Congratulations Class of 2020!
On March 4, 2021, the team and faculty of Common Good Atlanta gathered via Zoom to honor and celebrate the participants and graduates of the 2020 Clemente Course in the Humanities at Metro Reentry Facility. Before the guests joined in on the event, the graduates were patiently seated, dressed in their caps and gowns in a room decorated with banners and artwork created for these special occasions. As the attendees arrived on screen, you could feel the excitement, pride and joy that filled the space as teachers waved at their students and shouts of “congratulations”’ echoed onto screen. Even after this unprecedented year where classes weren’t able to meet in person, you could sense that the student-teacher rapport was strong and deep.
The ceremony began with a live performance by Metro’s band, The Champions of Unity. Their sweet sound soared into our homes and set a joyful and optimistic tone with the message of “I Believe”.
Bill Taft, the academic director of Common Good Atlanta, and Jonathan Shelley, Metro site director and instructor of literature, crafted and led a beautiful ceremony to celebrate the students who worked so hard to complete the Clemente Course in the Humanities.
Johnathan Shelly explained, “In March of 2020 and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Clemente Course series was forced to transition to a remote, correspondence format. Thanks to the facilitation made possible by Metro staff, students for the past 12 months have received weekly packets of reading assignments, short answer questions, and full essay prompts prepared by History instructor Jamil Zainaldin, Philosophy instructor Jena Jollisant and Art History instructor Meredith Kooi. The students have completed this work diligently and with incredible attention and care. This Clemente Course has truly been a marathon, and our graduates have, admirably, seen it through. It is both unfortunate and even sad that we have not been able to have the in person contact with these men that is typical of the Clemente course in the Humanities. But while we at Common Good Atlanta have not seen these men for a full calendar year now, we have been able to continue to know them because of the powerful and affecting writing they have given us through the packet system. All told, the circumstances of this Clemente Course in the Humanities has been exceptional, and in addition to the academic achievements that these men have made, they deserve recognition for their patience, flexibility, commitment, and determination they have shown.”
Following this, the Commencement speaker, Professor Winfield Murray spoke about the power of words. “Words have the power, the magic, the gift, the ability, to transform lives for the better. You have the power to make a difference. I believe in you, I believe in your ability to impact others. I believe in your ability to make a difference in the lives of others. Why do I believe in you? Because I have seen it. How do I know you are the best? Because I have seen it. Today I thank you. I thank you for having the courage to take on challenging forces. I thank you for not giving up. I thank you for believing in Common Good and I thank you most of all for believing in yourself. From this day forward, never allow anyone to use words towards you that make you feel less than, because in my opinion, you are more than. And choose to use your own words to build up those around you.”
With these words of encouragement lingering in the air, Bill Taft recognized the students who participated and made valuable contributions to the 2020 Clemente Course in the Humanities. Each of these students received a certificate of participation. Congratulations to Jamil, Ridhawn, Timothy and Kendall!
And for the main event, the men of the hour. I share with you the beautiful words that Bill and Jonathan wrote about each graduate. Through their descriptions, you can feel each graduate’s undeniable impact on the program and how their inspiring work created a connection with the teachers, even during this unique time.
Norman
Norman is no longer at Metro, but before he was transferred he completed the Clemente Course in the Humanities, and we will get materials to him.
Christopher
As some here will know, this is not your first but second Clemente Course graduation. And I mention this not to take away from the exceptionality of the occasion but to illustrate the incredible commitment to your studies that you have shown by continuing to take part in the Clemente Course in the Humanities. You are a serious scholar, and the topics and questions you have taken on in this series reflect that solemnity. You are, as philosophy instructor Jena Jollisaint wrote, “deeply invested in questions of the purposeful life” and you have rendered those explorations in exquisite essays and poetry. Your exploration of the contemporary inevitably leads you to the timeless, and it is your ability to traverse both of these that is a testament to your artistry and erudition. In a poem you wrote about the Covid-19 pandemic, you marveled that “A Pandemic [] stopped the whole world, even brought down the rate of crime” before asking “Or is it Mother Earth cleansing herself from the pain and destruction the human race has caused over time.” There are no easy answers in your work, as I don’t think there should be. The complexity you capture in your writing captures the very real complexity of the world, and the ways you have mapped it for us in your writing has been a continuous gift.
Michael
Courageous. Skillful. Authoritative. Original. These were the words that repeatedly came up when instructors were asked to comment on your consistently stellar work and participation in this course series. As one of those instructors, I endorse this list wholeheartedly. You have a thorough and logical mind, the likes of which is reflected in your clear, forceful prose. You also have a deep appreciation–for scholarship, for history, for others–that is omnipresent in your writing. “If it was not for the bravery of so many,” you wrote for Jamil Zainaldin’s history class, “there would be no Brown v. The Board of Education, which allowed my generation the opportunity at a better education.” “Stand against racism and be proud of your ethnicity, respect others and above all know that [as a young adult] this is your country just as much as it is mine or anybody else’s,” you urged in a letter. Or as you beckoned your reader in the poem Article 7, “Will you allow me to take you on a journey?” To that, I will describe a journey that you have taken me on, one that illustrates your insight and acuity: after you wrote about the gospel rapper Lecrae and why he should have a more prominent, canonical status in hip hop, I, no lie, started seeing his name in articles and music columns everywhere. This story may seem to be just about music criticism, but for me it captures the spirit of all of your writing: you see things that others need to see, and, as you have shown us over and over again, you have the distinct ability to communicate those perceptions in exemplary fashion.
Lorenzo
In the cover letter to your final portfolio for the Clemente Course, you described having difficulty deciding what to include because, as you wrote, “with all [that] is going on I have so much to say.” Indeed, it is your inextinguishable spirit, a desire to speak your mind and have it be known that we have seen guide you in your coursework this past year. Your artistic flare and imagination shines through in everything you have done in these classes, and we admire the way you have marched unfazed through challenges. You were one of the first students in your graduating class to openly state that a subject or class was difficult, a claim that does not denote fault but an incredible awareness about the toil that education requires. Your insights about Black history have been particularly impressive, weaving together the continued injustices that have inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Watts riots, and the 1992 Los Angeles Riots over the beating of Rodney King. You have spoken openly and frequently about your plans to continue your college study, and it is this incredible tenacity that is the hallmark of both your intellectual and artistic pursuits.
Jason:
Jason, this graduation moment is one in which I like to think you and Common Good Atlanta have come full circle. I and many others at Common Good Atlanta first met you at the Clemente Course graduation in 2019, for which you and Mr. Daniel Appleby created the banner which is in use at today’s graduation. Your contribution at that graduation marked the beginning of your participation with Common Good in Atlanta and in the Clemente Course in the Humanities, and since then, you have been a constant source of insight, creativity, consideration, and inspiration for your instructors and peers. You have produced transcendent works of poetry, prose writing, and visual art. An instructor once described you as a “quiet student” but one who should “never be underestimated. Jason, this instructor went on to say, “notices everything.” Indeed, your powerful means of observation have led you to make powerful analyses about your own work and others’. In your essay “The Art of Thinking Different” you tell of coming to Metro to paint murals to “enhance the appearance of [the] environment.” I see your participation in the Clemente Course has naturally associated with your ability to bring such enhancement to wherever you go. You have through your written work and participation, composed a scholastic mural that we have all had the privilege to admire.
Each graduate enthusiastically stood and accepted their certificate to booming applause from their teachers and classmates. Congratulations to Norman, Christopher, Michael and Lorenzo! The Common Good Atlanta team and faculty wish you a life of joy and thoughtfulness. Keep going and keep telling your story!
About The Clemente Course in the Humanities
The Clemente Course in the Humanities is a free course for students consisting of 110 hours of classroom divided into 5 sections: Critical Thinking and Writing, Literature, US History, Philosophy and Art History. Once completed, the students will receive 6 hours of transferable course credit from Bard College and will be marked with a celebratory graduation event. In this course, “An important goal is to help students come to terms with ambiguity, rather than to lead them to a simplistic “right” answer. The professor encourages students to support a position with evidence from the texts and from their own experience. While promoting an appreciation for discourse, and an environment in which all are treated with respect, the professor needs to bring the students back to the topic at hand when they stray.”
About the Commencement Speaker, Professor Winfield Ward Murray
Winfield Ward Murray is a practicing attorney in Atlanta. He earned his BA from Morehouse College, his JD from Howard University School of Law and his Master’s of Law from The George Washington University School of Law. He has nearly eighteen years of experience as a litigator. Recently, he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor Keisha L. Bottoms.
In addition to practicing law, Professor Murray currently teaches Constitutional Law, Moot Court, and Race & Law at Morehouse College. And this spring he is one of 4 Morehouse prison education fellows who will be working with Common Good to bring accredited classes to students at Metro Reentry and Burruss Correctional.
Professor Murray lives a life of service and giving back. He is a proud member of 100 Black Men of Atlanta and of the 2017 class of Leadership Atlanta. He also serves as Vice-Chair of the Board for Gideon’s Promise, a national non-profit that provides training and resources to public defenders across the country.
About The Clemente Course in the Humanities
The Clemente Course in the Humanities is a free course for students consisting of 110 hours of classroom divided into 5 sections: Critical Thinking and Writing, Literature, US History, Philosophy and Art History. Once completed, the students will receive 6 hours of transferable course credit from Bard College and will be marked with a celebratory graduation event. In this course, “An important goal is to help students come to terms with ambiguity, rather than to lead them to a simplistic “right” answer. The professor encourages students to support a position with evidence from the texts and from their own experience. While promoting an appreciation for discourse, and an environment in which all are treated with respect, the professor needs to bring the students back to the topic at hand when they stray.”
