THE BLACK INK
March, 1974
Tribute to Dr. Brewer
Another BLACK dream — died.
When the man keeled over.
Lord, 1 swear!! Fuck!! Itseemslike
we
be losing
all our men, losing all our
Black Gods.
Our children losing their only real
heroes
‘to they ever see ’em.
But you know, 1 kinda think
there’s a reason.
‘Cause there so many
gods
pretending — trying to be
jive-ass
niggers
just ‘cause it’s easy.
Maybe they need this so they’ll stop
wasting time
and fucking up
like they doing
We ain’t got no time and
we sho’ ain’t
igot no heroes
'to be wasting and throwing away
jlike this
Verdrey M. Mason
Editor's note: The Black Ink stajj
dedicates this issue to Dr. James
M. Brewer, the late director oj the
AJro-American Studies program.
Freedom goal
Jor tomorrow
Black brothers and black sisters.
The time is now at hand, if you love
freedom as I believe that you do.
Freedom belongs to those who
fight for it and secure f reedom for
tomorrow. If we as black peoole
fail to secure freedom today, then
there can not be no freedom for
tomorrow.
As you have seen, many people
put food into cans and jars to be
secure for tomorrow. If they don’t
do this then there will not be ai^
food for tomorrow. This is the only
way to hold freedom, secured
freedom for tomorrow, and that is
how our black people will have
freedom for tomorrow.
To secure freedom for
tomorrow, there are not any easy
steps, because there will always be
someone in the way of the Black
people.
Steps to freedom are something
that must be paid with one’s life
and freedom. So my brothers and
sisters you must prepare yourselves
to secure freedom now because
tomorrow belongs to who is
prepared to secure freedom today.
When a brother and sister are
preparing themselves to secure
freedom for tomorrow. These are
black brothers and sisters who love
freedom beyond life itself; they are
willing to give up their own lives for
see page 6
Brothers!
Why don
cha speak to
ug
ly sisters?
Ug
ly sisters are hu
man too.
We wanna be spo
ken to jus like
them superfine sisters
make yo’ mouth wa
ter
Can’t help it cause we’re
ug
ly sisters,
l^ean, even ug
ly brothers don’t speak
to us ug
ly sisters. Brothers, I
heard y’all laugh other day
when I passed by an’ja
didn’t speak. Heard you
say did you see that ug
ly woman?
I understand that ’cause
you speak to me don’t mean
you’d ask me out or in,
as the case may be. Heard
you’d take a pretty sister
to dinner and an ug
ly sister to
bed.
Well, that don’t matter,
point is, 1 want you
to start speaking to
us ug
ly sisters.
Ari
the only
fltting memorial
When the Black Studies Program began about five years ago. it
included four courses, two in history and two seminars. Today these same
four courses exist.
Dr. James Brewer, who was appointed director of the program this
year, has been working diligently to expand the program into a viable
curriculum. At the time of his death, he was awaiting the approval of his
proposed 15 course curriculum. The courses would include studies in
Black education. Blacks and Criminal justicc. Black psychology. Black
dialect and Black art.
Chancellor Ferebce Taylor in a recent interview by the DTH was
quoted as having said that Dr. Brewer “exerted and humani/mg inlluence
on the institution and all that knew him.” But how much of that influence
rubbed off bn the University. If Taylor and the administration want to
insure that Dr. Brewer's efforts were not in vain, the only fitting memorial
that they can give him is to implement his much nurtured dreams ol hiring
black professors to begin the courses next semester.
Another tribute to Dr. Brewer should be a collection ot Black literature
in his honor taken from the expanding collection in the undergraduate
library.
Capital punishment
used as weapon
Talented need help
Carl Williams
Central Prison Inmate
What is capital punishment? Is it
utilized as a deterrent for crime or
is it for violation of the interracial
code?
As late as the I860’s, such crimes
as rape and murder, committed by
a white man, were punishable by 20
to 30 lashes. But if the crime was
committed by a Black, the penalty
was death.
In the 1800’s, and some places
today. Blacks were not allowed to
strike whites, even in self-defense.
The maximum penalty for any
crime committed by a Black could
be death. Whites could kill a Black
and it was seldom regarded as
murder.
With the above in mind, we
come a step closer in
understanding why capital
punishment is necessary to the
whites in the United States. Capital
punishment is not actually for
whites, but for Blacks.
In Alabama alone there have
been over 400 executions since the
1930’s and two thirds of these have
been Blacks. Does this sound
reasonable where Blacks are a
minority? There must be an answer
for this question somewhere.
Today’s laws reflect the feelings
that existed among whites a
century ago. Statistics show that
Blacks and other minorities are in
the majority on all prison death
rows. Why should this be when
again these people are a minority?
To comprehend the death
penalty in its proper perspective,
•ee pag« 3
by Congressman Augusta
Hawkins
As part of my continuing interest
in keeping current about
educational programs affecting
our youth, I recently read an Office
of Education report about s^ted
and talented youth in elementary
and secondary schools.
in an age when we are greatly
concerned about the destruction
and waste of our natural resources
according to this O.E. report, we
are wasting our most precious
resource, because of our failure to
properly identify and help the
gifted and talented youth in our
midst.
Comine in all colors, sizes, and
shapes, they are brighter,
intellectual, interested in exploring
new ideas; exceptionally fascinated
with abstract concepts and ethical
concerns and greatly neglected!!
Contributing to this evidence of
neglect as revealed in the O.E.
study, is the fact that the
departments of education in onlv
ten states m the nation have
engaged full time staffs to search
out and work with the gifted.
These staffs are part of the small
core of devoted educators,
guidance counselors and other
interested adults who are
attempting to provide planned,
expert guidance and
encouragement to the estimated
four per cent of the gifted and
talented who are receiving
assistance; the potential gifted
population consists of some two
million youth.
A common assumption is that
the gifted come from privileged
backgrounds. The O.E. report
reveals that the gifted can be found
in every strata of society, from
inner city ghettoes to poverty
stricken, rural Appalachias.
Our major concern then should
beUo find the gifted, and help them
master their “differentness” so that
they become aware_of the positive
i^leans oflitlRzing their ^dUctive
potential.
One such effort, supported
through Titles I, III and V of the
Elementary and Secondary
Education Act, is being conducted
by the Southwest Educational
Development Laboratory in
Austin, Texas.
The Development Laboratory is
exploring new methods of
identifying gifted minority group
members, who might otherwise
remain unidentified because of
their disadvantaged circumstances.
Their laboratory’s plan is to
formulate prototype materials for
state education departments, in the
state’s efforts to use fresh, creative
test instruments which slo not
penalize Blacks or Chincanos
because of language or cultural
riT^FiNKi
differences and yet can be useful in
finding gifted youngsters in these
populations.
State Departments of
Education are being encouraged
and strengthened to organize full
time staffs, capable of dealing with
programs for the gifted and
talented.
With the support of ESEA
funding, every state, not just the
present ten, would then be capable
of providine leadership within
their jurisdictions for solid,
definitive programming.
ESEA funds are also being
earmarked to develop private
sector apprenticeships, for
disadvantaged gifted and talented
students, who clearly have the
potential for college work; or\jp{
the purposes of this program, is to
encourage these youth to work at
9ee page 8
Emma Pullen
Editor-in-chief
Sterling Swann
Associate Editor
Janice IMills
Managing Editor
Gwen Harvey
Feature Editor
iVlae Israel
News Editor
Leonard Lee
Sports Editor
Linda Williams*
Lay-out Editor
Russell Davis
Photography Editor
Valerie Batts
Minister of Information
I
BLACK INK, published monthly by the UNC BLACK
STUDENT MOVEMENT. All unsigned editorials represent
the opinions of the editor. All columns represent only the
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may be addressed to BLACK INK, 261 B, Carolina Student
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