A Negro Student on Campus Turmoil

...Finally, they must oppose their brethren who, though emotionally committed, have not only lost sight of the real goal, but who have rejected either consciously or unconsciously the prerequisites to its achievement...

...And this confrontation commences with incendiary rhetoric, the issuing of non-negotiable "demands," and the seizure of university buildings...

...for, as black students, they see these goals as but t-anquilizers, as binds in which, if they allow themselves to become entangled, "whitey" can continue to control their lives and through them the lives of all black people...

...They do so in their "demands" for Afro-American Studies programs wholly controlled by blacks, black faculty and coaches, black student lounges, black dorms, "soul food," and quotas for black student admissions...

...But black students soon realize that the real revolution exists not on the campus but in the larger society...

...In the fullest sense, these fundamentals can only be obtained through a college experience as broadly gauged and as free as possible...

...but some students, Negro students, today a minority, question the methods, the goals, and the style of their erstwhile brethren...

...Thus many Negro students, only recently freed of the confines of the ghetto, with the opportunity of a lifetime before them, suddenly become "Black students...

...And they view many of the "demands" made by black students as representing a new segregation, a revivification of the color line, a new veil to opportunity...

...To Negro college students, the future appears dim, for on all sides white administrators, students, and decision-makers seem intent upon conceding to black students' demands for separatism, for a renewal of racial exclusivism, for the maintenance of the color line...

...for these current students will tomorrow comprise the citizens and decision-makers of an American society in which Negroes will live...

...In this light, with this view of the revolutionary goal, Negro students question the current black happenings, for they see many of these as counterproductive to the achievement of an equal opportunity society...

...and further that university officials refrain from making concessions to blacks which would result in the creation of an atmosphere in which Negro students might be forced because of social pressure into making "choices" which could only limit, only divert them from achieving those skills without which no revolution is possible: knowledge, ability, and character...

...Negro students desire the transformation of American society from one of limited opportunities for some and the sky for others to one in which all men will have the opportunity to become all that they can, regardless of pigmentation...

...PERHAPS these black students are right...

...In many cases, these actions are directed against real grievances and, whether or not recognized, symbolize an indictment of the whole structure of American society, a structure which has until recently countenanced the conditions in which most Negro Americans live...

...These students will not be forced out...

...But, to the end, Negro students will and must oppose these now trends toward segregation, these now chains for Negro Americans...

...In their new situation—in fact, in their new life—some find a new freedom...

...Negro students desire the end of the color line...

...Having rejected "whitey's" allurements yet still within the university, black students become frustrated...

...Their revolutionary commitment COMMENTS AND OPINIONS is not based solely on an emotional reaction to the Negroes' plight, but rather on an emotion tempered by intellect...

...UNREST AND DISCONTENT characterize Negro student communities on campuses throughout this nation...

...His article first appeared in the March 11, 1969, issue of Connection, the magazine supplement of the Columbia Spectator, and is here reprinted with his permission—ED...

...Out of this ferment many directions will emerge and have emerged...

...Thus, in order to be relevant to their people, they must wage a form of revolution on campus...

...The continuing struggle must and will be waged...

...Negro students believe in academic success, in individual merit, achievement, and responsibility, for they realize that those more fortunate must prepare themselves for the continuing revolution that exists outside the ivied walls of academe...

...But the attainment of those skills which, in the long run, might be beneficial in the continuing effort have been cast aside by black students as meaningless, without merit, unworthy of their time and energy...

...In the whole area of curriculum, Negro students want no "academic ghettos...

...And the revolution, the real revolution, the one that takes long hard preparation, unshackled ability, tireless effort, and much time is not coming tomorrow...

...Indeed, many use their new freedom with its consequent permissiveness in furthering actions ostensibly directed toward so-called black liberation...

...And they are prepared to meet white students—indeed, white society—on its terms because that society will determine whether the revolution takes on a relatively peaceful tone or descends into an awful violence which can only mean doom for Negro Americans...

...Their revolution is against the university in which they are supposedly forced to adhere to "white standards...

...While black students busily issue "demands," hold rallies, indulge in countless meetings, attract publicity and foundation and university funds, Negro students deeply committed to the real task find themselves in an unenviable position, for they must struggle for the real revolution against university administrators who, pandering to the whims of the moment, capitulate to the "demands" of blacks which delimit not only themselves, but all students...

...The shadow of the ghetto world follows many to the college campus...

...Yet at the same time, most contemporary Negro students do not wish to forget their past while merging into the university scene...

...Their goal is no longer academic success or a broad-gauged co'lege experience or even post-college economic advancement...

...These students know from first-hand experience the world of the ghetto which, to a large degree, represents the life of most Negro Americans: poor educational institu COMMENTS AND OPINIONS tions, poor health facilities, poor transportation services, poor everything...

...Victory lies in the capitulation by those in power to their demands, for such represents a victory against white society, one which hopefully will lead to a better life for Negro Americans...

...This necessarily means, where possible and where freely chosen, living, eating, competing, and working with white students...

...They see standards of merit and achievement as irrelevant both to themselves and to the lives of all black people...

...These students question the establishment of admissions quotas, dorms, and curriculum based on race...

...For today, the majority of Negro collegians come from ghettos, and it makes little difference whether the specific ghetto was Bed -ford-Stuyvesant, Watts, or the South Side of Chicago...

...This view stems not from a movement, but from a sense of personal outrage and responsibility...

...And the campus with its tradition of tolerance, of free inquiry, of personal freedom, provides a setting in which many students can engage in activities, and formulate "plans for the liberation of black people...

...While black students seem intent upon forcing all Negroes down the path toward a new segregation, toward a renewal of the "closed society," Negro students seek to maintain equality of opportunity in a free society as the goal of Negro Americans...

...Negro students know that Negro Americans have been subjected to the "awful shadow of the veil" for too long...

...And these blacks join, or are converted to, a movement whose goal is "the liberation of black people by any means necessary...

...and thus they reject color as the criterion for judgment of any man...

...And, for many, the college or university represents but another "white racist" institution whose real function is the "destruction of the black mind...

...And though many aid in countless ways the advancement of their less fortunate brethren, Negro students know where the real revolution lies...

...They question the establishment of courses which would further segregate the Negro American from the mainstream of American life and thought...

...The unrest manifests itself both internally and externally...

...but, before even the possibility of victory, weapons must be stockpiled...

...The unrest and tension which characterize Negro student communities throughout the nation are signs of ",an ostracized race in ferment...

...While black students have copped out of this revolution, Negro students know that for them it has only begun...

...To a large extent, which road predominates will depend upon which faction white America supports through action or inaction...

...And Negro students see trained minds as the vital weapon, as the real resource that will aid in making life better for the majority of Negro Americans...

...Therefore, instead of wasting time studying mathematics, chemistry, European History, or English, they devote themselves wholly to Fanon, Carmichael, Malcolm, and to meetings of the black students' organization where they plan for the revolution: "It will come tomorrow if we only believe, plan, discuss, and demand enough...

...The new black students reject academic success, liberal education, and economic advancement as significant goals of their college years...

...These are strong words, but they are usually pronounced by those without power to make them meaningful, for those with real power do not have to engage in bravado...

...Negro students must fight for the real revolution against white students who, paralyzed by guilt corn COMMENTS AND OPINIONS plexes, countenance anything, any idea espoused by the loudest, the most boorish black...

...THUS Negro students work for success measured in terms of so-called white standards because these are the standards of a society that their people, as much as any others, helped to build...

...While black students seize buildings and demand separate living and eating facilities, Negro students urge that students, all students, be allowed to live and eat as they choose...

...Many students have grown tired of this society and of its institutions...

...the discontent stems from the conditions in which many of these students have been forced to live...

...For the real struggle aimed at improving conditions for the masses of Negro Americans exists outside the university...

...if in fact a society of equality of opportunity, one without delimitations and restrictions imposed by color, remains the goal to which black students are committed...

...They see college as an opportunity in which they can gain the knowledge and skills necessary for meaningful participation in the ongoing struggle...

...While black students demand separate AfroAmerican history courses in university curricula, Negro students work for the inclusion of the Negro in American history where he, as an American, belongs...

...These students see the way toward improvement of the terrible conditions in which the masses of Negro Americans live through "learning just what white students are learning...