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
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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----------------------
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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
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