The Andrew Young Center’s May 2024 newsletter highlights some of the Center’s initiatives that exemplify our commitment to expanding the impact of “Morehouse Beyond Borders” through the AYC-Higher Education in Prisons Program (AYC-HEP), policy and advocacy training, and study abroad. The issue highlights Congresswoman Nikema Williams’ recent visit to Morehouse to announce a congressional appropriation to support the AYC-Higher Education in Prisons Program, the recent EmpowerED Reentry Symposium held on the Morehouse campus, and the progress of the 2024 cohort of students taking classes in the U.S. Federal Penitentiary. The Policy and Advocacy teach-in series offered by Ms. Pamela Winn is highlighted as is Scholar of Distinction, Aubray Chevannes, III. This issue also highlights two study abroad programs: Morehouse in Bahia - The Afro-Brazilian Experience and Exploration of the African Diaspora in the United Kingdom, both of which took place during spring break 2024.

The April 2024 newsletter highlights some of the Center’s programs that expand the impact of “Morehouse Beyond Borders” and celebrates the experiences of students participating in transformative experiences that shape their perspectives, expand their knowledge, and cultivate independence and respect for their own history and culture, as well as that of others. In March 2024 one of these programs, the AYCGL’s Higher Education in Prisons Program, received a congressional appropriation of $1,636,00 to support this work. This program expands the footprint of Morehouse College to underserved students, providing college courses, and a pathway to a degree, for incarcerated men and women. This issue highlights Morehouse scholar, Calvin Bell, III, in our Scholars of Distinction section and shares the experiences of students traveling abroad. Three scholars share their reflections on the transforming power of study abroad, including Amir Johnson who is currently studying in Finland, Jamari Chavis, who participated in the 2024 International Spring Tour, and Nasir Barnes, who participated in the 2024 Spring HBCU Taiwan Study Tour Program.

The mission of the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership is to prepare and inspire a community of critical thinkers and leaders committed to engaging complex global problems of marginalized groups. This issue of the AYCGL newsletter highlights the Leadership Studies and the Higher Education in Prisons Programs. We subsequently focus on our 2023/2024 AYCGL Scholar-in-Residence, Ms. Pamela Winn, who will lead a series of “teach-ins’ focused on policy and advocacy in March and April. This issue includes updates on Center Initiatives, including experiential education opportunities and study abroad, and information on upcoming events in the AYCGL.

Morehouse College’s mission is to assume a special responsibility for teaching the history and culture of Black people, year-round. In this February issue of the Andrew Young Center newsletter we honor Black History Month by taking a global perspective on the ties that bind us beyond the borders of Morehouse College, both in the United States and globally. We also highlight some of our students and community partners.

We welcome 2024 and all that lies ahead! Drs. Sinead Younge, Kipton Jensen, and I, the directors of the Andrew Young Center, continue our work to create a center that reflects the commitment, passion, character, and leadership of Ambassador Andrew Jackson Young.

This issue of the AYCGL newsletter highlights the Center’s expansion of the AYC Higher Education in Prisons Program. We subsequently announce the 2023/2024 Andrew Young Faculty and Student Fellows and share news on the AYCGL Scholar-in-Residence.

The Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership at Morehouse College continues to extend the legacy of Ambassador Andrew J. Young. This month the Center will share the life and work of Ambassador Young by hosting a traveling exhibit, The Many Lives of Andrew Young. We look forward to sharing the Ambassador’s extraordinary life story as well as his impact on the City of Atlanta, nation, and world. This issue of the AYCGL newsletter highlights the Center’s expansion of study abroad at Morehouse, including 2022-23 outcomes, plans for the 2023-24 academic year, the recent Study Abroad Fair and International Education Symposium, and the Student Ambassadors who support the work of the Office of International Education.

Welcome to the 2023-2024 academic year at Morehouse College. We hope that the Morehouse community had a wonderful summer. In this month’s newsletter, we highlight the June 2023 Society for Community Research and Action’s 19th Biennial Conference held on the Morehouse College campus and hosted by the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership (AYCGL). We also will share some of the exciting upcoming events we have planned for the fall semester.

The month of May marks the end of the Spring semester and commencement season in the Atlanta University Center. May is also Mental Health Awareness Month. The COVID-19 Pandemic highlighted and further exacerbated mental health challenges for many, including ethnic and racialized minorities in the United States, who experience mental health disparities related to access to and use of services, diagnosis, and treatment. In this month’s Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership’s newsletter, we highlight the stories and accomplishments of the extraordinary Men of Morehouse who participate in the programming of the Center and our mental health awareness efforts in the AUC and our surrounding communities.

This month the Andrew Young Center newsletter highlights the Beyond Bars South Conference, international education, and the impact of the Center’s recent book study. The issue features some of the students, faculty, and staff who make the work of the Center meaningful and impactful.

This month we celebrate the leadership and legacy of Ambassador Andrew Young who will celebrate his 91st birthday on March 12, 2023. As an ambassador, congressman, mayor, and civil rights leader, Ambassador Young has created a legacy of leading the fight for human and civil rights, providing leadership in pursuit of social justice, and creating opportunity and prosperity among those who are underserved. In honor of Ambassador Young, the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership (AYCGL) centers leadership development and social justice training in all of its work. This month’s newsletter focuses on the AYCGL’s Leadership Studies Program.

As we commemorate Black History Month, the Andrew Young Center explores the history of Black people throughout the diaspora, and the impact of historical events on contemporary conditions both globally and locally.

We welcome 2023 and are excited about all that is yet to come! Each year brings us closer to fulfilling the vision for the Andrew Young Center and creating a center that reflects the commitment, passion, and character of its namesake, Andrew Jackson Young.

Georgia has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world: 968 per 100,000 citizens. Nationally, the USA has incarceration rates of 664 per 100,000 citizens. In Georgia, 102,400 people are behind bars: 54,000 in state prisons, 39,000 in local jails, 7,900 in federal prisons, and 1,500 in juvenile correctional facilities. Over 4.2 million Georgians have a criminal record.

Rodney Spivey-Jones will serve as the first AYCGL Scholar-in-Residence this October 2022. Mr. Spivey-Jones will work with the Andrew Young Center to enhance our Higher Education in Prison (HEP) Programming, Institute of Social Justice Inquiry and Praxis Programming and Scholars’ Programs, give several lectures on campus, and conduct research in the Woodruff Archives.

The Morehouse College Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program continues to thrive thanks to generous gifts from Ms. Oprah Winfrey and the support of the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation. Ms. Winfrey’s gifts to Morehouse College, totaling $25,000,000, created an endowment that has supported the educations of over 700 Men of Morehouse.

The AYCGL’s Institute for International and Experiential Education is home to two scholarship programs, the Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program and SMASH Scholars Program. Both scholarship programs provide social justice-focused leadership training and academic support. The institute also leads the college’s international education efforts through the Office of International Education.

The Social Justice Collective is a key initiative of the Institute for Research, Civic Engagement, and Policy (IRCEP) in the Andrew Young Center. Developed during the 2020 summer of Black protest, the vision of the Social Justice Collective is to connect organizations, grassroots activists, researchers, and other community stakeholders through projects that advance social justice and equity, particularly for historically marginalized black communities.

In 2022, the AYCGL seeks to enhance the reach and impact of our Prison Education Initiative with additional teaching affiliates to teach humanities courses or special topics workshops. Beyond the involvement of our faculty, our students are also engaged in experiential learning in the form of essay exchanges with incarcerated students, occasional site visits at Metro, and policy reform advocacy.

The Leadership Center at Morehouse College (LCMC) was the brainchild of Dr. Walter Massey, ninth President of Morehouse (1995-2007). In 1995, Coca-Cola provided an initial four-year planning grant that focused on establishing a Leadership Center, including a Leadership Lecture Series, a Pre-College Leadership Program, and pre-construction activities for a physical facility.