Newspaper Page Text
Vol. xxvm, No.7 Atlanta, Georgia April25,1984
“THE MAKING OF A NEW LEADERSHIP”
by Carolyn Grant
WSB-TV commentator Ron
Sailor spoke in Giles Hall at
Spelman College on Thursday
evening, March 29 to students on
"The Jesse Jackson Campaign:
The Making of A New
Leadership.”
Mr. Sailor focused his speech
on what the Jesse Jackson cam
paign means in terms of it being a
movement, which he cited to be
its greatest and most pronounc
ed meaning, and as it related to
electoral politics.
Establishing a brief historical
basis of Martin Luther King, Jr.
and the beginning of his move
ment in Alabama, Mr. Sailor said
"The Jesse Jackson campaign
represents in its infancy what the
King campaign and the
Montgomery Improvement
Association represented in its
infancy."
Drawing this relationship
between the two campaigns, Mr.
Sailor said he remembered when
Martin Luther King began to
announce his movement of
freedom in Montgomery. There
were Negro leaders who basically
advocated that it was the wrong
time to start a movement, said
Mr. Sailor. He pointed out that
for Dr. King this was, as W.E.B.
Dubois stated, and internal and
external struggle. “He had to not
only convince the very hostile
and the very vengeful environ
ment externally of his capability
to lead and more importantly of
the rightness of the movement,"
said Mr. Sailor, "But he had an
internal struggle that was just as
mean and filled with just as many
mountains, obstacles, and pit-
falls."
Reviewing the Jesse Jackson
campaign, Mr. Sailor implied
that the struggle still exists. He
said that when Mr. Jackson
began to announce for presiden
cy, a lot of people, including the
press, wanted to challenge him
on the basis of credibility,
capability, qualification, and any
factors which we use in the
American norm to disqualify as
opposed to qualify.
Watching the campaign close
ly for the last few months, Mr.
Sailor said he has not only seen
the maturing of a presidential
campaign, but he has seen the
maturing of a presidential can
didate. With the issues arising
and having some effect, he said
Jesse Jackson has come to realize
that his campaign, much more
than a step forward into electoral
politics, represents an oppor
tunity to step into a vacuum of
Black leadership in this country.
“What the Jesse Jackson cam
paign is doing, although not
intentionally, “said Mr. Sailor," is
firming and fixing Jesse Jackson
in the forefront of Black
leadership.”
According to Mr. Sailor, Mr.
Jackson, at this point, has the
attention of Black America in a
way that no other national leader
has had the attention of Black
America since Martin Luther
King, Jr. "Jackson has transfixed
Black America. Not only has he
done this, but he has also en
franchised an element in Black
America which henceforth has
been absolutely uninterested in
democratic * presidential
politics,” he sated. Referring to
the figures of Super Tuesday in
Georgia, Mr. Sailor pointed out
that 24% of the people who had
never voted before voted in this
election. He also pointed out
that this figure is not as signifi
cant until it is considered that of
those 24% virtually 80% had been
eligible to vote before.
"The Jesse Jackson presence
Continued on pg. 11
Funeral Services Held For Benjamin Elijah Mays
by Gary K. Foster
Funeral services for Dr. Ben
jamin Elijah Mays, distinguished
educator and President Emeritus
of Morehouse College, were
held Saturday, March 31.
Mays, whose health had been
declining for some time, made
achievements that span from the
early 1900’s to his death. He was
known to have made many
quotable quotes in his lifetime.
His words reflected just what he
believed: "Not failure but low
aim is sin.”
With his brilliant ideology and
ambition to excel, he influenced
many people including the late
Dr. Martin Luther King.
In his 89 years, Mays received
39 honorary degrees and wrote
seven books, including the
powerful Born to Rebel. In a
tribute to Mays, Morehouse
College President Hugh Gloster
said that the last time they saw
each other, Mays still had three
more books in mind,
Mays first came to Morehouse
in 1921 to teach mathematics.
During his three years in Atlanta,
he also served as pastor of Shiloh
Baptist Church.
In 1940, Mays returned to
Atlanta to serve as President of
Morehouse College for 27 years.
He was later respected and
admired as the man who had
increased the enrollment, en
dowment and national reputa
tion of the one time suffering
school.
Mays was a humanitarian and
respected by many. He was a
friend to many people, from the
man on the street to U.S.
presidents. In 1962, President
John Kennedy had considered
appointing Mays to the U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights. The
appointment was opposed by
the two Georgia U.S. senators
because of Mays’ alleged
association with Communist
influenced organizations.
Ex-President Jimmy Carter
quoted the beatitudes to
describe Mays in a tribute at the
funeral services.
Even after retiring from
Morehouse in 1967, Mays was
soon elected to the Atlanta
School Board. After becoming
president of the school board,
Mays helped make Atlanta
school desegregation a smooth
process. He retired from the
school board in 1981.
Dillard University President
Samuel D. Cook said in his
eulogy that Mays died dreaming
and aspiring.Hisquotes, wisdom,
and ideology will live on.
In the words of what was
reported to have been one of
Mays’ favorite songs, "I keep so
busy workin’ for my Jesus, ain’t
got time to die.”
Inside this Issue:
Founders Day 1984
pgs. 6&7
Review of “Raisin”
... pg. 11
A Spelman Woman
... pg. 10
PHOTO OPINION
.... pg. 5 !
AND MUCH MORE!!