These are very sad times for the organization we know as the Afro-American Society. Unabated self-interest, envy, psychological insecurity and a petty quest for some sense of "control," have become the order of the day.
Since this present Executive Committee took control last Spring, the AAm has been on a steady decline. After a host of resignations, impeachments and inactivity, many Blacks on this campus are beginning to wonder, "What is the purpose of the AAm?"
The lack of purpose and tangible results serve as ammunition for the propaganda of The Review (as seen in the issue, "Black meets White"). The present paralysis is particularly disturbing to me, as a Black student, because college is supposed to be the training ground for the "real world." If the AAm's Executive Committee's mode of operation bears any resemblance to the way they will function in the "real world," the future for Blacks in America looks bleak.
On the eve of it's twentieth anniversary, the AAm is being run by the Executive Committee that with a few notable exceptions has made no tangible impact on the quality of academic and cultural life for Blacks on campus, and fails to contribute to the academic or cultural life of the College, as a whole.
This isn't just a concern for Black students, but for the entire community. The AAm receives a large amount of funding relative to other student-run organizations and it, frankly, produces a lot less.
I am quite sure I will be accused of heresy or worse, by the thin-skinned cadre that calls itself the AAm Executive Committee. But before their charges can have any credence they should be made to answer the following questions:
How many offices are unfilled or are filled by default because no one wants to put up with the pettiness of the rest of the Executive Committee? Why was there no Black History Month programming last year? Where is the missing computer equipment purchased with AAm funds last year? Why has more money been spent on food than programming during every term since fall of last year? Why are the president and financial secretary unwilling to disclose the AAm's expenditures? Why was $1000 paid to a speaker who did not even show up, due to the incompetence of the AAm's officers? Where was the AAm when the Board of Trustees was discussing the South Africa re-investment issue?
The AAm's officers lack direction. Black students at the College deserve better. Dartmouth, for many of us, is a foreign experience, both culturally and academically. Our low numbers and high-degree of isolation highlight the need for an organization which will help us stay in touch with the problems facing our people throughout America and the world.
We need more speakers and information brought to campus and less gossip. We need more emphasis on scholarly work and less on planning parties. Black students deserve an organization that ensures more Blacks graduating and pursuing advanced degrees and less Blacks being "Parkhursted" and dropping out. We need less banquets to honor our so-called accomplishments and more energy focused on producing honorable and accomplished works.
The Afro-American Society, in its present state, is unable to accomplish any of the aforementioned goals.
The administration must take a more active role in remedying the poor-level of institutional support being given to Black students on this campus. Improving the quality of life for Blacks on campus requires more than throwing us a budget, a half-time advisor and a house. The past year proves resources without guidance is a recipe for failure.
I propose the recently created Shabazz African-American Center be given the resources (full-time director, office space and funding) to provide the academic and institutional support that the AAm (a student-run organization) cannot provide. A proposal, for a pilot project, based on these objectives is going before the Bildner Endowment for funding. I hope the Bildner Committee and the administration will respond favorably to this much needed request.
I also hope the AAm Executive Committee realizes that a title, position, control of a club or a few lines on your resume is unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Talent, determination and wisdom will determine your destiny. What office did W.E.B. Dubois hold as an undergraduate at Fisk University? What clubs did Dr. Martin Luther King control at Morehouse? Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad and Harriet Tubman never went to college, yet they are still great. Why?
It's because the type of greatness true leaders possess is neither created nor destroyed, it is possessed. History proves the greatest and most successful of our people are not the elected or appointed officials, but the anointed leaders. What type are you? What type does the Black Community of Dartmouth and America need? Think about it.
