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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 3, 1980)
Page 2 P o rtla n d O bserver A p ril 3. 1980 EDITORIAL/OPINION African update by N. f-ungat Kumbuta Time for a new Superintendent The Black United Front and other com munity organizations have called for the resignation of Superintendent Robert Blan chard based on his philosophy and actions on the education of Black children. Black Stu dents have been widely scattered throughout the district to further desegregation, while Black students attending still segregated neighborhood schools have been denied academic achievement. After ten years of federal and state assist ance and of special Early Childhood Education Centers designed to draw white children, these same ECECs still test lowest in the district on achievement tests. Parents have complained about many problems: principals, teachers, lack of bus shelter, etc. The Superin tendent's response to Black people and groups has often been negative and arrogant. Ten years ago, when Dr. Blanchard came to Portland, the NAACP opposed the Blanchard plan on the basis that while sending older Black children out of their neighborhoods to promote desegregation, it left the lower grades about 100 percent Black. As a desegregation formula, the plan was inequitable and deficient. Nearly ten years later the com m unity Coaliton found that not only were desegregation efforts haphazard and ineffec tive - they were destructive to Black children who were isolated in white schools. In the words of one Black educator. Dr. Blanchard's policy has ''destroyed a For the first ten years Dr. Blanchard had nearly unanimous approval of the School Board Except for Wally Priestley, who was elected in 1976, Blanchard had unanimous support for nearly all of his proposals. Seldom was any serious difference expressed in public, the Board choosing to show a united front. The new board has not had this united ap pearance. There are not only difference among the members but also differences with the Superintendent. His recommendations are not quickly and silently passed; they evoke lengthy discussion. The Board members have been criticized by the daily press for taking too long to make serious decisions. The Board has the d ifficu lt problem of healing ten years of destruction in the Black community. That task isn't easy. We are not t had: After less than a year in of satisfied with the Board's desegregation plan fice, the “ government o f national but we understand the difficulties they have unity” in Ndjamena seems on the faced in their endeavor. We believe that the Board must hire a new superintendent - one who w ill meet the challenge of educating Black children with en thusiasm and skill, and who will willingly in volve the Black community in this task. Until this happens there is not much expec tation that any plan will be successful or that the Black community will consider the Board's intentions sincere. Message to my brothers in OSP By Nyewusi Askari (aka kelly normanj Brothers, it’s all too easy for us out here to trip out, sing torch songs and tune out to your situation at the prison. It s all too easy to come up w ith ill-lo g ic a l reasons why, we can’t relate to the truths you tell us each week in your column "Behind The Walls,” which is printed in the Portland Observer newspaper. Each week you come to us; alive, forceful, and in your own way, very beautiful. It’ s a testimony o f what imprisoned Black men can do to help our process o f liberation, despite their position in life. And thus, you represent a very positive force in the Black community, altho you aren’t here with us. It is fo r this reason and many more, that you must continue to speak your truths to us. Like you, we are imprisoned by the guardians o f a system, which for hundreds o f years, have tried to destroy us. Yet, like you, we continue to survive; for we know that freedom is not an illusion. Nevertheless, achieving freedom is not an easy process, and during that struggle we tend to miss each other, lose each other, become overwhelmed by frustration, disap pointment, defeat and a feeling of non-progress. These are very real realities; a segment o f the war designed to kill the spirit o f those of us who believe in total victory. Thru media m anipulation, and neglect, you are often made to feel that nothing positive is happening in the Black communities you were snatched from . You are made to believe that the order o f each day here, is dope, Cadillacs, whores, the k illin g o f each other, deception, here, too much instant death, too complacency, apathy, crime and the much grief, too many paths going ever present "Superfly mentality.” downhill. Not so. We are a nation o f people, like As has been since the moment we any other nation...m ulti-colored, first set foot upon the shores o f m ulti-talented, capable, creative, A m e rikkka , we are fig h tin g to fighters, doctors, lawyers, regain the freedom taken from us. educators...we are a nation. We have our glory moments: the We have our superflys, uncle freedom trains, the rebellions, the toms, dope dealers, etc. like any Garvey movement, the Civil Rights other nation, yet, those negatives movement, and a rich history o f are not our totality. These negatives constant struggle. We have our have yet to be converted into new moments o f glory and from the men and women; and believe me ruins and ashes, have emerged they can be. Witness how the Black great, pow erful Black Panthers, CORE, SNCC, the Black leaders...Marcus, Martin, Malcom, Muslim s etc. of old, converted Stokey, H. Rap and thousands thousands o f pimps, whores, dope more. fiends, superflies and uncle toms, But for us, glory is short lived as in to respectful Black men and in any war. Leaders rise, leaders diie women, dedicated to our survival. and the days bring darkness and We love you brothers, and ask silence. Today, in 1980, there is that you not allow the guardians to much darkness and silence hanging make you think West, when you like dark grey clouds over our bat should be th in kin g East. D on’ t tlefields, leading many o f us to allow them to make you hate the believe Black people are f inished. people you should love. But witness the rise o f Black Continue your work. Continue to United Fronts across Am erikkka; be warriors. We need your spirit out witness the efforts o f m illions o f here, altho you are there. Ours is a Black children to get an equal battleground, yours is a battle education; witness the efforts o f ground, and there is a meeting place Black mothers and fathers to raise in between, where we all w ill one their children, protect their families, day get together, break bread, make a living working everyday, smile, rejoice and feel the love we and at the same time, fight in the haven’t been able to adequately ex war fo r Black lib e ra tio n by any press. means necessary. You see, love travels thousands o f We cannot ask more of them at a miles without making a sound. So, time when inflation is at 17<7o. We think o f that when you don’ t hear cannot ask more o f them at a time from us. Think of that when you when even the future o f the guar wonder how we feel about you. dians o f this crazy system, is un We are merely extensions o f each certain. There is much suffering other... PORTLAND OBSERVER 1st Place Community Service ONPA 1973 The Portland Observer IUSPS 969 6801 is published every Thurs day by Exie Publishing Company. Inc., 2201 North Killingsworth. Portland, Oregon 97217, Post Office Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland, Oregon 1st Place Best Ad Results ONPA 1973 Subscriptions »7 50 per year in Tri County area: »8 00 per year outside Tri County area P ostm aster Send address changes to the Portland Observer, P .0 . Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208 5th Place Best Editorial ONPA 1973 The Portland Observer'» official position is expressed only in its Editorial column Any other material throughout the paper is the opinion of the individual writer or submitter and does not neces sanly reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer. Honorable Mention Herrick Editorial Award NNA 1973 283 2486 ALFRED L. HENDERSON Editor/Publisher • -'•■ M M N ational A dvertisin g R epresentative A m a lg a m a te d Publishers. Inc N e w York MEMBER JBB ■ Association Egypt: The deposed shah of Iran, forced out of Panama where he had been since being forced out o f the U.S. has now tem porarily found refuge in Egypt, a move that could precipitate the downfall o f one An war Sadat. The shah has not been a very popular figure in either the African or Arab world and Sadat’s granting o f refuge to him will fur ther alienate Egypt. The “ peace” treaty Sadat signed with Israel had had Egypt isolated enough already and the shah’s arrival in Cario will just pour oil on Egypt’s troubled waters. Already there have been sporadic reports o f protests by Egyptian students. The shah’ s presence on African soil is also said not to sit too well with the majority o f the A frica n s who have been tryin g to build better w orking relations w ith the A rab w orld. Question is: how long w ill Sadat stand the pressure? generation of Black children.” ■ PER fl« 1 IE touodtd t t t t ■ ■ » fc [O re q o n N ew spaper P u b lis h e rs A s s o c ia tio n 2nd Place Best Editorial 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1975 « ■ 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1978 W verge of collapse. Eleven separate factions had met in Lagos and agreed to form a coalition govern ment and also end the c iv il war Chad had been embroiled in since the fall o f the French backed regime Cable C om m unications is big news in Portland and could be big news in your community. It could be if you make your interests known to cable companies that are com peting for the City franchise. Besides TV and communications, cable w ill provide new jobs and careers for minorities and women and major contracts for m inority business enterprises. The time is NOW to communicate your ideas, opinions and concerns to all com petitors so that their proposals will be responsive to your needs. You may be wondering, what does Cable Communications mean for me? My community? Isn’t Cable Communications about entertain ment and pay TV? First run movies, sporting events and special shows fo r children? A bout stations beamed by satellite across the coun try? Yes, it is that and a whole lot more. U nlike com m ercial television broadcasting, cable makes it possible to “ narrow cast” to target special interest and minority groups. For example, with a cable hook-up you are going to be able to watch neighborhood productions classes, plays, dance, music — through direct video programming in your com m unity. In fact, at "com m unity access” studios that will be part o f the cable system, you could be a p e rfc r mer, a com municator, neighbor-to-netghbor. With cable, you will also be able to watch meetings o f local organizations, such as the School Board, the Black United Front, or the Northeast Coalition o f Neigh borhoods even when you can’t get out of the house. Better yet, and completely unlike regular over-the-air broadcasting, for an extra fee you’ ll be able to sign up fo r “ tw o-w ay, in te ra ctive ” cable. W ith a tw o-w ay hook-up you’ ll have opportunities to par ticipate in local meetings. By pushing a button next to your TV set you’ ll be able to express a preference, be part o f the ac tion...communicate. There’s more. The experts tell us that someday we’ll be able to shop, bank, even use the library - all via cable. In the near future it is likely that you’ ll be able to connect home security alarms to the cable system. This kind o f hook-up w ill insure rapid fire and police responses to emergencies, even when you’ re not at home. A ll this (and more) is fo r the future, but the near future. Right now, at least eight cable companies are in the final month of preparing proposals to construct, operate and develop a comprehensive cable communications system in Portland. The company that submits the most competitive proposal w ill be awar ded a City franchise to “ wire” the of Felix M alloum . M ost o f the fighting now involves the forces o f interim President Goukuni Ouedei and foreign minister Hissene Habre. Foregin embassies are being evacuated and tanks are said to be rumbling through the capital, Nd jamena. South Africa: September 22 there was a "mysterious” bright flash o ff the coast o f South Africa that was observed and reported by a U.S. Vela observation satellite. Though it was strongly suspected o f being a nuclear explosion, no conclusive repot was ever issued. Now an exclusive CBS report aired February 21st, and prepared by Israeli jo u rn a lis t, Dan Raviv alludes the explosion to a jo in t Israeli-South A fric a n nuclear collaboration dating back to the 1950’s. Further, a recent UN report on South Africa's nuclear capability details collaboration between not just South Africa and Israel but also the U.S., Britain, France, W. Ger many and other western countries. No wonder this report is being sup pressed. The U.S. The House o f Rep resentatives has just set aside 520 million in aid for the new govern ment of Zimbabwe. Meantime in dependent reports indicate the count whole east side. The "most competitive” proposal is going to have to be very good in deed, and very responsive to com munity interests and concerns. Just to get in the game, for exam ple, every competitor must guarante at least 35 channels into each sub scriber home, and four back out again (the tw o-w ay, interactive channels). O f the 35 channels in, at least five must be dedicated to community access for groups and individuals. I anticipate that the w inning proposal w ill also guarantee facilities, equipment, training and marketing know-how for the use of the community access channels. That’s the home network part o f the cable system. The system w ill also include a non-entertainment in stitu tio n a l netw ork that w ill tie together schools, hospitals, businesses, government and non profit agencies. This wilt be one o f the first such institutional networks in the nation. W hat about m in o rity jobs, careers and contracts? The “ request fo r proposals” issued by the City contains certain Jordan amend ments you should be aware& M in o r ity B u sin e ss P a r ticip a tio n . Every applicant for the cable franchise must spell out a program in its proposal fo r pur chasing minority goods and services in developing the cable system. The proposals are due by A pril 30, 1980. The target minority participation rate is 10 percent. This could mean up to $4,000,000 in contracts for qualified m inority business enter prises over the next several years. P a y ro ll-S p a c ific Equal E m p lo y m e n t and A ffirm a tiv e A c tion City code specifies that franchise may need as much as $6 billion just for reconstruction alone. Zimbabwe: The new cabinet has just been announced and it is dom inated by some heavy academics: physicians, chemists, lawyers, public adm inistrators, economists, political scientists and the like. It is without a doubt the most academic cabinet anywhere in the world, the U.S. included. Banana fo r President? T h a t’ s right. The man selected to be Zim babwe’ s firs t Black president is called, believe it or not, Canaan Banana. He used to be Muzorewa’ s deputy in the U A N C but broke away after Muzorewa failed to show any backbone and became just a mouthpiece fo r Ian Smith. Muzorewa had him jailed and he just came out o f prison. He joined Z A N U and became famous fo r adapting the “ Lord’s Prayer” to the goals o f nationalism. “ Teach us to demand our share o f the gold; forgive us our docility...” Independence Day has been set for A p ril 17th. On that day, the British flag will come down for the last time to be replaced by Z im babwe’ s Red, Black and Green. “ A in ’t no stopping us now, we’ re on the move!” applicants must be EEO-certified. M y amendment requires fu rth e r that each applicant develop an E E O /A A plan that is tied directly to p a yro ll projections in each jo b category, and that the plan be honored over the fifteen year life o f the franchise. This means that from janitor to a d m in istra to r, installer to programmer, minorities and women will have outstanding opportunities for training and employment in one o f the hottest industries o f the 1980’s. Other Jordan amendments con cern strengthening the already strong privacy and security require ments in the request for proposals, and encouraging applicants to propose “ special rates for special people.(Some o f the people and organizations who most need cable services can least afford to pay for them.) Cable could be good news fo r your community i f you get involved. Remember that it also means new jobs, careers and contracts fo r minorities, specialized and respon sive community programming, and new forms o f citizen participation for your community. However, for competing cable companies to be responsive to your concerns, they must know o f your concerns before their proposals are submitted at the end o f A pril, 1980. I encourage you to learn as much as you can about this new com m unications to o l, and to fo llo w closely the C ity’s cable franchising process. Cable means the potential fo r enhanced com m unication in your community. For more in fo rm a tio n contact Commissioner Jordan’ s o ffice at 248-4682 or the o ffic e o f Cable Communications at 248-5585. Revolution in El Salvador (Continued from P 1 Col 6) life for so many Central Americans. Afterwards, the students taught — and lived — the urban poor and rural Indians, directing literacy programs, building fa rm e r’ s associations, discussing the dignity o f the individual. As the most outspoken prelate in Central America, Romero came to symbolize this merger o f the church’ s moral leadership with the interests o f the oppressed. He was the visible embodiment o f a pre d ic tio n made by the Cuban g u e rrilla leader Ernesto (Che) Guevara: “ When Christians begin to give an integral revolutionary witness, the L atin Am erican revolution will be invincible.” There is strong reason to believe that the Archbishop’s assassin had im m ediate connections w ith the regime in El Salvador or with right wing groups acting under its tacit approval. They may even have been professional killers from the anti- Castro Cuban underground based in Miami, imported especially for the purpose o f ridding Central America o f Oscar Romero. In the end, however, his murder may have the opposite effect. Already people refer to Romero as a m artyr. He w ill probably be the patron saint o f the Central Am erican R evolution, the man whose life - and death - helped galvanize an entire region in rebellion against brutal oppression. COPYRIGHT PNS 1980 • Bonpane spent several years in rural Guatemala as a missionary priest. il —.r* t*'
