3
No’.eniber, 19*
BLACK INK
' tj-^ETON Johnson .“HNIC”
CuniSTC''j Johnson — Managing “HNIC”
B/lly vVilliams Business Manager
LoHr TTA Parks Women’s News
s'itrxY Sellars Circulation Manager
I I. ;;kj,on Johnson Photographer
REPORTERS
Tyra Bryant Jackie Holt
Angela Bryant Pamela Jones
Callie Berry Billy Williams
V[ickey Lewis . Billy Hunter
Loretta Parks Charles Jeffries
ij.’ ' Assistant: Cynthia Ricks
“ PRESTON SPEAKS
BSM: Only A Start
Ity I RESTON DOBBINS
F'iloi' Note; Preston Dob-
b'tis. •’ormer chairman of UNC’s
Black Sludent Movement, was
ill Asheville during the rebel
lion there. Here he gives an
account of what realy happened.
He must face state and munici
pal ch;:!rges involving the inci
dent 07’ Nov. 14. Nov. 30 is the
triai lor federal charges. His
expenses will run around
$10,000. Anyone wishing to give
Kssistanci — please send dona
tions to the BSM office care of
the Cc.rolina Student Union,
C.-haivei Hill, N. C.
1 arn sure that most people
presently reading this arttcle
are familiar with most of the
associated with the “Ashe-
V i 11 e awakening.” Looking
quic'vly .iver the facts, here is
v.ha* happened.
D; virr the week of Sept. 22,
1 F.l.icl; itudent was suspended
.\-lii!ville High for the re-
. i I Un )f the year by the
pr r.ei].; ! ivhen he allegedly en-
: * ’’K' bcKool witK iio coob^c
')u ; ic i.;!t tiie school in disbe-
lie;' .uu! later told his fellow
T?1a' students what had hap-
p. .1. a
;i y dt!cided this was the
last s'ra A, that Black students
, nd . 'kon enough bullshit from
the pinin clothed pig school of-
liri.-, . At a meeting later in the
v.c. U '. brothers and sisters
0 . i,-,). 10 initiate the action
, ; p, ,:'ass boycott to begin
,:.’dmy morning, Septem-
fn r .'H. ii, was a beautiful sight.
0 .\M.., practically all of
ii’ . Is 300-400 Black stu-
■ o standing on the front
lie school waiting to
1 t ' 6 principal with a list
01 nr'-' ■■•■i^ces and demands. In
i li'ii’;., ,‘:-.g fashion, the first
: ; did upon coming out-
• IS to order the students
. ■ iass.
'i ^ -£ course told him to
■f ♦(. i ll. He then offered to
.1. V- with “one or two.”
Thi y him that they were
hi| ; lis white man’s trick
r, .r' in,.' to corner and word-
wa i 'u or two students and
! ' v.ould have to talk with
■1. )sen negotiating com-
> the presence of the
■ ■ dy of Black students
I. ■ It wasn’t long before
that these students
n.v I . I. . jiness and he wouldn’t
:i' ': 'O huff and puff them
■ .ibmission or trick them
i'i I i-ompromise, as the pig
o:,t;. ;-.^i,'ient is wont to do.
It WpTS as though the ruling
fVass its pawns in this coun
ts ,■ :1 never learn that they
-I p the legitimate move-
;n, til 'i Black people to free
i! ■ ."s of oppression in any
7 0, ;r! i- by any means neces-
1; . t wasn’t really a sur-
v/i..n the principal’s next
iv,o . .■ u “s to call in the uni-
■ city pigs who were
c death and therefore
especially dangerous. When
they arrived, the ‘‘Pig in
Charge” ordered them into line
formatoin facing the Black stu
dents.
Once again the principal or
dered them to return to class,
once again they refused. The
chief pig yelled “Charge” and
fifteen mad animals began
swinging clubs on brothers and
especially sisters. There are
hospital records to prove it.
But the brothers didn’t take
the shit laying down. They re
taliated with bottles and bricks
and soon the pigs were run
ning and a few thousand dollars
damage was done to school
property. Pigs in local govern
ment weren’t smart enough to
even show an interest in solv
ing the problems which led to
the disturbances. They instead
came out with the usual assy
statement about how “law n’
audu” would be preserved at
any cost and how it was ‘ a few
irresponsible Black students”
who started everything.
T*hp mciyor alco cicelarod tHc
existance of a state of emer
gency in Asheville and pro
claimed a 9:00 P.M.-6:00 A.M.
curfew.
The following night, while
discussing some matters rele
vant to the situation, Victor
Chalk, a Black leader in Ashe
ville, received word from his
mother that she had been re
ceiving phone calls from local
Klan officials stating that neith
er she, her son, or the rest of
her family would survive the
niglit unless Victor would “cut
that Black stuff out.” Needless
to say, she was scared.
Curfew or no damned cur
few, we had to leave and check
the situation out, especially
when remembering that earlier
in the night we had spotted sev
eral Klan pick-up trucks riding
around with loaded rifle racks.
En route we were stopped by
the pigs and subsequently jailed
on curfew violations. They later
claimed to have found a shot
gun, shells, dynamite caps, fuse
and flammable materials in the
car. There is no doubt in- my
mind that we were set up and
planted for the kill.
We of course did not realize
that there were “incendiary de
vices” (a federal offense) in
the car and not too manj- peo
ple search their car before using
it every time. I for one will do
so from now on however.
There are several interesting
observations to be made. First
of all, as Blacks and other op
pressed minorities ar 1 groups
in this racist country c ;
to escalate the battle lom-
plete freedom, the pressor
will escalate his neo-f;' 'ist ways
to subvert and supprts.*: th“
struggle. Also conf-ont'ition:
like the one in AsheviJle v.: •
serve to heighten the lf:vel of
political awareness of our peo
rle so that we can mo"e clearlv
realize the true nature c. ilie
“Understanding is the best
thing in the world,” according
to blues singer Ray Charles.
And if understanding isn’t pos
sible, a little knowledge is bet
ter than nothing.
In the case of the BSM, UNC’s
Black Student Movement, a lit
tle of both would be timely
since the University has opened
its doors for another year of
unexpected headaches.
Organized during the 1967-68
school year, the BSM has grown
from anonymity into a position
of power, A coup detat, lead by
former chairman Preston Dob
bins and Raleigh’s own Juan
Coefield, left the campus
NAACP program without stu
dent support.
Kelly Alexander, president of
the campus NAACP and son of
the state NAACP head, became
very alienated to BSM activities
and continued to gallantly push
for the more conservative ac
tions and doctrines associated
with his organization.
The time was ripe for change.
The “Negro” label applied to
the NAACP’s title didn’t sit
well with the growing feeling
of “Blackness” on the college
campus at that time. That was
the year a hassell erupted over
the name “Negro,” “black,” or
“Afro-American” all across the
country.
The new organization sought
new and bold leadership. This
was found in Preston Dobbins,
a forceful and energetic black
transfer student from Chicago.
The older black students on
campus were ready for action,
not talk. The freshmen were a
new breed of black student. Un-
]ikc iv.any in tHc ptiet 'vbo
“made it” to a good white school
and had only self to think about,
the freshmen were ready to
fight for what they felt was
right.
And fight was literally what
they did. From confrontations
with rebel campus fraternities
to brushes with Chapel Hill and
campus police, BSM members
began to let campus officials
know that there were Black
students on campus.
The first year marked the
type of spirit rushing tiirough-
out the blood of each member
and set the stage for greater
tasks in coming years. The Dixie
flag burning parade during the
death of Martin Luther King
and the scattered trouble which
ensued along with other minor
incidents only set the stage for
what was to come the following
'year.
Nobody can speculate wheth
er or not the NAACP would
have continued whether action
brought about by the BSM
would have been initiated but
most Black students on campus
have their doubts. One of the
major hypothesis which per-
miated this group and others
like '.hem or other campuses
was the _eling that nothing
would ever be done without the
threat o' disruption and vio
lence, and all too often state
and local officials proved them
right.
The things the BSM fought
for this year were things that
shouldn’t have required force
to accomplish. They were fights
for just causes that most peo
ple wanted to ignore and sweep
under a rug.
The Cafeteria strike, the fight
for Black studies, the push for
greater Black student enroll
ment and interest of the Uni
versity in the surrounding com
munity were things which left
the white conservatives angered
and the white liberals support
ing but afraid of more than
mere talk.
All of these things and more
have since been instituted. The
wrongs done to cafeteria work--
ers were acknowledged, a Black
studies curriculum with a major
in African and Afro-Amercian
studies has been set up with a
full department of Black stud- ■
ies just around the corner. Al
though still a ridiculous figure.
Black enrollment is increasing
and the student legislature ap
propriated funds to the BSM
last spring for community work
this fall.
Summer turns out to be a
time for ‘‘getting oneself to
gether for another year” say
BSM members.
Under the leadership of Jack
McClean, new BSM chairman,
the group has continued to
make plans during the summer
lull. A community paper spon
sored by the BSM, tutorial pro
grams and guest speakers are
only a few of the plans for the
fall.
There is no rest in the -
of the BSM and old meml i
have already contacted incom
ing Black freshmen and trans
fers.
Because the BSM is a Black
group it is bound to be unpopu
lar in the state. There is no
doubt about hatred held for the
group, even though nearly all
it has done has come about be
cause of years of neglect and
indifference towards wrongs in
our society and culture.
The members of the BSM say
this will no longer be tolerated.
Come troopers. Chapel Hill po
lice and campus officials the
improvement of a Black nation
stands before self-centered aspi
rations many students on cam
puses possess today.
It would be difficult to give
the BSM a set idealogy since
each member is an individual
and has different ideas and be
liefs.
Usually, actions taken by the
group are compromises reached
after mass metings. Every
body’s feelings have been taken,
into account. When all is said
and done, however the group
acts as a united front.
The fight against white ra
cism and Black fear will con
tinue this semester with bolder
leaders. The need for dis
cussion and communication with
whites has not been forbid
den and will continue. But
when this procedure proves to
be fruitless, as it has many
times in the past, “by any
means necessary” becomes the
rule of thumb for party mem
bers.
Law and Order
Who’s Fooling Who
Why am I alive? While at
Highland Hospital, a pig said -
to me: “You ain’t going to be
at no barbecue picnic tomor
row. You the barbecue now!”
Why did Little Bobbie die? It
was not a miracle, it just hap
pened that way. I know my
duty. Having been spared my,
life, I don’t want it. I give it
back to our struggle. Eldridge
Cleaver died in that house on
28th street, with Little Bobby,
and what’s left is force: fuel for
the fire that will rage across
the face of this racist country
and either purge it of its evil
or turn it into ashes. I say this
for Little Bobby, for Eldridge
Cleaver who died that night,
for every black man, woman,
and child who ever died here
in Babylon ,and I say it to ra
cist America, that if every voice
of dissent is silenced by your
guns, by your courts, by your
gas chambers, by your money,
you will know, that as long as
the ghost of Eldridge Cleaver
is afoot, you have an ENEMY
in your midst.
(Please turn to Page 4)
Ck(?ic(
pig establishment.
These situations also serve to
prove to our people that ,)ie
political economic, social sys
tem of this country is incapable
of real reforin and that only
through the complete over-
tiiro’v of the system will we,
tiie oppres.sea, become truly
iroe.
Ai d to those members of the
pig ..'stablishment—oink, grunt,
and .ituf' yourselves while you
>"f>i *'>r th ^)eople are risirg
tuid ; so- jon is near.
t?
/VA_
I