The free, two day festival offers family oriented games, entertainment, and music. In addition the event will address issues prevalent in the urban community. Financial literacy, health awareness, alternatives to violence, A-list entertainment and promotion of physical activity will be key elements available to all attendees of the event.

Contrary to the autopsy report from the GBI Crime Lab Kendrick Johnson suffered not only a “superficial abrasion to his right wrist and a finger on his left hand,” but also “a bruising noted to the right side [of the] jaw”, something that the autopsy missed.  This is clearly possible evidence of an assault.

Finally, the EMT Report’s rendered treatment states that he would not move the body because it was a “considered crime scene”. However, the Sheriff stated on May 4, 2013 “after roughly four months investigating, with the autopsy in hand to show that the death was accidental, authorities could reach no other determination of death than a freak accident that was born from a “perfect storm”.

The only perfect storm is the one that Sheriff Prine and the Lowndes County Sheriff Office intended to create to cover-up the murder of Kendrick Johnson. Therefore, Morehouse NAACP led by Stephen A. Green joins with the Attorney and the Family to call on the federal government to conduct a complete and thorough investigation immediately based on the clear corruption by the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office.

We are calling on the entire Morehouse Community, students, alumni, and friends to join us by calling the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department at 202.514.4224 urging them to intervene immediately. Also, we urge you to contact your local radio and tv outlets and encourage them to share this new information.

For more information please visit www.justiceforkj.org and follow us on twitter @morehousenaacp

The Maroon Tiger was not involved in the creation of this content. The views expressed are those of the author(s). 

The National Action Network (NAN), led by Rev. Al Sharpton, Valdosta State University students, Morehouse College students, faith-based leaders, elected officials and advocates join with the family of Kendrick Johnson on Tuesday May 21, 2013 at 2:30PM  for a press conference.

What is at stake is not only the right to justice, but also the right to know and test the process by which our government says that justice has been achieved.  When the official explanation of what happened to Kendrick Johnson failed to make any sense, the family sought to exercise their right to examine the information that the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department used in investigating their son’s untimely death.

They believe that the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department has conducted an investigation that is so flawed that it is difficult to imagine that there was ever an honest effort for the truth. They cite a series of events and circumstances, including, but not limited to making false statements to the press, drawing far-reaching and illogical deductions, withholding non-sensitive proof from the parents, witness intimidation, and violating the law itself.

If government fails to protect our children while seeking an education or allows incompetence or biased to infect the investigations of a child’s death, then the community must take a stance against such injustice.

The Maroon Tiger was not involved in the creation of this content. The views expressed are those of the author(s). 

After several hours had passed and the commencement ceremony began, the level of perseverance that was displayed as over 10,000 alumni, professors, administration, family members took me aback as spectators withstood the storms. As the rain calmed, distinguished members of the platform entered stage left and took their seats. Minutes later, a roar of applause took over the once reserved commencement space as President Obama erupted from Merrill Hall onto the stage.

So now, the first part of my anxiety was over—President Obama was actually here, at Morehouse College, dawning the robe of a Morehouse Man. Then, as he sat onstage, I was still weary about what President Obama would say to these 530 African-American males graduating college –the anomalies of society.

The President started his speech with a light-hearted tone that warmed the hearts of many who were sitting soaked in the pouring rain.

“I also have to say that you all are going to get wet,” the noticeably cool President said, jokingly. “And I’d be out there with you if I could.  But Secret Service gets nervous. So I’m going to have to stay here, dry.  But know that I’m there with you in spirit. ”

After more warm one-liners to ease the crowd, President Obama developed a serious, yet conversational tone. President Obama revisited his past as a professor and began to educate the crowd on subjects such as rejecting complacency, ending excuses, and building family bonds.

President Obama tailored this speech directly to the Morehouse College Class of 2013. Surprisingly, he mentioned Dr. Tobe Johnson’s scope class, the hassle of registering in Gloster Hall; he even went on to mention every Morehouse student’s bittersweet love, Crown Forum. This surprising knowledge of the nuances of Morehouse College won the crowd over and allowed him to paint a picture of a new type of African-American Male—one with no excuses.

“We’ve got no time for excuses — not because the bitter legacies of slavery and segregation have vanished entirely; they have not. Not because racism and discrimination no longer exist; we know those are still out there. It’s just that in today’s hyperconnected, hypercompetitive world, with millions of young people from China and India and Brazil — many of whom started with a whole lot less than all of you did — all of them entering the global workforce alongside you, nobody is going to give you anything that you have not earned,” he said.

As President Obama went on to say that the hardships that one endures, especially as a minority, should put them at an advantage to help others. He transitioned into reminding the Class of 2013 that philanthropy should not come when one is well off and settled in their career.

“Whatever success I have achieved, whatever positions of leadership I’ve held, have depended less on Ivy League degrees or SAT scores or GPAs, and have instead been due to that sense of connection and empathy, the special obligation I felt, as a black man like you, to help those who need it most; people who didn’t have the opportunities that I had — because there, but for the grace of God, go I. I might have been in their shoes. I might have been in prison. I might have been unemployed. I might not have been able to support a family. And that motivates me,” the president said.

President Obama’s transition into family, for me, was one of the most touching moments in his speech and evoked a strong emotion from the audience—so much you could here some sniffles from the section behind the Press Pool.

“I sure wish I had had a father who was not only present, but involved.  Didn’t know my dad…I want to break that cycle where a father is not at home — (applause) — where a father is not helping to raise that son or daughter…So be a good role model, set a good example for that young brother coming up.” President Obama exclaimed.

As the President wrapped up his speech he pointed out a number of students from the audience who are the examples of his “no excuses” man. One was Leland Shelton, a graduate who was in the foster care system since age 4, came to Morehouse, and is now going to Harvard Law School with an interest in giving back to youth that have a similar upbringing to him.

He took the audience on a journey stopping at checkpoints ranging from career to family to race and even LGBTQ issues.

It is clear that his charge to the Morehouse Men of 2013 will not only impact the graduates but every viewer, in person or online, who had a keen ear for his vision of a “no excuses” man/woman.

In short, we all have a story and it is our job as Americans to take our past, build a better future, and help those along the way. It is what our ancestors did for us, and it is how we will continue to grow as African-Americans and Americans holistically.

Only time will tell if the graduates and those who viewed President Obama’s speech will take heed to this massive charge.

Darren Martin

Editor-In-Chief

darrenmartin884@gmail.com

Twitter: @_DrMartin

“In this high-profile talk to his own demographic, the president has some explaining to do,” Georgetown University Law Professor Paul Butler said in a CNN op-ed a day before the speech.

Dr. Kevin Johnson, pastor of the Bright Hope Baptist Church in Philadelphia, outlined similar concerns about the President’s failure in an op-ed that appeared in The Philadelphia Tribune a day after he had been selected to be the baccalaureate speaker.

“The president’s agenda appears to be for everyone except Black people—his most loyal constituency,” Johnson suggested.

For many, the President’s burden –as the first African-American president –on that Sunday morning was to do what many argued he had failed to do for much of his presidency, which was to establish a connection between a key demographic and his success in the White House.

Then something happened. After laying out a historical narrative of the significance and connection between Morehouse and the broader American community with references to Maynard Jackson and Dr. King, his language became increasingly personalized and inclusive of the audience to which he was addressing.

“We know that too many young men in our community continue to make bad choices,” Obama said.  “And I have to say, growing up, I made quite a few myself.  Sometimes I wrote off my own failings as just another example of the world trying to keep a black man down.  I had a tendency sometimes to make excuses for me not doing the right thing.  But one of the things that all of you have learned over the last four years is there’s no longer any room for excuses.”

Those remarks were certainly not a policy prescription to many issues that have disproportionately impacted African-Americans but he was under no obligation to speak to the broader African-American community during this speech.

The President the country elected in 2008 and 2012 were transformational in many regards, turnout among minority groups had propelled him to the White House. So the pressures from many sides to outline a policy agenda tailored to different minority groups was considerably strong on that Sunday morning.

But again I say, the President we elected in both 2008 and 2012 was transformational and transcendent to the racial narrative that has dominated our political discourse for the last two centuries.

With great intimacy and care, he spoke to a group of men who are arguably the world’s best representation of black men. He spoke to 536 walking anomalies that will undoubtedly make an impact on the world.

More than a policy agenda and more than the announcement of a new piece of tailored legislation, Morehouse and the world got the President to acknowledge before 536 walking anomalies that he [a black man] was the President of the United States of America –still an anomaly in American politics.

The speech was the sort of “no excuses” mentality that has characterized much of his political career. And arguably, that mentality, in part, is responsible for much of his success. That mentality is the reason we are seeing the elevation of “new age” public servants on the national scene like Gov. Deval Patrick, Mayor Cory Booker, and State Rep. Bakari Sellers.

His charge on Sunday was simply to resist the convenient urge of relying on societal ills as a crutch to reach higher. Self-responsibility. It’s a narrative that most men had become accustomed to over the span of four years. In many ways, his speech was a reaffirmation of ideals imbued in these men from the beginning of their time here.

His address to the Class of 2013 symbolized a new age in America –one where in spite of hardships and discrimination, an audacious spirit of self-reliance and fearlessness must prevail. His charge was not to ignore racism and injustices. Rather, it was to refuse to allow racism to serve as a limitation to the full realization of purpose.

The audacious spirit is certainly nothing new at Morehouse; it has certainly been epitomized in Morehouse Men like Leland Shelton ’13, whose story received acknowledgement from President Obama during his speech.

The new age of service and leadership that President Obama hinted at suggests and demands that we, as men and leaders, serve the broader community. We must not simply be black lawyers for black clients or black doctors for black patients or black military officers for black soldiers. We must be black men for the world.

That is what the mystique demands. That is what the country deserves.

Jared Loggins

Managing Editor

Jared.loggins@yahoo.com

Among highlights of the speech was the acknowledgment of Phi Beta Kappa graduate Leland Shelton ’13, who appeared on the front page of The New York Times this morning.

A full transcript of the speech is below:   

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Morehouse!  (Applause.)  Thank you, everybody.  Please be seated.

 AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I love you!

 THE PRESIDENT:  I love you back.  (Laughter.)  That is why I am here.

 I have to say that it is one of the great honors of my life to be able to address this gathering here today.  I want to thank Dr. Wilson for his outstanding leadership, and the Board of Trustees.  We have Congressman Cedric Richmond and Sanford Bishop — both proud alumni of this school, as well as Congressman Hank Johnson.  And one of my dear friends and a great inspiration to us all — the great John Lewis is here.  (Applause.)  We have your outstanding Mayor, Mr. Kasim Reed, in the house.  (Applause.)

 To all the members of the Morehouse family.  And most of all, congratulations to this distinguished group of Morehouse Men — the Class of 2013.  (Applause.)

 I have to say that it’s a little hard to follow — not Dr. Wilson, but a skinny guy with a funny name.  (Laughter.)  Betsegaw Tadele — he’s going to be doing something.

 I also have to say that you all are going to get wet.  (Laughter.)  And I’d be out there with you if I could.  (Laughter.)  But Secret Service gets nervous.  (Laughter.)  So I’m going to have to stay here, dry.  (Laughter.)  But know that I’m there with you in spirit.  (Laughter.)

 Some of you are graduating summa cum laude.  (Applause.)  Some of you are graduating magna cum laude.  (Applause.)  I know some of you are just graduating, “thank you, Lordy.”  (Laughter and applause.)  That’s appropriate because it’s a Sunday.  (Laughter.)

 I see some moms and grandmas here, aunts, in their Sunday best — although they are upset about their hair getting messed up.  (Laughter.)  Michelle would not be sitting in the rain.  (Laughter.)  She has taught me about hair.  (Laughter.)

 I want to congratulate all of you — the parents, the   grandparents, the brothers and sisters, the family and friends who supported these young men in so many ways.  This is your day, as well.  Just think about it — your sons, your brothers, your nephews — they spent the last four years far from home and close to Spelman, and yet they are still here today.  (Applause.)  So you’ve done something right.  Graduates, give a big round of applause to your family for everything that they’ve done for you. (Applause.)

 I know that some of you had to wait in long lines to get into today’s ceremony.  And I would apologize, but it did not have anything to do with security.  Those graduates just wanted you to know what it’s like to register for classes here.  (Laughter and applause.)  And this time of year brings a different kind of stress — every senior stopping by Gloster Hall over the past week making sure your name was actually on the list of students who met all the graduation requirements.  (Applause.) If it wasn’t on the list, you had to figure out why.  Was it that library book you lent to that trifling roommate who didn’t return it?  (Laughter.)  Was it Dr. Johnson’s policy class?  (Applause.) Did you get enough Crown Forum credits?  (Applause.)

 On that last point, I’m going to exercise my power as President to declare this speech sufficient Crown Forum credits for any otherwise eligible student to graduate.  That is my graduation gift to you.  (Applause.)  You have a special dispensation.

Now, graduates, I am humbled to stand here with all of you as an honorary Morehouse Man.  (Applause.)  I finally made it. (Laughter.)  And as I do, I’m mindful of an old saying: “You can always tell a Morehouse Man — (applause) — but you can’t tell him much.”  (Applause.)  And that makes my task a little more difficult, I suppose.  But I think it also reflects the sense of pride that’s always been part of this school’s tradition.

Benjamin Mays, who served as the president of Morehouse for almost 30 years, understood that tradition better than anybody.  He said — and I quote — “It will not be sufficient for Morehouse College, for any college, for that matter, to produce clever graduates… but rather honest men, men who can be trusted in public and private life — men who are sensitive to the wrongs, the sufferings, and the injustices of society and who are willing to accept responsibility for correcting [those] ills.”

It was that mission — not just to educate men, but to cultivate good men, strong men, upright men — that brought community leaders together just two years after the end of the Civil War.  They assembled a list of 37 men, free blacks and freed slaves, who would make up the first prospective class of what later became Morehouse College.  Most of those first students had a desire to become teachers and preachers — to better themselves so they could help others do the same.

A century and a half later, times have changed.  But the “Morehouse Mystique” still endures.  Some of you probably came here from communities where everybody looked like you.  Others may have come here in search of a community.  And I suspect that some of you probably felt a little bit of culture shock the first time you came together as a class in King’s Chapel.  All of a sudden, you weren’t the only high school sports captain, you weren’t the only student council president.  You were suddenly in a group of high achievers, and that meant you were expected to do something more.

That’s the unique sense of purpose that this place has always infused — the conviction that this is a training ground not only for individual success, but for leadership that can change the world.

Dr. King was just 15 years old when he enrolled here at Morehouse.  He was an unknown, undersized, unassuming young freshman who lived at home with his parents.  And I think it’s fair to say he wasn’t the coolest kid on campus — for the suits he wore, his classmates called him “Tweed.”  But his education at Morehouse helped to forge the intellect, the discipline, the compassion, the soul force that would transform America.  It was here that he was introduced to the writings of Gandhi and Thoreau, and the theory of civil disobedience.  It was here that professors encouraged him to look past the world as it was and fight for the world as it should be.  And it was here, at Morehouse, as Dr. King later wrote, where “I realized that nobody…was afraid.”

Not even of some bad weather.  I added on that part.  (Laughter.)  I know it’s wet out there.  But Dr. Wilson told me you all had a choice and decided to do it out here anyway.  (Applause.)  That’s a Morehouse Man talking.

Now, think about it.  For black men in the ‘40s and the ‘50s, the threat of violence, the constant humiliations, large and small, the uncertainty that you could support a family, the gnawing doubts born of the Jim Crow culture that told you every day that somehow you were inferior, the temptation to shrink from the world, to accept your place, to avoid risks, to be afraid — that temptation was necessarily strong.

And yet, here, under the tutelage of men like Dr. Mays, young Martin learned to be unafraid.  And he, in turn, taught others to be unafraid.  And over time, he taught a nation to be unafraid.  And over the last 50 years, thanks to the moral force of Dr. King and a Moses generation that overcame their fear and their cynicism and their despair, barriers have come tumbling down, and new doors of opportunity have swung open, and laws and hearts and minds have been changed to the point where someone who looks just like you can somehow come to serve as President of these United States of America.  (Applause.)

So the history we share should give you hope.  The future we share should give you hope.  You’re graduating into an improving job market.  You’re living in a time when advances in technology and communication put the world at your fingertips.  Your generation is uniquely poised for success unlike any generation of African Americans that came before it.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t have work — because if we’re honest with ourselves, we know that too few of our brothers have the opportunities that you’ve had here at Morehouse.  In troubled neighborhoods all across this country — many of them heavily African American — too few of our citizens have role models to guide them.  Communities just a couple miles from my house in Chicago, communities just a couple miles from here — they’re places where jobs are still too scarce and wages are still too low; where schools are underfunded and violence is pervasive; where too many of our men spend their youth not behind a desk in a classroom, but hanging out on the streets or brooding behind a jail cell.

My job, as President, is to advocate for policies that generate more opportunity for everybody — policies that strengthen the middle class and give more people the chance to climb their way into the middle class.  Policies that create more good jobs and reduce poverty, and educate more children, and give more families the security of health care, and protect more of our children from the horrors of gun violence.  That’s my job.  Those are matters of public policy, and it is important for all of us — black, white and brown — to advocate for an America where everybody has got a fair shot in life.  Not just some.  Not just a few.  (Applause.)

But along with collective responsibilities, we have individual responsibilities.  There are some things, as black men, we can only do for ourselves.  There are some things, as Morehouse Men, that you are obliged to do for those still left behind.  As Morehouse Men, you now wield something even more powerful than the diploma you’re about to collect — and that’s the power of your example.

So what I ask of you today is the same thing I ask of every graduating class I address:  Use that power for something larger than yourself.  Live up to President Mays’s challenge.  Be “sensitive to the wrongs, the sufferings, and the injustices of society.”  And be “willing to accept responsibility for correcting [those] ills.”

I know that some of you came to Morehouse from communities where life was about keeping your head down and looking out for yourself.  Maybe you feel like you escaped, and now you can take your degree and get that fancy job and the nice house and the nice car — and never look back.  And don’t get me wrong — with all those student loans you’ve had to take out, I know you’ve got to earn some money.   With doors open to you that your parents and grandparents could not even imagine, no one expects you to take a vow of poverty.  But I will say it betrays a poverty of ambition if all you think about is what goods you can buy instead of what good you can do.  (Applause.)

So, yes, go get that law degree.  But if you do, ask yourself if the only option is to defend the rich and the powerful, or if you can also find some time to defend the powerless.  Sure, go get your MBA, or start that business.  We need black businesses out there.  But ask yourselves what broader purpose your business might serve, in putting people to work, or transforming a neighborhood.  The most successful CEOs I know didn’t start out intent just on making money — rather, they had a vision of how their product or service would change things, and the money followed.  (Applause.)

Some of you may be headed to medical school to become doctors.  But make sure you heal folks in underserved communities who really need it, too.  For generations, certain groups in this country — especially African Americans — have been desperate in need of access to quality, affordable health care.  And as a society, we’re finally beginning to change that.  Those of you who are under the age of 26 already have the option to stay on your parent’s health care plan.  But all of you are heading into an economy where many young people expect not only to have multiple jobs, but multiple careers.

Starting October 1st, because of the Affordable Care Act — otherwise known as Obamacare — (applause) — you’ll be able to shop for a quality, affordable plan that’s yours and travels with you — a plan that will insure not only your health, but your dreams if you are sick or get in an accident.  But we’re going to need some doctors to make sure it works, too.  We’ve got to make sure everybody has good health in this country.  It’s not just good for you, it’s good for this country.  So you’re going to have to spread the word to your fellow young people.

Which brings me to a second point:  Just as Morehouse has taught you to expect more of yourselves, inspire those who look up to you to expect more of themselves.  We know that too many young men in our community continue to make bad choices.  And I have to say, growing up, I made quite a few myself.  Sometimes I wrote off my own failings as just another example of the world trying to keep a black man down.  I had a tendency sometimes to make excuses for me not doing the right thing.  But one of the things that all of you have learned over the last four years is there’s no longer any room for excuses.  (Applause.)

I understand there’s a common fraternity creed here at Morehouse: “Excuses are tools of the incompetent used to build bridges to nowhere and monuments of nothingness.”  Well, we’ve got no time for excuses.  Not because the bitter legacy of slavery and segregation have vanished entirely; they have not.  Not because racism and discrimination no longer exist; we know those are still out there.  It’s just that in today’s hyperconnected, hypercompetitive world, with millions of young people from China and India and Brazil — many of whom started with a whole lot less than all of you did — all of them entering the global workforce alongside you, nobody is going to give you anything that you have not earned.  (Applause.)

Nobody cares how tough your upbringing was.  Nobody cares if you suffered some discrimination.  And moreover, you have to remember that whatever you’ve gone through, it pales in comparison to the hardships previous generations endured — and they overcame them.  And if they overcame them, you can overcome them, too.  (Applause.)

You now hail from a lineage and legacy of immeasurably strong men — men who bore tremendous burdens and still laid the stones for the path on which we now walk.  You wear the mantle of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, and Ralph Bunche and Langston Hughes, and George Washington Carver and Ralph Abernathy and Thurgood Marshall, and, yes, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  These men were many things to many people.  And they knew full well the role that racism played in their lives.  But when it came to their own accomplishments and sense of purpose, they had no time for excuses.

Every one of you have a grandma or an uncle or a parent who’s told you that at some point in life, as an African American, you have to work twice as hard as anyone else if you want to get by.  I think President Mays put it even better:  He said, “Whatever you do, strive to do it so well that no man living and no man dead, and no man yet to be born can do it any better.”  (Applause.)

And I promise you, what was needed in Dr. Mays’s time, that spirit of excellence, and hard work, and dedication, and no excuses is needed now more than ever.  If you think you can just get over in this economy just because you have a Morehouse degree, you’re in for a rude awakening.  But if you stay hungry, if you keep hustling, if you keep on your grind and get other folks to do the same — nobody can stop you.  (Applause.)

And when I talk about pursuing excellence and setting an example, I’m not just talking about in your professional life.  One of today’s graduates, Frederick Anderson — where’s Frederick?  Frederick, right here.  (Applause.)  I know it’s raining, but I’m going to tell about Frederick.  Frederick  started his college career in Ohio, only to find out that his high school sweetheart back in Georgia was pregnant.  So he came back and enrolled in Morehouse to be closer to her.  Pretty soon, helping raise a newborn and working night shifts became too much, so he started taking business classes at a technical college instead — doing everything from delivering newspapers to buffing hospital floors to support his family.

And then he enrolled at Morehouse a second time.  But even with a job, he couldn’t keep up with the cost of tuition.  So after getting his degree from that technical school, this father of three decided to come back to Morehouse for a third time.  (Applause.)  As Frederick says, “God has a plan for my life, and He’s not done with me yet.”

And today, Frederick is a family man, and a working man, and a Morehouse Man.  (Applause.)  And that’s what I’m asking all of you to do:  Keep setting an example for what it means to be a man.  (Applause.)  Be the best husband to your wife, or you’re your boyfriend, or your partner.  Be the best father you can be to your children.  Because nothing is more important.

I was raised by a heroic single mom, wonderful grandparents — made incredible sacrifices for me.  And I know there are moms and grandparents here today who did the same thing for all of you.  But I sure wish I had had a father who was not only present, but involved.  Didn’t know my dad.  And so my whole life, I’ve tried to be for Michelle and my girls what my father was not for my mother and me.  I want to break that cycle where a father is not at home — (applause) — where a father is not helping to raise that son or daughter.  I want to be a better father, a better husband, a better man.

It’s hard work that demands your constant attention and frequent sacrifice.  And I promise you, Michelle will tell you I’m not perfect.  She’s got a long list of my imperfections.  (Laughter.)  Even now, I’m still practicing, I’m still learning, still getting corrected in terms of how to be a fine husband and a good father.  But I will tell you this:  Everything else is unfulfilled if we fail at family, if we fail at that responsibility.  (Applause.)

I know that when I am on my deathbed someday, I will not be thinking about any particular legislation I passed; I will not be thinking about a policy I promoted; I will not be thinking about the speech I gave, I will not be thinking the Nobel Prize I received.  I will be thinking about that walk I took with my daughters.  I’ll be thinking about a lazy afternoon with my wife. I’ll be thinking about sitting around the dinner table and seeing them happy and healthy and knowing that they were loved.  And I’ll be thinking about whether I did right by all of them.

So be a good role model, set a good example for that young brother coming up.  If you know somebody who’s not on point, go back and bring that brother along — those who’ve been left behind, who haven’t had the same opportunities we have — they need to hear from you.  You’ve got to be engaged on the barbershops, on the basketball court, at church, spend time and energy and presence to give people opportunities and a chance.  Pull them up, expose them, support their dreams.  Don’t put them down.

We’ve got to teach them just like what we have to learn, what it means to be a man — to serve your city like Maynard Jackson; to shape the culture like Spike Lee; to be like Chester Davenport, one of the first people to integrate the University of Georgia Law School.  When he got there, nobody would sit next to him in class.  But Chester didn’t mind.  Later on, he said, “It was the thing for me to do.  Someone needed to be the first.”  And today, Chester is here celebrating his 50th reunion.  Where is Chester Davenport?  He’s here.  (Applause.)

So if you’ve had role models, fathers, brothers like that — thank them today.  And if you haven’t, commit yourself to being that man to somebody else.

And finally, as you do these things, do them not just for yourself, but don’t even do them just for the African American community.  I want you to set your sights higher.  At the turn of the last century, W.E.B. DuBois spoke about the “talented tenth” — a class of highly educated, socially conscious leaders in the black community.  But it’s not just the African American community that needs you.  The country needs you.  The world needs you.

As Morehouse Men, many of you know what it’s like to be an outsider; know what it’s like to be marginalized; know what it’s like to feel the sting of discrimination.  And that’s an experience that a lot of Americans share.  Hispanic Americans know that feeling when somebody asks them where they come from or tell them to go back.  Gay and lesbian Americans feel it when a stranger passes judgment on their parenting skills or the love that they share.  Muslim Americans feel it when they’re stared at with suspicion because of their faith.  Any woman who knows the injustice of earning less pay for doing the same work — she knows what it’s like to be on the outside looking in.

So your experiences give you special insight that today’s leaders need.  If you tap into that experience, it should endow you with empathy — the understanding of what it’s like to walk in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, to know what it’s like when you’re not born on 3rd base, thinking you hit a triple.  It should give you the ability to connect.  It should give you a sense of compassion and what it means to overcome barriers.

And I will tell you, Class of 2013, whatever success I have achieved, whatever positions of leadership I have held have depended less on Ivy League degrees or SAT scores or GPAs, and have instead been due to that sense of connection and empathy — the special obligation I felt, as a black man like you, to help those who need it most, people who didn’t have the opportunities that I had — because there but for the grace of God, go I — I might have been in their shoes.  I might have been in prison.  I might have been unemployed.  I might not have been able to support a family.  And that motivates me.  (Applause.)

So it’s up to you to widen your circle of concern — to care about justice for everybody, white, black and brown. Everybody.  Not just in your own community, but also across this country and around the world.  To make sure everyone has a voice, and everybody gets a seat at the table; that everybody, no matter what you look like or where you come from, what your last name is — it doesn’t matter, everybody gets a chance to walk through those doors of opportunity if they are willing to work hard enough.

When Leland Shelton was four years old — where’s Leland?  (Applause.)  Stand up, Leland.  When Leland Shelton was four years old, social services took him away from his mama, put him in the care of his grandparents.  By age 14, he was in the foster care system.  Three years after that, Leland enrolled in Morehouse.  And today he is graduating Phi Beta Kappa on his way to Harvard Law School.  (Applause.)  But he’s not stopping there. As a member of the National Foster Care Youth and Alumni Policy Council, he plans to use his law degree to make sure kids like him don’t fall through the cracks.  And it won’t matter whether they’re black kids or brown kids or white kids or Native American kids, because he’ll understand what they’re going through.  And he’ll be fighting for them.  He’ll be in their corner.  That’s leadership.  That’s a Morehouse Man right there.  (Applause.)

That’s what we’ve come to expect from you, Morehouse — a legacy of leaders — not just in our black community, but for the entire American community.  To recognize the burdens you carry with you, but to resist the temptation to use them as excuses.  To transform the way we think about manhood, and set higher standards for ourselves and for others.  To be successful, but also to understand that each of us has responsibilities not just to ourselves, but to one another and to future generations.  Men who refuse to be afraid.  Men who refuse to be afraid.

Members of the Class of 2013, you are heirs to a great legacy.  You have within you that same courage and that same strength, the same resolve as the men who came before you.  That’s what being a Morehouse Man is all about.  That’s what being an American is all about.

 Success may not come quickly or easily.  But if you strive to do what’s right, if you work harder and dream bigger, if you set an example in your own lives and do your part to help meet the challenges of our time, then I’m confident that, together, we will continue the never-ending task of perfecting our union.

 Congratulations, Class of 2013.  God bless you.  God bless Morehouse.  And God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

Written and produced by her “Lights Out” tour mate The-Dream, “Dirty Laundry” sees the singer speak more candidly about her volatile relationship with an ex-boyfriend who not only physically harmed her, but forced her to distance herself from those she loved, namely her sister Beyoncé:

I was battered, he hit in a window like it was me until it shattered.

He pulled me out, he said, ‘Don’t nobody love you but me / Not your mama, not your daddy, and especially not B.

He turned me against my sister / I missed you.

She also touched on the intense jealously she experienced when witnessing Beyoncé’s rise to superstardom from the sidelines:

While my sister was on stage killing it like a mother—— / I was enraged feelin’ it like a mother——

Bird in the cage, you would never know what I was dealing / We went out separate ways but I was happy she was killing it.

Bittersweet, she was up, I was down / No lie I feel good for her, but what do I do now?

Meanwhile, this n-gga putting his hands on me / Swear ya’ll don’t know the half of this industry.

Following the release of the single, fans of both Rowland and her fellow Destiny’s Child alums, Michelle Williams and Beyoncé Knowles, made the nostalgic connection to the girl group’s single “Girl” released from their last full studio album Destiny Fulfilled, released in 2004.

In the accompanying music video for the song, Beyoncé and Michelle take on the roles of two supportive friends encouraging their girlfriend (Kelly) to leave an unhealthy relationship with a man. In addition to this uncanny connection, Rowland also sang a personal solo cut on Destiny Fulfilled titled “Bad Habit” which focused on the same theme.

When asked by Billboard of the intensity of recording the process for this particular song, the “Kisses Down Low” singer explained that it was not an easy task.

“It was very emotional. It took me days to record,” she said. “I had to get past being so upset and actually sing the song, not sob through it. I always hope that my music can inspire someone the same way other artists inspire me.”

Kelly Rowland’s album Talk A Good Game hits stores on June 18.

Listen to “Dirty Laundry” Here.

Moriba Cummings

Arts & Entertainment Editor

moribacummings@yahoo.com

Twitter: @_TheRealMC_

]]> http://themaroontiger.com/kelly-rowland-bares-all-in-dirty-laundry/feed/ 0 http://themaroontiger.com/sga-senate-scholarship/ http://themaroontiger.com/sga-senate-scholarship/#comments Sat, 09 Feb 2013 22:58:03 +0000 The Maroon Tiger http://themaroontiger.com/?p=3670 In the midst of students in the Atlanta University Center (AUC) pursuing different ways to find their education, the Morehouse College Student Government Association (SGA) has funded a scholarship for those students on campus with financial need and academic success.

Each year the SGA is allocated a budget by the college, which comes from the Student Fees each student pays. The two bodies of SGA manage that money differently.

“Within the Senate, we have the option to write bills or approve requests for appropriations from registered student organizations,” explained junior and President Pro Tempore of the Senate Ocoszio Jackson.

In the Spring of 2011, the bill “Student Bucks” was originally introduced with a commitment of $2,500 from the Senate and E-Board totaling $5,000 from SGA and was matched by the Office of Financial Aid for a total of $10,000. The bill was reintroduced with a commitment of $5,000 from the Senate and E-Board totaling $10,000 from SGA and was matched by the Office of Financial Aid for a total of $20,000.

“It is our hope to offer funds to students both in the spring of 2013 and in the fall of 2014,” continued Jackson. “The Scholarship Committee hopes to come up with solutions to make the process even more successful [for future semesters]. This would include raising more funds [outside of student fees] for the scholarship and also diversifying the scholarships that are awarded.”

The Senate Scholarship is offered in three different categories: Tuition, Book Voucher, and Meal Plan. In the application, the applicant specifies which of the following is the main concern and the committee takes that into consideration when awarding the scholarships.

“The SGA Senate Scholarship is a need based scholarship that incorporates academic performance as well as community service and extracurricular involvement,” said Jackson. “All information submitted to the committee is subject to verification by the Office of Financial Aid for accuracy.”

There have been very few modifications from the process from the inaugural year. Former Senator Eric Bennett ’12 established an outstanding process for implementing and awarding the scholarship to students last year and this year the committee has expounded on his efforts to create a more efficient application and notification process.

“It is our hope that the scholarship will be administered over two semesters in the spring and the fall,” concluded Jackson. “The essay has been modified to allow students to provide one response on how the scholarship will benefit the student as well as why the student deserves the scholarship. The Scholarship Committee is working with the Office of Information and Technology to make the process paperless. This will hopefully be implemented in the application process for the fall 2014 scholarship.”

Last year the scholarship committee accomplished their goal by providing over 60 students $30,000 in financial assistance. Based on those awarded the scholarship last year, the committee wants to stress that the most important thing is to submit a complete application and use your essay to provide the scholarship committee with a complete idea of why you need the scholarship more than another student that has applied.

The SGA scholarship application was due last week. Winners will be revealed within the coming weeks.

Reginald Hutchins
Features Editor
reginaldhutch@hotmail.com

Our forefathers could never have imagined that a Commander in Chief of color would ever be sworn in on the very Bible that spurred the man who changed the face of civil rights. The very thought of an African-American president being inaugurated, for the second time no less, as the nation commemorated Dr. King’s birthday brought collective joy and honor to the Black community, or so it seemed. Amid the rapture, there existed a single outlier.

According to one of our most prominent scholars, Obama was unworthy of being sworn in on Dr. King’s Bible. Following the inauguration, Dr. Cornel West unleashed a tirade of alienation against the president that left many perplexed: “All of the blood, sweat and tears that went into producing a Martin Luther King Jr. generated a brother of such high decency and dignity that you don’t use his prophetic fire for a moment of presidential pageantry without understanding the challenge he represents to all of those in power regardless of what color they are.”

To suggest that Obama does not understand the magnanimity of Dr. King’s legacy is ludicrous. For those of us too young to have witnessed Dr. King’s era, our president is the closest thing we have to “I Have a Dream.” He is our modern superhero.

It was as if Dr. King left this earth to make room for Obama. He was the dream of which King spoke on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. They are extensions of one another, spanning decades of hope, struggle, and finally, celebration. The president’s very existence is the ultimate testament to Dr. King’s life and work. So why is that not enough?

Despite his ardent support of Obama’s 2008 campaign, West has criticized the president’s every move. His blackness has been called into question, as West referred to Obama as a “Rockefeller Republican in blackface.” He has accused the president of turning a blind eye to the struggles of the poor. West has attacked the president to such a degree that his rhetoric has rendered him a caricature of his former self, the Harvard-educated Black theologist with a commitment to his racial advancement, not regression.

Obama’s entrance onto the national stage is anything but an insult to Dr. King. To say that the placement of our president’s hand on the Bible that guided Dr. King through his very first sermon was “a moment of political calculation” is contemptible.

West has established Obama as unnecessarily less than, as unable to meet some standard of blackness conceptualized by an egotistical intellectual. In West’s own words, “when you put [your hand] on Martin’s Bible, I said ‘this is personal for me,’ because that is the tradition that I come out of.”

If I’m not mistaken, every Black person living free of Jim Crow has come out of Dr. King’s tradition of perseverance and equality. We are all equally yoked in our  experiences as African-Americans. There is no litmus test for how worthy we are of sharing Dr. King’s work.

As intelligent, accomplished, and admired as West is, he cannot lay claim to Dr. King’s heritage and he certainly has no right to exclude Obama from that legacy.

Neah Morton
Opinions Section Editor
nmorton1@scmail.spelman.edu

Best Picture

The Academy recently opened up the maximum number of nominees for Best Picture, resulting in a total of nine films competing for the top prize. The Ben Affleck led Argo took home the best drama prize at the Golden Globes, but no film has won the award at both the Globes and the Oscars since Slumdog Millionaire did in 2009. Les Miserables also has a chance to achieve that same feat after taking the Best Musical or Comedy prize earlier this month. Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained is also among the nominees despite its controversial setting.

Academy Voters have tended to lean in favor of smaller, original productions in recent years, perhaps giving less publicized films like Life of Pi and Beasts of the Southern Wild a chance to steal the show.

Best Actor

Denzel Washington has a chance to claim his third Oscar for his role in Flight, earning rave reviews for his performance despite a somewhat lukewarm reception of the film’s premise. Flight is also up for the Best Original Screenplay Award.

Lincoln star Daniel Day-Lewis is also competing for his third Best Actor Oscar, having won for his roles in My Left Foot and There Will Be Blood. Joaquin Phoenix is also an Oscar veteran, but has been unable to take home an award with in his two previous nominations. Hugh Jackman’s performance as Jean Valjean and Bradley Cooper’s role in Silver Linings Playbook closes out the category.

Best Supporting Actor

All of this year’s Best Supporting Actor nominees come from films also nominated for Best Picture. Django Unchained’s Christoph Waltz is a favorite for the award, having taken home the prize in 2009 for his portrayal of Nazi Hans Landa in Tarantino’s previous film, Inglourious Basterds. Waltz also managed to win the Golden Globe ahead of the same competition, minus Robert De Niro.

Waltz’s Django co-stars Leonard DiCaprio and Samuel Jackson are apparent snubs from the list, despite their pivotal roles in the film. Jackson specifically expected to be nominated for his role, but criticized the Academy for not giving him the award in 1995 for Pulp Fiction.

Best Actress

9-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis became the youngest actress to receive an Oscar nomination for her role in Beasts of the Southern Wild, but she will have tough competition in Zero Dark Thirty’s Jessica Chastain, and Naomi Watts of The Impossible. Hunger Games up and comer Jennifer Lawrence won the Golden Globe for her part in Silver Linings Playbook, but the Academy may not look as kindly upon the romantic comedy.

Best Supporting Actress

Anne Hathaway is the runaway favorite in this category after singing her heart out as the struggling prostitute Fantine in Les Miserables. Even in her limited screen time, Hathaway’s on camera singing mixed with genuine emotion has earned her rave reviews. She was nominated for an Oscar once before in 2008 for Rachel Getting Married but did not take home the award.

Helen Hunt is another contender, earning independent film The Sessions its only Oscar nomination. The nomination is Hunt’s first since she won the Oscar for Best Actress in 1997 for her part in As Good As It Gets.

Kevin Webb
Arts & Entertainment Editor
ktw989@yahoo.com