The Carolina Journal
— Student Publuation Of The University Of North Corolina At Charlotte —
Vol. IV
Wednesday, March
1969
No. 19
;nce.
that
tions
mple
Sion,
1
If We Are Not for Ourselves, Who Will Be for Us?”—
James Farmer Stresses Black Identity in Talk at UNC-C
Need for Proud, Black Ethnic Group
On Wednesday, March 5, James Farmer spoke to an overflowing group of students,
faculty members, and visitors. His topic was “The Negro in America; What Must Be Done”. In an easy
and dignified manner and, at appropriate points, with humor, Mr. Farmer presented his ideas to which
the audience responded with a standing ovation. The ideas discussed by Mr. Farmer were basically as
follows:
Now the tension over the race situation is at the most severe point ever in this country. The problem
should be of prime concern to everyone. The color problem in the U.S. has grown to unprecedented
proportions. Race is a critical issue in Africa, Asia, and theCarribean, but it is most critical in our
country. Many people question why the tension has increased at a time when the Negroes seemed
victorious in so many ways. The “Decade of Drama”, from 1964 to 1965, began with the Supreme
Court School Decision and ended with the Civil Riglits Revolution. The struggles of theNegroesduring
this time seemed to bring them closer to winning what they sought. There is increased tension now
because the victories did not prove particularly satisfying. They did not change the life situation of the
average Negro. “Everything’s changed, but everything’s still the same”.
Boxer Here on 17th,
Arts Committee Presents
Charlotte Jazz Pianist
James Farmer
More Who’s Who
Honorees Here
e
ing I
ek
The Student Activities
Committee has recently honored
five more seniors at UNC-C by
naming them to Who’s Who in
American Colleges and
Universities. This announcement
swells the list of UNC-C nominees
to the appointed limit of
thirty-mie. The nominees are
Michael W. Purser of 900 Linda
Lane iit Charlotte, Jerrold V.
Burks of I526Tamworth Drive in
Charlotte, Miss Jackie Haney of
8418 Idlewild Drive in Charlotte,
Miss Janice Anne Champion of
2.134 Orton Street in C'harlotte,
and Richard F. Arnette of 621
IXtgwood Lane in Davidson.
Purser is co-chairman of the
Union Special Activities
Committee and Producer of ON
CAMPUS, the UNC-C tv program
on Channel 42. An officer in Pi
Kappa Phi Social Fraternity, Mike
graduated from East Mecklenburg.
Jerrold is chairman of the SGA
Elections Committee and a
member of APO. A graduate of
South Meek, Burks was a
candidate for SGA Vice-President
last spring.
Miss Haney is co-chairman of
the Special Activities Oominittee
along with Purser. She is a
psychology major.
A nursing major. Miss
Champion is a former Student
Legislator and active in the
student nursing organization. She
is a Dean’s List student and
graduate of Harding High (the
sixth Harding grad to be named to
this year’s list).
Rick Arnette is a Dean’s List
student and a history major. A
recent bride groom and graduate
of North Mecklenburg, Rick is
president of the UNC-C History
Club.
Monday, March 17 at 11:30
A.M. in the Parquet Room, the
Union Arts Committee will
present a concert featuring jazz
pianist, Carl Boxer.
Probably the most recent
example of a musician who spends
20 years in becoming an overnight
success is the newly discovered
Dot Recording Artist, Karl Boxer.
The instrumentation of bass and
drums to support and augment his
full command of the keyboard
became the catalyst to spark the
fire inside Boxer, and only then
was he able to expose and express
himself fully.
The creativity of his musical
soul matched with rich technique
found instant identification with
mature young audiences. Probably
three factors have catapulted him
so quickly to the national scene.
His ability to play jazz
comprehensible to both jazz
music and classical music lovers
alike, his deep imagination
presenting a unique and complete
picture in performance of
standards and original
compositions, and his ability to
improvise rich meaningful lyrical
lines that flow smoothly.
The musical education of
Boxer
Boxer was classical from age eight
to fifteen followed by a 10 year
period of experimentation in
modern work.
As The Charlotte News said of
Mr. Boxer, “In the .intervening
period Karl has literally lifted
himself from the category of a
local musical personality to a
position of prominence in the
national music market, “we are
indeed fortunate to present this
artist on our campus.”
Achumba Asks Legislature for Aid to Biafran Needy
The Student Legislature voted
to rescind its motion to send a
petition to Governor Scott in a
meeting here last Friday.
Representative Gus Psomadakis,
chairman of an ad hoc committee
to investigate the UNC-C Security
Office setup, reported that the
legislature voted to petition tor
•K—'■j
law-enforcement officers. They
have the power to arrest or to
swear out warrants. Mr.
Psomadakis also informed the
Legislature that the streets on
campus are subject to the same
regulations as the streets ot the
state at large. An infraction of the
law on campus is liable for
local jurisdiction under false
information. The Security Force,
said Mr. Psomadakis, is already
responsible to a campus officer -
Mr. Ballard. The officers on this
force are not, in reality, just
security personnel. They are
commissioned by the State of
North Carolina as regular
prosecution in the North Carolina
court system. Gus also explained
that the issuance of a ticket by
one of the UNC-C officers, or any
lawman, is only a courtesy. If an
individual has broken the law, he
can be arrested at any time - with
or without warning.
That same Legislature meeting
saw a presentation by Bin
Achumba, a Biafran student here,
concerning the need and war in
Biafra. Mr. Billups asked for a
committee to work with Mr.
Achumba in organizing aid to
Biafra. Several members
volunteered.
President Billups also reported
on the progress of the
Constitutional Review
Committee. He said that the
revisions to the constitution
should be ready for presentation
by the next meeting.
.•\ motion classifying
Legislature members as absent
from a meeting if they were ten
minutes late was also passed,
along with a change in proxy
(Continued on Page 5)
Negroes have won the right to
sit in the restaurant of their
choice and eat a hotdog. Wliat
they wanted was what the hotdog
symbolizes — decency, dignity,
and the right to sit in the place of
one’s choice as a human being.
The hotdog is not as important
since it has been won. It has
served to whet the appetite, which
is as it should be if further
progress is to be made.
The work of the “Decade of
Drama” was not wasted. It
improved the upward mobility of
those who already had mobility.
The middle class Negro was
helped, but the middle class Negro
is in the minority. To the Negro
who is poor and unemployed, and
who must cope with the problems
of tenement life, leaking roofs,
rats, and inoperable heating and
plumbing systems the hotdog is
meaningless. Nothing has changed
for these people. There position
may even have deteriorated. The
number of white poor has
decreased, but the number of
black poor has increased.
The black college graduate,
especially the one with a Phd.,
“had it made”. He receives many
job offers and can be hired as a
“showcase Negro” — “every
place must have one”. The
“showcase” position is a
hard-fought-for foot in the door,
but as a handfull of skilled Negros
“go in the front door”, many
unskilled Negros “go out the back
door” as machines take over. “Its
like running up a down
escalator...those who have
mobility keep it, and those who
don’t have it don’t get it.” There
is still a wide gap between the
income of the white man and that
of the black man.
The focus of the movement of
the “Decade of Drama” was to get
rid of segregation. But the sum
total of segregation has increased.
There has been more residential
segregation. In some cities, as the
black population grew, the
ghettos froze. The blacks formed
the corps of the city and tie
whites moved to the suburbs.
Some Southern cities have shown
interest in a Northern method of
using urban renewal and
relocation to assure all-black and
all-white communities and school
districts.
The movement during the
‘‘Decade of Drama’’
underestimated the strength of
racism in the nation. All blacks
and whites have been programmed
by racism in the nation’s culture.
A person is not born with racist
ideas, but learns them through the
mass media. Textbooks either
ignore or give a stereotyped
(Continued on Page 5)