News Analysis: Black Power Forum

              News Analysis:     Bldck Power  ForUITI
By CASSANDRA WILLIAMS
The term Black Power has
rocked the nation for quite a
while now, and for the first
three days of November,
represenit'atives of the Black
Power movement brought the
subject closer to home.
The recent three-day Black
Power Forum brought some of
the leaders in the movement to
our campus for a series of lectures, discussions and panels.
All of the speakers and
panelists were people who are
failiar with the concepts of the
Black Power movement and
and with 'the myriad reasons
which serve as its motivation.
These speakers were afole to offer many insights on the movement.
When asked for definitions of
Black Power, the speakers gave
varied answers which amounted
to the same basic points: effective influence in the society
and personal dignity for black
men as a people.
In his talk Friday night, Dr.
James Brewer, professor of
Afro-American History at North
Carolina College in Durham,
told tfhe audience the assessment
of Black Power has been
embellished with stereotypes
such as violence, hoodlums,
looters, etc.
He and the other members of
the 'forum reminded us the
movement is much more inclusive than these sterotypes.
Fred Palt'ton drifter of the Black
Power resolution for the (N.S.A.,
said the movement should embrace many aspects—political,
cultural and economic, to cite a
few.
Contrary to the belief of
many, these leaders did not
shout, "burn, kill, hate." Their
(tune was be proud, unite,
organize become influential and
become powerful.
Mr. Howard Fuller head of
Community Organization of the
North Carolina Fund and lecturer at UNC-CH School of
Sociology, maintains there are
three basic Sources of
power—control of information,
money and the vote—and that
black people have no real voice
in any of these sources.
This is one thing that the
Black Power movement wants
to see remedied. The feeling is
that these aspects can lead to
true equality and a restructuring
of the American society into one
which is more effective.
During the three-day period
the representatives to the forum
brought many interesting points
to be considered. The most provocative are the contentions:
1. That education today is irrelevant to the problems at
hand. Students should work with
their administrations to achieve
curricula whereby the student
can get out into the community
and learn what is really happening, and receive credit
toward their degrees for the experience.
2. That the people with
something to offer (black and
white) get into their ghettoes
and offer it because the poor all
face the same problems.
3. That black people should
organize and act to bring about
some meaningful and effective
resolutions to the problems they
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