1
Especially in degregation
Black perspective defines education
by Herb L. Cawtborne
ago the timber on that 40 acres with minimum
maintenance through the years would be today
King Tut is back and he is Black. But this has worth more than $40,000 - not to mention the
been a highly guarded secret as the treasures of increase in value of the land over the years. A
tobacco farmer raising forty acres of tobacco
Tutankhamun are shown across the country.
The nation has missed a great opportunity to each year would be reaping a small fortune.
It can be said that for every forty acre tract of
demonstrate to the American people the rich
land
bought and put into production a job could
heritage of its Black citizens. As usual, those who
be
created
for someone. What does a forty acre
are responsible for the dissemination of the news
— the art community, the educators and the press tract cost in the South? In some places as little as
$8,000 ($200), and though it goes higher $20,000
- have white washed Black achievement.
could
be considered a fair average. The question
We have seen that same process take place in
then
arises:
why are not Blacks of modest means
American history. Those Blacks who have
purchasing
land
as a way to provide jobs for their
achieved have been belittled, or if that is im
people?
There
are
many answers to this question,
possible they have lost their color.
but the key answer lies in the fact that very few
More evidence of Tut's Black ancestory:
Senagalese historian and scientist Cheikh Anta Blacks of means possess the value system that
Diop says (1975), "W h a t is certain is the would enable them to do such.
It's the same answer that explains why certain
preeminence of the Negro element from the
Black
athletes w ill spend $18,000 on a
beginning to the end of (ancient) Egyptian
history. Even thae intensive cross-breeding of the stereophonic sound system (Tony Dorsett) or
low periods did not suceed in eliminating the $25,000 on a fur coat (Reggie Jackson). It's the
reason behind why W ilt Chamberlain had to
Negro characteristcs of the Egyption race.'*
About Amenophis III, the father of Tut, the build a $1.5 million home and why Walt Frazier
British Egyptologist John G. Wilkinson writes, needs a $40,000 Rolls Royce and why George
"The features of this monarch cannot fail to Foreman had to have eleven automobiles when
strike everyone who examines the portraits of the he was heavyweight champion of the world — not
Egyptian Kings (as) having more in common with to mention numerous other examples.
One can only imagine the countless number of
the Negro than those of any other Pharaoh."
acres
this foolishly spent money would have pur
German Historian Alexander Von Wuthenau
says of Tutankhamun that "the features of this chased had it been otherwise directed.
It doesn't have to take too much imagination
Egyptian King,whose mother was of pure Black
though.
All one has to do is witness what white
stock, are almost as Negroid as those of his cap
athletes
are doing w ith thier money. Larry
tured Nubian enemies."
Czonka
has
spent the bulk of his football money
Rutgers University anthropologist and linguist
on
buying
land
in Ohio where he has a farm that
Ivan Van Sertima, refers to Queen Tiye, chief
queen of Anemophis II as the "Negroid mother of his brother operates. Bert Jonns has put his
money in a timber farm and has 1,000 acres plan
Tutankhamun."
ted
in soybeans and runs cows on another farm
Knowing that Tut was Black might take away
he
has.
Its common knowledge that Catfish Hun
the beauty of the exhibit for some visitors, but for
Blacks and for others who are willing to accept ter borrowed $150,000 from Charlie Finley to buy
history as it was, it is an opportunity to honor a acreage in North Carolina where he now has 200
head of Black Angus cattle. And these are not
great Black king.
the only white athletes that are putting their
money into land. What one might find interesting
about these three is that they were all landless
before they signed their first professional con
from "Forty Acres and a Mule", Jackson
tract.
Well, what does all this tell us? It tells us simply
A forty acre tract of land is more than adequate this: that a greater value will be placed on land by
enough to enable a person to carry on a full time all Blacks when they see the discontinuation of-
poultry enterprise or a full time truck farming meaningless ostentatious consumption by those
operation. Forty acres of good pasture land will Blacks with means and the investment by those
support 20 cows and their calves. If a forty acre
Blacks into productive resources whether these
tract of land was planted to pine trees 15 years resources be land or other Black people.
King Tut is back
'?Wlt q
Beaumont middle school
(Continued from page 1 col. 6)
high school.
About the Sabin (Black) students
already attending Beaumont they
wrote: "M any people do not realize
that the Sabin 6-8 graders are atten
ding Beaumont now. There is no
trouble becaue: 1) Students arrive
and depan by bus 2) Students are
required to remain on campus from
the time they arrive until they go
home 3) Even though some students
this age (grades 6-8) have adjustment
problems, most are good citizens and
deserve our confidence 4) Alameda
6-8 graders would be a real asset to
Beaumont, and would lend a positive
balance."
The School Board kept its promise
and all the white Beaumont students
w ill be accommodated at Alameda.
Sabin w ill remain majority Black.
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ALFRED L HENDERSON
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Publisher s column fWe See The W orld Through Black Eyes) Any
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a
What most educators, particularly
the white ones, fail to comprehend
intellectually is that being Black in
America defines and contorts and
deepens and spices one's existence
Because the vast m a jo rity o f
Am erica's white educators, along
with a disheartening proportion of
Black teachers, fa il to grasp this
brutal fact o f Black life, they also
perform less sensitively in the well-
meant attem pt to prepare yourg
Black ch ild re n fo r the awesome
demands placed on their shoulders
by the heavy weight o f American
prejudice.
There is. nevertheless, a bright ray
o f hope at the end o f the long
corridor o f struggle that represents
Black life. The vision is proud and
strong. Though more than 75 percent
o f America's white population still
believes Blacks are suffering, not
because of systemic inequities, hut
because o f moral deficiencies, we all
know better. I f the Black condition
today was rooted in our own moral
deficiencies, built into our character
and unchangeable, then the hope for
tomorrow would be sad indeed. But
we know better. And our future, we
know, holds the bnghtest hope.
That is why we work so hard. We
work now for an educational system
which can foster dig n ifie d Black
human beings — each who knows in
his heart o f hearts, “ I am some
body.” We endeavor persistently
now to help foster Black people
who demonstrate a commitment to
creatively forge the "uncreated con
science o f the race.”
That is why we must work so hard
now to make the P ortland com
m unity understand our dissatisfac
tion with the present structure o f the
desegregation program. The hope
that we have for the future depends
on a better program. Our dissatisfac
tio n is rooted in the kind o f
education we must have fo r our
children.
Education must cultivate in Black
children a sense o f the deep roots
from which we come. This cannot be
accom plished in a desegregation
program which scatters children, and
isolates them in schools which teach
no Black history. Our children can
not become proud o f their roots; in
stead the unstable atmosphere w ill
make them wonder about themselves
and their foundation.
Black children need to learn the
language well. They need teachers
who w ill challenge them to learn
English. They do not need those who
apologize for them, who are afraid
to confront their shortcomings, and
who lack the sensitivity to bridge the
gap between their instinctive speech
and standard English. Yet most o f
our children have teachers who do
not understand. Since the beginning
o f the a d m in istra tive transfer
program in 1970, only 23 percent o f
the teachers have had any training
w ith
regard
to
handling a
desegregated classroom . Given
results, the effectiveness o f the
m inim al training provided can be
questioned.
T o prepare Black children, the
educational system we promote must
leave a p ro fo u n d respect fo r
knowledge. This cannot be done
where there is no demand, no
challenge, no constant rem inder.
Under the present system o f
desegregation, where Black children
are sent in small numbers to distant
corners o f the city, our children will
not develop the sense o f respect for
knowledge. Because they are misun-
derstood, because they are thought
to be inferior, learners, they ate not
pushed with tender love and care.
They are not challenged by the fact
(hat their history requires that they
respect knowledge, fo r knowledge
w ill set them free.
Black children need to learn,
through continual reminder, that
they should not be impressed with
shallow symbolism. When we send
our children fa r away fro m our
neighborhood, without assurances
and intense involvement from parents,
we send them to teachers and ad
ministrators who do not know them
well. It is not that we should not send
them at all. It is rather that we
should make certain that th e ir
teachers are not overly impressed
with the shallow symbolism which
surrounds so many o f them. Their
hair styles, their slick phraseology,
their cool struts, their expressive
bodily movement, their moody facial
expression, their sharp tongues, and
th e ir fashionable dress arc the
shallow symbols and not the sub
stance o f their lives. Too many white
teachers get hung up in the sym
bolism and they miss the substance.
This is why we must work so hard
now. This is why we must, through
our relentless collective effort, fight
to develop a desegregation program
which is equitable, which is respect
ful o f the needs o f a new generation
o f Black youth.
Near the turn o f the twentieth cen
tury, W.E.B. DuBois wrote a charge
which we should heed today. " A
stubborn determination at this time
on the part o f the Negro race to
uphold its ideals, keep its standards,
and unceasingly contend fo r its
rights means victory; and victory a
great deal sooner than any o f you
imagine."
JLfÜMt to tfo,
Questions school board process, ethics
To the Editor:
School administrators, the School
Board and middle school proponents
at Beaumont created a cluster and
then defined the cluster as the neigh
borhood. But do they really believe
this and are they prepared to make it
a reality? Sabin area residents are
told by Beaumont parents, “ Come
to our school; you are part o f our
neighborhood." But Alameda and
Beaumont also say in essence, “ God
forbid that we be part o f the Sabin
school or neighborhood!” Busing to
and integration o f Sabin w ill be "o p
tio n a l" to Alameda and Beaumont
parents.
Does the d is tric t push m iddle
schools based upon the logic that
exists fo r having them? Does it
provide citizens w ith facts on
programs, figures on costs and in
form ation on student achievement
levels in existing Portland middle
schools? Does it then let citizens
decide if middle schools are the way
to go? No. The district has few facts
and distrusts citizens.
The district's primary thrust is that
"everyone else is doing it . ” The
district decides, we shall have middle
schools." Then it proceeds to politic
and manipulate until it can demon
strate some semblance o f " c o m
munity acceptance.” This manipula
tio n includes allow ing schools to
deteriorate, strip p in g s ta ff and
program s and tra n sfe rrin g out
children in schools targeted for con
version to m iddle schools. Then
middle schools are pushed as the
only salvation and opponents are
labeled with all sorts o f damning
epithets. When citizens protest their
shabby treatment and question mid
dle schools it reinforces the district’ s
preconceived image o f the uninform
ed public. Meanwhile citizens’ beliefs
that government can’ t be trusted and
won’ t listen are also reinforced.
The whole process o f citizen par
ticipation in educational decision
making in Portland is designed to be
superficial and mampulable. C ourt
ed participants are carefully screened
fo r appointment at the Area A d
visory Committee level by a selection
com m ittee hand-picked by one
Board member, Jonathan Newman.
Area A d viso ry com m ittees set,
within administrative guidelines, the
procedures fo r selecting local ad
visory committees. Usually the prin
cip a l appoints them. P ortland
Citizens must demand change in this
system so that participation can be
made democratic and meaningful.
Do we get representative govern
ment by choosing School Board
members? Nationally 50 9 are first ap
pointed to vacancies created be’ ween
elections. Locally. Ridgely at least
removed himself from the process of
choosing his successor. In contrast
Gladys M cCoy chose to extract
commitments from the other Board
members who believe, or say they
do, that she has Black support. She
didn't ask for Black community or
general com m unity in p u t. She
decided she knew best and choose
Evie Crowell. In agreeing to run un
der these conditions Ms. Crowell
now has a strike against her from the
start and w ill have to work hard to
prove she wants or needs Black sup
port.
New Board member Forrest Reike,
Ridgely’ s replacement, wanted his
appointment so badly that he admits
o f having sold his vote to get it,
promising, before he even knew who
the other candidates would be, that
he would support Ms. McCoy’s can
didate if Ms. McCoy supported him.
A fte r Ms. C ro w e ll’ s appointment
and upon seeing a citizen he'd admit
ted this to. Reike asked if she wanted
to “ kick him .” The answer to that is^
(hat Reike kicked her and all o f us.
He and Board members giving com
mitments to Ms. McCoy thumbed
their noses, as did she, at citizens and
applicants fo r Ms. M cC oy’ s
position. Candidates went through
the farce o f hurried interviews when
the decision had already been made.
Why can’ t Board replacements be
made democratically with meaning
ful citizens input into the decision?
Finally, in response to a statement
made by Ms. M cCoy at her last
School Board meeting, I don't expect
Board members and administrators
to always agree with me. I do expect
o f them consideration, honesty and
ethics. Some Board members and
administrators are far from demon
strating any o f these.
Claudia Fisher
Praises McCoy
To the Editor:
mentioned above coincide with the
thinking of this community.
I became greatly disturbed after
W’e do not have a Black Com
reading three articles in your paper
m u nity. We have an integrated
o f, August 24, 1978 as follow s:
com m unity made up o f Colored
E ditorial, "T o o Much Power For
Americans of various colors: Black,
One Leader” ; article by Herb L.
brow n, tan, yellow and other
C aw tborne,
“ School
Board
minorities and white.
Challenged, Poor Process Insults
The thinking in the articles men
Community” ; Letter to the Editor,
tioned seems to indicate that you
by Vesia Loving, "S ch o o l Board
want a candidate who w ould
Shows Contempt.”
represent only a small segment of the
/ ’ lease grant me permission to
district and city at large. We need a
reply to these articles in your next
candidate or representatives who
edition.
would represent all o f the people in
I am compelled to disagree with
the city.
each article as* I am a concerned
Having been a School Board
citizen.
member and Chairman for several
First I would like to qualify myself
years puts me in position to evaluate
for this protest
the experience of Mrs. Gladys Mc
I have lived in the City o f Portland *
Coy who having served with distinc
for more than thirty years. 1 raised a
tion on the Portland School Board
fa m ily o f nine children. I have
for two terms or eight years. She
always been very close to the "grass
should be in position to judge the
roots thinking” o f this community. 1
type of person who should be able to
served as a Sunday school teacher,
serve on the Board for the best in
superintendent o f the Sunday school;
terest ol all o f the people.
worked with various PTA groups
I think your criticism o f Mrs Mc
through the years as well as various
Coy was very unfair because she has
other community groups.
proven her a b ility to get the job
I was elected and served on the
done. I have known Mrs. McCoy
School Board o f the then second
and her Senator husband B ill for
largest city in Oregon, Vanport City.
many years. As a member o f this
I served approximately three years as
community I have come to a d m ire ^
a member o f the School Board and
both o f them as trustworthy, depend
most o f that time I was Chairman of
able and reliable in their duties to
the Board.
the public.
I am a property owner, taxpayer
I am on the Board o f the Portland
and ow n several parcels o f real estate
Board ol Realtors Political Action
in this community.
Committee. We interviewed political
I am a Realtor and I am very close
candidates just before the recent
to the thinking o f the people of this
Primary Election. We interviewed
community. Neither o f the articles
(Please turn to Page 3 Column I)