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The Panther
December, 1946
CLARK COLLEGE
PANTHER
A Journal of Negro College Life
Published from October to June
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VOICE OF THE
STUDENTS
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MOUTHPIECE OF
THE COLLEGE
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A promoter of school spirit by encouraging projects and efforts
among student groups and individual students.
A medium through which an opportunity is provided for students
to obtain experience in newsgathering, reporting, book-reviewing, edi
torial, and creative writing.
An instrument for fostering friendly and constructive criticism
of campiis activities.
H. McCAREY KENDALL ’48
Editor-in-Chief
GUYLON SMALL ’48
Associate Editor
ROLAND HAYNES ’49
News Editor
Maurice Downs ’47 and E. Simpson ’50 -u.. Society
June Blanchard ’49 and Lona Brown 50, Emery Wimbish '48 Literary
Agatha Daniel ’49 and E. L. Parker ’48 —Feature
Walter Jarnigan ’49 and H. D. Gates ’49 - Art
Cecil A. Blye; Helen Nelson ’50 and D. E. Collington. - —Sports
Carriedelle Kynds ’48 and George Waters ’50 —Exchange
Edward W. Symth and H. Royal ’50 Business Managers
Charles Price ’50 Advertising Manager
Walter Crawford ’47 - Circulation Manager
D. Wahington ’48, E. Haynes ’50 Photographers
Barbara Lowery ’49 - —..Staff Secretary
Brady Jones 50, Xanthene Sayles ’50, Elizabeth Brown ’50,
Alfonso Levy ’50, Ruth Woodward ’50 - ■*Reporters
Bertha Tarver ’48, Bessie Brown '47, Katheryn Jones ’47,
.Thelma Alman ’49, Louise Harris ’48 Typists
C. C. Posey and J. F. Summersette - Faculty Advisors
CHRISTMAS THOUGHTS
“The time draws near the birth of Christ.”
Thanksgiving has passed and the Yuletide Season is here—
a holiday season and a holy season lest we forget. Already we are
singing our favorite age-old Christmas Carols, sending and receiv
ing greetings, doing a bit of Christmas shopping for ourselves
and for our friends. Perhaps many of us are already dreaming
of the heavenly laden dining room tables and the beautifully deco
rated trees bearing gifts from friends and relatives. Indeed who
is there, young or old, who has not felt this Christmas spirit ?
For such is the connotative meaning of Christmas.
Universally, Christmas tmeans essentially the same tl^j^p-
an annual Church festival in memory of the birth of Chri^JP * 1 *'
Saviour; an annual rroilday season marked Py greetings, gifts,
hospitality, and a legal holiday. Yet to every human heart it has
its own specific individual meaning. For many it amplifies that
still small voice which reveals the presence of a power sublime
in spite of the fact that we are forced to see that life is poised
on slender moments and all eternity on time.
Christmas 1946 means that we have access to a number of
facilities and necessities that were impossible a year ago. Some
how despite material gains, the peace and good will of which we
sing are still not with us in a larger sense. We are still confronted
with the national and international inclemency. Under the shock
of the past few years, civilization, fresh from the rim of disaster,
is convulsive; orderly activity and the calm and peace that the
Christmas Season symbolizes are a difficulty in these hyper-ex
citable times.
While we recognize the difficulty, we can by no means give
up in despair. It is our duty to push back the dismal clouds of
lust, greed, poverty, and ignorance by offering ourselves to a
cause that is good, wholesome, ennobling as the Christ Child did.
It is a challenge which will brighten your Christmas and make
you feel the real Christmas spirit. It will make Christmas mean
ingful for you and for your friends in a larger and deeper sense.
H. Kendall.
CAMPUS RELIGION
If religion is failing to realize its high destiny in American
Culture, and if, in the words of C.M.E. Joad, the British critic,
“there has grown to maturity a generation which is to all intents
and purposes without religious beliefs,” the campuses of our coun
try share largely in this predicament. The church-related college
must be religion’s first line of defense against an everpresent and
growing secularism. This is true not only because historically and
traditionally the separation of Church and State has rendered
state controlled institutions of learning sterile in vast areas of
significant character development, but it is true because at no
other point in human experience, save youth, can the dignity and
holiness of mankind be more critically taught or humbly learned.
What.does this mean in terms of our campus? First, Clark
is a church-related Christian college. To us, therefore, as faculty
and students is flung the two-fold challenge of proving worthy of
a dual heritage, one in the Christian faith and the other in the
democratic ideal.
These two great goals, however, need qualifying and specifi
cation. Such qualifying can be done adequately within the frame
work of our college motto: “Culture for Service.”
First, we who are to foster your program of religious life
on the campus believe in culture. We believe in that type of cul
ture which will lead you to a deeper realization of the nature of
the established “goods” in life. We believe in that type of culture
which will enlarge, sensitize and enrich your every capacity to
attain those “goods” as a student and citizen of “one world.”
Finally, we believe in service, for it alone is the proper end of cul
ture. The question, therefore, we leave with you is whether or not
in acquiring such culture and in preparing for such service to
ourselves, our fellowman, and our God, we dare interpret, learn
or live in the light of an ideal less than the Christian way for man
and society.
Rev. G, S. Shockley.
It’s Good Enough
For Me!
Since we Clarkites are endowed
with a rich heritage and endless op
portunities of which we so often
boast, we must gradually absorb that
dynamic controlling force of the Col
lege commonly known as “that good
old C.C. Spirit.” It was this same
force, this same feeling that domi
nated and stimulated the lives of those
far-visioned humanitarians who com
posed Freedmen’s Aid Society of the
Methodist Episcopal Church that
founded Clark University in 1869.
Seventy-seven years have passed
since that time. Today, we find this
spirit ebbing, distorted in purpose,
lacking in spontaneity of expression,
and recognized by many as a superfi
cial dream, dreamed by false dream
ers. For example, a noticeable lack
of spirit was everywhere apparent at
the Fort Benning Game. The very
atmosphere was funereal and the
gates might have been more appropri
ately draped in pure black rather than
in the black and red brilliancy found
there.
Must our spirit be as the spirit of
the congregation of Reverend W. B.
Alexander who, going to a small Okla
homa town to be pastor of his first
church, was met with the flat state
ment that he was wasting his time?
Reverend Alexander faced a sad sit
uation, a dead church, a situation
comparable to ours. Finally in des
peration he placed a notice in the lo
cal paper that, since the church was
dead, the funeral would be held the
next Sunday afternoon. The church
was crowded by the curious members
who were rewarded by the sight of a
huge coffin covered with flowers. Aft
er reading the obituary, Reverend
Alexander invited the people to pay
their last respects. As the long queue
passed by, each looked into the coffin
and glanced guiltily away. In the
bottom of the coffin lay a mirror, sol
emnly reflecting the last remains of
the church in the startled face of each
member of the congregation.
Must we continue to be members of
Reverend Alexander’s congregation or
shall we live again ihe ideals that led
our ancestors to
, *-;/-.»! w i;o8e motto .or
Service”?
It is imperative that we become
missionaries endeavoring to recapture
our dead spirit and opening a way
to a rebirth of the spirit of the
founders.
This spirit must be displayed not
only on the athletic field, but in all
phases of the college life—in class
room activities, in dormitory inter
ests, and in our general community
life. Too long have we shouted, “Give
me that good old C.C. Spirit”, without
realizing that it is more than a chant
when the team is winning or when
everything goes well. It is rather a
symbol of all that our college stands
for.
Is it good enough for you???
R. HAYNES, ’49
Thoughts of a
Man on 10th Street
A few nights ago a friend of mine
called me and in the course of the
conversation she told me the conver
sation she had had during the day
with a man who is in the center of
one of the racial conflicts which have
been flaring up around the city due
to the housing shortage and due to
the tendency of some whites to re
sent the moving of Negroes into
neighborhoods where they live. The
following is a result of this conver
sation and represents, what I be
lieve, some of his thoughts to be as
he keeps all night vigil to protect
himself and his family.
Is this my fate, O America, to work
by day and walk alone by night to
guard my own? Was it for this that
I waded tnrough the grimy mud at
Argonne, that I plowed through gory
snow at the “Bulge,” or that I swam
the icy Rhine? I gloried in the mud;
the gory snow exalted my soul when
I saw the dirty lieinies hurtling
backward to the scum they left; the
icy waters could not pull me down
because I was helping to save the
Exchange
Column
The Exchange Staff wishes to
express its appreciation to the
many colleges and universities for
exchanging their publications.
Exchange Editor—George Waters
The following is an excerpt from
the Watchtower in the Tuskegee’s
Campus Digest—
Today, as never before, youth
throughout the country are beginning
to realize the importance of further
ing their education. The returning
veterans are playing a major role in
a large number of colleges and uni
versities. The high school graduate
realizes that he, too, must pass an
other milestone in his achievement for
the goal, which all of us strive to
gain in education.
It is quite evident that more state
schools and private institutions are
needed as a solution to^ their prob
lem. The construction of these insti
tutions should take place now and
not the appropriation of funds for
later use.
Just as temporary housing units
are being established, the various
states should take a leading role in
seeing that temporary institutions be
established and faculty persons be
appointed to relieve the crowded
classroom conditions. This would cer
tainly prevent the instructors from
becoming so impatient, thereby, giv
ing to the student the instruction
which he wishes to receive.
Educators have found it to be true
that unless students are given the
proper guidance and the proper fa
cilities to work, all of their aims for
success will be lost. It is the duty of
the educators to see that institutions
are established, that high school grad
uates will enter college as soon as
they finish high school, and that they
are given the proper facilities for
•nMHI^nless this is done, the Peace
and Democracy for which we fought
will have been in vain, and the
American youth will turn to the evil
doings of this world.
Exchange Editor,
George Waters
On The
Bookshelves
Books are keys to wisdom’s treas
ure;
Books are gates to lands of pleas
ure;
Books are paths that, upward
lead; i
Books are friends. Come, let us
read.
There’s such a wealth of new in
teresting material this month that
I’m sure no matter what your reading
tastes are, you’ll find something, you
like. If you’ve read anything by John
Marquand, you’ll want to read So
Little Time, a book of- brilliant sa
tire and sparkling humor with a deep
seriousness behind them. It is a pro
vocative picture of America—the
America of booms, depressions, of
gaieties and glooms, Of isolationist
and interventionists.
Then there’s the book 12 Million
Black Voices by Richard Wright with
photo-direction by Edwin Roskam. To
the stark accompaniment of a pro
cession of fine, honest photographs,
Richard Wright has written with
more eloquence than bitterness, the
lament of the great black migration
out of Africa to the South, out of
the cabins in the cotton fields, to the
hovels of the North. It is not only a
lament; it is an accusation too—a
cry of warning and resentment of
faith in terms of the old indestructi
ble hope for decent freedom in a free
America.
If you are intrigued with tales of
voo-doo, weird romance and Mardi
Gras, read George Cables’s In Old
New Orleans and Gumbo-Ya : Ya.
These are strange stories about a
strange city, almost foreign in its cus
toms.
Let’s end this sojourn on a tighter
note—read Too Much College by Ste
phen Leacock—really an omnibus of
essays on college life. While reading
it, don’t be surprised if you recognize
a number of people you know and
situations that have occurred on our
own Clark College Campus. It’s re
freshing and really funny.
world from racial supremacy. I Was
getting the job done so that I could
come home to democracy.
Is this, America, the democracy
you have saved for me? Fear of the
mob bullets whizzing through my
house at night—my pale-faced chil
dren haunting me? Tell me, is this
democracy?
I slept two years with bullets
whining in my ear until I scarce
heard their music any more nor
dreaded their import. But, God, I
nearly died the night they fired five
bullets in my house. I died again be
fore I could discover if all were well
with those I love. So now ,1 cannot
sleep, but walk the floor with gun
in hand and wait for them to come.
Why don’t they come and get it over
with? Or is it a sign of race su
premacy to torture one with hell?
For eighteen nights I have scarcely
closed my eyes. How long can 1
stand it? How much can human
heart endure? Did I do wrong to buy
this house? I wanted a home. God
knows I dreamed of one over there.
All my money went into this. Spot
cash I paid for it. Must I be driven
out like a dog. The realtor so sweet
ly talked and told me they were
moving out. Was 1 the dupe for tak
ing him at his word? They are gone,
and just a cursed few remain. But
ah! that few are the very devil!
Even the children don white shirts
and parade before my door chanting,
“The Ku Klux are coming, the Ku
Klux are coming.” Is not this the
brand of Cain and Hitler?
What must I do? Oh, God, what
can I do? I fought! I fought to have
the right to have a home! Now that
I have my home, I’ll fight to keep it,
let come what may. And if I die, I
die, I die a manl
Rosa C. Long
Book Review
THE BALLAD AND THE SOURCE
Rosamond Lehmann
This remarkable novel by Rosa
mond Lehmann, who is as well known
in this country as in her native'Eng
land, is her fifth work of fiction. The
preceding four began with Dusty An
swer in 1927 followed by A Note in
Music, Invitation to the Waltz, The
Weather in the Streets. The Ballad
and the Source which is the first to
appear in eight years haa been her
alded in England as her “best and
most permanent book.” The title is
at once a puzzling, yet a musically
apt one. Indeed the reader must pe
ruse the entire novel and dwell on
it for a while before realizing its
subtle significance and without being
able quite to explaii it. The child
like tune of innocence, since we, are
hearing the memories of the child,
Rebecca, is counterpointed with the
dark music of madness the ; raging
spirit of Mrs. Jardine thwarted in
her merciless desires. Yet, its very
simplicity is confusing—a part of the
narrator’s skill—for Rebecca who at
the time she was told these things
couldn’t always know what they
meant, nor are we certain in any
more than a vague way what they
meant until the novel is completed.
Although much of the reader’s in
terest is swept onward by suspense,
a brief preview of the plot will by no"
means deprive the reader of his full
share. On the contrary one will be
greatly benefited even by a re-read
ing of some of its parts. Rebecca
and Jess, two well-bred English sis
ters are invited to come up the hill to
pick primroses and then have tea with
old Mrs. Jardine at the Priory—one
of those beautiful English country
houses. The children with their
French governess go to pick the prim
roses—a traditional salute to inno
cence in England. Then they have
tea. We learn that Mrs. Jardine, who
is a witch, a demon, the dominating
spirit of horror, had been a friend
of their grandmother. The children
(Continued on Page Pour)