Morehouse President Throws "Hissy Fit", But NOT Over Genarlow Wilson
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 7:00AM The Blogmother In case you don't frequent twitter, you might have missed last week's uproar over an article published by VIBE ( is it still a magazine? I thought they went bankrupt). The article is called "The Mean Girls of Morehouse"
“We respect the identity and choices of all young men at Morehouse,” Dr. Bynum said via email. “However, the Morehouse leadership development model sets a certain standard of how we expect young men to dress, and this attire does not fit within the model. Our proper attire policy expresses that standard.”
Diamond now attends American InterContinental University, majoring in fashion marketing and design. “I want to, like, teach at Parsons. Or you know, maybe even in London—who knows?”
Although it has never been officially confirmed, it’s not too far off the mark to believe that those “five students” at whom the appropriate attire policy was directed included Diamond and his crew, the Plastics. The group is loosely made up of seven or eight former and current Morehouse students, some of whom share a modest townhouse in Atlanta. Their name is a nod to the A-list crowd depicted in the 2004 movie Mean Girls. VIBE
Well anywhoo, the President of Morehouse College didn't take too kindly to the article... before he even read it.
Next week, Vibe magazine, a hip-hop music and culture monthly, will publish in their October/November issue an article on Morehouse. I strongly disagree with the likely substance of this article and wanted to write to you directly to share my views.
The article, entitled, “The Mean Girls at Morehouse,” purports to examine the lives of some of our gay brothers as it relates to the enforcement of our appropriate attire policy we enacted a year and a half ago. It seems clear from the headline alone that the Vibe editorial team’s intent is to sensationalize and distort reality for the purpose of driving readership. The title of the article speaks volumes about a perspective that is very narrow and one that is, in all likelihood, offensive to our students whether gay or straight.
As president of this institution, as a Morehouse graduate and as a father, I am insulted by what is to be published. Addressing our young men as “girls” is deeply disturbing to me, no matter what the remainder of the article may say. Morehouse has for 140 years developed men—men who are equipped to live and contribute to an increasingly diverse, global and complex world. President Franklin
This is the same President that embraced convicted statutory rapist Genarlow Wilson with open arms after Mr. Wilson and five of his buddies passed around a 14 year old girl like she was a bowl of spinach dip at the Outback Steakhouse. This was after he and his buddies engaged in a group sex act with an unconscious 17-year-old and videotaped it.
“And we are delighted to now welcome into the fold a very promising young brother who had a very difficult start, but we expect to have a terrific finish,” Franklin said of Wilson. Source
Here's the deal, there are only a handful of male students at Morehouse that choose to dress in fashions one might associate with women, however, it is also true that the university enacted a dress code for the SOLE PURPOSE of discriminating against these students. So while the number of students ( is "cross dressing" politically correct?) wearing clothing one might associate with women's clothing is tiny, the University's response merits attention. Now to those who say it is a University's responsibility to teach children how to dress, I would agree IF that was imposed UNIFORMLY. Don't insult my intelligence by telling me that the dress code was for any other purpose than to target this group of students.
If you're offended by a man wearing high heels, I'm offended by men wearing their pants belted at their knees with their underwear showing. I'm offended by men who wear white socks with flip flops and basketball shorts. I don't see anybody whining about men with cornrows or walking around with pink rollers in their hair. #justsaying
P.S. and yes, I never miss an opportunity to correct the narrative on Genarlow Wilson. I'll be 105 years old blogging about how Black folks in Georgia threw two Black girls under the bus to save a predator just because he was MALE.
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Reader Comments (39)
While I usually agree with your point of view, I don't understand why Morehouse's dress standards are of any interest to people who don't attend Morehouse. It seems like an internal issue and of no concern to non-attendees.
I wasn't aware that Morehouse accepted an admitted rapist (Genarlow) as a student and agree with you that this was wrong. There is nothing in what this rapist did that should be forgiven or overlooked -- he should still be in jail.
The dress code made news. Someone decided to figure out what the whole dressing like a woman bit is about - when u realize it was targeted at 5-10 students - well thats REALLY news.
This is a classic case of black folk homophobia run amok. And the president should have set his trap 'cause if he would have never enacted the discriminatory policy in the first place bo one would be writing VIBE articles about it.
Sigh. Generalow Wilson case isn't that black and white and you know it. You can be mad at someone being found not guilty of rape (which he was) but hell that happens every day - blame the jurors for believing having sex with a passed out girl isn't rape.
As far as the rest 15/18 being statutory rape is a push - AND Georgia has laws on the books for that sort of thing BUT they chose to try him under laws meant for pedophiles - hence the drama - it was excessive and deserved to be addressed EVEN if the young man at the center of it all isn't a poster child for good guy behaviour.
Just came across this post and thought I'd chime in. I read the VIBE article. I am a Spelman College grad C'08. Honestly Morehouse is private institution that upholds a certain standard. The same as Harvard or any other private institution. The dresscode at Morehosue was not made specifically for the "cross dressers" it was also made for young men who chose to wear pajamas to class or dress down in baggy clothes. Spelman College also has a policy about wearing head scarfs and pajamas etc to class. These schools are DEEPLY rooted in tradition and religion etc. Students are aware of this BEFORE you attend. In their free time they can wear heels or WHATEVER it is that they like, but when you step onto CAMPUS...it is a place of EDUCATION and leadership...you set the bar for those around you and to dress as such is UNACCEPTABLE...ANYWHERE. These are among the top ranked schools in the country. This isn't your run of the mill high school. You wouldn't dress that way to church or to an interview or anything professional...in the AUC coming to class/school is held in the same regards. While people may sit and say let them wear what they want I disagree. Ths is the REAL world...however fancy and free you want to be on your own time is fine and dandy but during certain occasions you dress the part. Coming to class, interviews, etc...u dress the part. Even at Spelman...there was no discriminating against women who chose to dress more manly. But they were not walking around sagging and such. At Spelman you are also not walking across the stage with hot pink or green hair. They dressed respectfully and during convocation and other traditional events they wore dresses and flesh toned stockings. If you don't like what the school stands for and the principles that it upholds don't go. It ain't for everybody you are the example and you set a bar. He's better off at AIU and I wish him the best. But people are so judgemental and ready to point fingers at Morehouse but I support their decision and stand behind it firmly. Get over it. If your lawyer walks in the coiurt room with heels on would you take him seriously? Or your doctor or whoever for that matter? EXACTLY. There is a time and a place for everything and that is NOT the place. It is a place of education. Get over it.
The "PRESIDENT" of the college has a fundamental misunderstanding about sexuality and sexual identity. That lapse in perspective aside, I'm a bit ambivalent about this.
On one hand, Morehouse's academic reputation is in need of attention MORE than a silly dress code. I mean if the students, faculty , and administration are so easily distracted by 8 men out of a few thousand wearing heels and make-up, they probably shouldn't be in a college in thye first place. The other thing is that Morehouse has a penchant for harboring criminals like Genarlow, but even more recently, a gun-toting criminal by the name of Joshua Brandon Norris, who not only shot a fellow Morehouse student 3 times, but was known for being a habitual trouble maker. Joshua almost killed his victim, but was allowed to return to classes at Morehouse and even allowed to graduate. He did no jail time. Morehouse had a SAVAGE among its student body and somehow a man wearing pumps is a bigger distraction than a man who would have committed murder.
So walking around in pumps and a purse seems pretty docile compared to all of the other isht that happens involving Morehouse "men".
On the other hand, it's a private institution with a LARGE gay population with a very PUBLIC homophobic reputation, yet black gay men are clamoring to get in there. In the same way that black churches pimp gay people for their gifts and talents while disrespecting them for who they are, black gay folks seem to be attracted to homophobia.
Patricia, Morehouse is a Private institution, but when their dress codes was created to selectively discriminate against 8 people, that's just plain wrong.
I'm rambling now, but wanted to fire off a response. I'll be a little more articulate when I'm not so rushed. Thanks for posting this Gina.
The issue isn't Morehouse's RIGHT to enact a dress code - yes they are a private institution they can do as they please - BUT the idea that no one hast the RIGHT to question said (obviously discriminatory) policy is the issue here.
Folk were going after the ladies who wrote the article for "painting Morehouse in a bad light" and whatnot. Saying this wasn't News - and they weren't good writers and should be ashamed saying bad things 'bout HBCU's and whatnot.
BUT no one seems to understand that when u do dumb stuff - like create and ENTIRE dress code policy aimed at less the one half percent of the student body - you're liable to draw attention to yourself.
SO please stop with the "Morehouse has a RIGHT." Yeah we get that, And the rest of and the media have a RIGHT to talk about it as well.
@Patricia, they didn't just admit Genarlow Wilson they gave him a full four-year scholarship.
I've noticed this too and wondered about it. Some of my gay friends have said that they don't feel accepted in the white gay community because of racism. So basically it's black folk or nothing. I've never understood why black gays don't just create their own community, but since I'm not gay maybe I'm missing something there. I can understand wanting to be accepted and needed, but I can't imagine sitting in a church pew week after week while a preacher spews venom against who and what I am. And I certainly can't imagine paying money to attend a school that treats me so shabbily. I understand it in the context of an inferiority complex, but man it makes me want to shake the foolywang out of some people.
Why create a policy for what amounts to an anectdotal experience, particularly when the school VIOLATES its own student conduct standards?
And while Morehouse might be a private institution, it like most HBCUs would not and COULD not exist without the generosity if US Taxpayers. So even if I don't attend school there, I have a say about what goes on there because I pay taxes in this country and my tax dollars are going to work to support a school that houses RAPISTS and MURDERERS.
Wearing pumps HARDLY causes anyone the type of Pain that Wilson and Norris have caused others. I wish the government had the cajones to cut them off of the government teet. They would last more than 2 years.
@ Gina, I thought Vibe was in some type of bankrupt situation too!!!
Seems like a "Don't ask, don't tell" issue. I agree with the school's president and Jay. I guess Vibe got tired of dedicating every other article to Jay-z, tupac, and biggie.
@ Bro. BlkSeaGoat and Sis. Roslyn, TELL THE TRUTH AND SHAME THE DEVIL!!
Especially about the "brother" who shot and wounded the other student.
OH MY HOW FAR WE SLAVES HAVE COME. :( :( :(
@ Roslyn--I agree!
Now, examine the mentality of black women who stay in black churches and predominantly black communities that both exploit and abuse them and you have your answer to why black gay folk are attracted to homophobia. They're looking for acceptance, validation and protection in institutions and among people that do NOT want them.
Joshua Norris supposedly came from a powerful family that is why he was able to return and basically got a slap on the wrist from the justice system.
Homophobic or not ,a black gay man has a better chance of snagging a date at church or Morehouse than the local art school, so of course then will continue to flock to those institutions.
And why is Morehouse and black colleges constantly being attacked? You go to any campus and there is similar dirt being done. There are rapist, women beaters and drug dealers at any given college campus. As for the dress code, the also banned "hood attire" like baggy pants and doo rags, that can be argued as classist but I guess people agree with that.
The Morehouse dress code does address everyone. There is a ban on sagging pants and doo-rags, among other things. The problem comes into play with the ENFORCEMENT of the dress code. It is very selective. I don't have a problem with Morehouse's dress code, but they need to enforce it ALL THE TIME for EVERYBODY.
Not sure what happened to my comment, so I'm posting again....
Morehouse's dress code does apply to all students. There are bans against sagging pants and doo-rags, among other things. The problem arises in the enforcement of the policy. It is very selective. I don't have a problem with the dress cod, but ALL parts of the dress code must be enforced ALL the time for EVERYBODY.
Roslyn,
I am gay and I have no idea why black LGBTs haven't jumped ship along with the other black folks who have sense.
I meant the racism of the larger, more mainstream white gay community is apparent, but at least you know where you stand with them and you're not compromising yourself in order to be a part of them. But sitting up in an institution that supposed to build one up, but all the while you're being torn down is CRAZY.
I have stopped trying to figure it out. I just wanna be happy and gay and left the hell alone, but treated with the samee respect and dignity a straight black man would get. The sooner the black community realizes that BLACK LGBTs are NOT the enemy to black survival or SIN incarnate or trying to convert straight people to gay ones, the better off we'll be.
Until that point I am redefining my black experience. Morehouse is still WRONG.
Those students should sue the +$%& out of Morehouse! If I were the mom of one of those students, I'd sue and make sure they pay for my child's college education, BIG TIME! And with all these violent hate crimes against LGBTQ folks, the tragic suicides, etc., WTH is Morehouse thinking about? And negro please, don't talk about how Dr. King went to Morehouse, would be disappointed, etc. Dr. King and Mother Coretta would be MOST disappointed at the hustlers in the CRIC, certain members of the extended family and perhaps one or two of their own children! YES, I WENT THERE!!!! :( :(
MommieDearest wrote:
The Morehouse dress code does address everyone. There is a ban on sagging pants and doo-rags, among other things. The problem comes into play with the ENFORCEMENT of the dress code. It is very selective. I don't have a problem with Morehouse's dress code, but they need to enforce it ALL THE TIME for EVERYBODY.
And that's the key point.
When this new of the dress code appeared earlier this year on WAOD, there was a lot of approval. The sad truth is that there are NO standards in the Black community regarding dress so Morehouse's code was justly applauded as gutsy. Even homosexual bloggers like Sandra Rose admitted that Morehouse students would be taken seriously if they dressed like professional men:
http://sandrarose.com/2009/10/morehouse-under-fire-for-asking-black-men-to-be-men/
So, I'd advise Morehouse to enforce their dress code equally and then tell the PC police to take a hike.
And while Morehouse might be a private institution, it like most HBCUs would not and COULD not exist without the generosity if US Taxpayers. So even if I don't attend school there, I have a say about what goes on there because I pay taxes in this country and my tax dollars are going to work to support a school that houses RAPISTS and MURDERERS.
Two flaws in your position.
First, even colleges that condone crossdressing and homosexuality still have rapists and murderers. So, ending Morehouse's reasonable dress code would not result in a utopia of peace and tolerance. The places of higher learning are reflections of the increasingly violent larger society so Morehouse is sadly not unique.
Second, there are a lot of states that don't buy the "homosexuality is the same as race" argument and this is reflected in their laws. Hence, residents of those states can declare that private institutions that break the law should have their funding cut. See Virginia as an example.
Just something to think about.
Fred,
Actually, the institutions of higher learning in the state of VA have refused to buckle to the Attorney General's sanctioning of homophobia. Morehopuse didn't have a dress code before and what standards existed were NOT enforced. You keep clinging to the hypocrisy which is black homophobia. I'll cling to the truth.
OH look, the Genarlow Wilson defenders are RILED! Good! Anyone who thinks six men having sex with an unconscious girl is "permissible" is perverted. The spam filed is getting fed this morning!
Ms. McCauley you're misrepresenting the facts.
One girl was very much conscious when she performed oral sex on five guys.
Genarlow Wilson performed oral sex on a girl whom he said was conscious and she claims she wasn't..
He was aquitted. IN GEORGIA.
BTW, why is it that the only black men you don't hate are drag queens?
LMAO!@Patricia Kaydens first comment hahahahahahaha I couldn't get any further into reading the comments after I read hers.LOL's She just basically said this aint none of your damn business Gem so stay out of it!LOOOOOOOLLL's
Okay no, but in all seriousness we at WAOD are always up in somebody else's biiizzzness.
This was blatant discrimination if they let everybody else dress however they want.That's it. Point blank. And I take it personally because since I have been focused on uplifting & empowering myself and other black women,as men go,there has been mostly only gay men(not to be confused with DL men),and not just BSG,who have stood in support of me.I can't sit back and watch gay black men get picked on.They out of all the strange black men I come across are the most nice acting towards me.
Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere,Patricia.*rolls eyes and lol's*
uptownsteve,
So because a 14-15 year old girl was conscious when she was raped by a bunch of 17 and 18 year olds, SHE'S the problem? The other thing is that Gina NEVER misrespresented anything. She NEVER said both GIRLS were unconscious. In any case RAPE is still RAPE, conscious or not. Chile Please. *blank stare* Damn you're trifling.
Turth, I see you. LOL. Behave.
Well just for completely LYING about the facts in the Genarlow Wilson case, that means we are going to get an Entire post dedicated to reacquainting people with those facts not in dispute, and they are hardly NOBEL or worthy of a scholarship anywhere.
Hummmm-mm, some people say people of African descent are the most homophobic; some say that's not true, but I swear sometimes I just don't know. Some of the madness and confusion some of us try to justify in the name of "Blackness", "African traditions and culture", etc., is just trifling, foul and just plain wrong.
Out of all the things going on in the Atlanta metro area, why Morehouse chooses this issue is just sadly misquided.
Ok, so can Morehouse offer a full scholarship to the four young brothers Bishop Eddie Wrong sexually exploited?
Can Spelman or Bennet College or Bethune Cookman offer full scholarships to the young women Genarlow Wilson, et.al., raped or the young women of the New Jersey Four? Naw, too much like the right thing to do to actually do it, huh? :( :(
RMA,
And that's the rub, right there. All of these pseudo "activists" are running around town trying to opress other marginalized groups instead of uniting with them for the greater good. Instead of acknowledging the wrongheadness of this latest move to keep homophobia alive at Morehouse, we have people coming into this thread, women included, who defend their bad acts by the circular justification of "well white folks do it too"!
Add to that the stupid black christians who make the Pharisees look like mother Teresa, and then finally the rape sympathizers who jump at every chance they get to engage in black male protectionism.They willingly come to this blog KNOWING full well they aren't welcomed and at some point will get their @ss handed to them, by Gina, you, Khadijah, Roslyn, Truth, Pecola, Betty, etc. but they show up ANYWAY in force to obscure reality.
Chile Please.
I just don't get it. Sometimes I literally want no parts of black folk at all. *SIGH*
This is an old article, but Morehouse has a BIG problem with homophobia: http://www.villagevoice.com/2003-08-12/news/homos-101/
BlkSeaGoat wrote:
Fred,
Actually, the institutions of higher learning in the state of VA have refused to buckle to the Attorney General's sanctioning of homophobia. Morehopuse didn't have a dress code before and what standards existed were NOT enforced. You keep clinging to the hypocrisy which is black homophobia. I'll cling to the truth.
I'm aware that the VA schools are being defiant. So, if they were TRULY righteous, they would be willing to accept having their funding cut and look to private donors. Instead they want to have their cake and eat it to.
Unlike Dr. King, homosexual activists don't want to suffer any real personal losses (financial, reputation, etc.) in breaking a law they declare is unjust. That's hardly standing by your principles.
@ Fred, ARE YOU SERIOUS? LGBTQ community organizers do many things, work on many issues, not just "gay rights." They (and their straight allies) always run the risk of serious personal losses, such as lost of life, threats of violence, verbal harassment, vandalism to their homes or cars, harassment of their children, friends, co-workers, other family members, etc. But I guess you wouldn't know anything about that, huh?
So Fred, I'm sure there are some principles you are willing to stand by; what, do tell, are they? PLEASE SHARE! :( :(
So the President of Morehouse college didn't read the article but makes a public statement about it? wow...
This guy is really competent...
If you can't express yourself freely in college, when can you?
I think one of the things I hated most about my HBCU experience is the paternalistic attitude of the administration. It's as if their job is to train students to be bourgeois clones perfectly tailored for lower and middle management. I think that is why some graduates from HBCUs are hired before black graduates from traditionally white state schools. Employers know they have nothing to fear: these negroes don't even dream about the executive suite.
Surely, the president of Morehouse knows that innovators and trailblazers rarely fit in a box-they break the mold.
Instead of attempting to change the manner in which these young men dress why not encourage boldness and excellence and a full throttle pursuit of their goals.
" It's as if their job is to train students to be bourgeois clones perfectly tailored for lower and middle management. I think that is why some graduates from HBCUs are hired before black graduates from traditionally white state schools. Employers know they have nothing to fear: these negroes don't even dream about the executive suite."
- Thats harsh and I would tend to disagree but, when I think about how with some business school majors at HBCU's it may indeed be a bit more regimented. All a part of training the particular brand of students to not break out of any stereotypical mode of a business professional. Not sure if allowing male students to wear hills and pumps to class would show innovation though ;-)
I do remember my mother who is a HBCU gradate from the 50's telling me about an incident that happen on campus. A female student walked in on her roommate and another female student being intimate. She talked about it, told everyone about it in fact. The two female students left school and the student who talked so much about was sent home herself.
Today I would dare say that would not happen but, thats not to say that things have completely improved.
To be honest, I don’t have any feelings one way or the other about the Morehouse thing. As for Genarlow Wilson, I’ll say this: While he deserved to be punished for what he did, you can’t deny the fact that the DA screwed him by using a law that was meant to prosecute adult men and he used it on a guy who was only 2 years older than the girl. They also worded the case to make it look like statutory rape was the more serious of the two charges.
Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't Genarlow Wilson convicted of statutory rape primarily because it was a WHITE female who performed oral sex on him and his friends? Wasn't the reason so many people defended him because they thought that if the 15 year old was not white, he would not have been tried/convicted??
@christina YOU'RE WRONG. You are thinking of Marcus Dixon. Genarlows victims were both African American girls. I know there are so many statutory rapes going on, its hard for you to keep them all straight. But feel free to attempt to inject race into the issue to avoid the unescapable truth that we think Black girls don't deserve protection .
My bad, I had just recently seen his name come up in an online discussion about white women falsely accusing Black men of rape, and when I googled it, I found this Apparently the information in the article is wrong. And my intention was not to negate or avoid the fact that Black women/girls deserve protection, I simply was attempting to clarify.
Sorry though, I think that if the Georgia law says that intercourse between a 15 year old and a 17 year old is OK, then oral sex should be as well. As for the charges of raping an unconscious girl, yes that is dead wrong. But if a 15 year old can consent to intercourse with a 17 year old, it makes no sense that she cannot consent to oral sex. And I am not saying that it is appropriate or respectful for multiple boys to get oral sex from her, but I do not think it is statutory rape if intrercourse isn't.
Look up the word "statutory." Speeding is speeding if the STATUTE says so. The statute defines what the bad act is, not your personal opinion about whether older men and boys should be held accountable.
OK, and the law has been changed. It was kind of ridiculous that he would not have been charged if they had intercourse, which obviously can have more consequences, because intercourse between a 15 year old and a 17 year old was perfectly legal. And they have corrected the law so that now the romeo and juliet clause covers oral sex.
Just because something is a law does not make it right, and obviously the state of georgia figured that out. In many states oral sex is completely against the law, as is premarital sex. Should those statutes be enforced as well???
And didn't the video tape actually show the 17 year old was not unconscious??
Again, what they did was disrespectlful, but not necessarily criminal, imo
Christina, You're such a disgusting liar and clearly aimed at rewriting history. You're probably Genarlow Wilson's mamaThe video tape showed the 17 year old clearly not in control of her mental faculties. She was either highly intoxicated or drugged. The video tape also shows Mr. Wilson and his biddies dragging her out of the bed and throwing her on the bathroom floor after all of them got through with her. You're going to burn in Hell hopefully for trying to come in here and lie about the facts of this case
I don't care about your opinion and what you think is right. The only reason the law got changed was because the two girls were Black and many Black folks don't have any problem with very old men like R Kelly and older boys using and abusing girls. Folks in review here is an account from a lawyer who actually saw the evidence in the case. So you don't have to keep lying on here saying what you heard.