Newspaper Page Text
THE MAROON TIGER
THE ORGAN OF STUDENT EXPRESSION
SINCE 1925
MOREHOUSE COLLEGE - ATLANTA, GA
2/28/14 - 3/5/14 - VoL.88, No. 12
NEWSLINE
A NIGHT IN HARLEM STUNS:
THE 5TH ANNUAL “A NIGHT IN HARLEM” SHOWCASE
OPENED IT’S CURTAINS TO A FULL CROWD IN A NEW VEN
UE ON WEDNESDAY, FEB. 26, 2014. A FEW POLLED AUDI
ENCES CALLED IT "THE BEST SHOW YET” AND “THE GREAT
EST DISPLAY OF BLACK ARTISTRY.” A NIGHT IN HARLEM
WILL PLAY AGAIN THURSDAY, FEB. 27, 2014 AT 7:30 P.M. IN
THE RAY CHARLES PERFORMING ARTS CENTER.
A BREAK FOR A BROTHER:
14 MEN OF MOREHOUSE AND ONE STUDENT AT CLARK
ATLANTA UNIVERSITY WILL SPEND THEIR SPRING BREAK IN
THE SOUTH SIDE CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD OF ROSE
WOOD. COREY HARDIMAN, THE ALTERNATIVE SPRING
BREAK CREATOR, CREATED THE PROGRAM TO SPEND A
WEEK WORKING WITH YOUNG BLACK MEN AND GRASS
ROOTS ORGANIZATIONS TO INSPIRE AND ASSIST YOUNG
BLACK MEN. HARDIMAN'S WORK HAS BEEN FEATURED ON
AL JAZEERA AMERICA’S WEBSITE AS A PART OF THEIR “NOT
A THREAT, BUT THREATENED” SERIES.
MEN OF MOREHOUSE RECEIVE
PRESTIGIOUS RECOGNITION:
RECENTLY THE WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE FOR HBCUS
AWARDED JUNIORS DAVID JOHNNY AND CAMERON
WEATHERS THE HONOR OF HBCU ALL-STAR’S. THIS AWARD
15 DEDICATED TO FEATURING STUDENTS WHO HAVE A
STRONG DEDICATION TO ACADEMICS, LEADERSHIP AND
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.
LLC VIDEO GOES VIRAL:
RESIDENTS OF THE LIVING LEARNING COMMUNITY (LLC)
RESIDENCE HALL RECENTLY RELEASE A VIDEO ON YOU
TUBE FEATURING A MYRIAD OF DIFFERENT RAP STYLES
AND DISPLAYING BROTHERHOOD AT IT’S FINEST. PROFES
SIONALLY EDITED BY CABRAL CLEMENTS, THE VIDEO HAS
REACHED OVER 13,000 VIEWS AND HAS BEEN FEATURED
ON WATCHTHEYARD.COM AND HBCUDIGEST.COM.
A LEGEND PASSES:
MARY ROBINSON SPIVEY ’33, THE LAST SURVIVING FEMALE
GRADUATE OF MOREHOUSE COLLEGE, PASSED AWAY
OVER THE WEEKEND. SPIVEY’S FUNERAL WILL BE HELD ON
SATURDAY, MAR. 1, 2014 AT CALVARY UNITED METHODIST
AT 1 P.M. 1471 RALPH DAVID ABERNATHY BLVD. ATLANTA,
GA SW 30310.
POSTED BY: ©JAZZEJUE2AFEW
1 DAYS AGO
THE MILLENNIAL ACTIVISTS:
MOREHOUSE AND SPELMAN STUDENTS ARRESTED AT CAPITOL
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REPEAL. Georgia’s
“Stand your
'Ground” Law
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Tabatha Holley, center, was among a group arrested last week protesting Georgia’s version of the cotroversial Stand Your Ground Law.
JAMES PARKER
CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR
JAMESJR.PARKER@GMAIL.COM
“We are the ones that are going
to die because of this legislation,” More
house senior Ronnie Mosley said while en
couraging students to join the movement
to repeal Georgia’s Stand Your Ground
Law. Mosley, along with Morehouse fresh
man Darien Jones, Morehouse senior Rey
naldo Roberts and Spelman sophomore
Tabatha Holley were arrested this month
during a protest against the legislation.
A total of 24 protesters walked
freely into the office of Georgia State Sen.
Jesse Stone on Monday, Feb. 10. Among
the others arrested was pastor of First Ico-
nium Baptist Church, Rev. Timothy McDon
ald, a Clark Atlanta University alumnus,
an elderly grandmother and several local
parents.
Senate Bill 280 was introduced at
a committee hearing last month, but ac
cording to protesters, Stone, who serves as
the chairman of the committee, allowed
only one citizen out of the more than 100
in attendance to speak. Stone said that
another public hearing would be sched
uled so that the other citizens could be
heard, but it has yet to be scheduled.
The bill is to repeal a current
Georgia law which says that a “person
who is attacked has no duty to retreat"
and provides immunity from prosecution
for such an individual. Georgia's self-
defense laws and those of many other
states have been nicknamed “Stand Your
Ground Laws” and were cited by defense
teams during trials for Trayvon Martin's and
Jordan Davis’ killers. Neither of the men
charged in their deaths was convicted of
that crime.
In response to citizens being pro
hibited from speaking at the hearing, a
coalition of Georgia citizens and commu
nity organizations known as Moral Monday
planned the protest in Stone's office.
“Stone closed his door, locked
himself inside, and only communicated
through his assistant,” Mosley said after the
group arrived.
Eventually - via his assistant -
Stone offered to speak with two of the
protesters just as he had done at the
January hearing. The protesters refused his
offer, requesting that each of their con
stituents be allowed to speak with him.
Stone would not agree to meet
with the protesters on these terms, and the
police were called.
While the protesters waited for
authorities to arrive they said prayers and
began singing songs often associated with
the civil rights movement, including “Ain’t
Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around” and
an improvised version of “This Little Light of
Mine."
Once on site, officers escorted
small groups of the protesters out of the
office, because they did not have enough
handcuffs to move them all at once.
Some demonstrators were restrained using
cable ties. The citizens were then placed
into three police squad cars and two
police paddy wagons, and transported to
jail.
They were each charged with
conducting an unlawful gathering and
after fingerprinting, mug shots, and book
ing, they were placed in holding cells with
other prisoners.
Mosley said that while incarcer
ated, the protesters witnessed a man
being tasered. An officer later apologized
for exposing them to the act, and added
that the protesters “came on a bad day.”
The next morning, all of the pro
testers were released on signature bond
without having to pay bail. A court date
has not yet been set.
Holley, who works for a state senator at
the Georgia capitol, said she does not
regret her decision to participate in the
event and plans to become a community
organizer after graduation.
“If we have to get arrested in
order for state representatives to speak
to us, then they don’t deserve to be in
office,” Holley said. She added that Stand
Your Ground Laws defend killers, but she
will continue to advocate to defend the
murdered men and boys.
Mosley has been featured on CNN
and local news outlets since high school,
when he began to speak out against gun
violence in his hometown of Chicago.
One of his cousins and a best friend were
both killed in Chicago, but he continues
his cause at Morehouse.
"Morehouse men have always
answered the call to speak up for our
brothers who can’t speak for themselves
- whether they’re dead or alive,” Mosley
said. “Now we have to assure that our
lives are protected by repealing Stand
Your Ground and keeping guns off of our
campuses.”
Both Mosley and Holley are also
actively involved in fighting legislation to
allow guns in more public places. House
Bill 875 would allow K-l 2 schools, colleges,
and churches to permit faculty members
to carry guns. This bill passed in the Geor
gia House last Tuesday and is expected to
pass in the Senate as well.
The Moral Monday coalition will
continue to sponsor events on these and
various other issues in Georgia in the com
ing weeks. Students interested in partici
pating can access dates and additional
information at www.moralmondayga.com
and on Facebook at www.facebook.
com/MoralMondayGA.
WILL THE LOCKER ROOM REMAIH THE SAME?
DARIUS JOHNSON
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
DARIUSJOHNSON7894@YAHOO.COM
MT STAFF CONTRIBUTED TO PARTS OF THIS REPORT
Missouri Tigers star defensive end
Michael Sam’s recent public statements
about his homosexuality have become
a hot topic of discussion. The Morehouse
Student Athlete Committee (MSAC) and
senior Amal Yamusah, an Alpha Phi Al
pha Fraternity, Inc., member and former
Morehouse football player, wanted to give
students the opportunity to share their
thoughts on this broad topic.
“Being a former football player
I can relate to this because we have al
ways been aware of homosexual players
being in existence inside the locker room,"
Yamusah said. “We can go on for hours
about this topic."
Last Thursday, students from
Morehouse, Spelman and Agnes Scott
colleges, and Clark Atlanta University
filled Kilgore Seminar Room to capacity
to share their thoughts during a forum en
titled “Athletes Going Pro: Panel Discussion
on Michael Sam & Gay Athletes in Profes
sional Sports.”
The panel included Morehouse
students Bummah Ndeh, Don Cox and
Josh Harris, as well as faculty members
Ron Thomas, who is Morehouse's journal
ism director, and Dr. Michael Hodge, chair
of the Sociology Department. Yamusah
and MSAC president Brandon Sartin were
co-moderators. Sartin, Cox and Harris all
play on the football team.
“My teammates are my brothers,”
Harris, the starting quarterback, said. “We
come from different backgrounds and
I would not feel uncomfortable having
a homosexual as a teammate. I believe
it has the ability to bring a locker room
closer.”
Whether the presence of an open
ly gay teammate would make heterosex
ual or homosexual players uncomfortable
in the locker room was a major topic of
discussion. There also is speculation about
whether being uncomfortable in a locker
room would have a negative effect on a
player's performance?
Traditional joking in a locker room,
which may include homosexual slurs, was
mentioned as a factor that potentially
could make any homosexual player feel
uncomfortable when around his team
mates.
Some heterosexual players could
feel uncomfortable as well, due to ho
mophobia, negative views about some
one being openly gay, or fears that a gay
player could be sexually attracted to a
heterosexual teammate.
“Homosexuals have been in exis
tence in locker rooms whether we know it
or not, and it can make one question who
you are,” Maroon Tiger New Media Direc
tor Jamal Lewis said. “It provides time to
interrogate how we view masculinity and
find a new way to live in coexistence,”
If Sam, who was predicted to be
a third or fourth-round draft pick before
his announcement, makes an NFL roster, it
will be an opportunity for him to perform
his best and possibly encourage other
gay players to be open about their sexual
orientation. This also would be an oppor
tunity for NFL teams to show that they can
support diverse lifestyles.
Sam has become a role model to
younger individuals and homosexuals who
want to pursue a career not only in the
NFL, but in other sports as well. His coming
out has the potential to possibly change
the culture of the NFL and counter stereo
types about homosexuals related to physi
cal strength.
If his sexual orientation hurts his NFL
draft stock, it may show a lot about the
values that the NFL holds.
Sam is a prodigious example of
what it means to be homosexual, hyper
masculine and a great football player.
If drafted and he performs well in his first
year, he will show that he is the same as a
heterosexual player on the gridiron.