6
Black Ink
Tuesday Jan. 28,1986
MLK
continued from page 1
tion would have to be brought forth
formally. “In terms of altering, he
said, it would have to be formally
proposed to the academic calendar
committee.” Ervin said, then, the
administration would have to agree to
the proposal. He stressted that any
student group could bring up such a
suggestion.
Sibby Anderson, BSM President,
said the BSM did not have enough
time to plan for the celebration this
year.
“It was expressed to me that
students would like to see the holiday
officially observed on campus,” she
said. Next year, Anderson said,
students may band together and ask
for an official observance, but this
year, ribbons were worn to com
memorate the day.
The question of the holiday has
brought out several differing opinions
on how the holiday should be cele
brated. Deidre McMullan, a
sophomore frdm Charlotte, thinks Dr.
King’s birthday deserved more atten
tion than it received here. “He was a
Robinson
continued from page 1
news media has limited the public’s
view of the world by only covering the
events not the preceeding actions, he
explained.
“We are a very, very narrowed-
minded, poorly-educated population,”
he said, adding that Americans are
single-mindedly focused on the
containment of communism and
nothing else.”
Robinson said: “Democracy rests
on an enlightened citizenry and to the
extent that the citizenry is not
enlightened, they are not involved. So
there is no point in blaming Congress
and President Reagan. In the last
analysis, it is we who are to. blame.”
In the past, Americans tended to
associate change with communism, he
said.
“Martin Luther King was accused
by J. Edgar Hoover as being a commu
nist,” Robinson continued. “So are
they all those who seek change in the
status quo? South Africa is a country
in which blacks are denied constitu
tionally everything.”
Reflecting upon his age, Robin
son encouraged college students to
become more active in seeking social
change for the oppressed, not only in
South Africa, but in other parts of the
world as well. He called it a way of
achieving a person’s self respect.
“There is no price too high to pay
for your own dignity,” he said. “My
self respect is beyond everything in
importance."
“Get going, get active and get
leader in changing some of the views
that led to the country not being
united.” She said “We were a country
of blacks and whites, not Americans.”
Dawn Witherspoon, a senior
from Kannapolis, N.C., agrees that
more activities could have been
scheduled for the holiday here, but
she does not believe suspending
classes would have been feasible. She
said several other people have
achieved in the United States, yet
their birthdays are not celebrated by
suspending classes.
While the battle wages on how
the holiday is celebrated, it must be
noted that the Robinson speech was
not the only activity sponsored by the
University. Several independent
activities, included a speech contest
and lecture.
It should also be noted that the
holiday did not go without recognition
in the surrounding areas of Chapel
Hill and Carrboro. In fact, in Carr-
boro, some town employees and state
employees had Jan. 20 off, according
to Hilliard Caldwell, ofiginator of the
legislation making this possible.
According to him, students did not
vigilant,” he continued. “If you don’t,
don’t honor Martin, because that was
how he lived.”
Robinson said he was sure apar
theid would end “within the
foreseeable future.” “The important
thing is how long and at what price?”
“Let us understand that with
great wealth and power goes great
responsibility. Apathy will be the
death of all us,” he continued.
Robinson was born in Richmond
Va. He received a bachelor’s degree in
political science from Virginia Union
University and later attended
Harvard University where he receiv
ed a law degree.
In 1983, he received the Congres
sional Black Caucus Humanitarian
Award for his work for Civil Rights.
In 1982 he received the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference
Drum Major for Justice Award.
Robinson’s speech was the first
of a two-part series to pay tribute to
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On Feb. 6
V. vV ison Goode, the first black
mayor of Philadelphia and a Seaboard,
N.C. native, will deliver the second
memorial speech.
Alpha Phi Alpha Frnternity. Inc.,
Carolina Union Fof. ioiiii'.iittee,
the Black Student Mov i i-nt and the
Office of the Chancelloi sponsored
Robinson’s speech.
Before the lecture, Chancellor
Christopher C. Fordham presented
Black Student Movement President
Sibby Anderson with the fourth
Martin Luther King Jr. scholarship.
The scholarship is awarded to a junior
possessing outstanding leadership
qualities.
have to attend school and teachers
were excused from their jobs. The
12-month employees had to take a
personal holiday.
Caldwell said there was some
ODDositioD to the lesrislation, because
of the cost encountered by the town
by shutting down for the day, but this
opposition did not cause a major
problem.
He said the public reacted
positively to the leg^lation.
I
%
Kenneth Smith introduces the three contestants:
Janet Roach, Greg Bargeman and Joyce Ward.
McKissick
continued from page 1
McKissick spoke to more than
150 people attending the second
annual Martin Luther King Jr.
Celebration sponsored by the Univer
sity’s Mu Zeta Chapter of Alpha Phi
Alpha fraternity. An oratorical
contest was also a part of the
evening’s celebration.
McKissick is former director of
the Congres^of Racial Equality, an
organization seeking equal right,
educational, political and economic
opportunities for blacks. He also
worked closely with famed Civil
Rights leader King during the 1950’s
and 1960’s.
McKissick and King attended
school together and received their
undergraduate degrees from
Morehouse College in Atlanta.
“I could talk about Dr. King for
five hours,” he said. “When you
respect a man like King, you respect
yourself,” McKissick told the audi
ence. “So I commend you for being
here today.”
“I challenge you to make this day
a day of strong commitment to
yourself, for you are your people,”
McKissick said.
“Your ability to dream a dream
and your ability to aspire will help to
carry the struggle one step further,”
he added. “Start dreaming as other
men dream so that you can control
your destiny.”
McKissick said the most impor
tant thing abut celebrating King is for
blacks to recognize the past and make
plans for the future.
Sophomore broadcast journalism
major Janet Roach won first place in
the oratorical contest with her speech
based on the topic: “Why We Can’t
Wait,” also the title of one of King’s
books. Roach spoke about the need for
black pride to help continue the
struggle for freedom.
She also said that blacks should
take control of their own economic
and political situation. “There are too
many of us riding on the backs of too
few of us,” she said.
Roach said she was excited about
winning but she did not enter the
contest just to win. “I felt I had a
message for blacks on campus to
hear.”
For winning she received $25 and
the book, Martin L. King Jr., A
Profile, edited by C. Eric Lincoln.
Joyce Ward, a junior political science
and economics major from Wilson,
won second place. She too received
the book and $15. Junior Greg
Bargeman from Beaufort won third
place and $10.
Bargeman said he wanted to give
a speech on black unity and the
contest was a good opportunity for
him.
Kenneth M. Smith, a member of
the sponsoring fraternity, said that
the fraternity hoped to increase
awareness of the life and achieve
ments of King and to challenge the
new generation to aspire to new goals
and achievement.”
He said the fraternity chose
McKissick as speaker because
McKissick and King worked so closely
together during the Civil Rights
Movement. Smith said McKissick
shared in many of the planning
strategies of the movement and he
was an integral part although he was
not as much in the forefront as King.
Smith said the fraternity was
pleased with the attendence.
The BSM Gospel Choir sang
three selections as a part of the
celebration.