The Spelman spotlight. (Atlanta , Georgia) 1957-1980, February 25, 1980, Image 1

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A member of the Campus Digest News Service and the National News Bureau. VOL. XXXIII, NO. 6 Dr. Donald M. Stewart Spelman's President Elected To ACE's Board of Directors Donald M. Stewart, president of Spelman College, was elected to serve on the board of directors of the American Council on Education (ACE). The Council is based in Washington, D.C. Dr. Stewart, formerly a program officer of the Ford Foundation specializing in Africa, has been president of Spelman since 1976. J. W. Peltason, ACE’s president, announced Dr. Stewart’s election, by saying, “I am delighted that a man of Dr. Stewart’s ability and expertise will give our board and officers the benefit of his advise and counsel as we move into the 1980’s. The problems faced by higher education are immense and will require creative solutions. Dr. Stewart will help us find those solutions.” The American Council on Education, comprising more than 1,600 higher education in stitutions and national and regional education associations, is the nation’s principal, in dependent nonprofit coor dinating body for postsecondary education. The Council serves higher education administrators, students, and faculty members by providing national leadership for strengthening educational stan dards, policies, and programs. Spelman Students March In Greensboro By Melony Matthews Over 7,000 protesters partici pated in the February 2, 1980 Greensboro Anti-Klan Rally, in Greensboro, North Carolina. There was a representation of more than 50 colleges, including students from the Atlanta Uni versity Center, and 400 different organizations. The Atlanta Chapter of the February 2nd Mobilization Committee and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference sponsored buses for 200 Atlanta citizens to attend the rally. The purpose of the march was to peacefully counter-act Klan harassment. Many of the dem onstrators brought that spirit of a nonviolence protest, but others, in the case of the Com munist Workers Party (CWP), marched to avenge the murder of the five CWP comrades on November 3,1979. The march commenced Sat urday 12:00 p.m. at the World War Memorial Stadium, ending at 3:00 pm with the rally in the See GREENSBORO p. 7 Atlanta, Georgia February 25,1980 A First At Spelman Black Woman Heads Board Atlanta, Ga. -- January 17, 1980 -- Making another first, Marian Wright Edelman is the first black woman to Chair the Board of Trustees of Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia. Mrs. Edelman, 40, an attorney and director of the Children’s De fense Fund, a child advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., has a history of firsts. In 1960, she graduated first in her class from Spelman having been a Merrill Scholar for a year’s study at the University of Paris and Geneva, Switzerland, during her junior year. A graduate of the Yale Law School (Ll.B. 1963), where she had a John Hay Whitney Fellowship, at 26, she was the first and only black woman ever to pass the Mississippi State Bar Exam and to be elected to the Yale Univer sity Corporation She was one of the First Crusaders when she headed the NAACP’s Legal Defense Team in Mississippi. A native of Bennetsville, South Carolina, Mrs. Edelman decided to go to Mississippi in 1963 after graduating from Spelman and Yale for the simple reason “There were nine hundred thousand blacks there and three black lawyers.” In 1968, she joined the Poor People’s Campaign in Washington and later began the Washington Research Project, a public-interest law firm. Former director of the Center for Law and Education at Harvard University, Mrs.Edelman foun ded the non-profit CDF out of the Washington Research Project as a way of providing systematic and long-range advocacy for children. Mrs.Edelman is married to Peter Benjamin Edelman, an at torney with Foley, Lardner, Hollabaugh, and J acobs. The Edelman’s have three sons—J oshua, J onah, and Ezra. In addition to Spelman’s board membership where she has ser ved since 1972, Mrs. Edelman is a member of The Board of See BOARD p. 7 Michelle Wallace Visits Spelman By Angela Cumberlander The audience, male and female anxiously awaited the approach of Michelle Wallace to the podium at Sister’s Chapel. Was this anxiety caused by the con troversies of her book, Black Macho and the Myth of the Super Woman? Perhaps many expected to hear heated debates on some of the issues covered in the book. Many seemed to be waiting for a forceful feministic speech. What was received, however, was a mild toned, informative explanation concerning the birth of Black Macho and the Myth of Superwoman. Ms. Wallace’s mannerisms pro jected an ‘Tm tired of defending my book” image. Her book contains this quote, “I am saying ...there is profound distrust, if not hatred, between black men and black women that has been nursed along largely by white racism but also by an almost deliberate ignorance on the part of blacks about the sexual poli tics of their experience in this country.” She stated that she was not complaining about the criti cism of her book, just ex plaining. She said she knew when she began that her book would not be complete, but some one had to start somewhere. Among her explanations were her reasons for writing the book. A primary reason was the fact that most Black people don’t realize that sexism is indeed a major problem. Ms. Wallace expressed the impor tance of recognizing that a prob lem exists so that it can be conquered. The majority of Michelle Wal lace’s presentation consisted of excerpts from her book. She did not relate on a personal level until afterwards when she was questioned by inquisitive stu dents: Student: The problem that exists between us (male and female) is a result of sexism and facism; what is the solution? Ms. Wallace: Strong self- image, a strong sense of culture and one’s role will help to pre pare us to deal with this oppres sion; but not exactly cure it. Student: You said that the reception of the book disrupted your life. Will you elaborate? Ms. Wallace: 1) Complete ly disrupted my life maybe be cause it was unstable in the first place. 2) I lost most of my friends; I no longer associate with the same people, or live in the same place. My friends, especially female, felt that the only way they could be my friends would be that they had to agree with me. All of these things have been forced upon me. 3) The book has invaded my life—I cannot be a closet femi nist anymore. 4) My whole life has been publicized, (she implied that it still is.) Student: Has the white media used what you’ve done to further See WALLACE p. 7 Michelle Wallace