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4 Leaders of Tomorrow! FEBRUARY 1997 MBC Wolverine OBSERVER
POLITICS! In My Opinion
EBONICS: Teaching Tool or Anguished Attempt
by Columnist Carvel Bennett,
Director of Student Activities & Student Publications
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Wit/wifL WyHlat
T he Ebonics debate
has started to
heat up and has now
reached home. The Georgia
State Legislature (at the
time of this writing) has
begun hearings on a motion
to prevent Ebonics from
being used as a teaching tool
in the state. In the past few
weeks, I have read at least
10 articles on the subject in
order to come to some
conclusion on the matter, but
I’ve only frustrated myself.
I think it is a matter of
great importance to us, not
only as educators, but as
people of the African
diaspora - especially during
Black History month.
Some writers see the non-
acceptance of Ebonics as a
teaching tool as racist,
others view accepting it as
legitimizing substandard
English and therefore
putting Black children at an
even more disadvantage. As
the debate continues, I now
realize that there is even
confusion as to what exactly
it was that the Oakland
Unified School District was
trying to do. It got even
more interesting to me as I
watched one of several
television programs on the
subject, where panelists (one
was a linguist, another a
language arts professor)
couldn’t even agree if
Ebonics could even be
considered a distinct and
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Curator, Karcheik Sims, stands next to Dr. Louis Delsarte’s “Angel of Mercy”.
(Assistant Professor of Art at Morris Brown)
Art Gallery
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
The opening exhibit “A Tribute
to the Black Woman”, premiered
from September 21, 1996 through
November 23, 1996. It featured
works of art by Alumni and past
and present faculty members of
Morris Brown College. The over
fifty works of art on display ranged
from sculptures of Black women
to paintings. The tribute honored
the many diverse contributions
that African and African-American
females have contributed to
the World.
“Can You See What I Hear”,
which featured works of art by
nationally renowned artist and
illustrator Robert Carter, debuted
from December 1 through January
31. The exhibit featured masterfully
created portraits that ranged in
style from pencil to mixed media.
Mr. Carter’s works often featured
African American Women’s themes
such as: “Proud Queen-A Tribute to
my Wife”, a 7 foot tall, mixed media
(painted, assembled pieces of wood),
portrait of a Beautiful African
Queen, on sale for $13,000. His
work also focused on the theme of
Angelic Beings, for instance, “If Der
Be Angels Den Some Mus Look Like
Me”, depicts a side profile of a proud
elderly Black woman with wings
on her back looking upward. Mr.
Carter’s work also touched on
social issues; for example, the piece
entitled “Homosapiens” portrays a
Black woman, who is obviously from
the working class, and a Caucasian
woman, who judging from her attire
is from a higher socio-economic
status than the Black woman, are
facing each other. Thus, presenting
to the viewer the harsh reality of
the dichotomy between the worlds
of the two women; however, leaving
the interpretation of the work to
the observer.
The closing reception, which
was held in the New Art Gallery
on January 31, was hosted by the
Curator, Karcheik Sims, a graduate
student at Clark Atlanta University,
was an overwhelming success.
Professor Carter, Nassau
Community College, Long Island,
New York, was on hand to greet
the crowd of aspiring artists, art
enthusiasts, and well wishers.
Professor Carter is the founder of
the National Drawing Association.
His works have been featured in
many corporate and state collections
including IBM, The Black History
Museum at Hempstead, New York,
and The City University of New
York. He is also an illustrator for
McGraw and Health Books. Mr.
Carter was honored by both Nancy
Boxhill, Fulton County Commiss
ioner and Council Member Julian
Bond, both of whom were not in
attendance, with proclamations
declaring January 31 Robert
Carter Appreciation Day, in the
city of Atlanta. After his acceptance
speech, Mr. Carter was gracious
enough to field questions and treat
the audience to an impromptu
demonstration of his craft. After
which he gave the drawing away
to one of the guests, Ms. Gloria
Tate, Chairperson, Hospitality
Administration Department, Morris
Brown College.
In attendance was Nigerian
bom artist Fred Ajano, Artist in
Residence, Morris Brown College.
Mr. Ajano is the artist who is
responsible for the outstanding
sculpture of Morris Brown, located
in front of the Administration
Building. Also in attendance
were such Morris Brown notables
as Mrs. Carolyn Cramer, Director
of Development, Dr. Louis Delsarte,
Assistant Professor of Fine Arts,
Dr. Tfhilemalema Mukenge,
Professor/Coordinator of
African Studies.
As a tribute to Black History
Month, The New Art Gallery at
Jordan Hall will feature works of art
from local and national artists on
“The Impact of Slavery.” The exhibit
will premier starting Monday,
February 23, 1997 through March
31, 1997. The Gallery hours of
operation are Monday - Friday,
10am - 3:30pm. The New Art
Gallery at Jordan Hall is open to
public, admission is free. For further
information, please contact Karcheik
Sims, Curator at (404) 220-0298.
Wisdom
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
not progressing and should not have
been in the program in the first
place. Those kinds of things are
remembered by students.
Dr. Vivian:
Administrators must realize that
these things are understood by
students. All this is important as
we unify a people, and that’s
something that we must try to
accomplish at a newspaper. The
whole Black newspaper industry
should be concerned about the
college newspaper, because that’s
where young Black future profess
ionals are going to learn to keep
themselves involved with Black
thought and what happens in the
Black community.
If these students get into the habit
of reading good Black newspapers
- good thought out, well laid out,
attractive - not just something that
says MBC - then they will want to
read the newspaper of their
hometown and we hope our Black
college newspapers will help make
Black newspapers more concerned
about how they look, how they are
laid out, how well they’re written
and in the process there’ll be a
trade off of good journalism.
A good college newspaper is the
best possible training ground for
creating journalists.
Dr. Vivian has been a popular
speaker for Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. events during every year since his
assassination. He has spoken or held
workshops and seminars in most
states and major cities. He is an
expert on Dr. King, Racism, and the
Civil Rights Movement. His
B.A.S.I.C. (Basic Action Strategies &
Information Center) Anti-Racism
workshops have been presented on
the Oprah Winfrey Show. He has
also lectured in East and West
Africa, Japan and Israel.