A NORTH CAROLINIAN
(FORMER HIGH POINT
ER). REV. RONALD LEE
CARTER IS PRESENTLY
SERVING AS
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
OF THE KING CENTER
AT BOSTON UNIVERSI
TY. BOSTON MASSACHU
SETTS.
REV. CARTER IS THE
SON OF MRS. TALMADGE
CARTER. OF 603 ELL-
WOOD DRIVE. HIGH
POINT.
THE FOLLOWING IS A
PROFILE OF CARTER
WHICH WAS PUi>LISHED
/AWATU WAZURl, AN
INDEPENDENT NEWS
PAPER PUBLISHED BY
THE BLACK STUDENTS
AT BOSTON UNIVERSI—
AT BOSTON UNIVERSI
TY.
THE BETTER WE KNOW US ..
The priorities of the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Afro-American
Center are currently beino
structured around the principles
of research, culture, inforrViation
and education, according to
Rev. Ronald Lee Carter, Assist
ant Director of the King Center.
r.arter. who was anpointed tc
this position in September,
1975, said, "The basic purpose
of any Afro-American center on
a white university campus is to
conserve the values of blacks,
make information available to
the university, and help every
one learn about minority affairs
and culture."
Carter has held several
positions at the King tenter
since his arrival at Boston
University five years ago. He
first served as a night monitor,
answering the Center's phone
and students' questions. He
later became the assistant and
advisor to Director Floyd Flake.
While he has worked at the
King Center, Carter has
developed some definite ideas
on how it should function. He
emphasizes research and
education as means for black
Tolks to better themselves.
Concerning these qualities.
Carter said, "We have to utart
with things that are going to
make us strong men and
women."
Carter believes that the King
Center should serve primarily as
a research facility. He pointed
out that this facility, equipped
with pertinent tapes and books
and good researchers, could
make information available to
the entire University.
The 27-year-old Carter, who
spent a year studying sociology
in Istanbul, also stresses the
need for the King Center to be a
place where everyone can learn
about the cultural affairs of
blacks.
The lean, articulate adminis
trator said, "We must have
interaction so that we can learn
about each other." He added
that separating cultures, "forms
gaps, thus causing people to
prejudge because they don't
know about each other."
Carter is against alienating
and separating cultures, but he
believes that the Center should
aid in the conservation of
blacks' values. In moving
towards this ■ goal he feels
students must take the Ini
tiative, by re-evaluating black
leaders and by reading the
humanities as well as American
and World history.
In re-ordering the Center's
priorities. Carter will be trying
"to de-emphasize the social
aspects," he said But some
students have already voiced
their opposition to his plans. He
noted that when he emphasized
education, most students were
concerned with the reasons
behind the phasirig out of such
entertainment facilities as the
pool table and television.
But Carter, a graduate of
Atlanta's Morehouse College, is
little concerned with entertain
ment. Soeaking to the student
Continued oo Page 4
I
THE TRIBUNAL AIR
A VIABLE, VALID REQUIREMENT
RESPONDING TO
BLACK NORTH CAROLINA
VOLUME III, NO. 50
WEDNESDAY, MAY 19,1976 YEAP
2&; CENTS
MEMBER:
North Carolina Black Publishers Association” North Carolina Press Associationi Inc.
jH/sforico/ Landmark^!
I Of Black America I
L ■ J
No more anbataatial testtmoiiy to the role of the Black
in the growth and development of America can be
found than the numerons historical landmarks in
varlons regions of the coontry which are associated with
Black Americana. Many of these—like the Alamo and
Bunker Hill-are not conventloaally known as sites
Involving chapters of Negro history.
The 1976 Editions of THE TRIBUNAL AID
will be dedicated to Aiperica’s bicentennial
Celebration, with emphasis on contributions
our Race has made in the making of America,
from birth to the present.
In 1976 there should not be a need to lift
these contributions from isolated sources. Our
past should be interwoven into the fabric of
our civilization, because we are, except for the
Indian, America’s oldest ethnic minority.
We have helped make America what it was,
and what it is, since the founding of Virginia.
We have been a factor in many major issues in
our history. There have been many misdeeds
Fay Ashe, Black
against us, yet we Have been able to live
through them and fight back. This is living
proof of our history.
Oiu role in the making of America is neither
well known or correctly known. Many positive
contributions have escaped historians and
have not found their way into the pages of
History Editor
many history books.
We will strive to give readers, Black and
white, many little-known facts about oar past
and it is hoped that a proper perspective of owl'
history will be of value to persons wlio may'
believe that as Black People we have an'
unworthy past; and hence, no strong claims ta
all rights of other Americans.
PROFILES OF BLACK WOMEN IN BLACK HISTORY
DELAWARE
Wilmington: Asbury
Methodist Episcopal
Church--This church, lo
cated at Third and Walnut
Streets, was dedicated in
1789 by the distinguished
orator Bishop Francis As
bury. Tradition has it that,
on one occasion, a number
of town’s leading citi
zens, many of whom wer
anxious to hear Asbury
preach but considered
Methodism beneath them
socially, refused to enter
the church, but stayed out
side within hearing dis
tance of the sermon. The
listeners were impressed
by the eloquence of the
man they heard--not, as it
turned out, the bishop, but
his Negro servant Harry
whose compelling testi
mony reached their ears
and inspired their admira
tion. By 1805, however,
Negroes hd left this church
driven out by the decision
of white worshippers to
confine black members to
the gallery. The Negroes
who left formed their own
church
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Association for the Study
of Negro Life and History---
The Association, located at
1528 Ninth St. N.W., was
long the solo prolessional
agency concerned with pre
serving the historical re
cord of the Negro in Ameri
can life. The organizing
pioneer behind the Associ
ation was Carter Woodson,
a scholar and lecturer who
began publication of the
Journal of Negro History in
1916. Ten years later,
Woodson inaugurated ob
servance of "Negro History
Week," during which lea
ders of the black freedom
struggle were appropriately
honored, primarily in
schools. Negro History
W'eek is always celebrated
in February, as close as
possible to the birthdays of
both Frederick Douglass
and Abraham Lincoln.
Woodson and his later col
league, Dr. Charles Wesley
of Central State, collaborat
ed on many historical
studies.
BIBLIOGRAPHY * *
Drotning, Phillip T. A
Guide to Negro History in
America New York: Dou-
Eniannpation Statue:
Former Negro slaves were
responsible foj financing
and erecting the oldest
memorial to Abraham
Lincoln in the Washington,
D.C.area.
After Lincoln’s assassi
nation in 1865, the first
five dollars for the statue
was; .jdonateji, by -a Mrs.
Charlotte Scott ^ Mari
etta, ^hio. Contributions
were soon pouring in,
where Congress finally set
aside appropriate grounds
for Thomas Bell’s statue of
Lincoln breaking slavery’s
chains. The memorial was
dedicated on April 14, 1876
the Ilth anniversary of the
assassination of Great
Emancipator.
THE LATE SOCIOLO
GIST. E. FRANKLIN—
FRAZIER. PAID THIS
TRIBUTE TO THE I9th
CENTURY WOMAN:
"AFTER EMANCIPA
TION WHEN THE WHOLE
SOCIAL FABRIC OF LIFE
The Underground Rail
road was the name given to
an organized method of
helping Blacks escape from
bondage along secret
routes on land and sea to
the free state ol North
and the freedom and safe
ty of Canada. Black and
White, men and women,
were conductors, but the
greatest conductor ol this
network of tracks was a tall-
ebony colored, uneducated
illiterate exslave, named
HARRIET ROSS TUBMAN
HARRIET TUBMAN was
born slavery in Bucktown,
Dorchester County, Mary-
CRUMBLE AND THE
VERY ECONOMIC BASIS
OF NEGRO EXISTENCE
WAS DESTROYED. IT
WAS THE NEGRO WO
MAN WHO MADE THE
SURVIAL OF THE NEGRO
POSSIBLE ".
THE DARKEST DAYS
OF SLAVERY DU) NOT
BREAK THE SPIRIT OF
THE BLACK WOMAN.
INSTEAD THESE DAYS
PRODUCED. AN AMA
TEUR LA WYER. ABOLI
TIONIST LECTURERS.
THE GREAT "CONDUG— RANKS.
TOR" OF THE UNDER
GROUND RAILROAD.
IN THE CIVIL WAR
WHICH FOLLOWED
BLACK WOMEN SERVED
AS NURSES. SPIES. AND
SOLDIERS IN THE
AS THE. CENTURY PRO
GRESSED. THE BLACK
WOMAN EMERGED "AS
THE GREAT MAINSTAY
OF THE NEGRO RACE".
DURING THE NEXT
FEW WEEKS WE WILL
INTRODUCE TO YOU
SOME OF THESE BLACK
WOMEN THAT WERE
THE MAIN ST A Y OF THE
PAST.
The Woman Called 'Moses’
■f
pg^qmQOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
BICENTENNIAL
BIACK HISTORY
“Lost-Strayed-Or Stolen ”
JUUULUistb
BfaMk history in the Western Hemisphere most
probably begins with the discovery of the New Worid
by duMopher Columbus fai 1942. Blacks are known to
iwve participated meaningfoily in a nnmber of later
explonUkms made by Ewropeans In varioos parts of the
United States and Spanish America. Facts such as
these at once bshion a new dimension for Black history
wtthin the mainstream of American history. Inasmuch
■8 one of the primary porposes of this feature is t€
record some hktorical achievements of flie Black, it
bpc—les most important to offer the reader
^NBoloplcal accmmts through which he can
conveniently familiarize himself with the broad sweep
if American Black history. Hie years covered here are
1499-1954.
land, to Ben and Harriet
Green Ross. No record was
made of the dale of her
birth because neither of her
parents could read or write.
Her chiildhood was not
very different from that of
other slaves during the
I820’s. Harriet never had
experiences of childhood.
At the age of six she was
sent from home to learn
weaving, when she return
ed home she was given the
job of swamp trapping
muskrats. Sometimes she
was beaten mercilessly and
learned the horrors of sla
very through her own sad
experiences. As a lield
hand she was injured by a
two-pound weight flung by
an overseer at an escaping
slave. Harriet suffered a
fractured skull which
caused dizzy spells. She
suffered from this for the
rest of her life. After this ac
accident the uppermost
thought in her mind was to
escape to the North and
freedom. The hard labor
she wwas forced to do pre
pared her for the task which
lay ahead of her.
In 1844 Harriet married
John Tubman, a freeman.
That year the value of cot
ton had depreciated be-
cause of hard times, and
whenever this happened
slaves were usually sold.
Harriet wanted her hus
band to run away with her,
but he refused and threa
tened to report her if she
left.
Four years later Harriet
tuhnian followed the North
Star to freedom. She travel
ed many miles alone after
being deserted by her two
brothers who became fear
ful and turned back. In her
description ol what it
means to be free at last,
Harriet said "When I
found I had crossed that
line, I looked at my hands
to see if I was the same per
son, there was so much
glory over everything. The
Sun came like gold through
the trees and I lelt like I
was in heaven."
Harriet could have re
mained in the security of
her new found freedom, but
instead chose to spend her
life working to free others,
because she knew' lirst
hand the horrors of slavery
and was determined to do
all she could to end inhu
man bondage. Harriet de
dicated herself to rescuing
everyone within her power
to save.
was always
a gun or re-
Harriet
armed wi
volver. One purpose of the
w'eapon was to be sure no
one in her party turned
back as her brothers had
done. "YOU’LL BE FREE
OR DIE". She told her par
ties at the point of a gun.
Shrw and courageous, she
became the most venture
some worker in the employ
of the Underground Rail
road and during the next
decade, made 19 secret
trips below the Mason Di
xon line, rescuing over 300
slaves. Harriet was called
’MOSfjS" because, like the
biblical figure, she de
livered her people from sla
very into the promised land
of freedom. Southern slave
ow'ners considered 'moses'
such a threat at one time
they offered $40,000 re
ward for HIS capture.
(Many slave owners were
convinced that "MOSES"
had to be a man.) The price
on her head did not keep
Harriet from her work. De
cember, 1851, she led 11
fugitives to Canada, be
cause by then the Fugitive
Slave Law made it dange
rous to stop short ol the
border. She took personal
charge of the _group
Harriet
1821-
throughout the hard win
ters and in the spring she
would return to the South to
free others.
Harriet’s reputation as
NEW YORK CITY
Freedom’s Journal, the
first Negro newspaper, be
gin publication on March
16, 1827. "n the spirt of
candor and humility we
intend...to lay our case be
fore the public with a view
to arrest the progress of
prejudice, and to shield
ourselves against its con
sequent evils."
NEW YORK !*@&
Salvery is abolished in
New York State on July 4th.
BOSTON 1829
Publication by David
Walker, a free Negro, of a
militant anti-slavery
pamphlet (An Appel to the
Colored People of the
World) which is distributed
throughout the country and
arouses a furor among
slaveholders.
NORTH CAROLl^A !*#|
Masters fearing violation
of state law manumit more
than 400 slaves to Quaker
residents of North Carolina,
who retain theoretical ow
nership but allow slaves
virtual freedom until they
can afford to transport
them to free states.
W ASHINGTON, D.C.1830
The U.S. Census Bureau
reports that 3,777 Negro
America New York: Pitt
man Publishing Corpora
tion 1967
Ploski, Harry A. Phe heads of families own
bteday and Company. 1968 Kaiser, Ernest Hie Negio slaves, mostly in Louisiana
K.„. u,™ *1^ S',;
Eyewitness: The Negro in juether Company ijpg
M
Tubman
-1913
an indomitable expert in
guiding slaves to Freedom
preceded by wherever she
went and won her respect
of people in every walk of
life. In I860, Harriet be
gan making speeches at
Women’s Rights gather
ings, Black Conventions
and meetings of Anti-Sla
very Societyies. Harriet .
served as a Spy and a Nurse
in the Union Army.
Many tributes were
given to Harriet for her ser
vices, but her later years
were spent in poverty. Like
many others, regardless of
their race creed or color,
Harriet was forgooten by
her government. She did
not receive a pensio until
more than thirty years after
the war. Harriet finally re
ceived $20.00 a month for
the remainder of her life.
She used this money to
ward the establishment of a
home for the age^ and indi
gent which later became
known as the Harriet
Tubman Home.
Harriet Tubman died of
pneumonia at Auburn in
March of 1913. On June 12,
1914, Flags of the City
hung at half-mast. Blacks
and Whites gathered to pay
tribute to her and her con
tributions to her Country
and her People.
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1^76 Honoring America's Bicentennial 1976
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