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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 1984)
C' Mtftl 'Ol XJBTV1C13J -Acpuj traditions and customs Cfassesj Editorial Black American's achieve ments, honors and contribu tions often are overlooked, even today when Americans pride themselves on being "o- pen minded." If Americans are so open-minded, then why did it take so long to choose a black woman to be Miss America, or why did it take so long for a black man to be supported for the Democratic Party presi dential candidacy? Not that people don't care, maybe they just need to be re minded of blacks' significant role in the growth and devel opment of this country. Since 1976, the entire month of February traditionally has been set aside for just this pur pose — to make American citi zens, both white and black, aware of the history of blacks and their continuing influence in America's past, present and future. To recognize these black achievements and honors — which include contributions in music, medicine, politics and much more — this week's At Ease is focusing on Black His tory Month. Battalion Editorial Board Gospel music is black tradition Injustices spark activity ByKARI FLUEGEL Reporter Swing low sweet chariot; Coming for to carry me home. An all black choir singing gospel music during church services has become a familiar Sunday morning sight and sound throughout the United States. With the passage of time, it has become increasingly diffi cult to classify most American traditions as essentially black or white because they have be come so intertwined. One ex ception, however, is music. Gospel music is a tradition bom among black Americans sometime between the first enslavement of the black Afri cans and the reconstruction pe riod after the Civil War. Modern gospel music has de veloped into a combination of singing and preaching familiar to black people of all ages. Gospel music is represented at Texas A&M by The Voices of Praise. The choir is two years old and has 20 members. Modern gospel music has developed into the combination of sing ing and preaching fa miliar to all ages of black people. "I like the way it (gospel mu sic) sounds," says choir presi dent Tracey Howard. "It is a different form of worship in stead of reading. I guess most people like gospel music be cause they were raised with it. It is a mellow type of music and it's easy to listen to." But gospel music, though the most familiar black music, is not the only type of music that was greatly influenced by black Americans. Through the cross-pollination of marches, French quadrilles, Spanish rhythyms and black dance music, jazz bloomed at the turn of the century and be came a vital force in music. When jazz emerged there were two strains: the light airy ragtime and the heavy emo tional blues. "Gospel is about religion, and blues is derived from gospel but it doesn't express religion." Howard says. Pop and soul music, though basically dif ferent, have much more in common with jazz than with any other types of music. Because musicians such as Duke Ellington, Eubie Blake and Stevie Wonder have carried on the tradition, jazz, blues and soul now are universally popu lar, having spread around the world from their origin 80 years ago in New Orleans. Pop and soul music, though basically different, have much more in common with jazz than with any other types of music. "All types of music fit into soul, but now what people call soul is almost the same as pop music," Howard says. Soul mu sic often is the label put on dance music. "Soul is closer to pop than some things, but is really a com bination of gospel and blues all together," she says. "Soul is centered deep inside you. It is a meaningful type of music sort of based on experience. It mostly comes from your fee lings." By BONNIE LANGFORD Staff Writer Imagine always having to sit at the back of the bus, regard less of how full the bus is ... even when you're tired, you'll have to give up your seat time and time again ... because of your color. After putting up with this for some time you might grow tired ... and you might decide you have as much right to that seat as anyone else. Many black Americans can remember a time when a situa tion such as the one above didn't require imagination; it was real. They also can remem ber what Rosa Parks did on Dec. 1,1955. Parks, a black woman from Montgomery, Ala., rode the bus home from her job one day. As the bus filled, a white man demanded she give up her seat. Parks replied that she was tired and her feet hurt. She didn't move, even when the bus driver asked her to. Eventually she was arrested. Incidents like this weren't un common in the south during Parks' time, and it might have gone unnoticed, but something was sparked. A young Baptist minister, Martin Luther King, started a bus boycott. Life 30 years ago was not easy for southern blacks. They were promised a "separate but equal" life, but only were given separation. Blacks had separate water fountains, separate restrooms and separate waiting rooms in train stations. They also had separate dining rooms in res taurants, or were served from a walk-up window. Blacks were also discrimi nated against by store-owners. For example, they weren't al lowed to try on clothing at dry goods stores. If the clothes didn't fit, too bad. Minority fellowships and scholarships have made Texas A&M an attainable goal for some students. The 15th Amendment gave blacks the right to vote, but po tential voters were hampered by poll taxes and voting re quirements. Black schools and churches evolved into a separate black subculture. They created their own world ... with their own teachers, preachers and shop owners. As late as 1950, the Supreme Court condemned an attempt by the University of Texas to es tablish a special law school overnight — so the school could enroll a Neero applicant. This ruling forced the South to inte grate at the graduate and pro fessional level. In 1954 in Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kan., the Supreme Court struck down racial discrimination say ing "separate but equal" was unconstitutional. Federal troops were used to enforce the ruling. The changes made didn't af fect Texas A&M until 1960, when the first black students actually eanrolled. Both Texas A&M and Prairie View A&M University were es tablished in 1876, the latter was the agriculture and mechanical school for blacks. Prairie View was the only Texas state univer sity for blacks until 1947, when Texas State University was es tablished. Even today, not many mi nority students attend Texas A&M. As a matter of fact, so few minorities attend, that the University has been involved in battles with the Department oi Health, Education and Welfare, and with affirmative action groups. The number of mi nority students has grown, however, since the Texas Edu- see HISTORY page 6 Prejudice still exists By LAURI REESE Staff Writer If ever racism and prejudice are to be eliminated, it'll have to start with the churches, says Erma Jefferson, who works with the Democratic Party. The churches preach brotherly love, she says, but don't practice it. Prejudice is everywhere, Jef ferson says. It starts from birth and continues through death. Even cemeteries are segregated, she says. Black people have It's becoming more and more difficult for blacks to enter college because of cutbacks in basic opportunity grants. their own cemeteries, their own neighborhoods and their own churches. Dr. Dan McCool, assistant professor of political science at Texas A&M, says that although segregation is no longer written into the law in plain English, it still exists because of racism and prejudice. The Texas Poll, conducted in December, suggested that blacks are the only people clearly convinced that integra tion has been a good thing for their communities. The survey, which was reported in the Bryan Eagle, was said to have found that 71 percent of the blacks and 32 percent of the whites surveyed said integra tion had been a positive change. McCool and Jefferson both say that recent steps in segrega tion and racism have been steps backward. More blacks than ever before were hired in the past ten years, but now they're being laid off and are being replaced by white people, Jefferson says. It's be coming more and more difficult for blacks to enter college be cause of cutbacks in basic op portunity grants. Also, Ku Klux Klan activity has increased, she says. Jefferson says the gap be tween whites and blacks is wid ening due to the governmental decisions to give tax deductions to students in private schools, to cut the food stamp program, and to cut Social Security. McCool says civil rights viola tions and cases are not pursued by the justice department to the same extent they used to be. He says the Civil Rights Commis sion recently made a complete reversal from its earlier stand and came out against programs designed to compensate for the negative effects of racism — like affirmative action, quotas and busing. Affirmative action considers racism as a factor, usually when hiring or promoting someone, McCool says. Employers take into account that minorities had an additional hurdle to cross, having to fight racism and prej udice and work harder to get to the same point as the white people being considered for the job, he says. Quotas are rigid require- Civil rights violations and cases are not pur sued by the justice de partment to the same extent they used to be. ments in terms of numbers, Mc Cool says. For example, a com pany may decide that 10 percent of the people hired must be minorities. Critics say affirmative action and quotas encourage reverse discrimination, but Jefferson says these people are "blowing in the wind." She says they don't under stand because they've always had the opportunity to go to any school they want to and to become anything they want to become.