Page 8 THE BLACK INK M*rch, 1973
Les Ballets
Victims of Oppression-
All Blacks Prisoners
by Deborah Austin
Staff Writer
Brother Dwight Womble in a
speech to the BSM asserted, “All
Black people are political
prisoners.” The North Carolina
Committee for Political
Prisoners brought people, facts
and cases to Hamilton Hall to
prove Brother Womble’s
assertion.
It appears that most North
Carolinians are unaware of what
is going on in the North Carolina
Judicial System. This one system
has been messing over the
Charlotte 3, the Wilmington 8,
the Ayden 11, Rev. Ben Chavis,
the Winston-Salem and High
Point branches of the Black
Panther Party, and hundreds of
other people who have not yet
come to the public eye.
It is necessary to stop and to
consider what is happening.
What do all these people have in
common?
In Charlotte, N.C., three
Black men were tried, convicted
and given long prison sentences
for burning the Lazy B Stable in
1968, a stable which previously
would not allow Black people to
use the facility.
Dr. James Grant was given 25
years, T.J. Reddy, 20 years, and
Charles Parker, 10 years. They
were convicted on the testimony
of A1 Hood and Dave
Washington, two criminals who
are freed from charges with
possible penalties of close to 100
years for this testimony. Grant,
Reddy, and Parker were all
active in church, civil rights, and
Black community meetings.
In Burgaw. Rev. Ben Chavis
has been sentenced to 34 years
and eight Black men and one
White woman have received
sentences totalling 248 years.
These convictions were also
based on the testimony of
known criminals, who are now
free. These people were working
against racism and for badly
needed social change.
The Ayden incident began
with the shooting of a Black
man, William Murphy, by a state
trooper. The trooper was
released on the grounds that he
shot Murphy in self-defense.
Black people became angry and
protested. Curfews and a school
bombing followed.
Thirteen-year-old Donald Smith
was convicted for the incident
and sentenced to 40 years in
prison.
From all appearances, anyone
who tries to organize against
racism and social injustice stands
the chance of being framed and
jailed. Something must be done,
but what?
Bill Wallace, a young Black
man, working for the release of
the Charlotte 3, states that the
first step is education of the
masses. He suggested that we try
to get a mass movement to
petition the governor to
commute the sentences of all
political prisoners.
Write to any influential
person that may be able to make
the issue a national one. The
masses may be instrumental in
raising bond and defense fees. If
nothing else, sign a petition for
the release of the state’s political
prisoners, or write a letter to an
incarcerated brother or sister.
It Is Non-Involvement That Is
Helping the State to Destroy
Our Brothers and Sisters. Wake
Up People and See That We Are
All In Jeopardy!
The problem of so many
Black people in America’s prison
cells must be forever in the
minds of brothers and sisters
who are not themselves
physically incarcerated.
Raps with politically
conscious prisoners and readings
from these brothers and sisters
will do much to enable us to
understand the racist game that
America plays with the Black
masses. No one of us can know
when our physical freedom will
be taken away, and many of us
are hardly conscious of the
mental bondage we endure in
our daily existence.
The following list of political
prisoners compiled by the
Winston-Salem branch of the
Black Panther Party need our
support. By merely
corresponding with one or more
of these men, one can do much
toward understanding what
oppression and liberation mean.
Surely, we can find time to
write a letter, send a card, or
mail some relevant literature to
these men. Let us take advantage
of this opportunity to move, not
rap.
Charles Hairston-835 West
Morgan St., Raleigh, N.C.
Edward Howard-835 West
Morgan St., Raleigh, N.C.
Richard Carter-835 West
Morgan St., Raleigh, N.C.
Sherman James-1831 Blue
Ridge Blvd., Raleigh, N.C.
James Ford —1515 Gist St.,
Columbia, S.C.
Joseph Smith-P.O. Box 220,
Newport, N.C.
Michael Eppes-Rt. 2 P.O.
Box 90, Lillington, N.C.
by Deborah L. Long
The 44 singing, dancing
members of Les Ballets Africains
dance troupe performed
Wednesday, March 7, at 8 p.m.
in Memorial Hall.
Among the highlights of the
program was the story of
Soundiata Keita, “The Lion
King” who has become a symbol
of the search for a unified
Africa. Another feature was an
account of the life of M’Balia
Camara, a female martyr of the
struggle for independence among
African nations.
New offerings as well as the
most popular numbers of
previous years made up this
year’s program. The troupe’s
songs were the popular songs of
Africa, the way they were sung
in distant Guinean villages. The
frenzied dances sometimes
erupted into gymnastics, and the
comedy was of the slapstick
variety.
The members of Les Ballets
Africains represented the varied
cultures that populate the
Now
now
here
at a time
when ^here is
not n.uoh time
to neither
intellectualize
nor
prophesize
nor even criticize;
now
when we must
still explain,
when we must
still ask
the overwhelming question
when we still
can not yet be—
now
is
now
and we know
the now
the
problem
is to know
the tomorrow.
Donald E. Bogle
Former Black Ink Editor,
Allen Mask, came in third in the
recent student body presidential
election. Mask lost the second
place position, which would
have involved him in a run-off
election, by approximately,
thirty two votes. He cited
discrepancies in voting involving
the irregular polling hours at
Everett dormitory, which serves
Everett, Stacy, Aycock, Lewis
and Graham dorms, as the
reason. He had received his
heaviest support in this area.
Mask’s appeal to the UNC
Supreme Court for another
election was denied. The vote
was 3 to 1, with the only Black
member of the Court dissenting.
interior and the western coastal
regions of Equatorial Africa.
Selected from the ranks of 96
regional dance groups within the
Republic of Guinea, the troupe
had no stars or featured
performers.
Called “a company of African
Nureyevs, full of theatrical zip
and taste” by Saturday Review,
Les Ballets Africains first toured
the U.S. in 1958 with a program
of narrative dances, songs and
scenes portraying the ritual, the
pageantry, and the humor of the
African people.
Upendo
opens
A multi-part program marked
the long-awaited Grand Opening
of Upendo, the Black Student
Union in Chase Cafeteria, on
Friday night, February 16.
UNC Black students began
gathering in the Upendo lounge
around 8 p.m. in anticipation of
the 9 p.m. formal opening. At 9,
the opening ceremony began
with the singing of the Black
National Anthem, “Lift Every
Voice and Sing,” by everyone
present.
Following the anthem, Black
Student Movement Chairman
Warren Carson talked about how
the lounge for Black students
had been acquired through the
Carolina Union and the Office of
Student Affairs. Carson also
stated the purpose of the
Upendo and its business hours.
After Carson’s message, there
was a reading of “To Be Young,
Gifted, and Black,” by a
member of the Ebony Readers.
Dedication of the Upendo
Lounge was by Miss BSM,
Francine Randolph. Miss BSM
explained why the lounge had
been named “Upendo”-point-
ing out that the meaning of the
Swahili word is “love.” She then
gave several definitions of the
word “love” and explained what
love means in terms of unity for
Black people, specifically Black
students on Carolina’s campus.
Miss BSM also listed the
numerous uses that the lounge
will be put to by Black UNC
students, including providing
meeting and practice space for
various Black student
organizations, providing a place
of inspiration and escape from
white surroundings; providing a
“solid rock of Black Identity
and communication”; and
providing a place for individual
and group sociaUzation.
After Miss BSM’s dedication,
the Ebony Readers read “Black
Thoughts.”
The formal ceremony ended
wit th the chanting of “Power to
the People” by everyone
present. A record party in
Upendo followed the Grand
Opening of the lounge.
The one thing we Black
americans have in common with
the other colored peoples of the
world is that we have all felt the
cruel and ruthless heel of white
supremacy. We have all been
“niggerized” on one level or
another. And all of us are
determined to “deniggerize” the
earth. To rid the world of
“niggers” is the Black Man’s
Burden: human reconstruction is
the grand objective.
—John Oliver Killens
from Black Man’s Burden