Cover Story
Black Ink
f North Carolina -- A Dream Deferred...
discuss the black experience. Qoss-cultura!
communications worishops encourage interact
ing that will lead to understanding among the
races. The black music program and the artist in
residence components focus on the black
aesthetic as a means to educate people about
african-american culture. The dates of the pro
grams can be found in Word, the official
newsletter of the BCC.
The BCC has been governed by a planning
committee, which replaced the original steering
Non-marginal people, marginal center.
Black students begin to move
From the very begining of the proposal, the
Black Student Movement played a major role in
articulating the need for a BCC. When it ap
peared that the temporary space in the Union
would become the permanent BCC, black
students began to move. On October 5,1988, the
BSM led by former president Kenneth Perry,
passed a resolution setting a deadline for the
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importance of African-American history
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committee in 1988. The planning comittee’s job
will end when it finishes selecting persons to sit
on the BCC permanent advisory board. Seven
students, five non-students and other student
leaders from groups like Campus Y will com
prise the board.
Margo Crawford says the BCC operating in
full capacity can give African-Americans a true
sense of pride.
“What we’re trying to do here is correct the
omissions and distortions in history. Black
people are the oldest people in the world, yet
almost everything black is defined as negative.
As a result, black people have felt marginal and
isolated in society. A BCC should help them feel
a little less marginal about themselves."
University to find a permanent site for the center.
The resolution called for the selection of a new
site by Jan.31,1989 and construction on that site
by Jan. 31,1990. In December of 1988, the BSM
rejected the possibility of another interim spot
for the BCC. Black students had decided to work
for nothing less than a permanant home for the
Black Cultural Center.
Margo Crawford praised Kenneth Perry for
keeping black students moving during those
days.
“Kenneth Pen^ forced us to stay focused on
that if we didn't have a pemienant center, we
really didn’t have one aull.”
Perry, now a UNC law student reflects upon
those days.
“I thought that it (BCC) was important that we
continue to work for a permanent site. 1 never
knew what the University’s intentions were.
However, 1 thought the BCC was something that
could be easily forgotten once you had gotten a
temporary site.”
Perry and the BSM continued to make a
permanent BCC site a priority within the
organization.
StiH No Place to Call Our Own
The BCC has been
in its temporary site in
the Union for over two
years. The small space
has made conditions
virtually unbearable for
the BCC staff. Margo
Crawford has a
cramped office, where
you may find 2-3
people working on any
given day. The
secretary, Esther Wom
ack, has temporary
walls around a desk to
obtain a little privacy.
The so-called meeting
room can hardly
accommodate a great
number of people at
one time, Yet Crawford
must continue to
attempt to schedule
workshops and
seminars in the cultural
corner.
“What the cultural
center is right now is
an office," Crawford
said. “We also have a
medium to small multi
purpose room that is
getting smaller by the
day. Also, since we're
over the Cabaret, the
music may come up
during the middle of
one of our workshops.
And we have to scream
to hear ourselves talk."
“We're no longer
talking about a vision
of what we need; we’re
now talking about what we desperately need,
which is more space.”
The center obviously has not kept pace with
the quality of programming Crawford has
brought to the campus. Crawford’s work has ex
ceeded everyone’s expectations and quited a lot
of criticism concerning a BCC.
Still some people consider the place an insult
to black people. For example, former Dean,
Hayden Renwick.
“What you have is an oversized bathroom. 1
refuse to even go in the place. It’s a slap in the
face for black people to even call that place a
Black Cultural Center.”
Several possible ideas have been mentioned
as a means to find a permanent site for the
center. The renovation of Howell Hall could be a
possibility if the School of Journalism gets
approval for a new building. Another idea was
to expand the Student Union, Also, the planning
committee could possibly find a free-standing
space on campus to build the center.
The feasibility of all three ideas will be
discussed since the University is experiencing a
budget crisis. Although, the center was approved
for funding for three years, the majority of its
money has come from grants and donations. The
N.C. Arts Council and Z. Smith Reynolds Foun
dation have both contributed to the BCC.
In November of 1989, the planning committe
released a feasibility study on the construction of
a permanent 23,000 square foot BCC. The study
included dimensions on an art gallery, a library
and a media room. The projected cost of such a
center was in the area of $3 million dollars,
Edith Wiggins says that getting resources to
build a pemianent center is not an impossible
task.
“Additional space and additional resources
are needed to make the BCC successful, which
will in turn make the whole university success
ful. However, the University must decide that it
(the BCC) is a priority, so that the resources will
flow.”
Never Give Up Hope
Qawford is optimistic about the chances of a
pemianent BCC,
“I believe a permanent BCC is inevitable. I
think that if we keep knocking, the door is going
to open, and we’re not going to stop knocking.”
How Lony?
Crawford and her staff are still in a process of
trying to find a permanent place for the BCC. A
dream envisioned in 1984, is still not a reality
today. Yet, it has come a long way from a mere
proposal back in 1984. African-American
students, faculty and staff must work to find a
permanent place for the study of black culture.
We can’t allow the adminisuation to hold us
back. For six years, we’ve had talk with little or
no action. It’s time for us to move. We need help
from everybody in the African-American
community. Black students, don't let the BCC
continue to be a comer in the Union. Stand up
and make a difference on this campus. Every
body has something to contribute. Many of you
may not see a pemianent BCC during your
undergraduate years, but you can pave the way
for future generations of black students who
enroll at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
O
Debbie Baker is a senior Joumalism/Pre-
Law major from Raeford, NC