SCLC pulling itself together after King's death
ATLANTA. Ga. (AP) — Ten
months after the assassination
of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
the organization which he found
ed and headed for 11 years is
pulling itself together, reorgan
izing, trimming staff and map
ping new campaigns to fight
poverty and racism.
It is a “new thrust” for the
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, SCLC, under com
mand of the Rev. Ralph David
Abernathy, the Alabama-born
Baptist preacher who succeeded
King last April.
Long-range efforts to organize
on economic, political and edu
cational fronts keynote Aber
nathy’s strategy.
The emphasis will be on often
undramatic programs, such as
housing projects and negotiating
for better jobs, rather than
headline-getting marches and
protest demonstrations.
Apilot project in the organiz
ing stage at Philadelphia, Pa.,
will concentrate on improving
schools for Negroes.
“This is the real hard nitty
gritty,” said the Rev. Joseph E.
Lowery of Atlanta, chairman oi
the 53-member board of direc
tors. “We recognize the fact
that a larger percentage of our
work may not be glamorous,
dramatic, attention-getting.”
Lowery and other SCLC
sources confirmed that the or
ganization, dependent upon con
tributions, has been in a low pe-
period financially but expects to
remain solvent. Some staff
members, including many hired
for the Pi)or People’s Campaign
last year in Washington, have
been discharged.
Others probably will be re
leased. The staff numbers about
100, trimmed from upwards of
150 during the Poor People’s
Campaign.
“There will be changes in
staff structure and staff respon
sibility,” Lowery said. These
changes will be worked out over
the next three months. But he
said no drastic or major change
of personnel is likely. Nor will
abernathy be shifted from the
president’s job, Lowery said.
It’s a matter of streamlining,
he said.
Benard Lafayette, 28, pro
gram coordinator who joined
the staff prior to King’s death,
said the staff was being tailored
to fit program needs.
“We haven’t finished yet,” he
said.
Treasurer Cirilo McSween of
Chicago said SCLC was “in
pretty good shape” financially.
He said there will be more di
rect fund raising in black com
munities by soliciting. A “Tag
Day” project initiated last year
in several cities will be expand
ed nationwide, he said, with
contributors being given tags to
indicate their support.
SCLC operates mainly on
money from its regular mail ap
peals. Funds also are raised at
benefits by erltertainers and at
Rallies foundations finance
some projects. Last October,
SCLC Foundation received a g
$35,000 payment of profits from
a King biography. j:;:
Little change of direction ijii
seems likely. Instead, SCLC will
be concentrating on the type of g
programs begun in recent g
years, unspectacular programs S:
that have paid high dividends jj:
and often go unnoticed publicly. jj:
Most significant of these is Jij
Operation Breadbasket, the eco-
nomic improvement program
which in Chicago alone has I
gained hundreds of jobs for jj:-
Negroes. §:
A 20th Century Miracle
As I complete my 20th year of continuous service
to Chowan College, frequently my mind strays back
to the early years of reactivation when we had about
130 students and 10 or 12 teachers and administrators.
Visualize our campus 20 years ago. It was a dis
reputable sight. One would not have dared walk around
our campus after dark. The lawn had grown up in
weeds. There was trash and debris everywhere. Win
dow lights were out and cobwebs were in evidence in
every window. It was a perfect habitat for tramps,
snakes, and goats. The rooms on the basement floor
were filled with mattresses, bed springs, dressers, and
old books. I well recall my first sight of the audi
torium. Plaster was down, windows out, curtains in
tatters, and at least 50 percent of the seats broken
or missing. Much time and money were needed to
clean-up the campus and buildings. We take for grant
ed today the sprinkler system, fire escapes, and boiler,
but these had to be provided before we could pass a
fire inspection.
D^ing the summer of 1949, I, along with two ladies,
covered this area seeking students. We had no cata
logue, no curriculum, no staff and no teachers. All of
the statements which we made had to be predicated
by "if.” Of course, our work would not be accredited.
I clearly remember driving to Virginia to talk to a
prospective student. He was in the field at work, so I
had to: remove my shoes and tramp at least a mile
to locate him. We were not too selective then. If a
student could sign his name, we accepted him gladly!
However, in September, 1949, we opened our doors
again. Finances and students were our major problem.
Four small cottages were built—svitti borrowed money
from Murfreesboro citizens—^for our boys. Girls oc
cupied the Columns.
The strength of the faculty that we got together
thafc first year is amazing. In my opinion, it was one
of tfee best we have had in 20 years. Each teacher
constituted his own department. We had no dean or
registrar, so each of us was a law unto himself and
kept his own records and made his schedule of course
offeriiigs and classes. We survived the year. It is per-
haps' easier to revive an old college than it is to keep
it g(^g. Finances were still our main problem. We teach
ers realized this problem and we solicited funds. Some
furniture was bought from War Surplus and we teach
ers met down by the gym to paint and repair this
for dormitory use.
Thcpugh the years we have had our problems, but
I fionlj^. believe it was the will of God that this in-
stituliiah" should survive and grow. This just did not
happen. Much work, planning, sweat, and tears have
brought about this miracle which you see today.
The McDowell Columns building and the stone cot
tage are the only buildings which stand today that
were Ewe 20 years ago. All of the others have been
built Su'ring the past two decades.
Even with the problems which we have had, I be
lieve .these past 20 years have been among the hap
piest- in my life. I have seen hundreds of young people
receive a college education who would never have seen
the inside of a college classroom were it not for this
institution. I have seen many of our graduates con
tinue their education and earn their Ph.D. degree and
becorn^ college professors. I see every week former
students who are the religious, civic, economic and so
cial l^gders in their community. Recently I ran across
a student who is the daughter of a former student
of mine. 1 take pride in having had Professors Mulder,
Paul, and Sowell as former students in my classes.
It is difficult for me to realize that I was teaching
French and English here in what is now the Dean’s
office w'hen most of our present students were born.
Through the years I have received some flattering
offers- from other colleges, but I have preferred to
plant ~friy roots here and take my small part in this
20th century miracle. —Eugene Williams
From Dean of Men's Desk
Now that students are required to show identification
cards, at every meal in the cafeteria, we are more
aware of the careless handling and use of them.
Identification cards have been found on cafeteria
trays, in garbage cans, and in library books. However,
only a, small percentage of lost ID cards are ever re
covered.
Whallcan a dishonest finder do with your ID card?
Bearers of ID cards are admitted to athletic events
and concerts. Last semester, lost ID cards were used
to cash several forged checks (to the tune of over
$200) in Murfreesboro.
Lost'ID cards can be replaced for $3 by the librarian
but a iiew ID card does not assure you that some
person, "Student or otherwise, is not using your old one
as a bookmarker in Whitaker Library or identification
when cashing a forged check on your bank account.
"That Commander Bucher Is Doing Pretty
Well for a Guy Who Didn't Fire a Shot!"
Hal Boyle
Exercising your memory
By HAL BOYLE
NEW YORK (AP) — About
the only exercise some people
get is the exercise of their mem
ory.
But it isn t a bad kind of exer
cise, when it isn t overdone. It
may not build bulgy muscles,
but it does restore that keystone
of health—the mind.
Memory also retores our self
confidence. For it tells us that if
we have weathered the ordeals
of yesterday, we probably also
can survive the turmoils of to
day and even the terrors of to
morrow.
Feel like a little exercise right
now? Well, put on your thinking
cap and see if you can remem
ber away back when—
The only way a man could re
tire fairly early in life was to
have 10 strapping sons unafraid
of work.
Ladies were supposed to
swoon or grow faint when con
fronted by emergencies, so they
carried a small bottle of smell
ing salts in their purses—just to
revive them in case.
During the heyday of the
bobbed-haired, short skirted
flapper during the 1920s, girls
wore strands of beads long
enough to use as a clothesline or
to jump rope with.
The postman not only knocked
twice, but also delivered the
mail to your home twice a day,
morning and evenings, and a
first-class letter could be mailed
for a mere two cents.
When a boy got a job in a
drugstore as a soda squirt, one
of his big moral problems was
the fact that all the other kids
promptly expected him to put in
a dime s worth of ice cream
when they bought a five-cent
cone.
If a child dropped to the floor
in a screaming tantrum, the
father didn t make a hurried
call to a psychiatrist for advice.
He merely got a pan of water
from the kitchen sink, and
calmly dashed it into the yowl
ing child s face, and the
screams promptly subsided.
Maybe that s where the expres
sion “you re all wet came
from.
You could journey about a
modern city for weeks on end
and never see a picket s sign.
When a man was sick, he
said, “I feel poorly. If he re
mained home merely because
he had a bad cold, he could lose
his job. Nobody had heard of the
“one-day virus, and if you told
your boss you had such an ail
ment he would automatically
put you down as liar and a gold
bricker.
Money was so scarce in most
communities that if you were
seen coming home in a cab, ev
eryone in the block wondered if
you had inherited some.
Butchers practically gave liv
er away as it was. thought fit
food only for cats, health nuts,
and people too desperately poor
to afford anything else.
They key word in the Ameri
can dream was “opportunity,’
not “security.’ The land was
full of “go-getters, " each of
whom honestly felt that if he
were given “a fair chance, he
could become as rich as Rocke
feller,
Those were the days! Re
member?
BERRY’S WORLD
© I9M NEA, liK.
“Not only do we hare the crisis of 'crime in the streets'
—these 'chuckholes n the streets' are gettin'
worse, tool"
Teacher
pay raise
sought
By RICHARD DAW
Associated Press Writer
RALEIGH (AP) — Sen, Ger
aldine Nielson, R Forsyth, in
troduced a bill in the North Car
olina Senate Thursday to bring
the pay of public school teach
ers up to the national average
next year at a cost of $55 mil
lion.
She said she was preparing
two tax bills to provide needed
money, one of them a levy on
soft drinks,
“In my mind, this is the high
est priority legislation for this
General Assembly session, the
Republican legislator said.
Her bill would give teachers a
$1,000 raise for the 1969 70
school year, which she said
would bring them to the nation
al average.
It would provide them an ad
ditional 5 per cent increase the
following year.
In addition, the salaries of
all other public school special
service personnel would jhe inn
creased $1,020 for the 1969 70
year, plus a 5 per cent hike the
following year.
The salary schedule for teach
ers would be set at a minimum
of $6,000 a year and a maximum
of $12,000,
Gov, Bob Scott, a Democrat,
already had proposed that steps
toward reaching the national
average be taken, but he had
not spelled out a timetable.
Plans for gradual steps “are
not satisfactory in my opinion,
Sen. Nielson said, “because the
national average is a moving
target and we always seem to
miss it.
Her bill, she said, “aims at
point blank range.
She said the cost would be $55
million the first year and that
she hadn t determined the cost,
for the second year.
She said her proposed soft
drink tax would be a crown tax
—that is, a tax paid by bottlers.
She declined to say what other
tax she would propose.
Color contrast
figure heavily
in fashions
By LUCIE NOZL
APFashion Writer
PARIS (AP) — Color con
trasts were a big part of the col
lection of Philippe Venet which
opened the official week of Par
is spring and summer fashion
showings today.
Venet s spring collection is a
big bicolor-story. His contrasts
are often intense. But white is
always used to band hemlines,
necklines, waistline inserts and
frequently a tabbed band stop
ping at the waistline.
Venet showed swing back full
ness in a beautiful group of
coats. The backs are cut on cir
cular lines, and the coats are of
ten three quarter length. He em
phasizes pants suits mainly for
chic resort and country wear.
They are frequently in white or
a bright shade, egg or chrome
yellow or persimmon or red,
Venet uses white trim on col
lars and cuffs on pants suits,
too.
The simple slender box jack
ets are fingertip or knuckle
length worn over matching or
contrasting pants. Underneath
Venet likes finely striped jersey
or bicolor effects in plain wool.
The prettiest jeune fille costimie
was a scarlet flared skirt with
its own little flared wool bolero
edged in a three inch band of
white wool in a circidar line.
Literary
Musings
By I'KOF. ROBERT MULDER
After a long holiday and a settling-down for the
new semester. Smoke Signals drifted across our cam
pus last Wednesday, January 29th. From our window
on main street (Marks Hall, 218), we appreciated
seeing students all across campus (even a few in
Squirrel Park) pausing from their busy schedules to
read their student publication.
We certainly admired the creative efforts of at
least five different students, for the latest issue print
ed one short story, two bits of verse, one playette,
and one student editorial.
This pleases us very much. Smoke Signals is the
voice of Chowan and should be dominated by Chowan-
ians, students and others involved in our institution.
Both the informative article by our registrar, Mr.
D. H. Nicholson, and the guest editorial by Dr. Calvin
Dickinson were appreciated by this columnist.
All considered, our first issue of ’69 was just what
it should have been—the voice of Chowan, May our
combined efforts continually keep Smoke Signals going
out regularly during the new year.
TO READ OR NOT TO READ! In a recent issue
of Biblical Recorder (February 1, 1969, p. 20), a col
lege student submitted a provocative letter to the
column “Our Readers Write.”.
In his letter the obviously sincere student concerned
himself with pornography. According to his letter, he ’
young peopje who have been
^=ihto the depths of sejfflar perversion because of Hav
ing read about these perversions in sex books and
magazines.”
He is perhaps correct in a few cases. If students read
with such an intention, they most likely will de
grade themselves.
However, we feel that the writer should have ex
plained exactly what he considered pornographic, for
without such a clear understanding a casual obser
ver would have to ban most of what is on the
market today, with few exceptions.
And the readers of “these few exceptions” will not
produce a full-man, to use a Baconian term.
Pornography is literature produced to exploit the
act of sensual love causing sexual excitment. It
would seem, then, that the individual reader would
largely be the one to determine, by his own inten
tions, whether or not a book be termed pornographic.
While this may not hold true in every case, it
presents the issue as we observe what is reaching our
book shelves today. We have recently heard students
and teachers refer to certain books and movies as
pornographic when actually many of them were not
that at all.
It would not be accurate, therefore, to brand realis
tic novels and magazines as pornographic. It seems
to us that “motive” would determine the category in
which one would place this type of literature.
To read any work of literature with the right in
tention will result in a better-informed individual,
regardless of the title, author, publisher—and yes, the
quality of paper used.
Recently we had the pleasure of seeing on television
one of Tennessee Williams’ best plays, Cat on a
hot Tin Roof. The MGM motion picture release starr
ed Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, and Burl Ives
in what we considered a master performance for
all three.
Though we had read the play before, this wgs our
first viewing, and what a delightful pleasure it was.
The acting was superb, we thought, and the play
contained one of Williams’ most cleverly developed
plots.
One finds himself extremely anxious to know just
what has happened before the play begins to, have
created such tension on Big Daddy’s sixty-fifth birth
day. The fitting together of so many interesting and
important details causes the viewer to assume de
tective proportions.
Though the play is almost fifteen years old (It
opened in New York on March 24, 1955.), the pro
fundity of its situation has not been lost with the
passing of years.
We make no apologies for being old-fashioned in our
taste insofar as plays are concerned, and we still
enjoy a play that ties up the loose ends and offers
hope at the conclusion.
Some facts about that daily bath
Arabs who bathed regularly years ago got a hand
some reward, exempt from taxes.
Some Roman baths were as large as two football
fields, accompanying 1600 bathers.
In Japan, one filling of hot water in the bath fre
quently is used for the whole family.