I I
" .V* *
Marable F
: assume that he/she cannot com*
piete on par with whites; that this
? student is somehow "culturally
,5 disadvantaged.1' Even if,Aobjec*;
tively, the black student's work is
? identical or superior to that of a
white pupil, the grade received is
lower. The cultural expectation
of failure and .inferioritv
transcends the objective merits of
one's work.
Students tend to learn quickly
- if the material relates to their
^ciudtural or social* experience in
some direct way, or if the overall
environment reinforces their
desire to excel. If their curriculum
is structured to negate
their heritage and culture; if their
teachet* -expect only the
/ "minimum level" of competency
from them; if they are not constantly
reinforced in the
classroom and in campus life
* generally, their failure is almost
preordained.
The myth of equality in
American education is based in
part on the assumption that
recruitment of representative
nnmK*rc Ui??
uMinwvi j vi viavR (UlU niSJMUliW
: students ultimately will produce a
pluralistic society. Equal access
Counterpom
alive and well.
In defense of the movie, there
are those who would say that it
provided a vehicle to showcase
black talent and a black author in
a medium that has largely ignored
them.
For the crumbs that "The Color/Purple"
provided in these
realn^vye must weigh the price
^ that was paid. As a black man
who is a child and adolescent
psychiatrist by profession - a
husband and father by choice - I
say the price tag for this movie is
entirely too high.
Professionally, 1 spend a
-Significant portion of every day
fighting, to .help children, womenand
men who have been abused
by each other and the system. At
a time when our children and
families throughout the world are
struggling for freedom, justice
and their rigHtful role in selfdetermination,
we can ill afford
setbacks of the type this movie
nromntM
The issue of having the vast
talent in the black community ignored
cannot and should not be
addressed with the sham that this
production provides. Given the
so-called choice between continued
obscurity on the movie
screen and the perpetuation of
self-hatred and self-defeatism
leading to family genocide - the
"choice" ought to be clear*
The jrony of a black woman
accepting the white man's dollar
(begotten through the
dehumanization of her and her
people) to insult her black man
and black male children would be
comeaic 11 11 were noi so iragiw.
In a time when one out of every
two black children is growing up
^ Opinion
f?
He felt equally at ease sing
spiritual or a Yiddish folk sc
Most importantly, no mat
tistic or intellectual prowess,
Robeson's fierce individualist
The tall, eloquent black
baritone voice and menacing
nis principles.
In response, Robeson was 1
His concerts were banned ii
forced to live abroad. But st
"If you were young and id
~ in those days, Paul Robo
Jewish writer Yaacor Luria i
Amid the attention justly i
King Jr. national holiday thri
ly marked the 10th anniversai
probably didn't know that.
Youngsters who aspire to b
J probably don't even know
they need to know. They neo
footballs and recite Shakesp<
So we salute Paul Robesoi
way one can be a giant. Yq
some have stood by their com
sequences. They need to ki
truest Renaissance men was 1
i ***
.
rom Page A5
to college enrollment, however,
does not guarantee retention. According
to Alexander Austin,
author^ of "Minorities in
American Higher Education,"
the percentages of ail college-age
young people who entered
in lOM u'ma * ?
UUITVI ItUM U1 1 7DA WVIW JO
cent for whites, 29 percent for
blacks and 24 percent foD"
His panics. The percentages of
this group who graduate from
colleges are: whites, 23 percent;
blacks, 12 percent, and
Hispanics, 7 percent. Of those
who enter graduate or professional
schools: whites, 14 percent;
blacks, 8 percent, and
Hispanics, 4 percent. Whites still
comprise 86 percent of all
students in academic institutions,
and nearly 92 percent of all
graduate and professional school
~ students. Of every 100 black
students who enter high school.
only 72 graduate, 29 go to college
and only 12 receive degrees.
Other than at historically black
colleges, an Afro-American student
is usually at a tremendous disadvantage
within the university.
The bulk of his or her white
counterparts find that the
t From Page A4
in this country living in a singleparent,
female-headed
household, often in poverty,
anything that serves to widen the
gap between our men and women
cannot be ignored or tolerated.
At a time when our black male
children are killing each other
and themselves via heroin, cocaine,
PCP, alcohol, tobacco,
guns, knives, speeding cars or,
worse yet, through corporatecontrolled
and -induced military
conflicts, can we afford to promote,
a vehicle that, under the
guise of entertainment, gives
credence to their societally taught
self-hatred * and * self'defeatist
?b?havioi7
The answer is an emphatic
"no!"
Since our ancestors came to
these shores, American society
has worked overtime at destroying
the fabric of the black family.
Initially, their actions were blatant
and easily seen - families
< were separated via the auction
block. With the passage of time,
the tactics have become more
sophisticated.
Thoughtless and irresponsible
attempts at "entertainment" as
seen in "The Color Purple" serve
only to re-open wounds that have
never fully healed without any
focus on the source of the
wounds themselves - white-maledominated
and oppressive society.
Instead of focusing our attention
on the root causes of our
mistrust of one another, which,
has led to our inability to love
each other or parent the children
we produce - we end up fighting
each other even more by design
and a projected devaluation.
>m Page A4
jng an operatic aria, a Negro
ins.
ter what the extent of his arthey
paled in comparison to
rn and his defiance of racism,
man with the commanding
stare would not compromise
labeled a Communist traitor,
i the United States. He was
ill he didn't waver.
ealistic - 'socially conscious'
ion became your idol," said
n a Miami Herald column,
given the first Martin Luther
x days earlier, Jan. 23 quiet*
ry of Robeson's death. Many,
ie like Moses Malone and Dr.
who Paul Robeson was. But
d to know that you can catch
sare.
n, a giant of a man in every
tungsten need to know that
fictions regardless of the connow
that one of America's
black.
I
f
<r
cultural and social environmeai is
directly designed for them. Black
professors are few and far between
~ statistically! only 1 percent
of the ; faculty at
predominantly white institutions
are black.
Much of education occurs out
-side the classroom.
Professor Jacqueline Fleming,
author of "Blacks in College,"
has observed that most AfroAmerican
students are placed in a
second-class status at white institutions.
Many white professors
ignore them, and students
sometimes experience "a loss of
motivation and thwarted intellectual
growth." Some students
"may begin to accept a minority
status, that of not really being a
part of things."
Professor Fleming's study also
shows that black students have a
higher rate of intellectual
develODment in black inctitu.
tions: "Although they came to
college with lower test scores ....
these . things were overcome
because they were encouraged
and supported by peers, adWe
are all familiar with
Hitler's "Final Solution" to the
Jewish "problem." There is no
question that this movie amassed
brilliance, compassion and talent
unequalled in any production
now on the market via its actors,
author and producers. It is a
damn shame that it never came
close to utilizing its vast potential
to provide an accurate or balanced
depiction of our people and
our life - our children and our
community deserve and need so
much more.
It's about time we recognize
and stop colluding with a sick
segment of American society
pmhUig -the- "solution" to the
black "problem.**
RUT YOUR
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ministrators and faculty
membess."
The struggle for racial equality
does not mean that all . blacks
should attend all-black colleges,
but it does mean that greater emnkaii*
*> <? tu ? ? ??
piiHU 1I1U91 |/iawcu IU WI CMC
structures which provide positive
reinforcement and an environment
of cultural pluralism for
blacks within predominantly
white institutions.
Equality is not a color-blind,
invisible status which condemns
black youth to insecurity, isolation
and failure. It means taking
the logical steps to guarantee real
cultural pluralism -- more black
nrnfMcnrc anri eta f f MrnanH?H
W ?MI%? klVMl A | VApUlIUVU
funds for black cultural .and
academic programs and institutional
links between campuses
and black communities.
Dr. Manning Marable teaches
political sociology at Colgate
University.
t
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'* JB^^"- >''^v' ~
ffV - ' - !??*? "
? .
The Ctironicle, Thursday, February 6, 1986-Page A13
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