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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. Building upon our commitment to higher education in prisons, on March 23-25th, the Andrew Young Center co-hosted the Beyond Bars South Conference held at the AUC Woodruff Library. This important conference displayed Morehouse and the AYCGL’s work beyond borders building programs that impact our community. This issue features Divine U. Linus, a senior Mathematics major and Oprah Winfrey scholar who recently presented at the 2023 Candle in the Dark. Our focus on international education includes an introduction to our new Director of International Education, Maraina Montgomery, a feature on the Study Abroad Ambassadors who work to build global education at Morehouse, and shares the stories of the Morehouse study abroad programs completed in March 2023. Finally, we feature an essay written by SMASH scholar Koren Mayson, which shares his experience in the recent AYCGL book study of “The Water Dancer”.
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Beyond Bars: South Conference
On March 23-25, 2023, The Andrew Young Center, in partnership with the Center for Justice at Columbia University and the Georgia Coalition of Higher Education in Prisons, hosted the inaugural Beyond Bars South Conference. This conference focused on the relationship between universities or colleges and neighborhoods. Gentrification, income inequality, and mass incarceration have transformed southern cities that are home to leading institutions of higher education. Guest speakers included presidents from numerous colleges and universities in Georgia and South Carolina as well as representatives from local corporations, national foundations, and community partners. Study Abroad Student Ambassador Michael Henry and Oprah Winfrey scholar, Calvin Bell, were panel discussants during Friday’s session on student perspectives on creating change in communities.
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Pictured on the right is Dr. Angela Davis
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The Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership is proud to highlight the stories and accomplishments of the extraordinary Men of Morehouse who participate in the programming of the Center. This issue highlights senior Divine Linus.
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Divine Uchechukwu Linus is a senior mathematics major, International student from Abuja, Nigeria. During his matriculation at Morehouse, Divine has engaged in various leadership positions including SGA Deputy Secretary of Diversity and Inclusion, NSO Leader, Residential Advisor, and Tutor at the Frederick Douglass Success Center. Currently, he serves as the founding President of Morehouse ISO, A student-led international organization dedicated to promoting cross-cultural exchange and enriching the campus experience for international students.
Throughout his undergraduate studies, Divine was the recipient of several scholarships and professional experiences at various organizations, including Meta, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America where, upon graduation, he will work full-time as an Investment Banking Analyst. In addition to being an Oprah Winfrey scholar for the last four years, he was a King scholar in 2020, a Summer Econs Scholar at UChicago, and a SIEML scholar at UC Riverside in 2021 which afforded him a fully funded scholarship to UC Berkeley to pursue an MBA. Divine was awarded a scholarship by CIEE in partnership with the Morehouse Office of International Education to study for a semester in London and was selected to participate in the 2023 Morehouse Annual International Spring Tour to Ghana and Senegal, West Africa.
On February 18, Divine delivered a speech at the Annual Candle in the Dark Gala on his personal journey to Morehouse and the profound impact the institution has had on his life. In his appeal to the audience, he spoke to the power of philanthropy and the role it plays in shaping the future of Men of Morehouse. Divine shares he feels forever indebted to Morehouse College and the Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program for giving him the power to dream and the ability to pursue his potential. Divine recently founded a social travel startup and he is working with local organizations in Nigeria to create an investment fund to support local SME’s in Africa. Divine is overwhelmed with appreciation for the individuals who have supported, challenged, and inspired him during his college career.
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Maraina Montgomery joins the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership as an educator and administrator who is called to empower students and lead organizations in developing systems that thrive on inclusive, sustainable, and efficient education abroad practices. As a previous director of study abroad in Portland, Oregon and Washington DC, her work as a scholar-practitioner aims to foster a sense of curiosity and expose students to worlds beyond their imagination as a social justice cause she believes evokes feelings of liberation.
As a proud HBCU alumna, Ms. Montgomery joins the Morehouse College community with pure joy in her heart and ambition to work collectively with faculty, staff, and students to actualize the mission of making international education credit-granting and accessible to every Morehouse student.
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Meet the Morehouse College Study Abroad Ambassadors
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Study Abroad Ambassadors impact the lives of others by sharing their experiences and knowledge gained through studying abroad. Ambassadors lead information sessions, host visits from universities and other partners, serve as experts during our annual Passport Week, and conduct individual outreach. Our ambassadors share a little about themselves, study abroad, and their work at Morehouse.
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Michael Henry is a Senior, Political Science Major from Fayetteville, North Carolina. Upon graduation in May, I will attend Pepperdine University to obtain my master’s degree in Peace Negotiation and Conflict Resolution. During my matriculation at Morehouse, I was awarded the Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Fellowship which will allow me to pursue a career at the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer after completing my graduate studies. I studied abroad in London, UK during the spring of 2022. While in London I also traveled to various other countries in Europe, including Portugal, Greece, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. Studying abroad broadened my entire perspective on life and allowed me to see and realize that there is more in the world than just where he came from. I have been able to meet so many different people from across the world. International travel has forced him to step outside of his comfort zone by learning different cultures and ways of living. Studying abroad has allowed me to discover so much about myself, others, and the world. Everything I have experienced has helped to shape me into the person I am today.
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Erick Pullian, Jr., is a Chinese Studies major, Business Administration minor from Philadelphia, PA. Upon graduation, I plan to get certified to teach English abroad and to teach English in either Taiwan or a Spanish-speaking country. During my time at Morehouse, I had the opportunity to study Spanish in Spain for a month and spent two weeks abroad in Germany. Both trips were life changing. As a study abroad ambassador, I seek to support my fellow Morehouse brothers as they explore the world and grow exponentially. I believe it is my duty to spread the word throughout campus and to discover all the different study abroad opportunities Morehouse has to offer.
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Leo Saunders is a Senior Chinese Studies major from Washington, DC.
During the last year of my academic career I have served in certain positions that have bettered my position and knowledge as a person. As a teaching assistant for the Chinese Studies Program director and ambassador for study abroad, these leadership roles have allowed me to expand my view on education as a whole, as well as improve my planning and decision-making skills to better suit students and staff alike. During the summer of 2022, I was fortunate to participate in both the Cultural Vistas and TOP Germany study tours. Those experiences were unforgettable and have really shaped the way I view the world and my surroundings. Experiencing the German school system and government first hand showed me the inefficiency of the United States and how, when working together, a country can achieve so much. Being in a country in which the native language isn't English or Spanish was also such an intriguing experience. You have to be flexible and be okay with being alone because at times it can feel very isolating. But it teaches you about yourself, and you really learn how to express yourself in different manners. During this year, my fellow ambassadors and I have organized and promoted study abroad tours and expanded outreach to fellow students. We also have tried our best to help out the Morehouse staff, to alleviate the stress of organizing trips and meetings, and other busy work.
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Spring Break – Morehouse Across the Globe
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In March, Morehouse students studied abroad with Morehouse faculty-led programs in three destinations: Ghana, West Africa; Barbados, Lesser Antilles of the West Indies; and India. Program leaders share the highlights of these programs.
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The Morehouse International Spring Tour, led by Mr. Douglas Cooper, Director of Career Services, traveled to Ghana and Senegal.
This year’s 2023 International Spring Tour traveled to Accra, Ghana and Dakar, Senegal in West Africa. The primary goal of the tour is to expose students to global business customs and practices and to assist them in contrasting foreign customs and practices to domestic ones. In addition, the program incorporates engagement with institutions such as embassies and consulates abroad as well as cultural and graduate programs. This year The Tour included visits to Coca Cola, Citibank, The US Embassies in Ghana and Senegal as well as to Cape Coast Castle in Ghana and Goree Island in Senegal which were the major ports of departure from West Africa during the African Slave Trade.
All of the events were memorable, but outstanding were the Naming Ceremony (where students and faculty participated in a enriching and solemn ceremony where they received new Ghanaian names from Chiefs and Elders of the community), and the visits to the slave fortresses on the Gold Coast in Ghana and on Goree Island in Senegal. The naming ceremony enabled all to reconnect to their ancestry, while the slave fortresses represented vividly and hauntingly the evils and atrocities that our ancestors experienced in being uprooted and severed from their homeland. Our presence in the slave fortresses, indeed, our return was symbolic of our ancestors’ indomitable strength and resilience that their progeny could return to (as it were) close the aperture of defeat created by the brutal slave trade.
The students, faculty and staff experienced a powerful lesson in who they are with respect to linked ancestry as well as an overview of geopolitical and business strategies that are in place or being developed to help West Africa improve the well being of its countries, it’s citizens, and those in the diaspora around the world.
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The Sustainability Service-Learning Project Alternative Spring Break, led by Dr. Mona Ray, Associate Professor of Economics, traveled to India.
The major goal of this program, which was part of Professor Ray’s Directed Reading course, was to expose students to sustainability practices in India, a developing country facing a number of resource challenges. Each day throughout the 5-day program, students were engaged with a new NGO (non-governmental organization) that addresses issues ranging from social justice to environmental/communal sustainability. In their reflection session each day, students identified which United National Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) was being addressed by each NGO.
A highlight of the program was the interaction of the Morehouse students with the community children. Students visited school children in an urban slum area and learned how they can advocate for social justice to reduce child trafficking and drug abuse. Students also visited a school in a rural area and spent the whole afternoon with children by engaging in poster sessions highlighting their water management activities. At the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi students met with diplomats from the Political and Energy Department and engaged with a group of Indian College students who were eager to know about college life in the United States. A second highlight was the groups’ visit to the Center of Science and Environment. The organization shared the strategies used to increase awareness of environmental issues in urban and rural areas through multimedia and school education. Morehouse students also had the opportunity to see the NGOs’ project on waste-water treatment to recycle water use.
Students visited historical sites in Delhi like Qutub Minar, Raj Ghat, India Gate, Lotus temple, and several others. A day trip to the nearby city of Agra gave them the opportunity to see the magnificent Taj Mahal, and the historical Agra Fort. The students had lunch at the Sheroes Café in Agra where they had the opportunity to interact with the Sheroes, women who are survivors of acid attacks, a social evil of destroying a woman’s face and body by pouring acid on them. It was an eye-opening experience for the students to learn about this social justice issue unique to a developing country like India.
Students also learned how similar societal and social issues are between India and America, and the various ways Indian society is challenged in finding solutions as well. Morehouse student, David Flowers III, shared, “Those experiences will forever challenge me to think beyond the life that I normally live. The students on this trip gained perspective and knowledge on the global impact of sustainability and environmental change.”
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The South Carolina-Barbados Connection: Understanding the Gullah Geechee Roots of Social Justice and Resistance was led by Drs. Corrie Claiborne, Associate Professor English, Sinead Younge, Professor of Psychology, Director of the Institute for Social Justice Inquiry and Praxis, and Samuel Livingston, Associate Professor of Africana Studies.
The major goal of this experience was for students to understand the unique shared connections between South Carolina in the U.S. and Barbados. Students explored aspects of the diverse histories, and cultural expressions, and identified the regions and their impact on contemporary society with a focus on Gullah Geechee and Barbadian Cultures.
Some important stops on the South Carolina-Barbados Program were the Gullah Museum in Georgetown, South Carolina, the Coffin Point Praise House in St. Helena Island, South Carolina, the Freewoods Farm in Myrtle Beach, SC, and hearing from the esteemed, former Executive Director of the Penn Historic School, Dr. Emory Campbell, at the Coastal Discovery Museum in Hilton Head. We were joined by the Governor of South Carolina, Henry McMaster, at our first stop in Columbia, SC at the African American Monument on the State House.
Some highlights from the Barbados portion of the experience included a visit to a former plantation, Newton, and the adjoining Enslaved Burial Site. The tour was led by the Deputy Director of the Barbados Museum, Mr. Kevin Farmer, and Mr. Trevor Marshall, historian and retired lecturer from the Barbados Community College. This historic site is the largest and earliest burial ground of enslaved Africans in Barbados. Both sugarcane and cotton crops remain on the land.
Another critical component of the program was the interaction between the Atlanta University Center students and the students from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. We had an opportunity to visit one of the oldest synagogues in the western hemisphere, Nidhe Israel.
Students learned how connected they are to people of African descent throughout the diaspora and were able to critically explore the role of enslavement, perseverance, and the endurance of African culture in contemporary societies.
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Oprah Winfrey and SMASH Scholars’ Book Study
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Led by Professors David Rice and Samuel Livingston, the OWSP/SMASH book club featured a critical review of The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates and an opportunity for scholars to understand and discuss the symbolism, historical significant, and key themes of the book. SMASH scholar Koren Mayson shares his experience as a participant in the book club.
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Oprah Winfrey and SMASH Scholars Book Study of The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
On February 9 and March 29, SMASH and OWSP scholars participated in a book club to discuss The Water Dancer, the brilliant work of Ta-Nehisi Coates. The New York Times's best-seller and member of Oprah Winfrey's 2019 book club list is a melancholic and suspenseful novel that merges the slavery narrative with fantasy genres. Coates redefines the societal gaze by allowing readers to vaguely experience slavery from the perspective of the story's protagonist, Hiram Walker, an enslaved person or "tasked," as referred to in the novel, with transcendental gifts. Gifts that he would use to free the fellow tasked and eventually take over the same plantation he worked on. Nonfiction portrayals of slavery tend to evoke sadness, anger, or resentment; however, Coates' novel gives a new perspective while incorporating African folklore, building a sense of pride in ancestry and connection amongst the diaspora. Having a secure space like the book club to meet with other scholars and discuss how Coates flips the narrative of slavery and depicts a storyline that ends triumphantly for OUR people was up-lifting. The Water Dancer and other fictional accounts of history are refreshing avenues that help people escape the harsh realities and redirect one's outlook on life. With book club sessions having commenced, Ta-Nehisi Coates' brilliant work fueled an even more brilliant fellowship of scholars.
- Koren Mayson, Junior Psychology major and SMASH Scholar
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Faculty Roundtable
On March 27, 2023, the Leadership Studies Program hosted a faculty roundtable on “The Role of HBCUs: Reconsidering Vincent Harding’s 1970 Ebony Essay, “Toward the Black University”. Panelists included Drs. Cynthia Hewitt, Andrew Douglas, and Samuel Livingston.
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Photo by Phillip McCollum
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Lunch Discussion with Dr. Gabrielle Foreman
On March 31, 2023, Dr. Gabrielle Foreman, the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar, joined the AYCGL for a lunch discussion with faculty and students. Dr. Foreman, author of The Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century, discussed her work documenting and creating digital histories of the political activism of Blacks in the U.S. during the period of enslavement and reconstruction. Faculty and students were able to understand and reflect upon the importance of work that links the political organizing of Blacks to other historical events, providing context and clarity to the circumstances and actors who created change.
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Upcoming Events and Opportunities
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April 26, 2023: Leadership Studies Student Luncheon. Graduating Leadership Studies Minors will present their capstone projects, faculty will discuss their respective classes, and prospective minors will receive information about the Leadership Studies Program. All are welcome to attend the 1:00 pm luncheon that will be held in Massey, Room 442.
May 15 – 29, 2023: South Africa Social Justice Experience. The AYCGL’s Institute for Social Justice Inquiry and Praxis will lead its second study abroad experience to South Africa. This unique experience focuses on culture, politics, and the contemporary social conditions of South Africa with a special emphasis on the social activism of South African youth. Students will have an opportunity to visit Johannesburg, Soweto, Durban, and Cape Town, South Africa.
June 20 - 24, 2023: Morehouse College will be the first historically Black college/university to host the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA) Biennial Conference. This year’s theme is “Where do we go from here: Dreaming new community futures.” The SCRA Biennial Conference draws together SCRA and other community members from around the world to engage in stimulating conversations about recent developments in community research and action. The conference will provide attendees with a special opportunity to exchange ideas and resources, forge new collaborations, connect with old friends, and deepen knowledge and skills.
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AYC-HEP Faculty and Student Opportunities: Applications are now open for the 2023/2024 cohort of Andrew Young Center - Higher Education in Prisons [AYC-HEP] Faculty Teaching Affiliates and Student Ambassadors. Applications are due on May 22, 2023. For more information, contact Professor Kipton Jensen (kipton.jensen@morehouse.edu).
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A Note of Gratitude to Our Sponsors
The work of the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership is made possible by the generous support of our sponsors, including Coca Cola, Bank of America, Ms. Oprah Winfrey and the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, the SMASH Foundation, Delta Airlines, Gilead Sciences, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, the Julian Grace Foundation, Cigna Foundation, and the RAND Corporation. We wish to thank these donors for their sustained support of the AYCGL.
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