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November 17, 1978
Where W ere the
Voters Tuesday ?
By A. Lineve Wead
Co-Editor
It was close race, but not close enough because Clark profes
sor of Afro-American History, Eugene Walker was not the
winner. According to Walker, it was the black community who
did not make the showing at the polls.
Same old story: the black community did not support the
candidate who identified with them more than the incumbent,
John Truelove. Walker was running to express their concerns
to the DeKalb County School Board; Walker was responsible
to the black community because he felt a need to get some
black representation on the school board; yet the black com
munity turned away from the polls and watched the returns in
this very close race.
DeKalb County had 93 percent of whites registered to vote
and only 7 percent of the blacks were registered to vote. Yet,
the figures revealed that Truelove won by only 51.4% com
pared to Walker’s strong showing of 48.6%.
Looking at Republican Georgia B. Jones’ state represen
tative race in the 31st district, the local paper said Grace
Hamiliton, “rolled over challenger Georgia B. Jones.” The
final figures revealed the statement could be backed up by
Hamilton taking 81.7% of the vote, compared to Jones’ 18.2%.
but once again, where was the black community when Jones
needed that support to get a seat last Tuesday? We were wait
ing on others to do the job and get another white elected to a
seat that could have had our Career College Placement direc-
.tor, Jones in it. It is a sad revelation that black voters have
the amazing ability to elect the “wrong” people to represent
them. We cry for representation in between the elections, and
when it is time to show what we mean, we avoid the polls, like
blacks did early in this century.
Have we forgotten the turbulent 60’s when our relatives and
leaders marched, boycotted, and picketed so that we can have
this opportunity to be counted? Are we so naive in thinking
that everything will be all right, if we don’t vote this one time?
If we are, then it is time to reassess our goals in life and what
we deem as important.
Students in the Atlanta University Center had no excuse
not to vote; the polls were open at Morehouse College until 7
p.m. The only excuse could have been that we were not
registered to vote. That is not an excuse, itself; it is a sorry
statement that anyone should be ashamed to reveal.
I sincerely hope that Walker and Jones do not give up hope
in the black community. We are looking at future Walkers and
Jones’s to accept the challenge of getting into the political
arena, and attempting to represent the people. We are looking
at two very important leaders who chose to play this game of
politics and taste the defeat.
Walker was brave to run in a district where basically blacks
are few and fewer are registered to vote. Jones had her
observers scared at a black Republican running in this dis
trict, because here observers did not know why she switched
from Democrat to Republican.
Whatever motivated both Walker’s and Jones’ run when the
odds were stacked so high against them is irrelevant. What is
relevant is the examples they have begun to create for those
behind them to follow.
THE UNITED WML
The PANTHER is published twice monthly by the
students at Clark College.
Editors Suleiman Abdul-Azeez
Ann L. Wead
News Editor Marcia Jones
Feature Editor Denise Green
Sports Editor Charles Anderson
Photography Editor Tyraun Patterson
Business Manager Jack Jenkinft
Staff Artists Linda Dyson
Felton Fedrick
Faculty Advisors Denise Johnson
Osker Spicer
All articles, poetry, photographs and other con
tributions to the newspaper may be dropped off at our of
fices in Thayer Hall.
Address all correspondence to: PANTHER Newspaper,
Box 154 Clark College, Atlanta, Ga. 30314.
The Panther
Molefi Speaks Here
Lesotho Reporter Joseph
Molefi. (Photo by James
McJunkins)
By David W. Thomas
Senior reporter for Lesotho
Radio Joseph S.P. Molefi
expressed hopes of increased
international relations
between the U.S. and Lesotho
recently in a brief talk with
students at Clark College.
Molefi is in the U.S. by way
of the “International Visitors
Program of the International
Communication Agency.”
Atlanta is just one of the stops
he has made during his tour of
the U.S.
Molefi addressed a small
reporting class saying, “We
would like to see as much
solidarity as possible between
the people of the U.S. and
Lesotho.”
Lesotho has only one radio
station, which is owned by the
Lesotho government. This is a
remote reason why Molefi is
visiting the U.S. He has come
to observe operations of small
newspapers and small radio
stations.
“The radio is the most im
portant medium of com
munication in Lesotho,” says
Molefi. “Even the illiterate can
hear. He added that, by way of
welfare, thousands of tran
sistor radios were distributed
to the Lesotho people. Molefi
hopes to effect some of the
techniques he observes in the
U.S.
Although Molefi was
educated at the University of
Witwatersrand in Johannes
burg, S. Africe, clashing
political views caused him to
be banned from the country.
Hence, his talents were quickly
put to use in Lesotho.
Along with being the senior
reporter for Radio Lesotho, he
holds several other positions
including: public relations of
ficer for government operated
Lesotho Development Corp.;
correspondent for the British
Broadcasting Company; and
president of the Lesotho Union
of Journalists.
One of Molefi’s concerns
within the next three months
is to help establish a Pan-
Africa News Agency which
would collect news from all
over Africa and distribute it all
over the world. He said that
there is no school of journalism
in Lesotho. However, in two or
three more years, one might be
set up.
The tour, which began Oc
tober 15 will end in New York
November 13. A State
Department representative,
Carl Weick, is Molefi’s escort
for the duration of the tour.
Molefi expressed anticipation
mf more similar tours of the
U.S. in the future.
What Will History
Record About Us?
By Suleiman Abdul-Azeez
Co-Editor
I was in elementary school when I first began reading about
the accomplishments of great black people. Throughout high
school and college I continued to read about the great ones in
our race. I admired black wizard George Washington Carver
for squeezing more than a hundred products out of the lowly
peanut. I still marvel at Charles Drew, discoverer of blood
plasma. These were black men who contributed their genius to
mankind as a whole. Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm es
tablished a first for the race with Freedom’s Journal. AlHajj
Malik Shabazz (Malcolm X) uplifted the opinion which
members of the race held themselves through his
preachments. Because of the accomplishments of these and
hundreds of great black people, there are volumes written on
black history and accomplishments.
Everytime I read about black achievers in history, I have to
wonder where I shall fit among history’s people. The question
becomes more urgent as I clear another hurdle, like my ap
proaching graduation. It also becomes more encompassing as
my perspectives broaden. So now the question is where will
my graduating class, indeed my generation, fit in the history
of black people?
There are not many firsts to record so far in my generation.
Rather, mine is a generation which has benefited from the ef
forts of previous ones. We attend college in greater numbers
because previous generations have fought for the right to do
so. We enter professions previously forbidden to many blacks
because members of previous generations pave the way.
Certainly, we are qualified to attend the schools we now
attend in greater numbers and to hold the positions we can
now get. However, that is not the issue. Throughout history
black people have always been qualified for positions which
were denied them. Somebody had to expend some effort to
open the way.
There are certainly plenty of areas in which those of my
generation can make their mark. Why shouldn’t the AUC
Mass Communications Department, based at Clark, turn out
the first black mass communicator to head an African bureau
of a major news service, paper or magazine? Perhaps some
pre-med student from Morehouse’s new Medical School may
be the doctor who discovers a cure for sickle cell anemia.
Surely my generation can produce the educator who devises
an innovative teaching plan to reverse the trend of illiterate
high school graduates among our youth. A credible textbook
on black psychology is long overdue in the college curriculum.
My generation could very well make such a contribution to the
race. I believe an economics major in my graduating class can
create the model black co-op which would spread the wealth
more evenly among black people. The sociology major who im
plements an alternative to prisons would stop the erosion of
the race’s male base.
In all aspects of our social, political and economic lives there
is a need for not only better mousetraps but also for newly
built ones. My generation needs only to commit itself to
undertake the task. The steady improvement and ad
vancement of the race in particular and mankind in general
mandates a race of men and women whose concerns reach
beyond the goal of personal aggrandizement to one of concern
for the greatest good for the greatest numbers.
My generation could settle for a role of vigilance, that is,
guarding those advancements made possible for the race by
previous generations. However, such a role would merely en
sure that the graduating class gets a representative share of
the $15,000 and $20,000 positions available. Our learning
“validated” by our degrees, indicates we can do more. We owe
the race a much bigger contribution in historical development
and advancement. When I pick up the “Who’s Who in Black
America — 2000,” I want to see my graduating class, my
generation, amply represented by genuine contributions to
the race and mankind. Otherwise, we will have settled for too
little — even if the class’ average income is $30,000 by then.