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Ku Klux Klan Update
Page 3
by Khadija C. Cabey
The Ku Klux Klan prides itself
today on being the bearers of
terror. Riding off the reputation
of Reconstructions’ original
hooded riders, they present
themselves as a united, thriving,
still dangerous and politically
significant representation of
white wrath — an image which is
at least twenty years out of date.
The truth is that the Klan is a
proliferated impotent organiza
tion of men who by and large live
in the same county, work in the
same mill or factory, and whose
affiliation with the organization
seldom lasts more than two
years.
The hood and the burning
cross are as identifiable with the
Klan as the Golden Arches are
with McDonalds, but they are
unrestricted trademarks. Any
ambitious young racist can
become an Imperial Wizard by
taking on the title and finding
two or three sympathetic sup
porters who will agree. That’s the
easy part. The hard part is carving
out a share of disciples from a
market which every indication
shows is a small and moneyless
pool of potential supporters.
Over the last nine years the
most successful Klan Klavern has
been Bill Wilkinson’s "Invisible
Empires” which filed for
bankruptcy in 1982. The Wilkin
son’s “Invisible Empires’’ inter
national headquarters is a squat,
windowless, concrete building
that sits next to a rural trailer park
outside of Denham Springs,
Louisiana which is about twenty
miles up the highway from Baton
Rouge. From this “strategically”
located "international head
quarters” great Klan spectaculars
are planned such as the Empires
rally in Montgomery County,
Maryland at which police and
reporters outnumbered
Klansmen by more than ten to
one.
But this has not always been
the case. At the organizations
crest in 1925 the mysterious KKK
also known as the Kludds,
Klaliffs, and Kleagles and Ex-
halted Cyclopses numbered two
million. After 1963 membership
dropped drastically. F.B.I.records
tell of whole Klaverns being
disbanded due to Counter-
Intelligence Programs. Indeed
the Klans noisiest and most
militant leader, Bill Wilkinson,
also was an informant for the
F.B.I.
Today an accurate count of the
Klan’s current strength is im
possible. Different Wizards and
Dragons know the headcount of
their own groups but don't even
share that information with their
rival factions. The last F.B.I.
estimate of 1975 numbered the
Klan at twenty-two hundred
while private estimates run
higher (ten to fifteen thousand)
partly because infiltrators and
informants see general mailing
Spelman’s Need For Ph.D
by DeAnna Kay Wallace
The need for a Doctorate of
Philosophy Degree (Ph.D) to
teach on a campus especially
Spelman’s campus is presently a
question of great concern. There
are confirmed rumors cir
culating across campus that
instructors who do not possess a
Ph.D. in their respective areas
will be considered for dismissal.
There were a few instructors
who were interviewed, but re
quested their names to be
withheld. One seems to get a
feeling of a serious situation
when the tension isso strongthat
the interviewees wish for their
names not to be printed. The
other instructors approached for
an interview had no statement
about the situation. Dean Carter,
Dean of Academic Affairs was
unavailable for an interview.
Therefore, the clarification of
the situation has not yet been
stated.
During one of the candid
interviews with a Spelman in
structor it was stated that the
need for furthering one’s educa
tion should be left up to the
discretion of the individual not
an administration. Until now, the
major disadvantage of not ob
taining a Ph.D was the lower pay.
The lower the degree, the lower
the pay. But now, instructors
who have already obtained a
Bachelors degree, and by law are
qualified to teach, are now
lists and not the more closely
held lists of dues-paying
members. Another factor that
inflates the Klans numbers is that
most anti-Klan groups have an
interest in making the Klan seem
stronger. The stronger the Klan
seems to be, the more pressing
and credible is the mission of
their opponents.
Although the Klan is smaller, it
is certain that some of the smaller
quasi-Klan fringes are still
capable of violence. Members
tend to be emotional, erratic,
and dangerous and they would
be so even if they didn’t call
themselves Klansmen. Because
of police scrutiny, the Klans’
potential for organized violence
is far less than ever. The more
visible Klans of today are com
parable to massage parlors, ex
isting as they do at the limits of
public and legal tolerance.
To the new Ku Klux Klan any
crowd, be it a crowd of opposi
tion or allies, is a good crowd, the
more unruly the better, for
trouble helps establish the
Klansmen’s credentials as racists
of action, not words. Any Klan
that can attract five thousand
opponents, some of which burn
unqualified according to
Spelman’s Administration.
The issue of College Acredita-
tion was thought to be one
instructors view for the ad
ministrations concern about the
number of Ph.D’s on Spelman’s
campus. “Spelman is already a
highly respectable college and
the dismissal of instructors
because of their level of educa
tion may be more of a
hinderance than a help” stated a
student who also wished to be
anonymous.
Dr. Rena T. Jones of the
Biology Department at Spelman
expressed positive reasons why a
Ph.D is useful in teaching. Dr.
Jones, who possesses a Doc
torate of Philosophy Degree,
feels that she is a more effective
professor because of her level of
education. A lot of her teaching
skills have been enhanced as a
result of her obtaining the Ph.D
degree. "The acquisition of the
degree can be more far reaching
than one’s own area of concen
tration," says Dr. Jones. She feels,
however, that there is a danger is
becoming over-specialized in
any given discipline, for instruc
tional capabilities can become
limited.
When asked the question “are
you being forced to further your
education to a Ph.D level?" one
candid instructor expressed
negative feelings and said, "We
have a choice, either we have
our Ph.D or no job!"
“Up With People
Comes To Atlanta
police cars and loot shop win
dows, is a Klan on the move.
Bill Wilkinson believes that
given enough of the right kind of
enemies, the KKK’s over thirty
divided factions may yet survive
to ride again. It’s a slender hope,
but in the meantime they will
continue to ride the corpse.
However, although the Klans’
strength has diminished, they
still pose a viable threat to the
more civilized aspects of our
society. It is our duty, esepcially
as Black Americans, to continue
to resist the Klan in order to
insure that the corpse does not
rise again from the dead.
99
by Gary K. Foster
The “Up With People” Show is
looking for young people
between 17 and 25 to join their
non-profit, educational
organization that allows
members to travel with a
professionally produced musical
show.
This year 750 new students will
be accepted to join one of the
1984-85 “Up With People”
traveling casts.
Interested students wanting to
apply or just find out more about
the program should contact
Valarie Harris here in Atlanta at
584-9120, or 584-9121.
On Friday April 6, the group is
taking the Atlanta Civic Center
by storm at 8 p.m. The two hour
live performance is a highly
accaimed musical experience.
Sponsored by Bank South, the
show casts 110 young men and
women from 15 nations.
Proceeds from the concert will
benefit Shepherd Spinal Center.
Tickets are available at all SEATS
outlets for $7.50 and $9.00. Also
available are $1.00 discount
coupons at all Bank South
locations.
The two hour show is part of
the program but students also
participate in business, technical
and educational aspects during
their time on the road. Many
students have received college
credit through independent
study in various subjects.
The casts live with local
families in the 80 cities they visit
throughout the U.S. and a few
foreign countries. The estimated
32,000 miles traveled yearly
allows the members to ex
perience a variety of unique
lifestyles and cultures and they
sometimes learn new languages.
Since each of the seven casts
travels with a 14-piece band, the
call is out for some musically
inclined people. The group is in
the process of recruiting
guitarists, pianists, drummers
and more. The same Atlanta
contact person should be reach
ed.
For further information or
questions about the organiza
tion, don’t hesitate to write
them: Up With People, 3103
North Campbell Ave., Tucson,
Arizona 85719.
Throughout each show, the
audience is swept into a musical
journey of the world, without
the treat of jet lag. The show may
feature anything from am arm in
arm frolicthrough a Belgian beer
garden to back bending dance in
a Brazilian samba line.
The music is an energetic
combination of popular
medleys, original compositions,
and international folk songs. The
vibrant dancing often explodes
from the stage, spilling over into
the theater aisles.
In a review of an August 1983
show, the Washington Post said,
“Up With People is everything
one would expect — fine family
entertainment, full of youthful
energy.”
Community involvement
programs are developed under a
Foundation. Local high school
grant from the W.K. Kellogg
and college students accompany
the cast members in visits to
hospitals, nursing homes and
other institutions. The programs
try to provide youth with com
munity awareness and insight to
its needs.
Seven thousand students have
taken part in the organization
since it was founded in 1968 by its
president, J. Blanton Belk. Belk
has shaped the program into a
non-profit, apolitical, non
sectarian, educational program.
Millions of people have seen
the show, as casts have per
formed at halftime of three
Super Bowls, at the 1983 World's
Fair, and with the National
Symphony and Boston Pops
orchestras.
Recent tours across the world
have taken casts to places such as
St. Peter’s Square in Rome, Italy;
Continued on Page 5
NOT JUST A NURSE. . .
AN EMORY NURSE
EMORY UNIVERSITY
NELL HODGSON WOODRUFF SCHOOL OF NURSING
is accepting applications to the
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN NURSING PROGRAM
for Fall Semester 1984
Five Semester Upper Division Program
Minimum prerequisite; 2 vears of liberal arts and sciences
MASTER OF NURSING PROGRAM
Adult Health
Community Health
Maternal Child Health
Mental Health
Nursing .Administration
Nursing Education
Emorv University School of Nursing offers financial assistance, a diverse student bodv. exciting clinical
and social opportunities, and a small student/facultv ratio
For further information write or call:
Director of Student Affairs
Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing
Room 305
Emorv Umversirv
Atlanta. GA 30322
(404) 329-7980
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION'EQLAL opportunity