Black church leaders, HBCU presidents unite to end hazing

By Hazel Trice Edney
Contributing Writer

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – Following the death of Robert Champion, the Florida A&M University Drum Major who died Nov. 19, the religious community of Tallahassee, Fla. has called for community-wide prayer followed by deliberate action against hazing at HBCUs, according to a statement released last week.

The clergy is not only calling for an end to hazing, but has also formed a task force with presidents of historically Black colleges and universities to deal with the issue of hazing through educational workshops during the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Day celebration in 2012.

“We all grieve and are saddened by the untimely death of this drum major. Also, we will pray to God to strengthen and help the Florida A&M University (FAMU) administration and this community, to seek God’s guidance and wisdom in developing policies and programs to truly and totally eradicate hazing from the culture. Hazing is never acceptable; hazing is illegal, immoral, and irresponsible,” said Dr. R.B. Holmes, pastor of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, in a statement.

Hazing, the practice of physical, emotional and/or psychological abuse is most often attributed to fraternities, sororities and team sports. It is illegal in many instances, but remains an ingrained culture on some college campuses. Parents of the multi-award-winning FAMU Band members say students have recently complained about the behavior.

The death of Champion has renewed national attention to the possibility that the activity may be more prevalent than the general public knows. Holmes says the community’s goal must remain focused on healing; then educating about the wrongs of the abuse on campuses across the nation.

“This prayer service and our participation is not to finger point, nor investigate, nor legislate, nor to litigate; but to meditate, educate, and activate the power of God to heal this community and bring help and peace and unity in such a time as this,” Holmes stated. “We have come together because hazing is a moral issue and therefore, we must provide spiritual solutions and lend our moral voices to educate students that hazing must cease and be eliminated now and forever.”

Following a community-wide prayer service that was slated for Wednesday, Dec. 7, the release announced that a workshop and worship service will be held on Monday, January 16, during the celebration of the legacy and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is set to be held at the Philadelphia Primitive Baptist Church, the Rev. Terry Price, pastor.

Holmes, former president of the National Baptist Congress of Christian Education, listed nearly a dozen clergy who will participate in the workshop. He says he has also “appointed a national Historically Black Colleges and University task force to develop a National Anti-Hazing Conference.”

The HBCU presidents who will serve as co-chairs on this historic committee are Dr. Larry Rivers, of Fort Valley State University in Georgia; Dr. George Cooper of South Carolina State University who also leads the Council of 1890 Universities, land grant universities comprised of 18 historically Black colleges and universities; Nathaniel Glover of Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida, and Dr. Henry Lewis of Florida Memorial University in Miami.

He says he is also inviting members of the more than 200-publisher National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) to sit on the committee. Holmes, also an NNPA member, is publisher of the Capital Outlook newspaper.

“The purpose of this national task force is to eradicate and eliminate hazing on the campuses of all historically Black colleges and universities,” he said in the statement. “We are the pastors of many students, faculty, and staff at FAMU. We love the rich history and heritage of the university. However, we will not sit idly by and allow anyone within or without the university to use this unfortunate incident to weaken the school.”

This article was originally published in the December 12, 2011 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper