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Friday, November 18, 1983
BENNETT COLLEGE, GREENSBORO, N. C.
VoL XLV, No. 4
King’s appearance here recalled
“Deeds” not words; Mrs. Genevieve Greenlee, ’32, paid tribute to the college in the form of two deeds,
valued at $20,000, for property in South Carolina. Her gift came to the planned giving program, and it was received
by President Isaac H. Miller Jr. and Mr. James A. Burt, director of institutional advancement. (photo by M. Davis)
Scholars receive honors
Two seniors headed a
group of 25 scholars recog
nized for academic excellence
during the Fall Honors Con
vocation Nov. 10 in Annie
Merner Pfeiffer Chapel.
English majors Joan
Yvette Davis of Tuscaloosa,
Ala. and Yolanda Teresa
DuRant of Florence, S.C.
were commended for main
taining a 3.40 or better
average during their years
here.
Both will do graduate work
—Davis in law and DuRant
in English or journalism.
Three juniors were hon
ored for keeping a 3.30 aver
age or better—Tonya Horton,
Robbin Rowe and Christiana
Tumaku.
Twenty sophomores were
cited for reaching a 3.20
average or better. These
women are: Deirdre Aiken,
Natalie Bennett, D i e r t r a
Evans, Karen Fisher, Evelyn
Fulmore, Penny Hill, Phyllis
Jones, Mary Junious, Sherri
Kitchen, Bonita Moore, Tina
Morrison, Laurrie Murphy,
Demorris Norris, Andrea
Russell, Amanda Smith,
Karen Taylor, Rose Taylor,
Theresa Thompson, Cassan
dra Walker and Thelma
Watlington.
Freshmen will be included
in the Spring Honors Convo
cation after they have re
ceived final grades for first
semester.
The 25 students were given
certificates of merit by Pres
ident Isaac H. Miller, Jr.
In an address prior to the
presentation, Miller stressed
the importance of United
Negro College Fund drive
launched in Greensboro last
week, congratulated the
scholars honored and made
motivational remarks to other
students.
Referring to a national
report on competencies for
freshmen published recently,
Miller said, “It is not a sin
to lack them. But it is a sin
and a tragedy not to take the
time to develop these com
petencies” while a student is
in college.
“There will be no careers
for people who are unpre
pared,” Miller warned.
The convocation also fea
tured a litany by Miss Wil-
helmina Gilbert, professor of
business and economics, and
a brilliant performance of
Pinney’s arrangement of
“America the Beautiful” by
the Bennett College Choir,
directed by Dr. Charlotte Als
ton and accompanied by Mr.
Fred Mason at the piano.
Dancers on the move
by Alaina Cloud
The Bennett College Dance
Company has many perform
ances in the near future, and
Beaufort, S. C. and Bruns
wick, Ga. are its first stops.
Those two shows occur
Dec. 2 and Dec. 3 and include
a variety of dances—ballet,
modern, jazz and spiritual.
Other performances are
slated for Fayetteville Paul
ine Jones Elementary School,
Feb. 1, the UNCF Pageant
Feb. 11, the Holiday Inn
Four Seasons where a few
dancers will be performing,
and South Park High School
for mentally and physically
handicapped students March
27.
Ms. Susan E. King, dance
company coordinator, said
that she spends most of her
time choreographing for the
first performance, which
doesn’t allow her enough time
to have organized warm-ups.
The practice schedules are
Monday, Wednesday, Thurs
day from 6:30-8:30.
The dancers are: Donna
Athias, Allyson Berry, Nicole
Clayburn, Dee Evans, Tracye
Faulkner, DeJaniera Little,
Charlene Simmons, Khadija
Ward and Cheryl Williams.
Williams, a senior, who is
the president of the company
and a four-year member from
Brunswick, Ga., said that “we
have more talented girls (this
year) with more ideas.” She
added that “the dance com
pany has kept me in shape,
and we hold our own, we do
a very good job, and people
are pleased.”
The dance company has
experienced financial trouble
in the past. King thinks that
the group is not adequately
funded, and said, “For the
past two years, the college
didn’t give us any money.”
Recently the comoany was
given money which has to be
requisitioned each time the
company needs it, and there
is usually a waiting period
before any action takes place.
The money came from Stu
dent Activities, and took two
days to go through. Cheryl
Williams said, “Our costumes
are made by us, and we put
in our own things, whereas
universities have a dance
budget which allows them to
get or order anything they
want.”
When asked the question
“Have you benefited from the
dance company?” Nicole
Clayburn, a sophomore from
Queens, N. Y., stated that
“Yes, I’ve benefitted, because
Mr. Scarlette gave us money,
which allows us to have a
concert here in April.”
Clayburn added, “I think
the dance company should be
publicized and we need a lot
more practices. We need tech
nique and warm-up exercises.”
Bennett College can look
forward to a performance by
the dance company in April.
A concert wasn’t given last
year because of the lack of
financial support.
King and her dancers feel
they have the talent to create
a very satisfied audience.
by Dee Evans
and Evelyn Sims
How would you have re
acted if it were 1957, and a
young reverend who had led
the Montgomery bus desegre
gation victory, spoke at Ben
nett, heavily protected by
police?
“It was the most moving
experience I’ve ever had,”
Mrs. Mary Ann Scarlette
says. An alumna, she had re
turned for Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.’s address. He was
28 at the time.
“It was an emotional ex
perience because of King’s
being a national figure. I
remember the thrill and kind
of stimulation one gets when
one feels motivated to say,
‘What can I do? What
should I be doing, or what
is it I haven’t done?’ ” recalls
the assistant professor of
education.
The pastor was nationally
known, but the fame that
arose from his “I Have a
Dream Speech” and the Nobel
Prize still lay many struggles
ahead.
Such greatness is never
forseeable. Dr. George
Breathett, who had previous
ly met King in Montgomery
over dinner, describes King’s
stature at the time of his
visit: “. . . we saw him as
no more than a solid speaker
and preacher. We didn’t see
him in retrospect as we do
now and never expected him
to reach the height that he
did.”
King had envisioned ap-
Dearing at a local church, but
bomb threats and racial in
timidation closed the doors to
him. Bennett did not bow to
fear. But “the entire police
force had to strategize every
move he made for protection,”
Scarlette says.
So that overflow crowds
could hear the address, loud
sneakers were installed in
Black Hall and the Little
Theater. Scarlette saw wall-
to-wall people “from all
walks of life and races.”
What lessons did the minis
ter impart? King stressed the
importance of religion to the
civil rights struggle: “Reli
gion can and will be a power
ful force in making a smooth
transititon” for Negroes ris
ing from disenfranchisement
to constitutional rights.
Voter registration was a
key issue. “The ballot is one
of the major instruments the
Negroes must use to attain
their rights. Persons need not
fear reprisals for this form
of action since it is secret,”
King said.
Scarlette recalls that “vot
ing was the big thing at that
time because it was part of
the movement, and everyone
was caught up in it.”
In a post-speech confer
ence, Belles questioned the
guest about Montgomery.
They were following events
in the Deep South closely, but
they hadn’t been involved in
the campaign.
King brought this mes
sage: “The Negroes in Mont
gomery are now determined
more than ever before to gain
first-class citizenship. The
bus boycott instilled within
them a great sense of dignity.
“However, on the other
hand, white segregationists
in Montgomery are equally
determined to keep Negroes
from gaining this first-class
citizenship; they don’t want
to give in, yet they see their
failure in sight and fear it.
Liberal whites are silent with
fear in their deep concern
and willingness to comply
with the law.”
How do leaders now assess
King’s accomplishments?
President Isaac H. Miller
Jr., who was not here in 1957,
believes King hastened the
time of equality.: “That (de
segregation and full rights)
would have come in time, but
not as soon as it did because
nf King’s efforts.”
King galvanized suppoi't
among college students. “The
whole movement out of Mont
gomery—the bus boycott and
the sit-ins—carried a spon
taneous type of reaction
wherever colleges were,”
Miller maintains.
He sees King as a standard-
bearer to be emulated: “We
must be prepared as a people
to walk and hold our heads
high, work as a group and
perform at the same compe
tence if not better as those
who have opened the door for
us like King.”
King gave blacks a dream,
according to Patrick Hairs
ton, president of the Wins-
ton-Salem NAACP.
“King left us all with a
positive effect in America,
and still we must strive to
make his dream a reality. It
did not die with him. His
dream lives in the hearts and
minds of people who have ex
perienced racism up front
and refuse to let it become
a way of life,” Hairston
states.
Reporter Tricia Hairston also contributed
to this story.
Living madonnas
A significant and some
times neglected motif in black
culture will be portrayed dur
ing the Living Madonnas
pageant Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m.
in Anne Merner Pfeiffer
Chapel.
Black madonnas from
world art will be represented
in an event that features
backdrops from sacred paint
ings and Belles embodying
the holy figures. The pageant
includes music and dramatic
speeches.
The Living Madonnas, done
every two years, is a collab
orative venture by the art.
home economics and music
departments, assisted by the
buildings and grounds crew.
Eight students will portray
madonnas and other religious
figures painted in various
nations—Jeannette Goodwin
(Einsiendeln, Switzerland) ;
Marcia Strong (Montserrat,
Spain) ; Kim Knight (Czesto
chowa, Poland) ; Betty Tin-
nin (France) ; Denise Green
(ancient goddess) ; Monica
Jones (the Egyptian goddess
Isis). Vicelia Howard and
Becky Henderson will serve
as other archetypes.
(See page 3)