alumninews Bakari Sellers ’05 is Youngest African American Elected to S.C. House of Representatives
Spike Lee ’79 and Samuel L. Jackson ’72 at a benefit dinner party for Morehouse.
Spike Lee ’79 Holds Benefit for Alma Maters on Maiden Voyage of “Freedom of the Seas” SPIKE LEE’S 40 Acres & A Mule Productions celebrated its 20-year anniversary by hosting a benefit dinner party aboard the Royal Caribbean’s “Freedom of the Seas” cruise ship. Proceeds from the party benefited programs at Lee’s two alma maters: the Sports Journalism Program at Morehouse and the Kanbar Institute of Film and Television, Graduate Division/Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Martin Scorsese was the honorary chair, and Naomi Campbell, George Lucas and Chris Rock were among the honorary committee members. The May 12 event was aboard the maiden voyage of “Freedom of the Seas,” the largest cruise ship in the world. Activities included a salute to 40 Acres & A Mule Production’s two decades of filmmaking, a five-course dinner, a concert featuring some of the biggest names in music, and a short cruise from the New York harbor to international waters so that guests could play in the Casino Royale. ■
BAKARI T. SELLERS ’05 has made South Carolina history by being the youngest African American elected to the state’s House of Representatives. Using the manta,“No Politics…Just Public Service,” Sellers, 21, garnered close to 2,000 votes defeating 84-yearold incumbent Thomas Rhoads, who currently is the oldest member of the state’s House of Representatives Bakari Sellers ’05 and is concluding his 12th term in the House. Sellers, a second-year law student at the University of South Carolina, will be sworn into the legislative body in January 2007 and will serve until 2008. ■
Johnie M. Floyd ’50 Tells Life Story JOHNIE M. FLOYD ’50 was featured on the front page of The Rome News Tribune in Rome, Ga., during Black History Month. Floyd, the director emeritus of Admissions at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Conn., moved to Johnie M. Floyd ’50 Rome in 2001. The article profiled Floyd’s journey through Morehouse, his active duty as an officer in the Army, his role in the civil rights movement and his expansive career as an educator. In the article, Floyd emphasized the importance and vitality of black history, especially the role blacks played in the development of America. In his native hometown of Bristol, Conn., Floyd was recently inducted into the Bristol Sports Hall of Fame for his contribution to sports in the city as a player and coach. During his coaching years, he rallied his baseball, basketball, track and cross-country teams to many undefeated seasons and championships, and was named “Coach of the Year” in cross-country. ■
Robert R. Jennings ’72 Named President of Alabama A&M University ROBERT R. JENNINGS ’72 HAS BEEN NAMED the 10th president of Alabama A&M University.Prior to assuming his role as president,he served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Future Focus 2020, an agency dedicated to engaging minority communities in a national discussion about the future. The agency is housed in the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem,N.C. Jennings,who earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Morehouse in 1972,received both a master’s degree in educational psychology and a doctorate in interrelated learning from Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta) in 1974 and 1979, respectively.In 1982,he also earned a doctorate in educational administration and policy studies from Atlanta University. In 1978, Jennings served as a Fulbright-Hays Fellow assigned to the Robert R. Jennings ’72 Institute of Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil.
Jennings’ long career in education included serving as a professor at Atlanta University, Morris Brown College and the Union Graduate School in Cincinnati, Ohio. He also has served in top administrative positions at Atlanta University, Norfolk State University, Albany State University and North Carolina A&T State University. He has worked for several government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and he represented the U.S. Embassy and U.S. State Department as a consultant/trainer at the University of Naimey in Niger, Africa. Jennings, who has written several articles in magazines and journals, is a sought-after consultant and speaker on grants administration, education administration and supervision, and other related areas. Throughout his career, he has provided expertise to dozens of advisory and editorial boards and panels, and to numerous civic, community and other nonprofit organizations. ■ F A L L
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