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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1981)
Page 2 Portland Observer April 9.1991 African names EDITORIAL/OPINION Need for communication The Police Bureau and the com m unity have come to an impass - an impass that has been along time in the making but that was brought to a head by the "possum incident” . Although there have been charges of police harassment, brutality and racism, never before have police officers been fired - and fired publically - fo r mistreatment of Blacks. The police union has always rejected claims o f racism and now is c h a lle n g in g the te r mination of the two officers. Citizens complain that police officers are not available when needed; yet they see as many as five cars at the scene of a traffic arrest. Of ficers claim they are verbally abused, fear fo r their lives, and that there job is so boring that the m ost exciting event o f the n ig h t can be when the words "C P K " (certified possum kill) crackle across the airwaves. Yet the com m unity needs and deserves an e ffic ie n t, sensitive, co m p e te n t police fo rce . W hat is the answer? A good firs t step w o u ld be co m m u n ica tio n betw een the o ffic e rs and th e c itiz e n s th e y are su p p o se d to serve. A broader understanding of the co m m u n ity and its citizens whould do m uch to tem per the ac tions of the police officer. Stan Peters, president of the police union, says he is ready to talk - th a t he is w illin g to identify racism where it exists and attem pt to eliminate it. He is willing to discuss changes in those police policies co n tro lle d by the union contract. The challenge is now on the co m m u n iy to respond in kind - to educate this man w ho has the pow er to make dram atic changes w ith in the police structure. The challenge is also w ith the com m unity to take steps to insure that the move is reciprocal - that good police work w ill be met w ith respect. By Fungai Kumbula African names have the disctinct- io ji o f always standing fo r something. A son born on a Satur day night might be called Kwame, A shanti (Ghana) fo r Saturday. Another might be called Rutendo, Shona (Zimbabwe) fo r “ Thanks.” This week we explore the fascinating world o f African nomenclature con centrating, fo r starters, on Z im babwe. For sim plicity and clarity, the following symbols w ill be used: S for Shone, N for Ndebelc; the two m ajor languages spoken in Z im babwe; U fo r Unisex, can be used fo r either male or female; F fo r Female and M for Male. The names have been arranged in alphabetical order. The Shona and Ndebele alphabets both only have twenty- one letters so some letters w ill be skipped. The closest English trans lation for each name is given: A: A m hlope (N ,U ) “ C ongra tulations.” B: Bayezwa (N .U ) “ They hear” maybe referring to the ancestors. C: C h id o ; C hisham iso (S .U ) “ Loved one” ; Som ething A m a zing.” D: D hladhla (N .U ) “ T ro t in place.” E: F: Fungai; Farai; Feso; (S .U ) “ Think” ; “ Rejoice” ; “ Thorn.” G: G arai; G a rik a i; G arakunz- wana; (S,U ) “ Stay” ; “ Prosper” ; “ Living is cooperating." H: Handisumbe; Hamadzashe; (S .M ) “ Fearless” ; The King be lieves.” I: Inkululeko (N .U ) “ Freedom.” J: Jabulani; Jongwe; (N,U; S.M) “ Rejoice, make merry” ; Rooster." K: Kum bula; Kudzai; (N .M ; S,M) “ Remember” ; “ Respect.” L: Linda (N.F) “ Trust.” M : M usekiw a; M afehlefehle; (S ,M ; N ,m ) “ A fun person” ; “ A fat person.” N: Nham o; N goni; N om uhle; (S ,U ; S.U ; N .F ) “ T roubles” ; “ P r o b le m s ” ; flawless.” “ B e a u tifu l, O: P: Panganai; Pasipanodya (S.U) “ Share, Exchange ideas” ; “ The ground devours.” O: R: R um bidzai; Runako; Run- wadzano (S.F) “ P ra is e ’ , “ Beauty” ; “ Fellowship.” T: Tendai (Tendayi); Tsitsi (S.U; S.F) “ Give thanks” ; “ Mercy.” U: Unhloni (N.F) "S h y.” V: V ulindhe la; Vusi (N .M ) “ Open the way, T ra ilb la z e r” ; (N.M ) “ Wake up.” W: Wadzanai (S,F) “ Get along with one another.” X: Xetsha (N .M ) “ Search, look fo r.” Y: Z: Zano; Z ita (S ,U ) “ Idea” ; "N am e.” Pronunciation? W ell, I w ill have to tell that to you individually. Districting the community For ten years, since Clay M yers re app or tioned the legislative districts in 1971, Blacks have charged that dividing the com munity into four House and four Senate districts has pre vented the Black population from selecting representatives responsible to it. Blacks make up a small portion of each of the four House and fo u r Senate d is tric ts , so no elected representatives has to pay much attention to the needs and desires o f th e ir Black c o n stituents. This year, the process w ill be done over again and Black people have hoped that it will be done more fairly. The OABA discussed reapportionment at its January m eeting, appointed a Task Force to research the m atter, and is lobbying fo r the re su ltin g plan. This plan w o u ld place the N o rth /N o rth e a s t area w here m ost of the State's Blacks reside in three House and tw o Senate d is tric ts . A cco rd in g to O A B A pres ident Calvin Henry (see page 3 col. 1) reap portionm ent could mean the Black com m unity would have at least fo u r Representatives and tw o Senators representing it. (Decreased from four each). The p roblem is th a t none o f the d is tric ts would have enough Blacks to elect a represen tative or even to provide a significant influence (Note the efforts of the past ten years). The proposal we su p p o rt w o u ld place the major portion of the Black co m m u n ity in one House and one Senate district - giving Blacks a b o u t 42 per ce n t in th e H ouse d is tr ic t - a number large enough to elect a representative and to have a d e cisive vo ice in e le c tin g a senator. Even more im p o rta n t, any legislator serving a district w ith that significant a Black vote would have to be responsive. Although no plan can guarantee the election of Blacks, the "o n e d is tric t” co n ce p t o ffe rs the greatest possibility. W e have already seen that a little influence in a lot of d istricts does not work. From the Grassroots The election of Margaret Strachan is a good sign for local elective politics. For too long the voters have been complacent, many decling to vote and others basing their votes on name familiarity or on slick advertising campaigns. Margaret Strachan came out of "now here” to d e feat a w e ll know p o litic ia n , Earl Blum enaur, w ho has consistenly held public o ffic e fo r m any years. The "n o w h e re ” she came from was many years of neighborhood organizing around the issues of concern to citize n s. This service on behalf of citize n s gained many friends throughout the city who came forward to work for and vote for a per son they felt would represent their interests on the City Council. One of the dangers of elective politics in this country is that it no logner operates as it was planned. The Republican system enables the public to elect citizens to represent them in lo cal, state and n a tio n a l p o sitio n s. Theoretically those persons - common citizens living in the neighborhood - can represent the citizens needs and concerns. In reality, the elected representative soon becom es a p ro fe s s io n a l p o litic ia n - e ith e r sta yin g in o ffic e fo r m any years or m o vin g from o ffic e to o ffice . This person eventually becomes overly concerned w ith keeping the position - w hich has become his profession - His identificatio n w ith the people back home lessens as he becomes more and more depen dent on campaign contributions of m ajor co r porations and special interest groups to retain this position. The U .S . C ongress is a p rim e e xa m p le . Congressmen elected in their youth remain in Congress u n til they die. M any have, o u t of necessity or out of political expediency, lost all relationships w ith th e ir hom e d is tric ts . They cannot, under any stretch of the im agination, still be considered as citizen representatives. The elected o fficia l w h o can resist the im pulse to become part of the political system at the expense of truly representing the citizens is rare. Coming from years of neighborhood ac tiv ity , we hope Mrs. Strachan is such a p e r son. Portland Observer is puDiisned ever (*ay by Ex.e Publ.sh.ng Company, Inc . 2201 North K.ll.nt Q ? -^ nc Ore9° n 97217’ Post Office Box 3137, Portland. a/zoH Second class postage paid at Portland, Oregon Subscriptions $10 00 par year in Tri County area P oatm aater Send address changes to the Portland Observer, P 0 Box 3137 Portland, Oregon 97208 I ne Portland Observer was founded in October of 1S Alfred Lee Henderson The Portland Observer is a champion of justice, equali liberation, an alert guard against social evils; a thorough , and critic of discriminatory practices and policies a sent warn of impending and existing racist trends and practices defender against persecution and oppression Bruce Broussard Editor/Publisher The real problems of the minority population will be view« presented from the perspective of their causality unrestrain, Chronoically en trenched racism N ational and interna MEMBER I Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association I MEMBER arrangements that prolong and increase the oppression ol World peoples shall be considered in the context of thi Pto-tation and manipulation by the colonial nations, mcludi United States and their relationship to this nation s his treatment of its Black population 283 2486 N ational A dvertising R epresentative A m algam ated Publishers Inc N ew Vorlt Ist Place Community Service ONPA 1973 Ist Place Best Ad Result ONPA 1973 5th Place Best Editoria! ONPA 1973 Honorable Mention Herrick Editorial Award NNA 1973 2nd Place Best Editorial 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1975 POLICE RRI W6-S Letters to the Editor W hy no crime prevention? To the Editor: In his recent press conference Police C h ie f Bruce Baker said he didn’ t know why the other officers present when two policemen threw dead possums in fro n t o f a Black- owned restaurant didn’ t try to stop them or why they did n ’ t report the incident to their superiors them selves. If Chief Baker and Commissioner Jordan conducted a thorough in vestigation into the incident, as they claim they did, why d on’ t they know? D idn’ t they ask the officers involved? What did they say? It certainly appears that the other officers were simply covering up for Wear a green ribbon Dear Editor: I want to tell you about the cam paign, the wearing o f the green rib bon, which means the symbol o f care, fo r the A tlanta children that are disappearing and being m u r dered. A lady in the Germantown section o f Philadephia, by the name o f Mrs. Georgia Dean came up with the idea o f wearing a green ribbon on person or display on your car, around the house, anyplace where it can be seen, to let people know you care. It’s similar to the yellow ribbon that we displayed for the 52 hostages, but they came home. But the To the Editor: I am a young man, age 25, in prison w ith no fa m ily or friends who care. W ould very much like to hear fro m someone to help me from losing myself in loneliness. Paul Brinkman P.O. Box 100 Jean, Neveda 89019 Correction We recently ran an open letter to President Reagan regarding bilingual education. The follow ing names should have been on the letter: By: Gale CasOZZo/President Hispanic Political Action Committee By: Candido Morales/Chairman Oregon Hispanic Coalition children’ s life is gone and we don’t know whose child might be the next victim. Mrs. Dean said the green stands for life, like the green grass and the green trees that grow. We the people want to make this a nation wide campaign o f wearing a green ribbon u n til the perpetrator is found. I know some o f your readers would be concerned about the campaign of wearing a green rib b o n fo r the children o f Atlanta. Hopefully Yours, Mary Ann Johnson 5032 Larchwood Ave. # 2 Philadelphia. PA 19143 By: Gregory Perez-Selsky Chairman/Hispanic Commission o f Oregon By: Jesse ¿una/President IM AGE de Oregon By: Felipe Paris Chairman o f the Board o f Directors Colegio Cesar Chavez By. Jose Calderon Chairman o f the Board of Directors/Committee o f Spanish Speaking People o f Oregon r---------------------- Be concerned! Be informed!! know the facts!!! SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 1 ONLY $10 PER YEAR 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1978 3rd Place In depth coverage ONPA 1979 Name......................................................................................... Address..................................................................................... . City- Attocittion ■ Founded IM S th e ir buddies or that the incident was nothing unusual and so, not worth mentioning to their superiors. It also now appears that Baker and Jordan are in turn tryin g to cover for these officers. Baker and Jordan went on to say that their investigation determined that the other o ffic e rs did not violate department rules in this in cident. Does that mean that if policemen see me throw dead animals in front o f a restaurant dow ntow n that they’ ll just ignore it? Or is that a privilage reserved for policemen in Black neighborhoods? Yours truly, Larry Tanner Lonely prisoner State Zip Portland Observer Box 3137 Portland, OR 9720B I I I | , j _____________________________ I
