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WOLVERINE OBSERVER
MARCH-APRIL, 1961
WOLVERINE OBSERVER STAFF
1960-61
Editor-in-Chief
Managing Editor
Associate Editors-—
Calvin N. Mathes
Donald J. Wilson
Robert White
Willie F. Carmicheal
Gloria King
Joseph Boyce
Sports Editor Jerome Bullard
Assistant Sports Editor Norris Gundy
Secretary-typist Emma Durham
Business Manager —.Arthur Foster, Jr.
Advertising Manager Dolores Johnson
Circulation Manager Shirley Wakefield
Typists Arthur Wilson
Betty Dotson
McKinley Harris
Ella Flowers
Reporters <. Robert L. Meadows, Roving
Doris Perdue
Gwendolyn Lucas
Bobby Schley
Dorothy McKissick
Sharon Strickland
Mary Boykin
Betty Baldwin
Efton Arnold
Advisors Louise Hollowell, Chairman
Beulah J. Farmer
George T. Johnson
Betsy Horne
Vera Benton
Ola Adams
Member of the Intercollegiate Press
CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER
By CALVIN N. MATHES
Our fight for real freedom and human dignity has just begun.
Man’s inhumanity to man, in the form of racial discrimination is so
deeply entrenched in the society of the United States that it is mani
fested in innumerable subtle ways. It crops out unconsciously as well
as as consciously.
In the Northern and Western sections of the U. S. the subtleness
is superlative; which makes it even more diabolical and
menacing to the long suffering Negro. In the South, the
menace is more open, course and crude.
Every college student becomes sharply aware of
job opportunities as his graduation day draws near.
The reality of job markets, new industrial plants, school
legislation, and so forth, becomes of paramount im
portance.
To the Negro student, this reality becomes not only
of paramount importance but carries what approaches,
or is synonymous with, anxiety. This is due to the unique situation faced
by the Negro on the employment market.
While there have been great strides taken toward the freedom of
unlimited employment opportunities for Negroes, the Negro is still
limited in where he can obtain employment as well as in what field, or
what segment or echelon of employment he may anticipate placing him
self.
The Negro laborer, in the textile mills, industrial plants and other
places of employment in the South is yet a pawn to be exploited as
"cheap labor” on the market of employment. The Negro laborer is still
powerless in the more universal way of thinking. And so long as the
majority of the Negroes remain in the position of receiving the lowest
average wages in the country, especially in the South (of course), the
socio-racial situation, which is so degrading internationally to the U. S.
will remain the same. The white segregationists have a sterling device
for keeping the “customs” intact. Negroes don’t get sufficient pay—the
white supremists point to the Negroes’ low standards as a reason for
keeping the Negro children out of the schools with the “supreme”
white children—result, the perfect vicious circle.
There is a new iron and steel industry planned for South Georgia.
The new mill will be constructed in Georgetown, Georgia, on the Chat
tahoochee River in Quitman County. The new industry is said to be the
result of a $100,000,000 investment and will create employment for
5,000 people. How many of these will he Negroes? Some percentage of
this number will undoubtedly be Negroes. Will the Negro worker be
forced to continue as he has always?
Georgia is becoming more industrialized as time goes by. The source
of finance is out-of-state capital of Northern industrialists and Texas
oilmen who have been scared from time to time by racial conflicts, i.e.,
the sit-in demonstrations and school desegregation issues. Now that
local conditions are more calm (the natives are quiet), the industries
continue to move in.
Few of the students realize how much weight their protests carry.
The students persuance of freedom through protest demonstrations
should continue. Unfortunately, the thought of losing money can cause
changes that would not happen despite many years of crusading minus
the' economic element.
Thus, the Negro college student will do well to be aware of the
many facets of the present situation.
Negro in particular — may play a
creative role in abolishing the
tendency toward status striving.
He also stated his hopes that the
Negro would not join in the rat
race as they attain full freedom,
but play a great role in regenerat
ing the American way of life. He
stated that Martin Luther King’s
philosophy and method is a real
creative breakthrough for minor
ities of all kinds including those
such as teachers and youth (in Dr.
Benne’s opinion, the most dis
favored). He said that Dr. King
Historical Background of
The Second Conference
Of Independent
African States
(N.B. This is the first of the series
of my articles on Africa.)
His Emperial Majesty Haile
Selassie I, Emporor of Ethiopia,
opened the second historical con
ference of Independent African
States on June 14, 1960 in the
Parliament Hall in Addis Ababa,
the capital of Ethiopia. The meet
ing lasted for two weeks. I am
sure the attention of the whole
world was focused on this historic
conference. The keynote of the dis
cussions was a re-emphasis of the
need for unity among African coun
tries and the urgency of wiping out
colonialism from the entire con
tinent.
The first conference, under the
chairmanship of Tom Mboya, was
held about three years ago and
since then the trends of events, with
their gratifying advances, have
initiated the Independent African
States Conference with the express
purpose of planning, as a body, top
level policy in Africa. The pioneers
of the first conference were Ethi
opia, Liberia, United Arab Repub
lic, Su&an, Ghana, Tunisia, Moroc
co and Libya. In this conference
the spirit of Pan-African movement
was accelerated, which gave a new
impetus to Independent African
States Confab at Addis Ababa.
They were joined by their young
sister states—Cameroon, Guinea,
(Togoland unavoidably absent).
And also Nigeria, The Federation
of Mali, Somalia, Madagasrar and
Siera Leone were then designated
to be independent with dates
definitely set. The Provisional Gov
ernment of Algeria was a partici
pant in the deliberations.
The official statistics shows that
the strength of the confab was over
250 delegates including observers
from 20 African countries (11 of
these were already independent).
There were also more than 70
journalists and photographers. This
in itself, with journalists and pho
tographers representing the world
press, was an indication of the im
portance the whole world attached
to the confab and also to Africa’s
progress as a whole. The confab
held six open sessions and five
closed sessions; there were also
various committee meetings.
This illustrates the great strides
that Africa has taken in a short
period of time, which had led many
historians in the past to predict
that the decade of the 1960’s would
be Africa’s momentous decade.
“The confab at Accra in Ghanna,
marked a significant stage. in the
struggle towards freedom for all
African peoples” declared Emperor
Haile Selassis I, and the progress
since achieved more than justifies
the hope which we had all reposed
in the confab. Events of the last
three years have adequately demon
strated, both directly and implicit
ly, the enormous comulative effects
o fthe first confab inside as well
as outside Africa.
By Andy:
W. 0. Salutes First Editor and Staff
This month, the Wolverine Oberserver of Morris Brown College,
pauses to salute its first Editor-in-Chief, and its first staff.
When in the year 1933 (circa) it was deemed necessary that Morris
Brown College have an official student publication, a pioneering group
of students came forth. As always the case with pioneers, they had their
unique difficulties. But this did not deter these hardy souls.
The first staff was much smaller
than the present one. There were
three of them and one advisor. The
first editor was Mr. James C.
Reese, who now resides in Way-
cross, Georgia, and is Principal of
Center High School, and Supervis
ing Principal of Schools in that
city. Mr. Reese was born in
Wrightsville, Georgia. He received
his A.B. degree at Morris Brown
in 1938, his M.A. degree at Atlan
ta University, and has done more)
graduate work at Hampton Insti
tute for the past several summers.
Mr. Reese taught in summer
school at Albany State and alsd
at Atlanta University. He is also
Vice President of the G.T.E.A.
Mr. Reese is a member of Kappa
Alpha Psi Fraternity and was a
member of Morris Brown’s base
ball team.
The Associate Editor was Mr.
William Collins of Baltimore,
Maryland. Mr. Collins is now de
ceased. He passed not long after
his graduation from Morris Brown!
in 1938. The Business Manager
was Mr. John Saunders, also a
1938 graduate of Morris Brown,
who is now a lawyer in New York
City. The advisor was Dr. C. V.
Clinch who was Chairman of the
English Department at that time.
Though we yet have our trou-
JAMES C. REESE
THIS IS OUR LIFE
By JOSPII BOYCE
The human being tends towards
equilibrium in all his attempts.
What a complex being to under
stand! What determinism! What an
age old problem. This would mean
that the individual who exhorts
others to “obey God or go to hell”
may be getting the satisfaction of
knowing that he is helping others
from their doom. The individual
who then enters the fold of the
exhortionist makes the exhorter
feel that he has done his duty of
winning one more soul from dam
nation, but brother, is this so ?
The instructor who is satisfied
that his students have adhered to
the calculations of “tests and meas
urements” is proud of his accom
plishments, but is the job really
genuine ? A matron in college
would meticulously follow the
“rules of the college” keeping her
wards under rigid surveillance, and
she feels that her job is well done!
This trend of thought seems to be
a good mechanical device. But if
this is in part, the fate of highly
educated beings, beings who deeply
within feel the pangs of self
determinism, we must admit that
something is radically wrong with
our mode of thinking. The older
heads say that they have the “ex
perience to guide youth” but, does
experience carry the denotation fo
the correct method, if there be such
a concept embodied in the reality
of life, if there is such a thing as
reality. Is this life an illusion or
are we making an illusion out of
life?
Wherein lies the factor of hu
manity? Is it in this unscrupulous
web of determinism forced upon
the lives of youth? If ever there
was a murderous concept of life, j
bles, we feel that that historoic and
pioneering staff could take pride
in the fact that we of the Wol
verine Observer continue to uphold
the high ideals that they upheld.
They now hold a revered place in
the annals of Morris Brown His
tory.
The Public Relations
Committee of the Human
Relations Club
One means by which Morris
Brown College is attempting to im
prove race relations is through the
Joseph Kaplan Human Relations
Program, established here in the
last two years. It aims to increase
the individual’s effectiveness in his
personal relationship, as well as his
effectiveness in groups, organiza
tional, and community life.
The Human Relations Club is
composed of students who are in
terested in breaking down barriers
and opening lines of communica
tion among groups. Since inter
group differences based on race is
the largest single cause of group
tension and personal maladjust
ment here in the South, much of
the program’s time and effort is
concentrated in the area of improv
ing race relations.
The members of the club gain ex-
TTT , ,, „ , perience in inter-group situations
this is it. What s the use of psy- ; duri the school b tici
chology, philosophy religion, m , ti jn local week . e nd work camps,
fact, what s the use of education, if | by attendi the city > s int er-racial
it cannot be realized N OW ? ch urch, and by helping the Greater
We claim to be so much more | Atlanta Council on Human Rela .
human than the lower animals, yqt tkms with its school integra tion
oil txro ooorvi v/~v honn to tho “nloim ” I ,
| project. Many persons gam experi
ence during the summer by attend
ing work camps sponsored by the
Dr. Benne Speaks
(Continued from Page 1)
society may even go to the point of
sending their sons or daughters to
the best schools with the major
motive being to better prepare
them to take their place as most
able to be foremost in the rat race.
Dr. Benne said that people who are
caught in the flow of such a com
munity life cannot see what is tak
ing place.
He revealed his hopes that
minorities — and he spoke of the
brings people back to their con
science rather than taking them
away from it (as some mass lead
ers do).
! Dr. Benne spoke under the
j auspices of the lecture series of
the Sperry and Hutchinson Fund.
He was also the coordinator of the
Human Relations Workshop at
Morris Brown College during
January of 1960. A representative
of the Sperry and Hutchinson Com
pany was present as a platform
guest. Dean P. E. Wilson presided
over the occasion and President
Frank Cunningham introduced the
speaker (Dr. Benne).
Excellent musical entertainment
was provided by the Morris Brown
choir.
all we seem to have is the “claim
How many of us honestly seek to j
understand each other? How many
of us are endowed with the dis-
crimitory power which enables us
to discern why a young generation
becomes ‘a beat generation?’ The
yoke is forced upon youth by un
comprising adults who have been
stepped upon by their foreparents
and relatives (blood-related or not),
this is a chain reaction, and youth
will not, and must not blame op
pressing adults. Youth must try to
bear these hardships and try thrice
as hard to avoid passing on this
heritage, for he who steps upon
another knows not what he does.
He who gives his son a serpent
when his son requests bread is a
fool, but, shun him not, forgive
him for he knows not even though
he satisfies statistics commending
his sanity.
Archibald MacLeish, in the debate
on the National Purpose:
There are those, I know, who will
say that the liberation of humanity,
American Friends Service Commit
tee and by the Lisle Fellowship
Foundation.
Among the chapel programs
which were designed to illustrate
the purpose of this organization,
the club presented the National
Program Director of the Anti-De
formation League of B’nai B’rith,
national and regional representa
tives of the American Friends Serv
ice, a Japanese student representa
tive of the World Student Service
and representative of the NAACP.
The members and advisors of the
club feel that they are making
progress in getting people to work
cooperatively together.
The Public Relations Committee
of the Human Relations Club.
the freedom of man and mind, is
nothing but a dream. They are
right. It is. It is the American
dream.
—New York Times