September, 1957
THE BENNETT BANNER
Page Three
INTRODUCTION TO LIBRARY—Miss Fannie Fisher, Ubrary assistant (center) explains to group of Bennett College fresh
men proper procedure for use of the library’s facilities. This w as a part of the Orientation Week program at the college.
BORROWING SORROW
The girl who’s forst upon our She’s borrowed our cleaning tis-
list^ jsues by bales!
Literally Tours:
GIFTED FROSH
SCORE TOP
PERFORMANCE
The events of freshman orienta
tion week culminated on Saturday
evening, September 20, with a
“Freshman Talent Program”. The
program, held in the Bennett
College Little Theatre, revealed a
variety of talent in the members
of the class of ’61.
Solo vocaJ contributions were
made by Misses Carole Watson,
Robbie Walton, and Avis McCar-
ther, all sopranos, who sang "The
Lord’s Prayer” by Malotte, “The
Star” by Rogers, and “I Believe”
—a popular ballad, respectively. A
vocal sextette composed of Misses
Peggy Alexander, Helen Brown,
Linda Brown, Carolyn Davis, De
lores Finger, and Robbie Walton
sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone”
by Rogers and Hammerstein. Miss
Ellshama Madison read a mono
logue entitled “The Waltz.”
Miss Marian Simmons was the
first of the three pianists sched
uled to perform. Miss Simmons
played “Humoreske” by Sergei
Rachmaninoff. Later in the pro
gram “Dream of Olwen” by
Charles Williams was heard as
played by Miss Sa,ndra Whitfield.
The second half of the program
also included a piedley of modern
songs arranged for piano. These
were played by Miss Lois Johnson.
Miss Gloria McKnight used Per
cy Faith’s “Return to Paradise”
as background music and subject
for her creative dancing while
versatile Robbie Walton used the
whistling strains of “The High
and the Mighty” as accompani
ment for her dance. The program
was brought to a close by Misses
Sandra Boozer, Judy Grordon, and
EJunice Hawkins, better known as
“The Dee Cee Trio”. The trio
sang two i>opular ballads; “Down
by the River”, and “Come Go With
Me”.
Faculty associates who made up
the committee for the production
were; Mrs. Mary T. Coleman, Miss
Anne Jenkins, Mrs. Dolly Turner,
and Mr. Edward Lowe. Student
representative was Yvoiine Wynne,
’58.
Of those Who Never Would Be
Ml.ssed
Is Jenny, smart from scarf to
hose
In what, invariably, are our
clothes!
We’ve normally brave, yet we
blench and we shrink
Whenever she eyes our rabbit or
mink.
She’s plundered our stockings;
she’s looted our veils;
I Her eyes specialize in promot-
I ing a loan,
And before you can blink, your
pin money’s flown!
Our friendship for Jenny could
hardly be matched
Before there were some strings
attached—
Now our assets are dwindling,
not worth a penny
And lately we feel the same
about Jenny!
The Bennett Banner is honored
in this, the September issue, to
present a new feature which we
think will present fresh insight into
the many stale problems of the day.
Mr. Jartf£s tV. Ivy, editor of The
Crisis magazine-—the official organ
of the NAACP—is the first of our
guests to appear in this feature.
More of Mr. Ivy’s book reviews
can be found in the monthly edi
tions of The Cmis magazine, in
Thomas F. Holgate library. Present
ing:
BLACK TRIUMVIRATE: A Study
of Louverture, Dessalines, Chris-
tophe—The Men Who Made Hai
ti. By Charles Moran. New York:
Exposition Press, Inc., 1957,
160pp. $3.00
Haiti fasicnates many foreign
ers. To the ate William Seabrook
it was “The Magic Isle.” To others
it is the land of Vodou and throb
bing drums. To still others it is
the “Black Republic” with its
demoniac national heroes. To Mr.
Moran it is the land of the “Black
Triumvirate.” .
Americans know much more
about Toussaint Louverturt, tiie
clever soldier and able adminis
trator, than they do about either
Jean-Jacques Dessalines or Henri
Christophe. Dessalines, who pro-
) claimed the independence of Haiti
on January 1, 1804, on the Place
d’Armes des Gonaives, was crown
ed Emperor. But when he began
to abuse his power he was assissi-
nated on October 17, 1806.
Dessalines is seldom remember
ed outside Haiti, except by white
foreigners who recall with abhor
rence that he was the man who
massacred the whites. Christophe
is remembered as the Black Majes
ty of Vandercook’s book of the
same name. Tourists visit his fam
ous Citadel on the summit of Bon-
net-a-l’Eveque 2,500 feet above the
sea and marvel how such a vast
structure could have been put in
place by manpower alone.
These are the three giants Mr.
Moran attempts, not very success
fully, to portray. The author fails
because his stury is not a piece of
James W. Ivy
original research. He relys on the
scholarship of a few Haitian and
American authorities, and not al
ways the best ones. Too much of
the book, more than half, is given
over to sketchy backgroimd ma
terial; in consequence his por
traits of his heroes are thin and
the idiosyncratic traits of their
characters are missing.
There are, ofr example, the
locks of women’s hair and their
love letters found in a secret com
partment of one of Toussaint’s
trunks. There Is Christoplie’s roy
al Palace of Sans-Soucis, built in
imitation of Versailles, with its:
air-conditioning system. There is;
Dessalines frequent reference to
the whip scars on his body; sight
of them always made him hate the
whites.
If you know nothing about this
triumvirate, Mr. Morgan’s little
book will serve as an introduction.
James W. Ivy
The Crisis
The Banner staff wishes to ex
press sincere thanks to Mr. Ivy for
his contribution to this issue.
YOUR
. BENNETT
COLLEGE
BOOK STORE
HAS
ALL YOUR NEEDS
HERE’S HOW IT’S DONE—Francis L. Grandison, psychology instructor, explains registra
tion procedures to a group of his freshman advisees during registration at Bennett College
last week.