X-Men
from Paj^e 13
as a goddess in her native Africa for
her ability to control the weather;
Thunderbird, a Native American gifted
with speed, strength, and a quick tem
per; Nightcrawler, the German-bom
teleporter with amazing physical
prowess; Colossus, a man of living
steel hailing from the Soviet Union,
and Banshee, the Irish master of sound.
Together, these men and women suc
ceeded in rescuing the original X-Men
and established the core cast for the
X-Men. In a time when most super
hero teams were either all Caucasian
or had only one token minority mem
ber, the X-Men had a culturally diverse
group of men and women from around
the world. The obvious point was that
a good character will be popular, no
matter the skin tone, and having a cul-
turally-mixed base of heroes lends
greater depth to the storyline and to
the characters by providing different
backgrounds from which the writers
can draw. A culturally-mixed group
also means a better representation of
the population, which makes the team
more realistic and more believable.
The second aspect of the X-Men
which lends depth and realism to their
story is the fact that the plight of the
X-Men can be associated with most
any persecuted group. The X-Men are
part of a small segment of humans
termed “homo sapiens superior,,, or
mutants, men and women naturally
bom with extraordinary abilities. In the
Marvel Comics Universe (Marvel be
ing the company who publishes all the
X-titles) mutants are feared and hated
by “normal,, humans. They are subject
to discrimination and public ridicule.
Whether by design or accident, the
writers of X-Men have structured the
stories to include a number of allegori
cal relationships between the leaders
of certain mutant groups and the lead
ers of the Civil Rights Movement. It
is not difficult to see that Charles
Xavier’s dream of peaceful coexist
ence parallels Reverend Martin Luther
King’s dream of racial equality. Fol
lowing his lead, while the X-Men have
become more action-oriented as of
late, they still follow a doctrine of
teaching their lesson equality, as Beast
states in issue #25 of X-Men, “through
the open hand rather than through the
closed fist.,.
Of course, the more militant facets
of the Civil Rights Movement are also
represented in the X-Men’s universe.
While at one point Magneto himself
was deemed a representative of
Malcolm X’s philosophies, a popular
character has taken over that familiar
role. His name is Cable, his history is
muddled through endless time travel
ing, and his philosophy takes more ini
tiative than Xavier’s. Cable and his
group, X-Force, were originally
founded to identify and attack hostile
mutant groups and prejudice human
groups, instead of waiting around to
be attacked. Cable is portrayed not
only as a passionate, charismatic leader
but also as a cold, lethal warrior dedi
cated to winning equality for all and
preventing evil mutants from coming
to power. As for the aforementioned
Magneto, this man’s true name is Eric
Lehnsherr, and he is a survivor of the
holocaust. The atrocities he witnessed
while intemed at the prison camps con
vinced him that only through mutant
domination could mutants ever be safe
from human persecution. Becoming
more and more powerful as the years
progressed, Magneto clearly became
the representative of the most extreme
militant groups, those men and women
who believe that only by force will the
oppressor acknowledge those who are
oppressed. The irony behind Magneto
is, while he is often portrayed as one
of the X-Men’s greatest villains, he
genuinely believes that he is doing the
right thing to help his people, effec
tively illustrating that the right and
wrong in any struggle depends on who
writes the history books.
One bold innovation Marvel may
have inadvertently taken is their intro
duction of “The Legacy Virus,,, a vi
rus engineered by a villain named
Stryfe. The virus originally confined
itself to the mutant population but has
since mutated into a strain capable of
infecting humans. While it is more
believable that Marvel introduced the
concept of the Legacy Virus as a way
to conveniently put old and unpopular
mutants on the shelf, it is possible to
view it’s introduction as a counterpart
to the AIDS virus. Originally, AIDS
was viewed as a purely homosexual
disease, but soon after its’ discovery,
evidence of the virus began showing
up in the heterosexual population. The
Legacy Virus is an ongoing plot line
in the X-titles, and it will be interest
ing to see in what way, or even if, it
will be resolved.
As is often the case, the most inter
esting and entertaining stories tend to
have some kind of basis in real life, a
foundation that stirs a chord in all of
us, whether we recognize it 6r not.
While the X-Men have been commer
cialized as of late, they had humble be
ginnings and a noble purpose, and we
should not forget that these qualities
undoubtedly make the X-Men “he
roes.,.
Teach Me
taught—not humiliated, taught*-not in
timidated. Professors who cannot
teach in such a manner as to foster the
enlightenment and intellectual en
hancement of the students at
Fayetteville State University should
either refrain from teaching or rethink
their methods of teaching. For those
professors who insist that the student
is “trying to get the degree that they
already have,,, you are right. Not only
do we want the “degree,,, but also we
want—we demand—the considerable
knowledge and wisdom that should
accompany a credible, pretigious de
gree. Give us the education that we
want and that we must have to sur
vive in this, society.
Resurrection
necked and rebellious people. With all
of this hell we’re in, we should be
ready to atone for our foolishness.
Black Woman, you have carried the
nation on your back. When the Black
Man denied all of his responsibilities,
it was that mother or that sister who
bared the burden. This is why only the
Black man was called to Washington
D.C.; for his ignorance in refusing
what God has ordained him to do. Oc
tober 16 was a day for the Black man
to rise from his doormat state and bear
witness before God and the entire
world that he was lost but now he’s
found; was blind but now he sees. Let’s
rise, people, and make a new reality.
To all my brothers, may Allah
(God) bless you with peace on your
individual journeys from to D.C. Ev
erybody get ready to shock the world!
It is time for the Negro to die and the
God to rise!
Did you know?
b^^adnn^Colv^
Englishman John Cadbury, the choco
late extraordinaire (you know the
Cadbury bunny commercials?), made
his wealth from the cocoa boards in
West Africa as a result of the destruc
tion caused by the slave trade.
• •••••••
Every time you drink old English malt
liquor you condone and participate in
the atrocities caused by the slave trade.
According to Alfred “Coach,, Powell,
a violence prevention specialist and
researcher, the number 800 on a bottle
of Old English represents the year
1800, the year the English dominated
the slave trade. The amount paid for
one healthy black male was 33 crowns,
the exact amount of crowns counted
on the bottle’s label.
• •••••••
Keeping with the same motif, Mr.
Powell has also analyzed the
Budweiser commerical consisting of
ants in the desert. According to Mr.
Powell the ants symbolize Black Af
ricans dancing in a tribal nature. If you
notice, congo drums can be heard in
the background. The ants carry the
bottle as if it were their king. Inciden
tally, Budweiser is known as the “King
of Beers,,. As the bottle is turned up-
side-down into the ant-hole, Mr.
Powell describes this act as a rape of
Mother Africa. The Budweiser bottle,
thus, sybolizes the penis pouring al
cohol into the Queen Mother, killing
the African children that she bears.
Selma Burke, a black woman from
Mooresville, N.C., sculpted the bust
of former President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt that is seen on the dime.
A black woman, Ms. Ann Fudge, is the
President of Maxwell House coffee.
The name Candace means “Queen of
Cush,,. Cush, also spelled Kush, is the
Broncos’ Voice -t
Homccoming 1995 \_ /
name of a region in East Africa that
existed as one of the earlist Great civi
lization in the East.
Source: African America: Portrait of
a People, 1994
Essence, August 1995
African-American Encyclopedia
V.2
"TheFinal Call" Aug. 30, 1995
p. 6
Steppers
from page 6
They began their stepping off with
symbolism. Racism was symbolized
by someone dressed in a Ku Klux Klan
outfit, injustice was symbolized by a
person in chains (a slave), and exploi
tation was symbolized by soineone
dressed in an Aunt Jemaime outfit.
This was truly an original and out
standing idea. The only thing that may
have given the sisters problems was
all that posing; although as significant
as it may have been, it took up too
much time and may have been inter
preted wrong.
The men came next. The sophisti
cated men of Phi Beta Sigma Frater
nity, Inc. were first. They came out
with eye catching tuxedos on. The only
touch missing was the jackets, but they
didn’t need them to set off their step
ping. It spoke for itself. It was precise
and very good.
The next brothers to come out were
the fine brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha
Fraternity, Inc. They set the scene with
a doctor and an assistant that looked
like Egor. Then a bang went off and a
cloud of white smoke filled the stage.
Then the brothers came out in their
sharp outfits. Their steps were calcu
lated and, as could be observed, very
practiced.
Stepping next were the brothers of
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. I have
to say that I give credit to all those who
stepped in the first place, but to step
with precision with a cane has to be
difficult. Some brothers missed steps
and messed up, but ho one is absolutely
perfect. One person stepped so hard his
cane broke, but he continued to step
despite the fact.
Last, but not least, were the broth
ers of Groove Phi Groove Social Fel
lowship. Even though they are not
Greek oriented, to see them ste;p was
interesting. Their steps, although good,
were repetitive. They should have bro
ken it up and incorporated different
moves into their routine. Once again
the crowd was rude and the brothers
were disrespected totally.
Finally, the winners were to be an
nounced. The trophies were presented
to the ladies of Delta Sigma Theta So
rority, Inc. and the brothers of Phi Beta
Sigma, Inc. Congratulations go to
these steppers who deserved their
awards for their stepping, as well as
their originality. Even though there
could only be two winner’s I believe
everyone deserved an award for their
time, effort, and courage. They should
all be given a hand.
(M
r
f;-