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Clark Atlanta University Panther
April 16, 1991
Op-Ed
CAU: Afrocentric or Eurocentric?
By JAMES PELHAM
Guest Editorial
When the decision was made
to attend Clark Atlanta
University, it was made in the
hopes that a full and complete
Black experience and challenge
could be met. Most of the
students at this institution would
agree that the decision to attend
Clark was because of the race of
the population. It was Black.
With this fact, one would
assume that in matriculation it is
expected to come closer in
contact with ones culture and
closer to a better understanding
of the plight of the African-
American. One would also
assume that the images and views
of the university would exude
positivity with reference to
African-Americans and would
support the progressiveness of
the race in general.
If this is so, then why does the
educational curriculum include so
many eurocentric principles in
every phase of its' composition?
The answer in this instance is
desperately begging the
question. I will allow for the fact
that this institution was founded
"historically" on Babylonian
methodology. However, since
this institution has emerged
through years of legal racism,
discrimination, social ostracism,
and alienation as one of the
foremost of its’ kind, then why
continue to perpetuate our loss of
culture and continue the
brainwashing assimilation that
has led to an almost destruction
of what was and still is the most
powerful people on earth.
The textbooks used at this
African-American school are
more eurocentric than the authors
who penned them. Some of the
texts include blatantly racist
slurs with deafeningly biased
overtones that support every
well known stereotype and
generalization that society,
White and Black, seemingly
deems as truth. They range from
the subtle generalities such as
"those people are
underachievers” to the most
painfully obvious such as "shoe
shines are almost invariably
given by Blacks..." These quotes
are pulled directly from
textbooks for which young
African American college
students pay a great deal of
money; textbooks that support
the mainstream stereotypes of
racist America, and contribute
highly to the low-level of morale
and self-esteem that many
African-Americans hold for
themselves.
For example, the required
texts for freshman-based GED-S
105 and 106 Social Institutions
includes Crisis in American
Institutions(7th Edition , Jerome
Skolnick/Elliott Currie). Page
after page are the most
opinionated, selective, and
abominable generalizations I
have ever seen in print. It's just a
continuation of the same
educational experience we had in
high school. There was no real
focus on African and African
American history. According to
my Global History teacher, I had ‘
no history prior to coming to the
"new world".
So then, why should Clark
Atlanta University be any
different? It is a Black school,
isn’t it?
I may have to differ a bit on
that one. Especially considering
what is on pages 143-177 of the
above-referenced text. It begins
with the quote," I wouldn't want
to be Black in America, would
you?" which sets the tone for the
entire section. It goes on to read
how Blacks are struggling to
achieve simple " decency" in
America, and how our problems
are so innate that we have no
other alternative but to fill the
rungs of the social ladder that we
allegedly occupy. Furthermore,
the article goes on to say how
many of us have assumed new
identities such as the Nation of
Islam in an effort to escape the
plague of being Black. And then,
to top this all off, the article
presents a table of how 100
white Princeton students view
their minority counterparts. The
groups that were " judged"
included Chinese, Japanese, and
African Americans. It was first
interesting to note that the two
initial minority groups were
rated in categories of
intelligence, aptitude,
progressiveness, alertness,
aggressiveness, neatness, and
other favorable attributes. On the
same page, African
Americans(who for the sake of
the survey were referred to as
Negroes) were rated in the
following: laziness, physically
dirty, ostentatious,
superstitious, slovenly, stupid,
naive, happy-go-lucky,
ignorant, and of course our
ability to be musical.
Some people may argue that it
is important to be objective
when reading material like this.
But forgive me for not wanting
to spend $36 to be abusively
insulted.
There was no flip side to that
chart. Nor is there included in
any other part of the article the
views that African Americans or
the other minorities that were
judged hold for whites. Asking
someone to be objective when it
pertains to bold faced bias is
allowing that bias to fester and
grow. Not to mention that
students incur financial burden to
supply themselves with these
books. Requiring the use of these
and other books is an obvious
demonstration on the part of the
university to perpetuate these
stereotypes and promote social
unconsciousness.
This means that what?
It means that Afrocentricity is
not viewed as an important basis
for education at this African
American school. It also means
that the school is not dedicated
to abolishing the very same
social obstacles that make our
progression as a race
impossible.
I might add this also
demonstrates the lack of effort
made by the university, with the
exception of certain faculty and
staff, to establish that necessary
link between our cultural and
academic education.
I want to say that I understand
that many who came to Clark
Atlanta University sincerely
want that Black experience, but
only when it is convenient to
them. It is incumbent upon them
to make that attempt to
familiarize themselves with the
present African American culture,
as well as the culture that was
stolen. But what is the university
doing to stimulate that need to
learn more about who we are?
Why isn't there a reading list of
prominent Black literature for
incoming freshmen? Why aren't
Black studies courses offered as
mandatory?
You could ask these questions
all day. It helps to really
examine what your schools'
priorities are. You also start
wondering where all the money
for "cultural activities" is going.
Hmmmmmm.
In closing, I will clarify that
this is not an assassination of
Clark Atlanta University. All
schools have their problems.
These problems need the
attention of all faculty, students,
and administration. My goal is
for students to read this article
and realize that these issues are
serious. We can't wait for
"PRESIDENT VETOES MAJOR
CIVIL RIGHTS LEGISLATION"
to come out on home video.
Similarly, we cant wait for
situations to digress on our
campus. Each day we lose
thousands in the bottomless
abyss of apathy. I hope that the
concerns I have listed will
awaken the campus population
and raise these thousands from
the abyss, and motivate people
to get involved. Contrary to
popular opinion, it is important
to question things when you feel
they are being done wrong. If we
as students don't do that
then we are as much to blame.
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