Morehouse College will honor entertainment heavyweights Tyler Perry, Usher and Jon Platt as part of its 29th annual student scholarship event “A Candle in the Dark.”
The Gala is the signature event of Founder’s Week at Morehouse College, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary. It be held at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta at 265 Peachtree Street N.E.
The three will get Candle Awards, given in recognition of excellence in fields such as athletics, business, education, entertainment, government, law, military service, religion and science and technology.
Morehouse College alumni Jonathan Walton, a Harvard Divinity School professor of religion and society; and Theodore Colbert III, a Chief Information Officer at Boeing will get Bennie Awards. Bennie recipients are accomplished graduates of Morehouse. The award is named for noted educator Benjamin E. Mays, who served as president of Morehouse from 1940 to 1967.
Closing activities for Founder's Week will be held Sunday, Feb. 19, with the “Sesquicentennial Founder’s Day Worship Service” at 11 a.m. in the MLK Jr. International Chapel on campus. The service will be followed later by a special concert featuring the World-Renowned Morehouse College Glee Club at 4 p.m. at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center.
Other events of interest to the African American community are also scheduled during the week, including Panama Jackson, a Morehouse graduate, coming to speak to a journalism class. Jackson is one of the writer personalities behind VSB, a daily digital magazine offering commentary, essay, and humor about news, pop culture and race from an African American perspective.
The popular zine is also holding a meetup Sunday, Feb. 19, beginning at 5 p.m. in the Lobby at Twelve, 361 17th St. in Atlantic Station.
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