No. 8
NCCU
students
protest
Greensboro
verdict
outside
.of Durham
post office.
n^he Campus ‘Cxfio
Published by and for the students of North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C. 27707 December 10, 1980
‘Mockery of justice’
Greensboro verdict
stuns NCCU campus
photos
by
Lorenza
Cooper
Nov. 20 rally at NCCU
Bond ur^es: ‘Act,
defend, prepare.’
By Letisa E. Yates
“We must be prepared to defend ourselves
ourselves. We want liberty, equality, and
justice for all, and we must hold their feet to
the fire and demand justice,” said Georgia
State Sen. Julian Bond in B.N. Duke
Auditorium at 11:45 on Nov. 20.
Speaking before an enthusiastic audience
of 1,000 NCCU students and faculty. Bond
gave various examples designed to exhort
black people to unite and take action.
“We are a powerless people in a powerful
society,” said Bond, pointing out that in to
day’s society the clever use of the political
process and personal wealth are most often
used. Bond urged that since most blacks lack
personal wealth, they must strive to cleverly
use the political process.
Warning of powerful political enemies.
Bond singled out Jessie Helms, the North
Carolina Senator who has constantly turned
his back on blacks and who has never had an
interest in poor and working people, and
pointed out that Helms is to head the commit
tee to decide who will get food stamps.
Turning to another anti-black politician.
Bond noted, “Strom Thurmond said that by
1982 he would try to eliminate the Voting
Rights Act of 1965, which will effectively
erase black voter participation.”
Referring to Ronald Reagan, the senator
said, “On the 4th of Nov., a man who does
not have your interest and mine at the bot
tom of his heart was elected president.”
Bond commented on recent horrors in
flicted on black people. “In my hometown,
Don’t lose your cookies!
Atlanta, Georgia, we have seen the vicious
murders of children. In Buffalo, New York, we
have seen men beaten, shot to death, stabb
ed, and then their hearts ripped out. And in
Greensboro, N.C., we have seen the legaliza
tion of murder,” he said.
Turning to the problem of the Ku Klux Klan,
the senator urged immediate preparation
and action.
“The Knights of KKK struck fear and terror
into the minds and bodies of blacks
everywhere. There was a time when that was
true, but that is no longer the case,” said
Bond. “They would be taking their lives in
their own hands if they dared to walk down
the street in front of this building.
“This travesty of justice we have just seen
makes it evident that the struggle cannot end
tomorrow. What do we do?” asked Bond.
“Friends, they will come again, and until we
devise the ability to stand up and say no, they
will continue.
“Together we are a mighty, mighty people,
and so we must stand up and say no. We
must apply serious pressure to the federal
government,” said Bond.
“Nov. 20 is now a historical date. Just as
four students from A & T protested and refus
ed to sit in the back of Woolworth's Cafeteria
20 years ago, we shall march to the Federal
Building and Post Office in downtown
Durham to show our dissatisfaction of the re
cent verdict of the six Klansmen,” said Bond.
.At the conclusion of the speech. Bond led a
march of approximately 450 students to the
Federal Building.
Join the party
The fourth annual Christmas Cookie Party and Sing takes place today in the
Student Uniop between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m.
Putting aside their red pencils, class attendance forms, and grade books for
what has become the traditional Christmas bash at the university, the faculty,
administration, and staff are treating the students to an afternoon of cookies,
punch, conversation, and carols.
dfcssfor the guests is informal, the Union will be decked out in its
holiday finest. SGA decorates the Christmas tree with bows and strings of pop-
^rn and cranberries. Other campus oganizations decorate the uprights. The
Alumni Organization donates a centerpiece for the table which has already been
made festive by the Cafeteria and Union staffs.
Get rid of those pre-finals grumps. Come to the party!
A Rainbow in Black
a special supplement
Student responses compiled from reports
by Media-Journalism’s English 3000
Campus reaction to the recent acquittal of the six klansmen
and Nazis charged with murder in the fatal shooting of five
members of the Communist Workers Party last year ranges
from resignation to outrage.
Shortly after the verdict was announced, students and
some faculty members from N.C. Central University marched
on the Court House in downtown Durham to protest.
Earlier State Senator Julian Bond had addressed a large au
dience of NCCU students and many sympathizers from Duke
University at B.N. Duke Auditorium to deplore what Bond
called this additional evidence of racism in America.
And this week, despite the earlier marches and demonstra
tions, students were still angry over the verdict of the all-
white jury that found the six defendants innocent of all
charges, ranging from first degree murder to felonious
rioting. Four whites and one black died in the shooting that
also resulted in serious injury to several others.
Janice Crump, a native of Tuskegee, Ala., but now a resi
dent of Soul City, N.C., showed concern but not surprise over
the verdict. “Those of us who grew up with white and colored
signs, the midnight terrorist raids of the Klan and sitting in
the back of the bus, consider the innocent verdict as ‘par for
the course.’ As a product of the Deep South, I learned very
early what to expect realistically from all-white juries,” she
said.
“What people need to understand about Greensboro is that
the trial was not about five human beings being shot down in
broad daylight in front of cameras; it was about the honor of
‘White America’—as represented by the .Klan versus Com
munism. There was never any doubt in my mind about the
outcome, because from the very beginning I understood the
simplicity of the-.^natter. Wh^t really puzzles me is that the
process took so long,” Mrs. Crump, a Media-Journalism stu
dent, added.
Another student agreed that the jury did not really consider
the evidence.
“The jury said that they didn’t convict them because they
didn’t have enough evidence, but what about the video
tapes?” asked Denise Middleton, a junior English major from
Long Island, N.Y. “It was unjustifiable because of this con
tradiction.”
Lowell Alston, a junior English major from Nashville, N.C.,
saw a “a miscarriage of justice, since the jurors were allowed
to go home during such a long, controversial trial. This was a
prime example of prejudice in the courtroom,” he declared.
“The jury’s verdict has slowed up a lot of progress blacks
See STUDENT RESPONSES, page 8
Faculty responses compiled from reports
by Media-Journalism’s English 2000
The verdict that acquitted six Ku Klux Kansmen and Nazis
charged with murdering five supporters of the Communist
Workers Party at a “Death to the Klan” rally in Greensboro a
year ago has sparked a blaze of controversy.
In recent interviews, several NCCU instructors expressed
their views on the verdict.
Ms. Barbara Dempsey, director of Peer Counseling at'
NCCU, expressed an impatience with the jurors that was
echoed by many. “These people have made a mockery of our
judicial process. How could twelve supposedly intelligent
jurors with conclusive proof of guilt come to such an idiotic
verdict?”
Mrs. Wanda J. Garrett, a visiting lecturer in the English
department, said, “I reacted angrily; then the anger subsided
to sadness because now, in 1980, people could kill, be record
ed on television for the world to see, and be acquitted.” Gar
rett believes the verdict has serious implications for the
judicial system of the state: “It made me fearful of state
justice and made me realize that justice was bent completely
out of shape—blind, deaf, and dumb, just like the three
monkeys, See-No-Evil, Hear-No-Evil, Speak-No-Evil.”
Several instructors agreed that the verdict was not impar
tial.
Psychology instructor Elmer Davidson “founddt difficult to
believe” that such a verdict could be rendered in the same
state that convicted the Wilmington 10.
Another psychology instructor, Barbara Nixon, said, “It’s
obscene to know that justice can be partial.”
Aingred G. Dunston, a member of the history department,
was not surprised by the verdict: “Such should have been ex
pected from a state with a history of unequal justice, unequal
for-those who are different—black, poor. Communists, and
others. The verdict means that five people were shot to death
and nobody'killed them.”
Janice L. Harper, a reading skills instructor, was not sur
prised either. “The verdict is typical of the American judicial
system,” she said. “The fact that the jury was solely compos
ed of whites contributed to this peculiar ruling. There is a
need for our judicial system to be investigated because
similar rulings are occurring too frequently.”
Dr. Helene Dibona of the English department said, “Justice
has not been served. They should have been found guilty,
because they were.”
Shenna Evans, a psychology lab instructor, commented,
“People are not satisfied with the decision of the trial,
especially black people. This is not the end, although the deci-
See EACULTY RESPONSES, page 8
X-mas toy survey finds
bargains, rip-offs, clangers
Compiled from reports by
Media-Journalism's English 3000
If you’ve been a good little student, teacher, administrator,
or staff member this last year, Santa may bring you a
Backgammon Challenger.
But if you’ve been a rotten (one of the above), ol’ St. Nick
may stick you with “Slime with Worms” (you’ve got to ex
perience it to believe it) or perhaps “I Took A Lickin’ From A
Chicken.”
These are some ofthe results from a recent Media-
Journalism consumer probe of Durham area toy stores to fer
ret out “the good, the bad and the ugly.”
So check your bank balance and then check these
categories.
Danger—Beware of These Toys
“The Richard Petty Race Set” ($22) for ages 3 and over con
tains 14 pieces which are made of plastic and have to be
assembled. There are several small pieces which a young
child could easily swallow.
The same warning goes to “The Aero-Marine Search Team,”
a nine piece playset ($15).
“The Plastic Model Finishing Kit,” for ages 10 and ever,
contains several potential dangers. Some of the contents are
flammable, harmful or fatal if swallowed. Also, the kit gives off
a lot of vapors that children should not be exposed to for very
long.
“Pop” rifles are not recommended for children five-years-
old or under since they can cause bodily harm to anyone hit by
the rifles, and can also cause hearing loss.
These rifles are manufactuered by many different com
panies. Models prominent in Durham area areTrail Boss($8),
Trail Rider ($10) and Splittin’ Image ($4) by Daisy Co. Paris
manufactures the Kentucky Rifle ($9), and Kedet makes the
Trainer Rifle ($7).
Good Dolls, Ones, Undecideds
Pretty Curls by Ideal is a popular doll for Christamas. Priced
at $20, Pretty Curls’ hair can be waved and comes with
rollers, hair-style catalogue, and a non toxic doll perm.
Feminists, take note. My friend Mandy, manufactured by
Fisher Price ($16), is a doll which supposedly teaches a child
how to stand and sit like a lady.
Two bad dolls:
“Baby DayPa,” manufactured in Spain and selling for $25,
comes with five outfits. But when one reporter tried to see if
the clothes would indeed fit, she discovered it was impossi
ble. The doll’s shoulders were so wide that the shirt that
came with the doll could not go over them. Another reporter
found difficulty with the doll’s “big head and hips,” adding “a
child could easily get disgusted with this doll.”
“Baby 2-year Old” stands about two feet tall and costs $22.
This doll supposedly can wear the clothes of a two-year-old.
As high as clothes are now, what mother would hand down
her baby’s clothes to a doll? This doll was rated as “not very
attractive.” Her hair is plastic; her shoes are plastic and her
skin is an off- pink.
But a good buy is “Baby Cry And Dry,” manufactured by
Remco ($16). Suggested for ages three years and older, the
doll requires 2 “C” batteries that are not included. The doll
drinks and wets, cries and kicks, and stops only when she is
dried.
Baby Kuddles, manufactured by Knickerbocker Toy Com
pany, costs only $9 and is all cloth, machine washable and.
dryable. It gives a child a chance to use imagination. Imagina
tion ($0).
Rip-offs!!!
“I Took A Lickin From A Chicken,” manufactured by LJN,
New York, costs $34. The opponent plays Tic Tac Toe,
Chicken Says, Total Recall and and Advanced Total Recall
with a chicken that wears glasses.
According to Jimmy Brogden, a salesperson for Mon
tgomery Ward, no one has beaten the chicken in Tic Tac Toe.
“I think the game is ridiculous,” he said. “We had the game
See TOYS, page 3