1982_02 The Daily Collegian February 1982

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Emery King on campus
_    • by Daryl-Glen Ford
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King attended Indiana and Purdue Uni¬
versities, as a speech and drama major,
before being hired as an anchor reporter
by WBBM news in Chicago. He created
and hosted a black public affairs program
entitled, "Follow Up.' He also handled a
special weekly feature on religion and
hosted a one-hour documentary on the
Nation of Islam."
Within three years, CBS moved King
from WBBM radio to WBBM television
with a public affairs show, 'Channel Two:
The People.' whose third presentation
cntitIed...The Soviet Jews' won an Em¬
my award for best 'informational pro¬
gram ma publicaffairsseries.' Asa politi¬
cal reporter. King covered national figures
such as Mayor Michcal Bilandic(Mayor
Day's)and Mayor Jane Bryne. He also
covered the llliniosgubenatorialand gen-
...the Democratic National Convention
in New York
...the National campaign of Vice Presi¬
dent George Bush
...the I nauguration of the President and
Vice President
...the release of the fifty-two hostages
from Iran
...the NBC White Paper Documentary:
"America Black and White'
...assignments with the State Depart¬
ment, the Senate and the House of
Representatives
..."NBC News Update.' Today Show."
and *NBC Evening News'
Emery King has the reputation of cap¬
tivating his audiences. He also has insight
into mino/ity awareness during this
decade, which in some people's opinion, is
of the utmost importance.
California State University, PnMtto
Uhuru
FEBRUARY 1982
Autobiography of an
American Original
By Dr. James "Doc'' Roger
The Heart of a Woman: Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou, the author of her third months later Billic Holiday aied alone in a
autobiographical work. The Heart Of A New York hospital.
Woman, is aptly described as an Ameri- There is a quixotic and interesting epi-
can Original. A woman of immense intel- sode in a Fresno of twenty years past in
ligence, compassion, and creative gifts, which Maya meets her strong-willed and
and a self-described survivor of a "roller-,resourceful mother in a hotel which re-
coaster" life which would have devastated fused service to black Americans,
the vast majority of this earth's creatures.    "In 1959, Fresno was a middling town
In her two earlier, best-sellers, I Know with palm trees and a decidedly Southern
Why The Caged Bird Sings; and Gather accent. Most of its white inhabitants
Together In My Name, revelations of her seemed to be descendants of Steinbeck's
difficult experiences of rural Southern Joads, and its black citizens were farm
poverty in Stamps, Arkansas; white vig- hands who had simply exchanged the dirt
ilante terror; child molestation and brutal roads of Arkansas and Mississippi for the
rape by her mother's boyfriend at age 8 dusty streets of central California."
which left her mute for many months; a Not much has changed since then; but
child-bearer herself at age 17; fry-cook; her mother teaches her to refuse to ac-
waitress; stripper, prostitute; singer, ac- quiesce to second-class citizenship,
tress; poet; dancer, elevated the author to But, it is in New York, where Maya
the most respected ranks in contemporary moves with her son, that she encounters
American biographies. an encomium of talented and accorap-
In her latest narrative there is a noticea- lished individuals that permanently af-
ble shift from the earlier preoccupation fects the direction of her life as an artist
with self-revelation and analysis to in- and activist for Martin Luther King and
elude much of the significant social and the Southern Christian Leadership Con-
political events affecting both American ference. She writes of Stokely Carmi-
society and African nations. And it begins chad, Ralph Bunche, novelists James
in Northern California, where Maya is Baldwin and Julian Mayfield, Harry Bela-
desperately attempting to fashion a career fonte, Sidney Poitier, Shelley Winters,
as a blues singer under the tutelage of Billy Godfrey Cambridge, Count Basie, Duke
Eckstein, Billy Daniels, Herb Jeffries, and Ellington, and many others. And her pro-
most importantly, Billie Holiday. vocative description of Martin Luther
"...1 was caught....by the complexity of King rings authentic:
Billie's language. Experience with street "1 had worked two months for the
people, bustlers, gamblers and petty crim- SCLC. sent out tens of thousands of let-
inals had exposed me to cursing. Yearain ters and invitations signed by Rev. King,
night-club dressing rooms, in cabarets made hundreds of statements in his name,
and juke joints had taught me every com- but I had never seen him up close. He was
bination of profanity, or so I thought, shorter than I expected and so young. He
Billie Holiday's language was a mixture of had an easy friendliness, which was unset-
mockery and vulgarity that caught me tling. Looking at hhn in my office, alone,
without warning. Although she used the was like seeing a lion sitting down at my
old common words, they were in new dining-room table eating a plate of mus-
arrangements, and spoken in that casual tard greens....Martfn King had been a
tone which seemed to drag itself, raspin hero and a leader to me since the time
across the ears." when Godfrey Cambridge and I heard
And yet, later the legendary blues sin¬
ger, "Miss Holiday* sung her twelve year
old troubled son to sleep with an a capella
rendition of "Strange Fruit," a classical
treatment of Southern lynchings; a few
Why pledge a Greek
Organization
Maya—see page 3
Nine young men stand with their heads
bowed in submission in front of a plan¬
tation-style building. Their faces are drawn
with fatigue, and theirclothesare rumpled
and dirty. A man paces sternly in front of
them to keep them from mingling with
curious passers-by.
Although this may sound like some¬
thing straight out of "Roots," it is actually
a peek at one of the largest predominantly
Black institutions in this nation today—
the Black Greek system.
Unfortunately, a peek is all that most of
us get of Black Greekdom. College stu¬
dents watch with curiosity, a we and some¬
times pity as Black men and women shed
their individuality to become grovelling
pledgees who remain at the beck and call
of their superiors for up to ten weeks.
Why do college students bear the humi¬
liation of pledging a Greek organization?
Donald K. Brockett, one of the founders
of his chapter of Omega Pst Phi Fraternity
two years ago at Virginia Tech, explained:
"1 didn't suffer any humiliation 'from
pledging. I 'saw what I wanted and I
worked for ft. You don't have a sense of
reverence for anything that is handed to
you. Pledging is a matter of showing your
worthiness—it's a learning experience."
For most Greeks, pledging is indeed a
learning experience. All pledges of na¬
tional organizations must learn the his¬
tory and traditions of the organization
and its chapters. In addition, pledges are
often expected to dress alike, live together
and walk together in lines during the
entire pledge period. These activities,
coupled with tasks and assignments, are
designed to promote love, unity and lead¬
ership among the members of the "line.*
"Pledging is like the pressures of a life¬
time condensed in a few weeks," said a
member of Iota Phi Theta who pledged at
Northeastern University. "But it's only a
short time to pledge, and a lifetime to be a
brother "
People pledge for different reasons
Some Greeks say that it was written on tht
wall at birth that they would pledge theii
mother* or father's organization. Others
say that the experience of going to a large
or predominately white university made
them seek the close ties with other Blacks
that Greek life 'offered.  Peer pressure
By Desiree Cooper
(Taken from Tkt iUcfc Coftcfiaa. December I9SI
January 1982.)
channeled still more in the direction of
Black fraternities and sororities.
Statford L. Smith was one of the
founders of a chapter of Phi Beta Sigma at
a small community college in Maryland.
He and his fraternity brothers felt a need
to establish an organization to preserve
their Black culture in a school that did not
cater to the needs of a Black student
Traditionally, Blacks have had no
organization that enabled them to keep
their identity, stretch out socially, and
participate in other school organizations
to see how things are run. *A Black Greek
organization can fulfill almost every need
of a Black student—especially on a cam¬
pus where those needs are neglected,"said
the stout,"verbose Sigma.
"Sororities are different from clubs,"
said tall, Californian Leslie-Wells, who
pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha at U.C.L. A.
"There's a certain stabkness and security
in sorority life."
And so it goes that year after year,
thousands of Black men and women cross
over into a social elite where much of the
campus fun is spawned. But all of the
national Black Greek organizations offer
more than just parties and picnics. They
are service organizations which stress
academics, citizenship, community invol¬
vement and self-improvement.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., for
example, runs the Cleveland Job Corps
Center to train the unemployed for entry-
level positions. It also fosters a "Right to
Read" project and offers foreign travel
grants to its most scholarly members.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. raises
money yearly to solicit matching funds
from Congress for low-income housing.
AH nine of the major Black Greek organi¬
zations donate money regularly to the
NAACP aikUhe United Negro College
Fund.
Why—see page 7
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