The essence of freedom is understanding
Black Student Movement OWicial Newspaper
The University of North CarohTW «t Chaoel Hill
Vol. 17 No. 7 March 4,1986
Symposium to discuss roles of black women
by Denise Moultrie
News Editor
Beginning March 25, history will
be made at the Univeristy of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. For the first
time, a group of outspoken black
women leaders will gather for a three-
day symposium which will address
the leadership roles black women
hold, changes in these leadership
Eleanor Holmes Norton
roles, and what roles exist for the
future of black women.
Melodie Barnes, chairman of the
Student Outreach Committee, said
the symposium, entitled Black
Women’s Leadership: Challenges and
Strategies, stresses roles black
women play in their homes, at work
and in society as a whole. “The sym
posium address all facets of black
women’s leadership — from grassroots
to the piore formal leadership
capacities,” she said. Topics of discus
sion include last year’s International
Women’s Conference in Nairobi,
Kenya, and women in poverty.”
Barnes said she hoped this year’s
symposium would begin a tradition at
UNC. The number of groups sponsor
ing the symposium should be indica
tive of a desire that people have to
discuss these topics, she said. “I hope
it helps increase an awareness about
what goes on. . . because often black
women are left out,” she said.
Even when there is mention of
women like Corretta Scott King, it is
N.C. Fellows Program
has four new members
by Kimberly Brooks and Janet Roach
Four black students were recent
ly accepted into the North Carolina
Fellows Program, a program that
helped its members develop various
leadership techniques.
The members, Sherri Belfield,
Eileen Carlton, Walter Murray and
Richard White, said they hoped to
explore new avenues of leadership
and they expressed excitement about
their acceptance into the program.
The application process was
designed each year to select the elite
g^oup of freshmen with leadership
potential, and letters were sent to
freshmen at the end of their first
semester, said Program Director
Cynthia Wolf. She said she received
more than 200 applications this year.
From those applications, 80
students were chosen and they under
went preliminary interviews after
which the field was narrowed to 40
students who were reinterviewed.
After all interviews were completed,
20 students were chosen as Fellows.
continued on page 5
Eileen Carlton
photo by Tammie Foust
Walter Murray
photo by Ttmmie Foust
often in terms of who their husband’s
are, she said. Barnes said the sym
posium would be beneficial because,
“black women have a culture of their
own and the symposium will serve as
a network.”
Kim Jordan, a member of the
Student Outreach Committee, said
the purpose of the seminar was to
educate people about black women in
leadership roles and to bring together
people who were interested in leader
ship. “This is an opportunity for us all
to get exposure to black women as
leaders. This may dispel a lot of
stereotypes people have about black
women. We will learn how to aspire to
go into these positions,” she said.
The symposium offered a chance
for people to see the relationships of
all types of leadership expressed by
black women, she said.
Jordan said she expected the
symposium to cross lines dividing the
community. “The symposium is not
just for women in college, or just
women period. Anybody who wants to
Paula Giddings
participate can participate,” she said.
The symposium is dedicated to
the memory of the Rev. Pauli Murray
who, because of her race, was not
admitted to UNC as a graduate stu
dent in 1938. This occurrence was not
rare for that time period, but the
irony exists in the fact that 53 years
earlier, Murray’s white great-aunt,
continued on page 8
Relationship workshop probes
daiing problems among blacks
by Richard White
Staff Writer
Deceitfulness, sex without
commitment, interracial dating,
materialism, and expectations - these
are several topics discussed Tuesday
night, Feb. 25, 1986, at the “Black
Male-Black Female Relationship
Workshop” sponsored by the Mu Zeta
chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Frater
nity, Inc., as part of their Black
History Month celebration.
' According to Chip Tillman, presi
dent, the idea for such an event came
up in a chapter meeting as a program
that would be of campus interest to
“address internal oppression - getting
along and bettering our understand
ing to better support each other.” He
added, “We must help and support
ourselves before looking to others for
help.”
At 7:00 p.m., 26 females and 10
males sat in a circle bubbling with
enthusiasm and curiosity.
Valary Irvin, a UNC Ph.D. candi
date in counseling psychology and a
graduate assistant at Student
Development and Counseling Center
in Nash Hall, and Kenneth Smith, a
junior comparative literature/prfelaw
major with previous male/female and
black/white relations, were experi
ence facilitators.
Irvin began by stating the goals
and establishing the rules for the
workshop. The goals of the workshop
were to sensitize the participants to
the complications of black male/black
female relations, enlightenment as to
why choices other than the norm are
made, and most importantly, to pro
vide a supportive setting for sharing
and exchanging thoughts about the
status of relationships as well as
exploring potential ways of receiving
them. The rules included being sensi
tive, open, respectful and considerate.
Session I dealt with responses to
the following question: “What are
some of your feelings when you see a
black male with a white female or a
black female with white male?”
Responses included questioning of
authenticity, anger, equal opportunity,
casual sex, the “forbidden fruit” syn
drome, and hatred of one’s race.
Session II involved approxi
mately 55 enthusiastic black males
and females. Both groups elected a
continued on page 5