Opinion: Morris Brown’s Presidential Curse

“They took away Morris Brown, shit got way too real.” —Future, “Turn On Me”

Dr. Kevin James, Morris Brown College President | Source: MorrisBrown.edu

In the heart of Atlanta, Morris Brown College has long stood as more than a campus, but a landmark. Nestled within what is now known as the Atlanta University Center Consortium, its legacy stretches beyond classrooms into the very soundtrack of the city.

Formed in the early 1900s, the AUC is the largest collegiate gathering of Black thought in the world, yet when Morris Brown lost its accreditation in 2002, things shifted unfavorably for the institution, something they have yet to recover from. Named after bishop Morris Brown, the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church sent missionaries to Georgia to spread the gospel and found more AME Churches. 

What happened instead was something much more profound.

An Institution Revolutionized

On January 5th, 1881, Morris Brown Colored College broke barriers as the first educational institution in Georgia to be not only owned and operated, but founded by African Americans. 

The AME Church decided to open a Negro school for women and men. The history-making school held its own for roughly 121 years, becoming a university in 1912, hosting the 1996 Olympics, and offering students second chances…until their Presidential curse began.

The Presidential Curse 

So why, in Futures’ words, was Morris Brown “taken away”?

Dolores Cross became Morris Brown’s first female president, setting a precedent to help the newly financially troubled college. 

Dolores Cross was born in New Jersey. Cross received her Bachelor of Science in Education from Seton Hall University in 1963, her Master of Science in Education from Hofstra University, and her Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Michigan in 1971. In 2001, Seton Hall awarded her an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters.

These accolades would soon mean nothing when Cross, alongside her director of financial aid and enrollment services, Parvesh Singh, were caught stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the college. This fraudulent scheme included falsified enrollment statistics, misuse of federal funds, and ultimately led to the revocation of Morris Brown’s accreditation, tarnishing a name that was once renowned. 

Though Cross and Singh were indicted, convicted, and sentenced, their malicious actions left a deep scar on the institution that would take decades to heal. 

Where Morris Brown once had 2,500-plus students, enrollment dropped after Cross’s resignation, reaching fewer than 50 by 2018.

Financial woes deepened when it was discovered that MBC was in $13 million in debt and had to file for bankruptcy, even after selling 26 acres of its land. Thankfully, the City of Atlanta purchased the campus in 2014.

The Resurgence: A Hard Reset

For those like me whose college journey began in the fall of 2023, that was not the only life-changing event taking place in the Atlanta University Center.

The AUC was back to its full capacity as MBC’s historic comeback was solidified following its re-accreditation in 2022. This was exhilarating, with even people from my hometown attending the new MBC.

The 19th President of Morris Brown, Dr. Kevin James, ran his presidency under two platforms: The Hard Reset and The Resurgence, two sentiments coined by James in 2019, dedicated to getting Morris Brown College back to its full potential.

Rebranded, Not Repaired 

On January 12, 2026, a disturbing video of Dr. Kevin James talking to a potential employee resurfaced.

“You know, I’ve gotta look at the big picture. If I bring Jess to Atlanta, and become her mentor, and hire her, I even thought the other day, I might have you as my executive assistant, right?” James began in his recording.

“You know, if I give you the dick, then you might not be able to handle it.”

The conversation shifted from professional to predatory quickly.

For a man who has been Morris Brown’s self-proclaimed “savior” for guiding them through a rebrand, the video does more than tarnish James’s personal image; it calls into question the culture of what kind of workplace he leads.

When leaders blur the line between sexual remarks and leadership, it reinforces a dangerous dynamic that has long existed in professional spaces: men in power leveraging opportunity as a gateway to exploitation.

History not only repeats itself, but offers cautionary examples. Power-imbalancing scandals, such as Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, are a tale as old as time. They sparked national conversations about consent, hierarchy, and the vulnerability of young professionals navigating male-dominated institutions.

Now, nearly 141 years later, MBC is rebranded, not repaired, as the shadow of controversy continues to follow them.

A rebrand cannot repair what accountability refuses to address. If Morris Brown continues to live up to its history under James’s leadership, the question is not whether the video is embarrassing. The question is whether the workplace culture allows power to operate unchecked.