Newspapers / Black Ink (Black Student … / Oct. 5, 1992, edition 1 / Page 7
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I OCTOBER 5, 1992 COLUMN Ring the fllarm: Knowledge Is Power By Michelle Thomas Many questions have been raised as to why so much activism. There are many people involved in this movement who trust the leadership but are not equipped with a whole knowledge of the facts. This is an attempt to give a little history and clarify some of the issues. Superficially, the disagreement is over whether the facility should be free-standing or an expansion of an existing facility. We do not understand what Chancellor Hardin means by archi tectural. This could allude to a dis agreement as simple as whether there should be a glass atrium or a marble floor. The chancellor seems to have a problem understanding why the students feel that a free standing facility is important. In a Sept. 10 letter from James Peacock, chair of the faculty, it is evident that others can comprehend this simple request. Peacock states: “We have to privilege black culture partly on historical grounds—that blacks were more integrally involved in the two hundred years of building this university and state than other group, except whites—therefore as a part of our own heritage and his- tory we recognize the black contri bution and identity... at the present, the free-standing symbolism is im portant.” Deeper down, the problem is that the university administration does not take into consideration the concerns and views of the students. The Chancellor has stated that we don’t understand how the deci sions are made at our university Students should be the focal point of a learning institution. How are the decisions made on this campus? Are they based on the needs of the students or the wants of the admin istration? Or even still, are the ad ministrators who are making deci sions under the impression that we, the students, are not able to make competent and rational decisions? Still deeper down, the problem is that the university has not effec lively sought to destroy the institu tiorial racism that exists on this cam pus. The struggle for a free-standing black cultui^ center has to be vali dated in the eyes of the administra tion by the participation of white students. Are not the needs of the masses of black students on this campus enough to make the Uni versity concerned? Just as during slavery, any deed undertaken by a black person had to be validated or authenticated by a white person be fore it would be taken with any merit. Read any prominent slave narrative. Through the programming of the Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cul tural Center, we want to build a model for all universities in living learning,and working together across racial lines. But because of the hesitation on the part of the University adminis tration, we must first, create the model for dismantling racism. We must show black students across the country and across the world that the time has come for black people to quit allowing others to make decisions for us and tell us what we need. It is time for us to quit “Uncle Tomming” and be the proud people of African descent that we are. The chancellor claims to have consulted and been advised by many friends of diverse views. He has failed to realize that the Black Cul tural Center Adviswy Board has been in place since the opening of the current facility. The members of this board are to be considered the experts on this campus as to the black cultural center issue. This Board has not been called upon by the chancellOT, nor has the Coali tion for a Free-S landing Black Cul tural Center been consulted by the Chancellor. One must ask, who are these “friends” and what do they know about Black Culture? What do they know about the needs and wants of the students? What do they know about the programming in the cunent center? What do they know about the future programming planned for the center? How are these people supposed to make de cisions about the future of the cul tural center if they do not even un derstand the existing and future pro gramming needs? The Chancellorclaims that “r/i^ exact form a new center will take depends on a host of considerations that had not until recently even be gun to be discussed. “ This shows blatant ignorance on the part of our University’s leader. This issue has been discussed in depth for, at least, the past eight years. In 1984, the BCC Planning Committee was formed and in 1985 it issued its first proposal for a BCC. Since that time, this docu ment has been reviewed, revised and disregarded. The work and ef forts of the Black Cultural Center Advisory Board have been, once again, marginalized by the admin- isU'ation. Furthermore, in March of 1989, the BCC Advisory Board met and Vice Chancellor Donald Boulton proposed (just as he continues to propose) that they devise a plan of what they would like to see in a center. Vice Chancellor Boulton said at that time (taken from the minutes of that meeting) “We are saying that we want to build a build ing with several purposes...the BCC should plan, the union should plan and we will give these plans to the architect We give him our needs and he/she comes up with a blue print.” Boulton also proposed that he “would like for a committee to sit down and agree on what space we want The longer we stay hung up on free-standing facility vs. other, we will not get anywhere. Let us get together the list we want. Then we can have sketches made of what this space would look like...You have been modest in the planning. North Carolina State is building a new Union and BCC. We need to look at all of the building plans in their new building and not just the plans for the BCC.” As we can see, in 1989, Vice Chancellor Boulton was push ing for a Union expansion. He en couraged the BCC Advisory Board to come up with a plan and the union would also come up with one. He tried to co-opt our movement In an attempt to make some progress on this issue, we complied with his wishes. We worked up a plan with the Facilities Planning and Design Committee of the University. In September of 1989, “A Feasibility Study for the Consu-uction of the Black Cultural Center” was re leased. This study was based on the needs of the BCC at that time. The amount of space and cost of con struction were estimated and the request of the administration was fulfilled. But what ever happened to the next steps? A committee was formed to come up with a plan but the Chancellor had not approved such a building. The work of this committee proved futile. We will not be pawns for prolongation again. In order for us to sit down and draw up plans again, there must be ap proval on the part of the administra tion. In whatever growth the black cultural center takes should include “clear programmatic and architec tural commitment to openness; at tention to the needs of all students while striving to meet the special needs of the members of the Stone Center and all who will partake of its programs.” Once again, this state ment shows that the chancellor knows nothing of the programming that takes place in the Black Cul tural Center. Over the summer we received a grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation for the insti tutionalization of our Cross Cul tural Communications workshops. These workshops (now called the Cross Cultural Communications Institute or CCCI) are held to bring students, faculty and staff from di verse cultural backgrounds together to leam how to effectively commu nicate across cultural hnes. It is a six week program that begins on Oct 5 and runs through Nov. 16. One key to this program is that it is student run. Students interested in facilitating workshops are inten sively Gained by cross cultural com munications experts from across the campus and community and go on to work with a small group for the six week session. Although I refuse to belittle the work of other pro grams on campus that I may have no knowledge of, this program is the most comprehensive race rela tions program that I’ve been made aware of at the student level. Throughout the year, the Black Cultural Center co-sponsors events with several campus organizations. This year’s plans are in the works for co-sponsorship with organiza tions such as Carolina Union Ac tivities Board, Asian Students As sociation, Carolina Indian Circle and many other organizations, both black and non-black. This shows a diversity in programming and an openness to work with students from all cultures. What other department is doing that? And this is not to say that no other is, but I wonder if those who are making attempts to im prove race relations on this campus are being treated as if their pro gramming is unimportant. What we have in the struggle for a free-standing black cultural cen ter is a whole lot more that the fight over building a building. It is a fight over institutional racism and the empowerment of black people. The chancellor was so arrogant as to think that we think so much of him as to hate him. In a meeting last week, he told student leaders of the Coalition and faculty and staff mem bers that the problem is that we hate him. What we hate is racism and the system of oppression of which he is a part. He has said in the past that there are people larger than he that would not approve of such a build ing. We conclude from this that there is a power structure in placc that seeks to ensure a maintenance of the status quo. Chancellor Hardu is merely a pawn being used b more powerful men to hold bac any people (not just Black peoph who want to make any advance The larger issue is not just a raci one, but also one of student empo\ erment. One of the many accor plishments that will be the outcor of our victory will be making t University understand that it is t countable to the students. This issue has many aspects be addressed, but in order to unde stand student leaders, I decided this article to focus on the pre- statement issued by the Chancelloi Look for more to be covered ii future editorials.
Black Ink (Black Student Movement, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
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Oct. 5, 1992, edition 1
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