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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