Image via Morehouse College Livestream

By Truth Jackson, Contributing Journalist

 

Morehouse College’s Opening Convocation nearly went off without a hitch—until a student abruptly interrupted the ceremony to express his grievances.

 

Yesterday, President David Thomas delivered his final Convocation address. After Thomas finished, a student disrupted the ceremony and demanded to be heard. 

 

Braylon Redick, a sophomore majoring in Sociology on the Pre-law track, walked on stage after Thomas’s speech. 

 

He attempted to address the audience, but he could only introduce himself and state that he had something important to say before Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Kendrick Brown removed him from the podium.

 

“Young man, this is not the time to have that,” Brown said.

 

Many students cheered Redick on, with some shouting, “Let him talk!” 

 

The incident was edited out of the official video that was posted on Morehouse’s YouTube channel. Some students managed to post the unedited livestream, leading to widespread discussion on social media.

 

Many were curious about what Redick intended to say, while others questioned his motives.

 

Later that afternoon, the Maroon Tiger sat down with Redick to hear his message. He explained that his motivation stemmed from a deep love for his Morehouse brothers and the surrounding West End community.

 

He expressed concerns about the college’s fundraising, believing that the benefits were not reaching students or the community. 

 

“We all know that they aren’t doing the most to benefit us,” Redick said. “All of that bragging about David Thomas bringing in $250 million—well, we ain’t seeing it, nor are the people in the West End community.”

 

Redick also claimed Morehouse needs to do a better job of serving the West End, pointing to the rising homeless population and the underfunding of local schools.

 

“You go across the bridge, and you immediately see homeless people begging,” Redick said. “You go down the street to Dunbar Elementary School, and we all know they’re underfunded.” 

 

Redick—a Graves Hall resident—also described poor dormitory conditions.

 

“The shower heads were always broken,” Redick said. “In some of those rooms, the air conditioning doesn’t work, and it takes forever for [facility services] to fix it.”

 

He also raised concerns about the lack of scholarships for students, sharing his own frustrations about tuition costs.

 

“I’m paying my whole $50,000,” Redick said. “I’m OK with paying my whole $50,000 as long as it’s being used to help me and my brothers here.”

 

When asked why he chose to interrupt convocation rather than going through official channels, Redick said it was a planned act of protest.

 

“I was planning to do this since Monday,” he said. 

 

He also claimed to take inspiration from Black civil rights leaders and activists.

 

“Martin Luther King didn’t ask permission to march in the streets,” Redick said. “The Black Panther Party didn’t ask white people if they could walk around with guns to protect their communities. 

 

“So why would I go through normal channels? The most impact is made in the most surprising ways.”

 

Redick believes he has the support of some faculty, including Illya Davis (’89), director of freshmen & seniors’ academic success, and professor of Philosophy, who escorted him out of the chapel to discuss his concerns privately.

 

“He wants Morehouse to be committed to more community change,” Davis said. “He thinks that this is a community in need, and for us to have the money we have and the resources, he thinks we need to do more, and I agree. This just wasn’t the time and place to do it, and he needs to talk to the people responsible, and that’s what I asked him to do.”

 

Redick told the Maroon Tiger that Davis said, “‘If anybody tries you, just call me.’”

 

Redick hopes to meet with President Thomas and other senior officials to address his concerns. He shared that Davis expressed the possibility of such a meeting.

 

“Davis was talking about having a meeting with the president,” Redick said. “But I want all of the administration there to hear me.”

 

Redick also spoke about engaging the student body to gain support for his advocacy, saying he plans to gather ideas from his peers to better represent their views when addressing the administration.

  

While the Maroon Tiger interviewed Redick, students walking along Brown Street stopped to congratulate him on his courage and advocacy.

 

During the interview Alioune Dia, a junior Sociology major and Political Science minor, approached Redick and praised his boldness.

 

“I was just proud,” Dia said. “Some people say they’re going to do something, and they don’t. He said he would stand on business at the last Sociology Association meeting, and he did that today.”

 

Dia also noted that students protested about some of the same issues last semester, yet the school had done little to address them. He used a metaphor to describe the situation: a stonecutter may not break a stone with the first strike or the 99th, but maybe at the 100th or 101st strike, it breaks.

 

“Last year’s protests were the 100th strikes,” Dia said. “Today Braylon was the 101st.”

 

Redick plans to start a community organization off campus. He believes his organization will have more freedom if it is separate from Morehouse. 

 

Additionally, he further explained why he wouldn’t want to start a student organization on campus: “Why would I be with something I’m mad at?”

 

Copy Edited by Editor-in-Chief, Colin Royal