VOL. 62, ISSUE 4
Socialist group
points to capitalism
for police brutality
■— ^
WEDNESDAY, FEB.
EMMA ALEXANDER
nalexand@unca.edu -
News Staff Writer
UNC Asheville students
gathered in Highsmith Feb.
4 to take part in “Cops,
Class, and Race; How
Police Protect the 1%,” a
public meeting hosted by
the Asheville Socialists.
“After attending the
Feminism and Marxism
talk last semester, I real
ized how much capitalism
infiltrates every aspect of
our lives, usually with neg
ative consequences,” said
Janesha Slaughter, a soph
omore political science
student. “But Fve always
had the idea that there has
to be more out there than
capitalism. People often
assume that there has to
be homelessness and gi
ant gaps of economic dis
parity and hunger. I don’t
think it’s impractical to
pursue equality for all.”
Asheville Socialists
is a branch of the Inter
national Socialist Or
ganization. They sup
port women’s rights, the
movement to stop racism,
anti-immigrant preju
dice, anti-gay bigotry and
the war on Iraq, accord
ing to the ISO website.
Slaughter gave a speech
on the intersection of po
lice, class and race. She
said she brought up tension
between minorities and
police officers in America
because of unfair target
ing of the former by the
latter. She said she aimed
to bring the most evident
criticisms of why capital
ism and justice don’t mix.
“The underclass most
often victimized by this
system happens to be
black and brown people,”
Slaughter said. “Hence the
mass incarceration of this
population is a prevalent
problem that must be ad
dressed sooner than later.”
Slaughter said that
thanks to the prison in
dustrial complex, a phrase
coined by activist Angela
Davis, private prisons rep-
R
Photo by Ruthie Keith - Staff
Photographer
Alex Buckingham speaks at
the forum.
resent an unethical over
lap between interests of
for-profit industries and
the criminal justice system.
“I think often it depends
on a particular person or
group of people to care
about an issue enough to
share their concerns with
other people,” said Volk-
er Frank, professor of so
ciology and anthropology.
“If you look at it through
the long lens, you can ask.
‘Why now, and what in the
past, and what tomorrow?”’
Frank said that often
the concern people have
with these issues di
minishes, and returns to
the smaller group with
whom concern originat
ed, while the larger pub
lic ffollows other issues.
“It is my interpretation
that people may, but not
necessarily have to, in
terpret that it is getting
worse,” Frank said. “Race
relations, violence against
African-Americans — vve
did seem to have acci
dents and reports over the
last two or three years that
made it' understandable
that people interpret those
things are getting worse.
There’s discrimination by
institutions against a par
ticular group in society.”
Frank said it is hard to
say whether or not hatred
and criticism of police will
end. He said he hopes it will
diminish and that people
will do something about it.
“We all should be,”
Frank said. “Not just the
SEE SOCIALISM ON PAGE 3
2015 I THEBLUEBANNER.NET
Photo by Timbi Shepherd - A&F Asst. Editor
DeWayne Martin performs in reaction to structural vioience against African Americans.
Exhibitions piav on
Ferguson frustrations
TIMBI SHEPHERD
jshephe3@unca.edu -
A&F Asst. Editor
DeWayne Barton,
black rights activist and
installation artist from
Asheville, sat on the floor
of Karpen lobby, pushing
a toy police car in a circle
around his body.
“When? Where? Why?
How?” Barton said as the
car continued its cycle.
Behind him stood a large
mass of plastic guns, pill
bottles, warped tree limbs
and replicas of human
skulls.
The installation reflects
the recent events in Fergu
son, Missouri, as well as
other instances of police
brutality against Afri
can-Americans across the
country. Barton explained.
Barton presented the
piece Feb. 5 in conjunction
with the opening reception
for “Ever Forward, Never
Backward,” an exhibition
of photographs by Jim
Barker, of Fairbanks,
Alaska, whose work doc
uments the 1965 voting
rights march from Selma
to Montgomery, Alabama.
Barker’s photographs
and Barton’s installation
will be on display through
out February in obser
vance of Black History
Month and in anticipation
of the 50th anniversary of
the Selma to Montgomery
march next month.
The Smithsonian Insti
tute is currently featuring
the photographs on its
website because of the
rarity and timeliness of
Barker’s images of the
march, said Deborah
Miles, director of the
UNC Asheville Center
for Diversity Education.
“The (original) prints
were discovered, and in all
their ‘batteredness’ they
are considered to be of
considerable value from a
collector’s point of view,”
Barker said. “In March,
Steven Kasher Gallery in
New York is having an ex
hibition of the old prints.”
Although the prints on
display in Karpen are
reprints. Barker said they
capture the events of the
Selma to Montgomery
march in much more vivid
detail than the originals.
“The old prints - kind
of hurriedly done - are
the ones New York gets
to see,” Barker said. “You
get to see the newer, much
better prints.”
Many spectators were
old enough to remember
the historical moment
these photographs rep
resent, and they shared
the memories the images
evoked for them in a group
discussion.
Patti Dallas, of Yellow
Springs, Ohio, took part
in the march with her
family. Dallas is currently
visiting Asheville, and she
said it was by complete
chance that she recognized
a piece of her personal
history in a photograph
used to promote the
exhibition.
“I just happened to get a
notice about this exhibi
tion last night,” Dallas
said. “And the picture on
the notice - my father,
Meredith Dallas, was in
that picture.”
She recalled how she
took leave of her college
studies to join her fa
ther, mother and sister in
Selma.
“I had just started at
San Francisco State, and I
got a call from my mom,
who was very active in the
civil rights movement. She
said, ‘This is amazing -
you should come,’ ” Dallas
told the group, tearing up.
“And I did. It was the most
incredible experience.”
Dallas and Barker both
said what they remember
most about the march is
its progressive, utopian
spirit and overwhelming
hopefulness.
But there is much
progress yet to be made,
SEE EXHIBITION ON PAGE 9
Dual-enrollment plans unveiled for UNCA, Asheville High
DANIEL HALL
dhatl@unca.edu -
News Staff Writer
Starting in fall 2015,
UNC Asheville will open
its campus to students from
Asheville High School and
the School of Inquiry and
Life Sciences at Asheville.
The agreement, signed
on Feb. 5.by Mary Grant,
chancellor of UNCA,
and Pamela Baldwin,
Asheville City Schools
superintendent, will
give students at both
schools the opportunity
to dual enroll at UNCA.
They will be able to
attend classes on cam
pus alongside regu
lar university students.
“Students who partici
pate in the program from
the Asheville schools will
be able to take real college
courses for real college
credits,” Grant said, “which
expedites the time toward a
degree and exposes them
to a higher level of work.
Grant said the students
Photo by John Fletcher- Contributor
Chancellor Mary Grant and Pamela Baldwin sign the
dual-enrollment agreement.
will be able to experience and get a head start for
university life firsthand when they graduate from
high school and enroll
in university full time.
She hopes UNCA stu
dents will benefit from the
experience and an oppor
tunity to act as mentors
and guides to their juniors.
Annie Burton, exec
utive director of school
and community engage
ment at UNCA, said
prospective students will
have access to the univer
sity’s entire course cat
alog, depending on the
student’s academic track.
There will also be du
al-credit courses, which
will count for both high
school and college credit.
She said the cost for
students will be the same
as regular in-state tuition,
prorated based on level
of enrollment. The more
courses a student enrolls
in. the higher the cost, just
like for any UNCA student.
But Baldwin said she
does not want cost to be
a barrier for those look-
SEE DUAL ON PAGE 6
-ft-