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STONE CENTER IS
NOW A REALITY
By Tyree Barnette
Nestled off of South Road on mid-campus, the
Sonja Haynes Stone Center is finally built after
more than a decade of controversy.
The $9 million center will serve as a location
for the study of the black culture's impact on
the state, the South, and the nation. According
to Antoinette R. Parker, Stone Center's public
relations officer, every dollar of the $9
million came from private funds and donations.
Such donors include Jimmy Davis Hitchcock, a
former UNC and NFL football player.
The center was named after Sonja Haynes Stone, a
beloved professor died in August 1991 after
suffering a stroke.
Some students have already ventured into the
center. Sophomore Brandon Cates, an American
studies major from Roxboro, NC said, “I thought
that the building was really nice, it was good
to see that the university put forth so much
time, effort and money to make a standing
structure for black culture.”
Professor Joseph Jordan is the director of the
Stone Center. He sees the Stone Center as
filling a number of objectives. “We have to make
sure that students of today are involved in
defining the issues as students were back in the
1950s, 60s, and 70s,” he said. “We need to
produce critical thinkers that are politically
aware.”
The first floor of the center features the
Robert and Sallie Brown Art Gallery. The gallery
showcases different exhibits of African Diaspora
artwork. Many of the pieces are from the private
collection of John and Vivian Hewitt and include
55 two-dimensional works of art by 20 artists.
The gallery is open to the public from 10am to
5pm on Monday through Friday and on Saturdays by
appointment.
There is also the 360-seat Dr. Harold J. Cobb
theater built in a round shape similar to an
African drum. During the day, the theater is a
state-of-the-art classroom. In the evenings, it
serves as a performance space for concerts,
lectures, and academic departments will hold
their graduation ceremonies there. Already, the
theater has hosted such prestigious speakers as
writer and activist Aya De Leon, award-winning
poet Sonia Sanchez, and former Nobel Laureate
and writer Wole Soyinka. Parker encourages
attendance to hear the guest lecturers. “It's a
good opportunity for students to see people that
they've read about,” she said.
There is even a dance studio that opens into a
larger multipurpose room for student
organizations to use. There are also two
high-tech classroom and two seminar rooms.
The Center houses a library complete with study
rooms and staff on hand for assistance. It is
part of the UNC-Library system meaning that
students can request books not on shelves just
like at other campus libraries. It has a
capacity of 10 thousand volumes of books that
focus on the lives of African-Americans.
Besides the room space and resources offered by
the center, there are also other opportunities
for students. The center offers volunteer work
for student organizations and work study jobs.
There is a new book club called “Hekima” that
meet at the center. Currently, the group
finished “The Gotham Diaries” and offered free
books to the first fifteen registrants to the
club.
There is also a new discussion group called
“Around the Circle”. The group is open to the
larger community and to university students.
Their topics include discussion of black films
and documentaries.
Linda Wansi, a sophomore Pre-Dental and Pre-Med
major from Charlotte, NC is proud to see the
center is completed. “The Stone Center is an
asset to the campus, and I plan to use it as a
resource, further educating myself on black
culture. I will definitely attend the lectures
whenever I can, and actually hope to volunteer
there,” Wansi said. “The very struggle to have
the center was not done in vain, and I am proud
to be attending the school when its goals have
finally been met. I love the Stone Center so
much!”
The Stone center did indeed emerge from
struggles. There were student-led protests,
marches and arrests that generated national
attention. This convinced the university that a
new stand-alone building for the center was
necessary.
Students pushed for the center back in the early
1990s, but met resistance from then-Chancellor
Paul Hardin, who said it would promote
separatism. That separatist argument prevailed
right up to the last semester in the pages of
some campus publications.
To his credit, Hardin eventually became a
supporter and attended the building's dedication
although he did not speak.
Brenda White, a junior Biology major from
Hickory, NC visited the Stone Center's art
gallery recently. She said, “I really enjoyed
seeing The Hewitt Collection of African-American
Art. It gave me a chance to see a part of our
culture that is often overlooked.”
The center is open from 8am to 5pm Monday
through Friday. |
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