((^ j Discovery program featured in Ink
^ (See Pages 4 and 5)
BLACK INK
The essence of freedom is understanding
Volume13, No 11
BLACK SrUDfNI MOVLMINT OfUCIAl NfWSPAPER University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
February 24,1981
Chavis talks of history, survival at program
The Reverend Ben Chavis
Photo b\ David bquires
LAWRENCE TURNER
Managing Editor
I he last time the Rev. Ben Chavis spoke
dt UNC was in 1969, when times v^ere dif
ferent, he said.
But, when he returned to UN(; Feb 6, to
deliver the ma)or address for the
Discovery'" program, he raised his fist in
the Black Power " salute as he might have
done 12 years ago
Chavis was the keynote speaker at
Oiscovery," a conference on Black
American issues sponsored by the Black
Student Movement and other campus
organi/ations The conference was held
leb 6-B
A member of the Wilmington 10 and a
(ivil rights leader, Chavis, 33, is field diret -
lor ot the Church of Chriil^ Cornmission
for Racial justice.
He was invited to speak on the im
portance of celebrating Black History
Month
Becau-ie Blacks have survived through
American history when all the odds were
stacked against us," is reason enough to
celebrate Black History Month, Chavis said
to an audience of about 200.
Black history is important in world
history" and should not be confined to
America, he said It is "a history of protest,
a history of struggle, a history of genocide,"
he added.
The minister cited the recent murders of
Blacks in Atlanta and Buffalo and the high
Black infant mortality rate as examples.
The civil rights struggle for equality has
never ended, Chavis said, calling for a
freedom struggle ' for Blacks to survive in
the future. He cited six ways to survive
The first way is for Blacks to demand ac
countability from Black leaders so that they
will heed the needs of Black communities,
he said Lack of accountability exists on the
lo(al, state, regional and national levels,
Chavis said
The next move, he said, is to solve that
problem through the National Black In
dependent Political Party, in which he is ac
tive. We must declare our political in-
Continued on page 8
Ashe says jobs exist
TERESA BLOSSOM
Art! Edrtor
When he was 12 years old, Arthur Ashe
went (o Durham to play in an all-Hlack ten
nis tourn.imeni b«‘ 'duse he wa-> not allowed
lo plav m y> hite tournaments
Iwentv -su year* l.iter, (hat tennis (ourt is
part ol a parking lot un the (ampus ol
N( • U .ind A\he i> retired from lenni' after
sutlenng a heart ,itta( k in )ul\. 1970
Ashe who rose to the lop of his profes
sion a' the first Bl.uk man to win at
V%imblt*don is m his fourth sear as a
reptesentatise ol Aetna Lite and Casually
lnsruan e He ret ailed that tirsi tournament
when he siMted the UM( ^ ampus re eniK
lo speak to minority students about career
opporlunilie' in the insurant e industry
lob opportunities in all areas are better
for Bla(ks now than when I was grovsing
up. he told a trowd ot about 40-50 m
Great Hall
Ashe said that the insuranc e industry had
recruilmeni programs geared espenallv
lovsard minorities because most companies
lose their minority employees within two
years for various reasons
The problem stems for a lack of
knowledge about insurance m Black com
munities and from different values, he said
Black America doesn't look al money
the way while America does If vse ve got it,
fine It >*e am t, we ain't" he said Also,
weve never had enough lo go into long
term planning '
The industry is also overshadowed by the
sexier image of the banking field, he added
Ashe explained that only 10 percent of the
jobs had to do with selling The other 90
percent involve work similar to that in
banking
Ashe said that minorities don't benefit
from money earned by insurance com
panies because there are no Hispanics or
Blacks m key positions to make decisions
about how that money is spent
Because minorities are not m decision
making positions, red-lining occurs, Ashe
said Insuranc e • ompanies red-line' areas
which are considered high risks Blac ks and
the poor usually live in these areas
Insurance companies view things in
ethnic terms, Ashe said for example,
Blat ks vs ilh hypertension and su kle t ell are
charged higher premiums.
Black actuaries are needed too because
we have special problems which insurance
companies don t address. Ashe said
Applicants must pass a screen lest and go
to Hartford, (^onn . for six weeks of train
ing All degrees are acceptable for a
master s degree in business administration
IS needed for security and bond analysis
The starting salary is $15,200
Internship programs in various job
categories are available at the home office
level Students should write or visit a local
office for more information
Ashe encouraged the audience not to
wait until the senior year to look for a |ob
He advised students to keep a portfolio of
ten companies and to find out as much as
possible about these companies
Arthur Ashe
"Instead of being chosen as a second
semester or third quarter senior, you want
to choose," he said
Ashe also advised Blacks to take public
speaking and Spanish courses According to
him. Blacks will not be able to survive
politically in the 90s without the Spanish,
because census figures reveal that they are
the next rising minority.
He pointed out that Black women should
prepare themselves lo deal with registration
for the draft too, since the present ad
ministration wants women to register.
Crude census figures show that Black
women outnumber Black men by 1,100,000
and that nearly 40 percent of Blacks are
under 15
Ashe writes a syndicated newspap>er col
umn and a tennis instruction column which
app>ears in eight magazines around the
world He is captain of the Davis Cup team
Ashe, whose autobiography will be out in
September, is also the 1981 campaign chair
man for the National Heart Association
The speech was sponsored by University
Placement Services and the Student
Government
Students
perform
for inmates
While Black History Month progresses,
many persons across the country gather to
rejoice in their Blackness. Although many
persons in the nation's prisons were
overlooked in the celebrations, inmates at a
federal prison in North Carolina were not.
Recently, 27 students from UNC traveled
to the Butner federal Correctional Institute
to perform for the inmates during Black
History Month
BSM Chairperson, Mark Cianady, who
opened the program said that even though
all facets of the month could not be ex
plored, he hoped the inmate enjoyed the
presentation.
The program, which featured Jerome
Moore reciting original pK>elry, Donna
Whitaker dancing an original work called
"Africa ' and the BSM Gospel Choir singing
three selections, was sponsored by the Na
tional Association of Blacks in Criminal
justice
It was part of a week long celebration that
included performances by groups from
Shaw University, North Carolina Central
University and St. Augustine's College
Approximately 75 of the 310 inmates at
the predominantly black minimum security
prison attended the show
Continued on page 8