At an Oct. 3 meeting in the Edmonds Classroom Building a newly-founded campus organization, Emancipated Minds, called for the creation of an African American history concentration in the Department of History at N.C. Central University.

Twenty-one members attended the group’s second meeting. According to the group, it is imperative that NCCU students have the chance to learn about black history.

Emancipated Minds is the creation of Glen Fisher, a junior history major; D’Weston Haywood, a sophomore political science major; Cedric Jones, a junior business administration major; and Jabari Owens-Bailey, a sophomore art major.

“I shouldn’t have to go to Duke or any other school that’s not an HBCU to learn about African American history,” said Jones, the group’s vice-president.

Fisher, the group’s secretary, had the facts to back up the group’s complaint.

“Out of 38 courses in the history department, only four are related to African American history,” said Fisher.

The group’s executive board plans to present a proposal for the African American history concentration to Freddie Parker, chair of the history department.

Members will examine existing African American history concentrations at HBCUs and predominately white institutions.

They also said that they will survey NCCU students to get a sense of campus-wide demand of an increased academic focus on African American history courses.

The founders say they are dedicated to raising students’ awareness.

“We plan to raise consciousness by cultural enlightenment, which means reading cultural books – not only African American culture, but every culture so that we know the standpoint of every culture and also what makes our culture what it is,” said Haywood, the group’s president.

The group hopes to have a lasting impact on NCCU’s campus and the community by guiding African Americans to a new understanding of themselves.

“We don’t want to be a perpetually lost people,” Haywood said.

At the meeting, the group discussed the impending expansion of the university into surrounding neighborhoods.

The founders said that it was unjust for the residents of the affected homes to be paid the minimum settlement and then have to pay a mortgage for another home.

Emancipated Minds also plans to increase school pride. They want students not only to regard NCCU as a place of education and dwelling, but also as a home and a community that must be protected and cared for.

The members feel that the students deserve facilities that are representative of the new millennium.

Emancipated Minds also wants to increase the use of technology on campus. According to Haywood, technological resources are important to each student’s academic development and to campus morale.

NCCU’s surrounding community is also a focus of the organization, and the group plans to mentor in New Horizon, a program for Durham students who have been expelled from school.

“In addition to mentoring the youth in the community, we want to do food and clothing drives.

“However, we want to go beyond feeding the oppressed and the poor for just a couple of hours, we want to see that they have a job, a home to go to, and to see that their families are provided for,” said Haywood.

At the meeting, the group elected committee chairs and signed up for committees that included research, community outreach, cultural awareness, movies, promotions, fund raising, and networking.

Emancipated Minds welcomes new members. Dues are $7 every semester.