Portland observer., January 01, 1981, Page 2, Image 2

Pag« 2 P ortlan d O bservar Jan uary 1, 1981
EDITORIAL/OPINION
The Santa Clauses of OSP
The unsung heroes of this holiday season
are the members of the "Leaal Processes
Class" at Oregon State Penitentiary. The
members of the class and their coordinator,
Larry Baker, are all prison inmates.
The Legal Process Class planned a party for
inmates familes. Although the planning and
the recruitment of mothers and children was
done at the prison, the leg work was done by
local people; Commissioner Charles Jordan,
Sgt. Bob Janisse and several juvenile officers;
Jim Loving of the King Neighborhood Facility;
iw m ..« imucMs
WWfriûMNSTBUCKu
weae oust against
busing .
and the Ex-offender organization.
The party, held the Friday before Christmas
at King Neighborhood Facility, was a hugh
success. But what was different about this
party is that there was no publicity. The pur­
pose was not to make TV but to provide a
little enjoyment for the wives and children of
prison inmates.
While the party went on in Portland, the
men who planned it were locked in their cells.
While prison is never pleasant, their efforts to
help others should have made their Christmas
a little more cheerful.
S&.WDONT
WAKTBUSeS
COMING ID
OUR 5CHOOU.
OR BUSeS DATING
O U R S » .,
OR WWW
tWmWS.
or Buses
NKTOIN
N6XTPOOR.
COURS. SOM6 OF
MY Besr FRteNPS
A message to Black creators
By Nyewust Askan
(Editor's Not«: This message for
Black creators was firs t aired
December 27, I98O, on "Funk 'N '
S tu ff, KOAP- FM, hosted by Art
Alexander)
Our Black creators are important,
and must now move into the hearts
and mind o f our people on a level
never attempted before.
Black creators;
musicians,
educators, artists, storytellers,
organizers,
w riters,
actors,
playwrights, poets, and prophets
must now move into the stream
where the mind o f Black people
flow /searching fo r the strength
to continue dealing with the man­
made madness of this century.
Poetry must take on new forms of
protest; short stories must speak to
the promise and purpose o f
tomorrow; essays must move in the
direction o f a new d e fin itio n o f
politics; the Black theatre, and other
Black art forms, must fully reflect
the movement of Black thought as it
move through our attitudes, family,
women, men, and children. Black
com m unity must be redefined;
Black music must drive home the
need for a redefinition o f soul/funk
/jazz and Black music as a tool of
liberation.
Among Black creators, there
must become a sense of purpose, a
sense o f direction, a sense of faith in
Black peoples ability to survive the
20th century. Black creators cannot
a ffo rd to compose self-defeating
works that treat the Black audience
as if they were stupid, ignorant, null
and void o f the light to see right
through non-serious, self-defeating
compositions. The Black audience
needs something more profound,
more for real, more human, more
spiritual, more o f what Black life
should be about and Black creators
must constantly let them know that
all we want to be...can be...WE!
Black people need the strength of
Black people, and Black people
need the strength o f Black creators.
If in the beginning, Black creators
don't get that strength (support),
they shouldn’ t panic by coming
down negative on Black people,
because our people will accept what
is worth accepting, they will suppori
what is worth supporting. Black
people are not stupid. 1 ach space
they occupy, there is a reason tor it
Black creators can’t afford to leave
any Black mind behind regardless ot
its state o f m ind, a ttitu d e , and
habit. Black creators must come to
believe that they are pow erful
enough to change rock into Gold,
bitterness into sweetness, hard into
soft, low into high, a frown into a
smile, a handshake into an embrace
of love. Black creators must possess
belief, and expand it into beautiful
creation...it’s a time for beautiful
creations.
Black creators are now more im­
p o rtant than at any tim e in the
course o f Black history. But, there
must develop among these creators,
an understanding o f creators who
create fo r the purpose o f Black
liberation, as opposed to those who
create for the purpose of ego trip­
ping on gains to a fame that falls
apart as easily as a flimsy picture
fram e. Our Black creators must
define themselves to themselves,
then to our people, and at the same
time, allow the audience to come
forth with a greater definition...the
final definition because it’s for the
people that the creator must even­
tually come to create. Without the
people, there can be no creators.
Portland Observer
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liberation an alert guard against social evHs a thorough analyst
and critic of discriminatory practices and policies a aontinal to
warn of impending and existing racist trends and practices, and a
defender against persecution and oppression
The real problems of the Black population will be viewed and
presented from the perspective of their causality unrestrained and
chronoically entrenched racism N ational and in ternation al
arrangements that prolong and increase the oppression of Third
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OwsLJft»,
«.■mill
political independence, bring about
ICRASAT will be responsible for
P olitical independence it t t ill a
sta
b ility, increase and accelerate
research in devising methods o f en­
very new concept in most o f
cooperation in all other areas o f
vironmental
protection,
halting
the.
Africa's 50 nations. Most o f them
A frican life and bring crashing
steady encroachment o f desert on
are just twenty years old or younger.
down
the artifical boundaries that
the region's dwindling farmlands,
Nearly all o f them went through
now
divide
one A frica n country
and
combating
the
recurrent
major upheavels to attain even this
from the next.
drought cycles as well as coming up
modicum o f independence and,
The creation of ECOSAS dealt a
with a vaccine for the dreaded foot
consequently, they spent much of
severe
blow to South A frica’s hopes
and mouth disease that at present
the past decade and a half trying to
o f creating a constellation o f
threatens cattle in almost all the
consolidate that independence. In so
southern African states that would
southern African countries.
doing, economic independence
remain forever economically depen­
seems to have been overlooked with
M aputo,
Mozambique
was
dent on South A fric a and, con­
serious consequences for the con­
designated the headquarters o f the
sequently, incapable o f wholehear­
tinent as a whole.
Southern A frica Communications
tedly
participating in the liberation
In the last several years, African
commissions and its task will be to
o
f
South
Africa.
leaders have met to discuss ways of
upgrade the region's transportation
ECOSAS is only one o f several
correcting this deficiency. The result
network. So far most o f the coun­
regional economic communities all
o f these discussions has been the
tries o f southern Africa was forced
w
ith the one objective o f re­
creation o f several regional
to rely on South African ports and
integrating the African continent.
economic communities o f which
port facilities. The Commission will
The recent elections in Uganda are
EXOSAS, Economic Community of
be studying ways o f upgrading
expected
to bring about a revival of
Southern African States, is one. In a
Mozambique’ s and Angola's pons
the East African Community that
nutshell, the goals of ECOSAS are
so the ten countries’ trade can pass
once joined Kenya, Uganda and
to increase cooperation among the
wholly through Free Africa and thus
Tanzania in another regional
member states in the areas o f trade,
reduce dependence on South Africa
economic entity.
c o m m u n ic a tio n s , e d u c a tio n ,
and keep our money in the Black.
Sixteen West African nations are
cultural exchanges, technology,
While the immediate objective o f
joined in yet another economic
tra n s p o rta tio n , e n v iro n m e n ta l
the creation of ECOSAS is to reduce
community appropriately called the
issues, industrialization, agricult­
dependence on South Africa and so
Economic Com m unity o f West
ure, labour and em ploym ent,
strengthen Africa's hand in aiding
A frican States, ECOW AS. North
mining and metallurgy.
in the liberation o f South A frica,
A
fric a , North-East A fric a and
ECOSAS is made up o f the nine
the longer term objective is to in­
North-W est A frica all have their
independent. Black m ajority ruled
crease A frica’ s bargaining plower in
own communities and, come
southern A frica n nations o f
her dealings with multinational cor­
December 31, 1999, all these
Angola,
Botswana,
Lesotho,
porations and the Western nations.
regional
economic communities are
Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland,
By increasing intra-A frican trade,
going to combine and form the
Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
A frica’s money is kept in Africa and
A frica n Economic C om m unity,
To date, Zaire has had only obser­
used to develop the continent in ­
joining
all of Africa. This will for­
ver status byt is expected to fo r ­
stead of being siphoned o ff to Lon­
mally bring together all o f A frica’s
mally join very soon thus transfor­
don, Paris or W ashington. By
peoples, then projected to be about
ming the Southern Nine into the
pooling resources, energies, ideas
600 million strong.
Southern Ten. To accelerate the
and technologies, southern A frica
Africa still has a long way to go to
region's agriculture production, an
will industrialize and advance much
realize this tantalizing objective but,
International Center for Research in
faster than if each o f the countries
the first steps have been taken.
A griculture in the Sem i-Arid
were to go at it alone.
Africa’ s wise old men and women,
Tropics, ICRASAT, was set up with
Achieving economic independ­
always tell us: " A long journey
its headquarters in Gaborone, Bot­
ence w ill strengthen A fric a 's
begins with but one step.”
swana.
Blacks and the military
PART II
By Dr. Manning Marable
The legacy of racial terrorism did
not stop the American government
and the m ilita ry from actively
recruiting Blacks to fight against the
Spanish Empire in 1898. Once
more, Blacks perform ed w ithin
segregated units w ith exemplary
behavior and bravery. Black con-
tigents in the N inth and Tenth
Calvaries saved the lives o f Teddy
Roosevelt and his Rough Riders at
the battle of Las Guasimas in Cuba.
After the battle, one southern white
o ffice r adm itted reluctantly that
“ the Negro cavalry”
saved
Roosevelt’ s white troops, adding
that he was “ not a Negro lover.”
Others more generously praised the
“ Smoked Yankees,” declaring that
they were good enough “ to drink
out of our canteens."
In the "G re a t war to end all
W ars,” a sim ilar story emerged.
Fighting in segregated units. Black
infantrymen participated in most of
the major battles along the Western
Front in France. The entire 369th
U.S.
in fa n try ,
an all-Black
regiment, received the C roix de
Guerre for their exceptional courage
under enemy fire. At home. Blacks
purchased over $250 million worth
of bonds and stamps to support the
war e ffo rt. The leading Black ac­
tivist o f the era, the N AAC P’ s Dr.
W. E. B. DuBois, encouraged Black
people to "Close Ranks" with white
Americans, forgetting “ our special
grievances” in our struggle to
defend “ democracy.”
But after W orld War I, the old
pattern o f Jim Crow was reasserted
with a new level o f viciousness. Over
seventy Blacks were lynched in
1919; many were soldiers just retur­
ning from France. Mobs in
Mississippi and Georgia murdered
three returning soldiers each. Four­
teen Blacks were burned in public,
eleven o f whom were burned alive.
Twenty years later the U.S.
government called upon Black
America to fight the Axis Powers of
Nazi Germany. Facist Italy and Im­
perial Japan. Over 3 million Black
men were registered for service in
the armed forces. At the height o f
the conflict, 700,000 Blacks served
in the army, 165,000 in the navy;
17,000 in the Marines. About one
h a lf m illio n Black troops were
.stationed in Europe, Africa and the
Pacific Ocean.
Blacks participated faithfully and
loyally throughout the war despite
repeated instances o f racism both
within the m ilitary and throughout
the broader white society. All Black
troops were ordered to fig h t in
segregated units. M any comman­
dants banned Black newspapers and
magazines from army bases.
Recreational and transportation
facilities were often segregated.
Race riots flared between Black and
white civilians during the war in
cities like Detroit and New York.
Unlike previous conflicts, however,
the war did create thousands o f new
jobs in private industry for Blacks,
and in general fostered a greater
degree o f social m o b ility and
desegregation fo r a m in o rity o f
Blacks.
Both m ajor post-W orld War II
conflicts involving the United States
inevitably included Black troops.
After "testing” the all-Black Third
Battalion against N orth Korean
troops. General Matthew Ridgway
ordered the full integration o f Black
and white units in 1951. Throughout
the 1960s a proportionately higher
percentage o f Blacks (30 percent)
than whites (18 percent) were drated
from the lists o f Selective Service.
Blacks totaled about 11-12 percent
o f the enlisted troops in Vietnam,
but always comprised significantly
higher numbers o f combat person­
nel. About one-fifth to one-fourth
of the troops killed or wounded in
Vietnam were A fro-A m ericans.
Blacks served in M arine an d /o r
army units that experienced the
worst guerilla battles with the forces
o f the N ational Liberation Front
and the North Vietnamese.
Significant elements in the Black
movement questioned U.S. in ­
volvement in Vietnam. M artin
Luther King declared his outspoken
opposition to the war in an Easter
sermon at New Y o rk ’ s Riverside
Church in April, 1967. "The Great
Society (Lyndon Johnson’ s ad­
ministration) has been shot down on
the battlefields o f V ie tn a m ," he
declared. America had to reach a
negotiated
settlement
which
recognized the humanity and rights
to political self-determination o f the
Vietnamese people. " I t would be
very inconsistent fo r me to teach
and preach nonviolence when
thousands and thousands of people,
both adults and children, are being
maimed and mutilated by the U.S.
m ilitary machine." The next stage
of
A fro-A m erican
domestic
struggle. King insisted, had to ad­
dress the burning question o f
American imperialism abroad and
the international pursuit of peace.
On A pril 15, 1967, Martin lead a
demonstration o f 125,000 antiwar
activists through Central Park to the
U nited Nations, denouncing the
U.S. m ilitary and government's in­
volvement in Vietnam. Floyd
M cKissick, then leader o f the
Congress o f Racial Equality, and
Black Power proponent Stokely
Carmichael spoke out against the
U.S. m ilita ry ’ s genocidal tactics.
Black army and marine personnel
began to organize antiwar and an­
tiracist formations in the barracks.
Although many Black activists did
not participate overtly in the
predom inately white-led antiw ar
campaigns and m oritorium s, the
Black Power and P an-A fricanist
organizations of the late 1960s and
early 1970s contained an explicitly
a n ti-m ilita ris t and antiw ar com­
ponent which countered over two
centuries o f Black participation in
America’ s war efforts.
In the final analysis. Black par­
ticipation in America’ s war efforts
thoughout the centuries has been an
unqualified disaster for the cause o f
our freedom and self-determinaton.
The m ilita ry has neither the
capability nor the interest in
providing Black youth with the op­
p o rtu n ity or means to acquire
vocationally-related
skills
or
knowledge which can be directly
related to the cause of our liberation
as a people. In the Civil War, and in
Vietnam, Black servicemen were
brutally exploited, used as "cannon-
fodder," and discriminated against
once they departed active duty.
From George Washington to Jimmy
Carter, the call to serve the demands
o f the m ilitary-industrial complex
has meant the erosion o f our own
domestic rights and the escalation o f
racism and political servitude.
Two centuries ago, the famous
Black architect/inventor Benjamin
Banneker suggested that all m ilitia
drills, m ilitary titles and dress ought
to be abolished. Like his friends and
contem porary Benjamin Rush.
Banneker advocated the abolition of
the Secretary o f War's post in favor
o f a new Secretary o f Peace. Ban­
neker encouraged the state to
initiate a major public educational
program to foster the principles o f
human equality, non-violence and
peace. W hite Americans did not
heed his warnings against militarism
and aggressive force. Perhaps the
contemporary forces o f Progressive
America w ill destroy the intim ate
relationship between racism and
militarism by carrying out the man­
date o f Benjamin Banneker. ,
e
a