Newspaper Page Text
Spelman Spotlight
Internal War
By Raye John Belcher
Associate Editor
BITTER-AFRAID-CONFUSED-
UPSET-UNDOUBTEDLY
DEPRESSED, all explain how I feel
about the "crisis in the Gulf' turned
unnecessary blood bath. Looking back
at the past, looking straight ahead to
the future, sitting in the present, it all
seems not surprisingly bleak.
Which way to turn? Which
political stance should I take? If I have
already taken a stance, how should I
implement it? No matter what stance I
take, what the HELL can I do to
smother the flames of this "burning
house” called America.
Who is going to help ME come to
peace with the war that is booming,
burning inside of me?
To my sisters and brothers who are
being trained to become legal
murderers, to my sisters and brothers
who have to utter an abrupt "good
bye" to other sisters and brothers, who
are forced to face a horrible reality of
her and his fate, to my sisters and
brothers who live in Saudi Arabia,
Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, the villagers,
innocent victims of a war that has
nothing to do with you, to all my
sisters and brothers struggling to cope
and move on throughout this dismal
situation I write this editorial for you.
I just want you to know that I
understand. I understand depression, I
understand apathy, and I understand
feelings of helplessness. Yes, I
understand.
But I also understand that the
popular pattern or succession of world
events has to be stopped. In the
United States of America and around
the world, history tends to repeat itself.
It is up to us as the young African-
American professionals of the 21st
century to modify the pattern, design
new rules, set the pace for the turn of
the century.
We as the nurturers, the chief
executive officers, the entrepreneurs,
the artists, and writers of the "next
generation" must not make the decision
whether or not we are being mistreated
in the United States. We must not
concentrate on or wonder about the
people in the world who do not accept
us.
People of color are not the aliens
of the world. Those who practice
alienating others are alienated from
their souls. These people, instead are
the true aliens; they are isolated from
love, thus, are isolated from themselves
as well as others. THEY are the spies,
the wet-backs, the gooks, and the
spooks.
In the January 9, 1991 issue of the
Atlanta Journal and Constitution,
results of a nationwide survey were
printed showing that a majority of
whites hold negative images of blacks.
Among the white respondents: 78
percent thought blacks more likely to
prefer living on welfare, 74 percent
thought Hispanics more likely to prefer
welfare, 62 percent thought blacks less
likely to be hardworking, 56 percent
thought blacks more violence-prone and
53 percent thought blacks less
intelligent.
In response to this survey, a poll
was taken on one of Atlanta’s popular
radio stations. The listeners of this
station are majority African-American.
The radio personality conducting the
poll inadequately summed up the
public’s opinion in the end by saying
that the main reason people continue to
have these negative stereotypes of
blacks is because blacks believe the
stereotypes themselves.
This summation is inadequate
simply because this radio personality
chose not to mention the fact that
slavery and racism/oppression were
direct causes of African-Americans’
first conceived negative opinions of
themselves. This popular radio
personality failed to mention the cause
as well as the effect. Whether this
was intentional or unintentional, it
WAS by all means a BIG mistake.
By the way, this radio personality
is "African-American" male.
The only purpose this radio
personality’s summation served was to
exemplify the very point that was
being criticized: the low self esteem
of African-Americans.
Even though blacks have been
made to feel inferior ever since the
17th century when the first slave ship
sailed across the Atlantic to the "New
World," it is time to realize that we
have the power to dispel the inferiority.
As a race, African-Americans need to
stop making excuses for "black-on-
black crime," stop making excuses for
teenage pregnancy, stop making
excuses for drug abuse, stop making
excuses for gang violence. It is time to
stop sitting in the present and to start
getting up! Now is the time to
redefine the African-American position,
not only at the work place, not only in
the community, not only in America,
but also, we must redefine the African-
American position in the world.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a
wonderful dream. We do not need to
try to "keep the dream alive"; instead,
we need to strive to make the dream a
reality. Stop dreaming, hoping, and
wishing. Just get up and wake up! It
is up to ourselves to UNITE in order
to cease the internal war which
violently bums in the heart of each of
us.
Page 2
It's Time to FOCUS
Focus, Spelman’s literary
magazine is now accepting
submissions from the students
throughout the AUC center for
its 1991 publication. Prose,
poetry and illustrations are
welcome, Please include name,
social security number, address,
phone number and the school
on all material. Submissions
are limited to three per person.
'Hie deadline is February I.
Submissions can be dropped in
the campus mail slot in
Spelman’s post office addressed
Focus Editorial Board
Spelman College
Campus Box #1665
As Focus will be marketed
differently this year with the
charge of $3.00 per copy, the
editorial staff is also seeking
donations to build an
endowment that would defray
future expenses and affirm the
tradition and integrity of the
publication. Anyone interested
in making a financial
contribution can address their
pledges to the box number
above. Those interested in
becoming members of the
editorial board are invited to
attend a meeting on Sunday,
January 27 at 1:00 p.m. on the
first floor of Giles in the
Women’s Center. All majors
are encouraged to participate.
BRAINWASHED!
By Riche Richardson
For centuries, individuals of
African origin have been oppressed.
White Western society has undoubtedly
bombarded them with negative
messages about being Black. These
negative messages have effected
interracial and intraracial disunity. In
fact, White Western society has
practiced social imperialism through the
years by virtually forcing Black people,
particularly African-Americans, to
renounce their indigenous culture.
Essentially, Blacks are encouraged to
assimilate into Western society’s
superficial melting pot.
However, the fashion in which
individuals of African origin perceive
beauty has particularly been influenced
by the standards of Europeans. In
essence, Blacks have been victimized
by a kind of esthetic imperialism.
Many of them have been subliminally
and overtly convinced that African
characteristics are unattractive and
inferior. Blacks were gradually
indoctrinated with this mentality. The
emergence of this oppressive mentality
is consistent with the emergence of the
concepts of race and color. Europeans
advocated that they were inherently
better while negating blackness to the
fullest extent. Their ambition,
complemented by unmitigated
imperialism, set the foundation for the
esthetic ir "eriority complex that certain
Blacks possess.
It follows that remnants of this
damaging complex greatly influence the
values of some Blacks in today’s
Western society. Today, a subtle caste
system exists in the minds of some
Blacks. Status in the esthetic hierarchy
is based on the esthetic proximity of
individuals in the race to Europeans
and other non-Blacks. Most African-
Americans and some Black individuals
in other parts of the world have been
compelled to assimilate into the esthetic
melting pot of Europeans. They have
been conditioned to camouflage and
despise characteristics which readily
distinguish them as a race. Thus, the
esthetic insecurity of the entities today
is a direct result of the fashions in
which Black culture has been
progressively negated.
Spelman Spotlight
STAFF
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Associate Editor
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Raye John Belcher
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Ladonya Massie
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Rich6 Richardson
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Lionel Burns
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Carrie Allison Givhan
Keisha McClellan
Carla Molette
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Rich6 Richardson
Elisa Smith