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!