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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 1978)
American Blacks and the Egypt-Israel peace conference /n Mark Hyman Black America should look closely at ihe f ramework For Peace recently signed by the heads o f the state o f Israel and Egypt, First, o f course, peace in the Middle East can well mean w orld peace. Second, American Blacks are descendents of both the Egyptians and the Israelites. From three thousand years ago, Blacks were in the fabric of Egyptian and Arab lile. They were the Egyp tians themselves. Later, they became almost equally involved in the fabric of Jewish life. While touring the Middle East two years ago, I saw concrete evidences of full Black involvement in Egyp tian life during antiquity. However, the present day teeming crowds on the streets o f Cairo look more like Lenox Avenue than Fifth Avenue. As for skin color, twenty years ago in M ontgom ery, President Sadat o f Egypt would have sat in the back of the bus. Statues, relics, artifacts, ar, pieces on the wall o f the pyramids show Blackness; Blackness to the point that the grandmother o f King Tut, now on popular American tour, was Queen T iy i, a coal Black woman. Further, Greek historian Herodotus visited Egypt in the sixth century before Christ and described the Egyptians as dark with wooly hair. He also recorded eighteen Black African kings who ruled mighty Egypt during her glorious history. I oday the works o f some early racist European historians are being overturned and the revelations o f honest writers and researchers are becoming more available. There are the biased ones who tried to make Caucasians out o f the Black and brown Egyptians. It was in 1793 when Count Constantine Francois Volney, French skeptic and historian, walked amid *he natives o f Egypt in the shadows of the Great Spinx and the Great Pyramids o f Khul'u and Kizeh. He was amazed at the people and their Black and brown skins, broad flat noses and flattened mouths. W ith heavy guilt he wrote: “ How we are astonished when we reflect that to the race o f Negroes, at present our slaves, and the object o f our contempt, we owe are arts and sciences.” Egyptian records also show the list o f Black Cushite kings o f Egypt’ s T w e n ty -F ifth Dynasty. Kashta conquered the great nation as far as Thebes. P iankhy completed the conquest and ruled; follow ed by Shabaka, Taharka and Tanutamon. H U G H E S M E M O R IA L U N IT E D M E T H O D IS T C H U R C H REV AUSTIN V RAY MINISTER 1,9 111 N.E. FAILING D U I-A -P rsyer 2X4-06X4 Church School 9:45 a Worship 11:0« a.m. Office 2X1-2332 Specializing In Individual • Marriage and Family • Group Therapy "The Church W here No Stranger Feels Strange” Sixty-Third National Assembly Convention for the Church Of The Living God, Temple #3 The Pillar And Ground Of The Truth on October 10-15, 1978 at Gethsemane Church Of God In Christ 810 N.E. Failing Street, Portland, Oregon (We invite you to come be a part of — this National Service) Banquet will be held on October 10, 1978. At Jantzen Beach Thunderbird Motor Inn, 1401 N. Hayden Island Drive, 7:30p.m. A lovely dinner and wonderful entertainment, by Naomi Wrighten, and the Gospel Lights, along with the Gospel Trumpets, a professional local group, and others. If you desire to come please call Naomi Wrighten, 287-7527 for your reservation by October 7, 1978. No reservations will be taken after that date I King Tutankhamun as a child. A ll were fighting pharoahs who had to constantly defend Egypt against the Assyrians from the east. Numerous sources present an equal number o f viewpoints about the interrelationships o f Jews and Blacks during a ntiquity. Rudolph Windsor in his book “ From Babylon To Tim buctu,” says Terah, father o f the first Jew (Abraham) came from the Land o f U r o f Chaldees. The Chaldeans were one o f the Cushite tribes, which means Black, and who were descendents o f Cush, the son o f Ham. Today in Ethiopia, Asia and in Israel itself are populations o f Black Jews called Falashas. They claim absolute and direct lineage to Abraham. They base their claim on the fact that after M enlik, son o f Solomon and Sheba, visited the king in Judea, he sent back to Ethiopia several sons o f prominent leaders o f Jerusalem. The young men were to teu?h the Ethiopians the tenets o f the God o f Judah. These men inter married and raised their families. The second set o f claimants are the descendents o f King Solomon o f Judah and Queen Makeda of Sheba. The late H aile Selassie was sup posedly the last o f this line. The Lion o f Judah and Kings o f Kings, as he was titled, could trace his linage back to this famous union. Some researchers claim the line was broken, but Selassie said no. They are the descendents o f the original Axum ite kingdom which traced their kings back to Ori in 481 B.C. to Selassie in 1930 A.D . To tread dangerously, we go to the Bible where the wife o f Moses, Zip- porah was the daughter o f a Black African. O f course, throughout the EXODUS aru / tea/m s-n / M entet PORTLAND. OREGON 9721 1 284-7997 FACTS OF IMPORTANCE OCTOBER 1978 ALLEN TEMPLE CME CHURCH Corner ol Xth and Skidmore Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Sunday Worship 11:00 a.m. Christian Youth Fellowship 6:1X1 p.m. ISecond and Fourth Sundays) Reverend Thomas L. Strayhand. Minister ST. ANDREWS CATHOLIC CHURCH MRi N .E . Alberta Street Reverend Bertram Griffin, Pastor 2X1 4429 Masses: 5:00 p.m. Vigil -- Saturday 10:00 a.m. Choir -- Sunday 12:00 p.m. Folk - Sunday ST. ANDREW C O M M U NITY SCHOOL 4919 N .E . 9th Ave. Norita Kelly, Principal Phone: 2X4-1620 Grades I through X New Hope Missionary Baptist Church REVEREND A. BERNARD DEVERS. PASTOR THE CHURCH DESIGNED TO MEET YOUR NEED Sunday School Morning W orship 9:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. Evening Service 2nd, 4th and 5th Sundays Communion 1st Sunday Wed. - Family P rayer Meeting and Bible Study Friday - Brotherhood Fellowship Service with Morning Star 3rd Sunday 7:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Prayer and Pastor Phone: 2X1-«476 Church Phone: 2X1-0163 3 7 2 5 N. Gantenbeln Avenue, Portland, Oregon 9 7 2 2 7 O N E PLANET O N E PEOPLE PLEASE •••I °Bahá’í "Taith > 4. 2 8 4 -4 7 4 6 or 281-7915 Cleaver describes coaversion 1518 N E KILLINGSWORTH VOLUME V Bible, Blacks figured significantly . . . until King James and his underlings wrote out a lo t o f Black par ticipation. Blacks and Jews fought with each other, against each other, and for each other. In the la tte r case, Taharka (we mentioned him earlier) than Pharoah in E gypt, led an E thiopian army in support o f Hezikiah against Assyrian King Sen- narcherib. Conversely pow erful Ethiopian General Zerah stormed in to Judah against the smaller army of Asa, with a million men. However, when they faced each other at Mareshah, the Lord stepped in and made it no contest. “ So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopeans fled.” Historians place this engagement at 941 B.C. When Joseph became prim e minister o f Egypt, he took on an Egyptian name and m arried the daughter o f an African priest. Scores of Black churches, schools and colleges in America are named after Simon the Black Cyrenian who helped Jesus carry the cross. The final connection to be men tioned is the one o f trade. Solomon sent his ships into Black A frican countries to purchase the valuable products o f the rich mines and lush green forests. He met Sheba through the famous E th io p ia n merchant Tamrin from whom the king bought some o f the “ green gold o f Ethiopia.” In view o f these facts, the logical question is: What on earth happened to bring the Black people o f America from the respected world position among the ancients and the Middle Ages (we did not touch on that) to the critical, struggling battle for sur vival? The most decisive act was the willingness o f Ezana, a fourth cen tury Ethiopian emperor, to make Christianity the official religion o f his country. In so doing, he gave the white European Christians the first foothold in Africa. The rest is awful history. Yet the meeting o f Anwar Sadat and Menachin Begin and the signing o f the fragile but hope-inspiring Framework For Peace is not a casual incident for American Blacks. It is quite possible that if Ezana had not accepted Christianity, had the desert . not continued to shrink, choking the African cities and villages, had not the Mohammedans w ith superior numbers and the Europeans with superior firepower not come . . . the fram ew ork m ight not have been necessary. Portland Observer Thursday, October 5, 1978 Page 7 SERIES I Directly, Exodus is working hard to improve the HEALTH, SAFETY and MENTAL OUTLOOK of people living in our community. One indirect result of our work in treating Alcoholism is the reduction of crime and crime potential; while increasing the overall productivity of our community citizens. Hunters! You can SEE, HEAR and THINK clearer WITHOUT Alcohol and Drugs. Eldridge Cleaver was a prominent member o f the Black Panther movement in the 1960s and now calls him self an ardent C h ristia n . He describes his newfound appreciation for God, country and even Charles Colson, on ABC News’ cultural- religious series, “ Directions,” Sun day, October 8th (1:00-1:30 p.m ., EDT), on the ABC Television Net work. The program, titled “ From Ice to Fire: A Conversation W ith Eldridge Cleaver,” is hosted by ABC News Correspondent H erbert K aplow . Cleaver has w ritte n tw o books: “ Soul on Ice,” which called fo r militant social reform, and the recent ly published “ Soul on Fire,” which is the story o f Cleaver’s conversion to Christianity. Youth meet The Open House o f Prayer, 27th and N.E. Sumner, is holding its First Annual Youth Roundup October 4th through October 7th. Services are at 11:30 a.m. and dinner at 3:00 p.m. Elder Paul Lawrence Green is the featured speaker. Host Pastor Ealer M artin invites the public to par ticipate. CALDWELLS COLONIAL You are W elcome to W orship at THE ARK OF SAFETY CHURCH OF GOD PENTECOSTAL, INC. “A warm spirit of fellowship always" The Honorable Bishop U.V. Peterson, D.D. “The Holiness Preacher," Pastor Sunday: Sunday School 9:15 am Morning Worship 11:15 am “Showers of Blessings Broadcast" KGAR1550 11:30 am 12:30 pm YPBC 6:30 pm Evangelistic W orship X:00 pm Tuesday-Friday Noon Day Prayer Tuesday: Bible Band/Jr. Church Wednesday: Choir Rehearsal Friday: “The Pastor Speaks” X4 NE Killingsworth 2X1-0499 Services personalized to your family's lifestyle... and finances For complete details, call or stop at any of our convenient locations You'll find that we are sensitive to your needs— as we have been to Portland families for more than 40 years. Credit terms and trust planning available M( )RTl ’ARY .• jT . - ' REGISTER AT: EXODUS 1518 N.E. Killingsworth Portland, Oregon 97211 Our 50th year of personal service to families of all faiths. N.E. 14th <M SanJ\ Bhd. & Burnside- Portland, OR 972 M I > \ \ « »H M t . l l 232-4111 Mortuary • Crematory • Calcinatory Gateway N. Killingsworth N.E. Halsey at 106th 430 N. Killingsworth 256-0606 N. Lombard 3018 N Lombard 2113-0525 283-1976 e ix id Southgate tutoial 10305 S.E 82nd Ave Services. 777-1465 I