The Crown Forum is a lecture series of renowned speakers who have contributed to the welfare and improvement of humanity. The speaker for the occasion was Bobby Donaldson, Ph.D. in American history and graduate of Emory University. He spoke on the history of Morehouse and the importance of getting a good education.
Following the program students were given a tour of the campus, followed by a brief excursion of some of the sights at the Atlanta University Center (AUC). The center is the largest contiguous consortium of African-American higher education in the United States. The AU Center consists of five historically African-American colleges and universities (HBCUs) in southwest Atlanta. The institutions included in the consortium are Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College and Morehouse School of Medicine.
After a lunch break the students visited the MLK Center where they received a bird’s-eye view of hundreds of documents, photographs and personal collection of the King archives. The attendees also got a rare opportunity to visit the inside of King’s birth home. Students also took pictures of King’s and his wife’s crypt.
After much walking and sightseeing, students were quite excited but weary from the fast paced stroll. Following the Founder’s Day program Ombudsman students met with Justin Edge, James Austin III and Brian Carter, Americus-Sumter County High School graduates now enrolled at Morehouse and took pictures.
The tour was educational and culturally enriching. Students worn from the all day affair slept most of the way back to Americus.
Accompanying the students on the field trip were Arthur Young, director of the Ombudsman Middle School Center and Karl Wilson, co-founder of the Student African-American Brotherhood (SAAB) Organization, Georgia Southwestern State University. Also in attendance were two SAAB University members who served as chaperones: Christian Doyle, president and Justin Doss, a freshman member. Neither is shown in photo.
The Ombudsman students who attended were Joshua Coleman, Bernard Hollis, Jerek Samas, Tiison Richardson, Kawagelyn Smith, Lakell Barthell, Jarvis Sims, Darrell Battle and Jonathan Mor.
