P aga 2 P o rtla n d O b a a rv a r F ab ru ary 14.1980
EDITORIAL/
Dumping nuclear wastes in Africa
B y N. Fungai Kumbula
What is multi-cultural study?
Several schools exhibited their m ulti
cultural activities at the school district ad
ministration building Monday night as a part of
the competition for the McPhearson Award in
human relations understanding.
Many of the exhibits were interesting and
colorful, demonstrating hard work by staff,
students and parents and, hopefully, some
evidence of growth in understanding the
history and culture of various ethnic groups.
One exhibit - that of West Sylvan - was par-
'iculary interesting. Seventh graders had
prepared notebooks on a "journey" around
the world, describing a variety of nations they
had visited - Germany, England, India, etc.
The thing that was unusual about this
exhibit was that the class (or the teacher,
chose to select South Africa to visit as a
representative of the African continent. Why
choose the most blatantly racist nation in the
world? Why not choose a Black ruled nation
that would demonstrate some attributes of
Black African culture?
Of the notebooks displayed only one men
tioned "coloured people" at all and we were
told by this student that "in religion as in other
areas coloured people have accepted white
traditions" and that coloured people eat the
same foods as whites but have a somewhat
lower cost diet.
These children did learn about the geo
graphy, the republican form of government,
the products, the animals etc.
No where was there a mention of either the
contributions of Blacks to the history and
culture of South Africa, their contribution to
the econom y, apartheid, the terrible o p
pression of Black people.
W e certaintly hope that this is not a model
for multi-cultural curriculum in the Portland
District.
Letters to the Editor
Appoint ex-con to parole board
Dear Editor:
Recently on page I6 A , the
Oregon Statesman, between the car
toon strips o f "P e a n u ts ” and
“ Blondie” and a homeowners tip
on letting hot bath water sit and
cool rather than drain it, (thereby
warming the air in the house), there
was a small article entitled, "Brow n
appoints ex-convicts to State Board
ot Corrections." Everyday convicts
are
released
from
prisons
somewhere, every day convicts who
commit new crimes are in the news
somewhere, everyday ex-cons walk
city streets somewhere, but only on
ce in a blue moon an ex-convict who
succeeds in turning his life around in
problems in their own lives, let
alone w ithstand all the added
problems they have piled on top of
them by the prison experience, but
at the same time there are hundreds
who do not succeed. Successful ex-
cons, it seems to me, would be good
role models fo r people in prison
trying to relate to a society the con
vict could not make it in is a hard
concept. Trying to relate to a society
that allows the things it does behind
walls is a hard, if not impossible,
concept. But relating to an ex-con
who made it in spite o f all the added
spite o f the prison experience, is
noted briefly between the cartoons
and homeowner tips.
There are thousands o f ex-cons
who cannot straighten out all the
problems the state weighed him
down with is not only a realistic
concept but also an ideal.
Few prisoners know o f successful
ex-convicts. Ex-cons are not allowed
to associate w ith ex-cons, the
rationale being that it w ill lead to
trouble. But it could be time for the
experts to reconsider their modus
operandi.
C om m unity involvem ent w ith
convicts might be an idea whose
time has come. Every member o f the
community is involved (by higher
and higher taxes at the very least),
or will become involved, with con
victs and ex-convicts.
Sincerely,
Donald Danford
School Board wants citizen's comments
To the Editor:
As you know from news media
reports and neighborhood meetings,
the Portland Board o f Education
w ill try to decide on a comprehen
sive school desegregation plan by
the end o f this month. Currently the
school board has reduced the
various plans under consideration to
two. The plans are supposed to ser
ve these objectives: reduce racial
isolation in an equitable manner and
raise the qu a lity o f education
received by students in the school
district.
Here are some o f the ways to
Jury supports employee suit
to The Editor:
Concordia
Community
Association’s Dekum Court Task
Force is heartened by the just
outcome o f Mr. Ron Swan’s suit
against the director o f Operations
ind the executive director of the
Housing Authority o f Portland
(HAP). Mr. Swan, a former service
coordinator for HAP, claimed,
among other things, denial o f his
civil and property rights through
unfair discipline and denial o f his
right to a hearing.
Mr. Swan did his job, a job which
did and should involve service to
HAP residents as well as rent
collection for HAP. He was willing
to risk his own secure future for his
belief that a means to allow tenants
to be heard and to have input into
decisions should, by right, be
provided by HAP, and for his belief
that H A P ’ s action to deny, by sale
o f all usable undeveloped property,
the children of Dekum C ourt’ s forty
families their backyard playspace
was unjustifiable. Part o f providing
adequate housing, which HAP
repeatedley and correctly describes
as it’ s "prim ary function,” is to
provide usable space for children to
play.
We are heartened also because
this ju ry ’s decision shows that just
challenges to a large and often
insensitive bureaucratic institution
from the small voices o f those
affected by that institution’ s policies
and decisions -- be they tenants,
clients,
employees or
general
community members - can reach
successful
conclusion,
if
the
persistant effort and patience
required can be sustained.
Our most optimistic hope is that
this federal court decision will
encourage
HAP’s
Board
of
Commissioners and Administrators
to evaluate carefully their past
performance and present policies as
a constructive step leading to much
needed change in HAP policy and
procedures relating to tenants,
employees and neighborhoods.
reduce racial isolation and raise the
q u a lity o f education being con
sidered by the school board:
1. Student assignments
2. School manget programs
3. Staff training
4. Strengthening early childhood
education centers
What the Board o f Education
needs right now is your input and
concerns about the two plans it is
considering. It docs not want to
select any plan w ithout sufficient
citizen input, involvement, concern
or approval.
One o f the ways fo r the school
board to learn what you th in k is
through public meetings.
This Friday, February 15 at 7:30
p.m. to 10:30 p.m., there w ill be a
p u blic meeting at Bethel A M E
Church, 5828 N.E. 8th Avenue.
The Rev. L. Fisher Hines, pastor
at Bethel, has agreed to allow his
church to host a public forum so
that members o f the community and
parents and children o f Woodlawn,
Vernon, Adams and C olum -
bia/W hitaker schools can meet with
school board members.
T alk to those who affect your
children’ s education.
C. Eddie Edmondson
Communications Specialist
Sonja Grove
Citizen Involvement Coordinator
Claudia Fisher, Chairperson
CCA Dekum Court Task Force
PORTLAND OBSERVER
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283 2486
ALFRED L. HENDERSON
Editor/P ublisher
N ational A d vertisin g R ep resentative
A m a lg a m a te d Publishers. Inc.
N e w York
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Community Leadership
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ONPA 1978
O f all forms o f energy, nuclear West A fric a n country to dump
energy is the most controversial.
nuclear wastes in his country. The
Ever since its introduction several nerve, the callousness, the gross
years ago, it has been the subject o f disregard for the consequences o f
more, often heated debate than just such an agreement are just unner
about anything else in recent years. ving. The fear prevalent among us
In an increasingly energy hungry all now is that, with all the super
w orld, any new form o f energy secrecy surrounding the nuclear in
would normally be welcomed with
dustry outlined above, how many
open enthusiasm. The objection to "deals” went through without any
nuclear energy however, are well o f us being any the wiser?
founded.
State after state in this country
The Three M ile Island near has refused the “ dishonor” of being
disaster o f a few short months ago used as a nuclear waste dump and
did a lot to rekindle the nuclear con with good reason. These radioactive
troversy and to educate others who wastes can cause miscarriages in
probably had never given the
women and all kinds of birth defects,
problem a moment’s thought. Had
and not just for a few years but for
there been a meltdown at TM1, the thousands o f years. Radiation can
resulting radiation would have con also cause all kinds o f human muta
taminated the air and the water for
tions. Remember Hiroshima? T hir
several hundred miles around Three
ty years after dropping o f that nu
M ile Island and forced the
clear bomb, the survivors o f the
evacuation o f thousands o f people.
blast are still suffering from the ef
Some scientists even say that had a fects o f radiation: miscarriages, bir
meltdown occured, the radiation ef th defects and various kinds o f can
fects could have been felt over half cer.
o f the United States.
With such stark evidence as to the
It is this kind o f controversy that
undesirability o f nuclear ill effects,
has made the nuclear industry so was it mere greed, sheer avarice,
sinisterly secretive. The dem on gross disregard, abysmal ignorance
strations at T M I Seabrook, New
or lingering “ uncle tom-ism” that
Ham pshire, W ashington D .C .,
prom pted one Siaka Stevens,
Trojan and Mt. Ranier, Wash, have
President o f Sierra Leone, to agree
all demonstrated the p u b lic ’ s to Sierra Leone’s being used as a
anxiety over nuclear power. M elt
nuclear dumo?
downs and nuclear accidents aside,
A Godfrey Harris, Los Angeles
the most preplexing problem is what
consultant to the Nedlog Technol
to do with the spent nuclear fuel, the
ogy Group says he offered Siake
wastes.
Stevens J25 m illion to dump toxic
Plutonium which is the material
wastes in Sierra Leone. Harris, a
used in nuclear plants is very
former state department employee,
radioactive. That means, unlike
went on to say that Nedlog planned
other forms o f fuel such as wood,
" t o ship all kinds o f hazardous
coal, petroleum products and solar
wastes” to Sierra Leone. The plot to
as well as wind energy, the products
ship nuclear wastes to some foreign
(wastes) are not readily biodegrad
country was hatched to circumvent
able. Radioactive substances can
stringent tough regulations against
linger around for thousands of years;
dum ping in this country. A p
therein lies the problem o f disposal,
parently, companies are now re
problem o f disposal.
quired to post bonds running into
Recently, it has come to the atten
several million dollars in case o f an
tion o f a number o f Portland area
accident later on.
African students that one American
The Association o f African Stu
company involved with the nuclear
dents at Portland State University is
industry has paid the leader o f one
up in arms over this issue and, un
derstandably so. As one student put
it, “ Nuclear radiation respects no
boundaries. I t ’ s not just Sierra
Leone that will be affected but all o f
West Africa and even the rest o f the
continent.” Curiously enough, it is
the U.S. State Dept. that seems
more concerned about this whole
issue than the government o f Sierra
Leone. The State Dept. is afraid if
word o f this leaks out, A fricans
could condemn the United States
for "dumping its wastes in the Black
man’s backyard.”
This is one issue the Africans have
promised to fight with everything
they’ ve got because this threatens
the very survival o f the continent as
a whole. Though Liberia and other
West A frican countries that had
initiallly been contacted by Nedlog
had opposed Nedlog’ s dum ping
plan, H arris describes Sierra
Leone’s Stevens’ response as “ one
o f great interest.” Is this old fool
totally ignorant o f the hazards o f
nuclear wastes? Another sad facet
o f the whole episode too involves
the gross disregard fo r A fr ic a ’ s
welfare by these foreign co r
porations so bent on pursuing the
dollar at all costs. The Sierra
Leone incident is only the tip o f the
iceberg; it should also be the kind o f
lever used to tip over the likes o f
Stevens. A ftica has no place fo r
such money-hungry, gullible, naive,
callously indifferent Uncle Toms
any more. Can you imagine what
would happen if Sierra Leone sud
denly had to deal with a whole new
rash o f cancers, deform ities,
mutations and other such horrors?
The future o f the African is at stake.
Over the next few weeks Siaka
Stevents and all stooges o f his kind
will feel the full fury o f the wrath o f
the African. This should serve as a
warning to one and all who were
contemplating such fo lly that the
real Africans and all their allies w ill
not stand idly by while the continent
and all its future generations o f un
born children are put on the block
for a few million miserable dollars.
In defense o f Black life
(Continued from page 1 col 3)
There is determination now to make it poss.ble for Black ch.ldren to reduce learning impediments, and pro
vide more emotional comfort through exposure to non-racist education. In the struggle to reach these objectives
fio T
° PP° nentS Should understand some Black perspectives as they re la tito segregation and Integra
Segregation and integration in America are interlocked with white racism. They are inseparable. Their assort
ed functions collectively frustrate the Black population (all non-dominant ethnic populations) from having any
success in liberating themselves from the horrendous circumstances created by the barriers and constraints which
are the social constructs for racist rejection.
nicn
P e rc e n ta g e fo rm u la capricious
Segregation sets the stage for its targets to be vulnerable to any negative social excesses, abuses and proscrip
tions which the segregationists wish to impose. It provides the social climate for the segregationists to feel a cok
lective obligation and duty to preserve the status quo. To accomplish this, laws, public policy, attitudes and
custom are utilized in some o f the most appalling ways. Consequently, racial discriminations are stimulated and
maintained that seriously interfere with interpopulation communication and understanding. This assures that
any percentage o f Black students in any school operating under the racist mandates o f the dominant population
w ill be segregated with impunity. This does not become altered if the Black student population is 1 «76; 50«?#
99Vo. In a word the theory o f correcting the educational problems facing Black children through racial balance is
a joke.
The racial attitudes among many school officials are acquired and remain stable with few exceptions through
out a lifetime.There are very strong correlates to these attitudes in evidence throughout the dominant population
and for many they have been in existence for several generations. This brings us to face the long-held adage that
all education up to this point for Black people in America, no matter where it is offered or acquired, is alterna
tive education. There is no valid challenge to this because America as a system and its educational structures
always deals with Blacks as outsiders. American education, as much or more so than any other institutional area,
is a colossal bureaucracy and bastion o f exclusivity, selectivity and status quo maintenance. It has been very
effective in providing and sustaining the most damaging negative definitions of Black people, their culture and
history. When arbitrary and capricious determinations are announced by this school administration as to the
percentages o f Blacks that w ill be admitted to certain public schools, these are not expressions o f interest in the
educational and intellectual development o f Black students but are dominant population contrivances to erect
new structures o f paralyzing selective segregation under the pretense o f fostering integration.
White manipulations for segregation and for integration are never conducted in the spirit of a social contract.
They are never covenants entered into with the Black population having equal input, influence and authority.
Consequently agreements are never reached that make possible the even and balanced functioning o f society.
I I
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