Professor's Labor Paves Way for New BCC

Amana's involvement on the BCC advisory board, and his term as interim director following former BCC Director Gerald Horn, has made him instrumental in all aspects of the BCC, from its inception to the groundbreaking.

But Amana's cultural advocacy began long ago, when he was a founding member of the Black Student League at Temple University in the 1960s. Though Amana never had a black teacher, he made Harlem Renaissance writer James Baldwin the topic of his senior thesis, thus influencing his decision to study minority issues.

"My interests since I was a young man have been in black issues," Amana said. "These interests have expanded into a minority, Third World perspective on a national and international level."

Amana's path to his current position as BCC interim director has been a winding one. He became UNC's first black journalism professor when he joined the faculty in 1979. In the 1980s, he took time off to pursue other professional interests. Amana worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1983 and served as director of communications at Clark Atlanta University from 1989 to 1990.

Upon returning to UNC, Amana found new challenges awaiting him. He became chairman of the BCC advisory board in 1991, and he later started the Carolina Association of Black Journalists with a group of students from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

As Amana made the transition back into UNC life, members of the Black Student Movement and the Campus Y were just beginning the struggle for a freestanding BCC. Former Chancellor Paul Hardin initially opposed the idea because he felt the word "black" was segregational and exclusionary.

"People were so uptight about the term 'black,'" Amana said. "Whether you are Haitian, black-Cuban or whatnot, the implicit term attached is black."

In October 1992, pressure from Amana and other BCC supporters caused Hardin to change his view and endorse the center.

Amana said he has big plans for the new BCC, but he already feels the center has become a staple in the cultural diet of UNC. "The BCC has already improved the state of race relations on campus," Amana said. "The new BCC will expose all people to aspects of the African diaspora. It'll do more for race relations at UNC than anything else."

Reflecting on the meaning of the BCC, Amana acknowledges its importance -- not only as a cultural symbol but also as a memorial to his late friend and colleague Sonja H. Stone.

"This is a legacy to Sonja," Amana said. "She recruited me to come here, and I knew her personally. She started the (African and Afro-American studies) department when there was none."

Amana said he would like to see more UNC buildings named after minorities.

"Imagine what will happen when we have a new BCC to show people," Amana said. "To have a building named after a black woman and to take class in the only building on campus dedicated to anything black not only allows us to use the building for recruitment for faculty, but students as well."

Amana will soon return to his full duties at the journalism school -- though he will remain on the BCC advisory board -- as the search for a permanent BCC director starts next week.

BCC administrative manager Trevaughn Eubanks said she regrets that Amana will leave his post but looks forward to the future of the center.

"Harry is instrumental to the program, using his creativity to push us to a new level and in a positive light," Eubanks said. "He has the history behind him, and whoever takes his place will have to know the background that he has."

The Features Editor can be reached at features@unc.edu.