Newspaper Page Text
Page 8
Maroon Tiger
April, 1968
(Con’d, fron page 1) THf AMERICAN SCENE
washing to see America for what it is: racist, aggressive, power-hungry, and imperialistic,
intolerant of disagreement with its Fascist military tactics, willing to murder its'poor
rather than help them. Not too flattering? Look at VISTA, the “DOMESTIC PEACE
CORPS”, which gets such a small budget from Congress that it can hardly afford mailing
stamps, not to mention fight a war on poverty. It is a noble effort on the part of those
who are sincere but much like fighting a dragon with a tooth pick. The smallness of the
budget tells the story of what is important to Congress. The lament for VISTA is that,
no matter how hard it works, it will not have much effect unless it is done on a larger
scale, and to do so requires more money. Congress knows this. That’s why the budget is
small. Many young people have little confidence in the racist, selfish madmen running
this country, and voting gives us little choice. It’s like voting for the Devil or his main
man, both evil and equally hellish.
The demented and perverted images that Styron inflicts on Nat Turner are but the
fears and desires of white America of what they would like blacks to be. Blacks are seen
as rapists drooling after white women, homosexual, vicious, and savage, Christian—in
short, black caricatures of what defines the white man’s reality. It is ironical that this
same year embraces The Confessions of Nat Turner, The Report of The National Ad
visory Commission on Civil Disorder, andEsquire’s“The Second Civil War,” along with
the jailing and persecution of Leroi Jones and Rap Brown, the invasion of black college
campuses like Texas Southern University, Alcorn A & M, and the murder massacre at
Orangeburg, S. C., where innocent and unarmed students were fired upon, point - blank
by state troopers who were yelling, “We gon’ get us some niggers tonight.” This is the
year in America when Dick Gregory runs for President, a year when George Wallace gets
cheers from Ohio to Mississippi, when guns are sold to whites in Georgia for $1.00 each,
a year when black students are labelled subversive for studying their own history and or
ganizing their own people and talking with SNCC. This is the year that the American
President is more shocked by “crime in the streets” (black people) than crimes of the
drug syndicate—Cosa Nostra— and crimes in Congress and Vietnam. This is the great
year that Congress sees fit to take our best educated who could do something construct
ive and make footsoldiers of them, sending them to kill yellow people who ask only to
solve their own problems,
America is oh the verge of committing national suicide by treating the cry for bread
with the medicine of riot control, by treating the cry against the Vietnam war with in
duction, by treating those who expose lies with the label “subversive,” by the delusions
of white sancity and purity, by the senseless neglect of the poor, by the economic and
social castration of black men, and by the refusal to see that together all of us stand (but
only with justice and decent equality) and divided we all fall, consumed in mutual hat
red, strangled by mutual fear and despair. We must have no illusions. We must call a lie a
lie, though truth is painful. Truth has now the high price of censorship, jail, or even
death. It must be said or this country will perish at its own hands. Some of us don’t be
lieve in suicide and find,life nor self -destruction a virtue. This writer is against the can
cerous racism of America, against the murder of poor people by government’s neglect,
against the murder of our fellow students and brothers in the Vietnam War, and unjust
and unwinnable war which can lead only to WW III if it continues, against the dropping
out of hippies—white and black, and against the degradation of human life, whether that
life be incarnated in white, black, or yellow skins.
America has great power to destroy and is using it. Is it'not strange that so much is
given to create misery and so little to keep the candle of delight and hope alive in a
bleak world run by unpoetic men who see us as guncarriers? It is not strange that discus
sion has ceased about violence on television since the escalation of the Vietnam War? Is
it clear why passive resistance followed Alice and the Cheshire cat for a walk in the black
forest and is no longer with us? Read the daily paper and ask, “What will my children be
like?” Or, better yet, “Will I have any?”
"Tell Me, Teach Me About This Little World"
According to Bertolt Brecht, plays should be so
unrealistic the audience would not forget for a sin
gle second he is attending a theatrical performance;
yet his Threepenny Opera is one of the most cap
tivating works ever presented on the musical stage.
Tom Jones, in his adaptation of Arthur Schnitz-
ler’s Anatol, successfully follows in the Brecht tra
dition. The music accompaniments (played by Joyce
Finch Johnson et aL) sound as if they are coming
from a player piano. Louis Maza’s settings are suit
able for every mood and consist of cardboard cur
tains, artificial flowers, trees, snow. David Banks
portrays the narrator (and Max, Anatol’s best
friend), tl who tor functions as a cross between
the titles in a Valentino movie and the card girl who
announces acts in a vaudeville show. The servants
and waiters (Gary Odom, Edward Billup) and the
musicians (Walter Dallas and Robert Garcia) franti
cally set tables, pose as street vendors, and play an
intricate role in moving the scenery.
Anatol is the story of a Viennese lover (circa
1890). Cora (Karen Hughes) is the first woman to
appear in the play. Cora is a nineteen.-year-old
femme fatale, and Anatol hypnotizes her in an at
tempt to discover if she has been true to him; but
his vanity prohibits him from pursuing this scheme.
Annie (Adrienne Lanier) is a boisterous ballet dan
cer with a “sentimental tummy;” she leaves Anatol
despite the fact that he can provide her with every
thing she wants in the world: oysters, champagne,
oysters, beer, and oysters. Although Miss Lanier did
not seem to be graced with a beautiful voice, it was
as it should be; and her zany performance was a
show stopper.
After two comic vignettes, the tempo changes to
that of a melodrama. In a winter scene, Anatol and
Gabriclle ( AnnGartell) desperately try at not lov
ing one another, but they eventually find it neces-
Gabrielle in Anatol
sary to depart. The next scene takes place in Max’s
study. Anatol and Max look over memoirs of Ana-
tol’s past love affairs; Anatol recalls how madly
Biaca loved him, but Bianca (Betty Coleman is
charming in this role) fails to remember him when
again they meet. On Anatol’s wedding day, Ilona al
most prevents him from getting married — the idea
of his making love to her before marrying someone
else is not her cup of tea. Lara Buggs played this
role of a prima donna, as well as sang, with perfect
ion.
The part of Anatol is the most strenuous in the
play, but seems to be tailor made for Hannibal
Penny. He never faltered and delivered an excellent
performance.
Although Anatol lacks substance, it has charm
and the finest presentation of the Morehouse—Spel-
man Players this season. The cast, songs, and libretto,
costumes (Luis Maza),and lighting (Charles Walker)
were commendable. Ronald Allison was the musi
cal director—and Robert D. Donnelly expertly co
ordinated this fanciful shebang. (The play was per
formed at the Fine Arts Building, Spelman College,
during the week of March 6). (Con’d, from page 1)
Dr. Beatty is well qualified to help stu
dents with their problems because he has held
numerous positions as counselor, college
dean, and for one year served as acting col
lege president. Despite his many honors in
scholastic achievement, he speaks humanely,
truthfully, and frankly to all who hold con
ferences with him. I would encourage all to
make use of his talents for not only voca
tional guidance but with hopes that his know
ledge and experience will help us solve
our personal problems.
(Con’d, from page 2)
from the rest of the black race throughout
the world.
The etymology of the word Negro has no
related background to the Latin or Spanish
meaning. Negro - Spanish, Le noir-French,
Ethiop -Greek, Nigri - Latin, or Negro Port
ugese would be correct in describing a so-call
ed Negro, because they all mean black. They
are all descriptive adjectives associated witn
the original race of Africa. Negro is a word of
no descriptive or relative meaning.
The word Negro is suggestive of a head-
scratching, grinning, inferior black man who
lives in America. The American black man,
the so-called Negro, is the only person in
America who is called by a name other than
one of description or origin. You don’t call
the American white man a “funny” name be
cause he is a white man in America; you call
him a white man or an American. This is al
so true with all other racial and ethnic groups
in America.
To understand this even better, we must
look at the other groups. A person who has
arrived in the United States from another
part of the world is named by the part of the
world from which he or she comes — hence
the names Irishman, Puerto Rican, Cuban,
German, and African. An offspring of this
person may have his name linked with the
word American to show he was born in this
country or is a citizen of this country. So we
have the names Irish -American, Chinese -
American, Polish- American, and so on. If
his ancestry has a deep enough root in Ameri
ca, he may be known as an American.
A prime example of this is one of our
famed beer commercials, with its references
to the Chinese - American population, Ger
man - American population, Hungarian -
American population, and so on.
An African, if not recognized as a true
African, is seen as a black American or ac
cording to the American way of thinking, a
Negro. We can now reason that the name
Negro was given to the black man brought to.
This name Negro was used to separate the
American black man from his original an
cestors. By doing this, the white man had
been able to keep the American black man in
ferior. But now that the black American is
no longer inferior and is on the road to equal
ity, he is going to have to realize his heritage.
In doing this, ne must see that he is an Ameri
can or African descent and therefore an
Afro-American.
The white man in America is not called
by one specific name. He is called by either
his origin: Irish -American; his color: white;
or his nationality: American. I feel the black
man should be called the same. By his color:
black; his origin: African or Afro -American;
or his nationality: American.
The white man uses his color to urfite him
with the rest of the white men throughout
the world. I feel that the black man should
do the same.
PEAS PORRIDGE WARM bhw
According to Marshall McLuhan (author,
UNDERSTANDING MEDIA), a lecture
would be considered cool. It consists of two
separate bodies: a speaker and a mass of
people. There is very little interplay between
the two. On the other hand, a symposium or
discussion group would be considered hot.
Cool refers to the bygone days of the Best
Generation; it suggests detached objectivity
and disinterestness, e.g., a “cool attitude/’
“Hot,” days McLuhan, “indicates a kind of
commitment and participation in situations
that involve all of one’s faculties.”
During a recent Tuesday morning history
lecture Professor Klenbort attempted some
thing which had not been previously done
this academic year. The student body was al
lowed a more active role in the proceedings:
“What is a Nation-State?” asked Mr. Klen
bort. Various responses were given by mem
bers of the audience; these responses were
later clarified by him.
History lectures have been tedious and of
ten difficult to follow. Last-minute question
and, answer periods are futile remedies. Giv
ing students more opportunities to express
themselves at these sessions might spark more
interest in them. Professor Klenbort seems to
have stuck his finger in the pot and proved
warm peas porridge is not bad after all.