TheE iun "a iiin~.thef<an I n.(on VOL. 92 No. 23 / TALLAHAXSSEE, FLA. BLACK EMPOWERM\E\ i SPECIAL ISSU E NOVEMBER 17, 2000 - Bl I' 4EN1l SPECIAL ISSUE TSZ' the color otar N Moving past obstacles ~ on stage and beyond page 2 Community support is a must Page 2 Find out how stocks ad bonds can help you page 7 4 Black voters Still think your vote doesn't matter? kAN& Page 4 ' ;° f e . 2 The Famuan / November 17, 2000 www.thefamuan.com Black Empowerment Breaking the barriers in the art world Blacks have had to fight for recognition, nevertheless, they keep on fighting By Bora Mpinja respect as their white counterparts. Staff Editor "A lot of them had to start off in black face," said Joan Burroughs "That was Faces of color were not always com- the only way they could be accepted." mon in the areas of modern dance and Burroughs is a dance teacher at drama but African-Americans still have FAMU and the director of Orchesis an important place in the history of per- Contemporary Dance Theatre. Blacks forming arts in America. had to mimic stereotypes until after the Ira F. Aldridge was an African- late 1950's when dancers such Arthur American actor and playwright who Mitchell came along. performed Shakespeare at the African "They said blacks could not do ballet Grove Theatre in New York City during because our heels were too long and our the 1820's. Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 butts were too big," Burroughs said. play A Raisin in the Sun made blacks "Arthur Mitchell proved them wrong." the center of attention in American the- Mitchell was a dancer with the New atre and launched the careers of act York City Ballet who founded The Ruby Dee and Sidney Poitier. Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1969. Although blacks have made signi Although dancers such as Aley and cant contributions to the stage and I Mitchell achieved world-wide fame, screen, there is still a long way to many African-American dancers went according to Valencia Matthews, chair without recognition. Burroughs, who of the Department of Visual Arts, received a masters degree in dance Humanities, and Theatre at FAMU. from Indiana University, said, "We "The improvements are not as much don't get enough support and the as we'd like and there is a lot of stereo- opportunities we have, we have to typing," Matthews said. Matthews was a make." theatre student at South Carolina State Iris Rosa, a guest choreographer for University and has performed in several FAMU's Orchesis and a professor in the plays. "Some people regard a whole race department of Afro-American studies at based on images that they see," she Indiana University agrees. "It's hard to said. Before Spike Lee's movie get community support when there is Bamboozled, Tony Award winning ALVIN AILEY DANCE THEATER Courtesy of www.memphismagazine.com no money in the community," Rosa director and playwright George C. said. Rosa is in favor of teaching kids Wolfe also tackled black stereotypes in the technique, history and discipline of his satirical play, The Colored Museum. dance. As the director of the Essential "Children today want to be 'video Theatre at FAMU, Matthews tries to dancers'," Rosa said. "We need to devel- bring diverse characters to the stage. op dance programs in black schools so "We have a primarily African-American we can focus on the many aspects of audience and so we focus on African- dance that are related to the communi- Americans of different genres," ty." Matthews said. Tamiko Teague, a junior elementary Even today now defunct sitcoms such education student from West Palm as The Wayans Brothers and Martin Beach would like to see FAMU imple- have been criticized by blacks for por- ment a dance department. Teague has traying stereotypes and have even been been a dancer since the age of seven called "modern day minstrel shows." and graduated from the Palm Beach According to Matthews those images County School of the Arts. "It would can impact African-Americans nega- bring more opportunities because there tively. are a lot of dancers here at FAMU," "There is nothing wrong with shows Teague said. such as Martin as long as you have bal- AILEY HANSBERRY Burroughs couldn't agree more. She ance, and a lot of times there is no bal- the biggest pioneers for African- New York in 1958. is busy trying to build a dance a depart- ance," Matthews said. Americans in dance was Alvin Ailey. He Although dancers such as Ailey were ment at FAMU. "Dance is integral to Despite racial obstacles, blacks have was a highly praised dancer and chore- able to make such accomplishments, our culture," she said. leaped across the stage to the dance ographer who founded the world African-Americans have struggled in recital hall and achieved success. One of famous Alvin Ailev Dance Theater in the world of dance to achieve the same Opinions are mixed about black-owned businesses Shops need community support from consumers who tend to follow trends Tommy clothes than some no-name friends come here." and taking part in Homecoming activi- By Joe Evans, Jr. and local designer," said Sherif Morison, a It takes students about 10 minutes on ties." Stacey-Ann Clark junior political science student. It is average to get to Fantasia from FAMU. Shingles said that he encourages any Correspondents and Staff Editor nothing personal; it is just buying and Because it is so close, the business one to start a business. He said that in using what is in." receives a high volume of high school order for a business to survive, there One would think that because a par- There are many black-owned busi- and college students. must be a lot of initial planning that ticular business is black owned that nesses in Tallahassee. Some students "We do a lot of business here and I goes into it. He said many black-owned black people would automatically flock find that they can only find what they think that it does a lot to help out the businesses do not survive because peo- to its door. This is not always the case. are looking for at these businesses. black community," said Anthony ple go into them without having a keen Non-supporters of black businesses say They tend to offer services that black Andrews, a barber. eye for business. that these businesses fail because many students need and want. College students eating on the go can "They have to look at over head costs blacks think that black products are Male students interested in getting a enjoy fast food from the family-owned such as equipment, paying staff mem- inferior to the mainstream ones. hair cut can visit Fantasia. Fantasia, Shingles. This fast-food restaurant has bers and buying supplies," said As students of a historically black located on 1237 Airport Drive, has been been in operation for over 37 years. Shingles. "You should not jump the university, the urge to "buy black" operating for over 4 years and offers Shingles, located on 905 Miles St., has gun, but be level headed and think should be planted in the hearts of all hair cuts for only $10. served the needs of many FAMU stu- practical." students. Black businesses survive and "Iget my hair cut there and I like the dents. The general consensus among black florish primarily because of the support work that they do," said Eric Wilson, "Students are a big part of our busi- entrepreneurs is that they need black they receive from the black community. junior education student from Orlando. ness," said Darryl Shingles, co-owner. support to continue to make a differ- "Many students would rather wear "I have no problem here and a lot of my "We enjoy serving the FAMU family ence. www.thefamuan.com November 17, 2000/The Famuan 3 Black Empowerment Stock, bonds elude some blacks TTHE By Jennifer Daniels ties in the equity markets. the work force, nearly one- tions and a tendency to put Staff Writer A recent survey conducted by third of the total net worth of more of their savings into col- SILVER SCREEN MSNBC indicated that 62 per- American families is now held lege for children rather than Recent studies have shown cent of African Americans in stocks and bonds. into retirement accounts. that Black Americans are doing under 35 said they plan to But while 48 percent of "While financial education, twice as well socially as they begin investing in stocks this whites own stock, only 10 per- training and skills are a big did less than 30 years ago. year. cent of blacks do. piece of the issue, blacks are AMC- Tallahassee 20 According to the magazine, "The growing participation is The result: As the stock mar- also faced with the issue of American Demographics, great news for the African ket has soared, the average net accepting low-paying jobs with 386-4330 blacks now make up 41 percent American community. They are worth of whites has grown to little to no long-term pros- Lost Souls of the American middle class. capitalizing on the bull market about $95,000, and for minori- pects," said Jamere Jackson Charlie's Angels However, blacks only make up of the past few years and seiz- ties, it's just over $16,000. the CEO of LittleAfrica.com. Remember the Titans 13 percent of the more than 3.5 ing the opportunity to build The percentage of high- "The new economy is domi- million Bedazzled black students attend- wealth," said David S.