Professor Stone Speaks on Rules of Blackness
By Jennifer O. Ferguson
Ink Staff Writer
The notion of a changing
society and the need for produc
tive involvement in the black
community were two points
stressed by distinguished jour
nalism professor Chuck Stone in
his November 6 lecture “Being
Black- What does it truly mean?”
Stone discussed the relevance
of the canons of blackness. He
said blacks must deal with the
paradox of existing as blacks in a
white dominated America. Stone
also said that pride in being black
was undeniable, and to back this
idea up he offered this quote from
Lorraine Hansberry, “To be
young, beautiful, gifted, and
black.”
A third canon of blackness
dealt with protest. Stone said, “In
order to get rid of oppression you
have to protest.” He also said that
without the help of “white soul
cousins” progress would not have
been made. Stone said “young
blacks today are not producing
like their fOTbearCTS.” We need to
be more productive instead of
begging fw hand-outs.
ReiM’oduction was another canon
presented by Stone. He said that
some blacks were good at making
babies but not good at being par
ents. This issue needs to be ad
dressed by the youth today.
“Give back twice as much that
has been given to you” was the
basic premise of the fifth canon,
philanthropy.
In discussing the final canon of
panhumanism. Stone said that it is
important to go beyond blackness
and to accept the human being in
side. Stone mentioned how a couple
of months before Malcolm X was
killed, he (Malcolm X) embraced
the brothers of other races and rec
ognized the importance of a larger
humanity.
Stone switched to currentevents
by ex{M-essing his despair over the
low turnout of black voters in vari
ous elections and possible govern
mental changes. With former Klu
Klux Klan member David Duke al
most on his way to becoming gov
ernor of Louisiana and Qarence
Thomas, a black man opposed to af
firmative action on the Supreme
Court, blacks are bound to learn a
valuable lesson by not participating
Journalism Professor Chuck Stone, shown here m his class room, spoke to about
30 Students on what it means to be black last Wednesday.
in the voting process.
Blacks must empower them
selves politically and education
ally in order to facilitate a more
unified society for the future
generation.
He stressed the need for blacks
to work for one humanity but at
the same time contribute to the
progression of the black commu
nity.
Stone said “we are all Ameri
can citizens at UNC and we all
have red blood in our veins.”
New Pageant Brings Black Women to Limelight
By Natalie Baucum
Staff Writer
Three UNC students are making
a name for themselves.
Seniors Penny Blackwell, Issac
Mance and Harlice Meaders, will
sponsor the Miss Black Carolina
pageant at 8 p.m. Dec. 5 at UNC’s
Memorial Hall.
“We hope to have a big turn
out,” said Mance, one of the pag
eant’s financial coordinators. “We
want our fellow black students to
come out and support us on this big
day!”
The event has been designed to
encourage black women on campus
to show others that they can hold a
positive self-image.
“We want to show the commu
nity that a predominantly black
event can be produced without the
violence and other negative attrib
utes often associated with a black
function,” Mance said.
The students also hope the pag
eant will project a positive image of
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AS WELL AS HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS IN CASH
Michael BowdaijBlaek Ink
These flyers have been on campus this semester.
blacks on campus and world-wide.
‘There is a lot of negativity at
colleges towards black people,”
Blackwell said. “We feel that this
pageant will show there are black
people, women especially, who are
just as efficient and thorough as
whites are.”
Why a pageant for the black
female and not the black male? The
three entrepreneurs believe that it is
high time the image of the black
woman takes a place in the lime
light
“Behind every black man, is a
black woman who should be appre
ciated by everyone and treated with
respect,” Blackwell said. “This
pageant is not about “me”—the
individual competitor. It is about
“we”—black women showing a
united form.”
The pageant will feature catego
ries similar to those found in other
competitions. Contestants will be
judged according to the way they
present themselves in the formal
wear, talent, and projection (ques
tion) categories. Pageant-goers can
also look forward to seeing the
young women perform a group
dance routine.
The pageant coordinators are
currently looking for other types of
entertainment - male acts either
dancing, singing or acting.
“The reason for this is it will be
a night for women,” Blackwell
said. “Why not let the men do
something for them?”
To enter the Miss Black Caro
lina pageant, contestants must pay
an entrance fee of $10. The winner
receives a grand prize of $150 and
the title of Miss Black Carolina.
Second place winner will receive
$100, and $50 will go to the third
place winner.
The newly-crowned Miss Black
Carolina will not have any duties
this year.
“We hope to turn this into an
annual event so the reigning Miss
Black Carolina can eventually have
duties in the years to come,” Mance
said.