Berkshire Community College - Falconer Yearbook (Pittsfield, MA)

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THE. FALCON'S NEST 3 evolution: 'll e Atnotimeinourlivesare we more aware of the things around us than at the college age. We are questioning things to a greater extent, and are becoming cogni- zant of the fact that the stork is out and natural childbirth is in. We are asking such questions as: Is God dead? ,What is love? what it a-um' some of these things have been ponderdsince the time of the original thinkers, the Greeks, only to be taken up by Rensiiance men and carried over to the present day. Even though we have these dilemmas to grapple with in the search for an identity, many peo- ple fail to take interest in things more mundane, things closer to us. things that face us in every- day life. The mundane things seem unimportant because they don't afect us in a way which makes us sit up and take notice, that is, they don't take suste- nance from our mouth. Since the summer of 65 , a phrase has appeared on the mass media all over the world. The term Black Power has struck fear into the hearts of white men ev- erywhere. The white liberal be- gan te turn hh back on civil rights groups, and the apathetic middle-clam black man began to slip farther into his bourgeois bag of uninterest. It's Commu- nist backed, it's militant: the eo-called Negro is going too fast, he should get his rights in in- stallments. After the riot in Watts, the term Black Power became tantamount to violence: however, before s definition of Black Power can be given, one must examine the trials and trib- ulations of the black man, the causes for his violence and unrest. Between 1889 and 1918, over three thousand l3,000l Afro- Americans were lynched through- out the South. When snti-lynch- ing law was presented. southern Congrmmen filibustered to pre- vent legislation. World War I aroused new hope in the Afro-American for the ree- toration of rights. For the first time since the Civil War, the black American was allowed to share the same freedom as that of the white man. He was allowed to die with him. ln the first year after the war more than seventy Afro-Americans were lynched, and during the last six months of the war there were twenty-four riots. Black men were excluded from unions and pushed out of jobs won during the war. Between 1940 and 1946 there were beatings, riots, and killings all over the South. Black soldiers were segregated in buses, at shops, and at counters i.n drug- stores. The height of stupidity was reached when the Red Cross refused blood from black donors, and when it was finally accepted it wo was segregated. Three WAC's were beaten in a Ken- tucky railway ststion in 1943 be- cause they dii not move as fast ss they should have from a White Only waiting room. A North Carolina white bus driver was cleared of s murder charge when be shot I black soldier in an argument over segregation. Today thousands ol' Afro- Americans are being drafted in Mimiasippi, and there is not one black man on the draft board. Hoe hands in cotton fields are getting three l3l dollars for a ten f 105 hour day with no minimum wage or age safeguard. There were eighteen C181 church and freedom house bombings in the summer of 64 in McComb, Mississippi. Bombings are still being perpetrated, and not one person has been brought to trial. On September 15, 1963, four school girls were killed in the bombing of a church in Birming- ham. Emmett Till, Hfteen 1151 years old, was born and raised in Chicago: and while visiting his grandparents in Mississippi, he who beaten to death for allegedly wolf-whistling at a white woman. If, in 1954, when the Supreme Court handed down the desegre- gation decision, you had been the black parent of a pre-schooler, the chances are you would attend this child's graduation from a segregated high school. On June 23rd, 1966, highway patrolmen fired tear gas canisters directly at marchers behind a segregated school in Canton, Mississippi. They kicked and beat with gunstocks those that were too sick or weak to run. One patrolman kicking a woman into semi-consciousness said, Nigger, you want your freedom? Well, here it is. The same day the cry Black Power was heard on June 16, 1966, Stokely Carmichael was ar- rested in Greenwood, Mississippi for putting marcher's tents up against police orders. An AP photo in the Times, June 17th, shows Stokely, his face twisted with pain, as white ofiicers twisted his arms behind his back to handcuff him. He had not re- sisted. A UPI photo of Aubry James Norwell, who shot James Mere- dith, shows him with both hands free, calmly puHing on a pipe as he enters a police car with no offi- cial hand on him. He did not re- sist: he had just fired a shotgun three times at Meredith. Many people believe the black man is moving too fast, and that his speed imperils the securities of the whites. It is true that many white groups have struggled to attain security, but no other group were slaves on American soil. No one else suffered discrimi- nation so intensely or so long as the black man. In one or two gen- erations, things altered greatly for oppressed Irish or Italians. For the Afro-American, after three centuries, wretchedness and misery afilict many. Intimidation and physical harassment can still be seen in the Ku Klux Klan and the Sons of Liberty. Even after new laws have been passed, little has changed in the life of the ghetto. The black man is going wo fast? The black man is not going fast enough, and claims to the contrary only play into the hands of those who believe that violence is the only way the black man will get ahead. Some eay there is no black problem in America. Some say the problem is s white one. It was 0IlS0ll the white man who created the race situation, and his fears and frailties are responsible for the present situation. Be- fore the white man can face the problem of living with others, he must face the arduous task of liv- ing with himself. Despite federal rulings and half-hearted attempts by pseudo- liberals, inane statutes still clut- ter the law books. In Kentucky, one such law readsg No textbook issued to a white school child shall ever be re-issued to s. col- ored school child, and no text- book issued to a colored school child shall ever be re-issued to a white school child. In Virginia, if the passenger fails to disclose his race, the train conductor act- ing in good faith shall be the sole judge of his race. In Louisiana all street railway companies carry- ing passengers in their cars shall provide equal but separate ac- commodations for the white and colored races by providing two or more cars or by dividing the cars with wooden or wire petitions. Black Power has become syn- onymous to violence. This coun- try was founded on violence, and an almost fanatical desire for freedom. We are now in the midst of a revolution, a political, social, and economical revolution: the end being the liberation of the black man from his psychological and physiological prison. Black Power means the or- ganization of the black commu- nity into a tight and disciplined group for six purposes: It means the growing of black political power, the building of black eco- nomic power, the improvement of the black self-image, the devel- opment of black leadership, the encouragement of federal law en- forcement, and the mobilization of the black consumer. Black peo- ple must stop being ashamed of being black. They must organize around the question of blackness and find an identity. They must move to s position where they can build independent political, social, economic, and cultural in- stitutions that they can control and raise as institutions of social change. In its simplest form it says that the black man has the right to be a man and control where he is in the majority and to have a proportional share of key positions where he is in the minority. According to many people, it will take time: but time ia run- ning out. America has created a monster, and unless the necessary steps are taken, history will re- peat itself in the form of a Fran- kenstein-type climax. From Charles Silberman's Cri- sis In Black and White come those famous words from Mount Sinai . . . I the Lord thy God am an impassionai God, visiting the guilt of the fathers upon the chil- dren, upon the third and fourth generations of those who reject me . . . This is the fourth genera- tion since the Civil War. I trem- ble for my country, said Thomas Jefferson, when I reflect that God is just. by Stakes W. Hall, Jr. iWith facts from Ebony, Com- monwealth, and Nutionl What You Don't Know About The Draft Law . . . Could Kill You I l ! The draft commands compliance to its rules without telling every- one concerned what all those rules are. It is entitled to compliance but not throu h ignorance of those affected. We discovered how little is known about the draft law and how difficult it is to find any in- formation and decided something had to be done. We have spent months researching the law and have found a lot of facts that are not generally known outside the Selective Service Headquarters. 1. 2. 3. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ll MANY persons are NOT IVIN REQUIRED T0 RIG- ISTER for the draft. Il' you are not required to register and volunteer, you will be registered WITHOUT BEING TOLD 'YOU 'DO NOT HAVE T0 REGISTER. Felw persons have seen the draft law. The government does not give out copies of the law to the public. A GLASSBLOWER is a critical occupation subject to deferment, there are dozens of other critical occupations. There are two services which FULFILL your military obli- gation besides the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Marines and the Air Force. If you are scheduled for induction there are many postpone- ments available. It is possible to appeal classifications to the President. There are 22 other classifications available besides 1A . The American Council On Education says: Enrollment in the first two years of graduate and professional schools next fall will be limited to women, veterans, men physically dis- qualified and those over the age of 25. Beginning in July, 1968, almost 7591, of all men inducted by Selective Service will be college graduates. DON'T BE DRAFTED UNNICESBARILYI Get expert informa- tion on the facts about the draft law. We provide a free service for students who send a brief resume of facts pertinent to their classifica- tion, this clipping from your newspaper, and a SELF-ADDRESSED, S TAM PED envelope: THE COMMITTEE FOR INFORMED YOUNG AHIRICANB FRIENDSHIP STATION Box 5668 Washington, D. C., 20007 Tb awk v. one January 30 here at B.C.C. marked hopefully wha much needed institution at the college. With Viet N of our faculty members decided to discuss this topic and Dove . Speaking during the President's Hour history department, took the position of Hawk and used word. Mr. Mulholland felt that Hawk was a blanket term used to describe those people who more or lem supported the ad- ministration. This does not mean that everyone that supports the administration is a bloodthirsty warmongerg Mulholland felt that there are as many varying de- grees of Hawk as there are of Dove , consequently there are Hawks to the left, the right , and the middle. Mulhol- land went on to further explain his position as Hawk by giv- ing his deinition of the gov- ernment, stating that essentially the United Statu is a republic, with elected representatives to run the affairs of the country. As such Mulholland felt that they know more about the eonnict than the average citizen and therefore should be better able to cope with crises of this nature and not let public opinion influ- ence them to any great degree. Mulholland, an ex-Colonel in the Ak Fong, and s pilot d ' B