Volume 4
NORTH CAROLINA COLLEGE FOR NEGROES, DURHAM, N. C., JANUARY 31, 1940
Number 4
N, C. C. Students Petition Anti-Lynch Bill Support
College Band
Makes Debut
Peace, Father, The Sisters!
The North Carolina College Band,
under the direction of Professor S. J.
Wright, made its debut Sunday eve
ning, January 28, on the regular
monthly program of the Music De
partment. The band is the newest
addition to the various organizations
and includes thirty men of the fresh
man and sophomore class.
The band is composed of begin
ners for the most part as quite a few
members never knew before what the
“five lines and four spaces” were.
The band is making rapid progress.
The following selections were ren
dered:
The Yankee March . Ed Chanette
The Merry Widow Waltz,
Franz Lebar
Poet and Peasant Overture,
Franz V. Suppe
March On ... . Ed. Chanette
Silver Skates Waltz . Ed. Chanette
Dear Old N. C. C.,
Shepard-Burleigh
(Arr. for band by S. J. Wright)
Auld Lang Syne . Robert Burns
Professor Wright is a graduate of
Hampton Institute and of Howard
University where he took his Mas-
tcia ticgicc ill Eciuciition. "V^Tiiie a,t
Hampton Mr. W’^right was a mem
ber of the Hampton Institute Band
in which he played solo cornet. For
the past three years he was principal
of the Douglass High School of Up
per Malborough, Maryland from
which school he came to this insti
tution.
The charming sorors of Alpha Lambda chapter, Delta Sigma Theta
sorority, who will send ten “barbarians” through a tough initiation
period the first week in February. Left to right—Rebecca Christ
mas, Katherine Goins, Ethel Howell, L. Lucille Porter, Christine
Harrington, and Frances Atkins.
Heiiingburg Entertains
Monsieur Paul
Marie Joe Brown
Gives Recital
North Carolina College for Ne
groes presented Miss Marie Joe
Brown in a dramatic reading, ]\Ion-
day evening, January 9th, at 8 p.m.
in the B. N. Duke Auditorium. In
“Twenty Years Later” her first read
ing, four characters were portrayed
four distinct voices—one of a Prima
Donna, another of Marie, her Maid,
onother of John, her chauffeur, and
still another of Dickie. “The Black
Christ” by Countee Cullen and ar
ranged for presentation by Miss
Brown is a narrative of a deep re
ligious experience, a mystical latter-
day Calvary, re-asserting the won
der of divine love. It tells of a typical
Southern tragedy, transformed into
a triumphant affirmation of the liv
ing legend of the Cross! The last
group of numbers were comical se
lections—“The Current Events
Club,” “The Telegram,” “Motoring
in the Nineties,” and “Sadie at the
Movies.”
The Commercial Club held its bi
monthly meeting on Tuesday in the
Assembly Room of the Administra
tion Building at 8 p.m. After the
business transactions. Miss Zora
Thurston, Nationally known Author
and Dramatic Instructor, reviewed
with us her recent tour of Hayti.
Among other things she related how
heartily she was acclaimed in that
land.
On Tuesday, January 10th, Dr. A.
U&ninhur^, ^saistant to the
of the Institution and French In
structor was host to Monsieur Andre
E. Paul, a Frenchman, who is an in
structor in French in New York City.
The classes in French experienced
hearing the language as spoken by a
native. Seeing a Frenchman, when he
talks, is as interesting and as fas
cinating as hearing the language. The
French are quite expressive and one
might say that not only does the
mouth talk, but the entire body tells
the story. Many folk tales of interest
were related, while a bit about the
French people, their customs and a
bit about the country was also in
corporated in the interesting lesson.
Such an entertainment helps to
broaden any students perception in
any classroom. Professor Heninburg,
having studied French abroad is very
interesting and is always enlighten
ing us upon many phases of France
and of its peoples.
Commercial Comments
The class in Money and Banking
has planned a trip to Richmond and
the Federal Reserve Bank there in
connection with its class work.
A habit of thrift is being promoted
by permitting the students to make
deposits to the class treasurer. Loans
may then be made by the depositors
—it may be a small bank in the
making.
Officers for the class for the dura
tion of the quarter: Silas James pres
ident; Josephine Pittman, vice-pres-
ident; Christine Harrington, secre
tary; and Thelma Battle, treasurer.
Lodger: “It’s disgraceful, Mrs.
Simmons! I’m sure two rats were
fighting in my bedroom last night.”
Mrs. Skinner: “Well, what did
you expect for three dollars a week,
a bull fight.”—Labor.
The Campus
Monthly Revue
Thursday, January 4, the first
women’s meeting of the year was
held. Dean R. G. Rush was the
speaker.
Friday, January 5, the first chapel
meeting was held. The speaker was
Dr. W. E. Farrison of the English
Department who spoke on the sub
ject, “The Relationship Between Il
literate and Cultivated Speech.” Of
illiterate speech said, “Fewer re
straints makes it more inventive
than cultivated speech because it is
not hampered by restrictions.
Sunday evening, January 7, Ves
pers began at three o’clock. After
the general congregational pinging
and the chanting of the Lord’s pray
er, the choir sang two selections,
“We Will Cheer the Weary Trav
eler” and “Spirit Immortal” lead by
our baritone singer, Mr. James Sam
uels. The congregational prayer was
offered by the speaker of the eve
ning, President Robert E. Daniels,
of Shaw University, whose subject
was “The Prince of Corn,” taken
from the story of “Jacob and His
Sons” found in Genesis.
Monday, January 8, Dr. Hening-
burg spoke on the subject, “What
These Ten Years Might Bring to
You, and What You Might Bring
to Them.” In this New Year’s talk,
he discussed three points: (1) Set
ting of an example, (2) Courage,
(3) Gentleness. His moral was: “Be
fore you can work toward an achieve
ment, you must set an example, you
must have courage, and last, but most
important, you must do it gently.
W'^ednesday, January 10, the stu
dent forum met in B. N. Duke Au
ditorium at 11:45 instead of the
usual hour, twelve o’clock. The Stu
dent Council presented us with Mr.
Carter who showed us a motion pic
ture, “Safari on Wheels,” revealing
some of the weird mysteries of
Africa. He also presented us with a
(Continued on page 4)
New Buildings
Are Completed
Improvements involving an ex
penditure of $537,000 were made at
North Carolina College for Negroes
last year, according to statistics re
cently given by Dr. James E. Shep
ard, president of the College. Great
progress has been made by the in
stitution in 1939 in additions to the
physical plant and in the general
development of the College. This
year the enrollment is nearly 700,
and applications for the next term
are being received at this early date.
With added facilities, said Dr. Shep
ard, the college will be in a posi
tion to accommodate the large num
ber of students who are expected
next year.
Among the new buildings which
have been completed this year are
a science building costing approxi
mately $185,000; a dormitory for
women, which entails an expenditure
of $100,000; the home economics
and senior building, costing $60,000;
and a laundry, modern in every re
spect, involving the expenditure of
$25,000. A gymnasium, complete
with modern facilities including a
swimming pool, is being erected at
a cost of approximately $160,000.
Also wwdtT cousimction is a tearh-
ers’ practice cottage for those spe
cializing in the field of home eco
nomics. Its cost will be approximate
ly $7,000.
“The people of North Carolina,
and especially the governor and coun
cil of state, have been very generous
in their contributions to this insti
tution,” President Shepard declared
when he reported on the construction
activities of the school.
Bailey Replies to Plea of
300 Students
On Books
Man lived long on the earth be
fore the advent of books. History
enables us to follow his doings
through some thousands of years.
Records in the form of things dug
out of the ground show his presence
in still earlier times—in the Iron
Age, the Bronze Age, the Neolithic
Age, and even in the Paleolithic Age.
A passage in the Old Testament
seems to hark back to times when
men already knew how to write, but
had not yet made books. “Write the
vision, and make it plain upon the
tables, that he may run that readeth
it.” What may properly be called a
book is relatively of recent origin.
The invention seems to have been
made among the Egyptians who,
about 6,000 years ago, had come to
use papyrus as a writing material.
The first books among the Egyp
tians, Babylonians, Hebrews, and
Greeks coincided with the rise of
high culture. Henceforth the connec
tion remained close between books
and civilization. A people mounts in
the scale of life and living almost
in direct ratio to their use of books.
If a man aspires to be educated and
well informed, books are nowadays
indispensable. In our country, from
the times of Thomas Jefferson to the
present day, efforts have been put
forth to make it possible for students
and citizens to have libraries and
(Continued on page 3)
DURHAM—Engineered by stu
dent leaders, 300 students of North
Carolina College For Negroes Peti
tioned senators Josiah Bailey and
Robert Reynolds to “vote for and
use their influence in the passage of
the Anti-Lynching Bill.” Senior Sen
ator Bailey received the original copy
and Junior Senator Robert Reynolds
a true copy. The document was
mailed late last week.
.'\roused by the intense efforts of
members of the “southern Bloc” to
again filibuster to death the meas
ure, presidents of all organizations
on the campus met and drew up the
petition which was signed by more
than 300 students before the fol
lowing morning. There is little doubt
that the entire student body would
not have signed if time had been
permitted.
The petition read as follows:
January 11, 1940.
The Honorable Josiah Bailey,
Senate Office Building,
Washington, D. C.
Dear Sir:
We the undersigned students of
North Carolina College For Negroes,
being directly affected by the Anti-
T-^-ijcljing UiJi, respectfully petition
your vote and your influence in the
passage of this bi l, which is a mat
ter that vitally concerns more than
12 million people.
The first signature affixed was that
of Charles E. Cobb, president of the
student council.
BAILEY’S REPLY
President Chas. E. Cobb,
Student Council,
North Carolina College
For Negroes,
Durham, N. C.
My dear Sir;
Your letter advocating the enact
ment of the Gavagan Bill, known as
the Anti-Lynching Bill has been re
ceived.
In considering this measure, we
must bear in mind that lynching is
the most infrequently committed of
all the crimes and that great progress
has been made in reducing the num
ber lynching that in 1939 there were
only three. It is a serious question
whether interference by the Federal
Government would be helpful where
the progress has been so great. More
over, if we invite the Federal Gov
ernment to undertake to enforce the
criminal law in the matter of lynch
ing, we will invite it to enforce the
law with respect to all other crimes
and you may find our state filled
with Federal offices.
If we set up a system of recover
ing damages in Federal Courts
against state officers on account of
the crime of lynching, why not in
respect to other crimes.
Up until now, enforcement of our
laws has been reposed in the States.
Why should we change the system,
and what would be the consequences?
There is a great deal of stealing in
the country. Shall we transfer the
jurisdiction from our local courts or
local offices to the Federal Govern
ment, and if so, will this help? The
(Continued on page 4)