Outside Harvard, Black nationalism is on the rise: Nation of Islam membership is up, Spike Lee is making a movie about Malcolm X and rappers are coming out with videos like Public Enemy's "By the Time I Get to Arizona."

And in the College this year, some observers believe that the Black Students Association (BSA) is taking an increasingly militant and Afro-centric stance.

BSA officials last month invited controversial City University of New York professor Leonard Jeffries to speak--an event which provoked a 450-person protest.

Also this year, the BSA has helped bring rappers Chuck D and Sister Souljah to campus, along with Nation of Islam representative Conrad Muhammad and Dorothy Fardan, a white sociologist who has been affiliated with the Nation of Islam and the Black Panthers.

A New Nationalism

In past years, says Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III, the BSA has oscillated between what he called "integrationist" and "nationalist" positions.

"What's new about the BSA this year is that its leadership seems more interested in presenting the Black nationalist perspective, say Epps.

Zaheer R. Ali '94, vice president of the BSA, says he believes that "Black people as a whole and especially Black students...[are] becoming more aware of the problems was face."

"I think a lot of Black students feel it's time for us to do something for ourselves," Ali says. "If we don't, we certainly can't expect other people to do things for us."

But Ali and BSA President Art A. Hall '93, say that the group has not adopted any kind of new position. Rather, this year's leaders are especially committed to giving students a chance to examine all perspectives, they say.

"We were interested in exploring various viewpoints that exist within the community," says Hall.

Hall says BSA has invited a wide range of speakers this year, but only the controversial ones have received widespread media and student attention.

The organization's membership reflects many different outlooks, Ali says.

"We're not all integrationists, we're not all separatists, we're not all nationalists, we're not all Afro-centrists," he says.

Strained Relations