BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION

Almost 50 years ago, there was a problem. In response to this quagmire, five students from the Atlanta University Center came together, sat down, ate, talked, and mapped out the blueprint to the solution of a politically plagued nation. In 1960, the city of Atlanta was seeing a transition in power within the leadership of the civil rights movement. The college students of the Atlanta University Center began to take the lead over the seasoned activists of the Auburn Avenue circuit. A group of young people had become conscious of the issues facing a people and decided to do something about it—to be a part of the solution.
Deciding to act, the five college students ushered in a new approach to civil rights activism—direct action. They published “An Appeal for Human Rights” in the Atlanta papers and eventually the New York Times. They led the development of their own newspaper, the Atlanta Inquirer. They organized major sit-ins in local Atlanta department stores, and were arrested alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Moreover, they moved with that spirit of action; be a part of the solution.
Therefore, as we begin our academic year here upon the sacred campuses that comprise the Atlanta University Center, it is important that we embody this same spirit of our predecessors. The problems may have changed form, but they are still problems. Thus, it is our responsibility, people of strong academic pedigree, to be a part of the solution.
We no longer have to organize sit-ins outside of places such as Rich’s Department Store. However, we must change the fact that people of color are highly underrepresented in almost every professional field; law, medicine, education, politics, business, ect. We no longer have to protest, but far too many college-aged Americans of the African Diaspora are not pursuing degrees. In addition, many of those, who are pursuing degrees, are doing so without adamantly aspiring to receive an actual education.
Then, when one incorporates the fact that we now live in a globalized society in which the vastness of the globe has been reduced to the touch-scroll of an Iphone or the push of a button on a blackberry, the problems begin to junk pile. Not only are we seeing killings in our inner cities. We now see carnage in Sudan, Darfur, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Mexico. We no longer have to fight for our legislative rights, but somewhere, someone does.
Unfortunately, there has been a misconception spreading through our communities and even our campuses. There seems to be people, who believe there is an age requirement on action. Also, there are those who seem to think that the problems are not their responsibility and maybe they will be solved by a people of a different time. Clearly, some of us have been led astray.
For, we are the solution to that we have been waiting for! We are the answer for which we seek. History has shown us that we do not have to try and do the impossible in order to make a difference. Sometimes it takes a few hours at an afterschool program or a homeless shelter. Sometimes it takes a few extra hours of studying. However, sometimes all it takes is five college students sitting around at Paschal’s Restaurant eating, planning, and organizing. The methodology will be different, but the spirit is all the same. It is that spirit that makes you identify a problem and decide not to sit by idly and let the issues build. Now, let that spirit guide us through this academic school year, and let us now do all we can to be a part of the solution.

OxyJon