page 2 BLACK INK
President Reagan
picks "qualified black" i
After much search'ing, President Reagan
has found a "qualified black" to fill the top
position on a key panel in his administration.
Reagan nominated and the Senate con
firmed his nomination without debate —
Clarence M. Pendleton as the first black
chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commis
sion.
On the surface, the appointment of a
minority to head the commission looks like a
giant, historic leap forward; what more
could blacks want than to have one of their
own in charge of directing this nation's poli
cies on civil rights?
But Pendleton's appointment is yet
another in a long line of Trojan horses being
sent from the stables of the Reagan adminis
tration.
For Pendleton, a conservative Republi
can, opposes not only court-ordered busing
for desegregation but also affirmative action
As a child starting, in my neighborhood
public schools, in Charlotte, I guess, I never
considered that all-black schools may be ra
cial mixed one day. Also as a student attend
ing an all-black elementary school during
the mid 1960's, I guess I never considered a
time when I would not have a black teacher
or my school would not have a black prin
cipal.
But my last year in elementary school was
the first year of crosstown busing for deseg
regation and I had my first white instructors.
Later when I entered junior high school, I
had my first white principal.
As my secondary school education con
tinued, I noticed fewer black faculty at my
schools, especially in administrative roles as
principals and assistant principals. There
fore, I notice with great interest the efforts of
George W. Reid.
Reid is undertaking an admirable effort in
the name of education — and black unity.
An assistant undergraduate dean and profes
sor of history at N.C. Central University in
Durham, Reid is the president of a new
group designed to cope with some problems
black educators are encountering in the state
now.
The group, the N.C. Association of Black
Educators was founded by Reid. It is de
signed to address several problems includ
ing the declining numbers of black educa
tors in the state's public schools and streng
thening the ties between the black com
munities and the black colleges, which have
weakened over recent years.
Reid explains that the close relations be
tween the black community and the college,
for instance, has eased because of the grow
ing white student, populations on the cam
puses. Although he adds that integration is
programs requiring the use of job quotas.
At a time when Reagan's commitment to
civil rights has been challenged because of
his decisions to grant tax-exempt status to
schools that practice racial discrimination
this appointment offers little hope to blacks
that the administration will put their need
closer to the top of its list of domestic priori
ties.
In fact, Pendleton got the job because
Reagan fired his predecessor Arthur Fleming
for openly criticizing the adrfiinistration's
civil rights policies.
So, once again, the president has suc
ceeded in selecting a person whose views
conflict with the principles and intent of the
agencies or panel to be headed.
He has also shown that his idea of a "qual
ified black" poses a serious threat to those
concerned about racial issues.
positive — he says the black community's
ties with NCCU through the church, the
civic groups and other organizations is im
portant.
The major concern is the declining
amount of black educators statewide and
their sense of loss of power and responsibili
ties. Reid says even before the Reagan admi
nistration (with its conservative policies),
blacks' roles in service, leadership and top
administrative positions were decreasing.
Although the number of black teachers
inreased in pubic and private schools during
the school years 1964-65 and 1979-80; yet,
between that period the percentage dropped
to 21.1 from 28 percent according to the
N.C. Association of Educators.
To reach its goals of helping black educa
tors, the group plans to:
• work with and lobby support from state
legislators
• help black students with their academic
weaknesses
• inform black parents how their children
are taught in schools
• deliver the group's concerns through
public forums and statements.
To date, Reid says 350 people have ack
nowledged an interest in joining the group.
In January, the group formally organized
with temporary officials and regulations for
the members.
The quick support of the new group is an
encouraging sign it may receive the strong
backiiSg it needs for survival. The import- ,
ance of education to the children is as impor
tant as those who serve as educators and thus
are role models for them. Reid has demons
trated an interest in maintaining role models
in the black community — and the effort is
appreciated.
Linda Brown
Special to the Ink
The University of North Carolina system
may have gone a little overboard this time.
Officials of the 16-campus system are re
vising college bulletins and printing special
recruiting brocures to reflect the system's
policy of racial integration. The only prob
lem with the idea is that the person responsi
ble for reviewing catalogs from the institu
tions, Edward W. Crowe, has exaggerated
minority presence on the campuses.
Among changes that students and school
officials say have been made include barring
two photos and a cartoon from North Caroli
na Central University's summer school bul
letin because they showed no mixing of
blacks and whites.
Crowe, assistant secretary of the Universi
ty of North Carolina system, also suggested
replacement of group photos in catalogs
when more than four people were pictured
and none represented the racial minority on
campus. Students objected to the use of file
photos of whites who had graduated and of a
picture of a white student sitting on a bed in a
dormitory that has no white residents.
Crowe said he was not trying to misrepre
sent the enrollment in the school system,
and that he was seeking accuracy.
Though Crowe's intentions appear to be
good, the bulletins may be confusing in
coming students, it is unlikely that one out of
every four students at the schools represent
the minority. Winston-Salem State Universi
ty, for example, has a 15.5 percent white
enrollment, not 25 percent as the pictures
might suggest. The University of North Caro
lina at Chapel Hill as an 8 percent black
enrollment — not even close to 25 percent.
Such photo requirements might give a
prospective student a good idea of what the
school system is not.
Even without the file photos, the UNC
system could still be able to accomplish its
goal. Instead of focusing on the pictures that
have already been taken, perhaps Crowe
could focus on new pictures. It would not be
dishonest to show several pictures of blacks
and whites together, nor would it be dishon
est to show several pictures of blacks and
whites not together, because that is the way
they actually are at one time or another.
Though it would be foolish to place a ra
cial measurement on pictures that went ioto
the book, the bulletin editors would do a
much more efficient job by sticking closer to
the actual racial numbers on each of the
campuses. If a campus is only 2 percent
white, why bend over backwards to make it
appear to be 25 percent white?
Prospective students and their parents
would be able to judge for themselves about
the school's commitment to integration
without its being over-emphasized.
BLACK INK
'The essence of freedom is understanding.'
E. Ramona Brown
Editor
Lawrence Turner
Managing Editor
Donna Whitaker
Columnist
Lisa Lewis
Advertising Manager
APRIL 13, 1982
THE f^EAGAMOMICS EFFECT
Catalog photos mislead
Black educators to organize
Black ink has openings for
writers and photographers.
Each Monday evening at 6
pm in Upendo.