Genarlow Wilson to receive college scholarship
January 10, 2008 at 9:15 am by Andisheh Nouraee in NewsGenarlow Wilson will attend Morehouse College on a full-scholarship paid for by the Tom Joyner Foundation. Details are after the jump.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT
Neil Foote, Tom Joyner Foundation
neil@neilfoote.com
Tom Joyner Foundation Offers Scholarship to
Genarlow Wilson to Attend Morehouse College(Dallas – January 10, 2008) The Atlanta man, who spent two years in prison for having consensual sex while a teenager, will attend Morehouse College this spring, thanks to a gift from The Tom Joyner Foundation, an educational non-profit founded by the nationally syndicated radio personality.
Genarlow Wilson, who was freed from a Georgia prison last October, will begin classes as a part-time student at the 140-year-old predominantly male liberal arts college in Atlanta. The 10-year-old foundation is paying for Wilson’s education, including tuition, books, and campus room and board.
Wilson is scheduled to appear on the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show, which airs 6am – 10am EST Thursday morning. The show is also streamed live on BlackAmericaWeb.com (http://blackamericaweb.com).
“I’m so happy Genarlow has decided to attend an HBCU [Historically Black College & University],†said Joyner, whose top-ranked morning radio show is aired in 115 markets reaching nearly eight million listeners. “He’s been through so much over the past couple years and I’m glad the Foundation can play a role in helping him shape his future. You know I’m passionate about my black colleges, and I’ve always believed that these colleges offer a nurturing and confidence-building environment.â€
Morehouse President Dr. Robert M. Franklin welcomed Wilson to the campus, known for distinguished alumni, such as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., filmmaker Spike Lee and former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher.
“Genarlow Wilson is representative of many of our young black men who must overcome incredible obstacles before finding a place — like Morehouse — where they are valued, mentored and given the opportunity to reach their full potential,†said Dr. Franklin, whose college offers more than 26 majors and enrolls nearly 3,000 students. “Given Morehouse’s 140-year history and tradition of providing access to rigorous academic preparation, character development, leadership development and public service — we firmly believe that Morehouse is Genarlow’s ‘house’, and that he will grow to embody the tenets of a Morehouse Man.”
In 2005, Wilson was convicted of aggravated child molestation for having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl at a 2003 New Year’s Eve party. Wilson was 17 at the time of the party. He was sentenced to serve a mandatory 10-year sentence with a sex offender designation. .After a nationwide effort to fight for his release, Wilson was set free last October after spending two years in prison on the teen sex conviction. The case received international media attention and garnered support from civil rights leaders, celebrities, business leaders and politicians, including former President Jimmy Carter and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
“Yesterday, Genarlow came to my office proudly wearing around his neck his official Morehouse campus ID,†said B.J. Bernstein, Wilson’s attorney. “To see him replace the old prison ID badge with a badge from a prestigious HBCU was why Genarlow’s mother and I fought so hard. This special moment in Genarlow’s life became a reality because of the Tom Joyner Foundation. Tom’s support of Genarlow’s education … shows he is so much more than an entertainer or a provocative talker, but a man of quiet and persistent action. I am forever a fan!â€
The Tom Joyner Foundation (www.blackamericaweb.com) has raised more than $55 million and helped 114 colleges and thousands of deserving students who attend HBCUs. Since its inception, the foundation has assisted every HBCU, which is defined by federal legislation as “any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans.â€
January 10th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Good for him. Hope he goes far. This case just shows how rediculous some of our laws against sex have become. When we put juviniles in prison for consensual sex – what next – five year olds, doing life for “playing doctor”. We have to stop calling everything “rape” because then how do we differentiate between the true bad guys, and the “technical” bad guys.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
This comment about ‘technical bad guys’ got me thinking about this new ‘Terminator’ show they are showing on the television. I know it will most likely be worse than Don’s spelling, grammar and moral compass. But I tempted to give it a chance. Ever since they cancelled ‘Kyle XY’ I have been like a lost Jew wandering the desert in search of a new home. If I am lucky, ‘Terminator’ will become my promised land of high-tech fiction.
When you think about it that Genarlow kid is right lucky himself. A lot of people feel like the kid got a heinous judgement sentenced upon him for doing what kids do best – acting dumber than a velveteen box full ofl Phoenix University diplomas. And for him to have a benefactor willing to help him not be stupid anymore is just the most humane thing I have heard all day. He is a lucky young man indeed!
January 10th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
The kid certainly deserves a break. But let’s not forget that he is by no means “innocent.” He DID have sex with an underage girl, he DID videotape the degrading acts. The punishment didn’t fit the crime and in the end the Supreme Court did the right thing.
Many of the “obstacles” Wilson overcame were self-inflicted. This kid is getting treated like some kind of freakin’ hero and he’s not.
January 10th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Teenagers who have sex should not get scholarships.
January 10th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Andisheh Nouraee Says:
January 10th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Teenagers who have sex should not get scholarships.
***
Perhaps you are right. But if this kid were in a skin-emax movie starring Shannon Tweed, then a scholarship to Carnal U may be an appropriate plot line. But to attend HBCU, not so much.
January 11th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Did he earn his way into Morehouse academically or did he simply take the spot of a deserving student who wasn’t stupid enough to film his illegal sex acts?
January 11th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
He got in, didn’t he?
Perhaps you’ll recall the ESPN article that stated how he was being recruited to Ivy League schools, and how he was highly regarded as a scholar-athlete? Glad to see you’re giving him the break you said you thought he deserved.
I hope he does well and is able to make the most of this opportunity.
January 19th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Morehouse is a fine institution; hopefully, it can instill the strength of character in Wilson he lacked earlier in his life. I can’t help but wonder what became of the girl in question. She would be about 19 years old now. Is she in a good place? Did she get to go to college? Is there a fund for that? Can I contribute to it?
January 22nd, 2008 at 11:22 am
I’m sorry, but reading some of the posts here don’t make much sense. We live in a society where we expect kids NOT to make some of the same mistakes that we have when we were their ages. I am by no means defending Mr. Wilson’s actions, after all, When I was a child I spake as a child…. When people get older, they have this sudden amnesia of the things that they did. Look at our past two presidents??? They’ve both experiemented with drugs which were illegal. The key is to learn from the experience and move forwards.
As a Morehouse alum, the key for me is that Mr. Wilson learns from his experience. I don’t care if he went to Morehouse, GSU, GT, Clayton State, or wherever. At the end of the day, it won’t amount to a hill of beans if he gets himself into something else, which I pray that he does not.
Lastly, I believe that the Tom Joyner foundation should be commended for it’s donation. Mr. Joyner, God willing, Mr. Wilson will succeed and become yet another great example of the work that your foundation is doing.