Newspaper Page Text
VOL. 1, NO. 4
A Famed Sister Visits Campus
SPELMAN COLLEGE, ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Tuesday, March 7, I960
Friday morning, February 12,
1960, Sister's Chapel was being
filled to hear one of the most
melodious voices of this genera
tion.
To many, hearing her was a
new experience; to the others,
just her name and her fame serv
ed as the necessary stimuli which
inspired them to go hear her.
All eyes were turned to the
North End Stage door at 11:30,
patiently, but anxiously awaiting
her appearance. Suddenly a
booming voice swayed the atten
tion from the stage door to a
familiar face amiling at us from
down front. Yes, it was Dr. James,
who introduced the guest of the
morning.
Finally on to the stage came
the famous singer, and her accom
panist. One could hardly tell
whether she were a model or a
reigning beauty queen. She ra
diantly smiled at her audience.
But — beauty was not all. She
sang beautifully with wide range
and exquisite control.
Her songs, ranging from Eng
lish to Spanish, Ave Maria to an
aria from Romeo and Juliet, were
immensely enjoyed by all.
Yes! A woman of indescribable
talent delivered a message through
song and beauty; a message that
will long be remembered; and a
message which will be inspira
tional to many.
Need I reveal her name? How
ever, to those who do not know,
the singer was the Metropolitan
Opera Star and 1946 graduate of
Spelman, MATTiW1LDA DOBBS.
An orchid to Madame Jackson,
sister of Miss Dobbs and pro
fessor of French at Spelman, who
so adequately accompanied her
Marian Watson
What Are The
Freshmen Doing?
Boys and grades aren’t the only
topics being discussed by the
Freshman Class. If we were to
sit in on a meeting of the Search
ers, a group of students under
the direction of Marian Wright,
we would be amazed at the won
derful things that they are doing.
We all know Miss Wright as
one of our Merrill Scholars, but
only a few of us know the out
standing work she is doing. The
Searchers’ aim is to find a better
understanding of ourselves as Ne
groes and what our place is as
individuals in the world com
munity.
In 1959 Miss Wright came be
fore a group of freshmen and told
them of her aims. She explained
to us that to understand ourselves
better and know our purpose as
Negroes we must face reality and
learn the truth about ourselves.
As a result of this the Searchers
was formed. The first production
presented by the Searchers was
a play based on Negroes’ life and
culture. Shortly after' this, the
Searchers presented a Christmas
Show at the Federal Prison.
Miss Wright hopes to instill her
ideas in a larger portion of the
Freshman Class as the group of
Searchers expands. To quote Miss
Wright on her aims and ideas,
“I realize that I am not fighting
just for myself or my people in the
South when I fight for freedom
(Continued on page 4)
Morehouse Glee
Club Concert
In connection with their ninety-
third Founder’s Day, Morehouse
College presented its Glee Club in
its Annual Concert Friday, Febru
ary 18, 1960 in Sale Hall Audi
torium.
The concert featured numbers
from almost every period of music
history extending from the very
early form of music “All Breath
ing Life,” from the Motet, “Sing
Unto the Lord,” by J. S. Bach
(arranged by Whalum) and “Ten-
ebrae Factae Sunt” by Giovanni
Palestrina, to the modem piece,
“The Celestial Vision” by Paul
Creston who set the poetry of
Dante, Whitman and lines from
the Bhatagauat Gits to music.
The group also sang various folk
songs. Outstanding among these
were “Yonder, Yonder,” a Russian
folk melody arranged by Gaines;
“Marry a Woman,” a Trinidad
Calypso arranged by DePaur; and
Negro Spirituals including “Git
on Board,” and “His Name So
Sweet.”
The featured instrumental solo
ist was Michael Tucker who play
ed Rachmaninoff’s “Prelude in A
flat Major,” and “An Excursion”
by Samuel Barber. The featured
vocal soloist was Peter Lucas who
sang Mendelssohn’s “Is Not His
Word Like a Fire,” and Mell’s ar
rangement of “Drinking of the
Wine.” Other vocal soloists in
cluded Richard Hope, Harvey
Miller, Rufus Stevenson, Emory
Jackson, and Benjamin Berry.
Richard Hope, Charles Hall,
Benjamin Berry and Roosevelt
Johnson composed the quartet for
this year. The quartet sang only
one serious number — the beau
tiful “None But the Lonely Heart.”
The other songs were in “Barber
Shop Quartet” style.
The beautiful harmonies sung
by the glee club, the dynamic so
loists and the shenanigans of the
quartet all combined to make a
very inspiring and enjoyable ev
ening for every one.
The Glee Club is under the di
rection of Mr. Wendell P. Wha
lum and the student director is
Robert Murphy. The accompanists
are Michael Tucker and Clarence
Robinson, Jr.
Eleanor L. Hines
National Negro
History Week
Atlanta University had convo
cation during Negro History Week.
The speaker for the occasion was
Dr. Charles Wesley. Dr. Wesley
is at present the president of Cen
tral State College in Wilberforce,
Ohio. He is also the president of
the Association for the Study of
Negro Life and History.
Dr. Wesley’s topic was “The
Defense Against the Concept of
Inferiority.” He began by dis
cussing racism as not being based
upon legal status but upon color.
He said that science has even tried
to uphold that there is a differ -
ence between Negroes and others
mentally and physically. Printed
material has also helped to ad
vance this concept. Pseudo-scien
tific writers have even used their
statistics to prove this. The roles
that Negroes have been forced to
accept on the stage and screen
have farthered the idea of the
stereo-typed Negro.
Dr. Wesley suggested three ma
jor defenses against the concept
of inferitority:
1. Denial and protest by reso
lutions —- too little attention has
been given to this avenue of de
fense.
2. Organized representative a-
gencies — these agencies would
publish the truth about the Ne
gro. Some examples are the Jour
nal of Negro History.
3. Studies should be made to de
termine the differences of race
and what exactly is race.
We should protest against the
untruths published about us, we
should distribute the truth about
ourselves, so as to inform others
and most of all we should become
achievers for our race.
Berrien and Wilson
Religious Emphasis Week
Last week in the University i —
Center was one of meditation and i a « A J
inspiration. Each year the Atlanta j MOrehOUSe A HQ
University Center takes a week to
bring well-known religious lead
ers to discuss with the students
their problems. The speaker for
the week was Dr. Henry H.
Crane of Detroit, Michigan. He
began the week Sunday afternoon
at 3:00 in Sisters Chapel.
Spelman Colleges
Presented Dr. Snow
The speaker for Spelman was
Rev. J. Archie Hargraves.
He is the pastor of the Nazarene
Congregational Church in Brook
lyn, New York. His talks were
also centered around “Priority
Problems.” A unique feature of
the Spelman program has been
in past years the seminar discus
sions. This year the seminar ses
sions were held as usual. The dif
ference between this year and
past years was that during the
seminar, each group discussed the
same topic “Priority Problems,”
from the social, personal and re
ligious aspects. Although the
same topic was in disussion a-
mong all groups, the results of
each discussion were unique.
Heretofore each seminar group
has discussed a different problem.
The seminar seems to be the most
enjoyable and enlightening part
of Spelman’s Religious Emphasis
Week program.
During the week of February
22, Monday through Friday, More
house and Spelman Colleges pre
sented Dr. Wilbert snow, distin
guished 1 American poet and pro
fessor of English at Wesleyan
College (Connecticut), as the Wil
liam Benton Lecturer in Ameri
can Poetry. Dr. Snow delivered
a series of five lectures in 19th-
Century American Poetry as fol
lows: Monday 4— Emerson; Tues
day — Longfellow; Wednesday—
Poe; Thursday — Whitman; and
Friday — Emily Dickinson.
Dr. Snow served as visiting pro
fessor of English at Morehouse
College during the academic year
1954-55. He has also taught at
New York University, Bowdoin
College, Williams College, Reed
College, and Indiana University.
He has also served as lieutenant
governor and governor of the*
state of Connecticut.
New Exchange
The Murals In
The Dining Hall
We commend you Mr. Cerney
and your art students for their
outstanding work on the murals
in our dining hall! We understand
that these paintings are the work
of different students combining
their varied talents into two
great pieces of art.
These students are responsible
for the new look in our' dining
hall, adding beauty with culture.
We salute you: Joyce Maynard,
Jacqueline Miles, Marecia L. Mo-
ton, Marvin Neal, David Walker,
Wilfred Jackson, Delores Ayers,
Barbara Prather, Barbara Wright,
and William Greene.
Beverly Pratt
Spelman and Ski hore Colleges
are in the process „)f participat
ing in a spring excl^r T e program.
Skidmore in SarzS. -*,8 Springs,
New York is one Cf ’-the leading
women’s colleges in America. The
purpose for our women going to
Skidmore is for them to attend
classes comparable to their own,
here at Spelman, meet the stu
dents and faculty of Skidmore,
and to observe life in a small
Northeastern town.
The exchange will include from
six to nine students. The Skid
more women will be on our cam
pus from March 21, to the 31. Our
women will be on Skidmore’s
campus from April 6 to the 15.
Dr. Zinn has stated that pre
ference is being given to juniors
and seniors who possess a com
bination of good personality and
good citizenship. It is felt that
students from the south would
benefit greatly from this program.
The success of the week was
due to the diligent efforts of
Rev. Rates and his co-workers.
Mr. Bullock served a9 the faculty
chairman. Mjartha Randall and
Lendra Taitt served as student
chairmen. Spelman was represent
ed on the Joint Religious Empha
sis Week Committee by Evelyn
Sterling and Patricia White.
Dr. Crane inspired his audience
to such an extent that their en
thusiasm was exhibited in their
informal discussions during the
receptions which followed his
nightly talks.
CONGRATULATIONS
TO THE BAILEY’S
ON THEIR
NEW DAUGHTER
The Spelman
Spotlight
The Spelman Spotlight shines
on Miss Beverly Pratt, a native
of Cleveland, Ohio. Beverly at
tended the public schools in
Cleveland. After finishing high
school, she worked as a telephone
operator for the Ohio Bell Tele
phone Company.
Beverly has been quite active
during her short time at Spel
man. Presently, she is the Presi
dent of the Freshman Class. Miss
Pratt is the young lady to whom
we owe thanks for decorating
the bulletin boards on campus.
She says this is one job which
she' really enjoys.
Aside from her other duties,
Beverly teaches skating at the
Y.W.C.A. to a group of students.
This she does once a week. Bev
erly has been skating for two and
a half years and has won several
prizes because of her mastery of
the art.
Miss Pratt has an Art major
and is undecided about her minor.
As yet, she has made no definite
plans as to what she will do after
completing her liberal arts edu
cation.
Eva Lowe
A Letter To
The Freshmen
Dear Second Semester Entrants,
We could think of no better
way to welcome you to the Spel
man College Community than to
address a letter personally to you
Yet we are puzzled as to just
what to say to you. You, we are
sure, have already been welcomed
by your Head-Residents and
classmates.
We are even rather late for
dropping hints about the college
community that may be helpful to
you, because perhaps by now you
are well orientated in the Spel
man society of scholars. Perhaps
you have already acquainted
yourself with each building from
the first floor to the top. Perhaps
you have already met and learned
the names of all of the faculty
members. We are sure that al
ready you know your way to West
End and Rich’s. Perhaps, like us,
you have already learned the
dining hall menu, and perhaps,
like us, you have already learned
which teacher gives the most
homework and which teacher
marks on the curve. Also, we are
certain that you have learned the
value of chapel services and how
much it helps to start the day
with some type of devotional per
iod. We may not even be able to
help you in the romance depart
ment because perhaps by now you
have already met the choice
young men of Morehouse.
All these things that we upper
classmen like to pass on to our
little sisters you perhaps already
know. However, there may arise
some questions that you may not
know the answer to. We at Spel
man are willing to help you, and
though we are late, we extend to
you a cordial welcome to the
Spelman sister-hood and may the
wholesome surroundings of the
college community provide the
type of atmosphere wherein you
may grow in intellect, in social
grace, in religious fath, and in
physical strength.