Students exploring Negro in America
Oy Pal MunJin
Tho Droadway hit muQlcnl "Hnlr" Includoo a song omlilcil "Happy Dlnhday Able Ooby." Ii ! a oai- caoilc put-down of Abrohum Lincoln which pnrotllco hla lamoua Octcyolnirg Addraoa. Studcnm taking Illo- tory 309 aro learning that iho firrevorcnco ot ihlo oong nriay bo Juoiltlcd.
IMsiory 309, ontlllctl "The Negro In Amorlca," 1b atiompilng to explore what most hlmnry books ne¬ glect, tha black mon*Ei rolo In iho hlmory al thic United SiaioQ.
The couroo covers iho African horltagcof ihc Ameri¬ can Negro and rollown him through alavcryi the civil War. and Reconeiruction all the way up to and Iti- cludlnfl tho proscni dvll rights controversy.
Ovor 100 SIU Diudonts are becoming aware that auch revered men ae Coorgo Woshlngion, Tbomao Jof- (crBon and even Abraham Lincoln often failed when the opportunity arose to help iho block roan.
The course, which mccfs (our itmoo a week, la laughi b>' Jamca Murphy, asslotamprofoceor In history. Accordli^ to Murphy, thoro are sorcral rcaoona why bUck history la now being laughi In most largo unl- vcroittcs acKl many amall coUcgon.
"The civil rlghio moTcmeitt placed htackn In the tocal polnit" Murphy sAld. "The gorcritmcni had lo faco Ihe problem and no ibcy bcean lo encourage wlih money the study ol Iilack hlmory.
An liucretit In ihe black people of Ihe UrIled Slates arose foltowlng World War II, according to Muri^y.
"The war against ibc Nazis caused a rcaflscstmerJ ol our valifco bccau<iv wc had foughi a war against raclom," he naid.
Also Murphy mcniloncd that the American Uack man has rcccmty taken Iracrrat and pildc In his AErlun anccoiry and bis indlcnicd a desire lo lorn about |U
Several upcakcra han appeared bclorc Ibe Kiaa, ^ litclviJinj; Ales Mjlley, wbo co-auiborctJ "Tbe Auiobiograpby cIMakalmX."
The 5ii^tcra& uklRg ih« C(»ir£o, boih black aod wbltt;> nccm lo Bhow a Krcat deal t^t Iraercsi In wftal ibey nrr brittj; gauj;ht and ollcn the class et-jSa In llvelj', cTsn tecaied diuuultm.