Anthony Phillips

From Anthony: A few weekends ago, I made a guest appearance on the Tavis Smiley Radio show for his “My America” 2008 program. The show aired nationally through Public Radio International on Friday October 25th, 2008 and Saturday October 26th, 2008.

Tavis’ “My America” program gives selected U.S. citizens the opportunity to offer a personal reflection on how the upcoming presidential election will have an immense affect on their lives. I decided to offer a personal testament on the relevance and importance of education for our nation.

Standing in awe over the news that Barack Obama has been elected the 44th President of the United States of America with students and President Robert M. Franklin of Morehouse College

From Anthony: Tuesday November 4th, 2008 will be a day I will never forget. That day I got up early to head over to Morehouse College’s Archer Hall to vote for the next President of the United States of America.

I stood in line for three hours. I was nervous. This was the first time I have ever voted and I had prayed that the person I had decided to vote for would win. I couldn’t believe that I casted my ballot for an African American candidate for president. I voted for Barack Obama, a Black man and a person I believe could lead our country in the right moral and social path for at least the next 4 yrs. Never in my lifetime could I have imagined a Black person having a legitimate chance of becoming President of the United States of America.

Later that evening, I gathered with students from around the Atlanta University Center to observe the 2008 presidential election results. There were watch parties at Clark Atlanta, Spelman and Morehouse. However, I viewed the election results with students from Morehouse in Fredrick Douglass Hall. Upon hearing the results that Barack Obama will become the 44^th President of the United States of America, myself and many other students at Morehouse moved into tears of joy, immense excitement, and pride. Each Black student stood in disbelief coupled with a personal story on how much this election meant to them. Students at Morehouse began to sing “Give me that OoooBAMA spirit” a remix version of one of Morehouse’s college hymms, “Ol Morehouse Spirit.” For this historical evening, I could have never dreamed a day when a Black man could receive so much support from so many races and earn the position of highest office in our country. This is truly amazing. I couldnt have asked for a better setting to have witness the results of the presidential election than Morehouse. I celebrated this election with socially conscious African American brothers who like me personally understood the deep meaning behind this election for people of African descent. Later into the evening, hundreds of emotional students filed the campus singing, dancing, praying, yelling, calling their parents/grandparents, and chatting on what this period in history meant to them. Sounds of the night included “I cant believe our President is Black”… “I love this country”… “Thank YOU LORD”…”He WON”…”WE WON”.

For me, this moment in history, proved to be the first time in my life that I had ever been so proud to be an American. As the President of Morehouse College, Dr. Robert Franklin, “Black people did not make this victory happen alone.” He reminded us that there was a collective effort among everyone from all racial, religious, social and economic backgrounds that made Obama’s victory possible. The implications of this election for Black males means that our nation will now have a national public symbol of a Black male who defies all stereotypes that have been traditionally linked to us. Moreover, with Obama’s victory I began to see the true possibilities for America.  I have always believed in the possibilities for America’s advancement, yet I can now confirm that here in America anything can happen.

Praise God!

Yours in the struggle, I am

Brother Phillips

The election at ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝

Hey all. Regardless of what presidential candidate you supported there is no doubt that Tuesday night was a special night for America. To see Barack Obama, an African-American, be elected as President of the United States, is truly something remarkable. Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, this is a historic moment in our country’s history and one that I know I will never forget.

I watched the results come in with close to 200 other ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ies in the Mays Center on a large projector. The atmosphere was festive and it was amazing being there and watching with so many other people who had voted for the first time and were so invested in the presidential race. I will leave you with these pictures and a video that I took with my new camera so you have an idea of what it was like. Until next time… once again congratulations to Barack Obama.

Anthony Phillips '10

Anthony Phillips ’10, a double major in African American studies and philosophy from Philadelphia, offered a commentary for “My America 2008,” a special election-year series of The Tavis Smiley Show, broadcast by Public Radio International.

Phillips talked about how his educational performance improved once he moved from an overcrowded public school system in Philadelphia to a private school, where teachers were able to give him greater individual attention. [Original Story]

Theodore Sutherland, a sophomore from Accra, Ghana; Rachel Kurzius, a junior from Ridgewood, N.J.; Marshall Hatch, a junior from Chicago; and Emily Grady, a junior from Littleton, Mass., offer a presentation titled “Why November 4 Matters: Student Voices on the Stakes of the Presidential Election” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, in Chase Hall Lounge, 56 Campus Ave.

The event is open to the public free of charge. For more information, please contact Kristen Cloutier at the Harward Center, at 207-786-6202.

“We are excited to be sponsoring this student panel on the presidential election,” says Harward Center director David Scobey. “Our Civic Forum series presents advocates and activists on important civic and political issues, and the voices of students and young voters could not be more important in this campaign.”

The discussion is not intended as a back-and-forth debate among the candidates’ supporters, Scobey says, but instead a chance to hear students speak for themselves on the stakes of this historic election.

The panel represents a variety of backgrounds and political interests. “I’m eager to hear the panelists’ thoughts and take part in the wider conversation they’ll spark with the audience,” says Scobey.

The forum is a lively series that invites the audience to explore civic, political and policy issues significant to the ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ community, Maine and beyond.

The Harward Center leads ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝’ efforts in community involvement, including programs in service-learning, community volunteerism and environmental stewardship. The center works with community partners to meet community needs and, in the process, to integrate civic engagement with the ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ educational experience.

What will happen to the movement for civic engagement after the election?  Can it change the ways citizens engage their government? 

Come hear a nationally-known scholar and activist discuss the current movement for civic engagement and the stakes of the election for democratic renewal. Peter Levine is director of The Center For Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), Tufts University.

This lecture is the first installment in the Harward Center for Community Partnerships’ series “The Civic Forum: Engaged Citizenship and the Election.”

U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, following his speech in the Chapel on Feb. 8, 2008, in support of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, shakes hands with Tom Stackpole ’08 of West Tisbury, Mass., as Kennedy’s wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, looks on. Kennedy’s appearance was three days before the Maine caucus, won by Obama. Photograph by Elizabeth Mitchell ’09.

The theme for the first semester’s talks is the 1996 presidential campaign. All are open to the public at no charge.

Here is a schedule for the talks through Nov. 8:

Sept. 27: Renee Leduc, a ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ junior and delegate to the Democratic National Convention, on Reflections from Chicago, Room 113, Carnegie Science Hall.

Oct. 4, Elizabeth Tobin, associate professor of history, on “The Politics of Abortion,” Edmund S. Muskie Archives.

Oct. 11: David Aschauer, the Elmer W. Campbell Professor of Economics, on “The Domestic Economy in the Campaign of 1996,” Carnegie 113.

Oct. 25, Georgia Nigro, associate professor of psychology, on “The Politics of the Family,” Carnegie 113.

Nov. 1, Douglas Hodgkin, professor of political science, and Christopher Beam, lecturer in history, on “Who Will Win and Why,” Muskie Archives.

Nov. 8, James Carignan, dean of the college, moderating a panel discussion on “Who Won and Why, Muskie Archives.”

Author and professor Bruce Lincoln, hailed as one of the leading thinkers in the area of cultural studies, will discuss the meaning of the word “culture” in a lecture on Monday, Sept. 30.