Agricultural and Technical State University - Ayantee Yearbook (Greensboro, NC)

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Dedication to the Concept of Individualism Life, with its motivating forces, is nourished and sustained by every man ' s silent dreams and aspirations that intonate endlessly from within; Directing that instinctive search for eternal peace within his being and ultimately to please Almighty God. Other than recurring perplexing uncertainties and the sure eventuality of times for love, anger, fear, hate and sorrow; Life guarantees absolutely nothing to any of us except the assurance that these emotions can and will approach andpenetrate the most protected sectors of our soul. Every faithful dreamer of the universe will at some time in his life be helplessly entangled in the social and moral conceptions of the multitude within his environment; Yet every man dreams in solitude; And in time, destiny separates him from those he holds dear. If on life ' s road of laughter and tears you should leave me far behind; To wander blindly and contentedly in the obscure distance; with no desire to go on; Who can know why, except me and Almighty God? Should you prefer the fragrant smell of blossoms on a cloudless day in ring and I prefer fluffy white snow on a chilly day in Winter; Who is wrong, if we cannot be different? Your pleasures need not be my pleasures; Your fears need not be my fears; And your dreams need not be mine; For while we are so alike, our complex and unique destinies make each of us so very different. Yet as true friends; Our differences are securely bound by mutual respect and affection; Knowing that perhaps it is because of our unique differences that we still live. When I must laugh only when you laugh; Love only the spiritual and material concepts, deeds, affairs, and possessions you love; When I must abuse those you hate to win your admiration and willingly forsake all of the ideas, dreams, and convictions I now possess; There will be no purpose for my life. Life is as personal as death itself; With every man being responsible only to himself and Almighty God for his actions. COMPASSION IS THE KEY. Jasper J. Thompson

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' - WMmummmsBmaumm m Forewor , Every moment of our existence is permeated with some type of struggle. We struggle for grades and for personal recognition. We struggle to establish our identities, both as individuals and as a proud. Black People. Above all we struggle for survival — trying desperately to make it in this world we are in. This past year has seen many changes — on this campus, in the nation, and in the world. Here at A T we have been troubled by the possibility of a merger into the UNC system; not afraid of the merger itself, but apprehensive that A T might possibly lose its identity as a major black institution. On the national scene, the Watergate scandal and the alleged energy crisis have completely destroyed the little faith in the American government we might have secretly harbored. The international scene has been one of constant upheaval, with the war between Egypt and Israel throwing a pall over the entire world. Despite the upheaval and the uncertainty of our world, we have not abandoned our struggles here on this campus, and these varied and numerous efforts are what this book is all about. We have worked hard during this year and we will continue our struggle in the future. We, the staff of the Ayantee, present for you some momentos of the year through which we have just struggled. We hope they evoke laughter, tears, pain, and pride; but, more important, we hope these offerings will remind us that the battle is not over yet, and will in.spire us to renew the struggle for tomorrow. Jf i»A- »K- .% ,■

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• ' THE NIGGAS- MESSIAH ' ' by Allah Vie KoKo Let me introduce myself — despite how conceited, arrogant prophetic I may sound. Backin the WDO ' s I was snatched from the womb I dug the haps so I ' went underground an unusual neo-nate from the Shabazz tribe in the Motherland I bestowed upon myself the name 3 sixty for I ducked, dodged and peeped the entire cauca. ' ioid clan ' s plan Who gave him a play — truly couldn ' t .say — but for decades decades I dug the arrival of them wooden floating sardine cans night day saw my family modeling cast — iron jewelry like never worn across the sea around their necks, wrists, ankles and waists — restricted to K inky haired choice of color shades like me. saw the Indians conned forced aside — at the .sadistic beast — Blackmen Redmen died yet these are the deceased owners of the green thumbs that built this land and as of now our Blood has been shed in vain, that this purgatory Amerika now stands angtr filled my heart — smacked lincoln in the mouth, and he signed the emancipation proclamation met the civil war — now neo-slavery in the midst of jive communication Perceived the highlights of Christianity — the family down on their knees in tears Still pleading to a God who never saw the problem all these years couldn ' t evan cast a ballet to vote, the Ku Klux Klan, and Black Legion had the familx in smoke Brother Marcus Garvey showed — finally hit the scene Preaching beauty of Blackness for the Black Star Line his Back to Afrika dream but the beast came icith another game nickle in fed — time blew his thang depression knocking dust, as the seeds of ISLAM commence to grow truth to alleviate the Blackman ' s imposed beliefs of a thought pattern — like pearly white snow a ■ma. ' ««.