ul‘lovember 16 - December 6, 2000

Tonya JohnsonStaff

The Kappa Omicron chapter ofAlpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.and the Eta Omicron of Alpha PhiAlpha Fraternity, Inc. held their firstPhirst Phamily Ball last Saturday atthe Holiday Inn downtown. About200 individuals attended the event.

"I thought it was very well done.I give props to the brothers andsorors who helped put it together. Itturned out really nice," said HaroldPettigrew, chaplain of the EtaOmicron chapter of Alpha PhiAlpha.

The sorority and fraternity startedpreparing for the event last April.Members from both organizationshelped plan the ball. They discussedthe location, advertising, and chose aband to perform.With expenses estimated at

$3,000, both organizations heldfundraisers throughout the summer

such as car washes to pay for theball.

During the ball, live music wasperformed by Resounding Steel,Inc., a band from Hillsborough. Thedirector of Resounding Steel isWilton Dubois. The purpose of thenon-profit organization is to intro—duce low income, inner-city youth tothe arts. The money made from per—forming at social events such as thisone is to provide scholarships forhigher learning to the group mem—bers.

Dinner, which was catered by the. hotel, included salmon and chicken.Later, a DJ came to provide addi-tional entertainment for the guests.

"I heard a lot of positive com-ments from people about the ball.They commented on how well pre-pared the event was. This was anopportunity for people to dress up,somethingsimilar to their high—school prom," said Jackie Kearney,

Willie wins Leader

of the Pack

Ayren ,IacksonStaff Writer

"The first responsibility of aleader is to define reality. The last isto say’thank you. In between thetwo, the leader must become a ser—vant and a debtor. That sums up theprogress of an artful leader. " -MaxDepree

Darryl Willie, a senior majoring .in textile apparel management, hasbeen named a Leader of the Pack for2000. "I feel honored to be named aLeader of the Pack, and to be giventhe opportunity to make an impacton my school," he stated.The Leader of the Pack program

replaces the traditional homecomingqueen contest of the past and recog—nizes two students who continuallymake exceptional contributions toN.C. State in the areas of leadership,scholarship and community service.Finalists for the honor are selectedbased on grade point average,extracurricular activities, a personalinterview and an essay on leader—ship. The student body then votesonline to determine the two winners—-one male and one female. EmilyTownley, a junior majoring inEnglish and secondary education,with a minor in journalism, has alsobeen named a Leader of the Pack.

Willie's involvement on campus isextensive. He is the NRHH presi—dent, a member of student govern—ment, a member of IRC, a memberof TTSC, a Service Raleigh campuschair, a resident assistant, the M00—Tang Clan co—founder and the vicepresident of the African AmericanTextile Society.

Willie has ’workedflin StudentGovernment and Service Raleigh.He also is a Resident Advisor andinvolved in many activities around

campus."Students should take advantage

of the many opportunities foundhear on the N.C. State campus," saysWillie. "We should focus on givingback to our school."

Willie and Townley were recog-nized along with four other finalistsduring the halftime ceremonies atNC. State's homecoming gameagainst Duke University onSaturday, November 11, at Carter—Finley Stadium

Each of the two winners receivesa $1,000 scholarship provided by theStudent Government. In addition,the winners are asked to aid in theplanning of the following yearsHomecoming activities. They arealso asked to be student representa—tives in certain events throughout theyear. .Chancellor Mary Anne Fox pre—

sented The Leaders of the Pack witha commemorative bowl as the50,000 attendants of theHomecoming game applauded all ofthe finalists.See Leader, page 2

president of the KappaOmicron chapter of AlphaKappaAlpha.

Both organizations areplanning to co—sponsorother activities togetherincluding another ball,Kearney said.

"I'm surprised by theturn out. If it wasn't for theoverwhelming response ofpeople coming out, itwouldn't have been a suc—cess. I'm sure this is some-thing we'll do again," shesaid.Alpha Phi Alpha

Fraternity, Inc.,_ founded in1906, and Alpha KappaAlpha Sorority, Inc.,founded in 1908,'are thetwo oldest African-American Greek—Letterorganizations.

Nubian Messserving NC. State’s African-American community

age

HmmMIMu-M'u-VWWWWWMW-«mmalw‘WWIuw-fluwmm“Wm-muwumVolume 8 Issue 10

Phirst Phamily Ball starts “Alpha Week” with a bang

Bounce! Bounce!Some students tear itup on the dance floor at the ball

Listserv a big successKeon Pettiway

Staff WriterMany black oriented events are

being held here on campus withoutthe majority of black students beingaware. In the spring of 1998,Antoine Hall sought to solve thisproblem with the creation of theAfrican American Student Affairslistserv. Before Antoine's creation,several black organizations were indanger.

"The listserv was inspired by aseries of events that affected theAfrican-American community. Thestate of several African—Americanorganizations was at stake and noone on campus knew that the eventswere taking place. Basically, theUniversity was abut to act withoutconsulting with our community

first," explains Hall.Antoine Hall is the listserv man—

ager for AASA. He graduated fromNC. State with

a Bachelor's Degree in ComputerEngineering on June 30, 2000.Some of his duties as listserv man-ager is to subscribe and unsubscribepeople to the listserv and to controlwhat is posted on the listserv.

"I took it upon myself to createthe listserv, now it is like my littlebaby. Since I worked in AASAI asable to make it a reality. I can reallysay that it has definitely improvedsince its creation," says Hall.

The AASA listserv is similar toother listservs at the University. TheAASA listserv is run by a computer,located in the HillsboroughBuilding, which manages a program

for several other listservs."In its early stages, it actually

was not a listserv. I just called itone. It consisted of copying andpasting 2000 or more student emailaddresses into four separate emails.I only had to type in one address forthe listserv and it automaticallyemailed everyone in the list.Eventually, it evolved into the list-serv we presently have." states Hall.

Since blacks are a part of thecampus minority community, someevents pertaining to black issues arehardly noticed at NC. State. TheAASA listserv is a perfect way to getinformation about African-Americanevents distributed to black studentsas well as all students at this univer—sity.See Listserv, page 2

Great American Smokeout

Helping you kick the habit

Staff

With tons of products on the mar—ket today to aid smokers in kickingthe habit, this years Great AmericanSmokeout should‘prove successful.The American Cancer Society holdsthe Great American Smokeout everyyear to help smokers quit cigarettesfor at least one day. The idea is thatthis one day, Thursday November16, will turn into the day that smok—ers quit forever. According to theACS more individuals have quitsmoking during the Great AmericanSmokeout than on any other day ofthe year.

It is estimated that 71% of NC,

State students smoke cigarettes. Tocombat this problem, N.C. State'sStudent Health Center offers anti-smoking products such as Nicodermand Nicorette, anti—smoking counsel—ing and a variety of programs to aidthe nicotine dependent.

Another option in quitting smok-ing is to quit cold turkey. Thismethod utilizes sheer will power toend a habit that according to NC.State Student Health Services "killsmore Americans than all other druguse deaths, homicides, suicides. autocrashes, fires and AIDS combined."

"I started smoking when I was18. I also picked up other nastyhabits," explains Lamont Fray asophomore in Engineering. "I start—ed smoking because it was kind ofexciting and new; also my mother

smoked."Fray says he knows about all the

harmful effects of smoking such asincreased risk of cancer and heartattacks.

With anti—smoking messages fromorganizations like thetmthcom, andthe Big Tobacco wars here in theCarolinas. Fray says, "Yes I amgoing to stop smoking anyway forRamadon. I'll give not smoking atry. ,.

If there were ever a day to quitsmoking. this year‘s Great AmericanSmokeout, which takes place eachyear on the third Thursday ofNovember. is the day. For assistancein kicking the habit. stop by theStudent Health Center for a consul-tation.

news

Racial profiling discussion

to be held

Kelise TaylorStaff Reporter

Racial profiling is a law enforce—ment technique that encouragespolice officers to stop and questionblacks simply because of their race.In the black community racial profil—ing is causing widespread anguishand resentment among our brothers

whose list of degrees and attributesis endless, has traveled all over theglobe; because of his traveling expe-riences, Titus has had the opportuni—ty to view police brutality, incidentsof “Driving While Black”, and racialprofiling at their highest. This Texasnative, who is also a social worker,feels compelled to inform blacks, aswell as whites, that the notion of

and sis— racial'ters. profil—T o . ‘ i n g“ O O O O ’,enlighten Being black 18 a pr1v1|ege, shouM

b l a c k s not be. . ‘ -abo‘” the -Apl'll Jackson, Presrdent, Student cons”preva- A ,t, fBI kS .IW k eredthelence of 88001310110 ac 0cm 01' CI‘S norm,

racial pro— and thatfiling, the m e a s -Student Association of Black SocialWorkers (SABSW) is hosting anevent on this very issue. The themeof this year’s discussion is,“African-Americans’ WorstNightmare: Racial Profiling, DrivingWhile Black, and Police Brutality.”SABSW president and NC. Statestudent, April Jackson, feels it is ofparamount importance that the blackcommunity here, as well as those atsurrounding colleges and universi-ties, attend this discussion.

“Although most blacks here atState,” begins Jackson, “are up-to—date about the happenings in theblack community, the level at whichthey are informed is not the same asit would be at predominately blackinstitutions.”

Jackson continues by saying thatminority events are also not giventhe same attention and notoriety hereas they would at predominatelyblack universities.

Serving as speaker of this func-tion is Dr. Titus Hayes, professor inthe diversity department at ShawUniversity. This dynamic speaker,

Leaderfrom page 1

"When I first saw the bowl Ithought it would be great cerealbowl, and then it hit me that I wasbeing honored by all of these peoplefor doing the things I enjoy doing onthe NC State campus. This has beenone of my greatest honors yet," saysWillie.

As a student leader, Willie’ believes that interaction between theadministration, students and organi—zations is an important part of cam—pus life. He says students shouldfeel inspired to be involved withtheir school.

"I want to help motivate individ-uals and groups to change the uni—versity for the better," explainsWillie. "This is our university. "

to be informed about the events

ures must be taken to eradicate theconditions that are currently plagu—ing the black community. .

“It is important for all people tobe a part of this discussion so thatthey may see the circumstances thatcome with being black and howwidespread the racial profiling prob-lem is,” explains Jackson.“Being black is a privilege,”

asserts Jackson who considers itimportant that we be seen as the dis-tinguished men and women we trulyare. “Now is the time for our people

affecting them so thatthey can beginrestoring and re-claiming the privi-leges that come with being black.”Come out and show your support

for the black community by attend—ing this event. The talk will be heldfrom 7:30-9:30 in Nelson Hall(located at the corner ofHillsborough Street and Dan Allen)on Monday, November 27th. Helpshow our brothers and sisters thatwe will do our part to change thesenegative circumstances.

Willie is grateful to all of the stu-dents who came out to vote for thenominees online.He asserts, "without voters, their

would be no Leader of the Pack."Willie would also like to congrat-

ulate the other finalists. "I was upagainst some great competition,powerful student leaders whodeserved the title just as much asmyself," says Willie. "I knew it wasgoing to be close no matter what."

African Americans to have earnedthe award. Recent African Americanrecipients include Carla Bowens, asenior in Chemical Engineering,who won the award in 1997 andHarold Pettigrew, a senior inPolitical Science, was last year’smale winner and is currently studentbody president.

Read moreNubianTrust us

It is good for you

NSBE represents on campus

Chinwe EkwuribeStaff Reporter

What is the largest student-man-aged organization in the country? Itis not Habitat for Humanity or evenStudents Against DestructiveDecisions (SADD). It is NSBE, theNational Society of Black Engineers.NSBE was formed in April of 1975from a national conference plannedand hosted by the Society of BlackEngineers at Purdue University.Now NSBE has grown to includeover 250 chapters in the nation withover 10,000 members.

According to Jolon Shields, thetelecommunications chair of theNSBE, it is an "extraordinary organ-ization that is dedicated to its mis—sion," which is "to increase the num—ber of culturally responsible Blackengineers who excel academically,succeed professionally, and positive-ly impact the community. "NSBE wants its members to leave

NC. State as "valuable assets to thecommunity" and the way they ensure

Listservfrom page 1

"I realized that almost all of the

tion was blindly

without a Clue towhat was going onaround them. Thiswas the main rea—son why the list—

people informed of educationalevents, scholarship information, par—ties, and a wealth of other informa-tion," continues Hall.

African-American student popula-

serv was created. It is to keep our

this is by "providing them withopportunities for cultural growth andchances to define their personalvalue systems."NSBE does this through the many

events they sponsor. They hold avariety of workshops, programs, andcareer fairs where members get upfront and personal contact with com—panies. This past fall NSBE heldINROADS where they arranged forabout ten companies to come toPullen Park to mingle with studentsbefore the Minority Career Fair.Another event NSBE sponsored wasthe Fall Regional Conference. In thatconference, numerous chapters cameto coalesce and talk trade ideas witheach other.NSBE does a good job of keeping

the interest of its members becauseaccording to Harry Pimpong, a fresh—

in Industrial Engineering,NSBE gives " us opportunities tomeet with companies but also net—work with other goal-mined AfricanAmericans. "

man

African-American

going ,O‘anm To subscribe to the AASA listserv, log on to:

www. ncsu.edu/for_students/aasac/subscribe.htm

listserv is advantageous to the stu—dents as well as the University.

"The listserv keeps me informedof the different events that our cam—pus organizations provide that might

studentsshould subscribe to listserv tobecome aware of the significance ofblack organizations and events oncampus. The information posted, on

Louis Evertte, a freshman inPAMS who plans to matriculate intothe college of engineering next yearsays the reason why he joined NSBEwas because he wanted to have asense of belonging and NSBE isexactly what he wants to go into.

Everette goes on to say that it’s,"the reason why I stay involved is theactivities they do. It is a positivesociety of potentially successfulAfrican-Americans and NSBE seemsto be focused, and that's what's keep—ing me around."

Though NSBE is oriented towardsEngineers, you don't have to be anengineering major to join. You canbe in any major; you just have to begoal-minded. ,NSBE meets every Wednesday at

7:30 pm. in 2211 Broughton Hall.In those meetings they have compa-nies come and do presentations andnetwork with students. So if you'reinterested in joining NSBE, stop byone of the meetings or contact JolonShields at jcshield@unity.ncsu.edu.

benefit me. I obtained scholarshipinformation from the listserv thatprovided a brief summary aboutscholarships, how much they wereworth, and where to get more infor-

mation," saysChris Johnsona freshman inC o m p u t e rEngineering.

Although thelistserv contains African-Americaninformation, it is available to all stu-dents.

WOLFPACK

BLUE DEVILS

35

31

Ne’Keesha Dover

Sport Editor

How far are we going to make it?Students around campus continue toask this question Saturday after thefootball team posted yet anotherclose victory. Even though theyhave lost 3 of their last 5 games, it isevident that the team is showingmajor improvement since the arrivalof new head Coach, Chuck Amato.

Sitting on a‘record of 6-3, theWolfpack still have time, in their lasttwo games of the regular season, toleave their mark. They are notranked in the AP Polls right now;however, they did receive votes.Surely everyone was delighted whenthe team brought home a win homeover Carolina. It was almost assweet to send those Blue Devils

home hanging their heads.The victory was a sweet one for

the Wolfpack, playing'in front ofthousands of fans on homecomingweekend. However, the Blue Devilscertainly didn't roll over and playdead for the Wolfpack. The crowdlet out their breath in a sigh of reliefwhen the win was finally sealed aftera 7-yard rushing touchdown byPhillip Rivers with 32 seconds lefton the clock. The freshman was 32for 50 in passing for a total of 413yards and 3 touchdowns. Rivers hasperformed well so many times forthe Wolfpack and has very rarelyperformed like a true freshman. Atage 18, Rivers remarkably has thepoise of a veteran quarterback. Hehas just been named ACC Rookie ofthe Week for the seventh time, and it

. probably won't be the last. Riversmoved into second place for single

‘seasori passing with 2,649 yards.Koren Robinson, another sure per-

former for the Wolfpack, received 7passes from Rivers for 156 yards anddonated two touchdowns. This isthe 13th 100-yard game ofRobinson's career and the 7th of theseason.

Nooby watches over her Packs

Koren Robinson had 2TDs against theDevils on Saturday. Ray Robinson shuffles past a Devil earlier

in the game.

The devils tried but a try will not win agame against WOLFPACK.

The Pack will travel to Virginia

Next up are the Cavaliers

READ MORE HUBIAH

Ne’Keesha DoverSport Editor

Darryl Strawberry is baseball's‘man of uncertainty. He has been inand out of team lineups due to manytraumatic factors. Drug abuse hastaken its toll on the man once con-sidered a future baseball legend. Hiscareer includes teams like the NewYork Mets and the New YorkYankees.Now, Strawberry is in another

lineup. This time he's wearing anorange inmate jumpsuit in theSunshineState. Hewas recent-ly in aF l o r i d acourt fordrug use and possession. He alsoviolated his probation for the thirdtime. Strawberry now spends histime in jail although he's serving alight sentence. Strawberry wasalmost sent to prison where he couldhave served a maximum 5—yearterm. Judge Florence Foster rejectedthat sentence, instead giving him 30days in jail, less about 20 days forthe time served.

" You 've got to get that therapyor you're history."

Strawberry Saga Continues

Strawberry's drug. abuse is justone of his problems. The once-confi—dent former athlete has colon cancer;his left kidney was removed when anew tumor was found. Even aftersurgery and chemotherapy,Strawberry‘s health is still in dangerdue to constant cocaine intake.Strawberry confessed to wanting todie. He recently admitted to sneak-ing away from a drug rehabilitationhouse to smoke crack with a femalefriend. Strawberry mentioned that hehad,given up and wanted his life ”toend. But when Strawberry's doctor

testifiedat hiscourt pro-cedin gs,

Strawberry had a change of mood.He now wants to live.

"He has a very aggressive can-cer," said Dr. Jonathan LaPook, NewYork Presbyterian Hospital, onStrawberry's condition. "The win-dow of opportunity for treating himis sort of closing...We are in anemergency situation right now, andwe have to act like that. "Strawberry stopped taking his

chemotherapy while in jail. LaPooksaid that Strawberry's cancer is very

Strawberry 1th ee’s managerJoe Torre during the 1999 world

season.

likely to recur. And becauseStrawberry has just one kidney, astronger, immediate chemotherapy isneeded. In court, Strawberry statedthat he will try to stay clean.

"I'm willing to commit to rehabili-tation," said Strawberry. "I'm notgoing to allow anybody to run meout of town."

But Judge Foster didn't sugar-coatStrawberry realities. "You've got toget that therapy or you're history."

culture

Brown’s genius and talent meet for solid “Evidence”

Michelle ReedCulture Editor

Organic.Romantic.Heartbreaking. Elevating. Spiritual.Graceful. Relaxing. These are just afew words to use in describing theoutstanding performance that wasperformed by the dance troupe, RonK. Brown/Evidence in StewartTheatre on November 9th. To limitthe performance to the few wordslisted above would be unfair to thetroupe. One word can not define thedance performance in totality. Thereis possibly no way.The dancers became lost in their

own movements. They had no con-scious. They were free. They werethemselves. The music beats thatthe audience heard, were the beatsthe dancers moved to. But it wasobvious that the dancers possessed abeat that could only be heard bythem. Just as a poet writes wordsfrom the soul, these dancers dancedwords from their soul. They dancedwords that described pain. Theirwords expressed life, jubilation, andthe obstacles confronted throughoutthe journey. What journey? Thejourney in search of self and accep— ‘tance as seen in the dance piece,

Better Days: Sole, performed by theleader of the troupe, Ron K. Brown.It is a journey in search of peace asrepresented in the dance selection,Upside Down, which shows thedancers using African-dance move—ments, leaping in various directions,and moving their hips and shouldersin motion to a song by the Maliansinger Oumou Sangre and theNigerian composer Fela AnikulapoKuti. The journey represents thecoming out of an old slavery thatpresented a brutal physical and men-tal state of being for blacks, into anew system the where the blacks areno longer the enslaved, but also theones helping to enslave. .

The dance piece, High Life, tellsabout a journey, but it tells about theblack Americans journey throughpast history. It reveals the blackAmericans migration between 1900and 1930 from the rural South to thebig cities of the North, and it alsoreveals the story of the migration ofWest Africans leaving their villagesin Africa for the cities in Africa thatwere developing. High Life is bro—ken into several pieces. The firstpiece, "Bid Em In," represents theslave and the auction block. Thesecond piece "Poem for a Lady of

NC State presents

powerful

interpretation of

award-winning

"Fences"

Michelle ReedCulture Editor

An extremely talented cast, animmaculate set, and wonderful tech-nical support makes "Fences" amust-seell "Fences", written byPulitzer Prize-winning playwrightAugust Wilson, is the story of theplight of an African-American fami-ly in the 1950's.Troy Maxson is a frustrated

garbage collector whose dream ofplaying professional baseball iscrushed by him not being "the rightcolor" among other factors. Troy, awomanizer and alcoholic, sees deathas a fastball on the outside corner oflife, something that he can control.Rose, Troy's strong.devoted wife,makes the mistake of allowing Troyto ignore her needs at times. Herstrength is shown when she agreesto raise Troy's baby by anotherwoman while assuring him that sheis no longer his woman. Cory, theson of Troy and Rose, dreams ofplaying football and going to collegeto have a chance at becoming some-body. Lyons, Troy's son by his firstwife, is a struggling musician who is

trying to make it in the world. Bonois Troy's longtime friend who methim while Troy was in prison forstealing to provide for his wife andnew baby. Gabe, Troy's brother, hasa metal plate in his head from aWorld War II injury.

Director Patricia Caple‘s interpre-tation of Wilson's "Fences" is pow-erfully moving and highly captivat-ing. It is impossible for anyone tosee this play and not be affected insome way by its content. RonForeman is difficult and mean-spirit—ed as Troy Maxson, and TiffanyMoody is the epitome of a strongwoman as the longsuffering but dig-nified Rose. Kevin Mitchell’s por-trayal of Bono is honest andstraight-forward. Ernest Hunte is aperfect example of a son strugglingand learning to deal with living inhis father's shadow. Shadner Ifreneis suave and charming as Lyons.Jackson Brown is "different" butlovable as Gabe. Raven Gill is per-fect as the innocent and precociousRaynell. All of the actors were veryeffective in bringing their charactersto life. This play is definitely amust-see!

"Fences" is a University Theatre

Leisure Now Retired," a poem writ-ten by Nikki Giovanni, representsthe beginning of migration for theblack American. In the third piece,"Alabama Poem," the migrants havearrived in the big city and are havinga good time. The next selection,"Limbo Jimbo," brings humor as themigrants have grown old and tiredfrom their travels, yet, they remainjoyful. The final three pieces, "Alujon, jonki jon," "Groove," and"Ekabo" represents the shift to theAfrican/Afro-Pop migration.

The poetry and music used for thedance selection came from writersand musicians who helped to changethe black American for the better inwhite America. Such people includ—ed Nikki Giovanni and JamesBrown. The different colored cos—tumes and simplicity of the costumesonly added to the originality of thedance performance.

Unfortunately, the show had tocome to an ending. It came to anending with the majority of thehouse rising to their feet, and clap—ping their hands to show thanks forsuch a beautiful performance. It wasa beat that the troupe so muchdeserves. A beat the troupe is proba—

‘4 bly used to hearing, and a beat they

will continue to hear as long as theykeep dancing.

Despite fatigue for giving a per-formance that was indescribable, thetroupe came out after the show tointeract in discussion with a handfulof members that stayed around. Anaudience member that was moved bythe performance, just like many,stated that "the dancers made methink I could dance and move likethem." Members of the audiencegave nothing but praise to thetroupe. Included in this audiencewere various family members of thetroupe who revealed their pride andjoy. The audience members wel-comed the troupe With open heartsand minds. Once a member of theAfrican-American community hereat NC State, Princess Mhoon, waswelcomed "back home." Mhoonwas once the Artistic Director ofDance Visions from 1998-99.

The dedication, heart, and hardwork these dancers put into theirperformances should be appreciatedby all. Nothing about the dance per—formance disappointing.However, what was disappointingwas the lack of students at the show,

black students.

was

mainlyOpportunities to see an African-

American dance troupe are notalways knocking on the doors at NCState. Many red chairs sat empty.Our white counterparts came innumbers to see an African-Americandance troupe. Where were we at?We came in support of BlackFinesse, as many do year in and yearout. The ticket prices were about thesame, but the quality and content ofthe two lie at two different spec—trums. The clothes and music of thedance performance and the fashionshow were different, and bothoffered something different.Whereas the fashion show providedentertainment, the dance perfor—mance provided a sense of culture.A culture that is being lost andknocked down to "a few goodlaughs." A culture that many don'tunderstand or appreciate. A culturethat Ron K. Brown/Evidence hastaken to new heights. A culturemaybe Dr. Moses, Haki Madhubuti,Ntozake Shange, and NikkiGiovanni understand. A culture

'once understood by LangstonHughes, Alvin Ailey, Audre Lorde,Sammy Davis, Jr., and Pearl Primus.A culture to precious to be lost.

(Noe:hammammamgmmhsmsmamgmmam°ruWademLynchhngcmm,1933.1Ahiefdiscassiond'thefactsofthecasefollowed,afiexwhichtheWinchrgeynvethisdhecfimzmmeandgiwmeihgsflmnheydidsowithomheeimfim!)

'Ipledgealeghmtothefing“? ,Theydraggedm-akedThrough the muddy streets,A feeble-minded black boy!Andthecharge?8upposedasmUponanaydm!”OttheUnhedStatesofAneriea“-Oneniletheydrmedhimmeasukollneal,Ampeanudhisneek,Ahhodyearmammogram“

Was flesh“,Andreeking _'”With L. . fTheycut the . ‘Andmam '2 a.For souvenirs, among the men and boys!The teeth no, doubt, on golden chainsWillhangAbout the favored necks of sweethearts, wives,And daughters, mothers, sisters, babies, too!"For ALL! "

Enteriamment Reporter

iswmging doors

commitment?“

BOUT 118??! No, they don't.

hers leaves the group. Now thereare only three Destiny's Children

another fourth member?knows?

Talking about breakups, DawnRobinson from the group LucyPearl has decided to move on andstart her solo project. She said shedidn‘t plan on leaving the group for

ly of Tony! Toni! Tone) and Ali; Shaheed Muhammad (Editor’sfoote: Ali’s name is not bolded

The NUbian is just a click away at

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breakups? .DO THEY CARE

Two members of Destmy's Child ,left, and were replaced by mm:more talented singers But what? 'happened? One of the new meme ,

"Jumpin, Jumpin.'"Willthere be :'Who

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Attention Loyal

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Page 6 The Nubian Message November 16, 2000.

Your Civil Rights and Close Elections

Michael HarrellCulture Columnist

The past week has given rise to anew chapter in U.S. Presidential his-tory. We have seen record turnoutsat the poll, media blunders, legal bat-tles and a series of ballot recounts.Such exciting events have been oursto behold, and it is only half time inthis Political Superbowl.So what does this political dual

actually mean for our society? Theanswer to this question is so incredi~bly multi—faceted; there is not a sin-gle individual or organized group ofindividuals that can supply a com—prehensive answer.There is, debatably, potential to

inflict lasting damage on the coun-try. However, a few of the election

sagas, somewhat similar to the oneat hand, have historically been aturning point of Civil Rights forblacks in America.The election of 1824 had a subtle

impact on blacks in America. Thispolitical contest concluded with fourcandidates of which none possesseda significant majority of the electoralvotes. The front runner was slaveryexpansionist, Andrew Jackson.Despite Jackson’s lead, John QuincyAdams managed to obtain thePresidency through skillful, politicalmaneuvering in the House ofRepresentative. Adams was consid-ered sympathetic by many of theweak anti-slavery movement of theday. In 1839, former PresidentAdams, although a deficient orator,argued on behalf of African slavesillegally transported aboard LaAmistad in 1839. Adams convincedthe U.S. Supreme court to free thebondsmen and arrange their return toAfrica.The election of 1824 is of very lit-

tle significance to black Americanswhen compared to the election of1876. This political knife fight wasin some aspects very similar to thehistorical events transpiring duringthis election.

Republican candidate Gov.Rutherford B. Hayes competedagainst Democrat, Samuel J. Tilden.

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The returns in the early of Novemberindicated Tilden would win NewJersey, Connecticut, Indiana, hishome state of New York and allother states, including Florida, SouthCarolina and Louisiana, which wereconsidered to be Republican strong-holds. According to these projec—tions, Tilden would get 203 electoralvotes and Hayes 165. Tilden alsoachieved an estimated lead of250,000 in the popular vote.The Republican leaders of

Florida, South Carolina, andLouisiana anticipated the loss. Theyrealized that if they possessed theelectoral votes for these states;Hayes would be victorious. In a des-perate attempt to secure thePresidency for their political interest,the Republicans contacted thosewithin the party with access to theballots and invalidated the ballots ofmany of the Democrats.The Republicans from these states

sent word that Hayes was victoriousin each of the three states. Of course,the Democrats screamed bloodymurder, and thus the stage was setmuch like it is now, once again, inFlorida.

So what was to be done? TheDemocratic house and RepublicanSenate had little trust in another.Neither party seemed willing tocompromise. Article II Section I of

the Constitution requires members ofthe Electoral College to meet in thestate, which they represent, and sendcorrespondence to Washington.Upon receipt, it is instructed by theConstitution that, "The President ofthe Senate shall, in the presence ofthe SenateRepresentatives, open all certifi-cates, and the votes shall then becounted." Who was to conduct thecount?The parties were not willing to

negotiate on theissue of the count.After a period of political bickeringand a committee collapse, a deal wasbrokered at the Wormerly Hotel inWashington; Although this hotel wasowned by thewealthiest black inWashington, it was the site of anagreement that ended- hope ofadvancement forl‘blaCk southernersduring this period. A condition thatwas agreed upon was the withdrawalof Federal troops from the south toappease disgruntled southern democ—rats in exchange for Hayes’s presi-dency. This was the end of recon-struction. Four million Freedmanand their descendents were subjectto indignity, poverty, and hopeless~ness. At the same time, the rest ofthe country continued to enjoy theprivilege of wealth and power.

The Kennedy Nixon election of1960 was incredibly close. Kennedy

and House of.

edged Nixon by‘.34% of the popularvote. Although, for political reasons;he did not promote the issue of CivilRights in his presidential campaign,he received the support of Blacks,Jews, and blue-collar workers.

During his incomplete term,Kennedy proposed a Civil RightsAct in June of 1963. He was gunneddown in Dallas before this legisla—tion passed. The Civil Rights Actprohibited discrimination againstblacks and women in the work place.Literacy tests for blacks as a prereq-uisite of voting and racial segrega-tion were outlawed. Kennedy’s suc-cessor, Lyndon B. Johnson, fortu—nately, made certain this legislationwas enforced. ,

So you now ask yourself whatdoes this have to with me as a blackman? Perhaps as a white or Latino?

Regardless, this is America!Although we will always have inter—nal conflicts, we are once again at aturning point in our societal quest forequality. Will the political machinebe allowed to fester the boil ofracism and execution or will justiceprevail?

Despite the outcome, it is eachindividuals responsibility to castmore than a ballot. We must contin-ue the legacies of Adams andKennedy.

‘‘‘‘‘‘

The Nubian Message November 16 December 6

“Bamboozled” Spike Lee’s Best to Date

Adedayo A. Banwo Shirley Temple or even Bugs BunnyEditor in Chief acting in films which promoted these

pictures of blacks who were sub—human objects, sort of animalisticSpike Lee’s “Bamboozled” is his

most controversial and powerfulwork yet, even more so than “X.”The movie stars Damon Wayans asPierre Delacroix, a television pro—ducer who under stress to create a hitshow, develops a minstrel show.Wayan’s character intends for theshow to create such an outrageamong television audiences that theywould begin to reject the negativeimages of blacks that are promotedthroughout mainstream culture. ToDelacroix’s surprise, the show is anational success. It is an instant hitand pretty soon, the entire country iswatching in blackface.

Lee shows that the minstrelimage of blacks in the early 20thcentury were very prevalent andaccepted by mainstream America.Perhaps the most powerful part ofthe movie was the last five minuteswhich featured clips of stars such as

characters who existed solely forwhite entertainment. Indeed, manyviewers in the showing I attended

November 6

William Wells Brown, novelist and dramatist, dies, 1884 i

The movie is based upon a program featuring twominstrels, Mantan and Sleep and Eat.

had tears in their eyes as theseactors, many of them black, wererelegrated to something so demean-ing and terrible.

Whatis Lee trying to prove

. by digging up theseseemingly ancientmemories of America’s

‘ past? For one, he’s try—V ing to prove they are

not so ancient. In fact,“Bamboozled” makesthe argument that someof what is on televisiontoday follows the sameformula that many ofthe minstrel shows didat the turn of the centu—ry. Many actors in the

‘ film have connectionsto what Lee would call“modern—day blackfaceshows without the

blackface.” Amongthem, Wayans who is

brother of the infamous Wayansbrothers and who played on “InLiving Color.” Jada Pinkett Smith,

co—star, is married to Will Smith,who many argue continues to pro—mote the image of blacks inferiorityin mainstream films.The subject matter is painful, so

don’t go expecting a light-heartedday at the cinema.“Well, painful—the pain comes

from looking at the images. Howpeople of color—-specificallyAfrican—Americans——have been pro-trayed since the inception of filmand also with radio with “Amos andAndy” which was on film, radio andtelevision,” says Lee about the painof seeing the film, particularlyamongst black viewers.

“Bamboozled” proves, the seeming—ly distant memories of the pastquickly become the business andissue of today.

The movie is a must—see. Itshould be shown on college campus-es across America. The issues it con-fronts and the people it calls out, aretoo plentiful to list and discuss inthis article. For whites, just watchingthis movie will alter your perspec-tive and for blacks, it will ensure thatyou will never forget what we havegone through. Not only will it ensureyou won’t forget, it will ensure thatyou stay concious because as

This WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY

Coleman Young elected mayor of Detroit, becoming one of the first two black mayors of city with over a million citizens, 1973

‘Thomas Bradley‘liglected mayor of Los Angeles at a time when blacks represented Only 15% of the LA electorate, becoming

one of the first two black mayors of city with over a million citizens, 1973.November 7

Elijah Lovejoy, newspaperman, killed defending his newspaper from a pro~slavery mob, 1837

David Dinkins elected first black mayor of New York City, 1989

L. Douglas Wilder elected governor of Virgina, becoming the first black governor in the US since Reconstruction, 1989November 8

Marshall Walter "Major" Taylor, the world's fastest bicycle racer for 12 years, born in Indianapolis, 1878

Otis Smith becomes auditor general and the first black politician to win a statewide election since reconstruction, 1960

Edward W Brooke elected first black US senator (R-Mass) in eighty five years, 1966November 9

Benjamin Banneker, inventor, mathematician and one of the planners of what is now Washington DC, born, 1731

Medical School at Howard University opens with eight students, 1868November 1 0

Granville T Woods patents the electric railway, 1891

Charlie Sifford wins the Long Beach Open, becoming the first black person to Win a major professional golf tournament, 1957

Andrew Hatcher is named associate press secretary to President John F Kennedy, becoming the first black press secretary, 1960November 1 1

Nat Turner, leader of a Virgina slave revolt, hanged, 1831

D. McCree patents the portable fire escape, 1890

Civil Rights Memorial is dedicated in Montgomery, AL, 1989

November 1 2

Madame Lillian Evanti, opera singer, founds the National Negro Opera Company, 1941

Floyd W. Hayes, IllGuest Columnist

In contemporary America whenour minds, perceptions, identities,and bodies increasingly are manipu-lated or managed by cultural, politi-cal, and economic elites and theircybernetic technologies of control,we give up the practice of indepen-dent thought and the will to dissentat our own peril. America's currenttransition from an industrial-capital-ist economy of money and manufac-turing to a postindustrial-managerialeconomy of knowledge, high tech—nology, and social management ischaracterized by mounting politicaland socioeconomic polarizationbetween the professional-managerialelites and the managed masses.

This period of social transforma-tion also is accompanied by the pro-gressive expansion of America's

0 inion

Dissent and the Intellectual Vocation

multicultural population, resulting ingrowing cultural tensions. Underthese changing circumstances, it isinevitable that there will be differ—ences of opinion about most anyimportant issue. However, a diversi-ty of cultures, views, ideas, andsocial action should not be disre—spected and rejected, but should berespected and embraced. Increasingdiversity, by definition, meanschange; a commitment to changemust be combined with a readinessto confront the status quo.

Herein lies the intellectual voca—tion. The intellectual is a dissenterwho disturbs the peace; his/her pur-pose is to provoke independent andcritical consciousness and to encour—age principled social action. InRepresentations of the Intellectual,Edward Said asserts that the intellec-tual as dissenter possesses thecourage and integrity to speak truthto power on behalf of those who areunjustly underrepresented and disad-vantaged. The intellectual as dis—senter is an irritant.

In a recent after class discussionwith one of my students, I wasimpressed with his assertiveness andwillingness to engage in criticalanalysis about the contemporaryblack situation in the United Statesof America. We also talked aboutthe public role of the intellectual asone who seeks to provoke critical

thought and social change by meansof dissent. In the present age ofsocial manipulation, I admire stu-dents who are intellectual dissentersand activists. For it is the criticallyconscious student who knows thathis/her role is to continue the strug-gle to transform American societyinto a racial and cultural democracy.In the process of my exchange withthis student, I mentioned that hiscritical reflections could be sharp-ened if he read more. Agreeing thathe wanted to, he acknowledged thathe didn't know what to read. I sug-gested immediately that he readHarold Cruse's important 1967 book,The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual.As we departed, I thought that hisadmission might also reflect theviews of many other NC State stu—dents. Hence, I thought of suggest—ing some important morsels of foodfor critical thought.To the left is not an exhaustive list

of books. It is a small contribution Ito the student who seeks the path ofthe intellectual as dissenter andactivist.

Floyd W. Hayes, III, is AssociateProfessor in the Division ofMultidisciplinary Studies and theDepartment of Political Science atNorth Carolina State University.

Money Ain't It

Larry HoupeOpinions Columnist

I recently read an article entitled"Lawyers aim to win reparations fordescendants of slaves" by HarvardLaw Professor, Charles J. Oglctree.The article was about paying backthe descendants of slaves for thewrong that our ancestors enduredduring the 244 years of legalizedslavery. Ogletree believes that thisis the "most serious effort" to com—pensate African-Americans since theending of slavery.

This lawsuit is long overdue, andwith Johnny Cochran, defense attor—ney for OJ. Simpson, Alexander J.Pires Jr., who won a $1 billion dollarsettlement for black farmers whowere discriminated against by theUS. Department of Agriculture, andRichard Scruggs, who won the

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$368.5 billion suit for states againstbig tobacco will have a serious fighton their hands.

Along with monetary compensa—tion, the team is seeking "full recog-nition and a remedy of how slaverystigmatized, raped, murdered andexploited millions of Africansthrough no fault of their own".Ogltree also said that the goal of thesuit is to "change America".

I agree that African—Americansdeserve some form of compensationfor the centuries of illegal servitude,but I'm not sure if money is theanswer to the problem. The apologyand recognition of wrong-doing isdefinitely the way to start, but Ithink that winning a large amount ofmoney will only cause problemsamong our people. Everyone willwant a share of the settlements,because all of us are descendants of

American market. Why is that? itseemsithat BelievethatBiaekwe would be so proud to see Some brothers dated as Whit deSlg

slaves; but we know that everyonewon't be paid. I also disfavor themoney because money can be heretoday and gone tomorrow.

I'd rather see compensation in theform of reinstating affirmativeaction in states, such as Californiaand Texas and preventing it frombeing abolished in the rest of thestates. I think continuing to provideour people with opportunities willbetter serve us than money. It's likethe saying "give a man a fish andfeed him for a day, but teach himhow to fish and feed him for a life—time". Nevertheless, I support theobjective of the suit, which is to payus back for the sufferings enduredby our ancestors.

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