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South African Government
Censors The Media
by Uonna Williams
There is a pressing need of
trained journalists in the independ
ent states of South Africa, journa
lism students learned in a recent
news conference at Clark College.
Joe Molefi, a black journalist
from the Kingdom of Lesotho in
the Republic of South Africa, took
time out from his tour of small
American radio stations and news
papers to discuss with approxi
mately 20 students the problems
Lesotho has with its media.
Molefi said that Lesotho, which
has a population of 1.23 million,
has only one radio station which is
government controlled, and three
weekly newspaers, two of which
are church publications, and one
which is government-sponsored
Molefi, who works as senior
news director for “Radio Leso
tho,” said that the Lesotho govern
ment does not attempt to control
the news on their station, but they
will “edit very closely” items which
could cause embarrassment to
them.
“If a person has been thrown out
of the government,” Molefi said,
“the government might not want
the reason printed. What is printed
depends on what the government
wants highlighted.”
He further explained his appar
ent contradiction when he revealed
the Lesotho Cabinent Office press
release process.
“We are always careful not to
add or delete anything from a
Cabinet press release,” he said.
“We must present the image of the
government as much as possible.
“Although there are presently
no efforts to construct independ
ent radio stations, Molefi stated
that such sations “would be
popular with the all-black govern
ment.”
“The government does not
bother the newspapers who take
opposing views,” he said.
The government, however,
probably has little to fear from the
two church newspapers since the
state has a very high illiteracy rate.
However, an independent radio
station’s broadcasts would reach
many more people as welfare oper
ations are making radio sets avail
able to the poor at reduced cost.
in ot only is there internal
government censorship of Radio
Lesotho news, the South African
government also closely watches
what is printed and broadcasted.
“Everytime there is anything
critical about the South African
government in the paper or on the
station, the government will clamp
down on Lesotho,” Molefi
said. The two major punishments
he listed were long waits at the
water posts and the delay of pas
sage across the borders. In spite of
this harrassment, Molefi said that
the Lesotho government will con
tinue to print and air its criticisms,
he said they are dedicated to the
pnnciples of freedom and justice.
What exists in Lesotho is a
serious lack of freedom of the
press, which perhaps could be
remedied by a few strong inde
pendent radio stations staffed with
the trained journalists Molefi and
others like him are attempting to
recruit throughout South African
high schools and univeristies.
Molefi himself became inter
ested in journalism when he
became a political exile from
South Africa and found that there
was nothing he could do in his field
of science outside of that country.
In Lesotho, Molefi discovered
only one trained journalist who
worked for the international press.
Molefi began also to work as a
stringer for the Assocaited Press,
the British Broadcasting Com
pany, and Argus Group newspap
ers; and he was later invited to join
the radio station where he said he
had to report everything from
weather to state functions.
In an effort to relieve this situa
tion, Molefi is touring small media
oultets in the United States to
observe the ways in which they
cover large areas and to perfect his
journalism techniques.
His tour of Washington, D.C.,
Raliegh, N.C., New York, N.Y.,
and other cities is being financed
by the U.S. State Department and
was processed by the African-
American Institute.
Black Women
Must Speak Up
by Malrey Head
Black women have a history of
strong participation in politics,
said Ms. Susan Perry, speaking to
an almost full house on November
9, in Sister’s Chapel.
Ms. Perry, legislative staff direc
tor for U. S. Representative Shir
ley Chisholm, said that in the late
19th and early 20th centuries black
women’s organizations spoke out
about lynchings. “They spoke up
on what was significant in those
days.”
“Issues today are just as impor
tant,” she said. “Our views as black
women are frequently not heard.
We’ve got to start serving, develop
a position and state it.”
One issue of major concern to
Ms. Perry is the Equal Rights
Amendment (ERA). She believes
that “any movement that chal
lenges oppression suffered by us as
women or blacks should be
supported.
Ms. Perry strongly advocates
students getting involved in polit
ics and government.
She says that when ERA comes
up in the legislative sessions in the
next three years, to listen to the
debate of those men who will vote.
It will be “fire and brimstone,”
straight out of the Bible and “scare
stories about alimony.” Ms. Perry
called all of this “hogwash and mis
information.” It is important, she
said, to extend and debate at a
higher level.
Another issue Ms. Perry felt to
be important was what she called
the Politics of Education.
The Department of Health,
Education and Welfare (HEW)
issued a policy statement making
colleges and universities responsi
ble for providing equity in sports.
This is important to women, she
said.
She feels that athletic scholar
ships are an avenue for getting
continued on page 6
Evans Discusses
Black Unity
by Daisy Minter
It is one’s “individual responsi
bility to move straight ahead, then
we will be a strong, unified black
people.” This statement was made
by Ms. Mari Evans, black poet, na
tionalist and presently professor at
Prudue University in Indiana, at
the reception held on November 16
at Reynold’s Cottage. Ms. Evans
was speaking to students who were
interested in her poetry as well as
herself.
A native of Toledo, Ohio, Mari
Evans became known in the 1960’s
to readers as a poet who wrote of
the suffering of blackness as a
standard. A graduate of the Uni
versity of Toledo, her career has
been launched in every direction:
writing, poetry, songwriting, asso
ciate editor of an industrial maga
zine, supervising publications at
the Atterbury Jobs Corps Center,
director of a thirty-minute weekly
series in Indianapolis called “The
Black Experience,” and presently
teaching creative writing at Prudue
University in Indiana.
Ms. Evans, while at the recep
tion, was asked several questions in
regards to black poets, ERA, inte
gration, and other issues.
Ms. Evans was asked if she felt
the need for black poets to write
about blacks as they did in the 60’s?
Ms. Evans said: “The need has not
changed but black poets are not
doing their jobs. There has to be
political writings.” Ms. Evans feels
that too many blacks are not aware
of what is going on in American
politics.
Continuing, she compares white
writers to black writers: “Whites
use writing to control a society.
Writing is a colonization agent.”
Ms. Evans also stated that whites
are more willing to accept negative
influence about blacks which is a
political tactic of theirs. She gave
examples of white writers who
through their writing have given
the image of the black race as being
a lazy and oppressed group of peo
ple who want everything for
nothing.
Even though Ms. Evans is pres
ently teaching creative writing at
Prudue University in Indiana, with
a 95% white enrollment, she states:
“When integration gets to the point
where one white person will enter a
black college to get new knowledge
then I will be for integration.” Ms.
Evans believes that blacks enter
white colleges and universities
seeking something different—
sometimes forgetting that they are
black. Criticizing this observation,
we are easily influenced with what
white Europeans are doing.”
Another issue that Ms. Evans
spoke about was the Equal Rights
Amendment (ERA). She feels that
the ERA was started by a group of
white middle class women who had
nothing to do at home. Conse-
continued on page 7