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Page 7 Portland Observer J U L Y 13,1989
PERSPECTIVES
beyond the importations o f the 1898
expedition to A frica . The narration
cannot be complete w ithout in clu ­
sion o f the magnificent literary works
o f the son and grandson o f General
Alexander Dumas.
To the son Alexander Dumas I,
are indphtezt for manv famnns
by McKinley Burt
Last week I introduced you to
G eneral Napoleon B onaparte who
sparked a “ New European Renais­
sance” in 1798 by bringing back
from A fric a a treasure trove o f cul­
ture and technology. W e also met his
Haitian bom Black general, A le xan ­
d e r D um as, who reached that rank at
age 35 w hile Napoleon was o nly a
m ajor (Almanach National, A n il,
1797). Napoleon was ever depend­
ent upon the fearless Dumas fo r his
m ilita ry successes, but spiteful and
jealous o f the public adulation re­
ceived by the Black man, he fin a lly
abandoned him in an Italian misad­
venture.
M uch more o f N apoleaon’ s
vaunted m ilita ry reputation was
underwrittren by the Stellar perform ­
ance o f his large corp o f A fric a n
generals from the colony o f H aiti:
The aforementioned Dumas, plus gen­
erals Rigaud, Besse, Leveille, C lo-
valotte, Belle, Pelage, Petion, Chanla-
atte, Barthelme, V illa te , and M entor.
(See Napoleon’ s Correspondence,
V o l.IV , p. 252, 1801)
W h ile these Black men com ­
manded white troops, Napoleon also
had his favorite elite regiment that he
kept close around him in battle, these
troops form ing his R oyal A frica n s.
When other Africans were not a vail­
able to replace casualties, he restored
the ranks w ith Greeks and Turks-
stating that “ they are the same skin
c o lo r as the others” . They d id n ’ t tell
us any o f this in school, did they?
(See Carter O. Woodson, Negro H is­
tory B u lle tin , M ay, 1938).
M oving to another aspect, we may
say that the A frican contribution to
France (and the w orld) extends far
HOWARD
PLANS MAJOR
CONFERENCE
ON NATIONAL
ISSUES
A major conference entitled “ One-
T h ird o f a Nation: A frica n Am erican
Perspectives” w ill bring together
hundreds o f scholars and policymakers
on the Howard U niversity campus
November 8-12, 1989, to discuss
various solutions to a range o f prob­
lems affecting the nation and m in or­
ity populations in the United States.
* ‘O ur approach w ill be to analyze
conditions in order to make recom­
mendations fo r improvements that
can be carried into the 21 stcentury,’ ’
said Howard professors, Dr. Lorenzo
M orris and Dr. Ura Jean Oyemade,
who are cochairs, o f the university’ s
Task Force on O ne-Third o f a Na­
tion, a group o f more than 100 fac­
ulty members formed to oversee
development o f this meeting.
The conference is an outgrow th o f
various recent studies detailing the
declining status o f U.S. m inorities.
In particular, the Task Force has
focused on a special Congressional
Report, “ The Future o f A frican-
Americans to the Year 2000,” and
the report “ One-Third o f a N ation”
done by the Commission on M in o r­
ity Participation in Education and
Am erican L ife .
Thirteen specific areas o f study
w ill be covered at the conference,
which w ill consist o f 52 sessions in
the form o f roundtable and panel
discussions as w ell as several key­
note addresses by national leaders.
The main areas to be addressed
are: V o ting and Political Participa­
tion, Substance Abuse, Immigrants
and Im m igration, Em ploym ent La­
bor, Education, The Role o f R e li­
gious Institutions, Economic Devel­
opment, Science and Technology,
Health, Black Fam ily L ife , Housing,
M edia, and H istorically Black C ol­
leges and Universities.
novels and plays; 300 novels and 25
volumes o f drama in all. They are
still popular after almost two hundred
years, w ith m otion pictures and
m ovies-for-television shown today.
The w orld s till enjoys his T he T hree
M usketeers, The C o u n t o f M on te
C ris to , T he M a n in the Iro n M ask,
T he C orsican B ro the rs, and The
B la ck T u lip . This is the Black man
who was voted the greatest gourmet
the w orld has ever seen, owned a
yacht and theatre, and told a preg­
nant mistress, “ I doubt i f this m ir­
acle is mine, but i f it comes w ith a
head o f kinky hair I ’ll be convinced.”
O f no less importance are the works
o f the grandson Alexander Dumas II
(1824-1894). His classic novel, “ The
Lady o f the C am ellias” made him
famous throughout F rance. H is re­
w rite into a play made him famous
throughout the w o rld . T w o w orld
famous operas are adaptations o f this
work: “ La Traviata” by V erdi, and
“ C am ille ” by Forest. In 1874 this
younger Dumas was made a member
o f the famed French A cadem y o f
A rts and Sciences and was later
elected its president, He next received
the second most prestigious honor o f
France, T he G ra n d Cross o f the
Legion o f H o n o r.
We return now to the A frican-
dominated events o f a most volatile
period in both Europe and the A m e ri­
cas, the end o f the 18th century.
Am erica is gravely threatened by
empire hungry European powers who
already occupy over h a lf the co n ti­
nent, and we find a fascinating inter­
section o f famous lives and deeds.
The p rincipal stage is the West In ­
dies island o f Santo Dom ingo. One
h a lf (H a iti) was a French co lo ny, and
the other h a lf Spanish. The 40,000
white inhabitants lived in a luxury
supported by the slave labor o f 450,000
Blacks in the sugar cane fields.
In 1789 Toussaint Louverature
(1743-1803) was the b rillia n t Black
leader o f a successful slave revo lt in
H aiti. This event struck fear into the
hearts o f w hite colonialists through­
out the world, and soon would change
the map o f the United States, a slave-
based economy, even more frighten­
ing, Toussaint proved to be a capable
and enlightened adm inistrator, w in ­
ning many friends in France. But,
again, a vain and jealous Napoleon
decided to get rid o f a stronger Black
man; Frenchmen were even saying
that Toussaint was “ the greater
leader” . They remembered General
Dumas.
Napoleon sent an army o f 35,000
men to crush this Black who threat­
ened this dreams o f empire in the
New W orld, but before that was ac­
complished the freedom fighters had
Public relations o fficia ls from 30
reduced that number to 11,000. And
historically black colleges and uni­
it was o nly through the trickery o f a
versities (H B C U s) joined recently
false truce that Toussaint was cap­
w ith scores o f comm unications pro­
tured and sent o ff to die in an Aus­
fessionals for an unprecedented semi­
trian prison. American Historians like
nar titled, “ W orking effectively W ith
Commager or Current w ould claim
'he M edia.”
that it was ye llo w fever rather than
George K nox, S taff Vice Presi­
the slaves fighting ability which, then,
dent Public A ffa irs , P h ilip M orris
enabled them to w in the island under
Companies Inc., set the tone fo r the
the leadership o f the ferocious A f r i­
two days o f meetings at the Hyatt
can, Jean Jacques Dessalines (Tw o
Regency Hotel.
grammar schools in m y Saint Louis
A graduate o f both Tuskegee and
ghetto were named after these heroes
Harvard Universities, Knox, told the
o f freedom)
group: “ An institution rises or falls
Napoleon h im self puts the deni-
on its reputation. As a consumer
grations to lie when dying as a pris­
marketing company, we know that
oner on the island o f St. Helena, he
public relations is not an add-on - it
wrote “ m y fo lly was to get rid o f
is essential to a company ’ s success. ’ ’
Toussaint...I lost m y army and then I
Sponsored by P h ilip M o rris
lost H a iti” .In 1 80 3a fe arful A m e ri­
Companies Inc., the seminar fo r the
can president, Thom as Jefferson,
public relations o ffic ia ls from public
was unaware that Napleon was ready
and private in s titu tio n s in 11
to get o u t; thoroughly disillusioned
states,grew out o f numerous discus­
by the A frican freedom fighters o f sions between o ffic ia ls o f black c o l­
retaining an empire in the Americas.
leges and the com pany’s com m uni­
In consequence, when Jefferson sent cations staff.
emissaris to France, feeling lucky i f
The result, said Reese Stone, Man­
they were able to buy o nly Florida, ager, corporate M edia Relations,
the discouraged Napoleon sold them
P hilip M orris Companies Inc., was
the entire Louisiana T e rrito ry -fro m
that the seminar sought to “ provide
the M ississippi R iver to the Rocky inform ation on, and insight into, the
Mountains, d o u b lin g the size o f the workings o f the press to improve
U nite d States.
relationships between college public
C on tinu ed next week.
BLACK COL­
LEGE PUBLIC
RELATIONS DI­
RECTORS MEET
THE PRESS
Historic Media Seminar
sponsored By Philip
Morris Shows Impor*
tance Of Public Rela­
tions to Black
Institutions for Image
And For Fund-Raising
relations o ffic ia ls and the media.
We also wanted to help broaden
THE COCA-
COLA
COMPANY IS
SALUTED
FOR SUPPORT­
ING AFRICAN
DEVELOPMENT
the v is ib ility o f H BC U s through dis­
cussions o f how to h ig hligh t the ac­
complishments o f Black schools to a
w ider audience,” Stone said.
W h ile much o f the seminar was
on media relations, the workshop on
“ Y o ur Image: A ffectin g Y o ur B ot­
tom L in e ,” dealt w ith the im p or­
tance o f an in stitu tio n ’s image to its
fund-raising. Speakers from business
corporations and foundations strongly
emphasized that ’ * your image is your
Africare, a U.S.-based African de­
equ ity,” making it clear that finan­
velopment organization, has awarded
cial support is directly influenced by
its 1989 Distinguished Service Award
the reputation o f the school.Although
to The Coca-Cola Company fo r cor­
the college and university officials porate excellence in the cause o f
were offered considerable advice from
A frica n development.
the media and public relations prac­
The Company was recognized for
titioners, some sessions featured its programs in 1988 that aided v ic ­
speeches and discussions led by the tim s o f apartheid, and its funding o f
H BC U representatives. These HBC U
student scholarships, survival forums
o ffic ia ls shared unique and success­
fo r children and refugee assistance in
fu l efforts that could be made to work
Soweto.
on other campuses.
In addition, the Company was
One o f the most spirited events w
lauded for supporting the A frican
as the “ Idea Exchange” where c o l­
culture and arts productions o f new
lege o ffic ia ls talked directly to one
A frican plays, art exhibits, museums
another on how to better promote
and research centers.
their institutions.
Accepting the award on behalf o f
Another was the back-to-back
the Company, senior vice president
dinner speeches by Dr. Sybil Mobley,
Carl Ware said, “ The Company is
Dean, School o f Business & Indus­
honored to be chosen by A fricare to
try, F lorida A & M University, and
receive this award. We look forward
Gary T h o rn h ill, D irector o f A dm is­
to participating in other successful
sions, Sojoumer-Douglass College
programs in A fric a in the future.”
in Baltim ore. Dr. M obley told o f
In the last decade, The Coca-Cola
bringing numerous top ch ie f execu­
Company has supported a variety o f
tive officers from American business
projects in A frica , among them the
firm s to her campus and T hornhill
Foundation for Peace and Justice;
told o f building a strong base o f in ­
the Institute fo r a Democratic A lte r­
ner-city com m unity support fo r his
native fo r South A frica ; the Presid­
college.
ing Bishop Fund fo r W orld Relief;
Other prom inent speakers at the
the U N IC EF and Zimbabwe C om ­
seminar included: Patricia O ’Flynn
mittee fo r C hild Survival. In addi­
Thomas, President o f the National
tion, the Company is a partner in the
Newspaper Publishers Association;
A frica G rowth Fund.
Jody Powell, form er Press Secretary
Africare is comm itted to the im ­
to President Carter and currently
provement o f the quality o f life fo r
Chairman, O g ilv y & Mather Public
Africans w ith more than 200 pro­
A ffa irs ; Wanda L lo y d , Senior Editor
grams, spanning areas o f agriculture,
fo r Operations, U SA Today and Jack
water, health and environmental man­
W hite, Senior Editor, Tim e Maga­
agement, implemented in 21 A frican
zine.
countries.
Çee tfu^MIkme
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