The Mad Professah Lectures

.Thanks to Jack and Jill Politics, I found out about this heart-warming story about a 13-year-old Black male college student:

At thirteen years of age, Stephen Stafford is causing quite a stir at Morehouse College. Stafford has a triple major in pre-med, math and computer science. Though he loves playing video games and playing his drum set, he is no typical teenager.

"I've never taught a student as young as Stephen, and it's been amazing," said computer science professor Sonya Dennis. "He's motivating other students to do better and makes them want to step up their game."

Stafford began his college career at the age of 11, after being home-schooled by his mother. Stafford's mother said that when Stafford began to teach her instead of being taught by her, she knew he needed to be in a college environment.

Isn't that a great story? In a perfect world, Stephen Stafford's name would be more well-known than Chris Brown. I'm jus' sayin'!

Morehouse College, the all-male predominantly African-American college in Atlanta, Georgia which boats Martin Luther King, Lr. as one of its alums, is back in the news for an LGBT-related issue: issuing a new dress code banning cross-dressing by the students.

According to Frank Leon Roberts, a NYC-based blogger writing in Keith Boykin's Daily Voice website, here is the full text of Morehouse's Appropriate Attire Policy:

It is our expectation that students who select Morehouse do so because of the College's outstanding legacy of producing leaders. On the campus and at College-sponsored events and activities, students at Morehouse College will be expected to dress neatly and appropriately at all times.

Students who choose not to abide by this policy will be denied admission into class and various functions and services of the College if their manner of attire is inappropriate. Examples of inappropriate attire and/or appearance include but are not limited to:

1. No caps, do-rags and/or hoods in classrooms, the cafeteria, or other indoor venues. This policy item does not apply to headgear considered as a part of religious or cultural dress.

2. Sun glasses or "shades" are not to be work in class or at formal programs, unless medical documentation is provided to support use.

3. Decorative orthodontic appliances (e.g. "grillz") be they permanent or removable, shall not be worn on the campus or at College-sponsored events.

4. Jeans at major programs such as, Opening Convocation, Commencement, Founder's Day or other programs dictating professional, business casual attire, semi-formal or formal attire.

5. Clothing with derogatory, offense and/or lewd messages either in words or pictures.

6. Top and bottom coverings should be wor[n] at all times. No bare feet in public venues.

7. No sagging--the wearing of one's pants or shorts low enough to reveal undergarments or secondary layers of clothing.

8. Pajamas, shall not be worn while in public or in common areas of the College.

9. No wearing of clothing associated with women's garb (dresses, tops, tunics, purses, pumps, etc.) on the Morehouse campus or at College-sponsored events.[emphasis added]

10. Additional dress regulations may be imposed upon students participating in certain extracurricular activities that are sponsored or organized by the College (e.g. athletic teams, the band, Glee Club, etc).

11. The college reserves the right to modify this policy as deemed appropriate.
*All administrative, faculty, students and support staff members are asked to assist in enforcing this policy and may report disregard or violations to the Office of Student Conduct. "

Apparently, the College's gay student group, somewhat bizarrely going under the moniker "Safe Space" has endorsed the dress code.

It is item #9 which has garnered the College the most notoriety, recently.

As Frank says, "I must be missing something. Is there some kind of growing, critical mass of high-heel wearing, gold-tooth rockin' boys threatening to take over the campus? (if so, Big Up)."

Indeed!

This news is churning the internets. After a scathing email was widely distributed which bemoaned the implications of a wedding between two Black men on the marital prospects of Black women, the woman who sent the email has been fired.

Morehouse College has fired a woman and reprimanded another for discriminatory comments made via their work e-mail accounts.

The fired woman worked as an administrative assistant in the president’s office, according to reports. After receiving an e-mail forward that included wedding photos of a gay couple, she forwarded the e-mail to others and made comments that were considered discriminatory.

Morehouse College President Robert Franklin issued an official statement from the institution and a personal apology:

It is my sincere hope that the gay and lesbian community, and most specifically Michael Cole Smith and Jamil Smith Cole—whose wedding photographs became the subject of an unkind and intolerant email sent and forwarded by a Morehouse College employee—will accept my official apology on behalf of the College community.

Morehouse College—the institution where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of our nation’s premier champions of human and civil rights, was nurtured—has a history of promoting tolerance and inclusion for all people. Remarks such as the ones made in the e-mail were counter to Dr. King’s—and the College’s—core values and will not be tolerated from any Morehouse employee or student. Effective September 30, the employee who made the offensive comments is no longer working for the College.

I will continue to emphasize to the Morehouse community the message that was shared during an April town hall meeting: On the matter of diversity, Morehouse is committed to being a respectful campus that balances personal liberty with the responsibility of membership in a moral community. This has been and always will be a community dedicated to promoting respect and tolerance between heterosexuals and homosexuals. We encourage everyone to aspire to high ethical standards and we demand responsible community behavior. Those who cannot embrace the Morehouse code of ethics will be sanctioned accordingly.

Morehouse has had a long history of problems with homophobia at the all-male, predominantly Black college, as MadProfesssah has reported in the past.

Kudos to Dr. Franklin and his swift action in this matter. Hat/tip to Rod 2.0

Robert Franklin was named the 10th President of Morehouse College about two years ago. Morehouse is an all-male, predominantly African-American, Historically Black College in Atlanta, Georgia. Morehouse is also known in Black LGBT circles for its virulently homophobic atmosphere. MadProfessah has noted this subject before.

However, President Franklin seems to be taking another tack:

"As an all-male institution with the explicit mission of educating men with disciplined minds," said Franklin, "the great challenge of this moment in history is our diversity of sexual orientation."

"Why don't we," he asked the students, "use this opportunity to model something our community needs?"

"Straight men," Franklin said, "should learn more about the outlooks and contributions of gay men. Read a book by a gay author. Have an intelligent conversation with a gay neighbor." Franklin reminded the Morehouse students: "At a time when it was truly scandalous to have homosexual friends or associates, Dr. King looked to Bayard Rustin, a black gay man, as a trusted adviser. And, Malcolm X regarded James Baldwin, a black gay man, as a brilliant chronicler of the black experience."

"To my straight brothers," he said, "diversity at Morehouse is an opportunity that can enrich your education if you are courageous enough to seize the opportunity. We cannot force you, but we invite you to learn from your environment."

Hat/tip to Craig Hickman.

The Los Angeles Times has an article on homophobia at the historically Black College of Morehouse College in Atlanta.

Here's a salient excerpt:

"Morehouse is like this enclave where Stonewall never happened," Brewer said, referring to the 1969 New York protest that galvanized the gay rights movement. "It just doesn't exist in this realm of reality."

Brewer, 22, didn't come to Morehouse with the intent of changing it. But he found that he had no choice. He had arrived here from Oklahoma City pretty comfortable with himself: outspoken, proudly smart and, at 5 foot 9 and 300 pounds, hard to miss.

Early on, he decided he wouldn't water down his gay identity.

And that, historically, has been a problematic strategy at Morehouse. The 141-year-old college has played a key role in defining black manhood in America. But with a past steeped in religion, tradition and machismo, it has struggled to determine how homosexuality fits within that definition.

The private school was founded shortly after the Civil War with the help of Baptists sympathetic to the plight of illiterate freedmen. Over the years, it became famous for turning out the vaunted "Morehouse man" -- a paragon of virtue and strength in a society that once institutionalized the destruction of the black nuclear family.

Traditionally, its students have been expected to follow a well-worn path: They were to choose ambitious wives, preferably from Spelman College next door, a historically black school for women. They were to become captains of industry, leaders of men, saviors of a race.

But now, more than ever, students like Brewer are forcing the school to confront a vexing question: Can the Morehouse man be gay?