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SPELMAN SPOTLIGHT PUBLICATION
Vol. 1. No. 1
Intellectual Framework for the Freethinker
September 2013
New Students participate in white dress ceremony & brother-sister exchange.
Welcome Class of 2017
A Letter from a Junior
t>ea r First yea rs,
Welcome to Spelman College
and congratulations on your many
achievements. On behalf of the entire
student body, faculty and staff, we are
delighted to have you as the newest
addition to this diverse and everlasting
family. This welcome aims to give you
a glimpse of the wonders your college
journey will bring you.
As you are welcomed, you are charged
with an urgent realization that this is your
time to pursue your dreams. You have been
granted with the opportunity to be a part
of this chivalrous legacy that will afford
you the vital tools for achieving greatness.
You are encouraged to regard these next
few years as the fundamental experience
that will mold you into intellectual writers,
competent thinkers, innovative project
developers, ethical service leaders, and
renowned, world-changing Spelman
Women.
With the start of a brand new chapter
in your life, there are a great number of
adjustments to be made in ensuring your
contentment throughout this structural
journey. Many of you are miles from home
and will indeed get more homesick than
you would ever imagine. In those times,
you are invited to build similar home-felt
relationships with the genuine women of
Spelman College.
Meet the faculty, explore the campus,
and become active in registered student
organizations. If you feel the urge to begin
your own student organization, drop by
the Office of Student Life and Engagement;
this office is next door to the Bonner Office
where community service opportunities
are available. Visit Sisters Chapel, which
is considered to be the spiritual heart of
Spelman with its rich history and inclusive
ambiance. Stop by financial aid and get to
know the scholarship coordinators.
Spelman offers much more than
academics and is a host of many
educational and entertaining art forms.
Stray away from confining yourself and
open your mind to potential change.
Spelman is devoted to your progress and
by making such adjustments, you will
become the lead pioneer in the quest to
find yourself.
Among the list of imperative
initiatives you as First Years will take, the
most important are perhaps the initiatives
to seek knowledge and cause effective
change through service. Learn as much as
you can about Spelman’s esteemed history
and commit yourself to positive social
change. Be enthusiastic about unfamiliar
topics; a wealth of knowledge is absolutely
necessary for survival in this realm of
academic excellence.
Challenge yourself to accept and
further understand opposing views with
hopes of a mutual equilibrium. Test the
theories by which you live, and enlighten
the world based on your findings. Work to
increase your potential and the potential
of others. Closely examine your actions
for they dictate the perception of your
character.
Being accepted into Spelman is an
achievement, a wonderful privilege, and
all the reason for a celebration. However,
accepting the role of a Spelman Woman
is a duty and a commitment to scholastic
supremacy, consistency, and civility.
Spelman College dares you to conquer
unforeseen challenges while bonding
your heart to a global and lifetime
occupation. The memories you create here
will be unforgettable and the friendships
everlasting.
It is imperative that you remain
critically conscious of the company you
keep, the places you go, and the actions
you take. In closing, it would behoove you
to pay particular attention to the many
women who have come before you to pave
your pathway to Spelman Lane.
Spelman chose you. Now, what
choices will you make?
With grace and love,
Alaja Philips C’2015
Junior, Dual Degree Physics and
Architectural Engineering Major
EDITORIAL
Allow Us to
t
Ourselves...
This is a
public service
announcement
to the greater
AUC community.
We, the editors
and writers of
The BluePrint,
are proud to
Ko Bragg C’2015 reintroduce the
Spelman College
newspaper back into campus life.
Allow me to introduce myself.
My name is Ko Bragg and I am incredibly
honored to say that I am the Editor in
Chief of The BluePrint. This tremendously
talented staff and I want to assure you that
this inaugural issue of The BluePrint will
be the first of many editions geared to be
journalistically excellent.
I often remind myself that you have to
know someone’s journey to understand the
paths that he or she takes. My voyage to
Spelman College was more of a globetrotting
expedition than it was a journey, but
nevertheless it sheds light on the path that I
am creating for The BluePrint.
Spelman accepted me as a transfer
student in the spring semester of 2013, and I
am now a junior majoring in History. I spent
my freshman year at Claremont McKenna
College in Southern California, where I
learned that I need a little bit more in life
By: Ko Bragg C’2015, Editor-i
than constant sunshine and palm trees to be
completely happy. Between Claremont and
Spelman I studied abroad in 15 countries
over the course of 107 days through Semester
at Sea.
I was born in Virginia and spent most
of my childhood there. The latter half of my
most formative childhood years took place
in New Jersey, which I left to attend boarding
school in New Hampshire. I currently reside
in Philadelphia, Mississippi—at least for
now.
Having lived in six different places
throughout the course of the past two years
I am no stranger to change; it is a part of
me. Now that you know a little of my story,
I hope that you will be open to working
with my staff and me so that we can help to
represent yours.
As you hold your copy of the paper, keep
in mind that anyone with a vision has to have
a blueprint—a detailed plan with structure.
Beyond that, a blueprint is a highly accurate,
stable reprint of an authentic creat ion created
by impressing one image onto another.
Like the physical blueprinting process,
we have taken guidance from previous
Spelman Spotlight staff members and older
editions to re-brand the newspaper as 'The
BluePrint. We recognize the Spotlight’s
authenticity as the voice of African-
American womanhood since 1957, as it is a
value that we want to continue to foster in all
-Chief
of our endeavors.
For that reason, The BluePrint is not a
new production. Instead, it is a more stable,
consistent version of Spelman’s student news
source. We are confident that our name
change will work in solidarity with our goal
to provide the intellectual framework for
freethinking people.
This edition is focusing on new
beginnings, and not only our own. We are
celebrating the arrival of the Class of 2017,
all of the transfers, domestic and foreign
exchange students, and PED Scholars
who have come to join us as well. We are
also covering the changes taking place
this semester with regards to the Wellness
Program and Market Friday.
As reinforced by the contribution by
Dr. Tatum on page 2, we are making it a
point to look back and reflect on our history.
Now, more than ever, is a perfect time to pay
homage and respect to those who dedicated
their lives ensuring that people like you and
I would even have the opportunities to be
in such a place as this. The 50th anniversary
of the March on Washington for Jobs and
Freedom, happening as I write these words,
is a tangible reminder about how a dream
turned into a blueprint to change the nation.
Continue on paths towards greatness so
that you can look back and be proud of your
journey. Welcome Class of 2017, welcome
new readers, welcome all.
50 Years Later:
Spelman’s March Towards Freedom
By: Jasmine M. Ellis C’2015
ABC/ AP Photo / Susan Walsh
Woman who was present at March on Washington in 1963,
celebrates 50th Anniversary
During the March on
Washington for Jobs and Freedom
50 years ago, women were not
included as speakers for the program.
However, two Spelman women from
the King family had the opportunity
to speak during the 50th Anniversary
of the March on Washington on Aug.
28, 2013.
One of these women was Dr.
King’s older sister Christine King
Farris Ph.D., C’48, who addressed
the crowd along with President
Obama, two former presidents,
and Congressman John Lewis
(D-Georgia). Rep. Lewis, whose
district includes Spelman, served as
the youngest speaker during the first
March on Washington.
Spelman College and the King
family have a relationship that
transcends decades. The King legacy
begins with Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr.’s mother, Alberta King, C’22, and
spans to Dr. King’s niece, Angela
Farris Watkins Ph.D., C’86. While
the 50th Anniversary of the March
on Washington resonated with
Americans across the nation as a
catalyst for freedom and equality, this
day was very important for Farris,
associate professor in the English
studies department at Spelman.
“It’s very significant to me,” said
Farris, the oldest of the three King
children. “It brings back memories of
my brother and knowing his sacrifice
and his determination to see justice
served.”
Race and economic
injustices were focuses of the
movement that Dr. King touched
upon during his I Have a Dream
Speech on Aug. 28,1963. Gloria Wade
Gayles, Ph.D., founding director of
the Spelman Independent Scholars
Oral History Project and faculty
mentor for SIS, was in attendance
during the march 50 years ago.
“I am rarely at a loss for
words because there really is no way
to explain to someone who wasn’t
there what that experience was really
like,” Gayles said. “It was unbelievable
in the sense that it was something we
so desperately needed as a nation and
we were not so sure that we could pull
it off and we did. When I say ‘we,’ I
don’t mean only the organizers, but
the people, the hundreds of thousands
of people who were there.”
As a civil rights activist held in
solitary confinement for four and a
half days in Atlanta, Gayles was well
engrossed in change, leading up to the
March on Washington she spent the
summer of 1963 working in freedom
schools in Mississippi. Similar to
Gayles, the hundreds of thousands
of people who attended the march
were also eager to see a change in the
nation.
“It was remarkable in the sense
that it was such a commitment to
change, you could feel it in the air.
If you touched someone you could
feel it in their pulse,” Gayles said.
“Everyone there believed that this
was a new beginning that we were in
fact as a nation at the daybreak of real
achievements in the arena of justice.
We were convinced that we were
creating a new movement and not
just for blacks, but for working class
poor across races.”
Fifty years later, the
inspiration that many Americans felt
during the March on Washington
continues through the actions
of those who are willing to serve
humankind. Abraham Davis, Ph.D.,
Morehouse College, C’61, and
professor of Political Science also had
the opportunity to attend the March
on Washington in 1963. Inspired by
the words of Dr. King and the march
as a whole, Davis has prepared both
Spelman and Morehouse students
such as Martin Luther King III
to become social change agents
by holding them to a standard of
excellence.
“Excellence is colorblind and
knows neither race or national
origin,” Davis said. “It only knows
hard work, patience, attention to
details, and dedication.”
“The most effective way that I
know to honor Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. is not by what we say, but
by what we do to prepare the next
generation of students to be able
to compete successfully with other
students in the global community.”
Leading up to the anniversary
celebration, citizens of all walks of
life gathered on Aug. 23, 2013, to
commemorate Dr. King’s “I Have
a Dream Speech” and focus their
efforts with a common goal in mind,
change, which Alaina Long, C’ 2015,
a comparative women studies major
witnessed at the event.
“There were people of all
ages and races which was very cool
to see,” Long said. “A girl about seven
years old carried a poster that read,
‘Support Trayvon’s Law,’ a scene
which truly moved me and saddened
me at the same time that a child so
young has to know and experience
the injustice of our society.”
Looking towards the future,
Spelman students will have the
opportunity to help Dr. King’s dream
become reality. Farris emphasizes
that through reflection of the past
and by paying close attention to the
present day Spelman students will
assist in changing the world.
“I would like for Spelman
students to understand that we still
have a ways to go,” Farris said. “We
have accomplished quite a bit in
these last 50 years, but there’s still that
undercurrent of non-acceptance of
minorities and so forth.”