Vel Phillips Papers (Teaching, Box 3)

D. Cleveland

2

Before I started the week I heard several negative views on Vel Phillips. She was described as a radical and one-sided. On Monday, I was not really looking forward to the week ahead. I believed she would take a passive role, making us talk about a topic few of us knew anythin about, and a topic I feared would not be interesting. I was proved wrong. From the moment the class started, I knew Ms. Phillips would not be passive. She is an extremely vibrant person who knows what she wants and is willing to do just about anything to get it. She organized the class well, and handled the discussion with assurance, not letting anything get out of hand. She didn't force her opinions but allowed the class to say what they wnated, then she offered her own views on the subject. Her many interesting and often amusing antidotes helped to enliven the class and keep interest high. In fact, I almost would rather have listened to her talk and had no presentations since they did get a bit dull after awhile.

Black politics is a topic I knew very little about, which made this week more of a challenge. Ms. Phillips covered the topic very well and in quite a bit of depth for only having one week. Chuck Stone was not that interesting for me to read, but id did contain relevant information. I never really realized what an important tool the ballot was in helping the black cause. Black organizations work non-violently to increase black vote so that black leaders, not Uncle Toms or ceremonial negroes, will be elected. While the idea of a black coalition is not new to me, it was explained more clearly than I had heard it before. There are many new ideas in black politics that were brought out that are good to know the belief that some blacks have to go back to being segregated is an important topic now, What happens in the next few years will be important to the future of

3. P. Cleveland

American politics. Learning about the ethnic groups and how they have affected black politics was also interesting. Each of the major elections figured importantly in black power struggle in the United States and finding out some of the little known facts about the election brought some insight into black politics. The day devoted to black political leaders of the present and past was mostly, new to me. While I had heard of most of the leaders, I didn't realize most of the points that were brought up. Black leaders are an important part of the rising importance of black politics in America. Vel Phillips interest in the subject and her enthusiasm made this week well worthwhile, and I feel I got a lot out of it.

One of the major complaints heard about January is that there is nothing to do. Unless a person can really get into his course, he is often left with little to do for much of his free time even with the many events planned the month there is still much free time. One of the major reasons students do not attend all the functions is that they through their own fault don't know what's going on if they feel it is above them. January month is a lazy month and no one feels like doing much of anything. A lot of kids just sit around complaining they have nothing to do. Many of them have things to do that they don't do because no one else seems to be doing anything. After first semester, everyone is really for a time at school to relax. Social life becomes very important during Jan. Most of the students I talked to would rather go to a party than to any of the more cultural events during the month. The students are not necessarily apathetic, but since there is not much to do most people use the

Kevin R Jung Visiting Scholars January 29, 1974

Evaluating Vel Phillips and what I have learned is a little more difficult than that for William Law. It is hard because the student did the instructing of the material - at least the majority of the time - while Vel added her comments. Vel added her comments to the material presented. If a point was unclear or not understood. Vel would always came up with a personal story or experience which would clarify the point. I really enjoyed this part of the [illegible] course because it kept your attention. It isnt as boring as straight lecturing. There is also a lot of values connection with this type of instructing. It's hard to pin point everything I learned because of the vast amount of information I received. However, I will try to evaluate the course as a whole and comment on the major points. On the television you see race riots and black people getting arrested. You see black militants rioting and voicing strong words for violence in order to get their rights. You see all this on television but they don't tell you the why behind the violence and riots. The book attempted to explain the why and tell the readers what the black person is striving for.

The book stated how the white people have manipulated the blacks and have kept them from gaining equality. They're no different than anyone else. Their color should make no difference. The book gave the history of the black man and what has happened to him. It also gave the black mans present situations as far as representation, equality, and acceptance is concerned. And it gave the future of the black man and what he has to do yet to gain full his desired goals. Having the students participate in the capacity that they did allowed all the other students to hear different interpretationsof the material and different opinions. Most important was the involvement of the students. Each student had to get involved and do some reading and research. A student couldn't be completely passive. Most of this material that was presented was not new to me. I had some knowledge of almost all of the material and what was presented added a few more facts to the knowledge already possessed. Other than what's written its difficult to evaluate because there was such an immense amount of information presented

Craig Caldwell

Mr. Law, I think, tryed to relate to us the natural assumption that it is mans instinct and nature to be free and independent and only by living this way will be successful in what he pursues. That historically the greates advancements in human welfare have been made in precisely those periods with the least governmental regulation of human action. Through free enterprise and limited government man and hence the world will be infinitely more successfull in its pursuit of life, liberty and property.

Ms. Vel Phillips was indeed quite a learned experience in many areas. There were many things that I disagreed with her on, but there were many more things that I agreed with her on. I guess the facts told the story and there was no alternative but to believe them even though you would not like to think of them as being true. The personal stories that Ms Phillips told were much more beneficial to me than the books. Facts and figures out of a book certainly made you aware, but its the actual real specific incidents that are curtailed to you that make you think most deeply into the situation. Ms Phillps thinks that the black man has carried the heavier load in developing the nation but even with this true very little gratitude had been paid back for his efforts, [illegible] though he deserves it. Ms Phillips deeply believed in what she said and stood for and I admire her for that. It is certainly time for us to abolish the discrimination and prejudices involved between white and black man. It is time for us to stop thinking white man advantage, black man - disadvantage and consider them both as equal. I didnt realize she was the first black person ever to run for a national position in the United States. I realized she was one of the first ever but not the first.

Ms Phillips I think tryed to make us realized the concern and action needed in order to remedy this nation of the powerful racial discrimination that exists here. It was interesting