ome of Chicago’s worstcharacters, gang-bangers andthugs often held court on theSouth Side streets during the1960s and 70s. One day, a few

congregated in front of Martha McCann’shouse—two sides, ready to rumble over afemale friend.

Bad idea, remembers Robert M.Franklin Jr. ’75, who was a child on thisday watching McCann, his grandmother,drop her apron and rush into the street tostand between the warring factions.

“She stood between these two gangsand two muscle-bound brothers who wereabout to go fist-to-cuff,” he remembered.“She said, ’I watched most of you youngmen grow up. I know most of your

mothers. And I know what it’s like for amother to receive a call saying your sonhas been shot because my own son wasshot during World War II. No motherwants to hear that and I don’t wantanother mother to hear that tonight, soyou young men back off.’

“It was extraordinary,” Franklin said.“I was first embarrassed and then a littlescared for her, saying to myself, ’What arethey going to do to this little old lady?’ Butthose brothers listened. She spoke with amoral authority. She took a risk and puther life on the line and it had an impact.So when I think about the people who hadan impact on my life, she’s at the top of thelist, for leadership, consensus-building, forconflict resolution and for just a genuine

love of people and a willingness to take arisk for the common good.”

Much like his grandmother, Franklin,now 10th president of Morehouse College,considers himself a unifier. It has been oneof his main charges as he culminates oneyear of returning to lead his alma mater.He wants to embrace the old traditionsand mores of a past that brings to mindillustrious former president BenjaminElijah Mays and connect it to a hip-hoppresent more concerned with “keeping itreal” and feeling Jay-Z.

So Franklin, a renowned theologianand educator, will be putting theconsensus-building skills that he attributesto his grandmother to the test atMorehouse.

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VISION

S

OF A

RenaissanceBy Add Seymour Jr.

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The AwakeningFranklin’s family was like many others inChicago at the time: native Southerners(his family is from Mississippi) whomoved to the Midwest seeking increasedopportunities.

Martha McCann and her twin sistereventually bought small houses next doorto each other. Franklin’s family lived withGrandma Martha.

While his father worked in the localCampbell Soup Company plant and hismother helped his grandmother maintainthe household, a young Franklin and histhree brothers did all the things that kidshis age did: played football in the streets,built tree houses and raced on bicycles.

Yet, Franklin grew up in the middle oftwo worlds: an era of unrest marked by theblack power generation and the VietnamWar, but also during a time of hardeningstreets and their constant battles betweengangs like the Blackstone Rangers and theGangster Disciples.

The balancing factor for him: a strongfamily unit and the church, where hisgrandmother was a home missionary.

“Taken together, her home visits tothe infirm, her street courage with thehomeboys and her hospitality to the saintsand sinners alike demonstrated to me, alittle kid, the power and the surprisingpossibilities that lurked within the religionof Jesus,” Franklin said in his book, Crisisin the Village.

By the time Franklin entered highschool, his parents bought their own homein the Mt. Vernon community, where theywere one of the first black families.

“I wasn’t particularly a seriousstudent that early part of my high schoolcareer,” he admitted. “But I experiencedsomething of an awakening. I actuallyemerged from that period with a keensense of the importance of developing mymind and leadership abilities.

“At the same time, I found in Ebony

magazine an article on Julian Bond, aboutthis Morehouse man who was too youngto be added to the Democratic vicepresidential ticket,” Franklin said. “I wasfascinated with that – with politics and lawand in Morehouse as an incubator for acertain kind of dynamic but sophisticatedleadership in society.”

His newfound connection toMorehouse was solidified when, one dayin1968, Franklin’s father asked him to joinhim in front of the television.

“He told me to sit and watch the funeralceremony of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,”Franklin recalled. “The ceremony that beganat Ebenezer Baptist Church concluded hereon the Morehouse campus… Dr. BenjaminElijah Mays delivered his eulogy. Afterwatching the ceremony together, my dadlooked at me and said, ‘That’s where I’d likeyou to go to college.’”

The EvolutionFranklin beams when he talks about theday his mother dropped him off atMorehouse in 1971.

“I arrived by Greyhound bus,” hesaid during his inauguration. “Myfather didn’t make the trip, but preferredto work so that he could pay for tuition.The day of registration, my mother and Itook a taxi from Pascal’s Hotel and, when Isaw the long line of brothers attempting toregister at Graves Hall, I told Mom to leaveme on Fair Street, a short distance from thegate, so no one would see her escort me tothe door. I wore a shirt and tie and had asnazzy new briefcase given by the proudmembers of my local church. I felt that Iwas Mr. Morehouse, all set to dive into themystique.”

Franklin’s family and friends lookedto him to be the immediate family’s firstcollege graduate. The pressure, bothexternal and internal, was on.

“But frankly, I think that’s why I arrivedon Day One at Morehouse serious and

ready to go,” he said.“I was ready to learn.”Sporting a large Afro, he was a

determined and hard-working student,but had, as he does today, a great sense ofhumor and was very well-liked. He eventook part in the campus’ party culture –but just a little.

“Robert was very friendly and verystructured. He was always well prepared forclass,” remembered Derek Alphran ’75. Thetwo political science majors became closefriends during their freshman year. “But hewas never a big partier at all. He attendedchurch regularly. He attended chapel. Hewas a serious student, but likeable.”

Law looked to be Franklin’s future,especially with then-political sciencedepartment chairman Robert Brisbanepushing him towards Harvard LawSchool. But after studying in England atthe University of Durham, Franklin madea dramatic shift in where he wanted hisfuture to go. He chose to go to divinityschool rather than law school.

“I discovered that I wanted tobroaden my horizons,” Franklin said.“Theperceptions of political science and lawwere much more parochial than those intheology and religion. [Theology andreligion] meshed who I was evolving intoand led me into philosophical andreligious pursuits.”

His new focus rubbed off on others.Former astronaut Mae Jemison was twoyears behind Franklin at Morgan Park HighSchool, where as students they often debatedand discussed topics such as religion, civilrights, feminism and space exploration. Sherecalled a Franklin visit to Chicago after hissophomore year at Morehouse.

She had just won a high school Englishaward and a bookstore gift certificate andFranklin referred her to a book—teachingsby Chinese philosopher Lau Tzu—whichdidn’t initially interest Jemison.

“After spending time thinking aboutit, it started to make sense to me,” she said.“It was really about a way of life andcontinuing to learn and realizing that you

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“I come to this moment in my

life with profound humility matched by

my determination to see our great school

rise to new heights of achievement.”—Robert M. Franklin Jr. ’75

10th President, Morehouse College

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don’t always have the final answers. Thisstory…is really about how Robert openeda door for me that has been profoundlyimpactful and important in shaping alifelong philosophy – something that’simportant for a friend to do.”

The RenaissanceIt’s a cold, windy and gray day in February2008 in Boston. But Franklin in on familiarturf. After graduating from Morehouse in1975,he earned his master’s degree in the cityfrom Harvard Divinity School, then went onto earn a doctorate at the University ofChicago on his journey to becoming aleading theologian and educator.

On this day, he has flown up for theGreater Boston Morehouse College AlumniAssociation’s annual scholarship gala. He

stood in the center of the reception area,smiling, taking photos and greeting anyonewho came near.

It made Sean Daughtry ’93, president ofthe chapter, smile.

“Everybody was highly encouraged,” hesaid later. “He’s not a baby boomer. He’sbetween Generation X and the babyboomers. So he represents a new generation.”

Alumni like Daughtry say that is justwhat Morehouse needed. Daughtry saidalums had been increasingly concernedabout the College’s moral center. Theypointed to students who wore their pants lowand hip-hop sensibility high.

“The culture had begun to change alittle on campus. You had generationalchange,” said Daughtry, who blamed thetimes and not any previous administrators.“The culture of the student body, the moralcenter of the student body, needed to beaddressed. I was hoping that Morehouse

would bring in a president who spoke to theculture of the school.”

It is a challenge that Franklin believed hewas well suited for – not only at Morehouse,but also in the community at large.

For instance, part of his first two goals inhis Morehouse action agenda was projectingthe Morehouse Man as a symbol of hope asfuture marriage partners, responsible fathers,leading citizens and role models; embracing aBiblical model in renewing the Morehousevillage; and exorcising the ’demons’ of selfhate, violence, hyper-materialism, misogynyand homophobia.

He wants to walk with, talk to and listento students, but also to mentor and leadthem. Franklin wants Morehouse tospearhead a rebirth by building “Renaissancemen with a social conscience.”

“Dr. Mays was a clergy person as well asan educator,”he said.“If I’m correct, I am thefirst minister/educator to occupy the office of

EDUCATION:B.A., Morehouse College, 1975M.A., Harvard Divinity School, 1978 Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1985

FACULTY MEMBER:University of Chicago; Harvard Divinity School;Colgate-Rochester Divinity School; ChautauquaInstitution; Emory University

ADMINISTRATIVE POSTS: Program Officer inHuman Rights and Social Justice, Ford Foundation; Director of Black ChurchStudies, Candler School of Religion, Emory University; President,Interdenominational Theological Seminary; President, Morehouse College

BOOKS: Liberating Visions: Human Fulfillment and SocialJustice in African American Thought (1990); Another Day’sJourney: Black Churches Confronting the American Crisis(1997); Crisis in the Village: Restoring Hope in AfricanAmerican Communities (2007); co-authored a volume titled,From Culture Wars to Common Ground: Religion and theAmerican Family Debate (2001); co-editor of the forthcomingThe Cambridge Companion to Martin Luther King Jr.

FAMILY: wife, Dr. Cheryl Goffney Franklin; daughter ImaniRenee Franklin; sons Robert M. Franklin IIIand Julian Michael DeShazier ’05

MISCELLANEOUS: Franklin is a moviebuff, avid golfer and fan of Motown andBaroque music. He has traveled extensivelythroughout the world and has studied sevenlanguages.

HOMETOWN: Chicago

president since he departed in 1967. So it’s anopportunity to use the power of the pulpitboth on campus, speaking to the issues ofcharacter and values, but also in the publicdomain, in the streets and in religious housesof worship, talking about Morehouse as asymbol of excellence among black men. Ifind that every time I do that — as Dr. Maysand as Drs. Gloster, Keith, Massey and othershave done — we touch a button in blackAmerica. It triggers a button for young boysin our community signaling they can have animpact on our communities; that youngblack men don’t have to be criminalized,don’t have to drop out, don’t have to engagein illicit behavior, but can become models ofservice, character and leadership and beindividuals who make us proud.

“So when we touch the Morehousebutton,” Franklin added, “that’s when we’reconnecting deep into the African Americanpsyche.”

Four priorities make up his idea of theRenaissance: academic excellence, leadershipdevelopment, character development andcommunity service.

“That idea has been with me forsometime because I have been veryinterested in leadership in general andcertainly in African American communities,”he said. “So there’s been an opportunity tothink a lot about what it is we admire aboutleaders and of course Benjamin Elijah Mayswho led Morehouse for 27 years and who isalmost synonymous with the Morehousemystique. That inspired me and reallyinspired the renaissance metaphor as a wayof talking about our renewal and our rebirth.We’ve always been doing it, but this is anopportunity to bring this to a new level ofvisibility and impact.”

Senior Chad Mance, the 2008-09Student Government Association president,hopes Franklin’s efforts will have the desiredimpact on students.

“It’s a bit too early to tell,” he said. “He’sdone a good job trying to establish a rapportwith the student body. He is making anattempt right now, but I think that has to be

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President Franklin’s

developed. This year, we will see thedevelopment of things a little bit more.”

Alumni are also a crucial part of theRenaissance, Franklin said.

“Because they know better thananyone else the power and the genius of theMorehouse experience,” he said. “I needtheir ideas. We need their best thinkingbecause they serve in areas of economic andpublic life in which they have becomeexperts, and their knowledge andintellectual capital can be an important giftfor a man of Morehouse. We need them toopen doors for internships for students. Weneed them to hire men of Morehouse forsummer and upon graduation.”

The ResolveEach year, an increasing number of students– mostly juniors and seniors –have to “stopout,” or quit school for awhile as they can nolonger afford the costs of attending.

Franklin hopes alumni can be part ofsolving that problem.

“Right now there are over 150 men ofMorehouse who will not return their junior orsenior year for want of $5,000 or $6,000,” hesaid. “That simple financial gap standsbetween 150 young men completingMorehouse, sometimes delaying, sometimesnever returning. That’s a tragedy. But that’s areversible tragedy. So my challenge to thealumni of Morehouse: be on the tip ofhelping to lead change with respect to theaccess and affordability of higher educationfor those young men.”

Franklin says there is also preliminary talkabout creating master’s and/or doctoral programsand looking at recruiting a more internationallyand racially diverse pool of students.

There are other issues that Franklin willbe diving into during the coming year: theCollege’s completion of the reaccreditationprocess with the Southern Association ofColleges and Schools; developingMorehouse’s five-year strategic plan and

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gearing up for the next capital campaign.“Morehouse is as dynamic and as

strong as it has ever been, in part becausethose who went before us laid a firmfoundation,” he said. “We have a strongfaculty, and it’s going to grow stronger. Wehave an excellent student body. We expect itto grow stronger. We have wonderfulcampus facilities – they can be improved andwith more resources we will improve andupgrade and really be the 21st centuryinstitution of excellence that all of thefounders aspired to.

“Certainly we’re going to be costconscious,” Franklin continued. “We’regoing to have to be disciplined in ourexpenditures. We can’t engage inextravagant spending. But we’re going tocontinue to be the strong institution that weare. So Morehouse is like others: we’ll dowhat we need to do to make sure we advanceour mission, that we make sure we don’tdrift from what we do well, but at the sametime be as efficient as possible.”

The ExemplarIt’s Saturday afternoon. Where is Robert M.Franklin Jr.?

“When the weather is warm, I am onthe golf course,” he said with a smile.“Handicap? Very high: low two digits.Embarrassingly high.”

No matter how great his game is, it ispart of the life of a Renaissance man that hehopes to exemplify. He loves to take hisfamily – the College’s first lady, OB-GYNphysician Dr. Cheryl Franklin, daughterImani, son Robert III, and son Julian MichaelDeShazier ’05 when he is town to visit thefamily – to restaurants and movies. Hetravels extensively and has studied sevenlanguages. He doesn’t own an Ipod, butlistens to Baroque music and the sounds ofMotown. He’s also an avid reader and anauthor of three books.

He travels across the country extensivelyto speak and to preach. It is in the pulpit

where Franklin, with his passion for religionand theology woven into his thoughts about the African American condition,illuminates.

His sermons usually begin softly as anintellectual and informative exercise,always with a quick and witty anecdote.But they then swell into an emotional tideas social as it is theological with Franklinlikely to drift away from the podium andmicrophone to more passionately makehis point.

This is Robert M. Franklin Jr.—author, theologian, professor, preacher,golfer, husband, father—who aspires toset the example of the Renaissance manas he builds his legacy as the “studentpresident.”

“I look forward to each morning,” hesaid. “I know that through the course ofthe day, there’s an opportunity to plantinside a man of Morehouse that seed ofimagination in the brain and consciousnessthat was planted in me.” ■

(Left to right) President Franklin with his family, daughter Imani Renee Franklin, son Robert M. Franklin III, wife Dr. Cheryl Goffney Franklin and son Julian Michael DeShazier ’05.