I am NOT stuck on STUPID. My response to Palin's comments about Community Organizers

I am NOT stuck on stupid………..

The plantation and ghetto were created by those who had power, both to confine those who had no power and to perpetuate their powerlessness. The problem of transforming the ghetto, therefore, is a problem of power – confrontation of the forces of power demanding change and the forces of power dedicated to the preserving of the status quo. It is the strength to required to bring about social, political, and economic change….”power is the ability of a labor union like the UAW to make the most powerful corporation in the world, General Motors, say ‘Yes’ when it wants to say ‘No.’ That’s power.”
-Bro. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Where Do WE Go From Here?

I am more convince today than ever before that life is a series events that have already happened and if we befriend time we will one day catch up in fact and find our call – our purpose. My purpose is deeply rooted in my community. At this critical juncture of political and tense partisan divide; a conversation that I care not to indulge is if in fact the Democrats are more concerned for the general welfare of people or if the GOP values and embodies the importance of self-reliance; which most assuredly implores the well used illustration of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. I am not concerned about the sensationalized politics or the embitter game of who has the most experience. I am not concerned about a pregnant teenager or about the color of a candidate’s skin.

What am I concerned about is the challenged indirectly issued to community organizers everywhere tonight by the GOP.

In a move to discredit and devalue the community work of Sen. Obama and make light of the fact that every day ordinary American citizens work in the trenches of their communities have been depreciated by the party of those who have a “monopoly on Patriotism.”

The acclaimed unimportance of being a Community Organizer to me is disheartening and all but short of hypocritical. Yet, they appreciate the “executive experience” of the Governor from Alaska but yet do not find organizing work equally comparable. When it’s quite clear the real change comes from the bottom up and not from the top down.

If the appreciation and importance of having an “executive” position is necessary than I can only imagine how life would be with another “executive” like the same “executive” who sits on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Tonight – trying to correct a wrong that can never be made right (Katrina) and trying to salvage a legacy that was destroyed on Day One.

Tonight I sit in silent tears as I have witnessed the virtual mockery of the years, tears, successes, setbacks and comebacks of the forerunners of the movement for “justice for all”

laughed at by those who know nothing about the common man or the issues he or she may face.
Once again the “Conservatives” have made a spectacle of their internal struggles of not being true to the morals and beliefs they supposedly hold dear use as a solid foundation to be the Party of Lincoln and Reagan.

Since the inception of Mr. Obama’s run for the presidency, the GOP has been pulling old tricks out of the bag of “Fear Politics” using the puppets of Fox News trying to convince Americans that Sen. Obama is of another faith when in fact he has better understanding of the essence of Christianity that many may never get nor understand.

The GOP, known for its moral implications and its Christian rhetoric, seem to have no idea of who they worship or claim to be followers of.

To be a Christian according to most accounts is being identified as the follower of Christ.
How then can we say to profess to be a follower of Christ if we know not the walk of the Messiah or the talk of the Holy One? Only referred to in the New Testament as the “King of the Jews” twice – once two after he was born in lowly manager by the three wise men and again when he was hung on across in between two thieves – was referred more times as the Son of Man. This title illuminates his divine humanity.

A common man raised in the obscure and despised village of Nazareth – known today as on the wrong side of the tracks – took to the streets with the simple mission of liberation and freedom to his community. Encountering no strangers but leading followers with the common belief of changing the world one life at time. Always eating with the “least of these” while exposing the “best of thieves” to include Pharisees and Sadducees – the biblical conservatives. But according to the GOP he had no “real responsibilities.”

The record is clear that the original community organizers are found in between the words of “In the Beginning and the End” - Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Nehemiah and the list goes on - were the foundation of Rev. King’s belief of transformation from the dire symptoms of individualism and the cancerous thoughts of me, myself, and I - now I know why those conservatives have misconstrued views.

After watching tonight’s convention speeches the question resounds more clearly than ever in the ears of Community Organizers across the nation, “Where do we go from here?”

It is clear that after tonight we must not be dismayed or feel any hatred towards those who sit on the wrong side thought.

However it is evident the work must continue lest we found ourselves on the plantations of moral deprivation and in the ghettos of oppression.

The work of must continue on to have the boldness to stand and say “No” to the Status Quo and “Yes” to the will power within each of us to continue this fight to manifest Kennedy’s Dream of the “World as It Should Be.”

The work of must continue in our communities, in our homes, on our campuses, on our jobs, and in our churches to show the forces of darkness that our light of love and compassion for one toward another cannot and will not be hid.

The work must continue on the streets, on the corners, at the bus stops to put into practice the pronouncement of The Teacher “to preach the good news to the poor”

This work must continue as we follow our moral compasses to know that we are all “entangled in the fabric of destiny” that we are our brother and sisters keeper and what happens to one effects us all.

However, today I accept the challenge that as young Community Organizer I must continue my work of “real responsibilities” and one of those responsibilities include ensuring that the “Old Man with the Short Hand” and the “Pit-bull with lipstick” do not take the helms of this ship that we call America for the “eyes of the future are looking back praying” that I see – we see - beyond our own times.

I sit at my table tonight in Raleigh, NC angry not to point of a violent reaction but to a point of solemn action. An action that will in fact bring about the change that each of us can believe in.
A change that will come on this November 4th when you and I, old and young, the rich and poor, black and white, gay and straight, Muslim and Christian, elected official and community organizer stand together and say “NO” to the status quo of the largest corporation on this Earth – the American Government and elect a Community Organizer – Sen. Barack Hussein Obama.

Don’t believe the hype but keep up the fight. The woods are still lovely, deep and dark but there are miles to go before I sleep……….

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: My Historical Reflections

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history……
-Bro. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Its 1:22 in the morning and I find myself still reflecting on yesterday. Even though it was only twenty-three minutes ago History beckons me – no it forces me to a transcendent moment of expression. Yesterday we honored the 45th Anniversary of “The March on Washington.” (The march, the movement was bigger than King or the “I Have a Dream” speech) Yesterday we celebrated the acceptance of the first African-American to receive and accept the nomination of a major American Political Party. However, today we sit, kneel, and work in a quiet mood solemnity as we pay homage those who were lost in the waters of Katrina and to those who are still displaced from their homes.

I am sitting in between Yesterday and Today and thinking what does all of this mean to me?
As I walked into my apartment it finally struck me of what yesterday and Today all meant to me. On my table in my apartment I have my Bible opened to 126 Psalms. Time to time when it seems like I am under the distress of this world and it seems like the words of Langston Hughes’ “Hold Fast to Dreams” have escaped my mental intellect. I reflect on the v.1 where it says,

“When the lord brought back the captives to Zion we were like men who dreamed.” For those unfamiliar with this text; scholars believed that the author was referring to the period of captivity when the Children of Israel were displaced, disenfranchised, and disbursed in the pagan land of Babylon. However, during that time of captivity – a time of disillusionment with no sense of self all they had to hold onto was their dreams.

They held on to dreams of a better tomorrow, a dream of being somebody, a dream of not being subject to oppression but truly experiencing in its essence – Freedom.

When the Lord brought the captives to Zion they were like men who dreamed.
After 400 years of mental anguish, physical enslavement, and suffering from PTSD – Post Traumatic Slave Disorder

When the Creator brought the captives to the March on Washington they were like men who
dreamed.

In 2000 and 2004 many of people that look like you and I votes were not counted and felt cheated, robbed, and disenfranchised.
When the Most High brought Barack Obama in front of 75,000 plus people of all nationalities, race, creed, sexual orientation, and denomination they were – we were – like men, women, boys and girls who dreamed.

Many of people feel as though now the “dream of the Dreamer” has now become a reality. However my Today brought a sobering reality. Today we mark the 3rd Anniversary of a “city lost in water” and yet it seems we forget that there is still work that has to be done- that must be done. Today in Moncure, NC the Woodworkers Local Lodge W369 – an overwhelming majority Black and Latino – is on week six of a strike because of unfairness on the job. Today our brothers and sisters are still faced with genocide in Darfur. Today to be Black in America still plays to the negative stereotype of that is constantly and consistently portrayed by the media and yes ourselves. Today the dropout of our young brothers is still higher than that of any other race.

We are confronted with so much today that seems like our yesterday is presents us with a false sense of hope and that tomorrow is clouded with suspicions of doubt.

However, I submit that we must be like men who dreamed. We must not let this moment of celebration be deciphered as a moment of Arrival. No we have not arrived. We my brother and sisters are still travelling. Yes we may have left the jurisdiction of Jim Crow and may have crossed into the city limits of Progress but we have yet to arrive.

Be skeptical of the media portraying the point of Arrival just as Dr. King was critical of “tokenism” in his book Why We Can’t Wait.

It is not enough to walk around with Obama on a shirt. It is not enough to have a bumper sticker on your car. It is not enough to update your Facebook status to say that you are down with Obama or that you were a witness to history. It is not enough to be a Democrat or a Republican. It is not enough to think that Sen. Barack Hussein Obama will save us from the turmoil and strife we face in America. It is not enough to simply register people to vote.

We must not be lured into thinking that because Obama is young, gifted, and Black that we should not be critical. It is imperative that we register, educate, organize, and mobilize our brothers and sisters and get them to the polls. No one should tell you a sad story or give you a history lesson how someone fought, bleed, and died but you should vote because it is a primary indicator of a FREE American.

Brothers and sisters it is time to be critical. It is a time to return to the original American dream – the Constitution of the United States of America and know without a shadow of doubt that “we the people” can and will change the world – now that’s a change you can believe in. When we dream of that more perfect Union that promotes the general Welfare of all people than and only then will the America that Mr. Obama so eloquently articulated can and will come into fruition.
Tomorrow we must start anew. We must make a commitment not to become involved in the hype of symbolic politics but back to the basics and knowing that we are the “We the People.”

Forty-five years ago, Dr. King asked the simple question "when will we be satisfied?" We will not be satisfied until our Tomorrow looks nothing like our Today and the dreams of Yesterday be the guide for the future that is ahead of us.

Win or lose on November 5th the work must continue – the fight must go on. Our activism, our thirst for change must not be dependent on who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania but it must be because the strength of our moral intellect will not let us rest until Democracy flows from the chambers of the Congress into the halls of local municipalities. We can not rest until the world as it should be is no longer a talking point in speech but is a reality.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep but we have promises to keep and miles to go before we sleep. The struggle continues and beckons us to wake up!


America, we cannot turn back. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise -- that American promise -- and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess
- Sen. Barack Obama

Blast from the Past Part IV: Letter to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Posted on their website www.jointcenter.org

Dear Joint Center Journal:

The reception for Sen. Barack Obama Tuesday (Jan. 22) at S.C. State University (in Orangeburg, S.C.) was filled with excitement, hope, and inspiration. It was evident that young people are committed to his vision for change; many of them waited in the rain, just barely gaining entry into the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. To see my peers standing in line for something other than a party, refund checks, or a concert shows that someone has “the audacity to hope.” This event only highlights the excitement that students have for Mr. Obama versus the other Democratic candidates. The inspiring message that he has to offer -- along with the celebrity surrogates -- brings something fresh and new. I served as the coordinator for “The Justice Speak Out” sponsored by Black Youth Vote, a project sponsored by the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. This was my first major test as an organizer. Working on a tight time schedule, I collaborated with the “movers and shakers” on my campus including the Student Government Association, (SGA), the NAACP and the Pan-Hellenic Council presidents. We also connected with SGAs at other, neighboring HBCU’s including at: Claflin University (in Orangeburg, S.C.) and Voorhees College (in Denmark, S.C.).We canvassed the campus, knocked on doors, did e-mail blasts, posted flyers, used Facebook and made announcements in various classes. In spite of the rain and a last- minute change in location, the turnout for the event was wonderful. More than 150 college students from various schools in South Carolina were represented, as well as a group of students from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Even some the members NCBCP drove from Atlanta.

All who were in attendance were empowered by the words of S.C. Rep. Bakari Sellers, BYV! Co-Chair Chancee Lundy and BET’s Jeff Johnson. Students left feeling empowered and excited about making a difference by having their votes count in the upcoming primaries.Right now, we are in the process of making contact with those in attendance to make sure they go out and vote on Saturday; we are using the information on their pledge cards to reach them. These cards were signed by each person in attendance as a pledge to go out and vote and to make their votes count. Students are approaching this presidential campaign with a different perspective since South Carolina is a key early primary state. There is universal understanding that South Carolina has the power to influence the nomination for either party because of the diversity of South Carolina, with half of the voters being African-American. I believe that the political atmosphere can be sensed on our campus, so many students have no choice but to give some thought to becoming politically engaged due to the many stops made by various presidential campaigns. Even if they aren’t talking about it everyday, there is at least some knowledge on the importance of this upcoming election.

There are some students who volunteer with the local campaign offices; many of them are a short walk from the campus. I think the candidacy for Sen. Obama has inspired a lot of young voters not only because he is African American but also because he brings that same youthful passion that young people felt during the time of John F. Kennedy and when they heard the masterful rhetoric that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used while moving our people towards freedom.Sen. Obama so far has had the best presence on this campus. One of his regional campaign offices is located across the street. His wife has been to our campus and Mr. Obama has visited our campus twice, along with many of his notable surrogates. The other candidates haven’t visited campus except for their participation during the 2007 Democratic Presidential Debate sponsored by NBC. Sen. John McCain has been the only Republican candidate to visit our campus, with little excitement from the students.Political activity on campus is taking a different direction because we are the largest HBCU in the state as well as the only HBCU that is a public institution. A lot of attention is placed upon our school by those who are seriously courting the black youth vote. I think that students finally understand the importance of being politically engaged and the level of political activity is improving. A lot of students from S.C. State participated in the “King Day at the Dome” rally (on Jan. 21).

Despite the extreme cold, many of our fraternities and sororities turned out in large numbers to celebrate the dream while continuing the fight to remove a symbol of hate and bigotry off the grounds of our State Capitol. Few students attended the (Democrats’) debate (in Myrtle Beach, S.C.) because of the distance as well as inability to gain entry into the event because of not having a ticket. While those who volunteered with various campaigns were in the area, many students watched the debates in their rooms

Blast from the Past III: Jena Six Reflections.....Lord I was Glad to be in the NUMBER!

Back on the Bus Again: The Resurrection of the Struggle

I have always wondered what it would be like take a pilgrimage or go on a search to become connected spiritually and mentally to the “big picture” or as a simple part to a whole. Many of the great leaders and theologians that I have study each took their own individual journey to find moral significance as it pertains to life. El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X) and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. each took pilgrimages to their Holy Land affiliated with their religions and trod in paths as thousands had done before them .
On Thursday, September 20, 2007 I, Deven D. Anderson took my pilgrimage. No, I didn’t travel to Mecca to stand in awe at the “Dome on the Rock” or even to take a spiritual dip in the Jordan River where Jesus the Christ was baptized by John the Baptist. However, I along with thousands of thousands of other brothers and sisters sojourned to Jena, Louisiana not simply to march or chant but to emphasize and to illustrate the word “unity” in community.
I can only imagine that the ancestors were smiling down with pride while down below Jim Crow rolled in his grave as 24 college students both black and white gathered in the K Parking Lot on the campus of the College of Charleston to begin the road trip down to the Jena Six Rally in Jena, La. I must admit riding in a 15 passenger van for more than 13 hours in the late hours of the night and on into the wee hours of the morning can be an interesting ride. Passing through Atlanta and Birmingham and seeing exit signs leading to Montgomery, these were the battlegrounds of the Civil Rights Movement; I felt as though I was a 21st Century Freedom Rider but more importantly I felt like a pilgrim.
Upon our arrival into Louisiana we were greeted by the sights of a chain gang adorning the outdated black and white striped jail suit picking up trash and then observing numerous cotton fields where our ancestors worked and slaved. I could have sworn I saw the spirits and the worn faces of our ancestors who toiled in those fields waving and cheering us on as we passed and I knew I was on my pilgrimage.
Arriving in Jena was an experience in itself. After passing the welcome sign that said, “Welcome to Jena a nice place to call home” I felt anywhere but home. Everywhere you turned there was nothing but signs on the door that read “closed” but some took it even further to write “closed” in big white letters on the windows as if there wasn’t a sign already in the door. Passing by trailers and brick homes all that could be seen were cars in the yard but it seemed as if no one was home. We had the town shut down and on lock! Now that’s Black Power! Then the words of a spiritual rung in my ears “Lord I am pilgrim and a stranger and traveling this o’foreign land.”
The brothers and sisters in Jena, La were an accurate depiction of Black America. Muslims, Christians, the Black Panthers, SCLC, NAACP, HBCUs, numerous civic and social organizations were represented with Blacks and Whites marching and chanting “No Justice No Peace!” As we marched to the Lafayette Parish Courthouse we began to sing the songs of old bringing old feelings of the days of Civil Rights Movement to our elders who marched along with us. Generations coming together, it seems as though in Jena a torch or baton was being passed to my generation to now carry what was started long before us. We were swamped in a crowd with people everywhere, only enough room to breathe in between you and those surrounding you all while standing listening to speakers ranging from the Darryl Matthews, General President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. to the grandmother of Mychal Bell to Ricky Smiley leading the crowd in a rousing rendition of an old Negro spiritual.
I happened to meet an elder from Detroit, Michigan who was with his young grandson when he made the most profound statement I am stuck in the middle of humanity. The concept that all these people representing the various races, creed, nationalities, religion, socioeconomic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and institutions of higher learning were physically packed together in front of the courthouse but spiritually this elder was in the middle humanity and the best it had to offer. It was then I realized that this issue is not just a black issue but it’s a human issue and that I have reached the peak in my pilgrimage.
There is so much more to be said but restraints will not permit. However, I will forever cherish the essence in the feeling of family while in Jena. No matter who you were or where you were from everyone was treated as a brother or a sister. I still smile at the fact that people from California and from other places taken pictures with our group as if we were celebrities. But it was not the fact that were celebrities we were group of young people who sacrificed and recognized that it was time for us to get back on the bus and to resurrect the struggle. One the most moving scenes on the way home was passing a Harley Davidson motorcycle club and one the drivers pulled ahead of us and threw up six fingers representing the Jena Six and even though we never met the driver or will never know who he is on that particular evening we had a connection, a family connection.
Now 12 days later the last of the Jena Six is free, Mr. Bush has finally made statements in regards to this atrocity, and now mostly everyone in the world knows that racial inequality still exists and that we have resurrected the struggle. Peace and Blessings.

Blast from the Past Pt. II

The Rise of Garnet and Blue Complacency

It was thought to be the beginning of a regular school day at this particular institution of higher learning in a small rural town. The early dawn enriched by the cool crispness of the air was typical of an early March morning in the South. However, to the surprise of a young student photographer and many of his colleagues, all thoughts of a “regular” school day was interrupted by the remains of an effigy hanging from a tree in front of the home that was occupied by the president of this particular college. Prior to the arrival of the student photographer, the students of the college participated in a “ritual lynching” of an effigy that was a representation of the institution’s president for his conservatism and unwavering loyalty to the “ALL WHITE” Board of Trustees that governed this historical black institution instead of his constituency – the students.
However, on that March morning in 1956 marked the beginning of the evolution of student activism. This new movement was birth on the campus of what was then known as South Carolina State College today known around the global community as South Carolina State University. The student photographer was Cecil Williams and Dr. Benner C. Turner was president of the college. Can you imagine this took place four years before the infamous Greensboro sit-ins and yet many students of SC State do not know that loyal sons and daughters were the architects of modern student activism?
Fifty-one years of have passed since that early dawn morning and through the annals of time our cherished grooves and classic halls have stood witness to the Orangeburg Massacre and most recently the first debate of the 2008 Presidential Election. But with all these historical milestones what has happened to the rich heritage of student activism? Where does being a student activist or being a progressive thinker fit in an era of rude social behavior that is seen and imitated by those who view the programming that is offered by Black Exploitation Television? And it baffles me that 21st Century collegians allow social atrocities and injustices like the Jena Six to occur and still yet find the time to learn how to “Crank dat” or learn the other numerous dances that make “us” appear as the modern black face Sambo?
No longer do we feel that “we are all in this together” but now it’s “every man for his or her self.” At the start of this academic year amid the concerns and upheaval concerning housing it was commonly heard among our seasoned brothers and sisters that “as long as I have somewhere to lay my head then I’m good.” But what about those hundreds of students who did not have housing and were victims of the mismanagement caused by this institution’s administration? Yet, the first thing that majority of us as students and administrators use as a recruiting tool is that we are all members of the Bulldog Family and yet new members of our family are escorted out by the police with unanswered questions and there are those other members of our family that air our dirty laundry on the nightly local news. Just maybe this all fits in with the “New State of Mind?”
What if Fred Moore, Henry Monteith Turner, Samuel Hammond, Henry Smith, Delano Middleton, Cleveland Sellers, and the numerous other students who made up the Orangeburg Freedom Movement decided that risking their education that their parents paid for and more importantly their lives for other people but mainly for those generations yet to come was not worth it? What if they all operated under the “every man for his or her self” mentality?
Its amazing how the SCSU Chapter of the NAACP struggles to have an active and involve membership but over fifty years ago there was a South Carolina law that made it illegal for faculty members of this institution and similar colleges across this state to be members of this civil rights organization but the faculty members did not let that stopped their activism. Dr. Benner Turner discouraged the students of SC State from participating with the NAACP but yet that did not deter them from their movement of student activism.
In 2007 there no South Carolina laws or any known discouragement from today’s administration from joining the SCSU Chapter of the NAACP so where are the students? Why is every meeting after the first meeting empty? Most assuredly when “aspirants” attempt to join a fraternity or sorority they use FALSE information, this is evident when asked the question “What on campus activities are you most involved with?” Top answers for that particular question include being a member of the NAACP and/or Student Government Association. Paying your membership dues and SGA Activity Fee does not make an individual an active and involve member. However what makes an active and involve member is when that individual moves forward the vision of the organization and is actively advancing the organization’s agenda.
With the rise of complacency individuals become comfortable and settle for mediocrity never challenging the powers that be for the quality service and for excellence that is expected. One of sign of being complacent is compliance. During the years of the institution of slavery, the slaves were compliant due to fear of being whipped. What fears do we have that we can’t challenge the system be it local, state, or national? Settling for mediocrity now during undergraduate years may result in the settling of mediocrity, social atrocities, and injustices in the real world. We are the next generation, we are the next alumni of this institution, we are the next professionals, we are the next elected officials, and most importantly we are the future.
If I based our future off watching the negative images portrayed by the media or even entertain the discussion on whether someone is black enough to become the next President of the United States of America in the 21st Century I would say we are doomed. But we must make up in our minds to fight beyond the distractions and traps that have been set for us and pick up the baton in the marathon life passed by those student activists of the days of old and simply fight the power! The late Civil Rights activist Ms. Rosa Parks said, “When people made up their minds that they wanted to be free and took action, then there was change.” As collegians in order for us to see change in Bulldog Country, South Carolina, and the United States of America we must make up our minds that we want change and then take action! If we can be faithful to the meltdowns, parties, and the local clubs than why can’t be faithful to the NAACP, Student Government Association, and other progressive awareness groups because these are the organizations that allow us to enjoy the freedoms of life and we reap the fruits of these organizations’ labor. Wake up….

Blast from the PAST (Freshmen Year)

Where are the DAWGS that bleed garnet and blue?
Written by Deven D. Anderson
Published Spring 2004
The Collegian: Published by SC State Students since 1914


While listening to the many alumni of South Carolina State that bleed “garnet and blue” and reminisce on days past, I wanted to turn back the hands of time to those glorious and lively days of SC State. I wanted to go back to a time when the real meaning of partying consisted of partying all-night as a celebration for completing assignments and functioning properly for class the next morning. I wanted to venture back to the State that provided on campus activities that made campus the central hang out for all students. I wanted to take a journey to a place where the students united in one voice and protested if injustice arose. I wanted to travel back to the South Carolina State University where riding the loop was common past time and freshmen attending their 1:00 p.m. “Crab Lab” (University 101) were teased by the upper classmen who routinely positioned themselves along the wall in front of the Café. I wanted to take a pilgrimage back to a “STATE” that stressed academic excellence and produced great leaders such United States Congressman James E. Clyburn and our ninth President Dr. Andrew Hugine Jr.

When I blinked my eyes, realization forced me to comprehend that time is a nonrenewable resource and that events of the past can only come alive through memories, unless, there is a revival of the conscience mind causing a manifestation of the past into the present. Now that is the 21st Century, have the traditions of the “Garnet and Blue” evolved into something that is no longer appreciated by 5,000 students? Have the traditions changed and become more modern or has the today’s Bulldog Spirit been transformed into enjoying the “high” society of the Plaza, the degradations of academic buildings, and the low attendance at historical events, such as the President’s Inauguration and Founder’s Day. Year after year, students return with a lost interest in the institution. They spend the next four, five, seven, or even eight years as if they had been sentenced to “cruel” and “unusual” punishment.

Students complain about how run down and torn up the residence halls, academic buildings, and campus scenery seems to be, but what do they do to help improve the situation? The students, being the civilized individuals they are, throw trash on the grounds, commit inhumane acts throughout Bethea and leave litter on the President’s lawn. Nevertheless, students have the audacity to consistently complain about how terrible they consider the University to be. When asked to attend Fall Convocation, Founder’s Day, and other cultural events students come late and leave early (the eat and run mentality). When students do attend events, cell phones rang and are answered with no remorse, while the dress code seems to have transformed from casual business wear into jeans and t-shirts. Some students at SC State demoralize the real essence of and importance of Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium and the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center by confusing these sacred establishments with the atmosphere of local clubs or hangouts. But where is that good ole’ Bulldog Spirit? Has it evolved into a detrimental rabid dog that destroys, destructs, and cares nothing about its surroundings? Or has the Bulldog Spirit become something of times past?

Through our years of progression the Bulldog Spirit has been tainted. The good ole’ days of the past are now days rarely remembered. South Carolina State University is in serious need of a revival. Students need to stop complaining and start reclaiming the legacy that thousands of alumni are still holding dear. Why not bring life back to campus of SC State and restore it as the central hangout? Why not attend campus events that will strengthen your cultural awareness? Give me that ole’ Bulldog Spirit! It was good for President Hugine. It was good for the First Lady. It was good for the many alumni and it’s certainly good enough for me!!!
WE are the University! Revive the perpetual Bulldog Spirit that can be found in loyal, true, garnet and blue tenacious bulldogs. WE, the students, need to embrace the vision of Dr. Andrew Hugine Jr. and contribute to rebuilding the wall, by sealing the bricks of loyalty with the mortar and clay of devotion. Then and only then, will we declare that we are loyal sons and daughters proud to own the name we bea

Guess whose back?!

Wow! Its been quite awhile since the last time I have posted. The next few postings will be writings that I were submitted to my Alma Mater's (YES! I Graduated) newspaper, The Collegian but never published. Tell me what you think!

So what, I Googled my name......

This is kind of an awkward beginning or rather interesting introduction of myself to the cyberworld through a blog. So here I am sitting in class (6:39 p.m.) not paying attention (yeah I know shame on me...I hope my mom isnt reading this) and I get the crazy idea of googling my name. No this isn't an advertisement or an endorsement (Si Se Puede OBAMA '08) for the ever so popular search engine Google. Most people, including myself, commonly use the search engine to look up origins of words or to become familiar with unfamiliar places, people, or things (yeah you know...nouns). I wondered what kind of odd websites or what other life forms in this ecosystem called "The World" shared my name. Would these "name snatchers" have similar characteristic traits or have the same mission to takeover the world.

So what I found was very INTERESTING to me! There are thirteen or so web results that were linked to me. Most of those articles were from my days when served the great students of South Carolina State University as President of the Student Government Assocation and the more recent results are from my various political activites (can you say Community Organizer) attempting to be "the change that I would like to see in the world." My growth as a young activist is documented from the various interviews with the local media to the most recent news interview by a journalist from Canada. Simply by "Googling" my name I can assess my maturity of thought and now able to celebrate from "whence I came.

"There is the common old adage that says "you got to know who you are to know where you going." Maybe if my people, my brothers and sisters, took the time to "Google" thier name and see who they are maybe our future will be brighter! And of course you may not find Bonquesha Alexis Camisha Johnson but you can "Google" Fannie Lou Hamer, Mary McCleod Bethune, and/or Ida B. Wells. The chances of you recieving results on Pookie "Big Shug" Jackson through this search engine maybe slim to none but you can "Google" Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Marcus Garvey, and/or Denmark Vessey.

The late great Historian, Dr. John Henrik Clarke said, "History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day. It is also a compass that people use to find themselves on the map of human geography. History tells a people where they have been and what they have been, where they are and what they are. Most importantly history tells a people where they still must go, what they still must be. The relationship of history to the people is the same as the relationship of a mother to her child." These individuals and the many unknown ancestors are clear indicators of how great our future maybe only if we take the time to learn our past so that we will not be doomed to repeat those same mistakes.