The Register, 1974-04-02

              Urban Affairs Confab
To Be Held April 16
A&T's annual Urban Institute,      significantly    to    the    area    of
THE4*.f7 REGISTER
which  has  attracted  a   total of
more than 8,000 persons in four
years, will be held on April 16 in'
the Memorial Student Union.
The regional institute, which
was initiated by students and
faculty members of the
Sociology Department, promises
two outstanding innovations this
year.
For the first time, the
institute will feature on culture
in the urban setting. The session,
entitled "The Arts in
Community Development," will
feature presentations by two
nationally prominent Black
poets, Gerald Barrax and Julia
Fields.
The writers, along with the
student winner of a campus wide
poetry contest, will present
readings during the institute
luncheon at 12:30 p. m.
The keynote speaker for the
conference this year will be
Gerard A. Anderson, a former
head of the Cleveland (Ohio)
Transit Board.
A nationally known
consultant in the field of urban
development, Anderson was
formerly executive vice president
of the Ohio Public Transit
Association and a member of the
board of directors of the
National Transportation Center
in Pittsburgh.
Also new to the Urban Affairs
Conference this year will be the
presentation of the annual
Carolina Peacemaker's award to
the     person    contributing
human relations.
The award will be presented
during the luncheon by Dr. John
Marshall Stevenson, publisher of
the weekly Carolina Peacemaker.
The morning sessions will
include a panel on "A Public
School Dilemma: Dropouts and
Pushouts," and will feature an
address by Leon Hall, program
officer for the Southern Regional
Council; a session on "Group
Relations in the Urban
Community," a panel by A&T
students; and a panel on
"Self-Help Programs," featuring
an address by Dr. Joseph Himes,
a professor of sociology and
anthropology at the University
of North Carolina at Greensboro;
and "Manpower and Revenue
Sharing," featuring a talk by L.
M. Wright, administrator of the
N. C. Manpower Council.
The afternoon session will
include panels on "Urban and
Rural Transportation," with an
address by Anderson; "Criminal
Justice," with an address by
John Patterson, director of
Police Community Relations in '
Greensboro; and the panel on the
arts.
Joining A&T in sponsoring
this year's institute are the
Greensboro Chamber of
Commerce, the National
Conference of Christians and
Jews. Persons and organizations
interested in attending the
conference are asked to contact
Sampson Buie in the Office of
Continuing Education.
VOLUME XLV NUMBERO*»f»#AaX STATE UNIVERSITY
<t«nM«»MMI«MMW«MMni
APRIL 2, 1974
Foundation   Presents   «#<T*
Views Of Religion Expressed
By Mary Cropps
Religious Emphasis Week was
held at A&T, Mar. 24-28. The
week's activities included singing,
preaching and panel discussions.
The panel discussion held on
Tuesday, Mar. 26, dealt with the
meaning and purpose of religion
itself. The panelists were Ms.
Charley Flint, a member of the
Sociology Department; Dr. Hall
Partrick, professor of history;
and Rev. Earl Wilson, director of
the Wesley Foundation.
Rev. Wilson looked at reUgion
from a philosophical point of
view. He said that religion was a
dominant characteristic of man.
He defined religion as man's
relation to that which he regards
as holy.
Dr. Partrick gave the audience
a view of religion from a
historical standpoint. He said
that historians tend to study and
teach religion in terms of its
origin    by     consulting    sacred
scriptures and searching for its
founders. He concluded his
statements by saying that the
historian is not concerned with
the truth of religion and it
cannot verify or discredit it, Ms.
Flint discussed religion in terms
of sociology. She said that the
sociological view could be related
to the philosophical view and the
historical one since sociology
deals with the origin of a
phenomenon and its relation to
culture. She defined religion as
man's attempt to explain the
unknown.
After the panel discussion, the
audience posed questions to the
panel concerning the distortion
of religion today and good and
evil and other timely topics.
The panel discussion on Mar.
27 dealt with religions from
other parts of the world. The
panelists were Rabbi Arnold
Task, representing Judaism; Dr.
aAmar Datta, a member of the
Mechanical     Engineering
Afro House Now Holds Arts And Crafts
It began as a project of "just
helping out," for Mrs. William
Reed, but five months later,she
had developed one of the • -
unique museums of Black culture
in the nation.
Visitors to the African
Heritage House on campus are
immediately awed by the sense
of history and art generated by
Mrs. Reed's creation.
What she has done is to
transform the university's former
drab Afro House, with just 29
relics into a Black cultural center
with more than 500 artifacts
representing the achievemnts of
more than 21 African nations,
New Guinea and Haiti.
"This is not just the usual
museum of Black history," said
Mrs. Reed, who is in constant
touch with the large museums
such as the Smithsonian
Institute.
"Usually their holdings
consist mainly of art works and
sculpture," said Mrs. Reed, "but
our museum hasn't just gone that
route, and we are far out in
front of anything I have seen so
far."
As an example, the A&T
Heritage House contains, in
addition to paintings and
sculpture, outstanding
collections of ceramics, masks,
weapons, bracelets, coins,
fabrics, and cooking ware.
The museum's holdings
include a valuable collection of
hand-crafted beads, including
some whose historic significance
dates to  the  days  of the
ancient slave trade.
Another eye-catching display
is her collection of Egyptian
crosses, including hand crosses,
neck crosses and praying sticks,
all steeped in that nation's
Coptic religion.
Mrs. Reed's extensive
collections belie the actual
amount of work that has gone
into the creation of the museum.
Armed with only an idea
suggested by Chancellor Lewis C.
Dowdy, she began to assemble
the collection last November.
"I soon found out that we
didn't have very much to work
with and not even one display
case," she said. But Mrs. Reed
corraled the university's
carpenters, begged some
assistance from the A&T
University Foundation, and the
conversion was on.
Today the museum's two
floors of holdings are accented
by brightly painted walls, plush
carpeting and showcases fitting
to a quality museum.
The Heritage House also
contains a     combination
reading-dining area, to be used
for monthly Black heritage
dinners and teas and a small but
growing library.
Mrs. Reed's interest in African
history and culture can be traced
to 1946 when she first
accompanied her husband to
Ethiopia, where he served as an
official   with   the   Agency   for
International Development.
Subsequent tours of duty took
the Reeds to Nigeria,-Ghana and
Liberia over a period of 13 years.
Department, representing
Hinduism; and Rev. Peter Addo,
chaplain at Bennett College,
representing Christianity.
Rabbi Task, in discussing
Judaism, said that it was one of
the oldest religions yet one of
the newest. Judiasm' is
represented in practically every
country of the world and has
undergone many changes. Rabbi
Task pointed out the fact that
Judaism puts emphasis on life
and what one does with his life.
Dr. Datta told the audience
about the beginnings of
Hinduism. He pointed out that
Hinduism has no working
definition of God; it only
describes what God is not.
Hindus believe that, perhaps by
cultivating detachment, one may
reach the truth.
Rev. Addo began by saying
that Christianity changes people
and he cited the work of
missionaries as examples of this.
He said the real meaning of
Christianity was to become a
different person. A Christian
separates ' himself from himself
to become what the Creator
wants him to be.
When the panel discussion
ended, the audience asked
questions and commented upon
what had been said.
Mrs. William Reed, curator of the African Heritage House (right) shows Veronica Johnson a Liberian
masque   used to ward off smallpox in that African nation.
Broken Machines Cause Problems
By Benjamin Forbes
Most students know how
frustrating it can be when you
have the "munchies" and can't
find a vending machine that
works because someone else has
taken his frustration out on the
machines.
Chief of Security Roosevelt
Raines     listed     four    of    the
buildings on campus that have
broken vending machines. He
stated that Graham Hall. Gibbs
and the Placement Center at
East Hall have one broken
machine each. Carver Hall has
two broken machines;Curtis Hall
has washing machine troubles.
Raines said that someone had
"ripped off" the coin box of one
of the washing machines. He
stated that most of the persons
breaking into the machines were
after money.
When asked what could be
done to alleviate the problem of
broken vending machines. Raines
said students should participate
in reporting the incidents when
they occur.