"Harrison criticizes black leadership," November 5, 1973

"Harrison criticizes black leadership," November 5, 1973

In George Panton's November 5, 1973 article "Harrison critizes black leadership," University Student Center President Brenda Harrison responded to news of the November 1, 1973 Society of Afro-American Culture's closed door meeting with university administrators. Harrison declared that there was some confusion between white and African American students concerning the proposed merger of Pan African Weekend and All Campus Weekend.

George Panton

George Panton, "Harrison criticizes black leadership," Technician, November 5, 1973.

1973-11-5

document

ccl4001

Distrust between black and white student leaders on campus is increasing, according to Brenda Harrison, University Student Center president.

Events came to head last Thursday afternoon when 50 black students attended the Chancellor’s liaison committee meeting and afterwards presented four grievances to Chancellor John Caldwell. Harrison feels the black student leadership misrepresented the views of the white student leadership.

One of the black grievances was the proposal to combine All Campus and the Pan African Festival. Harrison said she had previously talked to Don Bell, head of the Society of Afro-American Culture (SAAC), and agreed not to push the issue further.

“The statement read in the meeting was contrary to everything we had talked about,” she said. “I thought we had worked things out, but he turns around and tells Chancellor Caldwell that Brenda Harrison is forcing us to combine Pan African and All Campus. Don Bell sat in my office Wednesday afternoon and told me he realized that I would not push the issue further.

“How can I trust people to work out problems, if they are immediately going to turn around and stab me in the back.”

Black students included in their grievances the lack of soul programming on WKNC-FM. Harrison said, “Station Manager Don Byrnes opened the doors of the radio station to everyone. The blacks claimed there was no black programming or that the programming was at a time they did not wish to hear it. I understand that the black student that runs the soul show requested the hours from midnight to 3am and that he can do anything with programming. At the meeting black leadership turned around and told Chancellor Caldwell just the opposite.

“There is a breakdown in communication somewhere and we are being misrepresented to the black students as a whole. We’re only getting to talk to one or two of the black students. There is a real breakdown in communications. Black students say we don’t understand them, but I feel that we do; they say they can’t trust us, and we say we can’t trust them. There is a lot of back stabbing,” she said.

Harrison said, “I think there is more of a problem with the black leaders than the white leaders. And I don’t mean to make any accusations, but I think their actions speak louder than their words. I think the idea for them to ask us to leave the meeting when we were the center of attack was in very poor taste. They say they don’t want to be separate or segregate themselves but they turn around and ask us to leave a meeting where we were being discussed.

“I don’t think a show of force is the way to work problems out. I think it is an immaturish way to do things. I wonder just how representative this group is of all black students on campus, and I would like the opinions from some of the less vocal black students on campus,” she added.

“I think white students need to sit down with the black students and just air all the things that we have been talking among ourselves and to let them hear how they are coming across. I think their actions are going to decrease the number of white supporters for the back students on this campus.

“I’m very disappointed that T.C. Carroll has not come out and spoken on the issue. I think the student body president has the responsibility to all the students on this campus. He is trying to be the good guy on all sides, and he is trying to remain popular. I think T.C. should have made more effort to see what some of the problems are,” she said.

Harrison feels that in recent months her attitudes toward black students on this campus has undergone a change. “I think I, of all people, have been one of the more understanding white supporters of black students on this campus. I think it’s because of my background-the way I’ve been brought up to be unbiased in my opinion, to be unprejudiced and to try to look objectively. In my position I can’t be biased to any particular student group. The black students are making it very difficult for me to do this. The black students keep demanding and demanding, and they are never satisfied. There has got to be a limit somewhere. Black students now have 10 per cent of our programming budget.

“We just geot back from the Association of College Unions International in Memphis, and after checking with most of the major universities there, we do more black programming with more funds than just about anywhere. The black student budget on this campus ($10,000) is as large as the entire social programming budget for some small colleges in the South,” she noted.

In light of recent events she feels things are being brought into focus. “I don’t know what more we can do than to throw the doors wide-open on all the Student Center committees. Very few white or black students have taken advantage of this. Trying to program to please everybody is a hell of a job. We can only do the best we can.

“I think this problem can be resolved if everyone faces it with an open mind on everybody’s part, and everybody is willing to put aside their prejudices and biases. They have to be willing to listed and hear but what is being said on all sides of an issue. I thing it will take the black and white staff as well as black and white students to work on the problems out together,” Harrison concluded.

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