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VOL. XXXIII, NO. 4 Atlanta, Georgia December 18,1979
AUC Receives
Crime Grant
Photography by Colette Deviolet
Jean Young Visits Spelman
Mrs. lean Young, who heads the U.S. Commission on the International Year of the Child, spoke at
Spelman’s Sisters Chapel at a special convocation held last Thursday, December 13. Mrs. Youn^irged
black Americans to become involved with solving the problems of children throughout the world as well as
in America.
A Look at 1979
By Cynthia Williams
As the Christmas season slowly
approaches, it also brings with it
the realization that the year 1979
is about to close and yet another
decade in our lives will come to
an end. Somehow the year ending
a decade causes one to take time
to pause and reflect.
Some important firsts close
and far from home include the
legalization of sororities on the
campus of Spelman College. For
the first time the J unior Class of
Spelman held its Mr. J unior
Pageant off campus at the
Apothecary Lounge in Un
derground Atlanta. At Spelman’s
recent Board Of Trustees’
meeting, the first black Spelman
graduate was elected President of
the Board. Further away from
home Margaret Thatcher was
elected as Great Britain’s first
woman Prime Minister.
The year 1979 was a year full of
significant international travel.
Pope John Paul II “prilgrimage of
hope” to Mexico and his
homeland of Poland provided a
religious inspiration to millions of
the world population. Here in
America, Pope Paul II drew
adoration from nearly all the
American people and became the
first Pope to visit the White
House. In an historical trip to the
Middle East, Southern Christian
Leadership Conference President
Reverend Joseph Lowery and
other key members of the SCLC
met with representatives of the
Palestine Liberation
Organization and called for an
end to the senseless killing of
Israeli and Palestinian citizens.
International turbulence was
prominent in 1979. The Shah of
Iran left his kingdom and the
exiled Ayatollah Knomeini retur
ned in triumph to proclaim an
Islamic republic. This turbulence
has been further developed by
the taking of American hostages
in the United States Embassy in
Iran by militant Iranian students.
The holding of American
hostages has the support of the
Ayatollah Khomeini and is a
direct consequence of the exiled
Shah being in America. The
Ayatollah Khomeini is deman
ding the Shah be sent back to
Iran to face revolutionary justice.
Here in Atlanta, 1979 brought
the coming home of former U.N.
Ambassador Andrew Young. Af
ter thirty-one months as the first
black U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations, Andrew Young
resigned under controversy con
cerning meetings with an official
of the Palestine Liberation
Organization. Speaking before
and overflow crowd at the Martin
Luther King, Jr., Memorial
Chapel on the Morehouse cam
pus former ambassador Young
referred to his career in the
United Nations as being one in
the tradition of black Americans.
While reflecting on the past
happenings of 1979, one cannot
help but also look to the future.
The year 1980 marks the begin
ning of a new year and decade.
Certainly the future events to
come will in some way shape all
our lives. Students from the
Atlanta University Center ex
press their expectations about
1980 in a variety of ways.
Eydie Edwards, a junior at
Spelman, feels the year 1980 will
bring about many economic and
cultural changes. Eydie expresses
these changes by saying, “I think
more test tube babies will be bom
and that most of the movies and
television shows will move
towards space age themes. I also
think clothing styles will reverse
in terms of earlier fashionable
styles and inflation is definitely
going to kill us.”
Morehouse sophomore
Gregory Clinton hopes 1980 will
bring peace for the country in
that the situation in Iran won’t
develop into a war. Gregory also
states, “I’m hoping a black person
will get nominated for the Vice
Presidency and as for myself I’m
hoping for a scholarship to
Europe and just for happiness in
general.”
By Young, Robert
The Atlanta University Center,
under the leadership of Dr. J ulian
Debro, has received a $409,000
grant from the Law Enforcement
Assistance Agency (LEAA) to
conduct a four-city study which
will examine the relationship bet
ween race and crime.
Dr. Debro, who conceived the
program, says, “We are fairly
sure of the causes of crime...,
most are socio-economic..., but
our concern is why some people
succeed in those communities
and others fail.”
The grant is funded over an 18
month period and will employ
seven people. However, Dr.
Debro is confident of a six month
extension of the program from
LEAA.
The four cities chosen for the
study are Atlanta, Ga., Compton,
Calif., Philadelphia, Pa. and
Washington D.C. These cities
were chosen because of their
high concentration of blacks and
their high crime rates.
“We will select one community
in those cities,” explained Dr.
Debro, “spend maybe a summer
there with a research
assistant...interviewing every
family in those communities and
observing behavior.”
The objective is to uncover
new information which will an
swer the question why some
people succeed and others fail
from the same community.
Personel are now being selec
ted for the study which is ex
pected to commence the first
week in J anuary.
The announcement comes on
the heels of a press conference
held by the chancellor of the
AUC and the six presidents of the
center. The group is currently
Inside Today
Students polled on Iran p. 3
Trustee Meeting p. 3
Sterling Brown Interviewed p. 7
Two Spelman College Faculty
members edit anthology
on black women p. 7
Christmas Stories p. 8
conducting a six-weeks study of
the ’’causation” of crime in Atlan
ta.
The center has received $4,000
from the federal government to
help finance the probe whose, ob
jectives are:
•To study the impact of courts
and the correctional system upon
crime in Atlanta.
•To commence work on the
new program which will study the
relationship between race and
crime initiated by Dr. Debro.
•To expand the existing un
dergraduate criminal-justice
program to the graduate level.
•To establish an institution for
the study and reduction of black-
on-black crime.
Dr. Debro has requested
$500,000 from the J ustice Depart
ment to establish the Criminal
Justice Institute on the AUC
campus. A reply is expected next
month.
The institute will have three
components:
•A graduate program for
students seeking a masters de
gree in criminal justice.
Currently there are three full
time professors teaching and 26
students enrolled in the program.
The AUC is hoping to get three
more full-time professors and ex
pects enrollment to increase to
72 students in the next 18 months.
•Research of the Atlanta and
Southeastern area for the causes
and solutions to black-on-black
crime and the issue of crime it
self.
•A community component
which will educate and involve
the community in the problem
of crime and locate their needs
by this problem.
Dr. Debro feels that there are
not enough blacks in criminal
justice. The institute will be
designed to increase the black
manpower pool in the field. “Ad
ditional blacks in the field will
help in prevention, the amount of
violence, and the administration
of the correctional system,” said
Dr. Debro.
Currently blacks make up 49
percent of the inmates on the
state level and 40 percent on the
national level. The majority of
them range from 18 to 24 in age.
Is it any wonder that our country
and black women suffer from a
shortage of black men.
