nubian message March 2, 2011 | 1

ISSUE 17 SENTINEL OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AT NC STATE SINCE 1992 WWW.NCSU.EDU/NUBIAN

WEDNESDAY | MARCH 2 | 2011

NUBIAN MESSAGE

Teachable See Pg. 7

Jasmine Harris | Managing Editor

The ladies of the Kappa Omicron chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the NCSU Collegiate 100 Chapter of 100 Black Men of America, Inc. held a very informative pro-gram about the effects the United States judicial sys-tem has on the black com-munity, Tuesday February 22, 2011 in SAS Hall. The purpose of the program was to invoke discussion and to inform students of factors that place many African American men and women into jails and pris-ons.

The program began with students watching two documentaries on black males and the prison system. According to the documentaries, 1 in every 100 Americans are in jail or prison, however 1 in every 15 African Americans are in jail or prison. The documentaries provided insight on the War On Drugs in America by attorney and author of The New Jim Crow, Mi-chelle Alexander. The documentaries raised questions and great discussions on whether there were more black men in jail than in college. The majority of the African Americans in the documentaries assumed that more black men were in jail, and so did the attendees of the program. After revealing that there were

actually more black men in college, despite that these statistics were fairly close, discussion was generated on why most people be-lieved there were more black men in jail.

Students brought up several reasons, such as the media portraying the negative statistics about black people and the racial bias of blacks committing more crimes than other races. Quite a few people mentioned that they could relate based on personal experience, as many of their relatives were in jail or prison compared to the amount of their relatives in college. There are also bad influences that may lead young black men into the prison system such as exposure to gangs and violence, the absence of a

father figure in the black family, drugs and the lack of opportunity in their en-vironments. Since many African Americans face economic situations, many say that college takes African American men and women out of that environment. It keeps young men and women busy and influences them to make the right deci-sions, so they would not have to return to that environment. Senior in Commu-nications Media and president of the Collegiate 100, Keyuntae Ward, mentioned that some people do make the right decisions, but despite those decisions they

“It’s A Hard Knock Life” The Judicial System and the Black Community

Members of the Kappa Omicron Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. discuss impacts of the judicial sys-tem on the African American community.

Shanequa Winstead | Editorial

November 30, 1992 was the date in which the first issue of the Nubian Message was printed. Despite the fact that this newspaper is almost 20 years old, our Student Media counterparts have yet to grasp the simple yet necessary purpose of this newspaper.

February 10, 2011 the Technician published a derogatory cartoon in its newspaper taking a shot at both the Nubian Message and the African American community that it serves. This cartoon displayed both the Nubian Message and the Tech-nician; the Technician newspaper with the image of the Nubian Message serving as its shadow with the words “Nubian Message Shadow of the Past” on its cover. Underneath the cartoon were the words “Why have two half newspapers when you can have one whole newspaper”, this being a clear contradic-tion to what was portrayed by the image.

My initial response to the picture published in the Technician was pure anger and the feeling that this image was basically a slap in the face to every mem-

ber of the African American community on this cam-pus. However, I had to remind myself that although NC State is a research one institution, not everyone on campus is capable of such. Thus I have, along with guidance from others, decided to make this a teach-able moment for certain members of the Technician

staff, certain advisors to Student Media, and other members of the campus community who have yet to see the significance of our publication. With very

minimal research effort I came across the follow-ing information.

In 1992, the birth year of the Nubian Message, African American students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill began protesting and lobbying for their University’s Administration to build a free-standing cultural center with the pur-pose of expanding the knowledge of the African American culture. While NC State had recently completed its African American cultural center, it was not fully staffed, had no operating budget

at the time, and the library only contained about 10 books.

September 23, 1992 a member of the Technician staff wrote in a column that the African American student activists at UNC were racist, compared them to the Ku Klux Klan, and bashed their rally. The next

A Teachable MomentKnowledge is like a garden; if it is not cultivated, it cannot

be harvested- African Proverb

Judicial see Pg. 7

“...I have, along with guidance from others, decided to make this a teachable moment

for certain members of the Technician staff, certain advisors to Student Media, and other

members of the campus community...”

2 | March 2, 2011 nubian message

CJ Guion | Staff Writer

Chick-fil-A has been the center of controversy on college campuses around the country following reports that the res-taurant chain publicly supported an Anti-Gay group. Currently nine universities such as Arizona State and Texas Tech currently have petitions circulating on www.Change.org to have the restaurant chain permanently banned from their institutions. Other campuses such as Duke University have also begun to review their working relationships with the company.

Earlier this month, news surfaced that a Pennsylvania outlet of Chick-fil-A, agreed to provide food for a marriage semi-nar hosted by a leading anti-gay organization in the state. Traditionally, Chick-fil-A has been transparently known to be a private business that is strong on Christian values; after all, company policy states that Chick-fil-A must be closed on Sundays and has acquired the nickname in some circles as “Jesus Chicken.” Thus far, Indiana University South Bend has been the only university to successfully remove the restaurant from their campus. However, after a careful review of the suspension, the restaurant received the go ahead to return to South Bend.

Following the suspension of the restaurant the founder of the company went viral with a public statement insisting that the donation of sandwiches simply does not imply support for the organization’s mission:

“Providing food to these events or any event is not an endorsement of the mission, political stance or motives of this or any other organization,” stated Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy. Cathy went on to say that any suggestion that the company backed the organization was inaccurate.

Chick Fil A is the centerpiece of the Atrium Food Court here on campus and is slated to open in another location on Centennial campus in the spring. The restaurant was recently upgraded to a larger space following the revamp of the Atrium. It has been stated that NC State students have been quiet on the issue, but that just may not be the case.

According to Justine Hollingshead, Director for NC State GLBT Programs and Services, talks have begun to arise be-tween the GLBT Center and other student groups, but the respective organizations have not reached the point where they are ready to begin talks with University Dining and Campus Enterprises. From a business perspective she under-stands that “NC State has a larger student population to serve.” However, she stated that “the school must realize that the GLBT Center and other student groups have the right to speak out against the values set forth by Chik Fil A.” Being that NC State is the home of diversity and inclusion, Hollingshead would like for NC State in the future to closely exam-ine vendors they bring on campus to ensure that they mesh with the values set forth by the University as well as those of the GLBT Center.” Hollingshead firmly believes that students have the final say on issues by way of their buying power. After all, Chik Fil A is not the only option for chicken. Hollingshead believes that one reason why students may be quiet on the issue is because they simply do not know or have not heard of the situation.

LocationsAvent Ferry Complex

Brooks HallCaldwell Hall

Harrelson HallTalley Student Center

Witherspoon Student CenterWolf Village Apartments

inspirational quotes of the weekWe cannot silence the voices that we do not like hearing. We can, however, do everything in our

power to make certain that other voices are heard.-DEBORAH PROTHROW-STITH

It’s not what you call us, but what we answer to that matters.-Djuka

MATE MASIE“what I hear, I keep”

A symbol of the wisdom, knowledge, and prudence. The implied meaning of the phrase “mate masie” is “I under-

stand”. Understanding means wisdom and knowledge, but it also represents the prudence of taking into consider-

ation what another person has said.

http://www.adinkra.org/htmls/adinkra/mate.htm

372 Witherspoon Student CenterBox 7138

NC State UniversityRaleigh, NC 27695-371

PHONE NUMBER: 919.515.1468 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: ncsu.nubian@gmail.com

WEBSITE: www.ncsu.edu/nubianTWITTER: @NUBIANMESSAGE

Only with the permission of our elders do we proudly produce each edition of the Nubian Message.Dr. Yosef ben-Yochannan: Dr. John Henrik Clark: Dr. Leonard Jeffries: The Black Panther Party: Mumia A. Jamal: Geronimo Pratt: Tony Williamson: Dr. Lawrence Clark: Dr. Augustus McIver Witherspoon: Dr. Wandra P. Hill:

Mr. Kyran Anderson: Dr. Lathan Turner: Dr. M. Iyailu Moses: Dokta Toni Thorpe and all those who accompany us as we are STILL on the journey to true consciousness.

Madavia Johnson OPINIONS EDITOR

Mario R Terry | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jasmine Harris | COPY EDITOR

Shekiah Jones MIND, BODY, & SOUL EDITOR

Sentinel of the African-American Community at North Carolina State University

Nubian Message

COPYRIGHT 2011 BY NORTH CAROLINA STATE STUDENT MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Don’t Speak Too Soon: Verdict on Chick-Fil-A Far From Being Reached

Contrary to some beliefs, the issue on Chick Fil has reached NC State

nubian message March 2, 2011 | 3

This Week In Black History

February 28th

1932Richard Spikes invented the auto-

matic gear shift

1984Musician and entertainer Mi-

chael Jackson wins eight Grammy Awards. His album, “Thriller”,

broke all sales records to-date, and remains one of the top-grossing

albums of all time.

1990Philip Emeagwali awarded the Gor-don Bell Prize (computing’s Nobel

Prize) for solving one of the twenty most difficult problems in the com-

puting field.

March 1st

1960Alabama State Board of Educa-

tion expelled nine Alabama State students for participating in sit-in

demonstrations.

2002Miss District of Columbia Shauntay

Hinton is crowned Miss USA.

March 2nd

1962“Wilt the Stilt” Chamberlain scored

100 points in a single basketball game-a professional record that still stands today. He sunk 36 field goals

and 28 foul shots.

March 3rd

1886Robert F. Flemming, Jr. patents a

guitar.

March 4th

1954President Eisenhower named J.

Earnest Wilkins of Chicago assistant secretary of labor.

For more facts visit www.blackfacts.com

Kierra Leggett | Opinions Writer

India Aire said it best in her 2005 hit song, I Am Not My Hair, in which she affirmed that despite what soci-ety and people as a whole had to say, she would not be defined by the hair growing on top of her head. Now, six years later, it seems as if we have ceased to take heed of India’s meaningful message. With the process of “going natural” becoming ever more popular amongst African American women, it seems as if negative sentiments and notions are being con-tinually aimed towards those women who get their hair chemically relaxed.

Some members of the natural hair community have taken to bashing those with relaxed hair, claim-ing that their relaxed haired counterparts are try-ing to achieve a more Anglican appearance, or as it has been said, people relax their hair “just for it to be white.” This is a complete and total misconcep-tion. My hair has been chemically relaxed since I was six years old, and I can honestly say that there has never been a time that I looked in the mirror and saw anything but my own beautiful brown face staring back at me. Even with a relaxer, the texture of my hair (and most other black women) has little resem-blance to that of any white woman. Those that say the only reason that some black women choose to relax their hair is to “look white” have completely missed the mark.

While admittedly there are some advantages to all natural hair, it is not the only option for having healthy, stylish and beautiful hair. Natural hair re-quires a lot of maintenance including daily moistur-izing, increased washing, and the hassle of detan-gling. If ever you decide to straighten your natural hair, humidity and water are toxic in that hair and at the first signs of moisture return back to its original, kinky state. As college students we can all attest to the fact that time is absolutely of the essence; not ev-eryone is willing and or able to dedicate the amount of time necessary into maintaining natural hair. With chemically relaxed hair one has the ease of wrapping hair, which will maintain a hairstyle for up to two weeks. Also, relaxed hair can be just as healthy as natural hair, if it is not over processed and cared for properly.

All in all, there are positive and negatives to both styles of hair. Whether you rock a natural or relaxed style, the biggest thing is that you respect others opinions to wear their hair in the style that is pleasing to them. Do not automatically assume that because someone has relaxed hair they are unhappy with themselves or trying to give off a different persona, also the same applies to those with natural hair. Do not automatically assume that natural haired individ-uals are afro-centric or looking down upon you be-cause of the chemically altered state of your hair. As India Aire said, we are “not our hair.”

Relaxed Hair, Just for Me

Sampson Bloh | Staff Writer

News came out on Sunday night that a vacation palace of the Libyan President Moam-mar Gadhafi was looted by an-gry posters. This is a sign that the Libyan dictator’s days is really coming to an end. It is interesting that that house was not protected, but still lets not quickly conclude this Libyan Revolution as a success for the protesters. Moammar Gad-hafi is a hard core criminal who would not accept defeat that easily. Earlier this week a Libyan plan attacked a building that is presumed to house am-munition for rebel troops while permanent leaders who had resigned from Gadhafi’s Gov-ernment are already moving to create an interim government and preparing for Gadhafi’s Departure from power. The rebel forces are now in control of the eastern half of Libya and

are willing to march to Tripoli, Libya’s capital. In the wake of all this anti-Gadhafi hatred, Mr. Gadhafi stated earlier this week during an interview that the people love him and would die for him. Many in the inter-national community are calling him delusional. Main while, a video came out on Sunday night in which Moammar Gadhafi’s son was exciting pro-Gadhafi supporters to hold on to their guns. The young Gadhafi told them that support and more am-munition are on the way. Like Saddam Hussein and sons, is the Libyan dictator and his son getting ready to fight to protect their 42 years hold on Libya, or is this just an attempt to bluff?

The United States government had called on the Libyan leader to step down. In fact, The Unit-ed States is positioning ships in strategic area which could be interpreted as a preparation for an attack. The international

community has expressed the will to charge Mr. Gadhafi with war crime and steps are being taken to shut down the Gadhafi family and the government. Al-ready, Libya’s 30 billion dollar assets had been frozen in the United States. Some European nations sent military missions to Libya in order to rescue their citizens. The United Kingdom, a country that is not allowed over Libyan air space is one of these countries. Its Prime Min-ister, David Cameron justified the mission as positive even though there are risks involved. Britain evacuated about 150 of its citizens from Libya and Germany on the other hand evacuated about 132. The fact that Britain is eager to send a rescue mission over a restricted Libyan air space could be seen as an attempt to provoke an at-tack on its air crafts in order to find a reason to retaliate against the Libyan dictator.

Libyan Crisis Absolutely Serious

4 | March 2, 2011 nubian message

Is it what you know or who you know?

Cynthia CaoAccountingFreshman

“I believe both because obviously you have to know some things to getfar in life but who you know also plays a large role.”

Juwareyah Abdus-Saboor & Nick CirielloJunior Majoring in Social Work & Senior Majoring in

International Studies

“I would say it’s who you know because I believe a lot of your knowledge comes from other people and social. Also

if you know everything and you have no one to share it with, it’s worthless.”

Rashard WicksFirst Year College

Freshman

“You have to focus on balancing them both out. It is important to have

the education and the networking as-pects.”

Brandon Pettway

nubian message March 2, 2011 | 5

Organization SpotlightSAA-PAMS

Society of African American Physical and Mathematical

Scientists

Yolanda Ray | News Writer

The Society of African American Physical and Mathematical Sci-ences (SAA-PAMS) is a student organization located on the cam-pus of North Carolina State Uni-versity. The organization aims to focus on the recruitment, re-tention, and graduation of Afri-can Americans to the College of

Physical and Mathematical Sci-ences at NC State University.

Membership is open to all full time students on campus who are interested in the Physical and Mathematical Sciences. Majors include Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, and Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences.

still have setbacks which may turn them back into the wrong direction.

Jamillia Lackey, a junior majoring in Math Educa-tion and Suzette Aiken, a senior in Elementary Educa-tion, both members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, brought up great points that black men and women are not hearing what they need to be hearing. This led to dis-cussion on possible solutions for blacks being victims to the judicial systems. Perhaps if college life looked more appealing to the young African American male, then more would want to attend. Suzette Aiken stat-ed, “It’s highly important for young men and women to be educated about themselves and their culture. It’s impossible to empower each other without a clear understanding of ourselves.” A student men-tioned in one of the documentaries, it was brought of that if adequate education was given in jails and prisons that it would give inmates something better

to do with themselves. More people would come out as better citizens and would have something to look forward to with their second chance at life.

Finally, students were broken up into groups and given scenarios of situations in which an African American somehow broke the law and the challeng-es they faced because of it. A scenario that was used, as it relates to college, was an African American high school student charged with assault and battery af-ter getting into a fight at a house party, and the ef-fects that would have prior to and after her college career. These scenarios really helped students see that the smallest things in the environments that blacks may be exposed to can have a great influence on their lives, which is a way they are victims to the judicial system.

There are approximately 28,000 blacks and 6,000 whites in jail or prison in the United States. This

means that about four times as many blacks are in prison compared to whites. “It’s A Hard Knock Life” was a great success; the presentation gave students some insight on what they could be doing to change these disheartening statistics. Without change, African Americans face a threatening situation to their existence. At the MTV Political Forum in 2007, presidential candidate John Edwards stated “...the idea that we can keep incarcerating and keep incar-cerating — pretty soon we’re not going to have a young African-American male population in America. They’re all going to be in prison or dead. One of the two.” As college students well on our way to suc-cess, it’s important that we continue to reveal to the African American community and to the world that there are better choices for our people.

day 200 students on this campus rallied in the brickyard protesting the article, some student leaders had even planned to burn copies of the Technician. One of the leaders of this rally, graduate student Greg Washington, stated simply, “We need a black paper on this campus that will give coverage to a black perspec-tive.” Thus this publication was spawned.

So is the Nubian Message really a “shadow of the past”? If so then one mind boggling factor, for me, is why was it that of all the Black History Month pro-grams that occurred on our campus, not one of them received coverage by the Technician? Furthermore, of all the things that the Technician could publish this month, why a photo degrading our culture? In the month of February, according to the Black History Month calendar of events published by the department of Multicultural Student Affairs, there are as many programs saluting Black History Month as there are days in the month. I would hope that members of the Techni-cian staff would much rather uplift this month by featuring a Black History event rather than degrade it. However, we see that this is not the case and that the voice provided by the Nubian Message is very much needed.

Another issue affecting Student Media is the one-sided “civil war” within the organization as a whole, stemming from: comparisons constantly being made between this publication and the Technician, the lack of respect towards staff of

the Nubian Message from Advisors and even peer members of student media, and finally the seemingly hopeful demise of our publication by our own advisors.

Unbeknownst to most, it is a struggle for members of our staff to even step onto the third floor of Witherspoon for fear that there is another issue that Stu-dent Media has with our paper or our staff. To top this off, the members of our staff have to struggle with constant reminders from our advisors that this paper will not exist in upcoming years due to budget cuts.

Seeing that every other organization under student media is an award win-ning organization, there obviously is something that these people can do to help our publication thrive. However, efforts are not being made. But who can blame them for not wanting to help us and understand our culture? Is that not how this country works anyway? The culture of the majority moves along without ques-tion, while the minority is made to conform.

Let us not forget that everyone, every group, every publication, every culture on this campus has a voice. The Technician, as a student publication, should give voice to our entire campus community and its many voices. Until this happens, as we have completed our celebration of Black History Month, let us hope that the subtle prejudice partnered with lack of gumption does not take the voice of the Nubian Message away from us.

Judicial From Pg. 1

Teachable From Pg. 1

6 | March 2, 2011 nubian message

Darius Dawson | Film Critic

The feature-length documentary film What are we doing here? chronicles the adventures of three Amer-ican brothers and one cousin on a quest to Africa to determine whether foreign aid is actually benefiting the continent or hurting it. The documentary was screened on campus on February 25th in the Wash-ington Sankofa Room of Witherspoon Student Cen-ter. In this edition of Film Forum the actual event and the contents of the film will be discussed.

The Klein brothers, Brandon, Daniel and Nick, joined by their cousin Tim were interested in the state of Africa after receiving so many years of foreign aid. Thusly, the Klein family quit their jobs and headed to Africa with cameras to document what they found. Nick Klein was actually here on campus to present the film. Nick began the film with a short speech let-ting the audience know that there is no real answer to the question posed by his film. The verdict would be up to the audience to discuss how effective aide is in Africa.

The film begins with a series of wide shots of the African desert. The shots are beautiful in color con-sidering that the brothers were shooting on digital media. It may be easy to be swept away in this initial cinematography, however these scenes are setting the mood for the overall tone of the film. The bar-renness of the desert is exactly why many African nations need food aid from foreign powers. After this initial montage of shots, one of the brothers is discussing the state of foreign aid in Africa with their guide. The man says that the problem with foreign aid is that they are trying to feed entire countries and

not teaching those countries to feed themselves. Non-Government Organizations (NGO’s) are often called “four-wheel drives,” especially in Ethiopia. This connotes that these Organizations are doing ev-erything for the country they are attempting to help, except for teaching them.

I believe that this is a reoccurring motif especially in large urban areas in America. Government organi-zations unlike NGO’s fund to send many unfortunate children from hapless communities to school or col-lege, however they do not teach those communities how to better themselves. After the beginning of the film the Klein’s filmed a rice drop in Ethiopia. Some of the Kleins were on the actually plane, while some where on the ground filming. The rice was dropped from around 2000 or 4000 feet in separate bags. When the bags hit the ground they would burst. After this, people, not government representatives or workers, just normal Ethiopians would come and scoop the rice back into the bags and take it to be sold at markets or to their homes. The process was not discussed in detail but this seems fairly odd. The drop sites and the distribution of the food are typi-cally not monitored. In the film Black Hawk Down (Ridley Scott 2001) there is a scene where there is a similar drop of rice in Somalia. United States Army Rangers are watching as Semolina rebels take the rice and put it onto a truck for their militia. As the citi-zens who need the rice attempt to grab some they are gunned down. The Army Rangers cannot do any-thing because it is United Nations (UN) jurisdiction. However, the UN, or anybody else for that matter, are not monitoring the drops.

Every rice drop cannot be monitored due to lack of

personnel and the dangers associated with some of the areas where a drop may occur. However, what is even more shocking is how children sponsorship money is spent. When an individual sponsors a child in Africa the child never sees or receives that money or even gets any kind of aid.

The money sent goes towards the development of the NGO’s programs that they are trying to start in the area. For instance if there is a clean water system being established in a certain area the money sent will go towards hiring contractors and buying materi-als. The child that was supposedly being saved by the donations can die before the system is even imple-mented.

The shots were very heavy in the film. Wide shots portrayed a sense of helplessness, while tight shots seemed to focus on the anguish and despair of the land. This, however, should not discourage anyone from seeing the film. Even if someone is not prompt-ed to aid Africa in some way after the film they will feel a need to re-evaluate themselves. Minorities in America, as a generalization, have a hard time often making a success out of their careers or life. This is largely due to the sheer power of the majority. It would seem fitting that minorities take control over their destiny and use the tools around them to make their lives and their children’s lives better. There is a moment when the brothers are filming a young boy of about seven getting tested for aids. Around 4000 of the 6000 people in the area he lives in have aids. This small chapter in the film is very touching and even if it were not for information concerning the well fare of Africa, the film would be worth viewing to see how the little boy’s fate turns out.

On Saturday members of the NAACP Chapter on campus painted the tunnel with black history facts about previous students of NCSU, such as the first black undergraduates. The date of this event served the purpose of showing all that Black History is celebrated 365 days of the year.

NAACP Paints the Free Expression Tunnel in celebration of Black History

What are we doing here?Documentary on the State of Africa

nubian message March 2, 2011 | 7

Jasmine Quick, a junior in chemistry, sticks her “limiting thought” on the balloons. The Red Pump Affair tackled social injustice for women of color and the balloons symbolized the letting go of limiting thoughts brought on by social injustice.

Hosted by the lovely ladies of Mu Omicron Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Lambda Pi Chi Sorority, Inc., the Red Pump Affair was a salute to female empowerment by highlighting prejudice and social institutions that women face, particularly women of minority decent.

The Red Pump Affair

In celebration of Black History Month, the So-ciety of Afrikan American Cul-ture (SAAC) and Student Mentor Association created Black History Fam-ily Feud. Cicero Williams IV, a junior in parks, recreation and tourism man-agement helped host the Second Annual Black History Family Feud.

Family Feud

In the likeliness of the popular American television game show,

Family Feud, teams competed against each other to name the most

popular responses to a survey-type questionnaire. Black History

Family Feud was centered around Black history and the accomplish-

ments of African Americans.

The questions tested the contestants’ knowledge concerning Black His-

tory. Examples of questions included, “Famous athletes?” and “Tele-

vision shows with a majority African American cast?” The responses

ranged from across the board, only reiterating why Black History month

is still observed.

8 | March 2, 2011 nubian message

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8 |

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