Change is In The Air

Morehouse College is a 141 year old historically black college in Atlanta. While over the years whites and other non-blacks have been trickling there and at other HBCUs, this is the first time they've had a white valedictorian.

Change is in the air. We may soon elect the nation's first black President and a white man is graduating at the head of the class as a distinguished Morehouse "brother."

Here are some other distinguished Morehouse graduates:

In 1867, William Jefferson White, Edmund Turney and Richard Coulter, a former slave, would serve as Founder and Associate Founders of Morehouse College.

In 1906, President John Hope would return to Morehouse as the first African-American President of Morehouse College.

In 1911, Morehouse graduated Mordecai W. Johnson, the first African-American to serve as President of Howard University.

In 1923, Morehouse would graduate James Nabrit, co-counsel for Brown vs. the Board of Education case and a noted philosopher and theologian, Howard Washington Thurman.

In 1940, President Benjamin E. Mays became the College's 6th President and literally saves the nation's premiere institution for African-American Men

In 1948, Morehouse would produce Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Samuel Dubois Cook and Harvard's Charles V. Willie.

In 1954, Morehouse would produce Dr. Louis Sullivan, former Secretary of Health and Human Services and co-founder of the Morehouse School of Medicine.

In 1956, Morehouse would produce a Atlanta's first African-American Maynard Jackson, Civil Rights legend Otis Moss Jr and defense attorney Willie "Flash" Davis.

In 1958, Morehouse would produce noted physicist and Morehouse's 9th president, Walter E. Massey.Spike Lee

In 1963, Morehouse would produce Dr. David Satcher, the nation's first African-American Man to serve as U.S. Surgeon General.

In 1972, Morehouse would produce acting pioneer Samuel L. Jackson and attorney Gordon L Joyner, whose son will graduate as Salutatorian with an impressive 3.99 GPA.

In 1975, Morehouse would produce Robert M. Franklin, the 4th Alumnus to serve as President of Morehouse College.

In 1978, Morehouse would produce a three-time Olympian, Edwin Moses.

In 1979, Morehouse would produce the world-class filmmaker Spike Lee.

In 1983, Morehouse would produce the first MD/JD graduate, Rod Edmond.

In 1994, Morehouse would produce Nima Warfield, the first African American Rhodes Scholar from an HBCU

In 2002, Morehouse would produce Chris Elders, the College's 2nd Rhodes Scholar and Harold Martin, the College's first Class President/Valedictorian graduating with a 4.0

In 2004, Morehouse produced Tope Folarin '04, the College's 3rd Rhodes Scholar

In 2006, Morehouse would graduate its largest class (over 600 African-American men)

In 2007, Morehouse made history by producing two Valedictorians, Ruben Alexander and Darryl Bennett both graduating with a 4.0.