Pg.4
Commentary
SPRING SEMESTER
March 2006
Ms. Coretta, Please don’t tell Martin
By Bitter B
Released January 31st, 2006
Thank you Ms. Coretta for
the grace, strength, and dignity that
you displayed. Since your
wonderful husband was assassinated
by the bullets of fear and hate.
You know they killed him
because of their ignorance. Thank
you for not allowing bitterness and
anger to engulf your very existence.
Now that you are reunited
with Martin tell him that they are
stripping our rights away, day by
day, but his fight w'as not in vain.
Tell him that although my
generation glorifies drugs, debases
black women in song, and calls us
vulgar names - that his dream still
remains.
Our men no longer
celebrate our natural black beauty -
we have to have long weaves, small
waists, and big ole booties.
The videos are so
degrading, they mirror soft pom. Us
Blacks own television stations now,
but that's all that's shown.
Tell Martin that my
generation apologizes for its lack of
respect for his legacy and the
dormancy of our elders; we might
as well call this the Civil Rights of
Unmovement Era.
Tell him that although w'e
as black people make more than
we've ever seen, that we squander it
on diamond clad teeth, 24 inch
rims, and designer clothes due to
our sagging self-esteem.
Tell Martin that our babies
are growing up without fathers,
while the mothers are catching
buses just like he remembers.
Our children take to the
streets in droves, not to march or
proclaim the injustice of this nation,
but to pledge their gang affiliation. I
can't rhyme to this next line.
On any night thugs hang
out while bullets ring out - not
freedom. And yes we continue to be
judged by the color of our skin by
America but I wonder most about
the lack of the content of our
character.
Advise him that the
grand-daughters of the Civil Rights
era are making their money as
strippers. The Grand-sons of the
marchers are ignoring their sons and
daughters and hanging and slangm'
on comers.
They're going to jail in
mass numbers, not for protesting,
marching, or defying racism, but
because they commit illegal acts to
gain materialism.
Our children are making
babies, ignoring education,
committing felonious capers, I wish
they'd read his Biraiingham Jail
Papers.
Tell Martin that those in
the ghetto are not the only ones
forgetting his dream. There are
those w'ho've forgotten where they
came from because of a little cream.
Who refuse to give back
to the community, because their
motto is 'More for me'. They've
forgotten how to lend a helping
hand, to help their fellow man - all
the while thinking, 'If I can make it,
they can't.
Looking down without
offering a leg up, getting on
elevators with their noses up.
Some of us are even
republicans now, but that's a very
exclusive black crowd.
Striving to get to the top
of the ladder, to make their pockets
fatter - instead of doing something
that truly
matters.
Leaving the
'hood' in droves
and only
moving back
when Whites
buy up all of
the homes.
Tell
Martin that we
still like to
dance and sing,
but not Negro
spirituals cuz
we've got
Beyonce
grinding and
shaking her
thing.
Ms. Coretta.
this may hurt
poor Martin the most - it just may
seal the deal, we as a people don't
attend church anymore. Cuz we've
gotten a little education and found
out that God wasn't
For those of us who still
believe, it makes us want to holla,
we've got a pimp named Bishop and
a Bishop named Dollar.
I don't know Ms. Corretta,
maybe you'd better not tell Martin
that for all that he's done to make us
free, equal, and just - that we still
migrate to the back of the bus.
I'll bet looking down - he
doesn't recognize us. We've
forgotten how to march, protest, and
vote - but be at the club, standing in
line for hours - in the freezing cold.
Sporting the latest gear; stilettos,
hoochie clothes, teeth that's froze,
and Tims - driving cars with less
tire more riin.
Dying to get in so that we
can 'shake it fast', drop it like it's
hot' - forgetting the respect and
dignity that we w'ere taught. I neva'
thought I'd think this thought, but
please don't eva' give Martin your
report.
Ms. Coretta, maybe you should just
avoid mentioning my generation all
togetha'.
1 shall be telling tins wiili a sigh
Somewhere ages :tnd ages'?'
hence: ^
I'vvo roiiils diverged m ii wnod.'
and I-
1 took the one less tiavcled by.
And that has made all the
di fferencc. •
-Tvtibert I'rost
ttio'u* bv. s“Siitttli
REVERSE RACISM AN ISSUE AT FSU
Many Students Don’t Report Campus Incidents
By Ashley C. Smith
Copy Editor, The Voice
Fayetteville State University, as well
as other Historically Black Colleges and
Universities, is faced with very unique
circumstances which affect its student body.
At most universities across the U.S.,
Caucasian suidents make up the majority,
usually comprising about 70 to 80 percent of
the student population, while African American
students make up betw'een 15 to 20 percent.
However, at FSU and most other
HBCUs, these numbers are almost exactly
opposite, with African Americans constitating
the majority.
Because of this reversal in numbers,
unique problems have begun to arise at
Fayette\'ille State, which merit unique
solutions.
One of the unique problems faced by
the student body is the existence of racism on
campus; Racism in the form of the majority
population, comprised of African American
students, tow'ards the minority populations at
FSU.
An interesting occurrence, that has
been noticed due to recent allegations of racisin
by students, is that many students within the
majority population do not believe that reverse
racism exists at Fayetteville State. A denial, I
fear, which has led to many of the problems.
Let's take a few examples of
incidents which ha\ e occurred on campus this
semester and review the implications of these
incidents:
1. A hispanic student and a white smdent are
told "You know we don't want you here," by an
African American student in the Financial Aid
Office.
2. A white student is shot mean looks, spit at,
and called a "Honky Bitch!" outside of Hackley
Honors Hall.
3. Students making off the cuff comments
towards minority sti,idents in the Cafeteria, for
no reason other than the person is of a different
ethnicity.
The first example is more covert in
nature, and is often defended by the fact that
Fayetteville State University is an HBCU. I
have heard the fact that many students would
like the university to go back to being a school
only for African American students.
The comments like "we don't want
you here" are often followed by, "no offense,
but this school was founded for Black people."
However, what the proponents of
this idea fail to realize is that these arguments
are racism attempting to be justified.
During the desegregation of public
schools and universities in the 60s and 70s,
many white schools used the fact that they
were "historically white schools" to argue that
they shouldn't have to let minorities in.
So, case in point, should other
schools around the coimtry be allowed to only
accept w'hite students? I should hope not.
The next two examples are more
overt, in that they show blatant examples of
racism.
A white smdent who is spit at and
called a racial slur, or a minority student who
has to listen to a group of other smdents make
comments about them in the Cafeteria, ha\ e
strong cases to report racism, but many do not.
Students have expressed a feeling
that they do not believe the incidents would be
taken seriously if they were reported, or that
they do not believe that the incidents were
serious enough to report.
Many incidents go unreported and
are internalized by the student which may lead
to withdraw'al from the uni\'ersity or from
campus life.
A major problem with racist
incidents is that hey do not ha\ e to be large to
have a large effect. A racist comment made
towards a student at the Cafeteria may cause a
large amount of disaffection with the university,
but may not be seen as worth the effort of
reporting.
These issues deeply impact student
life, and the fiifure of race relations at
Fayetteville State.
If they are not appropriately dealt
with by the university they will continue to
exist until they reach a breaking point, at w'hich
time it will be too late.
The university has to provide a
general liberal atmosphere conducive to
integration to counter the steady drip-drip of
racism.
Only when the members of our
institution, smdent body and administration
alike, feel comfortable tackling these issues as
they arise, will a solution be in sight.
The views expressed on this page are the views of the writer, and do
not express the opinions of this publication or the administration of
Fayetteville State University. Pieces may be subject to minor editing
for mechanical reasons, but will not be edited for content.
21 Questions to consider
By FSU Students
l.If you drink Pepsi while you’re working at a Coca Cola factory, will they fire you?
2.Aren’t you mad Gadzooks has a no return policy?
3.How important do you have to be before you are considered assassinated rather than
murdered?
4.Are we going to see YOU on “Girls Gone Wild Spring Break” Edition?
5.Did you know Dr. Kofi Johnson actually had good evaluations?
6.Are you as broke as I am?
7.Why does the word “leader” scare students?
8.How is it that you know everyone who went to each individual Greek interest meeting,
but no one knows who destroyed the plots?
9.Wasn’t the CIAA so much better in Raleigh than in Charlotte?
10. Why is that the people of Charlotte were unaware of what the CIAA was, and thought
we were there for the Universal Soul Circus?
11. Aren’t you mad both teams lost out in the first round of the tournament?
12.1 see a lot of line jackets... are all of the Greeks coming back on the yard?
13. Why were the Greeks offended by the last 21 questions?
14. Doesn’t Ciara remind you a lot of Aaliyah?
15. Speaking of Aaliyah, don’t you just miss her?
16. Aren’t you proud of Black Millennium for placing in two modeling competitions?
17. Why are you sweatin’ your homegirls boyfriend?
18. Aren’t you tired of senior leaders no longer assuming responsibilities because they
have four weeks to graduate?
19. When did the price of stamps go up?
20. 'Wliy were less than 100 people at the Stand and Deliver Leadership Conference that
cost $22,000?
21. Why do you claim SGA doesn't do anything, but fail to come to events and programs
they provide?
Do you have any questions
you’d like to see printed?
Send them to thevoice@uncfsu.edu