one unfamiliar to the world of art, this exhibit showed
me the timelessness of African American women's
beauty”.
The photographs are placed to challenge
the onlooker's preconceived notions of beauty
and what should be included in a canon of black
bdauty. For instance, one wall displayed a portrait
of Michelle Obama seemingly juxtaposed to a prom
night picture of three young black women, circa
2006.
The Body and Image section explains, “How
the act of posing and perceptions of beauty were
joined to convey an abundance of self-pride and
reinforce positive images of African Americans”.
One of the more popular sections
displayed portions of Shelia Pree Bright's “The Plastic
Bodies” Series, 2005. Using digital manipulation to
create part-human, part-Barbie portraits, Bright chal
lenges America’s fixation with obtaining unrealistic
body images. Bright has said that the series shows
“how the cultural icon of the Barbie has become
and we’ve become plastic”.
After visitors were given ample time to view
and discuss the pieces, Spelman College President
Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum and Posing Beauties Cura
tor Dr. Deborah Willis gave speeches to expand the
concept of black beauty.
Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum touched on the is
sue of an Oklahoma school sending 7-year-old Tiana
Parker home in tears for looking not looking present
able because of her dreadlocks. This was an exam
ple of beauty ideals, not inclusive of African Ameri
can, go too far and affect a child’s self-esteem.
Dr. Deborah Willis spoke on the purpose of
the beauty, asking the audience “What is beauty?”
The exhibit sought to showcase African-American
beauty through the muse of the photographer or
artist and cause visitors to view beauty with a differ
ent perspective. Concluding, "All girls are beautiful!
... And guys too!”