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Irta’iloq? nftmfqq? Spelman Spotlight September 1981 Miss Black America of Atlanta Page 10 She Walks In Beauty Past Spelman Grads... by Kimberly Harding Reporter How does one define a queen? According to the city of Atlanta, a queen is Arienne Battiste. She is the reigning Miss Black America of Atlanta. Being an attractive woman, Arienne’s lightly applied make-up establishes a look of radiance upon her golden brown complexion and the soft, curly appearance of her long, dark hair is a vision in itself. As beautiful a person inside as she is outside, Arienne was a bit nervous for her first interview, but a warm and friendly quality radiated from her voice nevertheless. As a nineteen year old drama major; Miss Battiste describes herself as having two different personalities. “One is having fun or being assertive and the other is the stay home and do quiet things type of person,” she said. Born in Germany, Arienne has established ten years residency in Atlanta with her mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Alfonzo Battiste. The youngest of four children this young lady feels that her family has been her moral support and motivation throughout her experiences. “I found that if you don’t have your family in this world you are kind of lost unless you have a whole lot of inner strength ... a whole lot." When asked about the pronunciation of her “very French name” (pronounced ARI - YEN BAT - TIST) she replied, “I have heard so many versions of my name, I asked, ‘Mom why did you give me such a hard name? I wish I could have been named Jane or something like that.’” Entering Spelman as a musical theatre minor, this aspiring entertainer has not ventured onto Spelman's stage. However, she plans to do so during this season. Thus far, the extent of her drama career has been attending a drama workshop at Boston University the summer before her Freshman year. Life upon the stage for Arienne is most comfortably spent working with monologues, comedy, or Shakespeare, but when the curtain is down you will find her taking care of her horse, playing the piano, writing poetry, reading, or "doing a lot of homework.” The Miss Black America of Atlanta Pageant, directed by Pat Upshaw, was held May 17th at Symphony Hall. The pageant was sponsored by the Miss Black America franchise, which means that the winner of the local pageant went on to compete for Miss Black America. Mr. Peabo Bryson entertained the, twenty contestants ranging from the ages of eighteen to twenty-five. Being one of the two youngest to compete, the queen admitted having a little trouble maintaining a “big" smile throughout the night, but during the interview she showed no sign of quivering jaw muscles as she lavishly flashed a grin. From the event, many prizes were received. “One of my prizes was a scholarship to attend Austins, a modeling school and agency. There were other various gifts donated by stores and companies,” says the queen, who claims that participating in the contest was the farthest thing from her mind. “A friend talked me into it,” she said. Reflecting upon the pageant's events, the talented young lady mentions one of her most humorous moments. “After the five finalists were picked, the judges chose the person who they felt was most talented. I by Daphne Ward reporter As you may know, many Spelman graduates are never heard from again once they take that memorable walk through Spelman’s gates, but we think all Spelman alumna deserve recognition, especially from their Spelman sisters. To start this series dedicated to past Spelman graduates, the Spotlight is focusing on Reverend Yulonde Herron, better known as Yulonde while attending Spelman. Rev. Herron came to Spelman from Minneapolis, Minnesota as a freshman in 1973 and decided upon Psychology as her major. During her Sophomore year, she was elected corresponding secretary for the Spelman Stu dent Government Association. “Dr. Eagleson was one of my favorite instructors during my sophomore year. He really gave a lot of encouragement when I needed it.” During Rev. Herron's junior year, she participated in the exchange program at Wellesley College, i located in Boston, Massachusetts. Rev. Herron stated, “While I was attending Wellesley, I noticed that they had a female minister. I have always been a religious person, but seeing this female minister at Wellesley really lifted me because I hadn’t seen too many received that honor and was really happy about that because I had never been given any recognition for my talent. I felt, ‘oh, this is great' Standing up there holding the trophy, I was just thinking, 'o.k. let’s go home — my feet hurt.’ The runner-ups were called and I looked at the girl next to me and con gratulated her because I was sure she had won. I wasn’t even listening when my name was called. I was asking, ‘who?’, and everybody was turning towards me hugging and saying con gratulations. I wasn’t sure it was me because I didn’t really hear.” "Scared to death,” she manag ed to survive her first television interview with Walt Elder and then was off to Stroudberg, Pennsylvania to compete in the National Miss Black America Pageant. Life in Philadelphia was all work and no play as they spent approximately ten hours a day taping. When asked whether or not she would do it again, hestitantly she answered, "After the national competition was over, I was not going to do anything else like it, but now I haven’t totally ruled it out." Miss Battiste extends many thanks to Mr. R.A. Banks, a Morehouse alumnas, who spon sored her during the pageant. Being in the pageant has helped Arienne’s world to open a little bit more than if she had not participated, and "maybe the image of a Spelman woman has been helped a little. “Keep a good attitude, be prepared for a lot of rehearsals, a lot of work, and a lot of fun," she advises the Spelmanites who are interested in a similar contest. "Dothingsat the best of your ability or don’t do them at all,” she stated. After hearing Arienne speak of the pageant, a young lady ap proached her saying, “I thought that was you!” Shyly, Miss Black America of Atlanta admitted that she was indeed the one who had been seen on television in the Miss Black America Pageant this summer. She had successfully kept her secret from us, but not anymore. Keep an eye out for her at the 1981 coronation, and let us support her because Black is beautiful and Arienne is in every sense of the word. female ministers. I think this encouraged me to become a minister.” Rev. Herron was elected presi dent of the StudentGovernment Association in her senior year at Spelman and worked very diligently while in office. "I always wanted the student body to be more unified and that's what I concentrated on.” She graduated in 1976 and went on to pursue her career. She attended Union Theological Seminary and became licensed to preach in August of 1976. Upon graduation from Union Theological Seminary, she received a Masters in Divinity and was ordained in 1979. Rev. Herron has since been assistant pastor at Convent Avenue Baptist Church in New York City. Just recently, she spoke at First Missionary Baptist Church in Anniston, Alabama and decided to visit her old alma mater. "I always like to visit Spelman and see what’s going on around campus.” Rev. Herron returned to Spelman last spring to join in celebrating its 100th birthday. She led the prayer for the Centennial luncheon and made a tribute to the deceased Spelman alumna. Asked if she had noticed any changes in Spelman since she was a student here, Rev. Herron replied, "Yes, the students are more friendly now than when I was here. It’s more of a family type atmosphere." This young woman has con tributed many of her services to Spelman and we want to let her know that her Spelman sisters recognize her accomplishments and we congratulate her.