Morris Brown College in deep financial trouble.
Mind blown. It is hard for me to even digest this, how a 131 year old, historically Black college just goes belly up like this. I am sure its founders are rolling in their graves right now. Morris Brown shutting down? How did THEIR STAFF allow this to happen? $30 million in debt? At what point did anyone say, hey, we got to do something about our debt; the $10 million mark? the $20 million? At what point do you realize you have no more money left? I even read somewhere that they couldn’t even pay the light bill! And why does it seem like this is only making national news when they are about to close when their financial woes have been going on for more than a decade; this is my first time hearing of it.
No, they’re not down for the count yet because they are filing a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy to stall the foreclosure looming on September 9th, but come on, with no accreditation and only 50 students and no promise or guarantees to investors to get their money back, and they’re already publicized bad financial track record, things look kind of bleak to me. They’re going to have to rely on private donations, grants and sponsors because the chances of a loan for $30mil on an already failing college, is unlikely to happen. Who knows, maybe they can make a comeback but even if they do, they still need alot of help to pull themselves out permanently and not just stay afloat because it seems like they’ve been trying to stay afloat for years.
First on point should be getting their accreditation back because no one is going to apply to a school that’s not accredited, that’s why they went from 3,000 to 50 students in 60 seconds. And second being, if they haven’t done so already, get a new financial advisory board because someone is obviously doing something wrong over there. You just don’t go $30 million in debt overnight. Boost their ranks by marketing and finding sponsors, because at this point, they’re going to need to recruit and practically beg people to come to MBC to restore faith in its education system. And then hire some quality professors.
Morris Brown became infamous for their appearance in the movie Drumline in the battle of the bands scene.
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So. Now I ask the Black community in the entertainment industry and other successful Black people in the country. Where’s Jay-Z, Beyonce, Lil’Wayne, Lil Kim, Nicki Minaj, Usher, Al Sharpton, Louis Farrakhan, Lionel Richie, Sade, (can I say Eminem?), Oprah Winfrey, Barak & Michelle Obama, Wendy Williams, Larry Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, Wyclef, Montel Williams, Bill Cosby and all the others of their ilk; I’m pretty sure the sororities and fraternities will pitch in. All those who largely profit from the Black community, I challenge you to give back and save this college because if We don’t save our Black colleges, no one else is; I sure the hell am even with my measly paycheck.
Surely there are more than 30 of you who can pitch in a million or less to save this college. But of course, they probably won’t help. They make their money and keep it moving, and continuously spew crap music while not lifting a dime for something that doesn’t specifically involve them or anything bigger than them. Maybe some will help, maybe not. Who knows.
We (and you know who you are) need to stick together in this. The school is accepting donations on their web site through PayPal: