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Spelman Spotlight
Page 2
Remembering The Civil Rights Era:
Can We Celebrate?
Carole Robertson
1949 - 1963
By Jamellah L. Braddock
Associate Editor
"In building and dedicating this
house, we realize that all of the battles
are not yet over and the cause is not
yet vindicated."
These words were written by my
grandmother, Mrs. Alpha A. Robertson,
in dedication of the Civil Rights
Museum to be opened in Birmingham,
Alabama on Nov. 15, 1992. Now,
almost thirty years after her daughter
was killed in the Sixteenth Street
Baptist Church bombing in
Birmingham, her words remind us that
as long as inequality and racial
injustice exist, the civil rights
movement lives on.
When asked whether she still
harbored any bitterness about her
daughter’s death, Ms. Robertson said
she never felt bitter in the first place.
"Bitterness wouldn’t have helped or
changed anything."
The late Carole’s brother Alvin,
however, admits that his anger has not
disappeared. "You don’t lose a sister
in her adolescence and not feel any
bitterness as a result. I’ve learned to
deal with it over the years-the
bitterness isn’t all-consuming. But I’ll
probably take it with me to my grave."
Dianne Braddock, Carole’s sister,
explains that "it is a shock and a hurt
that you never really get over. My
sister-the only sister I had-was taken.
We never got a chance to grow old
together... that makes me angry."
Emotional distress and pain were
only some of the effects that the
bombing had on the family members.
Of equal severity was the psychological
anxiety felt and experienced. Carole
Braddock Copeland (niece of the victim
and namesake) recounts how she
always lived in fear that the same thing
would happen to her when she turned
fourteen. "It wasn’t just because I was
named after her that I was scared; but
everybody said that she and I were so
much alike. So when I turned 14, I
refused to step foot in Sixteenth Street
Baptist Church. I didn’t even want to
visit Birmingham."
In addition, Alvin Robertson has
mixed feelings about the museum’s
symbolism. While several African
American civic leaders have declared
that the building of this museum is
symbolic of how far we’ve come as a
country, Mr. Robertson cautions us
otherwise. " A real measure of our
progress, to me, would be reflected in
the full participation of blacks in the
economic, cultural, and political
systems in Birmingham. When we
{blacks} are presidents of banks and
other major industries here, as well as
across the country, then we can say
we’ve come a long way."
A lack of faith in the judicial
system’s ability to ensure enforcement
of equality was a feeling that many
African Americans shared during the
civil rights struggle. How ironic it is
that this feeling still pervades the
conscience of most African Americans
today...
Indeed, parallels can be drawn
between the travesties of the past and
current behavior in our society.
Is there much difference between
the Plessy v. Ferguson case of 18%
which brought the infamous "separate
but equal" doctrine, and the current
bussing of impoverished minority
students to allegedly equal but
realistically inferior schools? Isn’t the
recent misuse of federal funds for the
Persian Gulf War reminiscent of the
draining of national resources in the
Vietnam War, when in both cases,
those resources should have been used
for the domestic combat of poverty and
injustice? And how do we account for
the haunting similarities between the
1955 Emmett Till lynching which
resulted in a "not guilty" verdict for
Emmett’s murderers, and the shocking
verdict that was handed down in the
damned near-lynching case of Rodney
King?
"Not much has changed since
1963; in fact, we’re regressing," says
Dianne Braddock. "Because of both
the judicial system and the previous
administrations, we’re having to fight
the same battles that we fought years
and years ago-all over again."
Does this mean that the
Birmingham Civil Rights Museum is
premature in its purpose? Or do we
know that sometimes sincere efforts do
come from white America?
Are we falling into the age-old
trap of fighting and kicking and
screaming for a cause, fighting and
kicking and screaming so that the
white people can hear us, fighting and
kicking and screaming until they can’t
stand the noise, fighting and kicking
and screaming until they "validate our
cause?"
Are we being ungrateful when we
say that we have a long way to go?
Are we being paranoid when we think
we’re getting just enough crumbs off
the table to keep us quiet for a while?
Should we be celebrating?
Should we be...
Should we...
T.V. Tops Tradition
By Elisa Smith
Editor-in-Chief
Now that the end of convocation is
nearing, I’m sure Spelman freshmen
and sophomores are ecstatic.
No more missing "A Different
World." No more having to sacrifice
study time. No more missing phone
calls. No more sleeping on a hard
wooden pew; now you can have the
comfort of your soft, warm bed and
fluffy pillows...Right?
I’m sure you’re agreeing because
these are the excuses I heard from you
to justify leaving Thursday 7 p.m.
convocations early - often while the
guest was still speaking.
I saw you sleeping. I heard you
suck your teeth and say, "Oh, no! I
am NOT missing ‘A Different World.’"
I heard you complain that since the
lights were not on during a portion of
a convocation - presented by YOUR
freshmen sisters, no less - that you
would not be able to do homework.
I had to step back four years ago
and try to remember my days as a
freshman in order to understand how
you could place a television show over
tradition, over your Spelman sisters,
over CYNTHIA MCKINNEY!
I was truly embarrassed by your
rudeness!
It is certainly a failure of the
education system when we are
complacent to simply acquire
knowledge and not seek it.
I wonder if it is possible that one
can just glance at a flyer and be self-
inspired to attend an event. Although
on this campus it seems unlikely, I
know it is something that happens on
other campuses. It’s what I’ve been
doing since convocation is no longer a
requirement for me.
So, what does Spelman have to do
to attract students voluntarily to
convocations?
No, convocation should not be
required - should not HAVE to be
required - but if assembly was left to
choice, you CERTAINLY would not
attend, now would you?
No, everyone is not as moving as
Maya Angelou, but that does not mean
the presentations are devoid of a
wealth of helpful information.
As sociology professor Dr. Mona
Phillips said, "Does it always have to
be entertaining to be useful?"
Well, I’m sure you’re happy to
know that next semester the Thursday
convocations will not be held at 7:00
p.m.
No you can watch "A Different
World," read, sleep, go out or whatever
on "your time."
What will you complain about
now? Missing Montel Williams?!?