Newspaper Page Text
SPELMAN
THE VOICE
OF BLACK WOMANHOOD
SPOTLIGHT
VOL. XXX NO. 5 ATLANTA, GA. FEBRUARY, 1977
February —Black History Month:
Heritage Days: The Black Perspective
America: The Third Century
What do Blacks Expect From
Pres. Carter’s Administration
The Black Image
onTelevision
By Avy Long
Now that the transition of
Jimmy Carter into the White
House has been completed,
what are bla cks expecting from
him?
Are specific and drastic
changes expected or subtle
changes that will correspond
to the change in atmoshpereat
the White House?
Some promises that directly
affect the black community are
the following:
1) Concerning the economy
is the submission to Congress
of a progam to stimulate the
economy by providing jobs
and possibly reducing taxes;
2) On the subject of housing
is the development of a com
prehensive national housing
Spelman:
By India Burton
When I came to this school, I
had few preconceived visions
of what Spelman would be like.
I knew that because this was a
Black school, and especially a
Black women’s school, there
would be a lot of unity and
desire for achievement. I also
imagined the students to be
genuinely interested in
maitaining a true feeling of
“sisterhood” as well as being
sincerely interested in giving
of themselves to uphold their
school.
As the days, weeks and mon
ths passed, however, that
“sisterly” feeling vanished
and the true Spelman was sub
tly revealed. No longer did the
girls bother to speak. No
longer did the girls seem as
though they would always be
there to rely on. In fact, they
were more often than not in
policy with a goal of building
2,500,000 housing units per
year. The emphasis would be
on low and middle-income
housing, housing for the
elderly and rehablitation of
existing homes and;
3) a plan to reduce unem
ployment to 4.5 per cent or less
by the end of his term.
Besides these specific
promises, blacks will be wat
ching to see if Carter’s cam
paign personality is consistent
with his actions as President.
Many are willing to trust the
next four years in Carter’s
hands on the merits of his
record as governor. However,
he had just as many demerits
on his record before he was
elected governor.
their own private worlds.
My first reactions to these
attitudes, especially on a Black
campus, were those of anger
and disgust until I realized
that human nature could
demand no less from
Spelmanites. I understood that
these people could exist on any
campus and that Spelman was
no different from other cam
puses in that respect. I also
began to really examine the
students on Spelman’s cam
pus. They were frequently
people no different from
myself who had been thrust
into a new surrounding and
were struggling, as I was, to
maintain their identity. They
were also growing as people.
Their growth may not have
been on the same scale as
mine, but they were,
nonetheless, changing as a
Continued on page 5
As a member of the school
board in Sumter County he
went along with policies that
blatantly discriminated
against black pupils and
teachers.
Carter is accused of taking
no leadership responsibility
while he was senator from
1962 to 1966 during the height
of the civil rights movements.
In 1972 Carter endorsed a
gerrrymandered ap
portionment scheme for the
state’s congressional districts
that disturbed Atlanta’s black
population in a way that as
sured no black candidate could
win any seats.
Inspite of the blemishes on
Carter’s civil rights record
over 90 per cent of the black
vote: went to him which
means that there must be more
to Carter’s character than the
record shows.
Many believe that support
was against Wallace instead of
for Carter. This may be true in
southern states such as Florida
and North Carolina where
Wallace was Carter’s major op
ponent; however, in northern
and eastern states voters had a
choice of Fred Harris, Sargent
Shriver, Milton Sapp, Morris
Udall and Henry Jackson
many of whose civil rights
records were better than
Carter’s.
“There’s something about
him that appeals to black
people,” Clarence Burns, a
Baltimore city councilman,
said.
Julian Bond complained
that “Carter is not being
judged in political or civil
rights terms. He’s simply be
ing perceived as a good person,
a good Christian.”
“The fundamental problem
in this country today is not
economic, it’s spiritual,” said
the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
“Carter is conducting a revival
of hope campaign.”
By Brenda Cleveland
This study was undertaken
to secure opinions of the
general portrayal or image of
Blacks on television today.
The data for the study was
gathered through responses to
an “Audience Research Ques
tionnaire,” conducted on Oc
tober 14-15, 1976. A total of
twenty-five questionnaires
were completed, representing
at least four of the six
predominanatly Black
institutions in the Atlanta
University Center. All of the
students were Black. The ma
jor focus of the study was
concerned with the image of
Blacks on television today,
based on the audience viewing
of several Black television
programs.
Of the twenty-five res
pondents, there was an even
decision as to whether the
general portrayal of Blacks on
television is beneficial,
ridiculous, or other. Six or 24%
of the respondents felt that the
portrayal was beneficial, six
felt that the portrayal was
ridiculous, and six also felt
that it was other. The remain-
Continued on page 8
South
African
Rally
By Amanda Seward
A coalition of various
organizations will sponsor a
weekend\)f adtvities rallying
support for the liberation
forces in southern Africa.
The adtvities will begin on
Friday, February 11 with a
member of ZANU (Zimbabwe
African National Union)
speaking on Spelman’s cam
pus.
Continued on page 6
A Freshman Viewpoint