In Perspective
Ifs time to be moving on!
by Albertina Smith
WHERE ARE WE GOING? This
question often enters my mind and
dwells daily within my thoughts.
August 27 was certainly no excep
tion. I pondered the question as I
observed the thousands of faces that
swelled the streets and monuments
of Washington, D.C. There was a con
stant and insistent reverberation
within me as I wandered about and
observed the masses.
Young children carrying signs
pleading for a promised tomorrow.
Blue, yellow, red, and “ma-ROON
bal-LOONS" filling the skies and
rising with a demand for jobs, peace,
and freedom. Men and women with
long dirty-blond hair and fresh
flowers, dressed in remembrance of
the sixties. Brothers and sisters with
tinkling braids and wearing the bold
and brilliant colors of the Mother
land. Moving with a grace and soul
fulness that permeates the very
essence of our Black existence.
Music representing the cultures
and histories of all minorities re
sounded all about. There were songs
for peace and love, songs for jobs,
songs for vision. There were songs
dedicated to brothers and sisters of
color the world over. People
everywhere were getting down to the
rhythmic laid-back funky sounds of
Gil Scott-Heron, telling the story of
the courage of Black South Africa.
Every cause was represented and
every cause had a cry. Throughout
the march ran a common thread —the
dire need for jobs, peace, and free
dom. And in every eye gleamed the
initial question: WHERE ARE WE
GOING?
Where are we going as a people
and as a nation? With the decline of
social programs and the rise in
wall with the rest of the brothers. We would trip for hours on the Greenlaw
wall.
It got so bad that instead of being in the library I was on the wall, instead
of being in class I was on the wall, instead of trying to boost my low-flying
QPA I was on the wall.
Now, let me say this. There is something strange about the wall. It's always
crowded. Never empty. There are always people cooling out there. But after
a while I began to notice that occasionally "so and so" was not around
anymore, and that "you know who"did not come back after fall break. There
were always new faces on the wall but the old ones seemed to disappear. It
was like magic. Here tody, gone tomorrow.
After this hit me, my mid-term grades knocked me out. They were so bad
that Hanes Hall sent a transfer form and other college brochures with the
report. I started thinking about life in the Army or Navy. Playing Gl Joe and
peeling potatoes is not so bad when you compare it to working in a fast food
restaurant for the rest of your life.
Well, all was not lost. I cutout the late-night-every-night partying, I said
goodbye to my afternoons on the wall, dusted off my books, started going to
class again, and spent hours buried away in the Wilson stacks. It wasn't that
hard when I looked at my other options which were few and far between. It
even became easier as I remembered why I had come to UNC in the first
place.
Yeah, I remember my freshman year. I remember it all. And every time I
see a new freshman face at ail the parties and on the wall as I pass by, I will
wait and see how long it takes before someone else is saying, "Did you hear
about you know who? Oh well, here today, gone tomorrow."
y&-
nuclear warhead production, it is not
unreasonable to wonder if there is a
future promised to us. In the shadow
of faltering, power hungry leadership
which determines the fate of our
country, we must decide to exert our
I own power and glory as citizens. Let
the establishment know beyond a
shadow of a doubt that we will not
be as sheep led to the slaughter,
sacrificed for the sake of greed and
lust. Rather we will control and direct
our destinies to a peaceful and
unified tomorrow.
The message that Americans are
fed the hell up with the heartless and
uncompromising political and social
policies of the last administration
rang loud and clear. The message
was seen on banners, heard in
ecstatic applause and expressed in
the stirring and momentus speeches
of people like Harry Belafonte,
Gloria Steinem, Walter Fauntroy,
Coretta Scott King, and Reverend
Jesse Jackson.
Now let us bring the matter into
perspective. How do the events and
emotions that permeated the March
of 1983 affect us? Bringing the ques
tion closer home, where are you
going as a young Black student in the
midst of all this Carolina Blue and
Whiteness?
If you are not mentally blind and
can see, not socially deaf and can
hear, then you know that without
social, political, educational, and
personal awareness you have no
chance of making it. Black students
at this university cannot take the risk
of denying the very things that have
saved generations of Blacks before
us; perseverance, personal dreams
and endeavors, and an essential
pride in our culture and Blackness.
The price to acquiesce to the
white power structure on this cam
pus is too high to pay. Never allow
the expectations of the hierarchy to
be self-evident. Rather than emulate,
we should strive to create support
systems to preserve our own inherent
legacy. We must define and conduct
ourselves in accordance with who we
are and always will be —beautiful
Black folk.
Let us not forget our purposes, our
goals, our dreams. Let lus not falter
under the weight of a heartless
world. Let us dare to assert ourselves
and our opinions so that we will
never be ignored. Let us dare to let
our presence be known. Let us find
the spiritual bonds between us that
allow us to render strength and
courage to one another. Yes, hand in
hand, lifting each other along the
way, IT'S TIME TO BE MOVING ON!
We are the product and culmi
nation of decades of struggle, pain,
and despair. We must forcefully exert
our wills and energies so that neces
sary changes will take place in our
lifetime. We must keep our eyes on
the brightest stars, for they provide
the light for our future. We must
keep our minds and feet in the direc
tion of personal and social progress.
Yes, IT'S TIME TO BE MOVING ON!
We Black, proud, and progressive
UNC students must ask ourselves
where we are going. Find the answer,
seek out our own paths and vision
the promise of our destinies. Once
we have done that, we need to tie on
our hiking boots tightly; because
brothers and sisters, IT'S TIME TO BE
MOVING ON!
JAMES BALDWIN
will deliver the 1983-84
Martin Luther King
Memorial Lecture
Wednesday, Sept. 28,1983
in Memorial Hall at 8 pm
Public reception follows
At the Carolina inn
Sponsored by the Chancellors committee on Established Lectures.