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.PROPCSJ,. L FOR AN LFRO-AMERICJ. N EDUC/ ;. TION A ND CULTU RJ,. L CENTER Introduction: Key to the struggle for human rights that b .fro-americans are engagec1 in, is the development of internal strength. Throughout the history of the struggle this need for internal strength has been phrased in many ways: Identity, Dignity, Pride, Black Consciousness. The question then, is how is fulfillment of this need structured and programmed? The culture of a people -- what defines a people internally, is not seen and is constantly in flux. Music, art works, recorded history are all cultural expre·s sions but not culture itself. A positive awareness of the expressions of culture as clues to the nature of what one is is necesq.r y tO" the vitality of any people. P e r haps the most tragic effect of the racism directecl against Afro-am e ricans has been the systematic destruction of our cultural i d entity. A concerte d effort must be made to search out pro- grams that can deal with this denial. L ny program which seeks t o rectify close to 400 years of cultural denial must of necessity be long ranged. U sing their history, lifro- arnericans must define themselves in terms of their aspirations ~ community for the future. The Idea: The Afro-american 6iltural and Education Center would serve two specific functions . school children. During the clay, it woulcl operate for the benefit of pre ... Through programs in dance, music, reading and recr -e a- tion, it would seek to instill at an early age a positive self-awareness. �Page Two P art of this pre-school pro gram wrul d be d esigned to involve the parent s of these children as much as possible. Community support from fin an ci a l to participation. woulcl be solicited anc1 hopefully, this program will be selfsupp orting in one year. In the evening. the center would be run as an .f-:..fro-a.rne rican coffee house. The evening p rogram would feature folk music and jazz musicians, poets. movies. lectures. discussions and debates. Coffee, tea, sandwiches and pastries woulcl be sold an d a small admission fee wruld be char ge d . The concept pf the coffe house is to provide entertainment for the cmnmunity while at the same time engaging in a social pro gra...in with the communit y. Vi7hatever funds a re gained from this effort, will b e turned into the develo::_:, ment of another such c enter in a different section of the ::-i. \' community. hnplemntation: In December o f 196 5, a small coffee shop was o :,enec1 up in I tlanta on Hunter Street calle d the n Lovin 1 Spoonful. 11 It sought to provide the ghetto community of N o rthwest l,.tlanta with the opp ortunity to go to a p l ace whe re both enjoyment of the A fro-american 1 s contribution in many areas of art could be appre ciatecl and discussions of various social is s u es could b e pursued in a relxecl and informal atmosphe re. The high ove r head and the unwillingness of the managers to be prohibitive in terms of money. mad e it impossible to sustain the coffee house. Rent plu s the cost of living even minimally, eventually forced the closing of the "Lovin1 Spoonful." Since closing of the Lovin' Spoonful, s e ver al persons frorri the l's tlanta communit y �Page Three have been discussing the reopening of a similar coffee house. One person has committed himself to the full time operation of it if funds can be found to guarantee on~ year's existence without the worry of rent ancl feec1 costs. Several other persons have volunteered part time help if ever the coffee house is reopened. Lecturers and entertainers can be gotten for the cost of transportation at most. Location of the center will be on Hunter Street, the main street of the Northwest .t:.tlanta ghetto. There is a group of young parents and students who have eicpre ssed interest in the pre-school program. Volunteer help can be gotten from this group anC: at least two full time staff personnel. The main cost in operating this progra.in is material, much of which will have to be clevelo ped. The Student Voice, Incorporated, an Afro-american publishing house in Atlanta, is now laying plans for publishing children's material and it will be available at low cost. Other effective material will have to be searched into through institutions such as the Ban Street School in New York and individual educators. �