Friday, February 24, 1989
THE BENNETT BANNER
PAGE THREE
UNCF still striving to obtain goals
by Cherryl Floyd
Imagine that in 10 years,
you return to visit your alma
mater and find windows
boarded up and vines of leaves
crawling- up the side of every
building.
Graduates of Bishop College
in Dallas, Tex. won’t have
to imagine this. Bishop is
permanently closed. This will
be the fate of more black
colleges without the continued
support of the United Negro
College Fund (UNCF), a
fund-raising organization for
private historically black
colleges and universities
(HBCUs).
UNCF was founded in 1944
by a past president of Tuske-
gee Institute, Dr. Frederick D.
Patterson. He wrote a column
in the “Pittsburgh Courier”
urging HBCUs to unite in
fundraising activities. This
helped raise $765,000 for 27
colleges during the first
UNCF campaign.
One of the activities for
Bennett’s UNCF campaign for
the year has already begun.
There are designated boxes
around campus for aluminum
cans. Since students consume
many soft drinks. Dr. Barbara
Blake, biology professor,
thought recycling cans would
bring the most student in
volvement.
Fundraising has helped
others learn the significance
of black colleges.
“There’s just something
about a graduate of a black
college. They have that added
confidence, and you can tell
that they’ve had a lot of
support from professors and
peers,” said Jacqueline
Wiggins, director of develop
ment for the Office of Insti
tutional Advancement.
A graduate of a predomi
nantly white university, Wig
gins felt the difference as
soon as she came to Bennett.
Even her friends who had
gone to black colleges had a
confident air, as she recalls.
The largest fundraiser in
the past has been the “Lou
Rawls Parade of Stars Tele
thon” for UNCF. The event
has attracted many celebri
ties who donate not only
funds, but also time and talent
to solicit donations from
others.
Perhaps the largest cele
brity contributor is Michael
Jackson. His “Victory Tour”
raised $600,000 for UNCF
and helped establish the
Michael Jackson Scholarship
Fund.
Jackson spoke at a dinner
given in his honor in New
York in November of last
year.
“There is nothing more im
portant than to make sure
everyone has the opportunity
for an education. To want to
leam, to have the capacity
to learn and not be able to—
is a tragedy. I am honored
to be associated with an
evening that says this will
never happen,” the singer
said.
Singing is not the only
Shades of the Sixties
Seniors: what’s next?
by Joycelynne Hodges
What will seniors do in the
next chapters of their lives—
after graduation and its glor
ies? What will they miss the
most from their alma mater?
Some of the graduating
seniors plan to continue their
education.
Carolyn Lewis, a psycho
logy major from Washington,
D.C., plans to attend Ohio
State University. She said,
“I really think that it is im
portant to continue my edu
cation, especially in order to
get a job. If I don’t get into
Ohio, then I’ll go to (The Uni
versity of) Maryland.”
She also said, “What I’ll
miss most is the togetherness
and sisterhood that I share
here at Bennett. I’ll also miss
Dr. Michelle Linster (profes
sor of psychology) and all of
the fun I’ve had in the
dorms.”
LaShawn Barber, a psy
chology major from Upper
Marlboro, Md., plans to at
tend the University of Mary
land. She said, “If I get ac
cepted, I would like to get my
master’s degree in industrial
psychology, then further my
education to get a Ph.D. Then
I’ll pursue a family.”
She also said, “I’ll miss my
friends and the atmosphere
of Bennett.”
Angel Buchanan, from
Decatur, Ga., is a political
science major. She said, “I’ll
go straight to law school,
maybe at North Carolina
Central in Durham. I can tell
you who I’ll miss the most,
my little sisters. Dr. Baffour
Agyeman-Duah (director of
social sciences) and his stem
hand upon me, and of course
Ms. Carolyn Moore, (assistant
professor of sociology).”
There are some seniors who
wish to wait until they further
their education.
Melody Hicks, a business
administration major from
Roxboro, said, “Hopefully, I’ll
just go home and get a job
at Central Carolina Bank in
Durham. I’ll miss my friends
the most.”
Nancy Leath, a psychology
major from Burlington, said,
“I plan on getting a job for
experience. I hope that they’ll
send me to school, but if not,
then I’ll just quit and send
myself. Believe it or not, I
am going to miss these cruddy
dorms but most of all my
Bennett sisters.”
Kim Eatmon agrees with
Nancy. This ISP major from
District Heights, Md. wants
to enter the work force and
eventually get a master’s at
either the University of Mary
land or Howard University.
She said, “I’ll miss the friend
ships that I’ve gained on
campus. I’ll also miss the
crazy traditions of the school
which we argue about, like
yelling “Flushing” in the
shower.”
Tonya Goodwin, an ISP
major from Cincinnati, said,
“I want to work for a while
to make some money; then
I’ll go to school, maybe para
legal school. I’ll miss a little
bit of everything, but I won’t
miss packing up my things in
order to bring them back
down here.”
means of helping to ensure
the survival of black colleges.
Mrs. Ellease Colston, director
of Alumni Affairs and adviser
to the Bennett Pre-Alumni
Council (PAC), helps to sup
ervise fundraisers for UNCF.
In November, she took three
students to a PAC Conference
at Claflin College in Orange
burg, S. C. One of the pur
poses of PAC is to help raise
money for UNCF.
Faculty and staff have also
been diligently raising money.
Aside from giving personal
donations, they have spon
sored a gospel concert benefit
and a fashion show.
For the first time, Bennett
has selected a Miss UNCF,
Joann Moore, a junior bio
logy major. As a part of fund
raising efforts, interested
young ladies were given two
weeks in September of 1988
to raise funds. Moore raised
over $500.
“Morale has never been so
high,” said Theo Hall, presi
dent of PAC, before announc
ing the Miss UNCF winner.
Moore has already been on
the “Good Morning America
Show” with President Gloria
Scott and on the “Lou Rawls
Telethon” on Dec. 17, 1988.
Moore does not understand
how others cannot see the
significance of black colleges.
“For too long, blacks were
rejected from white schools.
Black schools gave us oppor
tunity and hope. I can’t be
lieve that there are people
who want to take that away
from us, even though we can
go to white schools now if we
choose,” Moore said.
Moore’s words seem to echo
those of UNCF founder Dr.
Patterson, “My goal was
never less than America’s
goal.”
Dr. Patterson died on April
26, 1988, but his goal hasn’t.
The UNCF slogan reminds
all that “a mind is a terrible
thing to waste.” Not giving
black minds an opportunity
to expand simply creates an
unnecessary waste.
Is black pride being reawakened?
by Taimdra S. Woodard
Black pride, black love, black
power, echoes from the past are
rallying black America to action.
The philosophies of Malcolm X
and Martin Luther King Jr. are
being revived, and black youth
are moving from political lethargy
to awareness.
The new black pride movement
differs from that of the 60s be
cause It stresses links with Africa
and international black unity. The
60s movement secured the rights
that all Afro-Americans were
granted under the Constitution.
Today’s movement focuses on the
struggles of the past for the rights
of tomorrow. The new movement
also denounces the inhumane
treatment of the millions of Afri
cans suppressed in South Africa.
The recent presidential cam
paign has been cited as one of
the main reasons for this upsurge
of pride. The two black candidates
running for the presidency fell at
opposite ends of the spectrum,
but nevertheless both campaigns
perpetuated black nationalism.
Jesse Jackson, the more success
ful of tlie two, sihowed thait he
could appeal to black and white
America. Lenora Fulani, an inde
pendent candidate able to get her
name on the ballot in all 50 sitates,
was more radical and dealt with
particularly feminist issues affect
ing women of color. The cam
paigns showed that black America
is still moving toward equality.
Sondra Sells, a junior arts
management major from Denver,
Col., believes that the campaigns
meant more than just a black
man and woman running for pre
sident.
“The camp>aigns caused black
America to look at who they
wanted to vote for and at the
same time leam more about them
selves as a people.”
Tina Nelson, a sophomore Eng
lish major from Philadelphia,
belives that blacks are emphasiz
ing racial pride to counteract the
genocidal potential of the drug
epidemic.
“People not on drugs are trying
to exhibit more pride in the race
to deter young people from getting
involved with the drugs,” Nelson
said. Nelson also said that Mal
colm X’s teachings about vice-free
living are more widely accepted.
That is why msiny students wear
shirts with his picture embla
zoned on the front along wi'th a
slogan from the movement.
Melissa Rivers, a sophomore
business major from Rochester,
N.Y., believes that there is a re
surgence of black pride, but it
is merely a fad.
“People don’t understand what
the symbols mean. They just wear
them because it is the ‘in’ thing
to do,” Rivers said.
Sells acknowledged that she
really had not noticed that there
was a new move toward black
nationalism.
“If there is a movement I don’t
know anything about it,” she said.
Rivers cited students’ lack of
knowledge about the continent of
Afflrica as a testimony to the
shallowness of the movement.
Rivers also idenitified a new move
towards Islam as the reason why
Malcolm X’s teachings are more
widely accepted.
“More people are moving toward
Islam. That is why they under
stand the teachings of Malcolm
X more be8ause his teachings
were directly related to the Isla
mic faith,” Rivers said.
Sells doesn’t know of any rea
sons for a move toward Malcolm
X’s teachings but acknowledges
why she read his autobiography.
“I read Malcolm to see the p>ast
and present in respect to the
future. When you are made aware
of your environment, then you
are able to become self-actua
lized. You can find out who you
are in relation to those immedia
tely around you and others around
the world.”
Rivers expressed doubts about
the significance of the two black
candidates in the i>ast election
because “blacks have run for the
offices of president and vice-
president before and it didn’t
cause a major impact. Therefore
the past election did not cause
much impact either.”
On all college campuses, there
is an increased enrollment in Afro-
American history claisses which
may be caused by the new black
nationalism. According to Nelson,
“If students are really getting
something from the classes then
the classes are beneficial, but if
students are just getting into the
classes because they already know
the information, then they are not
contributing to the new black
nationalism.”
Garvey’s Procession: Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) fought racial injustice in Jamaica, England and America. The most
influential black leader of the early 1920s, he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and the back to
Africa” movement. At the height of his fame, Garvey counted millions of black Americans as his followers. Whw, how
ever, he was convicted on a controversial mail fraud charge, he was deported to Jamaica and never regained his
pre-eminence, (photo courtesy of Discovery Channel).
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