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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 2, 1997)
» • IS’: < A* **' - À- . • » » r- • « . / . : • / • • / • ’ .t 4 ■«' ■• ¿ V A > .;-v-v < ;v ML.7 r " « p i f »,♦ < ? ;r. 1 • ^ - -• : >;■ ¿Í- - W . ' • • A pril 2, 1997 • Tm: P oru and O bserver P agi B6 How Did African Americans Rate Black Colleges 50 Years Ago? in |» k (» h M t K i m t v B i h i The following opinions appeared in the "Negro Digest M agazine” tor July, 1945. Readers may find this important issue as controversial as ever The Portland Observer would be very interested in hearing the reader’s opinions, and will publish several o f the most responsive re plies. Mixed: From a freshm an at Lin coln University. Iler home is Kan sas City, Kansas. I believe that Negroes should ac cept democracy whenever it is of fered. I believe that Negro students should attend mixed colleges even it it were possible to obtain an equal education in a Negro college. Free colleges, open to all irrespective of race or color, are no more than what is to be expected in a democracy. In semi-democratic America, the tree college can be a powerful instru ment for the attaining o f real democ racy in other aspects o f American life. Today the word “democracy" is used to glibly. Negroes especially are forever prating about it; yet by our very actions we prove that we do not in reality want democracy at all. Com plete consolidation o f the school sys tems in America is essential if we mean to practice democracy; yet some of us prefer to attend Negro colleges. This means, o f course, that if Negroes do not attend in large num bers the existing mixed colleges, the contribution that higher education can make to the integration o f the Negro into American society will be pushed farther and farther into the future. As long as Negro students make demands upon the various states for “separate but equal” edu cation, Negro colleges will be en larged. As Negro institutions grow, Jim Crow education becomes more firmly rooted. Negroes can get equal educational o pportunities only by attending mixed schools because there is no such thing as "separate but equal” education. The very undemocratic spirit which segregates us also pro vides us inferior make-shift schools operated on limited budgets. In most mixed schools, Negroes are free to use all equipment and facilities, and are taught by the same professors as are the whites. I here- fore, they have equal educational opportunities. There can be no double standard An "A ” earned in a mixed college by a Negro student will be accepted at face value by any col lege. Students transferring from Negro to mixed colleges sometimes find that some o f their credits are not acceptable and they are not accept able and they are therefore admitted on condition. In mixed colleges where little or no attention is given to the Negro problem, the Negro student can ren der a service to democracy by urging that courses in the social sciences pay adequate attention to the role of the Negro in the development ot the nation. Only then can white stu dents gain sufficient knowledge ot the N egro’s background, and only by such a knowledge can he realize the common destiny of all American citizens. God speed the day when the realization o f that common des tiny will make it unnecessary tor colleges to teach anything but Ameri more than to show white students that all Negroes are not domestic workers, it would have served a use ful purpose. Such acquaintances w ill give white students an opportunity to know, at first hand, that the ste reotype presented to him in the mov ies, on the radio, and in a certain type o f fiction are entirely false. However, all the enemies o f de mocracy are not white people. Ne groes themselves need to be edu cated in race tolerance, there are many Negroes who, whether with good cause or not, actually hate all white people. I he mixed college can Black: From a ju n ior at Fisk University'. Iler home is in Hun tington I alley, PA. Although Negro students have been faced with the question as to whether they should attend mixed or Negro colleges sine 1856 when Wilberforce was started, a solution is o f great concern today. With the increased flow of money, more Ne gro students have found themselves in position financially to consider attending mixed colleges. 1 he tact that m ore mixed colleges have opened their doors to Negro stu dents in the last decade adds further complexity to the problem. In order to arrive at a wise solution it is necessary to examine some ot the outstanding factors involved. The place ot Negro students on the col lege campus and the effects pro duced must be considered. Negro students can adjust them selves more readily at Negro colleges. They are not subjected to a strained environm ent dom inated by race prejudice. From past actions it is quite obvious that Negro students are not wanted in the best white colleges. By 1936 Vassar had gradu ated but one Negro and was ignorant o f it at the time. Princeton has never admitted a Negro to its undergradu ate school; Johns Hopkins admitted help the Negro rid him self ot the bitterness with which he regards the white race. Negroes are a mystery to white people. Hardly a Negro can say that he has not at any time been ap proached by a white person who, with the utmost sincerity wants to ask such questions as these: ( I ) Are Negro babies born white and turn dark very soon after birth (2) Why are Negroes so many different col ors? (3) How do Negro girls fix their hair? (4) Do Negroes want to marry white people? (5) What kind ol life does a Negro expect to live after death? (6) Are N egro men and women sexually better, but with less m en tality than w hite men and women? The mixed college provides an excellent opportunity to help edu cate white people respecting 13 can history. Another reason for attending a mixed college is that Negro students strive to excel in mixed colleges because they realize that they are competing with the best. They also realize that they are representing a racial group to white students who have never known any Negroes on their intellectual plane. Negro students know that if the white student has had any personal contact with Negroes at all, usually he has met only the domestic worker with whom he has very little in common. If the attendance of Ne groes at mixed colleges did nothing PHILLY CAFE 445 N.E. KILLINGSWORTH Shear Perfection Barber-Beauty Salon Fish & Chips Terriyaki Chicken & Beef Hamburgers Specializing in Acrylic Nails, M anicures & Pedicures 5601 N.E. M.L.K. Jr. Blvd. Portland. 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Stucco and Remodels > UNJONZAVENUE> GLASVcOMPANYi > ____ <___________ ' s ' (503) 281-7178 Office (503) 833 -8848 Pager 5802 NE Mallory Portland, OR 97211 503-289-4970 Lyda Overton, Broker Home: 503-282-2247 Fax: 503-281-2309 Troy McCowtin !! 5128 NORTH ALBINA STREET (AT SUMNER) McCowan’s Plastering Inc. STEWART GROUP REALTY (Proprietors) Our Specialty; Real Hickory Smoked Bar-B-Q Lu’s A d o ra b le D o’s Pager: 920-4466 [~j^ Wayne & Juanita Cannon F u ll Setvit e Salon office: 503-335-0263 Negro.” It is often argued that the Negro college does not prepare the student for life-first because his training is inferior and second because he can not adjust him self to a mixed soci ety. However, Negro education can not be much inferior, for statistics show that graduates o f Negro col leges have met the requirements for higher degrees o f the leading uni versities. Between 1876 and 1936 one hundred forty Negro college graduates received PhD . degrees. Even granting the fact that mixed colleges have better organized cur ricula does not mean that Negro education is inferior. Education is not a mere matter of high scholar ship; it is also developing a well- rounded personality that will best fit a student to meet the problems of living. As far as society is concerned, the Negro is only a segregated part o f the mixed culture, so there is little adjusting to be done. All his close friends and associates will belong to his small world within. Since Negro colleges were estab lished for Negro students, and since they afford greater opportunities for chaiicter building, leadership, and service than do mixed colleges, Ne gro students should attend Negro colleges. CANNON’S_ NA’I M ’S J.L.S. Lawn Service understand his the student learns to understan race and to appreciate the contribu tions Negroes have made to culture. These he would not be likely to learn in mixed colleges. In his “ Dusk o f D aw n,” Dr. DuBois says: “ At Fisk, the problem o f race was faced openly and essen tial racial equality asserted and natu ral inferiority strenuously denied.. At Harvard, on the other hand, I began to face sc ie n tific race dogma...It was continually stressed in the community and in classes that there was a vast difference in the development o f the whites and the ‘low er’ races; that this could be seen in the physical development o f the Negro c.HpntK students hui but refused refused to to let let them participate in field trials tor the Olympic meet. Such examples o f discrimination show that in the mixed college the Negro student has to spend time breaking down barriers often in pref erence to his studies without assur ance o f favorable results. A college education is too serious to take such chances. In the Negro college the students have greater opportunities for social and extracurricular activi ties. Their sex associations are natu ral, and they may become members o f Greek letter organizations if they desire. When Negroeson mixed cam puses do establish fraternities, they have no representation on the Inter- Fraternal Council. Since the Negro student belongs to a minority group, his social and economic background demands spe cial attention. This the personnel departments o f Negro colleges can do better, for they can secure the information with which to work. The student does not feel that some one is prying into his private affairs when questions are asked by h is own uroup. Negroes have a natural ten dency to give illusive information when approached by a white. Once a friend o f mine filing out a question naire described his race as human race” and his color as “high brown. In attending Negro colleges the Negro student comes in contact with the best o f his race. Some ot the nationally recognized Negroes have been or are now instructors in Negro colleges-D r. W.E.B. D uBoisat At lan ta U n iv e rsity ; Dr. G eo rg e Edmund 1 laynes, Dr. St.Elmo Brady, Dr. Charles S. Johnson, and Dr. James Weldon Johnson at Fisk; Dr. Charles Wesley and Dr. Alain Locke at Howard. Not only is there contact with prominent faculty members, but there are usually exceptional young people in the student body. Negro colleges are interested in the development of the race; therefore ERIC F. SCHINIDRIG Manager 288-9367 Nail Technician Phone: (503) 285-5085 America. Negroes themselves need to be educated in race tolerance, there are many Negroes who, whether with good cause or not, actually hate all white people. The mixed college can help the Negro rid himself of the bitterness with which he regards the white r a c e . ___________ — 11 GENEVA’S Pager: (503) 909-6724 . ___ ____ _ million unknown American citizens who want to believe that democracy is intended for all of the people in -4______ Í. All Types o* Auto. 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