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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1979)
HMM M. W » P ortland I — EDITORIAL/OPINION Another Black History Week It is Black History Weak again and time to remember the past contributions, to evaluate the present and to plan for the future. W e know the past. Black peopte played an im portant role in the discovery, the exploration and the settlement of Oregon. Black people helped to build a modem civilization — as servants and slaves, as farmers, merchants, laborers and businessmen. Although locked out of the state's political, social and economic mainstream, they left their mark. The present is more difficult to evaluate. Although great strides have been made in the area of legislation - Oregon is at the forefront in civil rights legislation - the realities are still not so great. White people and organizations realize they can discriminate without danger to them selves Black people are still not found in propor tionate numbers in private industry or in civil ser vice. Although there have been gains in professional employment, and in some crafts and trades, Blacks are not properly represented in administration, supervision or planning. Across the nation Black public officials are un der attack — Diggs, Brooke, Dymally — and Gilcrease. And who knows who will be next? The economic development lags behind that of the nation. Although the num ber of Black businesses may be growing, they are still not ac cepted as competitors and partners by the white business community. A few tokens are thrown - and those are mainly at federal direction. The schools are still segregated — Black children scattered and largely ignored. The School Baord has refused to act in a responsible manner. There are constant charges of police brutality. Youths are making their way to prison in alarming numbers. The criminal justice system has failed to respond. The elderly are overlooked and left out. Programs that once held hope have been snat ched away. A dismal picture? Then look to the future. What does the future hold? Only what the people make it produce. Organizing, voting, uniting and demanding are the key to the future. China: The new Sunbelt? by Bayard Rusiin L ike two long-estranged lovers, the United States and China have embraced each other warmly, casting aside b itte r m em ories o f old quarrels and deeply-felt hatreds. This sudden and rather passionate reconciliation has many hopeful and positive features. Yet at the same time it would be quite foolish to ignore the many problems - actual a n d p o te n tia l -- arising fro m America's rapprochement with the w o rld ’ s largest and most tightly- controlled totalitarian state By raising my doubts and criticism, 1 don’: mean to dismiss the im p o rta n c e and prom ise o f the newly-established relationship with China. Nor do 1 mean to suggest that we would be better o ff if we simply ignored the Chinese. Rather, 1 raise my questions now because they could be easily lost in the flood o f un critical praise so lavishly heaped on everyth ing Chinese. The present eu p h o ria about the P eople's R epu b lic — and even its most gruesome aspects -- forces me to conclude that we may be collectively blinding ourselves to some unattrac tive realities. Self-deception, as we all know, offers temporary peace of mind, but in the long-run it almost inevitably leads to even more serious problems. T w o questions m particular cry out fo r attention, especially from Black people First, »hat does the ne» relationship between American business and the Chinese rulers mean for working people? And, second, win the Carter Administration scrap us commitment to human rights in deference to China's heavy-handed and deeply-entrenched governing elite? In the area o f economics, one th in g is quite clear: A m erican business views China as a huge pool o f cheap, docile and rig id ly - disciplined lab o r. Wheras labor- intensive companies once turned from the Northeastern states to the Sunbelt states, they now look toward China as the new low-wage Mecca. In the eyes o f American business leaders, C h in a o ffers untold possibilities for expansion and huge profits won at the expense of defen seless workers. W h ile it is still too early to estimate the full impact o f this low wage Asian “ Sunblet" on American workers, particularly those in semi skilled or unskilled manufacturing jobs, several recent cases suggest what the future may hold. Last fa ll two Am erican apparel companies - Prestige Sportswear of Boston and O x fo rd Industries o f New York — concluded a preliminary deal with the Chinese to construct and equip plants m two major cities. Because China tacks hard currency , the American companies agreed to establish a barter system with their Chinese clients In other words, in stead o f demanding cash fo r the plants and equipment, the .American companies w ill be “ p a id ” w ith finished products, in this case sports clothes and corduroy suits. These apparel items manufactured by low- paid Chinese workers (the per capita income o f China is less than $400 per year) w ill then find their way to American retail outlets and sell at normal Amencn pnees. Under such an arrangement, our own apparel workers - many o f them seriously under-employed and under-paid — will find it impossible to compete with Chinese workers earning mere pennies. While the emerging barter system threatens workers in an immediate and direct way, other jobs are en dangered indirectly by capital out flow s from the U nited States to China. Simply put, this means that when an American company decides to invest in Chinese-based operations, it has fewer financial resources to invest in job-creating ac tivities in the U nited States. Sub sequently, fewer jobs develop here as new jobs open in China. A number of firms have already turned to China with heavy invest ment plans. Kaiser Steel Corporation and Bethlehem Steel, for instance, have both decided to build new iron ore facilities in China. And the Fluor Corporation concluded one o f the largest deals ($800 million for star ters) ever negotiated w ith the Chinese. Other lucrative ventures are planned by Coco-Cola, Hyatt Inter national and Pan American Airways. And this is only the beginning. Business leaders, ot course, argue that large capital expons to China, and a steady influx o f cheap Chinese products » ill not seriously threaten Am erican jobs. Flourishing U .S .- China trade, they insist, will actually create jobs in A m e ric a. Such an arguement might make sense if we planned to export finished consumer goods like automobiles, refrigerators and vacuum cleaners. But the great bulk o f American export to China w ill consist o f ag ric u ltu ra l com modities, and, to a much lesser ex ten t, high technology items lik e computers. Neither agriculture nor sophisticiated computer and com munications industries offer much hope o f new em ployment oppor tunities for displaced workers. While “ free tr a d e " c e rta in ly hits its theoretical attractions, it makes little sense fo r the average A m erican manufacturing employee Now, let us consider the question o f human rights, a question which is intimately connected to the economic problems. Aside from a few devoted Maoists, most people agree that the Chinese government is oppressive, totally un democratic, and frequently prone to use force and o u trig h t te rro r in achieving political ends How does one promote respect for human rights’’ One promising ap proach is the use o f economic incen tives or sanctions. Just recently, for exam ple, lab o r org anization s throughout the Western Hemisphere threatened to boycott Chilean goods u ntil the Pinochet regime allows workers to freely organize. Aleady, the Chilean government has shown some signs o f moderating its harsh rule. But in the case o f China, scarcely anyone has looked to trade — or anything else - as a possible weapon in the battle for human rights. While history may someday show that President C arter’s bold decision to recognize China was a stroke of politcal and strategic genius, our triumph will surely seem less than magnificent if we cynically abandon the struggle for human rights, and seek to modernize China at the ex pense o f jobs and d ig n ity fo r America's poor and working people. l a i Placa C o m m u n ity Band ea O N P A 1973 PORTLAND OBSERVER le t Placa Baat Ad Neeuha O N P A 1973 «ver, Thursdey tov bue Puoserung Company 2201 N c r t K « m g *» o rti. Portene Oregon 97217 MeAng e d e re * P O Bo» 3137. Portano. Oregon 97206 Tefepnone 283 2486 5th Placa Beer Editorial N N P A 1973 SuOecnptione 97 SO par yeer n thè Tn-County area, 96 00 par yaar oularta Portland SaconO Claaa Postage Paio a i P o rta n o Oregon ALFRED L. HENDERSON Editor / Publisher Merrick Editorial A w ard N N A 1973 Tha Portland O b a tr v tr i o f fic * poaroon a axpraaaad onfy ai ita P jtAW wr a cotumn (W a Saa The World Through Bieca Evasi Any othar matanoi throughout thè papar O thè opaaon of tha indnneuei Wrtar or tuOmmer ano doaa noi ner s * e r » r rottaci tha opaaon ot tha Portland O baerrtr 2nd Place Baat Editorial 3rd Place C o m m u n ity Leadership OWI>A 1975 n a tio n a l A O vartam g ftopraaantatlvo A m e tg e m a ted Publishers Ine N ew T o rt M W A pep Aaaeoahoe - rounded IBBB 3rd Placa C o m m u n ity Leadership O N P A 1976 -riusi i |f Oregon Aewspaper 111 Publishers ■ • - Association r i: An update by N . Fuugat K ambula Iran has been so much m the news lately it has co m p letely o v e r shadowed the other area o f perennial conflict: Southern Africa. Not that there is anything wrong with Iran's monopolizing the limelight. On the c o n tra ry , we a ll rejoice th at the Iranian revolution has achieved one o f its main objectives: the ouster o f both the shah and his hand-picked 'successor' Shahpour Bhaktiar. We hope that it w ill continue to be carried on to its ultimate goal: the d e m o c ra tiza tio n o f the Ira n ia n society. W hile all this has been going on, the Zimbabwean tragedy has been dragging inexorably on. On January 30th, in a referendum reserved ex clusively for whites, lan Smith won the mandate he needed to carry on with his power sharing plan that will eventually lead to "m ajority rule.” That he won was no surprise. For the first time in their lives, Rhodesian whites now realize the inevitability of a Black takeover. Actually, they were choosing the "lesser o f two evils” : they could either have voted for Smith to pursue his version o f “ majority rule” or (by rejecting it), they could have voted to continue fighting what even the most die-hard among them admit is a war they cannot possibly win. By opting for ‘ power sharing.’ they are hoping to keep the Africans divided between the 'moderate' and ‘radical’ camps. They are also hoping to persuade the outside world, particularly the U.S. to recognize the resultant ‘ internal government.’ This would ultimately lead to a revocation o f the trade em bargo necessitated by sanctions. In this hope, they are encouraged by a number o f recent events in the U .S. Most obvious, o f course, is the decided shift to the right o f the coun try's politics. Going along with this is the make up o f the 96th Congress. Senator Dick C lark (D -Io w a ) who was the ch airm an o f the Senate Foreign Relations Com m ittee was defeated in his bid for re-election last N ovem ber. A lo n g w ith S enator Frank Church (D -Idah o ) and George M cG overn (D -S o u th D a k o ta ), he was one o f the most progressive voices in the Senate. His defeat was not tied to his A fr ic a policies, however, he just happened to run afoul o f an anti-abortion group back in Iowa. M c G o v e rn has taken over the c h airm ansh ip o f the Foreign Relations Committee. H e has just returned from a tour o f Southern Africa during which he visited Tan za n ia , M o z a m b iq u e , B otsw ana, South A fric a , A ng o la, Zim babw e and Z am b ia as well as N am ib ia. When he came back, he made the reco m m en d ation th a t the U .S . should disengage from any peace ef fo rts in Rhodesia because the situ a tio n was so hopeless. Jesse Helms o f North Carolina is also now a member o f this committee because, as he puts it: “ I want to speak up for Rhodesia and South A fric a .“ He will, no doubt, be pushing hard for recognition o f Rhodesia's “ internal government." The House o f Representatives has its own headaches too. Representa tive Charles Diggs (D -M ic h ig a n ), pow erful chairm an o f the A fric a subcommittee was convicted o f ac cepting kickbacks this past year. Though he was re-elected by an over whclming majority to his House seat, his colleagues in the House stripped him o f his c h airm ansh ip o f the A frica subcommittee. H e is in the process o f appealing the conviction and in the meantime, a Representa tive Solarz from New York has taken over the chairmanship o f the sub committee. Even though this gentle man may have a lot o f good inten tions as far as Africa goes, he could never be the equal o f Diggs, a man who had built the A frica subcommit tee into one o f the most influential Congressional bodies. Much o f C arter’ s A fric a policy was prompted by the work o f these tw o com m ittees. M cG o vern may head the Foreign Relations Com m it tee as well as Clark did (they are both liberals) but. with that much more dissension (on the committee) and the prevailing mood o f the country, he cannot be expected to be as effec tive. W ith o u t Charles Diggs, the Africa subcommittee can also be ex pected to be a lot more quiescent. A ll this works right into the hands o f lan Smith & Co. A fter the phony elections o f A pril 30th, Smith and his cohorts will be out to sell the internal government to the world and. they will be relying on such people as Jesse Helms to in fluence A m e ric a ’ s A fric a policy. Also, with Secretary o f State Cyrus Vance tied up with Iran and the Middle East, Zbigniew Brzezinski is le ft to h im s e lf to shape the a d ministration’s policy. He would be okay if only he would stop looking at A frica, particularly Southern A frica, in global terms. A ll this can only mean more trouble for our people. LUTHEB By Brumsic Brandon. Jr. Letters to the Editor OSP can with hold mail T o the Editor: The mail room staff o f O .S .P . no longer has to d eliver m ail to prisoners or even notify them that they received mail Under a new rule that took effect February 5, 1979, if the mail room staff decides the mail is “ unacceptable or controversial” they can withhold the mail. The new procedure states that “ the send er will be notified o f such and they w ill be given the o p p o rtu n ity o f haring the mail returned or having a hearing." I f a prisoner is controversial, e.g., one who writes the truth about what the staff is doing to prisoners behind these walls, then the same "correc tion al intelligence” that came up with the rule that prisoners accused o f prison rule infractions may have witnesses testify on their behalf as long as the witnesses are not inmates, staff members, or other persons, will possibly be able to classify all mail sent to a controversial prisoner as controversial. I f confronted with this seemingly obvious attempt to sur- press the truth from getting out o f O .S .P ., the keepers may point out that the rule is designed primarily to stop "co ntro versial publications” from coming in here. But the staff has allowed publications in here for years that make jokes about child molesting. Still, the staff claims in the new rule that they do not want any publications in here ” . . . in that they a ffro n t general co m m u n ity standards.” The Prisoners’ Legal Services of Oregon (875 Idylwood Drive, S .E ., Salem, Oregon 97302, phone 399- 9714) filed a Civil Rights Act lawsuit alleging that the staff beats, maces, tortures prisonerJand that prisoners' mail is ” . . . unjustifiably withheld, confiscated, and destroyed ” The s ta ff o f O .S .P . have been working on new rules for a year. This new rule allows the mail room staff to justifiably withhold, confiscate, and destroy mail. Respect others T o the Editor: l am not of Oriental descent and I respect the Bill of Rights and decent law-abiding citizens, I cannot under stand why Japanese American citi zens have had th e ir d ig n ity and possessions stripped fro m them d uring W o rld W a r I I . H a m le t’ s speech to the players describes the above. The Japanese Remembrance Day event will take place February 17th at 2:00 p.m. at the Expo Center in Portland, Oregon. I f we do not show respect for one another in this nation, then whose else will? R. Slaughter Portland, Oregon Sincerely. Donald Danford «32323 Black Educational Center (Continued from page 1 col. 6) better Seeking o f Knowledge. Knowledge is the passpon to freedom. The BEC makes this print iple come alive in its philosophy. With discipline, students are made to appreciate that know ledge is the product o f continued work. C ooperation. The BEC teaches that working together " fo r the good o f all Black people" is the goal of education. In a time when Blacks are still suffering from negative images th a t “ a n yth in g Black must be second-rate,” the BEC attempts to teach that Black people mutt work in unity to build a better community. in ternatio n al Perspective. Black history, traditions and current world struggles are essential fo r young Black children to understand. This does not mean mindless in d o c trination, but a realistic presentation o f T h ird W o rld conditions and stiuggles. It is important that Black history be taught consistently. The fabric o f the knowledge o f the past is woven by exposure over and over and over again. The Black Educa tio n a l C enter presents an in te r national perspective to youngsters — a perspective upon which they can build later. Respect f o r W ork. The B EC "promotes in the student a respect for, appreciation for, and participa tion in all forms o f w ork.” Students are given homework daily, and it is expected that every assignment will be done. Parents are expected to make proper arrangements for their child's study. Through work, educa tion is achieved. The Black Educational Center is a unique exam ple o f what Black people can do for themselves. Its existence offers a choice. Its achieve ment stands as an undeniable vision o f the q u a lity Black people can demand o f one another. / Ù. 1 She’s pregnant. She’s deserted. She needs help. She should call 221-0598 B irthright Ire« confidential counseling for pregnant girls Mayer Building al 1130 S W M jrnson I