THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 2, 1995 TAG: 9502020403
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
Black students reveled in the music that sustained their ancestors through hardship - and listened to the pressing problems that remain - during events Wednesday marking the first day of Black History Month.
At Norfolk State University, the student cafeteria was transformed into a concert hall during lunchtime, as the university gospel choir performed a half-dozen songs.
Sometimes accompanied by music, sometimes singing in a booming a cappella, the 40 students rocked the cafeteria with words of devotion and encouragement.
They sang of faith in ``O Hail, King Jesus'':
Singing praises to the King,
For he is the King of kings.
Give him glory
For he is the King of kings.
They sang of perseverance in ``We Shall Receive Our Just Reward'':
Stand fast, don't worry, don't faint,
We shall receive a reward.
Between songs, choir director Kantis Simmons told the hundreds of students eating lunch: ``I encourage you as people, black people, white people, come to know the Lord.''
``Amen,'' some shouted back. ``Yes, sir.''
Simmons continued, ``He's the best thing in the world.''
Charles Preasha, a junior from Raleigh, N.C., said the concert helped encourage the ``spiritual aspect'' at school. ``It's a reflection of my soul,'' he said. ``It's a reflection of my spirit.''
At Old Dominion University, the subject and style were more somber. About 30 professors and students watched a two-hour teleconference - beamed by Black Issues in Higher Education, a Northern Virginia journal - on the plight of the black male.
The speakers reviewed the grim statistics: More black males are in prison than in college. A quarter never graduate from high school. The leading cause of death among black males, ages 15 to 19, is gunshot wounds.
``Black men have become the current scapegoat of all that is wrong,'' said the Rev. Al Sharpton, a New York activist. ``The country finds it easier to blame it on the black male than to rise up to responsibility.''
Eric Thomas, a motivational speaker, said: ``If we dig deep within, I believe we can overcome every problem. More young black men need to internalize and look in the mirror. . . . Once you deal with the man inside and get a plan in focus, there's nothing outwardly that can stop you from being successful.''
But Julianne Malveaux, a columnist and radio talk show host, shot back: ``I don't think you can give short shrift to the external factors. You have brothers in prison who have done nothing wrong, but they have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and have run into a billy club.''
Thomas W. Dortch Jr., the president of 100 Black Men of America, said his organization offers a solution that should be emulated. He leads a network of black businessmen and other professionals who coordinate efforts across the country to teach reading and conflict resolution to black youths.
``We have 5,000 strong who are successful but who have no problem going back to the 'hood,'' he said. ``We enjoy the fruits of our labor, but we understand the fruits will continue to flow only if we bring you with us.''
The rest of the month promises more cultural events and lectures.
ODU will feature a play, ``Do Lord Remember Me,'' collecting the reminiscences of former slaves; Hampton University will show Spike Lee's ``Malcolm X'' and sponsor a black history quiz.
The lectures range from a minister's talk at NSU on the history of black churches to a speech at Hampton by Susan Taylor, the editor of Essence magazine.
St. Mary's Academy, a black Catholic elementary school in Norfolk, will see some more familiar faces this morning - the students' grandparents.
The fourth-graders will present a 50-year chronology of black history leading to the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.
And they may learn some more tidbits from the visitors. ``We feel that grandparents are the ones most closely connected with African-American history,'' said the principal, Sister Barbara Boyle. ILLUSTRATION: BLACK HISTORY MONTH AT COLLEGES
BETH BERGMAN/Staff
Adrain Garrett sings with Norfolk State University's gospel choir in
a concert Wednesday.
The NSU choir turned the cafeteria into a concert hall for a
lunchtime crowd.
by CNB