The News Argus
Sept. 10. 2007
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Tiffany Ross
NEWS ARGUS STAFF
Huey P. Newton, co-founder of .
the Black Panther Party once stated
" Revolution has always been in the
hands of the young. The young
always inherit the revolution."
In July, the Southeastern Center
for Contemporary Art of Winston
Salem opened an exhibit titled
"Black Panther: Rank and File."
The Black Panther exhibit pro
vides youth of today with a revela
tion of Huey's statement. It includes
documents, photos, recordings, film
and artworks inspired by the move
ment.
The Black Panther Party was
founded during the forceful era of
the 1960s in California by Huey
Newton and Bobby Seale. The
organization was assembled after
the assassination of Malcolm X in
1966, which sparked an increase in
uprising in Wake, California and the
strengthening of civil rights.
Founders of the party desired an
effective leadership in the African
American community during a time
of fuming societal inequalities.
Originally called the Black
Panther Party for Self-Defense, the
armed resistance political organiza
tion promoted revolution and there-
Editorial
Policy
The News Argus is a
student publication of Winston-
Salem State University
Winston-Salem, N.C.
The views and opinions
expressed on the Opinion page
are those of the writer and do not
fore became the center of enormous
controversy. The Black Panther's
objective was to fight for equality,
justice, and freedom. Despite the
controversy the Black Panther Party
provided its black communities
with opportunities and services that
were denied to them through the
government.
During their assembly, the party
developed more than 35 social pro
grams that provided services to
black and poor individuals within
the community. They held clothing
distributions, taught classes on poli
tics and economics, as well as open
ing free medical clinics and testing
sites for sickle-cell disease before it
was acknowledged by the medical
field as a threat to the black com
munity.
One of its most successful social
programs was the Free Breakfast
program for children in the Filmore
districts of San Francisco . The
impact of this social program later
led to its adoption of that program
by the government which provided
free meals plans in public schools.
Outside awareness of the Black
Panther Party increased after
Newton was arrested and charged
with voluntary manslaughter of
John Frey, a white Oakland police
necessarily reflect the views of
The News Argus staff or of the
faculty, staff, students, or admin
istration of the university.
We welcome letters to the editor
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officer who was shot and killed dur
ing a gun battle during a traffic
stop. After the February 1968 rally
for Huey in Oakland many other
chapters of the Black Panther Party
were developed around the country.
One of those new chapters was
the Winston Salem Chapter, which
was one of the first Black Panther
Party chapters in the South. The
chapter was founded by Larry
Little, now a professor at Winston
Salem State University.
Little joined the party in 1969. He
felt it was his duty to fight against
the convictions of blacks in America
and to help fight against police bru
tality. The Winston Salem chapter's
vision was to "appeal black libera
tion, and to stand up against police
brutality and the Ku Klux Klan with
the community," Little said.
The Winston Salem chapter of
Black Panther party became one of
the top chapters in the nation stand
ing beside the Chicago and Boston
chapters. Some people have ques
tioned why Winston-Salem's own
chapter was not recognized in
SECCA's exhibit, since the chapter
was named the top chapter in the
South during the organization's 40th
anniversary.
The exhibit will run until Sept. 28.
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will not be printed.
Courtesy of Library of Congress
George Washington presiding at the signing of the
Constitution of the United States in Philadelphia on
Sept. 17,1787.
WSSU celebrates
Constitution Day
Trygeania Dowell
NEWS ARGUS STAFF
Photo courtesy of Library of Congress
1970 photograph showing people gathered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with a banner for the
Revolutionary People's Constitutional Convention.
SECCA exhibit showcases the history
of Black Panther movement of ’60s
As required by the federal
government, Winston-Salem
State University will have
events on Tuesday, Sept. 18,
to educate students about
the Constitution. The events
will take place in the
Thompson Center.
West Virginia Sen. Robert
Byrd (D-W.Va.) assured the
passage of a bill mandating
all government-funded
schools and colleges to
teach about the Constitution
one day out of the year.
According to the 10th
Amendment to the
Constitution:
“The powers not delegated to the
United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the states, are
reseived to the states respectively, or
to the people.”
The federal government is
limited to instructing states
on curriculum in the schools
and colleges on educating
students on the
Constitution.
Donald Mac-Thompson,
Associate Professor of
Political Science, who has
helped set up events for
Constitution Day at WSSU,
said that he does not believe
the federal government is
breaking any laws because
"The federal government is
not dictating on curricu
lum."
Professor Mac-Thompson
is asking all instructors to
allow their students to par
ticipate in the events
planned for Constitution
Day.
Some of the events
planned for Sept. 18 will
include a re-enactment of
the Constitutional
Convention, a quiz bowl,
and a poster and essay con
test. Students from Mac-
Thompson's American
Presidency students are
writing the questions for the
quiz bowl. This class will
not be able to participate in
the quiz bowl.
WSSU students will be
expected to participate in
the Constitution Day events.
There will be morning,
noon, and evening events in
the Thompson Center room
207.
The re-enactment of the
Constitutional convention
will be at 9:45 a.m. in the
Thompson center. It will be
a panel of students role-
playing delegates who had
actually attended the first
Constitutional convention.
They will review the draft
of the Constitution and
come up with ideas of what
they feel the Constitution
should have been like.
In the noon event, which
will last for about 30 min
utes, there will be a speaker
who will represent campus
organizations, discussing
whether or not the
Constitution is serving its
purpose. The 6 p.m. activi
ties will have the quiz bowl
and will hold a panel dis
cussion that will address the
audience.
The News Argus
The Student Newspaper of Winston-Salem State University
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News/Copy Editor
Steven J. Gaither Sharrod Patterson Tamika Green
Phioto Editor
Garrett Ganns
Advertising Manager
Landon Mundy
Staff Writers
Trygeania Dowell, Tiffany Ross, Larry Williams
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