Newspaper Page Text
The Spelman Spotlight
VOLUME XVI NO.6
FEBRUARY 22, 2002
The Brink of a New Change for the AUC
By: Natashia McGough
The Atlanta University
Center is embarking upon a ben
eficial change for its future in ar
tistic endeavors. The Dark Tower
Project is a burgeoning artistic or
ganization started by Charles D.
Joseph, an aspiring writer at
Morehouse College, to broaden
the career opportunities for fel
low artistic AUC students.
Joseph, a rising senior
English major and native of
Rockford, Ill., created and devel
oped the Dark Tower Project
along with co-founder, Mikael
Moore, the organization’s vice
president, in honor of the Dark
Tower Literary Group estab
lished by Alelia Walker.
“Dark Tower’s projects
were bom the minute I saw the
image of the Dark Tower literary
group. The Dark Tower Literary
Group was named after the poem
Dark Tower written by Countee
Cullen. A particular line from the
poem, ‘We were not made eter
nally to weep,’ inspired me also
in that it illustrated how we [Af
rican Americans] can do anything
or build anything. We can build
a tower of black beauty,” said
Joseph.
Joseph and Moore
formed the organization be
cause of the lack of resources
available for the artistic stu
dents of the AUC. Currently
writing a short fiction collec
tion of eight stories and an ani
mated screenplay, Joseph un
derstood the importance of
having available access to
other writers, to gain insight
and advice, and to have the
means to get into contact with
publishers and other helpful
agents that would be of use to
an artistic career.
Moore, who is a na
tionally acclaimed poet and is
scheduled to appear on Russell
Simmons’ “Def Poetry Jam,”
also understood the need for an
artist to have his or her own
space to flourish.
After the idea for
Dark Tower was constructed,
Joseph began a campaign to
gain support for the organiza
tion amongst Morehouse and
Spelman’s administrators and
the Atlanta University’s stu
dents. Joseph has already as
sembled committees to
present the group’s business
proposal to key alumni, ad
ministrators, and private in
vestors.
The long-term goals
of Dark Tower are to gain in
ternational recognition and
establish means for interested
people in the arts to publish
their work and connect with
beneficial people to aid them
in their career. One short
term goal of Dark Tower is to
add other art forms, culinary
art, interior design, and mar
tial art, to its growing organi
zation.
“My hope is that this
organization goes interna
tional, where if a Japanese
filmmaker wanted to know
what’s going on in black film,
like who the movers and
shakers are in black film, to
put together a symposium,
they could call us. We would
have all the numbers of con
tact people and we would
have the latest films by those
people and etc. Our main goal
is to build an Art Institute that
will be a haven for all artists
and give voice to all artists in
the local community, the AUC,
and beyond. On a short term
goal level, we want to increase
the amount of communication
between the AUC universities
about artistic events,” said Jo
seph.
Dark Tower will hold
a screening of the movie
“Lumumba,” a documentary on
the life of Patrice Lumuba, the
first black Prime Minister of the
Congo in western Africa, on
February 25 in Morehouse’s
King’s Chapel. The organiza
tion will also bring Raoul Peck,
the director of “Lumumba,” to
the campus t6o give a lecture
to immediately follow the
screening. Dark Tower’s future
projects include bringing fellow
Morehouse graduate, Saul Wil
liams, author of the poetry col
lection, “She,” and star of the
movie “Slam,” to the AUC.
Prospective members can re
ceive more information on
Dark Tower by calling 404)
507-8631, visiting the website
www.dtp.org., or visiting the
office located in King’s Chapel.
Urban World Film Festival Comes to Atlanta
By: Selena Harper
Listen up, Spelmanites!
Do you like to watch movies?
Would you call yourself a film
critic? Are you interested in work
ing in the film/entertainment in
dustry? Is one of your goals in
creasing worldwide lit
eracy? Do you, yourself,
like to read a lot? Or are
you just enjoying celebrat
ing Black History Month?
If you answered “yes” to
any of the above questions,
an exciting opportunity is
coming your way, soon.
On February 20,
2002, the Urbanworld Flix
& Beats College Tour 2K2,
which kicked off February
5 th , at Howard University,
will be visiting the AUC.
The tour, a product of col
laboration between
Urbanworld Group and
AOL Time Warner Inc. and its
HBO division, is a component of
the Urbanworld Film Festival, the
largest internationally competitive
festival centered around promot
ing the work of minority film mak
ers. Tour 2K2 will visit a total of
16 primarily historically black col
lege/university campuses, in 13
cities, and will bring with it enter
tainment, mentorship, internship,
scholarship/grant, employment,
and public service opportunities.
Screenings of two new
films will be presented; they in
clude: “Murder on a Sunday
Morning,” a part of HBO’s
“America Undercover” documen
tary series, which was nominated
for both an Academy Award for
Best Documentary, and an Oscar;
and “The Visit,” which stars many
talented black actors and actresses
(Hill Harper, Billy Dee Williams,
Phylicia Rashad, Rae Dawn
Chong, Marla Gibbs and Obba
Babatunde). In our interview,
Stacey Spikes, president and CEO
of Urbanworld Group, said that the
only opportunity for the public to
view these films would be on the
campuses of the select HBC/Us
visited during the tour.
The tour also boasts
bringing mentoring and career op
portunities to campus, for students
who are interested in learning more
about the inner-workings of the
film/entertainment industry. AOL
Time Warner’s Talent Acquisition
group will have representatives
present on campus to discuss the
opportunities of internship and
possibly full-time employment
with the com
pany. Besides
this, AOL Time
Warner will do
nate a total of $1
million over the
next three years
to select HBC/Us
and to the United
Negro College
Fund (UNCF) to
back scholarships
and grants for mi
nority college
students.
As if this
weren’t enough, a
chapter of AOL
Time Warner’s Time to read pro
gram, the nation’s largest and long
est-standing corporate sponsored
volunteer mentoring and literacy
program, will be launched at each
of the college campuses visited
during Tour 2K2. Representatives
of the program will be present to
answer questions and distribute in
formation to students willing to
volunteer with the program. Gift
bags with books and other useful
information will be given out to
students during the festivities, so
look out! Here it comes!
Working Behind the Scenes:
A New Edition to Spelman’s
Campus
By Clanci Marie Cochran
Spelman College has a to enhance the student’s experi-
new person making things hap- ence at Spelman. Her major
pen: Mrs. Heather I. Ricks, the work in progress is advising the
new Program Coordinator in the new program board that will be
Office of Student Activities. formed during the spring semes-
Mrs. Ricks, whose of- ter and officially be in action at
fice is in Upper Manley, was bom the beginning of the fall semes-
in Tampa, Florida but grew up in ter 2003.
Georgia. She attended under- “My major goal here at
graduate school at Agnes Scott Spelman is getting the program
College where she majored in board up and running. It’s new
African studies and minored in to Spelman’s campus, but corn-
dance. She then moved on to the monly to other campuses. It’s
University of Georgia and ob- something we need to build upon
tained her masters degree in Edu- in the future,” she said,
cation in Student Affairs Admin- When asked about what
istration. she expects from Spelman Col-
As Spelman’s new Pro- lege Mrs. Ricks replied she wants
gram Coordinator Mrs. Ricks is the student body to get involved
in charge of changing the face of and be aware of what’s going on,
our Student Activities Office. and hopes the staff will be sup-
“What drew me to portive of new program initia-
Spelman was the direction the tives.
college and the activities office “I’m very happy and
was moving in,” she explained, excited to be here at the time
“The new innovative programs where growth is going to occur
made the college very appeal- at Spelman’s activities,” Mrs.
ing.” Ricks stated. “Students can defi-
Mrs. Ricks is in charge nitely expect a growth to occur
of programming all non-aca- and new and positive things to
demic activities that are planned happen.”