April 28, 1983
Black Ink
Page 5
Race relations at UNC —
bad then, worse now
by CardeHowie
S bff Write
What is being done about the lack
of women and blacks on the faculty
at the University of North Carolina?
This is a question many people
have been asking themselves and the
answer can be found in several
places. One of these places is the Af
firmative Action Office located in 104
Bynum Hall.
Run by Dr. Gillian Cell, the office's
job is to monitor the affirmative ac
tion plan, advise the chancellor on af
firmative action policies and to act as
a resource department in hiring.
The role the office plays depends
on the department, but they are ready
to assist any department in the area of
locating and recruiting blacks and
women. This is done by asking the
department to let them know if they
are bringing blacks and women on
campus so the Affirmative Action of
fice can act as a liason.
Cell, an Affirmative Action officer
since T981, said "This process is a
very important positive thing for
them to meet with other blacks and
women."
Each department has to send
descriptions of jobs to be filled along
with where they advertised it to the
Affirmative Action Office. Extra ef
forts are made to find qualified blacks
and women. Cell said, "We respond
to everyone and make suggestions,"
Cell said.'
At the end of the search each
department has to send a full docu
ment to the Affirmative Action office
saying why they chose the person and
other such information, which then
has to be approved by the office.
Dr. Cell or her assistant Benjamin
E. Rawlins then meet with chairmen
and deans and sometimes faculty to
be advocates for affirmative action to
offer assistance or suggestions.
Cell consulted charts distributed to
the faculty in November of 1982 con
cerning minority and female presence
at UNC. The charts dated from 1973
to November 1982.
In 1973 there were 21 blacks and
280 women on the faculty; one third
of the blacks were in fixed term posi
tions 1979 and 1980 were peak years
with 57 blacks and 357 and 367
women on the faculty. Presently
there are 51 blacks and 362 women,
attributed to a drop in fixed terms not
those faculty with tenure tracts.
While the office may not have in
creased the number of women and
blacks by a great deal since 1973, they
have made a difference in overseeing
and aiding the hiring of these
minorities.
"I think we have managed in one
way or another to abolish problems
this year and the protesting done by
the students is initially helpful; it
shows they are concerned," Cell said.
Affirmative action aids minority hiring
h/ Denise M aitie
S bff Write
The problem of race relations has
been an ongoing one since the inte
gration of the University. Have the
relationships between black and
white students improved any? Dean
H.B. Renwick, Associate Dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences, said no.
He said that race relations on cam
pus were bad three or four years ago
and they're bad now.
"The action taken to improve race
relations," said Renwick has "been a
lot of cosmetic surgery to smooth
things over." Nothing with substance
has been done; which is the only way
to improve race relations. He feels
that there must be a conscientious ef
fort by all involved especially the ad
ministration.
Renwick said there has been only
one lasting group formed to better
race relations — the Black/White
Dialogue Committee. This commit
tee's purpose is to talk to the faculty
and students about improvements
which could and should be made in
race relations.
"The committee has helped in some
ways, but there must be a stronger
committment by the administration,"
Renwick said.
He said that the administration
must take a firm stand and say that
certain things must be done — have
to be done.
Aside from the Black/White
Dialogue Committee, other commit
tees formed, said Renwick, "were
formed in a period of crisis — after
everything settles down, the commit
tees disband." Renwick feels that the
problem is that not enough action is
taking place.
"Black students have had some ef
fect, but maybe in a negative way,"
Renwick said. "I don't know of
anything done by the administration
which wasn't initiated by black
students protesting or threatening the
administration."
Recently, there was an incident in
volving a black student and an
English teaching assitant, Anita
Washam. Washam had made some
statements which questioned the in
telligence and supported the inferiori
ty of blacks. Renwick said that
nothing has been done to remedy the
situation allowing teaching assistant
to show racial bias in the classes. Ren
wick feels that this inaction is a way
that the majority says that "we can
say whatever we please and nobody
can do a thing about it."
Renwick's answer to this statement
is that "if you say what you want to
say. I'm going to let the black com
munity, at least, know what you're
saying and 1 will call your name."
UNC worker loses job in non-violent protest
by Sonja Payton
A 2"x3" badge with some big
words on it — Quiet, Racism at
Work — cost Nicasio Martinez his
job and ultimately ended his
career at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. Martinez is
convinced now that he is just one
pxamnie of the tvoes of practices
that keep the number of blacks in
high level positions at a minimum
here.
When Martinez wore the small
sign he had made to his job at the
physical plant, his supervisor,
Charles Teague, told him to
remove the sign or he would be
suspended. After Martinez refused
to remove the sign from his hat, he
was suspended for refusing to
follow a reasonable request from
his superior and has since been ter
minated.
Martinez said he wore the sign
as an act of protest to working con
ditions in which he was subjected
to work overload and racial ten-
m
UNC students studying in
the undergraduate library.
photo by Stanley Woodley
Sion.
Martinez said Teague, mainten
ance supervisor at the UNC
Physical Plant, was responsible in
directly for bad working conditions
because he did not provide him
with sufficient help. For instance
he was once assigned to place tile
in a 100 ft. long, 3-8 ft, wide hall all
by himself.
Teague said he had been advised
not to comment on the case.
Martinez also had a complaint
against a co-worker who called a
tar-like roofing cement "black
mammy." He said he took out a
greivance against that employee.
Other events leading up to his
wearing the badge were similar.
"I had talked with my im
mediate supervisors, their super
visors, and the affirmative action
office, to look into what I knew to
be harrassment from my super
visor," Martinez said.
"I felt that no one was really in
terested in how I was being treated
at the physical plant."
Some told Martinez they saw no
definite pattern of harrassment
"Every employee came to the
defense of the supervisor, ' Mar
tinez said. Others told him they
saw no definite pattern of harrass
ment.
"I never had ^ny administrative
official say 'Martinez is being
treated unfairly,"' Martinez said
Martinez said he is convinced
that other blacks in the plant are
having similar experiences but are
continued on page 8