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| The May 2025 edition of the AYCGL newsletter highlights the Andrew Young Center’s contributions to Morehouse Beyond Borders, including the recent African American History and Heritage Study Tour and spring 2025 study abroad programs.
This issue features Scholar of Distinction Marcellis McQueen and highlights recent presentations by Puleng Segalo, PhD, from the University of South Africa, and the 2nd of two ethical leadership teach-ins presented by Walter E. Fluker, PhD, the 2024-25 AYCGL Scholar-in-Residence. Finally, the issue highlights the recent Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program Graduation Celebration held on April 30, 2025.
The Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership seeks to extend the legacy of Ambassador Young and expand the footprint of Morehouse into the community and the world. The Center is home to programs designed to inspire and prepare the men of Morehouse to create and implement solutions to social justice challenges and to become global leaders prepared to advance social, economic, and educational equality in the U.S. and abroad. |
| | | 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. |
| | Spring 2025 African American History and Heritage Study Tour |
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| On March 28-30th, the AYCGL hosted the African American History and Heritage Study Tour. Fifty Morehouse College students traveled to Charleston, SC to participate in a 3-day study tour focused on the history of Africans in America, especially those entering the Americas through South Carolina. Program highlights include visits to the International African American Museum, McLeod Plantation, Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston, and Emanuel AME Church.
McLeod Plantation is one of two restored plantations in the U.S. that shares the history and experiences of the enslaved from their own perspective. Students were able to learn about the lives of the enslaved, how the work and expertise of slaves was used to enrich enslavers and the city of Charleston, the strategies of racial terror used to control, and how enslaved men, women, and children preserved their cultures and beliefs. Professor Samuel Livingston performed libations and shared many of the customs and rituals of west Africans who were enslaved. He also shared context for the visit by sharing the culture of the Gullah-Geechee people.
The Avery Center is a former Freedman’s school and is currently a College of Charleston research center focused on African American history. While at the Avery Center students benefited from a presentation by Millicent Brown, PhD, a former history professor and litigant in the South Carolina, 1963 Brown vs. Board of Education case. The ruling in this case enforced the 1954 Supreme Court ruling, Brown vs. Board of Education (Topeka, KS) and forced desegregation of schools in the state of South Carolina.
The study tour also included a visit to Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the oldest Black church in Charleston. The church, founded by Rev. Morris Brown, was home to Denmark Vessey and other freedom fighters, and is one of the great churches of the AME denomination. Emanuel AME Church is also the site of the killing of 8 parishioners and pastor Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who were murdered on June 17, 2015, by a white supremacist. |
| | AYCGL Scholar of Distinction |
| This recurring feature of the Andrew Young Center newsletter highlights an outstanding Morehouse scholar who exemplifies excellence through character, academic achievement, and service to the community. |
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| This issue features Oprah Winfrey Scholar Marcellis McQueen, ’26. Mr. McQueen is a junior Education major from Baltimore, Maryland, who has a passion for culturally responsive teaching, educational equity, and community-centered leadership.
At Morehouse, Marcellis serves as President of the Morehouse College Student Ambassador Program, where he leads a team of over 70 student ambassadors who represent the College’s legacy to prospective students, families, and distinguished guests. Under his leadership, the program launched a new Ambassador-in-Training initiative, onboarding 33 new members and transforming how the Morehouse Admissions Office cultivates student leadership and outreach.
As an Education major, Marcellis is committed to reimagining K–12 learning environments for Black students. His current research project, Teaching While Black: The Fight to Stay and the Power to Transform, explores the systemic barriers contributing to the attrition of Black educators and highlights the transformative impact these educators have on Black student success. He recently presented his work at the International Conference for Urban Education in Cancún, Mexico.
Beyond his scholarship, Marcellis worked to establish and is the lead of The Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program Legacy Project, a leadership development and mentoring initiative launched at Herman J. Russell West End Academy in Atlanta. This program pairs Oprah Winfrey Scholars with middle school boys to provide culturally grounded mentorship, academic support, and leadership development for the next generation of changemakers.
For Marcellis, education is not just a field of study—it is a mission. Through research, mentorship, and servant leadership, he is working to build learning environments that affirm identity, inspire leadership, and empower students to thrive.
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| | Morehouse College Study Abroad |
| Spring Break 2025 Study Abroad |
| In March over spring break Morehouse College students participated in two study abroad programs traveling to the United Kingdom and Japan. This month the AYCGL newsletter highlights these programs. |
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| | Exploration of the African Diaspora in the United KingdomDr. Sinead Younge, PhD, Professor of Psychology and AYCGL Director, Institute for Social Justice Inquiry and Praxis |
| Dr. Sinead Younge, Director of the Andrew Young Center’s Institute for Social Justice Inquiry and Praxis, led 16 Morehouse students on a study abroad program to the United Kingdom accompanied by Professors Mikki Harris (Journalism in Sports, Culture, and Social Justice) and Matthew Skwiat (English). Exploration of the African Diaspora in the United Kingdom was an educational, inspiring, and transformative experience for students and faculty. The program visited sites in London, Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester. A primary focus of the tour was the exploration of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the British colonies as well as contemporary issues such as the migration of African and Caribbean populations to the UK between 1948 and 1970, known as the Windrush Era, education, policing and mental health. The students learned about key figures in Black British history and current grassroots organizing and activism in the United Kingdom. During the trip, the Morehouse delegation met with educational institutions, community based organizations, and experts on Black British history and contemporary issues. |
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| Video credits: Mentivity studios directed by Hezron Springer |
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| Photo credits: Mikki K. Harris |
| | The United Kingdom African Diaspora Tour: A Transformative Adventure By Milton T. Rogers, ‘26, Africana Studies Major |
| What happens when you mix history, culture, and a group of curious college students? You get the unforgettable UK African Diaspora Study Tour! With 16 Morehouse College students, this journey across London, Bristol, Birmingham, and Manchester was more than just sightseeing—it was a deep dive into the African presence in Britain, from past struggles to present-day triumphs. With walking tours, university visits, and real talks with historians, this trip reshaped the way we see the diaspora’s impact on British society. |
| | | 36th Annual International Spring Tour Mr. Douglas Cooper, Executive Director, Career Development and Engagement |
| This year marks the 36th Annual International Spring Tour. Twenty-two Morehouse students, accompanied by 5 faculty and staff members, traveled to Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima, Japan from March 8-16, 2025. The Morehouse contingent met with senior level management and staff of international corporations, Citi Bank and Coca Cola, and also spoke with representatives of the American Embassy in Tokyo.
The goal of the tour is to expose Morehouse students to global business practices, allow observation of international diplomacy, and enable students to contrast foreign customs and practices with domestic ones. Key highlights of the tour included students’ opportunity to experience the rich culture and vibrancy of Tokyo and Kyoto, while at the same time visiting and learning firsthand the history of the somber site of Hiroshima, the first city in the world which endured the destruction of an Atomic Bomb. Through the International Spring Tour students learned about the human capacity in the world to grow and innovate while celebrating and maintaining rich cultural traditions after enduring unimaginable destruction. |
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| | AYCGL Leadership Lecture: Stitching Narratives of Gender Based ViolenceDr. Puleng Segalo | April 1, 2025 |
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| Dr. Puleng Segalo, Chief Albert Luthuli Research Chair and Professor of Psychology at the University of South Africa (UNISA), gave the Department of Psychology’s Gaffney Lecture in collaboration with the Andrew Young Center. Dr. Segalo’s talk was entitled, “Stitching Narratives of Gender Based Violence,” and included a discussion of her scholarship on trauma and decolonial feminism in psychology. Dr. Segalo’s discussion on the importance of addressing femicide, globally, and the critical role of community-based solutions sparked significant dialogue with Morehouse students. |
| | AYCGL Teach-in: Wake Up Running! Public Conversations on Spirituality, Ethics, and Leadership for New Rhythms and TimesDr. Walter Fluker |
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| This semester, AYCGL Scholar-in-Residence Walter Fluker, Ph.D., led a two-part Teach-In on ethical leadership titled, Wake Up Running! Public Conversations on Spirituality, Ethics, and Leadership for New Rhythms and Times. |
| | On April 9, 2025, Dr. Fluker delivered his 2nd lecture, titled “Run to the Mountain! Martin Luther King, Jr. on the Run: Creating and Cultivating Democratic Spaces in National and Global Communities of the World House.” In this lecture, Dr. Fluker examined the life and philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the concepts of democratic space and global citizenship. Dr. Fluker argued that to be human is sacred. He also shared that King’s life and legacy are about expanding democratic spaces through dissent in service to shared human dignity. Dr. Fluker also argued that ethical leaders arise from moral traditions, values, and beliefs, not pursuit of wealth or power. He explained that character is the embodiment of these traditions and values. Character serves as a narrative script, defining who you are and the choices you make. King saw civility as a subversive weapon, and reflection of character, that create change without causing harm.
Dr. Fluker is the Distinguished Professor at the Howard Thurman Center at Hartford University for Religion and Peace and Dean’s Professor of Spirituality, Ethics, and Leadership. He recently served at Candler School of Theology at Emory University and is Professor Emeritus of Ethical Leadership (formerly the Martin Luther King, Jr. Chair) at Boston University. He also serves as the editor of the Howard Thurman Papers Project.
Dr. Fluker was the founding Executive Director of the Leadership Center and the Coca-Cola Professor of Leadership Studies at Morehouse College. Among his many honors, Dr. Fluker was named a 2023 recipient of the Roosevelt Institute’s Freedom of Worship Award, joining fellow laureates Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, the late Ady Barkan, U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson, and Tracie D. Hall, former Executive Director of the American Library Association. Most recently, on May 19, 2024, Boston University awarded Dr. Fluker the university’s highest honor, the Doctor of Laws degree, where he also delivered the Baccalaureate Address to the Class of 2024. |
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| | | Oprah Winfrey Scholars Celebrate Graduating Seniors |
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| On Wednesday, April 30, 2025, the Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program celebrated the achievements of graduating seniors during the program’s annual graduation celebration!
The celebration included greetings from Provost Kendrick Brown and highlights of the 2024-25 academic year, including reflections by Jordan Freeman on the ML King, Jr. Day of Service, and the senior capstone project focused on the unhoused in our community, service at St. Francis Kitchen, and the role Morehouse must play in addressing these challenges. President David Thomas joined to share words of encouragement and present seniors with their graduation stoles. |
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| | | | | May 18 – 31, 2025. Oprah Winfrey South Africa Leadership Program. Sixteen Oprah Winfrey scholars will participate in a transformative study abroad experience in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Pilanesberg, and Cape Town, South Africa. Scholars will learn the extraordinary history of colonization, Apartheid, and revolution in South Africa through visits to historic sites, universities, and organizations documenting the history of Apartheid and preserving the legacy of the fight for freedom and justice in South Africa. |
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| The Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership’s video podcast More Conversations was initiated in the fall 2020 and aims to put scholars and subject matter experts in conversation about topics that are important to both the collegiate and broader communities. |
| | | 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 The Coca Cola Company, Bank of America, Ms. Oprah Winfrey and the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation, The Julian Grace Foundation, Delta Airlines, the Microsoft Corporation, and the Cigna Foundation. We wish to thank these donors for their sustained support of the AYCGL. |
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