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MORRIS BROWN COLLEGE
February 1976
BETWEEN US
Mixed Choir Thrills Georgia Assembly
By Mathias Odoemeie
The mixed choir of Morris
Brown College was guest of
the Georgia House of Assem
bly when it sang for the
members during this year’s
current opening session of
the House. Governor and
Mrs. George Busbee, Lt.
Governor Miller, and House
Speaker Tom Murphy led the
joint session of the lawmakers
in giving Morris Brown choir
a standing ovation, after the
choir thrilled and
demonstrated to the House
its uniqueness and good
coordination in concert
music. Apart from the stan
ding ovation and clappings in
response to the choir’s good
performances, the Secretary
of State Ben Fortson and
other members gave the
college choir outstanding
letters of Commendations. In
previous occasions Morris
Brown College Choir had
been acclaimed universally
for its artistry and quality in
the area of concert music
which made it possible for
the choir to be rated as one of
the best in the south. The
College choir has performed
in different important oc
casions such as that of January
this year in the House of
Assembly. Asked the director
of the choir Mr. Ruffin, a
music instructor in the music
department about what he
felt about the choir perform
ing in the State House of
Assembly, he said Morris
Brown was happy to be in
vited to sing at the State
capitol. However, observers
think Morris Brown’s
presence in such an excep
tional occasion was a big
honor and publicity for the
college. A choir that is very
hard working with some
musical organizations ap
preciates the support given it
by the Morris Brown family.
Dn G. Hubert Johnson is
Chairman of the Music
Department. Meanwhile, the
choir proposes to go on its
annual tour of the different
parts of the country begin
ning next month. Such places
the choir plans to visit are
Nashville, Cleveland,
Pittsburgh, New Jersey and
New York at Columbia
University. Hundreds of
people witnessed last year’s
presentation of the Messiah
Part II by the college choir in
its usual traditional annual
performance.
The Black community in
and around Atlanta is the
subject of a new television
series called BETWEEN US.
This monthly half-hour
program is co-produced by
WGTV, Channel 8, the Public
-Television Station operated
by the University of Georgia,
and WXIA, Channel 11, the
Atlanta ABC affiliate. The
premiere of this show marks
the first time that two area
stations have collaborated on
a series. During the summer,
BETWEEN US was developed
by Hill Bermont, Program
Director at Channel 8, Diedre
MacDonald, Host and
Producer at Channel 11, and
Jack Clifford, General
Manager at Channel 11. They
agreed that the program
should keep away from the
conventional talk show
format. “There’s no visual
interest in two people talking
in a studio,’’ Bermont said.
“The program might as well
be on the radio.” Mr.
Bermont, who has produced
a number of award winning
documentaries televised
nationally on the Public
Broadcasting Network,
wanted a magazine format.
He especially wanted to use
documentary film segments.
Mr. Clifford liked the idea
and agreed to provide half of
the film for the series. The
result was BETWEEN US. Host
for the program and
producer for the Channel 11
segments is Diedre Mac
Donald. David Horwatt, a
documentary filmmaker at
Channel 8, is the co-
producer. Now in its fourth
month, BETWEEN US already
has shown documentaries on
the Nation of Islam and on a
day in the life of a Muslim
family, the Neighborhood
Arts Center, a unique school
for the visual and performing
arts in one of Atlanta's
poorest neighborhoods,
Lavern Ford, Georgia's first
Black warden, life inside
Reidsville Prison as viewed by
a 28 year old inmate, and the
impact of television violence
on children. Interviewed on
the program have been
Vernon Jordan, Executive
Director of the National
Urban League, Immamu
Baraka, Marxist
revolutionary, Dr. Akim Ak-
bar, Director of the
Department of Human
Resources for the Nation of
Islam, and Mohamad Ali, an
outspoken member of the
Muslims.
MBC Hosts Mrs. Coretta King
By Mathias Odoemeie
The wife of the late Civil
Rights Leader and President
of King Center for Social
Change, Mrs. Coretta Scott
King, was this year’s guest
speaker for the annual
celebration of Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. birthday an
niversary.
In bringing her message to
a large crowd of people in the
Cunningham Auditorium
recently, Mrs. King first ex
pressed her appreciation to
Morris Brown College family
and students, for inviting her
as a guest speaker on the oc
casion of “my dear husband's
birthday anniversary
celebration.” The wife of the
late Civil Rights Leader also
expressed her happiness over
the presence of
Congressman Andrew Young
whom she said is a living
witness of her husband’s civil
rights activities.
Talking about the purpose
of this year's celebration,
Mrs. King said, "We are
concentrating on full em
ployment economy. This
matter of people having no
jobs is a moral issue.” She
continued, "equality cannot
be meaningful unless there is
clear proof of the availability
of jobs.” Mrs. King told the
. audience that her husband
fought hard for the right to
ride public transportation,
the right to the use of public
hotels and the right
previously denied the
minority and stressed, "If we
have no jobs it means we
won't have the money to ride
these buses and the money to
spend in these hotels.
(continued on page 4)
Mrs. Coretta Scott King
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