Portland Observar October 9.1980 Page 3
Marable speaks
in Portland
D r. M anning M arablc, Black
historian and activist who writes a
weekly column “ From the Grass­
roots,” (see below) in many Black
newspapers including the Observer,
w ill speak at “ The Red Rose
School” Friday Forum on October
24th at 7:30 p.m. Dr. Marable is a
professor at Cornell University. He
w ill speak on “ Beyond the C ivil
Rights Movement.”
The forums will be held at 4312
S.E. Stark. The school is sponsored
by the New American Movement.
Call 239-0181 for information.
Governor seeks
nominees
Linda Jo h n so n speaks to m e e tin g called by the
B lack U n ite d Front to o rg anize a g ain st re c e n t cuts
in w e lfa re a llo tm e n ts vo te d by th e le g is la tu re in a
reactio n to a d e fic it in e x p e c te d funds.
(P hoto: R ichard B ro w n )
From the grassroots
By Dr. Manning Marable
W h a t is fre e d o fn 7
Back in the 195O’ s and 60’s there
was the ever-present question that
white reporters and politicians, cor­
porate executives and so-called in­
tellectuals always asked the Black
community: “ What does the Negro
want?” Our reply to this question
was always the same, and it was
only one word: Freedom.
Frederick Douglass was about
ffreedom. That is why he escaped
fro m the b ru ta l clutches o f his
slaveowner, and followed the North
Star
tow ard
freedom .
Dr.
W.E.B.DuBois, the founding father
o f the N .A .A .C .P ., was about
freedom. That is why he left the
ivory tower o f scholasticism and
became the editor o f The Crisis, the
in itia to r o f the modern Pan-
Africanist Movement, and the ad­
vocate o f world peace.
The Reverend M a rtin Luther
King, J r., was about freedom.
Martin devoted his life in the battle
to uproot and overthrow the terrible
system o f racial segregation,
A m erica's version o f apartheid.
M alcom X was about freedom.
Malcom told us to be proud o f our­
selves and our heritage. Martin and
Malcom both gave their lives in that
pursuit o f freedom.
Today, we must ask ourselves
what freedom should mean fo r
Black and other oppressed people.
A ll too often, we think o f freedom
as the absence o f oppression. We
think o f freedom in negative terms,
rather than positive terms.
A ll o f us are against Jim Crow
and the system o f de jure and de fac­
to segregation. But does our op­
position to Jim Crow per se’ mean
that we are furthering the cause o f
freedom? We are against inferior
schools that miseducate our
children. We are against the Bakke
decision that attacked the principle
o f a ffirm a tiv e action in higher
education. We are against the racist
attacks o f policemen w ith in the
Black community, and we oppose
the reemergence o f the KKK.
We are against the high rate of
unemployment fo r Black people,
and particularly the alarming rate o f
joblessness among the youth. We
i
are against the political cutbacks o f
the Carter Administration in health
care, in welfare, in education and in
all social and human service areas.
Now we must ask ourselves,
“ What are we for?” We know what
the absence o f freedom looks like.
Now we must address the positive
side o f the equation; what are we
prepared to stand for, to affirm in
our hearts and in our minds, at the
voting booth and in street demon­
strations, to further the freedom
struggle? What are we for?
We must be f o r the things that are
needed to make human life worth
living — the prerequisites o f human
development -- in all economic,
social, c u ltu ra l and p o litic a l
relations. We are for a national
health care program, that places the
lives o f people ahead of the selfish
private p ro fits o f the Am erican
Medical Association, the hospitals
and pharamaceutical corporations,
its obligations to its employees, that
it should be forced by law to remain
— either under jo in t management
between the employers and em­
ployees, or directly financed and
operated by w orking folks them­
selves. We are for economic equality
and an expansion o f p o litic a l
democracy inside the factories,
shops, warehouses and clerical o f­
fices o f the nation. We are for a free
people, not fo r an irresponsibly free
enterprise - because the excesses o f
an unrestricted free enterprise have
come to mean an unfree existence
for the majority o f our people.
What are we for? We are for the
self determination of all the world’ s
oppressed and peoples o f color,
whether in Iran or Afghanistan,
South Korea or South Africa, or our
own com m unity. We are fo r the
existence o f safeguard to protect the
Constitutional rights o f women, and
for an equal rights amendment to
extend and preserve those rights.
We are fo r an independent
strategy in our political programs
and practices. We are for peace, the
reduction o f international tensions,
the a b o litio n o f both nuclear
weapons and nuclear power. We are
for a decent social and cultural en­
vironment for our children, and for
their children, and all successive
generations. We are f o r freedom.
\r
G overnor V ic to r A tiyeh w ill
establish a Commission on Blacks
and a Commission on Hispanics ad
is seeking nominees for both com­
missions.
Persons who are interested in
serving, or who w ould like to
suggest nominees, should call Kay
Toran, state affirm ative action o f­
ficer, at 229-5700 extension 6868 or
378-6868 (Salem). Material can be
sent to her at the State C apitol
Building, Salem, Oregon 97310.
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