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BLACK INK
October 1975
Ink dedicated
to draw ties
This first issue of Black Ink is very late. Some people thought that
we (the staff) would not publish a paper at all, and some others
(particularly freshmen) never knew that we existed.
ohe This first issue of Black Ink is very late. Some people thought
that we (the staff) would not publish a paper at all, and some others
(particularly freshmen) never knew that we existed.
The Black Ink is the official publication of the Black Student
Movement. Since 1969, our cause has been to provide the Black
perspective of the UNC-Chapel Hill community because we feel that
our names, accomplishments and concerns too often have been
ignored by other publications.
Our hope is to draw the ties among Black students, staff, faculty and
area citizens and to make our presence known.
Perhaps in getting to know one another better, we can appreciate
what good we are all doing for a common cause—whether actively
involved with the BSM, with general university organizations or
through other means. r □! t.
After all, our ultimate goal is to strengthen the power ot Black
people.
From the BSM Chairman
Praises response to cause
Killing our people
Together finally.
After more years than we'd like to
remember of looking across that great
divide; created not by us—but by others.
But, together now.
Oh, conscious that we may stumble or
make false starts, and that at times, we
may even wish for the less complex days
of old.
But, together now. Finally. Irrevocably.
Determined to do this task. Because we
can; because we must; because we shall.
These are my sentiments as I revert my
thoughts to the September
demonstration on South Building. No, it
was not a party, nor was it a concert; and
certainly, it was not a strike. Rather, it
was a cause—one that affected every
UNC student, though the demonstration
most directly involved and affected Black
students.
We were confronted with the critical
problem of frozen funds. We sought to
solve the problem through the system,
but the system failed us miserably and
failed Itself worse. We could no longer
tolerate a system that failed to address
the grievances of those it served. It thus
became necessary to by-pass the system
and pursue political avenues.
Like thieves in the night, dedicated
Black students met at 2 a.m. in Upendo to
concoct strategems. By 2:30 a.m.,
Upendo was full. The Central Committee
voted to organize a protest to be held at
9:30 a.m. After a lengthy discussion, the
crowd of brave warriors left Upendo to
inform other Black students of our plan.
These nocturnal efforts were successful.
At 10 a.m., more than 200 Black
students gathered in the Pit to prepare for
the demonstration. We proceeded to
South Building singing, clapping and
chanting. The Chancellor met with BSM
representatives. The demonstration
reverted to the Pit while BSM
representatives met with Student Body
President Bill Bates and Dean Donald
Boulton. Within an hour. Bates addressed
the demonstrators, informing us that the
BSM general funds were released.
We had succeeded. Not only had we
gotten our funds, but we had also
surfaced the injustices which student
government so diligently disguised and
directed toward the BSM
But what did these successes mean for
Black students at UNC? Or, did they have
any meaning? Obviously, this is a
question that should be answered by
Black students individually
As Chairman of the Black Student
Movement, I am convinced that three
significant trends are occurring on this
campus.
First, the successful demonstration
reaffirmed in my mind that Black students
are continuing to abandon our historical
and nonproductive romance with political
complacency. Second, I am more
convinced that the Black collegian is the
vanguard element of our society who will
enable Black people to determine the
destiny of our own lives. Last, the old
cliche, 'together we stand, divided we
fall, " has taken on a fresh and relevant
meaning for Black students as a result of
September's demonstration
I call on Black students to continue to
support the BSM. By doing so, you will
continue to support yourselves. If you fail
the organization, then you inevitably fail
yourselves. Failure is that negative
stigma which has been attached to
African people since our American
history. Therefore, we must fight failure,
we must eradicate it and we must deplore
its essence.
In Peace and Power,
D. Lester Diggs
BSM Chairman
by Allen H. Johnson III
Sports Writer
Killing Our People?
Your name is Big Brother
You say that you're watchin' me on the
telly
Seeing me go nowhere
Your name is Big Brother
You say you're tired of me protesting
Children dying everyday
My name is Nobody.
But / can't wait to see your face in my
door
— Stevie Wonder
In ancient and medieval times, men
often tortured other men with ingenious
devices designed explicitly for inflicting
unbearable pain and often death.
Civilization apparently found torture to
be to its liking and in the late middle ages
and early Renaissance period a wider and
more intriguing array of torture machines
was invented.
One such model was ' Skeffington s
Daughter," an iron frame with spikes in
which unfortunate victims were enclosed
to a horrible death. Other highly
imaginative devices included pincers,
manacles, "the boot, " 'the wheel, and
"the thumbscrew. "
According to a reliable reference
source (an encyclopedia, no less),
"'among the methods of putting to death
by torture were mutilation,
disembowelling, and burning at the
stake."
It may also be significant to note that
these machines for torture and execution
were not products of a heathen
uncivilized people, but in so-called
Christian countries, usually under the
auspices of the church.
Our reliable source, the encyclopedia,
made some rather interesting comments
along the way. For instance, it said: In
the Twentieth Century, torture has been
used by fascist and communist
governments to wipe out opposition to
their regimes. "
Governments mentioned included
North Korea, Germany, and Japan, but
the United States was somehow
mysteriously excluded. The omission is
even more mysterious when the fact is
considered that American employ one of
the most ominous devices of all.
It is a huge chair, complete with straps
for arms and chest, and shackles for the
legs. Once a man is firmly strapped in the
seat, the chamber containing the seat is
sealed and pellets of hydrogen cyanide
gas are electrically released. The man will
experience convulsions, lose control of
his muscles, lose consciousness, then
die.
In North Carolina, the newer version of
the death chair replaces the earlier
BLACK INK
Tonya Widemon
Editor-in-chief
Sadie Copeland
Associate Editor
Gail Westry
Managing Editor
Andeli McCoy
Layout Editor
Deborah Craig
Assistant Layout Editor
Vanessa Galiman
News Editor
Fay Mitchell
Features Editor
Allen Johnson
Sports Editor
Russell Davis
Photography Editor
Black Ink IS published monthly by the UNC Black Student Movement. All
unsigned editorials represent the opinions of the editor. All columns represent
only the opinions of the individual contributors. Letters to the Editor may be
addressed to Black Ink, 261 -B Carolina Student Union, The University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
s
I
model, which relied on electricity instead
of gas to seal the fate of its occupant.
Of course, the horror of the gas
chamber itself is exceeded only by the
statistics behind it.
The first man to be executed in the
North Carolina gas chamber was Black.
The last man to be executed in the North
Carolina gas chamber was Black. The first
man to be electrocuted in North Carolina
was Black. The last man to be
electrocuted in North Carolina was Black.
The only two women presently on
death row in the nation are Black and
American Indian and are held in North
Carolina prisons.
Overall, 282 Blacks have been
executed in North Carolina as compared
to only 73 whites.
Perhaps this is why Angela Davis refers
to North Carolina as the " most repressive
state in the Union. "
Capital punishment is not wrong
simple because of the crude " eye for an
eye " doctrine it promotes but for several
other essential reasons.:
—The margin of human error. Who are
we to judge whether a man should live or
die and how certain can we be that he
actually committed the crime for which
he is accused? Men have in the past been
convicted and executed for crimes that
they were later found to have never
committed.
—The infequities of the justice system.
The courts are geared to the advantage of
the affluent and the disadvantage of the
poor. The more money a man has, the less
likely he is to even see a prison cell.
—Capital punishment accomplishes
nothing. Statistics have proven that
capital punishment has done little to
deter crime. Moreover, how many
potential murderers are going to think in
their moment of passion, " I d better not
do this. In North Carolina, if l"m convicted
of first degree murder. 1 11 get the gas
chamber?"'
The disproportionate number of
Blacks and other minorities who are
executed. Are we to believe that whites
are less prone to commit rape and murder
than Blacks? Some observers have
charged that capital punishment is
nothing more than legalized, systematic
genocide instituted by a contemporary
Big Brother state.
Thus, the phrase ""law and order,""
ironically coined by a Mr. Richard M.
Nixon, could quite easily (and not
erroneously) be translated as "get the
Blacks."'
Express
Your Views.
The Black Ink editorial
page is for you. Why not
use it?