Greetings Brothers!

In October 1969, Nina Simone recorded her classic song, "To Be Young, Gifted and Black." Simone was one of several gifted artists, writers, and poets who helped define the cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. This group "sought to reconceptualize “the Negro” apart from the white stereotypes that had influenced black peoples’ relationship to their heritage and to each other. They also sought to break free of Victorian moral values and bourgeois shame about aspects of their lives that might, as seen by whites, reinforce racist beliefs."

Simone drew inspiration for "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" from her friend Lorraine Hansberry, writer and playwright, whose unpublished works at the time of her death in 1965 were used as source material for the play by the same name. Actually the play was titled, "To Be Young, Gifted and Black: Lorraine Hansberry in Her Own Words." Hansberry is distinguished for many reasons, in particular, for authoring the play "A Raisin in the Sun." When the play debuted on Broadway in 1959, Hansberry became the first Black female author to have a play performed in the storied theater district.

Hansberry drew inspiration for "A Raisin in the Sun" from a collection of poems written in 1951 by Brother Langston Hughes titled, "Montage of A Dream Deferred," in which Hughes writes:

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

"A Raisin in the Sun" was significant because it reflected in art the real-life struggle on the part of Black people in post Jim Crow America to reconcile our own ambitions, humanity, abilities, values, dignity, and dreams with the elusive "promise" of life, liberty, and happiness - otherwise known as the so-called American dream. As Brother Arthur P. Davis described in an article titled, "Integration and Race Literature," that appeared in the September 1961 Oracle, writers like Hansberry had "to find new themes within the racial framework." Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" was a declaration that, unlike the so-called American dream, the discovery of a new form of expression would not be deferred. This new form of expression would more intentionally deal with the discovery and promotion of individual, familial, and cultural acceptance and pride not only as a matter of course, but as a matter of fact. As Simone would later pen in her anthem

"...When you're young, gifted and black, your soul's in tact...To be young, gifted and black Is where it's at."

A decade earlier, this new form of expression was favorably recognized by Omega when in December 1959, Lorraine Hansberry was awarded Citizen of the Year at the 46th Grand Conclave.

Please make time to read the attached articles and definitely check out this video which includes part of a great interview with Nina Simone and a live performance of "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" Simone performed at Morehouse College in 1969 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hdVFiANBTk. Watch/listen to the end. If you have time, check this one out too, performed by Simone later in life in 1988 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZelQEmnkulc.

Black is Beautiful!

Read More - Hansberry_Mar1960Oracle

Read More - Davis_Sep1961Oracle

Make it a great week Brothers. Be Noble!

F.I.E.T.T.S.
3rd District History and Archives Committee

Greetings Brothers!

In many of the old Oracles Brothers who demonstrated an ability to execute, mobilize, and affect progress were often referred to as "wheels". The wheels of Omega took it upon themselves to ensure our programs, administration, and appreciation of fellowship remained a going concern.Many of these same Brothers (and others) were "wheels" in their respective fields and professions.

It should not be surprising that In the field of education Omega claims many "wheels" past and current. After all, what better expression of Manhood, Scholarship, Perseverance, and Uplift is there than to show someone how to realize their potential and change their circumstance for the better through education. One might rightly proffer that thanks to the contributions of countless Omega educators, both a race and a country have been immeasurably uplifted.

Some of these "wheels" are more known than others - Ben Mays, Albert Dent, Luther Jackson, etc. Some are less known but important all the same. The principled sacrifices these men made to turn the wheels of progress are highlighted in this passage that appears in a profile of our 22nd Grand Basileus John F. Potts, Sr.

"On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka outlawing segregation in public schools. That same month, the Board of Trustees of Voorhees School and Junior College in Denmark, South Carolina, offered Potts the position of President of the college. The offer came as a surprise to Potts. He enjoyed Avery and the City of Charleston, as did his growing family. Deciding to leave Avery was difficult for him. To make his decision more challenging, Voorhees was in financial trouble and was experiencing academic and administrative problems. The school was on the verge of closing and needed immediate attention. To keep Potts at Avery, the Charleston School Board offered him the position of Supervisor of Negro Schools, however, Potts’ sense of duty and service prevailed, and he did not accept.

He was aware of the hardships endured by the school’s founder, Elizabeth Evelyn Wright, to create educational opportunities where there were none, and he felt he should do whatever he could to save the institution. Potts wrote in a letter to the Chairman of the Voorhees Trustee Board, “I have decided to take the presidency of Voorhees because I believe it affords me a larger opportunity for service.” On June 1, 1954, Potts traveled to Denmark, South Carolina to become Voorhees’ next president.

Potts served as President of Voorhees from 1954 to 1970. During his administration, through planning and perseverance he brought the institution from the brink of closing its doors to financial solvency and academic credibility. Soon after taking office, Potts created a new vision for the school that included strengthening the academic program, increasing income and broadening the financial base, improving the physical plant, and becoming a fully accredited four-year liberal arts college. He accomplished all these things, and in doing so, he not only transformed the institution, but transformed the lives of thousands."

While Potts hailed from the Sixth District, there is no shortage of education "wheels" in the Third District. One such educator, Brother Dr. Arnette G. Macklin served as Director of the National Achievement Week Committee before Grand Basileus Harry T. Penn appointed him Chairman of the Scholarship Commission in 1949, a post he would hold until 1953. When Potts was elected Grand Basileus in 1953, he appointed Arthur P. Davis (from the Third District) to lead the Scholarship Commission, but enlisted Macklin's continued support on a panel of qualified Omega educators to discuss how the Fraternity could better emphasize and improve undergraduate academic performance.

Macklin was a true and loyal son of the Third District. Born in Roanoke, VA in 1904, Macklin attended and graduated from Virginia Union University where he pledged and was initiated into Omega through Zeta Chapter in 1926. After receiving masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan and Ohio State University, respectively, Macklin returned to Roanoke. Upon his return, Macklin assisted in chartering Gamma Alpha chapter in 1933. Macklin would go on to serve as Basileus of Gamma Alpha chapter before taking a position at Virginia State College where he focused on improving the state of general education in the State of Virginia. While in Petersburg (or more accurately, the "little town of Ettrick" I'm told), Macklin proceeded to turn big wheels as a member and Basileus of Delta Omega chapter and the Director of the Division of Basic Education at Virginia State College.

Please make time to read the attached short article that appeared in the December 1958 Oracle upon Brother Macklin's transition to Omega Chapter.

Please also take time to thank at least one current and former Third District educator for their service and contribution. You are MSPU personified (not to be mistaken for MSP Certified - LOL).

Read More - Macklin_Dec1958Oracle

Make it a great week Brothers. Be Noble!

F.I.E.T.T.S.
3rd District History and Archives Committee
___________________________________
The Monday Pearl is provided by the Third District History and Archives Committee and is a weekly sharing of fraternity content, commentary, and research of historical value we hope Brothers will enjoy and from which Brothers will draw inspiration. Previous "Pearls" can be found at http://3rddistrictques.org/about-us/overview/monday-pearl/. The Committee encourages your feedback. Should you have reactions, comments, information, anecdotes, documents, and the like, related to any of the content we share, we'd very much like to hear from you. Please send all communication to 3dhistoryandarchives@gmail.com.

Greetings Brothers!

As we approach the holiday season, Thanksgiving in particular, let us be spiritually and intellectually mindful of our many individual and collective blessings. Let us also remember that although giving thanks is a reflective act, like history itself, the act of giving thanks also has prospective implications - or at least it should.

I am thankful for Omega for many reasons. Perhaps the biggest reason is that over the arch of time Omega has done what Nietzsche meant when he penned, "To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering." It is in this process that Omega has sharpened the steel of an organization whose agency has lived up to the biblical standards of salt and light for 108 years. That's the reflective part.

In 1933, Brother W. Montague Cobb wrote an article titled, "New Frontiers in Anthropology." Cobb began his article with a quote from Alexander Meiklejohn, then president of Amherst College, that read "There are two ways of facing life, two kinds of wisdom for man - dread, the other the way of confidence. One rests on fear and cunning; the other on hope and faith . One is for man, the beast; the other for man, the spirit."

As we turn to the prospective part of this thanksgiving act, I'm hopeful you'll join me in my belief that our Founders would have us face our future with hope and faith; as it is elemental, if not fundamental, to the spirit borne of their vision. As we grapple with the challenges of our time, let us not forget that spirit we are charged with nurturing - that standard history calls us to live up to. Let us not give way to fear and cunning for Nietzsche also said, "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." Moreover, the Sermon on the Mount tells us "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Please read and give thought to the attached short article by H. Albion Ferrell, Grand Chaplain Emeritus and son of the Third District.

History is watching Brothers. Be thankful.

Read More - RememberingEAL_Oracle1983Spring

Have a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving, and as always, be noble!

F.I.E.T.T.S.
3rd District History and Archives Committee
___________________________________
The Monday Pearl is provided by the Third District History and Archives Committee and is a weekly sharing of fraternity content, commentary, and research of historical value we hope Brothers will enjoy and from which Brothers will draw inspiration. Previous "Pearls" can be found at http://3rddistrictques.org/about-us/overview/monday-pearl/. The Committee encourages your feedback. Should you have reactions, comments, information, anecdotes, documents, and the like, related to any of the content we share, we'd very much like to hear from you. Please send all communication to 3dhistoryandarchives@gmail.com.