Post by JayBee on Oct 23, 2007 6:04:04 GMT -5
Sharpton issues challenge at A&T
The Rev. Al Sharpton answers questions Monday after his speech at N.C. A&T.
Ryan Seals
Staff Writer
Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007 3:00 am
Credit: Nelson Kepley/The News & Record
GREENSBORO — The Rev. Al Sharpton issued a challenge to the youngest members of the Aggie Nation on Monday night to get up, find self-identity and leave a mark on this world.
What has made N.C. A&T great, he said, is that its students have been on the forefront of the issues of their time.
"The question is, as you go to homecoming in 2007, are you part of the tradition of Aggies that lead the tides or are you going to be part of the group that get swept by the tides?" Sharpton asked a packed crowd at the Corbett Center.
The outspoken civil rights leader and former presidential candidate kicked off the "Greatest Homecoming on Earth" as guest speaker at the Solid Blue and Gold homecoming rally.
For the better part of a half hour, Sharpton preached to students, faculty and alumni about the challenges of the times — issues such as the Iraq war, the Jena 6 and respecting women.
He told students that they had to fight to leave their mark, noting that each of them who made it to college must fight for those from their neighborhoods who weren't as fortunate to make it that far.
"When I was walking through over at the student building, I saw the pictures up of the Greensboro Four... ask yourself when you leave here... what are they going to hang up about you? What are they going to say about you?" Sharpton said.
He said that this is the first generation of black people that may walk away giving their children less than they had, noting that their forefathers fought to accomplish so much, but much of that has been taken for granted today.
"Those who came to school in the '60s came in the back of buses, couldn't vote, couldn't use the coffee shop, couldn't stay in a hotel and by the time they graduated, they turned society upside down," Sharpton said.
"We are the generation now that can vote but won't vote, can stay where they want but don't know how to act when they get there, and they act like all the fighting is back in 'the day,' but you're still in 'the day.' "
Sharpton said the hardest part of his job as a minister is to preach at the funeral of someone who was irrelevant to their society, trying to paint a picture of something good they did with their life but finding himself stumbling for something to say.
"We are supposed to get up there and hallucinate a life for you that you've never lived," Sharpton said.
"You've got to put some portion of your time aside to say 'I've got to prepare myself to do something in life that makes a difference', " Sharpton said.
David Street, A&T's student government association president thinks that students got the message "loud and clear."
"(Sharpton) expanded on things that have been the bread and butter of this institution that we talk about in our classes every day," Street said. "We wanted to incorporate those things that are the foundation of our university into our homecoming."
Sophomore Arria Cheeley agreed, saying she feels Sharpton's visit would have a significant influence on shaping young minds.
Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or rseals@news-record.com
The Rev. Al Sharpton answers questions Monday after his speech at N.C. A&T.
Ryan Seals
Staff Writer
Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007 3:00 am
Credit: Nelson Kepley/The News & Record
GREENSBORO — The Rev. Al Sharpton issued a challenge to the youngest members of the Aggie Nation on Monday night to get up, find self-identity and leave a mark on this world.
What has made N.C. A&T great, he said, is that its students have been on the forefront of the issues of their time.
"The question is, as you go to homecoming in 2007, are you part of the tradition of Aggies that lead the tides or are you going to be part of the group that get swept by the tides?" Sharpton asked a packed crowd at the Corbett Center.
The outspoken civil rights leader and former presidential candidate kicked off the "Greatest Homecoming on Earth" as guest speaker at the Solid Blue and Gold homecoming rally.
For the better part of a half hour, Sharpton preached to students, faculty and alumni about the challenges of the times — issues such as the Iraq war, the Jena 6 and respecting women.
He told students that they had to fight to leave their mark, noting that each of them who made it to college must fight for those from their neighborhoods who weren't as fortunate to make it that far.
"When I was walking through over at the student building, I saw the pictures up of the Greensboro Four... ask yourself when you leave here... what are they going to hang up about you? What are they going to say about you?" Sharpton said.
He said that this is the first generation of black people that may walk away giving their children less than they had, noting that their forefathers fought to accomplish so much, but much of that has been taken for granted today.
"Those who came to school in the '60s came in the back of buses, couldn't vote, couldn't use the coffee shop, couldn't stay in a hotel and by the time they graduated, they turned society upside down," Sharpton said.
"We are the generation now that can vote but won't vote, can stay where they want but don't know how to act when they get there, and they act like all the fighting is back in 'the day,' but you're still in 'the day.' "
Sharpton said the hardest part of his job as a minister is to preach at the funeral of someone who was irrelevant to their society, trying to paint a picture of something good they did with their life but finding himself stumbling for something to say.
"We are supposed to get up there and hallucinate a life for you that you've never lived," Sharpton said.
"You've got to put some portion of your time aside to say 'I've got to prepare myself to do something in life that makes a difference', " Sharpton said.
David Street, A&T's student government association president thinks that students got the message "loud and clear."
"(Sharpton) expanded on things that have been the bread and butter of this institution that we talk about in our classes every day," Street said. "We wanted to incorporate those things that are the foundation of our university into our homecoming."
Sophomore Arria Cheeley agreed, saying she feels Sharpton's visit would have a significant influence on shaping young minds.
Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or rseals@news-record.com
