Martin Luther King Jr. & Silence

Although this article is a few months old, the message is timely. Please read and then act.

As we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., I am reminded of one aspect of him that is most compelling to me. Over and over, King warned us to refrain from keeping silent—to speak up when we encounter injustice. One of his most profound statements was: “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” King reminded us that we cannot merely sit back and watch injustice; we need to speak out and consciously push back against it.

All too often we complain about injustice and prejudice; we watch as the rights, history, and culture of others are trampled on or erased (take a look around, it’s happening now). Yet we say nothing and we do nothing. Sometimes, we refrain from speaking out because we assume that “speaking out” means protesting with signs or acts of civil disobedience. Speaking out can manifest in this way, but it can also happen through writing, through the way you live your life (being consistent in your values and actions), and by pointing out injustice in every day situations when you see it.

Writing about the civil-rights era, King said, “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.” I can’t help but think that his words are applicable today in our current political climate—a climate in which civility has been replaced by anger, hate, and atrocious deeds. In order to change the tone of the rhetoric of hate, we must speak up. We must stand up against injustice and for those who are being treated unjustly.

King urged us to feel passionate about freedom and justice, even calling upon us to give our life for what we believe in—much like he did. He said, “A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live.” Whether he met this in actuality does not matter to me. What he was saying is that when we feel strongly, we must act in the ways that we know how. We must use our strengths as individuals to make society better and we must act as the conscience of our nation.

Whenever I feel strongly about an issue but fear the idea of speaking out, I think of the words of King. He said “In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” These are simple words, but they are wonderfully profound in their message to all of us.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr. Gasman is an historian of higher education. Her work explores issues pertaining to philanthropy and historically black colleges, black leadership, contemporary fundraising issues at black colleges, and African-American giving. Dr. Gasman’s most recent book is Envisioning Black Colleges: A History of the United Negro College Fund (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007). She has also written (with Patrick J. Gilpin) Charles S. Johnson: Leadership beyond the Veil in the Age of Jim Crow (SUNY Press, 2003), (with Sibby Anderson-Thompkins) Supporting Alma Mater: Successful Strategies for Securing Funds from Black College Alumni (CASE Books, 2003), and (with Katherine Sedgwick) Uplifting a People: African American Philanthropy and Education (Peter Lang, 2005).Marybeth Gasman is currently a professor of higher education in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

What Will We Do When We Have No Home To Come Home To?

We cannot promise you this blog will be short, but we can promise you it will be painful.

If Shaw U was a social network within itself, “HOMECOMING 2011″ would be the trending topic.

Homecoming is undoubtedly, one of the cornerstones of the historically black college experience; and this year, the Shaw Universe is so excited until they can hardly contain themselves. Every year, we gather to watch the talented football team and Platinum Sound Marching Band, the stepshow, money hungry promoters fight each other for partygoers for the “OFFICIAL” homecoming party and we all nearly burst with excitement, seeing classmates that we haven’t seen in several years. It is absolutely wonderful to be excited about the upcoming festivities and we certainly don’t want to piss on the Shaw U parade – but we can’t help but to ask ourselves the following question:

WHAT WILL WE DO WHEN THERE’S NO HOME TO COME HOME TO?

We’re not saying that we all don’t deserve a break once a year to have a good time – but we see a lot of grave dangers that are not being addressed, and we see no real or true initiatives & reformation to the Shaw University structure nor conditions on campus. We don’t see a strategic plan to make Shaw University the quality institution of higher learning that it once was. We don’t see a caring, TRUSTworthy board of TRUSTees nor do we see a sincere initiative from them or committee heads to encourage alumni and students to bond or unite under an umbrella of what should be the students sword and armor. We don’t see any effort to maximize Shaw University’s role and stature in the hearts and souls of the students and university establishment as a whole. We don’t see any efforts being made to restore its heavily damaged reputation nor do we see the desire to strengthen communications. We find ourselves continuously asking why Shaw chooses not emphasize academic excellence or sustainability efforts? Why not recognize some of the outstanding faculty and students or notable alumni who are achieving their goals and doing well in their respective communities?

The problems that we have witnessed at Shaw have been in existence for a while now and to be honest, we don’t like what we are witnessing. This is not what our ancestors fought for, got expelled for, and sacrificed their future for. Our ancestors fought and died for a dream that we see now shattering in front of our very eyes.

With the absence of promising new leadership that once filled the university with hope and gave students a voice, chaos has struck in a way that it has never struck before. It has turned from an establishment with one unified goal and a plan, into a chaotic gathering of different individuals disconnected from the Shaw U main theme, each running their own shows that are not part of original agendas that were once promised, nor the main goals which we once fought and sacrificed for, fighting the managerial establishment and even the board itself.

Sadly, we are failing to unite, which is the main objective of creating the Friends of Shaw. Statements from hate are being hurled by fellow alumni (and others) without real consultation or open discussion about the issues at hand. We are large in number yet most are completely silent. Alumni aren’t willing to become a part of the National Alumni Association nor are they actively getting involved. Significant issues (IE: tornado fundraising efforts, the Gary Insurance debacle or Dr. Irma McClaurin’s abrupt departure) are appearing and disappearing without a discussion or an evaluation process.

To those who hold Shaw near and dear to your heart, you must realize that you are responsible for the future of Shaw. You are responsible for guarding and maximizing the Shaw U establishment for the sake of our children and our children’s children. This responsibility should not be taken lightly nor approached as yet another half assed fight, as this responsibility you will be questioned about and you will be judged.

We must step up now, and put own head in the game. It’s not about the north versus the south or the young versus the old. It’s about ALL OF US uniting under one common goal that symbolizes a higher goal for Shaw.

As you frolic to and fro’ throughout Raleigh this weekend, we encourage you to take a moment to simply pay attention to your surroundings. This is what you will see:

Downtown Raleigh is (and has been) going through a MAJOR transformation. Within a few years, Downtown will look like this:

If you believe for one moment that the revitalization of downtown Raleigh will continue while Shaw’s crumbling infrastructure remains to be an eyesore of the community but ‘WE gon’ be aiight’ and that life will simply “GO ON” at Shaw, think again.

You may return to your regularly scheduled homecoming celebration activities while wearing blinders – or we can attempt to unite once and for all while we have the chance. Homecoming is really going to suck if we have no home to come home to.

The annual NAA general body meeting will be held this Friday @ 2PM in the chapel. Will you be there?

Shaw University Homecoming Brunch Cancelled – Bad Timing or Running Scared?

Every year during Shaw’s homecoming, a gathering of nearly a thousand Shaw University alumni, friends and supporters come together for a full blown pre-game celebration complete with live music, great food and fellowship during the annual Willie Gary and Lorenzo Williams Shaw University Homecoming Brunch.

Shaw Bears look forward to taking pictures next to a life-sized cutout of Shaw’s homegrown superstar Chairman Gary, the viewing of the” Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous” flavored video presentation highlighting Willie’s success story (which we all know the script by heart) and a high spirited musical rendition of Ben E. King famed hit, “Stand By Me Shaw” with Gary singing lead vocals. This huge shindig has traditionally been on Willie Gary’s dime.

This year, those of us on the Shaw Alumni mailing list were informed of the following:

Homecoming was moved to early October this year due to a ill-fated decision by Shaw’s embattled former President, Dr. Irma McClaurin because of her THREE DAY, $300,000 inauguration had been planned for late October; and she did not want HER spotlight to compete or interfere with Shaw’s 146 year tradition. This was a decision that was made in early January, 2011; and yet every single meeting space in the entire city of Raleigh is “allegedly” unavailable for brunch this Saturday.

While Gary blames “bad timing” on the cancellation of the annual Homecoming Brunch, many people are more compelled to believe that Gary may be running scared. With so many unanswered questions regarding Shaw’s insurance policy and its longtime holder, “Gary Financial“, Willie may have simply made the decision to make himself “unavailable” this year.

Take a moment to read the following summary which was anonymously mailed to various Alumni Chapter Presidents across the country regarding Gary’s Conflict Of Interest:

Also read: WEBSITE OWNED BY GARY FINANCIAL SUDDENLY DISAPPEARS FROM CYBERSPACE

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