Black Ink March 4, 1991
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Double Battle
treatment of black servicemen and
women. According to Department
of Defense statistics for 1987,
blacks are tried and court-martia-
led twice as often as whites. Blacks
also receive harsher penalties that
lead to dishonorable discharges
three times more often than whites.
Blacks are also l.S more times
likely to receive a general dis
charge from the service than
whites. The general discharge is a
watered-down version of the dis
honorable discharge and is given
when a person has been a faithful
soldier but has bad conduct in the
service. African-American women
receive a general discharge at twice
the rale of white women Blacks
are lured into the military only to
find that it is the epitome of the in
stitutionalized racism that exist in
society.
The Persian Gulf Crisis is
another example of a conflict in
volving disproportionate numbers
of African-Americans. Even
though the war has ofTicially ended,
African-Americans will not rest
until all their troops are home
because there are still large num
bers of blacks deployed in Desert
Storm. Blacks are well aware of
the effect that a war could have
upon the masses of African-Ameri
cans because surveys show that
only about 30 percent of them sup
ported the Gulf War. One-fourth
of the troops sent to Saudi Arabia
are African-American. With the
addition of reserve units and the
The Office for Student Counseling provides free
academic counseling to students on t>oth North
and South Campus. Scholastic Advancement
Sessions (SAS) are held weekly throughout the
end of the semester. Please refer to schedule
for location of sessions.
Scholastic Advancsmant Sessions ara haid thraa
nights par waak and provlda acadamic assistanca in
tha foiiowing araas: natural sciancas, math,
English, social sciancas and foraign ianguagas.
Office for Student Counseling SAS Spring 1991
Monday 6:30-8:00 p.m.
James Oorm Coffee House Greenlaw Hall 314, 316, 321
Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry Math, Statistics, Economics
with Thomas Maynor with Sherry Fields
Tuesday 6:30-8:00 p.m.
IMorrison Dorm Library
English, French, Spanish, Poitical
Science, with Anita Brown
Greenlaw Hall 314, 316, 321
Biology. Chemistry, Math
with Adriene King
Wednesday 6:30-8:00 p.m.
James Dorm Coffee House
Math, Statistics, Economics
with James Lindsay
Greenlaw Hall 314. 316, 321
English. French. Spanish
with Helena Woodard
National Guard, that number is
about 30 percent. Some people
argue that race has nothing to do
with the war because the country
has an all-volunteo^ army. But why
in the world do so many people of
African descent volunteer to fight
for their county, when their coun
try has not done anything for them?
In 1991, blacks on the ground in
the Middle East face the same
double battle that earlier genera
tions of blacks faced during the
World Wars and in Vietnam and
Korea.
Blacks were sent to liberate
Kuwait even though they are not
free in their own coimtry. Why
should they fight to free Kuwait,
when the U.S. is in turmoil? They
were deployed to spread democ
racy in the Middle East, when true
democracy does not exist in the
U.S. America is a land for some
people, by some people and about
some people, and charactoistically
blacks have been shut out of the
democratic process and the Amoi-
can dream. African-Amoican sol
diers crossed the seas to free a
people in bondage when the masses
of their people continue to live in
economic, social and political
bondage. Afirican-American sol
diers have shackles on their feet,
and while they are freeing Kuwait,
the federal govonment is not lock
ing out for their best interests. As
black soldiers return home over
the next few months, they will fmd
that the United States of America
is still not a place where African-
Americans can be free.
African-American soldiers
who return from Desert Shield can
see that they have fought in a war
filled with contradictions. When
they get on the shores of America,
they ought to question the
President’s commitment to help
ing people overseas and his ne
glect of black people in the United
States. There is no need to go to
Kuwait to see a battleground or to
free people because thoe are black
people all over the country who
need to be free. Kuwait is not the
only place that a battleground
exists, all you have to do is walk
through any drug-infested inner
city on agiven day. African-Ameri
cans ought to ask Congress would
they be so willing to commit troops
to fight if they had relatives in the
military. Blacks sent to fight are
not the sons and daughters of Con
gressmen because only a few
blacks sit in Congress. When black
soldio^ return from their tours of
duty, they ought to question a
President who sent them to liber
ate Kuwait, but he could not lift his
fingo- to sign a civil rights bill to
secure their rights if and when
they returned home.
African-Americans as citizens
of the U.S. should volunteo’ to
fight if they wish. However, blacks
should join the military after they
weigh their other options, and when
blacks weigh their options, the
armed forces is the best way to
overcome economic and social
hardships. They should not be
forced into the military to finance
their college education because
many blacks are choosing to join
the reserves or enter the military
under the GI Bill. They should not
be forced into the military to re
ceive health benefits during a time
when blacks are dying prematurely
of diseases such as hypertension
and asthma because they cannot
afford medical care. The U.S.
government must develop eco
nomic and social programs to help
the masses of black people so that
African-Americans don’t have to
join the service to better their lives.
African-Americans involved
in Desert Storm should be com
mended for their efforts to serve
their country. It takes special
people to fight to free another
country, when their people have
historically been denied their civil
rights.
As African-Amaican soldiers
and their families are reimited,
they can be glad that the war ended
fairly quickly. For those families
who lost loved ones, may God be
with them through their trying
times. Black servicemen and
women look forward to that day
when the war against poverty and
racism will become a priority in
their country.
But until the U.S. government
is willing to help its own people,
African-American soldiers will
continue to wage a double battle
in the armed services.
Don't Forget!
The 1991 UNC-CH Juried Art Event
Will be held April 7-27
Information is available
at the Union front desk,
Hanes Art Center and
the Art Lab
The Gallery Committee
encourages innovative and
non-traditional art forms as
entries.
sponsored by Carolina Union Gallery ^
Committee and SL Anthony Hj