Nubian Message February 1st Edition

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THE SENTINEL OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY AT N.C. STATE UNIVERSITY

NUBIAN MESSAGE RALEIGH, N.C. n VOL. X, ISSUE 12 n THENUBIANMESSAGE.COM n FEB 1st, 2012 Landmarks on Campus with African American History n 4/5

Review of Hill Harper’s “The Conversation” n 6

Black History Tidbit: Claudette Colvinn 8

Too Black, Too Fast: Uncovering the Past CJ GUION | EDITOR - IN - CHIEF

Too Black, Too Fast, “ Leading By A Nose” Too Back, Too Fast is a multimedia project which highlights the little known history of the African American jockey from 1601-1910. The exhibit will be showcased in the African American Cultural Center exhibit gallery until August 2012.

The history and background of the African American jockey is a primarily unknown to those outside of the industry. However, the history of the horse racing sport is imprinted with diversity and the success of African American horseman. Several artists have joined together to create a multimedia project entitled “Too Black, Too Fast,” which will uncover the memories that were lost and hidden for many years. Too Black, Too Fast is the “heartfelt passion” of Michael J. McBride, an artist who has been involved with the project. In 1991, McBride had a conversation with Yusef Harris, which led an employee from Churchill Downs contacting McBride due to his extensive knowledge with African American literature. Soon after, McBride was contacted by Harris to discuss knowledge of the African American jockey. Unsurprisingly, McBride knew little of

this project and sought out to discover what still today is little known history. African Americans became heavily involved with the sport of horse racing beginning around the year 1607, and dominated the sport until 1910. Many of the riders were slaves, very small in size, and teenagers. Perfecting the techniques of horsemanship is a challenging task, which is interesting due to the fact that around that time the intelligence and abilities of Blacks were highly questioned. “Landowners wagered money, tobacco crops, deeds to farms, slaves, or just about anything else of value” states McBride. “The best master and slave teams were so successful that they resorted to trickery to get opponents to race against them.” One significant story involves the seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson. One of the most amazing aspects of the jockey/slavemaster relationship at the time is that “societal and racial” lines were blurred.

TOO BLACK CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Duke Students Upset with Unpublished Research Paper CJ GUION | EDITOR - IN - CHIEF

A group of African American students at Duke University are calling upon administrators to make changes at the university including a better campus climate, as well as to increase financial support for African American students. However, thus far students have been disappointed at the response that they have received from top administrators. Several of the top items on the agenda include the location of the university’s African American Cultural Center and lacking support for the Black student group’s annual events. Fuel was added to the fire a couple of weeks ago, when a recent study that has yet to be published suggested that African American students on campus switch to “easier” majors. Furthermore, the unpublished study by Duke researchers said that over time it appears that in some cases that African Americans GPAs match their White counterparts over time, because they switch to majors that require less study time, with grading structures that are less strict. It has been stated that opponents of Affirmative Action wish to use this study in a case that they wish to take up in the Supreme Court. Students such a Black Students Alliance President, Nana Asante believe that

occurances such as this add to an already uncomfortable environment for students. Asante also stated that they the Alliance is still debating whether they want to meet with the researchers, because of fears that they may increase the legitimacy of the study. The student group wants to create a special task force which will evaluate the campus climate of African American students, as well as an endowment that would increase financial assistance with the funding of special programs on campus for the group. In addition to this, a group of African American students also held a silent protest the day prior to the Martin Luther King, Jr holiday. They also deliver a document entitled the Black Culture Initiative to the President of the university which outlines their demands. The BSA said that this is not the first time that African American students have felt attacked by the university. One of their big events was in danger of being cancelled, and several rumors have been spread about the location of the Black Culture Center. The group would also like to make it clear that they are not fighting against the university. They just would like for everyone to know what is going on in the surrounding community.

* We would like to hear your thoughts on this story... Do you think there are “easy” majors? Do you agree with the research or disagree? Send comments to editor@nubian.ncsu.edu *


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