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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.
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AYCGL Student Spotlight
Freddie Golden
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The Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership is proud to highlight the stories and accomplishments of the extraordinary Morehouse students who participate in the programming of the Center. This month we are pleased to feature Oprah Winfrey Scholar, Freddie Golden, Computer Science Major, c’2026. Freddie Golden was featured in the documentary, “I AM my Brother’s Keeper,”which was recently nominated for two 2023 Chicago Emmy Awards. The documentary was the result of a collaboration between Ravensbourne University London, Jordan Brand, Vault49 and Champs Mentoring Program. Freddie discusses the nomination and the activities that led up to the nomination.
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“This journey starts from my freshman year of high school. Being raised on the west side of Chicago, I went to high school knowing that I wanted to pursue a college degree. I knew that I would need to work hard to reach this goal. From my freshman to my senior year I was able to gain all A’s in my classes and participate in a lot of community service events. I applied for numerous scholarships and at some point, I reached one million dollars in scholarships, and my mentor helped me get my story out into the larger community through local news outlets. Eventually, I was connected with the Obama Foundation and the Champs Male Mentoring Program’s first cultural exchange program which allowed me to travel from Chicago to London, England. The program was captured in a news story by NBC News.
My experiences taught me to always stay positive, humble, and intentional in whatever you do. My surroundings growing up were challenging and violent. If I let this situation deter me I would have been in a completely different space right now. Staying positive no matter the circumstances has been one of the key factors to the success that I have achieved. My mom has always taught me to stay grounded and appreciate the ground that I am walking on. Being humble and intentional are my core values. I would like people to know that I am grateful and blessed to be here and it came by working hard to put myself in the right positions.”
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The Andrew Young Center is committed to creating and implementing programs that deepen learning and develop leadership through high impact experiences that take students out of their comfort zones, allowing them to grow as individuals and impact the broader community and world. These programs occur both in the United States and abroad.
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J-Mester, South Carolina Study Tour: Understanding the Gullah Geechee Roots of Social Justice and Resistance
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It is estimated that upwards of 40% of enslaved Africans in the United States entered through South Carolina’s Gadsden Wharf. The majority of African Americans can trace at least one ancestor to this port of entry. At one time, Gadsden Wharf was one of the largest ports in the United States and is now home to the newly opened International African American Museum (IAAM). A lesser-known fact about South Carolina is its connection to the Caribbean, the then-eastern Caribbean British colony of Barbados. In the 1670’s more than half of the white settlers and enslaved Africans who arrived in South Carolina came from Barbados.
Barbadian influence is reflected in South Carolina’s early political structure, architecture, plantation system, culture, art, music, and culinary traditions. This connection expands beyond South Carolina and is perhaps most notable in the Gullah Geechee culture. Organizations, including the Barbados Association of Georgia and the Carolinas Legacy Foundation, led by Rhoda Green, have worked for decades to share the connection between Barbados and the Carolinas.
In the Spring of 2023, a group of Morehouse and Spelman students traveled to South Carolina and Barbados to learn more about these connections, with support from the Mellon Movement, Memory and Justice Project led by Drs. Corrie Claiborne and Samuel Livingston. This January, Dr. Sinead Younge taught a January J-Mester Course entitled, Understanding the Gullah Geechee Roots of Social Justice and Resistance. The course explored the connection between South Carolina and Barbados using health as a lens to explore history, culture, food, and behavior. This unique opportunity brought together students and faculty from Morehouse College, the University of the West Indies (UWI) - Cave Hill, and R2ISE to Recovery, a non-profit organization, to explore the connections between Gullah Geechee and Barbadian cultural traditions, as well as contemporary social justice issues such as climate justice, health inequities, and reparations. Five students from the University of the West Indies - Cave Hill participated in this course along with Ms. Alison Johnson and Dr. Yanique Hume, head of the Department of Cultural Studies at UWI. Ten students from Morehouse College participated in the course and community partner, Ms. Alexia Jones of R2ISE to Recovery, taught a session exploring art and wellness in the Black community.
The students in the J-Mester Course and Study Tour visited important sites in Atlanta including the Martin Luther King historic site, the Center for Civil and Human Rights, and the High Museum. The class traveled to Charleston and participated in a Gullah Tour of Charleston led by Mr. Alphonso Brown. The group visited Charles Towne Landing State Historic site and met Ms. Rhoda Green of the Barbados Carolinas Connection. The group was led on a tour of the McLeod Plantation by Toby Smith and visited the International African American Museum where they met Dr. Charles Norton of Coastal Carolina University and alumnus, Tendaji Bailey, a son of the Gullah Geechee region. The class and the tour were transformative and left an indelible mark on all who participated. This opportunity was made possible with funding from the Julian Grace Foundation, the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Faculty of Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, and the West Indian Group of University Teachers.
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University of West Indies, Cave Hill student, Kemal Marshall, and Morehouse College student, Jahrik Browner, of Macon, Georgia, sat down to discuss their experiences taking the Understanding the Gullah Geechee Roots of Social Justice and Resistance J-mester Course.
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Study Abroad at Morehouse
In December 2023 and January 2024, Morehouse students traveled with Morehouse faculty/staff-led programs to two destinations. The Bonner Program’s annual service-learning experience in the Dominican Republic and Morehouse in Ireland: Transatlantic Perspectives of Civil Rights and Social Justice-oriented Leadership allowed students to experience new cultural and social environments and serve. Drs. Kipton Jensen and Justin McClinton led the Morehouse in Ireland Program and shared some of the lessons learned from that experience.
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Morehouse in Ireland: Transatlantic Perspectives of Civil Rights and Social Justice Leadership
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A cohort of twelve men from Morehouse traveled to Ireland during the J-mester to study the imperfect parallels between the civil rights movement in the US and Ireland. Frederick Douglass paved the way in 1845. The study abroad experience was led by Leadership Studies professors, Drs. Kipton Jensen and Justin McClinton. Although “We Shall Overcome” was the anthem of the civil rights movement in the US and also Ireland, what was overcome was both similar and different. 'Bloody Sunday' in Birmingham on March 7th, 1965, was both analogous and disanalogous to what came to be known as 'Bloody Sunday' in Derry on January 30th, 1972. Ireland recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. It wasn’t all study, of course: students surfed on the shores of Bundoran, explored the magical woodlands of Donegal, enjoyed the nightlife in Dublin, surmounted the hills of Tara, explored the Cavan Burran, visited the Ballyshannon Famine Workhouse, peered over the Sligabh Liag Cliffs, took a ferry to Arranmore Island, where only Gaelic is spoken, and discussed nonviolent protest with survivors of the Bloody Sunday at the Derry Bogside Civil Rights Museum.
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OWSP: M.L. King Day of Service
January 15, 2024
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed in the Beloved Community, and Oprah Winfrey scholars strive to create the community for which Dr. King and others worked to inspire. On Monday, January 15, 2024, in partnership with Atlanta’s King Center for Nonviolent Change, Oprah Winfrey scholars served to support the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Annual Commemorative Service, voter registration, and a collection drive for the unsheltered. Sharing this experience allowed Oprah Winfrey scholars to grow as individuals and a community in service to others.
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A Conversation with Clint Smith, Author of How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
On Tuesday, January 16, 2024, the AYCGL and Oprah Winfrey Program co-sponsored a virtual conversation with Clint Smith. Dr. Smith is the author of the New York Times bestseller, How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and was named one the New York Times 10 Best Books of 2021. Dr. Smith also authored the New York Times bestselling poetry collection Above Ground and the award-winning poetry collection Counting Descent. He is a staff writer at The Atlantic. Dr. Smith presented on the topic, The Poetics of Racial Healing: Holding the Pain and Possibilities Together. Dr. Smith also participated in a panel discussion/Q&A with students from participating schools. Oprah Winfrey scholar Calvin Bell engaged Dr. Smith with questions that included an inquiry into how scholars, teachers, and practitioners can challenge the punitive practices within the education system that negatively impact students of color. Dr. Smith’s engagement was informed, thoughtful, and nuanced in addressing paths to racial healing.
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Panel Discussion on Belonging and Wellness
During the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, Dr. Sinead Younge joined an esteemed panel featuring Pulitzer Prize Poet, Dr. Jericho Brown, and Global DEI Consultant, Jad-Evangelo Nasser. According to the Human Rights Campaign, the 2023 state legislative session was the worst year on record for anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation. The conversation was moderated by AMADOR founder Malik Khalid and focused on liberatory practices focused on mobilizing change and creating community impact. The event was sponsored by LuluLemon and featured tea from the Plant Lady Juice Company, a woman, Black-owned company based in Atlanta.
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Upcoming Events
February 23-25, 2024: The AYCGL is pleased to host the African American History and Heritage Study Tour for Morehouse students and faculty. The study tour will visit Charleston, South Carolina, to tour the International African American Museum, visit the Avery Research Center at the University of Charleston, and tour the McLeod Plantation. For more information on this opportunity, please reach out to Ms. Marissa Baham (marissa.baham@morehouse.edu).
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Spring Break March 8-17, 2024: The Exploration of the African Diaspora in the United Kingdom study abroad program, led by Dr. Sinead Younge, will visit London, Liverpool, and Manchester, U.K. This unique experience will explore the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the British colonies and examine contemporary issues such as the migration of African and Caribbean populations to the UK between 1948 and 1970, known as the Windrush Era. Students will learn about key figures in Black British history and current grassroots organizing and activism in the U.K.
March 28, April 4, and April 11, 2024: This spring 2024, AYCGL Scholar-in-Residence, Pamela Winn, will present as part of an AYCGL Teach-in entitled, Policy Advocacy within the Democracy Process. This series will focus on Ms. Winn’s work as a policy advocate for individuals who are currently and formerly incarcerated. Location TBD.
May 19 – June 2, 2024: Oprah Winfrey South Africa Leadership Program. Oprah Winfrey scholars will participate in a transformative experience in Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town, South Africa. The experience will include meetings with community leaders, university and other academic officials, faculty, and students. Visits to historic sites and organizations documenting the history of Apartheid and preserving the legacy of the fight for freedom and justice in South Africa will allow students to learn the extraordinary history of colonization, Apartheid, and revolution in South Africa. Comparative analysis of social justice issues in the United States and South Africa will be explored as scholars complete e-portfolios documenting and reflecting upon their learning about South Africa and themselves.
May 19 – June 2, 2024: South Africa Social Justice Experience. The Andrew Young Center’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.
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Lowery Institute’s Mimi’s Pantry at Morehouse College. The AYCGL is home to Mimi's Pantry (the Lowery Institute’s Morehouse Satellite Pantry) located on the 4th floor of the Massey Leadership Building. The pantry addresses food insecurity for AUC students by providing meals and snacks to community members. The pantry is open from 12:00-200 pm and 4:00-5:00 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of each week. The pantry is open from 12 noon to 2:00 pm on Fridays. Registration for meals is no longer required and walk-ins are welcome!
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On behalf of the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of Mr. Dexter Scott King. Mr. King was the son of alumnus, Martin Luther King, Jr., attended Morehouse College, and worked tirelessly to protect the legacy of his father and mother, Coretta Scott King.
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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, and the Cigna Foundation. We wish to thank these donors for their sustained support of the AYCGL.
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