Why is Morris Brown College begging for money to turn its water back on?

Can someone tell me why one of America’s most revered historically black colleges has to beg for change to get the water cut back on?

This weekend a rally was held to help Morris Brown College collect money to pay for a $380,000 water bill.

The school collected a paltry $70,000 toward the water bill. Water service was shut off by the city of Atlanta last week for non-payment and the 127-year-old college is about $30 million in debt.

One of the school’s building’s is scheduled for foreclosure on Jan. 6.

The school’s 400 students are currently out on break. But if the water isn’t cut back on when they return to classes next week, the school may be forced to shut down.

Where are the Morris Brown alumni with their checkbooks?

Where are the local celebrities who drive $400,000 cars and make it rain on them h*s every weekend?

This is shameful! You have selfish people like Sean Combs willing to pay the city of New York $1 million to paint the New Year’s Eve ball purple to promote liquor — but he can’t reach into his pockets to save a historically black college?

Obviously there is gross mismanagement of funds by the board members if the school is $30 million in debt.

I’ll have more insider information on this mess tomorrow

Kymystry

Where are all the Celeb’s who buy they baby momma’s the latest LV bags and other foolishness .. Stop throwing all Black parties and Throw a Party with a Purpose … gat dang it !
Kymystry

Hell .. Tyler Perry can give up the proceeds to one of his chitlin shack movies for ONE night and that would help !!
Daisy

They should have let Tom Joyner buy the school a few yrs back when he BEGGED them.
Daisy

@Kym Tylers movies have slowly been improving. He has a great message just needs some help pulling it all together and needs to stop writing so elementary.
ckarinwhite

…many of the celebrities didn’t go to college so they don’t understand the concept of giving back to HBCU’s or other alumni organizations…which is something that they go over during freshman orientation.
goat76

I would expect the alumni to help……but we know a rapper who ain’t finish high school ain’t finna help a college……

We need to know why they are 30millis in debt…..Some board members might need to be investagated…..Im jus saying…follow the Papertrail…
trina@atl

i agree that more of these celebrities should donate to the school, but whoever let the school get into this much debt needs to be fired and put off the board. also i heard they do not even have accreditation. this is just a shame.
trina@atl

also i want to know how they were able to keep the water on this long, b/c my bill is around $40 avg a month and if i am one day late paying it they threaten to turn it off. so being $300K in debt to the water company is crazy.
purepisces

I feel sorry that the school has fallen into such a bad situation…BUT…with no accreditation I don’t really see the point. A big pile of money isn’t going to change that.
Sharonda

You know these rappers or actors aren’t going to shell out any money.Most of them didn’t even get to college.
ckarinwhite

Morris Brown has been struggling for years…long before they lost their accreditation…Morehouse and Spelman with their large endowments could have stepped up to help Morris Brown school out of debt and chose not to do so
Alana

Im sure some celebrities might help out. Diddy will do it for sure if they give him some publicity for it. There has to be some kind of press conference and then a photo op of him passing them a BIG CHECK. He will look like captain negro who came to save the day. Many of these rappers only do things when people are looking (camera’s nearby) because it makes them LOOK good. EVERYBODY knows about the troubles that ALL of the HBCU’s face and I dont ever see any of these rappers pulling out checkbooks. Grab your camera Sandra and ask Diddy…Im sure he will come thru. Just make sure you post that picture.
starr

Thats really a shame.

Since sandra put diddy’s name out there…..how about the many wealthy black hotlanta residents come on now. This is chump change for alot of celebrities, not just diddy, but this is in their back yard…..come on now. Heck, all of em could pick up a collection just between them…….

darn shame……
purepisces

The previous administration embezzled that money. Plus there was rampant mismanagement of funds…and again, the loss of accreditation. I wouldn’t give the money even if I had it. If people care so much to donate that money, they’d probably be better off creating their OWN school, rather than pumping more money into a losing battle. I think if they had a better record, they’d be more likely to be able to raise the money.
CaramelDrop

How does any institution or business establishment become $30 million in debt before anyone notices?
Naima

Atlanta has Morehouse, Spelman and Clark. Just shut Morris Brown down.
What do blk folks know how to manage?
goat76

Who’s to say, that if they get a bailout that this situation won’t happen again….
PAHairston

Hello All! Want to hide something from most black folks, especially younguns, present company excluded? Hide it in a book!
leat

Morris Brown has been in trouble for quite sometime now, its going on a couple years! i dont think they are even accredited as of right now, so those students are in a bad situation right now. Tom Joyner tried his best to get help, he cant do it alone! but the board needs to be investigated, HBCU alumni take giving back seriously for this to get this bad, mis-use of funds. PLEASE HELP! go BC you know!
ckarinwhite

Sandra says:
I’ll have more insider information on this mess tomorrow

==========================
…does it have anything to do with Arthur Blank wanting the land?!?
KaraZ

Ummm the question I have is why does Morris Brown even have 400 students when their degree isn’t worth nada?

As far as giving back to MBC, I don’t believe in investing in sand castles, so I don’t blame anyone for not giving them anything.
http://myspace.com/dannyblaq dblaq

Makin it rain on them Hoes is way more important than some stupid education. Who needs it anyways. You can become a stripper, drug dealer, or rapper you don’t education for that!
http://myspace.com/mizz_eccentrik Abhor_

I say let the school shut down. Why would anyone donate money to a school that can’t manage money? If thats the case give the money to me so i can put it towards something productive like my student loans.
pinkscorpion

ckarinwhite Says:

==========================
…does it have anything to do with Arthur Blank wanting the land?!?
**********************************************

NOW WE HIT THE POINT I WAS HOPING TO MAKE…. It’s a shame with all these black mega churches, celebrities, athletes and other wealthy individuals, someone cannot do something. This is an historic landmark for God’s sake. Yeah, it’s right acrosss from the GA Dome for the most part, but damn….. Some rich white person is going to come in and save the day.. but it’s going to be for their cause and not lil Nikki and Dre.

Why can’t Tyler/John Singleton/Spike Lee/Denzel/Will Smith/etc turn it in to a performing arts college or some type of college that has several acting/film classes? Why do kids have to go to Berkley/USC/whatever school that is to be an actor/actress/film maker? I know Spike went to Morehouse and took most classes for theatre/film/etc at CAU, but damn.. Anything is worth a try. I am sure black hollywood could split 30M easily.

Where is Florida Evans?? Damn Damn Damn. In the year of the Black President…
Kymystry

Good Morning Family
LADYTEA

@ goat.. so true.. I don’t like Diddy, but I know for a fact he gives back to Howard University were he attended college
dakotab

Black folks are too busy living above their means to give.
shay1

Good Morning Fam….

Heeeyyy Kym…
Toi

All of you have very good points. Mis-management of funds, celebrities giving back, where’s the alumni?, what happened to the accredidation?, etc. Let me add one more thing – I thought MBC was an AME sponsered HBCU school, like Wilberforce in Ohio? What does the church have to say about their downward spiral?
pinkscorpion

I didn’t think about that Toi…Hmmm
kalvonel

Good Morning! I find it quite selfish and very judgemental to expect someone else to pick up a tab/bill just because they have the money. So Morris Brown is 30mill in debt, I didn’t contribute to whatever mismanagement there obviously was. Hold those accountable repsonible for this mess and move on. Besides, without accreditation, it would be a waste to donate. The only benefit would be a tax break.

I’m all for giving when help is needed, but 30mill? Sounds to me like an administration looking for a handout. As I was always told by my mother, and grandparents: “work hard and you MAY get help if needed, but those who look for handouts get nothing.” Is the trend now to screw up horribly and then “call out to the community” for assistance? Please.

Just cause I have, doesn’t mean I have it to give. Just my opinion.
suga_stix

If Morris Brown is not an accredited institution and their degrees aren’t worth the paper they are printed on, why should anyone donate? Running water will not change the fact that there are some serious problems at this school. The shame is not the celebs who haven’t come to the rescue,the shame is the financial mismanagement that got them to this point. Hell, even the United Negro College Fund terminated their support for Morris Brown.
Toi

Thank you pinkscorpion. I’m AME and we’re always collecting money for Allen University in Orangeburg, SC. I’ve never heard a plea in our church for MBC.

What has happened to MBC over the last 5 – 7 years is deplorable, but I need to ask what’s going on with the AME churches in ATL? Is there something else going on that we don’t know about, which is the reason they’re throwing the school out with the bath water.

BTW, what’s up SKEGEE?
Toi

Hmm, didn’t know that about the UNCF pulling their support.
lovezoe

@21 I was thinking the same thing. Going to a school without accreditation is like flushing all that tuition money down the drain. No grad school will accept you, no place that requires a degree will gire you. How can they afford to stay open with only 400 students?
maema

@KaraZ Says:

I’ve never heard of the saying “I don’t invest in sand castles.” I like that. I was thinking the same thing. Perhaps the reason people are not donating is that you do not throw good money after bad.

There has been a serious mismanagement of funds, obviously. The only way a significant fundraising movement can get under way is if there is a board shake up and a total overhaul of leadership. Possibly government oversight is required.
The Divine Ms. K

Why do we expect celebs to bail out a school that has no accredidation and a student body that is smaller than my baby sister’s high school graduation class?

ALL celebs spend money on things we see as ridiculous – Diddy is not the only one. I bet if all the perpetual baby mama’s got together and sold ther LV bags, cars and their fledgling clothing lines – the water could stay on. lol Or at least some tuition could be paid.
missamerica

There are plenty of Black people with money outside of the entertainment world. $30 million should be nothing for a college, if they have right administration. Its time for a takeover.
missamerica

I know people making under $40,000 a year that buy ridiculous ish and own LV Bags and other designer goods.
Staley

MBC should just really give up.
It seem pretty impossible to get their accreditation back much less pay the water bill.
If you cannot pay for running water, the writing is on the wall.
Give those kids some dignity.
And I hear it barely has 50 students there.

Why is Morris Brown College begging for money to turn its water back on?

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