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Sports Journalism Program Under Way at Morehouse

Morehouse College In November, Morehouse Alumnus Shelton "Spike" Lee, right, presented Morehouse President Walter E. Massey with a check for $325,000 toward the college's Journalism and Sports Program. Twenty students are already enrolled.

By Chad Sanders and Ashley R. Harris
Black College Wire

Morehouse College has become the home of a new Journalism and Sports Program, courtesy of filmmaker Spike Lee.

Lee, a 1979 Morehouse graduate and member of its board of trustees, donated $721,000 in seed money to jump-start the sports journalism program within the English Department at his alma mater. The first classes are now under way, with 20 students already enrolled. It is believed to be the first sports journalism program of its scope and size at any historically black institution of higher learning.

Lee's desire to create a sports journalism program at his alma mater came from "a deep passion to have African Americans in the decision-making process in sports," said Kathleen Johnson, special assistant to the president at Morehouse.

Lee said the idea for the program grew out of talks between his close friend, the late Ralph Wiley, an author and former senior writer for Sports Illustrated whom Lee described as "a giant of journalism," and himself, an avid sports fan known for cheering for the New York Knicks from a courtside seat in Madison Square Garden. He said they were able to overcome the skepticism of Morehouse President Walter Massey, who doubted that a sports journalism program would fit into Morehouse's liberal arts curriculum.

Lee and a panel of sports and athletic figures discussed the program at Morehouse in November.

Too often, Lee declared, black athletes are portrayed in the media as "one-dimensional, selfish, immature and poor citizens" because of the lack of African American media representation. "Too long we have been on the field, but not in charge of generating the images of our athletes," Lee said. The solution, he said, is to "train black sports journalists who would willing to interact with athletes and describe them as people."

Athletes want journalists to be fair," said Reggie Roberts, vice president of football communications for the Atlanta Falcons, another panelist. "With 72 percent of players in the NFL being black, we need more black journalists."

The program, which is open to English majors at Morehouse and students at nearby Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University and Morris Brown College, will offer two tracks. The first, also known as the co-curricular track, will concentrate on lectures, panel discussions, mentoring and internships to nurture the students professionally. The second, known as the academic track, will focus on course work. The initial courses offered will include one on news-writing and another on the history of sports. The news-writing course is intended to offer the students a solid foundation in journalistic writing.

Morehouse plans to hire a full-time director by the end of the spring semester, according to English Department Chair Paul Wiebe. Once a full-time director is added, the school will continue with its plans to expand the concentration into a minor, he said.

Interested students should contact the Morehouse College English department.

Chad Sanders, a student at Morehouse College, writes for the Maroon Tiger. Ashley R. Harris is a student at the University of Houston. Sanders can be reached at [email protected]

Posted Jan. 22, 2007