Newspaper Page Text
Spelman Spotlight
Page 7
November 14, 1983
Protest
(Continued from Page 1)
whether or not the visitors would
be willing to discuss apartheid,
and that the club’s protest would
help “send the South Africans
home with a keenly-felt sense of
enlightened American opinion.”
The protest was organized
according to Gandhian prin
ciples, which insist upon non
violence and love. Specifically,
the protesters were not to
obstruct traffic (i.e., those who
wanted to enter the Guest
House); they were not to be rude
to any of the persons against
whose presence they were
protesting; they were to appeal
to the heads and hearts of those
whom they were trying to reach,
and not to fear of force. In these
principles, the Policy Institute
exercised its purpose as an
educational body.
While some individuals stood
by the sidelines — waiting,
watching, and wearing mixed
expressions of curiosity and
concern — others initiated fairly
involved conversations with the
picketers, both to learn more
about the issue, the protest, and
the organization itself and to
express their own views on all
subjects.
The reports of insiders
revealed that the South African
group was composed of three
whites (two female), two Blacks,
a “Coloured,” and an Asian. The
topics of discussion involved
how color classification is deter
mined in the U.S., what changes
are currently being pursued in
the South African constitution,
and general information about
the nation. One speaker ven
tured to delineate the three
channels for changing “the
system,” but he admitted that he
would probably “get in trouble"
for saying them. They were (1)
through the existing laws of the
government; (2) through
organized concert; and (3) by
armed confrontation.
Interviews with five people
who attended the seminar un-
vieled several interesting things,
some of which were contradic
tory. One young lady stated that
she sensed a note of tension in
the speakers, which signaled that
their carefully chosen words
were concealing some of the
verities of the situation, whereas
another student said that she felt
that this was a group of people
who merely “knew what to say,”
as if they were, by and large,
scarely concerned with what
they were covering up. Another
person expressed the opinion
that the group was indeed spon
sored by USSALEP (the protesters
had instead argued that the
group was really underwritten by
the South Africa Foundation, a
pro-Establishment group), but
that the government was forced
to permit the individuals to leave
in order to stave off any con
troversy.
One young woman com
mented that when she asked the
white gentleman if he believed
in South Africa’s hierarchical
system, he replied “No,” but
when she asked him if he would
be willing to lose his job or die
for “the cause,” he completely
ignored her question. Another
person added that he said he
would try to convey influential
ideas through his teaching work.
The Asian (an East Indian)
expressed his unambiguous
views to one young lady in a
private conversation. According
to her, he was personally
aggravated by the fact that some
Africans leave the country and
only denounce the government
from abroad, rather than direc
ting their energies toward the
domestic scene. He said that
certain Black Africans were even
Atty. Patricia Russell Addresses Students:
This Is A Battle For The
By Lisa Lawson
In what may have been the
most inspiring, dynamically
delivered speech of the school
year, Patricia A. Russell,
attorney-at-law, captivated the
October 27 Freshman Orienta
tion Assembly with her powerful
message: “this time it’s a battle
for the human mind.” A
telecommunications lawyer and
president of her own firm, Atty.
Russell conveyed many thought-
provoking insights into the roles
of black women as cognizant
college students and active con
tributors within the labor force.
Atty. Russell stated the
necessity for excellence in
academic performance and rais
ed consciousness of ourselves,
one another and the Spelman
community. “An electronic ex
plosion has taken place,” said
Atty. Russell. “In the second half
of this century, technology has
made progress in quantem leaps.
As computers and video ap
paratus strengthen, we must not
allow our minds to weaken.”
Atty. Russell went on to address a
common concern of today’s
college student: The fact that
today’s educational efforts may
not turn into tomorrow’s job.
"The welcome mat before the
work force has been rolled up,
and the neon "NO VACANCY”
sign flashes within. Now more
than ever, we must go deep into
ourselves in order to bring out
the awareness and excellence
the world needs and expects,”
she said.
"If we are to survive, and it will
be survival of the fittest, we must
effectively deal with the ISMs:
classicism, racism, and sexism,”
continued Ms. Russell. “We
must learn the games people
play and how to play them well.
We must always be prepared
because as soon as you learn how
to play the game, someone
comes along and moves the
bases.” Ms. Russell expressed
her concern about the standard
of mediocrity we are willing to
accept. “We can not get into the
mindset that ‘anything will do.’
We should make our academic
assignments viable occurrences
within our intellectual growth.”
She stated, “Coming from black
families that have taught us the
value of a good education and
the importance of high quality
performance in the classroom,
we know that we can not afford
to be present but absent, listen
ing but not hearing, acting— but
in the wrong way.”
Ms. Russell told the students
that the Spelman community is
very special. “You have the
opportunity to experience in
valuable intellectual, personal,
social, and spiritual growth. It is
here,” she said, “that we are to
acquire the tools that will take us
Red Cross:
Ready for a
new century.
through life. It is up to us
whether or not we choose to be
full participants and recipients in
the Spelman experience.”
'Nevertheless, Ms. Russell
emphatically stated that whether
we receive our advance degrees
from Yale or in the mail: DON'T
FORGET ABOUT SPELMAN.
"The time is now to develop
our networks,” said Atty, Russell,
“networks based on more than
HE SAID-SHE SAID. We need to
be willing to work together for
the common good where there
are no big “I’s and little "You’s.
We should be mindful of
currently existent black
organizational networks, such as
the Coalition of 100 Black
Women in New York, and the
Black Women’s Forum in Los
Angeles. We should concentrate
on the development of network
ing here at Spelman, and ex
cellent experimental and train
ing ground. We must channel
our energies into worthwhile
causes and realize that often
after all is said and done, more is
said than done. As black women,
we must take a stand over
something, or fall apart over
anything.
A Public Service of This Newspaper & The Advertising Council Ml
living off the government, yet
superficially trying to incite “the
'masses” to freedom; he com-
(pared these individuals to
.puppets. He was surprised that
East Indians in America do not
consider themselves Black,
because he felt that Blackness
was a state of mind, not just a
genetic heritage. Therefore, due
to their common oppression, he
considered most Asian and
Coloureds to be Black also, but
he explained that the “puppets”
were not“Black.” In addition, he
expressed a particular interest in
the history of the American Civil
Rights Movement.
As for the delegation itself, he
felt that it could scarcely be
called such, since none of the
scholars had known each other
prior to being chosen, nor did
they espouse the same views. He
confessed that the group had
even experienced altercations
since they had arrived in
America. He was somewhat
angry with the protest because
he felt the protesters weren’t
saying much.
The picket signs read such
things as:
Apartheid is a crime against
humanity
Down with apartheid,
pronounced “Apart - Hate”
Do these people represent
apartheid or are they just here
for tea?
Spelman College supports
apartheid
What is the South Africa Foun
dation?
. Scholars leave your “Ivory”
towers.
Who are the true represen
tatives of the South Africans?
"Injustice anywhere is a threat
to justice everywhere” — M.L.
King, Jr.
Who are these people
anyway?
You’re lying to the South
African GOVERNMENT or
you’re lying to US!
Are you ambassadors, of
murderers?
Ban prejudice
All in all, the protest made
more of a mark than some had
expected that it would, but it was
peaceful and very serious. Parts
of it were even filmed by 11-
Alive News. The Institute on
Third World Policy plans to
follow itself up with various
lectures and forums interspersed
throughout the year with other
activities. The group meets near
ly every Tuesday in Morehouse’s
S.G.A. building at 8:00 p.m.
Human Mind
“Because we are continuously
exposed to the images and
portrayals of us, as black people,
by the mass media, we must
recognize that they influence
who it is we perceive ourselves to
be. As a voting power, we must
realize and utilize our own
strength for in the political
arena, we “could start the ball
rolling, or stop it when it has
rolled to far.” Conscious and
conversant on current events,
we must know what issues to
impact upon in order to improve
the condition of our race, our
nation, and our world. We must
have competent people in all
areas of the public and private
sectors,” she concluded. “We
must know who to lobby, when,
where, for what reason and by
what method. We must house a
mind that knows more. We must
develop within that which no
one can affect without.”
King Holiday : A Reality
by Veronica P. Green
When everything was said and
done, the arch of the moral
universe that Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. spoke of truly
bended towards justice as the
Senate voted on October 19,
1983, for a national holiday bill in
favor of a man who believed a
physical death was not too high a
price to pay to free the minds of
his people.
Mrs. Coretta Scott King was
present awaiting the outcome of
the vote in Washington, D.C. She
was accompanied by family
members as well as NAACP
Executive Director Benjamin
Hooks, Southern Christian
Leadership Conference Presi
dent Joseph Lowery, and Stevie
Wonder author of the song
“Happy Birthday” that called for
the holiday.
Representative John Conyers,
a Democrat from Michigan, who
introduced the bill in 1968 after
King’s assasination in Memphis
said "I think one of the realities
Congress was faced with was that
King was not a passing fancy.
Year after year you could see
support growing for passage as
some attitudes began to change.
People were already observing
his birthday and letting their
representatives know it. That
kind of thing, when you add on
the growing political power (of
black Americans), couldn’t be
ignored.”
The bill will proceed to teh
White House, where President
Ronald Reagan is expected to
sign it. The third Monday in
January, the birthday of King, is
the designated day for the
national holiday.
At present the White House
has not set an exact date for the
signing of the holiday that will
start on the third Monday in
lanuary of 1986.
Before the victory was won,
however, Dr. King was “mis-
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