The Compass Tuesday, March 29, 1994 9
ick wealth'
Everyone listens...
m
i
I, Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen." The song was part of Griffin's contribution to
literature. The event was sponsored by the Pickwick Society, an honor society in the
he Department of Language, Literature & Communication, teaches the Department's
picks
tribute to family pride and black
strength. Near the poem's end, the
poet concludes that "Black love is
' black wealth."
Ursula McMillion, a senior
English major, read a Listervelt
Middleton poem which concludes,
"if you lose your history, you lose
your power."
McMillion also read an original
poem, "Glory, Glory Hallelujah,"
which she said was inspired by
African-American soldiers who
fought in the American Civil War.
Lynn Jordan, who served as
moderator for the program, read
her own short story, "Jezabel
Blues." Her story appeared in the
1993 issue of The Phoenix, the
literary magazine published by
The Department of Language,
Literature and Communication.
"Jezabel Blues," is the story of an
African American woman's hard,
sensual life and her eventual
redemption through the power of
God. Her refrain: "When the soul
speaks, everyone listens."
Jordan, a junior English/News
Media major, is editor of The
Viking Yearbook and a staff writer
for The Compass.
Eric Walton read two original
poems,"Subduin'," and "The B.M.S.
Factor." Walton, a senior history
major, was not a part of the formal
program; however, Walton said he
was so moved by the poetry he had
heard, and by the spirit of the
event itself, that he wanted to
share his own work with the
audience.
Following the program, Jordan
advised the students in attendance
to"seek knowledge," adding "Take
four dollars and buy a book instead
of going to McDonalds."
Dr. Linda Florence Callahan,
Chairperson of the Department,
thanked all of the participants and
audience for attending.
Young brothers must
take responsibility
(Reprinted from The Sophomore
Honors Spring 93' Chroncile)
By Tarik Scott
When are young black males
going to make the transition from
being boys to men? Many excuse the
behaviors of black males by
terming us as "endangered species."
Yes, I would agree that the black
male is subjected to genocide types
of factors that would cause one to
take responisibility, black men,
and stop being hunted? The term
"endangered sp>ecies" signifies that
you are on your way out, never to be
seen again. Are we going to go out
like that? No, 1 don’t think so! Let
us look at some of the causes of the
problems that afflict the young
black males and some solutions to
this issue.
Many people say that it is the
lack of positive role models in the
black community that help cause
young black males to go astray.
Well, let us look into that. Our
young black males are constantly
receiving messages such as "I want
to be like Mike (Michael Jordan)."
Now unless that young boy's
father's name is Mike, then the
slogan needs to be thrown out
immediately. All too often, young
males are pointed in the wrong
direction for role models. The first
and foremost, conscious role model
in a young man's life should be his
father. If there is not a father or
father-figure in the immediate
family, then a male in the
extended family is the next
candidate. Extended family must
begin to include members of the
community.
The problem really isn't that the
young black male does not find a
role model in this immediate
environment, but more times than
often, the one he picks to imitate is
not positive. The young black male
has to be taught that a role model
doesn't mean "perfect person." A
role model is a person that has
certain qualities that you would
emulate in your own way and yes,
he is human. My mother always
taught me to learn from the good
and bad in people.
Once we get past the point of role
models, the individual must at
some point take responsibility for
his actions and who and what he
wants to be in life. No role model
can make anyone be a certain way.
The key term here is responsibility.
No one forces a young brother to
pick up that malt liquor that is
only being sold in his
neighborhood, or to sell drugs for
momentary gain such as jewelry or a
car. Each and every man must have
a responsibility to himself, family,
and community. We can blame who
we want for the malt liquor or drugs
in our community and justifiably
so,but when does the boy become a
man and take charge of his
environment?
A young brother, no doubt, is
affected by his environment, but it
is his choice whether or not he is
going to become like his
environment. It is up to the black
males to solve the problems that
afflict us. We may not be the cause
of all of them but we must be a part
of the solution.
African-American books
on sale at campus store
By Dawn Bradsher
ECSU students looking to buy
"serious books" used to have to go
off campus to find what they
needed. They only visited the
campus bookstore to get texts or
cards, T-shirts and other ECSU
memorabilia.
But thanks to a suggestion by
senior Eric Walton, ECSU's
bookstore has installed a new line
of books by black authors, including
Maya
Angelou, Elijah Muhammad,
William Mosley and Alice
Walker. The books range in topics
from religion and history to
inspiration and black pride.
"The project is aimed at
educating the students at ECSU of
their heritage and culture and
giving them the variety of authors
that they couldn't find in high
school and won't read in the
classrooms," said Judith Cooper,
who orders the books for the store.
Cooper also said the store would
special order books for students.
"Any book can be ordered if the
students stop by the store and let me
know what they are interested in,"
she said.