Photo: Tuskegee University Archives
I feel so sad for what is happening at Tuskegee University and to the Pride that once defined the swift growing south. If I say anymore, my fellow alumni will accuse me of hating on the school that educated me. But I need to say more, do more, scream more; or go onto the campus and turn over a few tables like Christ did in the temple.
I feel like “John the Baptist,” crying in the wildness. It hurts to see the decline of this great institution, that is important to the entire community of color in this country. Indeed, it is important to people of colored around the globe.
It hurts!
It is depressing to watch her slowly drift away. Very few seem to care enough to speak up or to support those who dare to speak out. There are far too many sons and daughters of Tuskegee University who would criticize the critic rather than investigate what is happening on Booker T. Washington’s plantation.
The winds of collapse are blowing at TU, you know it and I know it, we all know it. Money is much needed, this is true, but money in the hands of a bad manager is like throwing dollar bills into the wind. Surely, money will pay a multitude of bills, but money will not solve what ails Tuskegee.
Once, again, I have to be the person who breaks this sad news to my Tuskegee family. My Tuskegee friends, what the Institute lacks is leadership. Leadership that will raise money and not cut jobs. Leadership that will honor the service of employees who have given their entire adult life to preserving Tuskegee as a leader in the world of industry and trade.
It hurts to say, I no longer have faith in the sons and daughters of Booker T. Washington, to organize and wrestle their school away from the destructive grip of the Board of Trustees and the President.
I will not ask the alumni to rise up. So, Lewis Adams, Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver, I hate to disturb your rest, but your school needs you to visit it today. Rise up, old dreamers of the legacy move through the campus today. Make your presence known. Rise up!
Harold Michael Harvey is an American novelist and essayist, the author of Paper puzzle and Justice in the Round; and the host of Beyond the Law with Harold Michael Harvey. He can be contacted at haroldmichaelharvey.com.
Saint Paul’s College, Bishop College, Daniel Payne College, Friendship College, Guadalupe College, Guadalupe College, Leland University, Mary Holmes College, Mississippi Industrial College, Western University, Prentiss Institute.
These are the HBCU’s that have closed and Morris Brown College lost it’s accreditation. I pray that Tuskegee University will not be added to this list of HBCU closures. Will the Tuskegee University Board of Trustees get their heads out of the sand and see what is going on with the Leadership, and why money is not coming in to Tuskegee U….the only thing President Johnson is doing is getting paid.
I hear you Michael, loud and clear. We Black folks, however, have a bad habit of always being able to build another steeple, but not save the institutions that truly work for us and develop our young people. My mother, a graduate of Morris Brown College in Atlanta, wept bitter tears over what happened to her school. I do not know how Tuskegee’s board is structured, but you may recall a while back when Morehouse College alumni discovered the misuse of school funds to purchase luxury items by Leroy Keith, a former president that left in 1994. These Morehouse alumni showed up in numbers and, if memory serves me correctly, seized control of the board. You might want to find out exactly how Tuskegee’s board is structured and what it can and cannot do and whether a board seizure is a viable option. All you need is a good strong group of alumni willing to show up and stand firm, along with a notification to the news media.
I know lots of Alums are ready. I am sure this didn’t start going down hill recently.
However the total embarrassment that has been brought to that campus since that Jack Ass, Johnson got there?
Somebody is trying to bring down Mother Tuskegee, and I have absolutely no respect for any Alum that hides out due to the fact that they don’t want to get involve.
Speak Up. Stick together and save Mother Tuskegee. When I met with Dr. Jack Ass and the staff attorney told me and my friend that Tuskegee has no protection for our/ your children as it relates to camera’s.
When the attorney for Tuskegee University tells you in a meeting with Dr. Johnson sitting right there, if a kid gets hurt on or near the campus they will be transported in the back of a van to the hospital. A van with no equipment to stabilize the situation.
Due to the fact they have no contract with an ambulance service, but for Football Games.
I almost cross over that table at the nappy head Beatrice.
When it’s someone you love. I will be there for you.
THIS INFORMATION SHARED BY MS SMITH SADDENED MY HEART AND SPIRIT.AS A CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER AND T U ALUMNI. THIS IS DEVASTATING NEWS CONCERNING THE HEALTH AND EMERGENCY SERVICES FOR TUSKEGEE STUDENTS IN NEED OF EMERGENCY HEALTH SERVICES IN NEED OF MEDICAL ATTENTION.WE CAN BE SUED FOR THIS TYPE OF INADEQUATE HEALTH CARE.FOR EXAMPLE,A STUDENT WITH ASTHMA WOULD NEED MEDICAL EQUIPEMENT ASSISTANT AND NOT PLACEMENT IN THE BACK OF AVAN DURING AN ASTHMATIC EPISODE. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF POOR HEALTH CARE INTERVENTION.
Hello Fellow Alumni , it pains me that our proud institution has become the subject of this much needed conversation. There are a number of things that need some serious attention paid. In recent years I feel our leadership focus seems to have shifted from that of previous administrations. We have always led in academics, research, engineering, and fundraising to name a few. We need to get back to what we do best. If that means a shift in leadership then let’s do it .I studied during Dr. Foster’s leadership and he was a true Leader,
Sad sad sad my my my
Jesus! Are things really that critical?