New book gives narrative perspective of Morehouse College

“The Cross, the Candle, and the Crown” tells the story of Morehouse, one of Atlanta’s historically Black colleges.

The book chronicles the history of the all-male institution, from its humble beginnings in a bedroom to the upper echelon of excellence located in the West End. 

Barksdale, a Morehouse graduate, was asked by former Morehouse president Robert Franklin to write the book in 2009 for the school’s sesquicentennial in 2017. 

The school’s last book was published in 1968, when “Candle in the Dark” was released. This book helped celebrate the college’s centennial.

Barksdale’s version of the history of Morehouse is a different read from the previous history book. 

“When you read my book, it’s a narrative,” Barksdale said. “It’s not just a book of facts or information. It is informational — no doubt about that — but it’s my voice you get in this book. As I say in my introduction, some of it is based on my lived experiences.”

Morehouse’s story begins in post-Civil War Augusta, Ga. The school was first named the Augusta Theological Institute, and its goal was to produce young Black preachers and teachers. 

The debate about whether the recently enslaved could be educated fostered the idea that black men can be educated for stewardship and service to their communities and the world. 

Some notable alumni in their fields are:

• Civil Rights:
  
  • Julian Bond
  • Maynard Jackson
  • John Wesley Dobbs
  • Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
    
• Acting:
  
  • Samuel L. Jackson
  • Brian Tyree Henry 
  • John David Washington
    
• Social Reform:
  
  • David Satcher (U.S. Surgeon General and former president of Morehouse School of Medicine)
  • Raphael Warnock (U.S. Senator and first Democratic Black Senator elected in the South

Dorothy Cowser Yancy, president emerita of Shaw University and Johnson C. Smith University, reviewed the book who said, “Barksdale weaves a fresh and compelling story of how the small school became a major producer of Black male leadership.” 

Extensive research from archival institutions like the Rockefeller Archive in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., and the Robert Woodruff Library in the Atlanta University Center debunked the oral tradition passed down from generation to generation. 

Through extensive research, Barksdale was able to dispel some commonly accepted myths about the institution. For one, it was not founded in the basement of Springfield Baptist Church in Augusta. 

The bedroom, with a warm fire lit in the fireplace, was surrounded by 37 students who became the school’s first class.

“The classes were held at Springfield, but not in a basement,” Barksdale said. “They were held in the sanctuary and the balcony of the church at night.”

Now that the origin story has been corrected, Barksdale thinks his book should be required reading for future students at Morehouse. 

“The Cross, The Candle, and The Crown” is published by Mercer University Press and is on sale now.