5ronco»’ Voice
Homecoming 1995
Commen
FSU’S CHANGING FACE: DO THE MEANS JUSTIFY
by Roger A. Harris
We’ve all heard the axiom, “The
only thing I have to do is stay black
and die.,. And every day America
strives with pain to keep our options
bound to that narrowed reality, locked
within its limited and limiting circum
stance. The one protective option we
do control is in cormecting: with our
selves, our culture, our history. And
through this connecting, we come to
to realize our collective beauty, united
impact, and combined power.
Charles Chesnutt and E. E. Smith
understood this fact and helped found
FSU to stay its reality; Malcolm X and
Martin Luther King, Jr. gave their lives
trying to uphold that reality; a million-
plus men marched on Washington, D.
C. to let the world know that reality’s
place is in the spirit, heart, and soul of
its people. But what of FSU? What is
our contribution, as guardians of this
legacy, towards maintaining its cher
ished reality. Many convincingly ar-
THE
gue that in our haste to assimilate, that
an FSU education has slowly and sud
denly deteriorated, descending from a
prideful and giving cultural foundation
into a sickened parroting of white in
stitutions; that hand-me-down white
and jigaboo African-American (it’s not
a type-0, gang) professors, administra
tors, and faculty have created an envi
ronment devoid of deep (reaching
back), life-giving (bringing forth), cul
tural roots. Are Chestnutt, Smith, X,
and King tuming in their graves? Have
the means that we’ve employed to
transcend our oppressor destroyed
our spirit, corrupted our soul, and
culturally smeared our
faces minstrel-white? Do
we really know who we are
-is FSU dying?
Objective compari
son is one of the sim
plest ways to gain
perspective in ana
lyzing this harrow-
END?
ing circumstance; insight is gained by
evaluating the facts relevant to its cre
ation; critical thinking applied will
help to determine its cause, assess its
effects, and forward its solution. Visit
(then use) NCCU, A & T, Hampton,
or Howard Universities as your sub
jects for objective caparison. What
you’ll find in visiting these campuses
are environments that feel (and aren’t
afraid to say) that “This is a Black
thang, baby!,, Feeling that is not racist
and saying that is not exclusionary: it
is at once Black, at once proud, and at
once real; an acknowl
edging of their deep,
strong, and very
|)lack roots; a reach-
ying back, connect
ing, and bring
ing forth a
spiritual life
from the
bowels of
God,
What’s Wrong With This
Picture?
With a 30% “minority” presense at FSU.
Is this letter to our faculty and staff
y,necessary?...NO! Ed.
October 16, 1995
Dear FSU Faculty & Staff:
As Director of Enrollment Manage
ment and Admissions, I am soliciting
your assistance in our recruitment visi
tations to selected high schools and
two-year institutions in the state.
As you are aware, one of the ob
jectives of the University is to increase
the white student enrollment; there
fore, as a minority employee, we are
asking you to volunteer your services
in this endeavor and attend certain re
cruitment sessions
within a reasonable
radius, when practi
cable, as long as such
efforts do not inter
fere with your duties
and responsibilities.
Regardless of your
decision, kindly complete,
detach and return the lower
section of this letter to the
Office of Admissions. Should there be
any questions concerning this effort,
please let me know. Of course, your
participation will be greatly appreci
ated.
Sincerely,
James A. Scurry
Director of Enrollment Management
and Admissions
I
through that same root, through its
seed, and into any who might, and we
who inust partake of its rich bounty.
FSU proper is aggressively making
great accomplishments: the new facili
ties, winning awards of millions of
dollars in grants, etc., etc. But are we
funky? Do we have “soul?,. Can I feel
you? Can you feel me? Our cheerlead
ers are young, and has Cheer-phi’s
legacy (simply yet very importantly a
legacy and tradition couched within a
historically “black thang,,) been passed
on to them? Our band is on, but do we
get the point when they can’t or won’t
play “Lift Every Voice and Sing?,,
What’s up with a white professor that
says he will not teach African-Ameri-
can Literature “because I don’t know
anything about it,, (booty!) or an Afri
can-American professor who questions
why a white student would want to take
see Editorial, page 16
Education
For
Liberation
by Barbara Beebe
Since graduating
from FSU, I’ve had to ask
myselfif the education I received
properly prepared me for or provided
me with the answers and solutions to
the problems and dilemmas facing the
African community? Unfortunately,
the answer for me is a resounding
“NO.,, I’ve spent the years since my
graduation unlearning destructive les
sons and learning real liberation skills.
To be educated for liberation speaks
to the planning, building, and mainte
nance of an educational program based
upon the cultural framework (history,
literature, sciences) one is familiar
with. To be educated outside this
framework means that one is educated
and prepared to work for one’s oppres
sor and enslaver. As African Ameri
cans, we have been educated in the
paradigms and programs appropriate
to the European mentality. Thus, as a
people, we have been educated to per
petuate our own enslavement. We can
never find the answers to the myriad
of problems facing our community
because we have not been taught from
See Liberation, page 16
The Broncos’
VOICE
Copyright 1995
Faculty Advisor Dr. Linda Barlow
Staff
Andrea Powers Natasha Etienne
Lishan Harrison Sharon High
Amey Pickett Xaver U. Priest
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Editor Roger Harris
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