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Editorials and Other Thoughts...
Black Politics:
The Facts
by Khadija C. Cabey
Political Columnist
The 1960’s signified the most
dramatic political gains by black
America since the beginning of
this country's history. The Voting
Rights Act of 1965 was a
monumental gain because it
eliminated most of the legal
barriers to black political par
ticipation in the South. At the
same time, sweeping
demographic changes in the
North facilitated the emergence
of black political power in its
urban centers. By the end of the
1960's, black mayors and con
gressmen became visible
representations of the fact that
the American political system
could indeed respond to the
aspirations of minorities at the
polls.
Since 1965, the number of
black elected officials has in
creased tenfold. During the'70’s,
the number of black elected
officials increased dramatically at
every level of government:
federal, state, and local. Blacks
have now been elected to every
major catagory of public office
with the exception of the
presidency, the vice presidency,
and governship.
Impressive as these gains may
appear, they are small when
viewed from the perspective of
the American political system as
a whole. The 5,160 black elected
officials that held offices in 1982
constituted only about one per
cent of all the elected officials in
the United States. Stated more
clearly, for every 100,000 non
blacks, there are 224 non-black
officials. For every 100,000 black
Americans there are only 19
elected officials.
Where do we go from here?
The statistics clearly show that
black Americans are still poorly
represented in the American
political system. It is our duty and
responsibility as the fortunate
few who are receiving training to
be the "cream of the crop” of
our black communities, to
become deeply involved in our
American political process.
In this presidential year we
should not only register
ourselves to vote and actually go
to the polls and vote, but we
should also encourage our
friends and relatives to do the
same, and appeal to the com
munity at large by participating
in voter registration drives.
The Georgia presidential
primary will be held on March
13th, “Super Tuesday,” so mark
this date on your calendars. The
names that will appear on the
ballot are as follows: Reubin
Askew, Alan Cranston, John
Glenn, Gary Hart, Ernest
Hollings, Jesse Jackson, George
McGovern, and Walter Mon
dale. These individuals are all
seeking the Democratic party’s
presidential nomination. Your
vote can make a difference.
Although Jesse Jackson’s can
didacy has sparked an increase in
the number of blacks registered
to vote in 1984, we must cotninue
to vote in national, state, and
local elections in 1988, 1992,
1996, etc., in order to further
increase the numbers of our
Black elected officials and to
insure that the American
political system views the black
vote as a necessary ingredient to
any successful political cam
paign.
Editor-in-Chief
Reporters
Karen M. Burroughs
Photo Editors
Khadija C. Cabey
Nelson Valentine
Anita Wallace
Associate Editor
R. Melvin Jones
Deanna K. Wallace
Veronica P. Green
Melanie Cook
Art Editor
Lisa Lawson
Layout Editor
Debra Johnson
Charles W. Reese
Lynette clover
Sonya D. Walton
Fine Arts Editor
James W. Matthews
Circulation Manger
Kimberly Harding
Stephanie Grant
Stephanie Wilks
Denise M. Johnson
Literary Editor
Gary Foster
News Editors
Nancy Travis
Jan Holland
Lynn Lawson
Rhonda Jackson
Jasmine William
Advertising Managers
Dawn Ison
Photographers
Feature Editor
Thomasine Toles
Susan Scott
Carolyn Grant
David Perkins
The Spelman Spotlight is a bi-monthly publication produced
by and for the students of Spelman College. The Spotlight
office is located in the Manley College Center, lower
concourse, of Spelman College. Mail should be addressed to
Box 1339, Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia 30314. Telephone
numbers are 525-1743.
Apathy at Spelman
by Anita T. Wallace
Within one week, we’ve had
the honor of having two well
renowned speakers on our
cmapus. On February 13, Jesse
Jackson came to speak in Sisters
Chapel in regard to his presiden
tial campaign. Two days later,
former U.S. Congresswoman
Yvonne Braithwate Burke was
present to address the issue of
black politicians in the 80’s. Both
of these speakers were dynamic,
and offered their audiences very
inspiring messages. The only flaw
in these orations was that the
attendance in each was absolute
ly pathetic.
In all of the people present to
hear Rev. Jackson speak, were
seated comfortably with no
spaces between themselves, they
would have only been able to fill
the middle section. However,
with a little spreading out, we
managed to scatter ourselves
amongst all three sections. This
does not include the balcony,
which was totally empty. I realize
that it was pouring down rain
and it was a school night, but
those are just excuses. In the
words of an Emory University
representative that was present,
"If we were giving away reefer in
here, this place would be pack
ed.”
The turn out was even less for
Mrs. Burke. There weren’t even
half of the people present to
hear her speak as there were for
Rev. Jackson.
These are just two examples,
but poor attendance is not a rare
occurance for events such as
these. However, check out the
“Phoenix” on any Saturday
night.
Not only are these incidents
embarassing for the S.S.G.A.,
who sponsor most of these
speakers, but it says a lot about
the Spelman community as a
whole. If the student body can
fill up the entire Howe Hall to
watch the movie “Sparkle,” and
only one pew in the Chapel to
hear a presedential candidate,
then something is definitely
wrong.
In my opinion, this behavior
shows a serious lack of interest in
serious matters among the ma
jority of the student body. The
speakers that the S.S.G.A.
provide for us are doing and
saying things that will directly
effect our lives. Whether it is a
politician speaking on the state
of the economy, an executive
sharing her key to success, or a
poet encouraging us to strive for
more — they are all designed to
inspire us, and leave us with
knowledge we didn’t have
before hearing them.
If that isn’t sufficient reason
ing, then consider how expen
sive they are. The S.S.G.A. spends
anywhere between 1,000 and
3,000 dollars per speaker. This
money is taken from a percen
tage of the 175.00 student fee
that we pay every semester.
Therefore, if you are not taking
advantage of these speakers you
can consider yourself throwing
away money.
The availability of such a wide
(Continued on Page 7)
Letters To The Editor
Dear Editor,
This is a response to your
editorial written on January 27th
in the Spelman Spotlight.
My personal experience with
the Spelman women has been
one of total enlightenment. This
past year I have been on your
campus several times. Each time
on your campus, I have been
treated like a diplomat.
The typical Spelman woman,
from my experience, is not a
snob or stuck-up individual. To
the contrary, I have found the
females at Spelman to be in
telligent, well-informed, ar
ticulate, and exceptionally
beautiful.
My image of a Spelman
woman is similar to that of Leslie
Sykes, Spelman’s “Model of the
Year” and Ann Dennard, “A
Spelman Woman.” In every
sense of the word, a Spelman
woman is beautiful.
To Spelman women, I en
courage you to keep up the good
work and stay beautiful. Your
image is excellent. My best
regards for the future of Spelman
women.
Your brother,
Lester Moody
Tallahassee, Florida
Dear Spelman Sisters,
I am having a fantastic time in
Florence. The city is simply
beautiful and the people are
quite warm and friendly.
I live with an elderly woman
who is quite nice and is helping
me to learn Italian.
The school is great and all
instruction is in English! Whew!
Although I adore Forence, I
really miss all of you and dear
Spelman. Since I cannot write
each of you, I hope that this
letter can be put in the next issue
of the Spotlight.
Love to all of you,
Jasmine Pugh
Dear Editor,
Once again Spelman’s ad
ministration is “out to lunch.”
Do you realize that we are well
into the second semester and as
of February 20, 1984, parents
have still not received first
semester grades? This is out
rageous! What’s taking so long?
With the exception of other
schools within the AU Center, all
other institutions that I know of
received grades during Christ
mas break. Again I ask, what’s
taking so long? It is true that
Spelman produces exceptional
women, but its administration is
not only unexceptional, its un
acceptable.
My parents are starting to
wonder if I even attended school
last semester! They haven’t
gotten my grades yet, but of
course they have already receiv
ed a bill for this semester’s tui
tion.
There seems to be a loose end
somewhere. How is it that we can
get bills for this semester and
we’re still waiting on grades from
last semester?
Spelman, give us a break. Let’s
have a little more organization in
the administration department.
We pay too much money for this
kind of negligence.
Debbie Marable
Sophomore
Dear Editor,
As boarding members of
Spelman’s community we are
subject to the recruitment ploys
of many campus clubs. I and
many others have become
repeatedly frustrated by the
continuous attempts by par-
ticipantsof AUC religious groups
to increase memberships. Unlike
other organizations, this group
goes door-to-door giving sur
veys and initiating prayer for
committment to God.
Do not get me wrong. There is
nothing wrong with giving
religion a place in one’s life - if
you want it. But for those who
are fully satisfied with their
present relationship - or non
relationship - they should not
have to feel obligated to com
plete a survey which asks per
sonal questions concerning
religious attitudes. How do you
tell a disciple of Christ to leave
you alone? Therefore, many of
us sit half-heartedly through an
interview that seems to be more
of a harrassment than a help. For
we who have had enough (I have
endured not one, but three,
surveys, two additional inter
views, and many phone calls) we
ask that they grant us immunity.
Religion is a personal commit
ment. We’ll come around when
we so choose.
Stephanie Mclver
Freshman