LETTERS
White student comments on Black Ink
Dear Editor:
No more need to resist. I
know I had earned my Sealy Pos-
turepedic Experience for Friday
night, and nobody was going to
draw me back from dream time.
Coming out of the Union, I saw
some thoughtless Black person had
left many copies of Black Ink. I
said to my White self, “White per
son, you know you will give up an
hour of sleep just to read the BSM
magazine, do yourself a favor and
leave it right where it is; you
wouldn’t stay awake for the Tar
Heel, would you?”
My self makes me smile some
times.
Yes, we did read Black Ink at
the expense of Friday night Z-time.
No, I wouldn’t do it for the Tar
Heel.
I wouldn’t be doing myself a
favor if I read the Tar Heel at mid
night, but Black Ink is a different
story.
By printing Black Ink, the
BSM does everybody a favor. It is
to the advantage of every person on
this campus, including White peo
ple, that unique Black expression is
promoted in every way possible.
The same is true for Black expres
sion that is true for everything else
at UNC (and in life): that we are
cheating ourselves and everyone
else if we look away, preferring
to see more familiar objects.
Given that we make the
effort, UNC students and the com
munities we influence will come
away with thinking and learning
skills and a desire to seek new per
spectives that will help us move
more gracefully. An appreciation
During the past four years at
Carolina there have been certain
names and faces that have contin
ually grown to a popular status.
Among this list of names is one
person who has gained popularity
not only within the Black com
munity, but within the white com
munity as well. This person is none
other than outgoing Black Ink
Editor, Allen Johnson.
Mr. Johnson has been an ideal
example for the community to fol
low. He has shown us all that talk
doesn’t always have to be cheap.
Mr. Johnson not only gives ideas
and suggestions for innovative ex
pansions, but he does all he pos
sibly can to see that the approved
suggestions are carried out.
Through the publication of Black
Ink, we can see that Allen is not
a person of mere words, but a man
who makes some of his “wildest
dreams” come true for the benefit
of his peers and the community.
Nevertheless, he places em
phasis on the fact that none of the
changes and improvements that
ramp about could have been possi
ble without the cooperation and
dedication of a hard working staff.
of history and the present ex
perience of other rational minds
will cut down on wasted motion
in whatever work we do after
graduation.
We all recognize as a primary
human weakness the habit of seeing
only what we want to see, but
hopefully while we are at the Uni
versity people will call to our at
tention things we need but might
otherwise find it easier to look
away from. A little extra effort
today, stuck in the right places,
will be an investment in the true
path of least resistance for years to
come.
Unfortunately, most White
people (and a frightening number
of Blacks as well) do not perceive
the path of least resistance to lie
with an open-eyes, open-hands per
spective on minority races and cul
tures. That would take terrific
energy and a gut-wrenching change
of heart since the majority per
spective “works” (note the “golden
rule, ‘He who has the gold, makes
the rules’ ”) and it seems unneces
sary to make an extra effort to
capture an understanding of where
minorities are coming from.
Someone whose name I f >rgot
said that Whites regard Black lives
as a “shadow play through which
(Whites) can move at will.” People
of the majority are unwilling or un
able to penetrate the energy barrier
to see Black expression as a teacher
of experience worthy of their at
tention and admiration.
That energy barrier hangs
shackles on every body of Black
expression. BSM gets clobbered by
fund freezes and fights for space in
Allen feels that staff members
were the key element in the pro
duction of the improved publica
tion.
Under the leadership of Mr.
Johnson, the staff was able to pub
lish thirteen issues of Black Ink
during the past year, the greatest
number of issues in the entire
history of Black Ink.
Also, from Mr. Johnson origi-
r.ated the idea of selling ads, selling
subscriptions and having fundrais
ing projects to increase our budget
for the year. All three ideas turned
out to be highly successful and will
be continued during the following
year.
The Black Ink staff is grateful
for the example that Mr. Johnson
has shown us. He has laid a founda
tion that we know we can continue
to build on.
Fortunately enough for us,
Mr. Johnson will be returning next
year for graduate school.
He will serve on the staff as
associate editor during this time.
Now the staff would like to say,
“thank you Allen and good luck
with graduate school.”
Upendo lounge. Why aren’t Ebony
Readers, Opeyo Dancers, BSM
Gospel Choir sent on tour by the
University? Why is there no ex
change of professors with the Black
universities in the UNC system?
And don’t expect to see any clear
Black expression in the Tar Heel
(that’s just for news, you know)! I
wouldn’t attribute the official in
action, the sins of omission, to
hostility so much as to lack of
virility.
Many people are fearful today
(students fearful for their futures
and staff fearful for their jobs),
thus they prefer to surround them
selves with marshmallows and seek
out a proven, easy track. Unfor
tunately, that means the only peo
ple willing or able to promote ag
gressive, effective minority expres
sion are the minorities themselves.
It’s unlikely many Whites will
seek out the pages of Black Ink to
find Black expression, but I’m glad
it’s there, making me lose sleep and
giving me a look at something I
need to see. Yes, even White people
need to follow the path of least
resistance. Doing anything else
Teresa Williams
Staff Writer
Camping outdoors. Exciting
games of football, softball, and
volleyball. Delicious food. Swim
ming. Praising the Lord.
During the weekend of April
22-23, members of the Black
Christian Fellowship (BCF) enjoyed
these activities and many more. The
retreat was open not only to the
members of the BCF, but to their
guests, Christian as well as non-
Christian.
Stan Reid, a BCF member,
feels that the primary purpose of
would break those everlasting, ex
alted laws of physics learned by all
pre-med and pre-dental students.
But it shames and saddens me
so many of my fellow Whites (and
Blacks as well) refuse to appreciate
or appropriate the experience of
Black Americans.
Under greatest opposition
Blacks have managed to feed their
children, mind their affairs, and
still find resources to sling blood
for every inch of ground they
gain in this society. Anybody can
learn from people like that; any
rational person would do himself
a favor by going out of his way to
apprehend some of that experience
and master some of those skills.
Keep up the good work of
projects like Black Ink. 1 hope
those who produce these things
will remain patient and leave that
back door open so some of my
fellow White people can stick their
head in and look around, and per
haps come away with a gift from
some of you.
Steve Aceto
Continued on Page 12
the retreat was for “praising the
Lord, singing, sharing, and uplifting
His name.” He added, “I went ex
pecting a blessing, and I received
it.”
Many of those who attended
regarded the weekend as an oppor
tunity to get to know other Chris
tians and as a time to be together
other than on Sunday. To some, it
was a time to find solitude and
self-satisfaction which can’t always
be found on campus.
The retreat, say participants,
dispelled one major misconception
that non-Christians have about
Christians. It proved that Christians
can and do have fun, they noted.
Staff photo by Wekesa Madzimoyo
Black Ink staff pays tribute to outgoing Editor Allen Johnson whose dedication and
determination changed mere words into reality for Black Ink.
Johnson sets example
BCF members enjoy
annual retreat