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VOLUME 30
MORRIS BROWN COLLEGE, ATLANTA, GA„ DECEMBER, 1959
NUMBER 2
11,000 Fans Turn Out For Turkey Day Classic
Fullback Winfred Benson (33) goes 6 yards for Morris Brown’s
third touchdown, after taking a handoff from quarterback John Davis.
THE PRESIDENT DISCUSSES SOME
PROBLEMS OF NEGRO EDUCATION
The terms “potential” and “opportunity” are interdependent. On
the one hand, the use which is made of an opportunity depends upon
the development of ability. But, on the other hand, the development
of specialized abilities must wait upon opportunity.
MORRIS BROWN OBSERVES
AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK
Morris Brown College joined hundreds of other institutions in ob
serving American Education Week, November 9-13. The theme for
the week was “Praise and Appraise Your Schools”.
The series of programs for —■
American Education Week at Mor
As long as the Negro commu
nity maintained the position that
there was no possibility of one of
its members obtaining employment
as an engineer, neither Negro edu
cational institutions nor Negro
parents could sensibly encourage
the younger generation to go
through the long and arduous pro
gram of engineering.
The development of Negro po
tential depends on the expansion
of economic opportunity in a still
deeper sense. For the Negro popu
lation to be able to compete on an
equal basis for professional, sci
entific, managerial, skilled, and
other desirable jobs will require a
revolution in all levels of Negro
education, and beyond this, in the
values and aspirations, the living
conditions, and the community en
vironments of large groups in the
Negro population. All of this, in
turn, depends in large part on the
opportunities of Negroes to earn
larger incomes.
If the education of Southern Ne
gro males were brought up to the
level of Southern white males, the
actual number of high school grad
uates in the region would be
tripled, from about 11,000 to 32,-
000. If the education of Northern
Negroes were brought up to that
of whites in the North, the num
ber of Negro high school graduates
in the North would be nearly
doubled, from almost 14,000 to al
most 25,000. Thus, if the differ
ences between the races with re
spect to high school graduation
were eliminated within each region,
there would be 32,000 high school
graduates in addition to the 25,000
who actually graduated. If the edu
cational disadvantages of the
South were also eliminated—that
is, if all Negroes were brought up
in the level of Northern whites—
then the total number of Negro
graduates would be increased by
another 11,000, to nearly 68,000.
Of crucial significance in the
educational process is the quality
of the teacher. In terms of formal
educational qualifications, Negro
teachers in many parts of the
South are at least as well-prepared
as white teachers. This is so, in
part, because the Negro college
graduate has few other profes
sional employment opportunities.
On the average, however, Negro
teachers are much less able than
white teachers'in spite of the fact
that they have about the same
amount of formal preparation.
Like other young Negroes, those
preparing to teach are usually
handicapped by poor schools and
deprived backgrounds. A recent
study by Arthur L. Benson of the
Educational Testing Service an
alyzed the abilities of prospective
white and Negro teachers in states
with segregated schools. Test
scores of white and Negro fresh
men in Southern teacher-training
institutions and liberal arts col
leges in which a large number of
the freshmen were planning to
teach were compared with the test
scores of freshmen in the country
as a whole. The average scores of
the white freshmen in the Southern
schools were exceeded by 65 per
cent of the freshmen throughout
the country. The average future
Negro teacher in the South ranked
below 95 per cent of the freshmen
in the whole country.
(Continued on Page 2)
NAACP BEGINS
ACTIVE YEAR
The Morris Brown College Chap
ter of the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored Peo
ple is functioning with much suc
cess, after organizing for the 1959-
60 year. These officers were elect
ed: James Foster, president; Eu
gene Bryant, vice president; Mar
garet Simmons, secretary; Joann
Phillips, treasurer; Freda Fisher,
parliamentarian; Bennie Wright,
reporter.
During the latter part of No
vember, two representatives at
tended the State Conference meet
ing in Augusta, Ga. The represent
atives, Frank Armstrong and Ben
nie Wright, made an interesting
report to the group at a regular
meeting.
The chapter is now making plans
for their first assembly program of
the year.
You are cordially invited to be
come a member of this organiza
tion.
John Sanders—New
Assistant At G.T.E.A.
Mr. John Dewitt Sanders, a 1956
Morris Brown graduate, has been
recently hired by the Georgia
Teachers and Education Associa
tion. Mr. Sanders is assistant to the
executive secretary and field work
er for the Association.
John is a graduate of Holsey-
Cobb Institute, Cordele, Ga., and
he is a member of the Alpha Phi
Alpha Fraternity.
The average girl would rather
have beauty than brains, because
the average man can see better
than he can think.
ris Brown College is one of the
outstanding features of the year’s
program. Dr. Ann Cochran is chair
man of the Education Week Com
mittee. It is because of her efforts
that this series has been highly
successful for a number of years.
The speakers for the week were
Dr. Frank Cunningham, President
of Morris Brown College; Mrs.
Narvie Harris, Supervisor, DeKalb
County; Mr. George Edwards, Jr.,
Principal, Conyers, Georgia; and
Dr. L. D. Graves, Professor, At
lanta University.
Other participants were mem
bers of the faculty of the Educa
tion Division and student teachers.
use Makes
Drastic Changes In
Campus Frats
Los Angeles, Calif.—(I.P.)—As
a result of the tragic death of
Kappa Sig pledge Richard T.
Swanson, several radical and im
portant changes will take place in
the social organization on the cam
pus of the University of Southern
California, according to Dr. Wil
liam H. McGrath, assistant dean
of students—men.
Dr. McGrath said that the fra
ternities are initiating a better
system of Greek row control con
cerning rushing, pledging, initia
tion and student decorum in gen
eral. A third aspect of “a better
row control,” will be a program
of extended counseling which will
involve all new students. “This will
include a series of compulsory
classes by deans, vice-presidents,
and top professors of the univer
sity,” Dr. McGrath said.
“It is hoped that these courses
will bring wisdom and youth closer
together,” he said. These courses
will acquaint the student with the
realities of college life. They will
touch upon social and psychological
pressures, the philosophy of life
and cultural upgrading.
“We hope to have students act
in accordance with the best that
has been thought said and done in
the university,” Dr. McGrath ex
plained. “The big emphasis will
be upon ACTION.”
Idaho Board OK's
Reorganization
Pocatello, Idaho — (LP.) — Re
sponsibilities of chairmen of divi
sions in the College of liberal Arts
at Idaho State College have been
approved by the State Board of
Education. The College of Liberal
Arts has been reorganized into six
divisions. Faculty of each division,
except Military Science, elects its
chairman.
The reorganization divided the
College of Liberal Arts into divi
sions of Applied Arts and Sciences,
Biological Science, Humanities,
Physical Science, Social Science
and Military Science.
Observer Editor
Speaker for F.T.A.
Our editor, Mr. Wayman Shiver,
was recently the guest speaker for
the Mamie Dye Club of the Future
Teachers of America. The affair
took place at Oglethorpe County
Training School in Lexington, Ga.,
on November 13, 1959. The spon
sor was Mrs. L. J. Jones.
The text of Mr. Shiver’s speech
was on the theme for American
Education Week, “Praise and Ap
praise Your Schools.” After the
program, Mr. Shiver and other
guests were entertained by the
faculty at the teachers’ cottage.
He was accompanied by Earnest
Coleman, state treasurer, and
Joseph Willis, a Clark College stu
dent and Student N.E.A. member.
Davis Receives
Recognition
In Anthology
The National Poetry Association
has announced that “The View,”
by George I. C. Davis, has been ac
cepted for publication in the An
nual Anthology of College Poetry.
The Anthology is a compilation
of the finest poetry written by the
college men and women of America,
representing every section of the
country. Selections were made from
thousands of poems submitted. The
Association congratulates the stu
dent on this honor.
The Wolverine Observer Staff
salutes Mr. Davis for bis signifi
cant achievement.
Brownite Lands
State Job
Dr. Claude Purcell, State School
Superintendent, announced the ap
pointment of Mr. Robert Threatt
as consultant in Secondary Edu
cation for the State of Georgia.
Mr. Threatt, a graduate of Mor
ris Brown College and Atlanta Uni
versity, is a promising young man
who has taken leading roles in sev
eral state-wide organizations;
moreover, he has received many
outstanding awards for excellence
in a variety of activities.
He began teaching in 1949 and
has worked at Spencer Junior High
School since 1953. Among other
positions held by Mr. Threatt are:
President of Muscogee County
Teachers Association since 1956,
Treasurer Class Room Teachers
Department of GTEA, President of
the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity
(Alpha Phi Sigma Chapter), Presi
dent of the Morris Brown Club in
Columbus, Ga., and commissioner
of Boy Scouts of America, Musco
gee Division.
Mr. Threatt was selected System
Teacher of the Year in 1956; he
was chosen “Man of the Year” in
Columbus in 1957.