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Sunday, Jun. 07, 2009

Man up: Part IV

I’ve received a variety of reactions from my “Man up” series. Some have said I’m wasting my time. I can’t quibble with that. The people I’m trying to reach read little, if at all. On the flip side, I’ve had a number of encouraging calls and e-mails. One suggested the series be included in every returning male student’s handbook. I’m not looking for accolades. I’m looking for solutions.

No place is immune from the malaise we see in today’s young boys. You would think a bastion of black pride and manhood, Morehouse College in Atlanta, wouldn’t have such concerns. Wrong.

On April 21, Morehouse president and 1975 alum, Dr. Robert Franklin, had a come-to-Jesus talk with his students. For those unfamiliar with Morehouse, it was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s school (’48). It was former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson’s school (’58). It was Dr. David Satcher’s (’63), the former U.S. Surgeon General, school. It was former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Louis W. Sullivan’s (’54), school. Each provided examples of what it means to be a “Morehouse Man.”

Franklin’s speech, “The Soul of Morehouse and the Future of the Mystique,” denotes seriousness and the need to carry on a tradition lest it evaporate.

Franklin summed up his vision for the soon-to-be Morehouse men. He wanted them to be “Renaissance men with social conscience and global perspective.”

“You cannot be a Morehouse Man in the making,” Franklin said, “unless you are uneasy about the human condition. I want each of you to have a healthy impatience with the status quo.”

But, he went on to say, “Our soul is threatened by the presence of a few people inside and outside the Morehouse village who are spiritually ill and disoriented.”

Franklin then said something that is rare for a college president to say in this age of dwindling resources. “To those who have not yet committed to the renaissance and renewal of Morehouse, I want you to listen and make a decision about whether you should remain at Morehouse. If it isn’t your dream, you should exercise the discernment and the courage to transfer to a more suitable environment.”

Franklin said that he wanted every Morehouse man to be: Well-read and well-spoken, (“drop the profanity or empty verbal placeholders like, ‘um, um, ahh’... or nonsense like ‘you know what I’m saying?’”

Delving into the core of today’s culture, Franklin declared Morehouse to be a “violence-free zone” and a “community of zero tolerance for sexual abuse, date rape, prostitution, pimping and other forms of illegal behavior.”

He then hit upon a subject that Morehouse men have been mumbling under their breaths: Homosexuality. While he said, “Straight men should learn more about the outlooks and contributions of gay men,” he also put his foot down. “While you are on the Morehouse campus, in the presence of adult learners, do not sag your pants, do not show your undergarments. Do not wear do-rags, and do not wear baseball caps in class or in the cafeteria ...

“And, to those who would experiment with wearing clothing associated with a women’s garb (dresses, tunics, purses and pumps) I am directing that you not exhibit these items on the Morehouse campus. Wear what you wish to off campus. But, while you are here on the ground where (Benjamin) Mays and Martin (Luther King) and Maynard (Jackson) walked, those items are off limits.”

Striving for a “Morehouse Mystique” is appropriate for every institution. Can we bring the mystique to Middle Georgia? It’s one way to inject manhood into our boys?

Read the entire speech at: www.afro.com/tabid/551/itemid/3502/The-Soul-of-Morehouse-and-the-Future-of-the-Mystiq.aspx

Charles E. Richardson is the Telegraph’s editorial page editor. He can be reached at 478-744-4342 or via e-mail at crichardson@macon.com.