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The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Deep Center to Receive
$150,000 Our Town Grant
from the National
Endowment for the Arts
Morris Brown College Celebrated in Savannah
A story of Tenacity, Ingenuity, Perseverance and Faith
Deep Center has been
approved for a $150,000 Our
Town award from the National
Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
to support arts education in Sa
vannah, Georgia. This is one
of 57 grants nationwide, total
ing $4,175,000, that the NEA
has approved in the Our Town
category. These creative place
making grants support projects
that integrate arts, culture, and
design activities into local ef
forts to strengthen and authen
tically engage communities,
center equity, advance artful
lives, and lay the groundwork
for long-term systems change.
“The National En
dowment for the Arts is pleased
to support a wide range of proj
ects, including Deep Center,
demonstrating the many ways
the arts enrich our lives and
contribute to healthy and thriv
ing communities,” said NEA
Chair Maria Rosario Jackson,
PhD. “These organizations
play an important role in ad
vancing the creative vitality of
our nation and helping to en
sure that all people can benefit
from arts, culture, and design.”
The Our Town grant will sup
port Deep Center’s place-based
cultural engagement, including
free, year-round creative writ
ing literacy program for stu
dents and educators, as well as
multidisciplinary arts engage
ment and asset mapping project
for youth and adults.
Robert James said he immedi
ately asked Attorney Mosley to
Co-Chair the Campaign.
Mayor Van Johnson,
Chatham County Commis
sion Chairman Chester Ellis
and State Representative Edna
Jackson brought greetings and
welcomed MBC President
Kevin James to Savannah for
his first visit.
After the greetings,
the event hosts unveiled the
outcome of the fundraiser, and
presented the MBC President
with a check for $40,000 Plus,
Plus from the Savannah Com
munity and the Alpha Sigma
Omegas. Robert James said the
Plus, Plus on the check are im
portant since contributions are
still being received and are still
encouraged.
Attorney Mosley, a
1991 graduate, gave highlights
of her MBC experience before
introducing MBC President
James.
MBC President
James thanked Robert James
(not related) and Tammie Mos
ley and all of the contributors
for their support of Morris
Brown College, and gave a dy
namic, informative and inspir
ing address.
He started his re
marks by polling the audience
and concluding that almost
95% of the individuals in the
room attended an HBCU. He
then stated emphatically, “Not
another HBCU should ever
close - period, end of story!”
He continued, “If we don’t take
care of us, why in the world
should they take care of us?”
MBC President
James gave a brief history of
the founding of Morris Brown,
highlighting the fact that of the
10 HBCUs in Georgia, Morris
Brown is the only one that was
founded by Black People for
Black People.
The MBC President
said that about 20 years ago,
when Morris Brown lost its
accreditation, the enrollment
went from 3,000 to 50 students
overnight because students at
tending unaccredited colleges
are not able to receive federal
financial aid. President James
continued, “That should have
been the end of Morris Brown
College, but somehow - some
way, the institution never
closed.”
President James said
that his mother, on his first day
on the job, asked him how in
the world is Morris Brown
College still open. “I call it the
triple A’s...Almighty God, the
Alumni and the AME Church,”
he asserted.
After describing how
he became the President of
Morris Brown, James high
lighted the historical nature of
the institution’s achievements
so far. “We are the first HBCU
to actually pull this off,” he
said. “Morris Brown College
is now fully accredited...and
is now the first college, Black
or white, to get its financial aid
back after filing bankruptcy.
We just got our veterans bene
fits back and we are in the final
stages of getting approval for
international students.
After the discussion
about the past, President James
gave the leaders encouraging
insights about the current con
dition and future direction of
the college.
Continued from Page 1
Morris Brown has
moved from a low of 20 stu
dents to a current enrollment of
260 and an anticipated enroll
ment of 400 this fall. He touted
innovative initiatives such as
the $40 million, 91 thousand
square foot upscale hotel that
is to be constructed on campus
with 3,000 square feet dedi
cated to the MBC Hospitality
Management Degree Program
and the new degree offering in
Esports. Morris Brown is the
first HBCU in the country to
offer a degree in Esports.
President James re
ceived cheers from the audi
ence when he said that right
now, we are in the process of
bringing back the world-re
nowned Marching Wolverines
Band.
He concluded his re
marks by again thanking the
hosts for this marvelous fund
raiser and stating that HBCUs
do the best job in educating us.
We are only 3% of all colleges,
but we produce 25% of all
Black college graduates.
The festive and infor
mative evening ended with the
MBC Alumni singing the Col
lege’s Alma Mater.
Thank You For Reading!
Pilease join Alderwoman Dr. tstella t. Shabazz
Town Hall Meeting
Wednesday, June 7,2023
6:00 p.m.
Liberty City Community Center
1401 Mills B Lane Blvct
Focus will be an update on the Fairgrounds Project
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