Page 4 Portland Observer, M ay 27, 1962
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Zimbabwe today
by N. Fungal Kumbula
Raids have evil purpose
“ O peration E m p lo ym e n t” — the U.S.
governm ent’ s e ffo rt to arrest and deport
30,000 undocumented Mexican workers from
ten cities with high im m igrant populations is
not a true e ffo rt to free jobs fo r unemployed
U.S. citizens.
It is an effort to turn race against race, class
against class as the econom ic stagnation
deepens.
The U.S. economy w ill not be turned
around by deporting people w orking in jobs
that U.S. citizens refuse to consider. Although
the operation is re ported to invo lve only
“ highly paid” workers—most are working for
minimum wage or less.
The raids—which are continuing in Oregon
and Washington as well as across the country
(350 arrests in Oregon in the past eight
days)—are designed to turn the attention o f
the American people away from the real causes
o f the recession and from the real reasons for
the loss o f jo b s — high interest rates, pla nt
closure, deteriorating factories, excess profits,
spiralling prices, etc. The tune o f the day is to
blame the w o rke rs—and when possible to
blame black or Spanish speaking workers.
W hile fig h tin g each oth er fo r low-wage
jobs black, Hispanic, Indian, Southeast Asian
and white workers and unemployed w ill never
turn their attention to the true causes o f their
misery. The targets w ill be undocum ented
workers, affirm ative action, and unions.
It is no accident that the raids are against
Mexicans w hile hundreds o f thousands o f
undocumented Canadians, Poles, and other
illega l w hite im m igrants live in peace and
security. N ot only-do the raids hunt dow n
ille g a l Mexicans lik e anim als, but the nets
catch U.S. citizen« o f M exican descent,
naturalized U.S. citizens, Mexican citizens in
this country legally, and children who are U.S.
citizens with Mexican parents.
The U.S. does not even provide m inim al
security and safety fo r its own citizens o f
Mexican or other Hispanic origin.
It also is not accidental that the "Operation
E m plo ym en t” roundup began on the day
Senate debate began on the c o n triv e rs ia l
S im pson-M azzoli b ill (S.222 and H .5872).
This b ill w ould provide “ tem porary
residence” fo r two years which would enable
Mexican citizens to work in the U.S. legally,
but would deny to them benefits, civil rights,
and access to federally supported legal defense
organizations. This would provide a class o f
low-wage workers in virtual slavery.
The current raids on undocumented workers
were c a re fu lly planned to set the stage fo r
more repressive acts to follow.
weld Give A Million Bucks
To see Oregon working Again
Open letter to Chief Ron Still
Dear Ron:
The P o rtla n d C h ap ter o f the
Am erican C ivil Liberties U nion is
seriously concerned about inform a
tion which appeared in an article
published in the Oregonian regard
ing your maintenance o f a “ file” on
O regonian reporter Linda W il
liams.
In that M ay 7th article, you were
quoted as saying the Portland Police
Bureau maintains a file on Ms. W il
liams o f considerable size which in
cludes articles she has w ritten re
garding the bureau, its agents and
.p o lic e a ffa irs . O th er published
statements indicate that you, the bu
reau and the police union are not
B Oregon
Newspaper
■ Publishers
IR
IB Ü
* '■ 1 Association
■I
pleased with many o f Ms. Williams’
stories.
The file , as described, and the
maintenance thereof does not con
stitute a violation o f law. However,
its existence, and the possibility for
inclusion o f o th er in fo rm a tio n ,
poses potential constitutional ques
tions regarding an individual’s right
to privacy, as well as First Am end
ment protections o f both the indivi
dual and the press.
We hope you are aware that the
inclusion o f any in fo rm a tio n
"about the political, religious or so
cial views, associations or activities
o f any in d iv id u a l.. . ’ ’ would be a
violation o f ORS 181.575, ' * . . .un
less such information directly relates
to an investigation o f criminal activ
ities, and there are reasonable
grounds to suspect the subject of the
information is or may be involved in
criminal conduct.”
T he P o rtla n d A C L U sincerely
hopes that you are aware and sensi
tive to both the c ritic a l nature o f
your station as head o f a law en
forcem ent agency em powered to
protect the rights o f individuals, and
the existence o f external mechan
isms and entitites to ensure that you
do.
Barbara C. Ring, President
American Civil Liberties Union
Greater Portland Chapter
Portland Observer
> '
r—
L-.
MEMBER
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t
Il seems funny being in Zim b ab
we now. It is a fat cry from the fear-
ridden, internationally ostracized,
racially discrim inatory and strife-
torn country I le ft some 10 years
ago. 1 keep remembering the polari
zation o f the races. There were sec
tions o f town where we as blacks,
were de facto aliens. The only time
we dared venture there was to serve
the needs o f the “ massa.” Now the
roles are almost to ta lly reversed.
While whites are still very much in
evidence in the form erly white sec
tion o f town, they are there as a very
self-conscious m inority. Their fo r
mer arrogance has now been re
placed by the shocked realization
that the days o f the "m assa” are
gone and gone forever.
So now they are busy trying to
make friends with the very people
they had trampled underfoot for so
long. They are busy trying to curry
favor w ith the new bosses. Before
they had always been told they were
needed to "m aintain standards and
safeguard ‘civilization? ” Now they
realize they are wanted but not
needed. They need Zimbabwe more
than Zimbabwe needs them.
The " W h ite exodus" so played
up in the Oregon press and other
papers o f sim ilar persuasion has
now slowed to a tric k le . In some
a new experience that offers some
cases even those that had fled to
sort o f excitement.
South A fric a are clam ouring to
Further, in a lot o f instances, the
come back. For the first time they are
locals arc obliged to go and ask this
beginning to realize there is no fu
or that from those whites because
ture in South A fr ic a , that when
they are the ones that, until very re
change comes, their lot would be a
cently had access to it all. The rela
lot worse than it is here now. The
tionship between them, therefore, is
old order has changed.
somewhat easier as it tends to be one
O n the jo b where we work w ith
between teacher and student.
them, they are for the first time hav
ing to dem onstrate their com pe
The recent in flu x o f the "b e e n -
tence, to shoulder their responsibili
to ’s” back to Z im b abw e has seri
ties and to compete on the basis o f
ously shaken the complacency and
merit with everybody.
over-confidence o f most o f the
For someone whose w hite skin
whites because it has blown sky-high
has been an autom atic passport to
the myth that without the whites to
all the top positions and their atten
run the economy, Zimbabwe would
dant privileges, it is a most uncom
soon grind to a h a lt. In a lo t o f
fo rta b le switch. U nderstandably,
cases, the returning A fric a n s are
they have the most trouble dealing
coming back with better educational
w ith A frica n s w ho were trained
q u alifications and more solid and
abroad. These Africans have a cer
versatile work experience than they
tain arrogance, and self-confidence
(the whites) can boast o f. There is
that they find so irritating. (Remem
no possibility o f the whites repeat
ber the " N o rth e rn Negroes" and
ing What they did in G u in ea and
the Southern Whites?) "Been-to's"
Mozambique where they just up and
as we are sometimes called have no
le ft, leaving the countries without
tim e fo r them , do not mix w ith
the skilled m anpower to run the
them, do not ask anything from or
o f them and generally give the im
economy. It was worse in Guinea in
1938, not so bad in Mozambique in
pression (hat they do not need them.
For someone who has travelled ,
1973 and non-existent in Zimbabwe
in 1980.
m ixing w ith d iffe re n t races is no
longer a big deal. F or those who
T ill the next tim e, keep the fires
o f liberation forever burning.
have been oppressed, however, it is
African Liberation Day
by Dr. Manning Marable
"From The Grassroots. “ May. 1982
Malcolm X , the greatest spokesper fighters has accelerated. 620 people
son o f black liberation o f the 1960s, were "detained’ ’ in 1981. About 300
recognized the necessity for black o f them are unaccounted for. Police
Am ericans to in tern a tio n a lize our do not announce who is detained or
struggle. One o f the key proposals o f released. M any prisoners have been
the Organization for Afro-American given massive doses o f th a lliu m — a
U n ity, formed in 1964, was to take powerful rat poison. Detainees have
the various issues o f racist repression no rights at all— no fresh clothing, no
against blacks in the U .S . to the food parcels, limited access to attor
United Nations. Before his untimely neys, no reading material.
death. D r. M artin Luther King, Jr.,
In Namibia, both the United States
spoke out against both the U .S. war and South A frica are attem pting to
in V ietn am and this governm ent’ s strangle the legitimate voice o f that
genocidal policies before the world c o u n try ’ s A fric a n
p o p u latio n ,
stage. Both Malcolm and M artin un S W A P O . U .S . representatives have
derstood that the struggle for black in effect repudiated U .N . Security
freedom was an international effort, Council Resolution 435 which calls
requiring the unity o f oppressed for self-determination for Nam ibia.
peoples across the Third World.
In the Western Sahara, the U .S. pro
Today Reaganism threatens to un vides millions o f dollars in arms for
dercut every significant political/eco- the dictatorial Moroccan regime’s re
nomic/educational gain that was won pression o f Polisario, the liberation
by the black Movement in the last 50 movement o f the region’s Saharawi
years. But it would be a mistake on people. The U.S. government has en
our part to isolate Reaganism as sim couraged South Africa to launch m ili
ply a domestic problem. What we are tary strikes deep into Angolan terri
witnessing is a b ro ad and sinister tory.
reaction o f the most racist and
In the Western hemisphere, the ra
fascist-oriented forces that threaten cist and reactionary politics o f this
the survival o f black people across the country has produced the specter o f
globe.
U.S. troops in El Salvador; the threat
In racist, apartheid South A frica, of armed confrontation with the pro
terrorism against black freedom gressive governments o f Nicaragua
and Grenada; and economic exploita
tion o f the black masses in Jamaica
and H a iti. Reagan's racist im m igra
tion policies meant the drowning and
deportation o f Haitian refugees.
The U n ited N ations C o m m itte e
Against Apartheid has declared 1982
the "International Year o f M obiliza
tion for Sanctions Against South A f
ric a ." This is also the 10th anniver
sary o f the A L D — African Liberation
D ay— a day reserved to honor black
freedom fighters throughout the A fri
can diaspora.
On May 22, at the United Nations,
thousands o f black and progressive
people ra llie d in support o f black
w orld , I S C A L D , the "S u p p o rt
C om m ittee for A fric a n L ib eratio n
D a y ," has been endorsed by h u n
dreds o f activists and leaders,
including Congressperson Mickey Le
land; Judge W illiam H . Booth, Presi
dent o f the American Committee on
Africa; Rev. Dr. W illiam A. Jones o f
the N ational Black Pastors C o n fe r
ence; Rev. Tim othy M itchell o f H a r
lem’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, and
others.
For m ore in fo rm a tio n , contact
S C A L D . 550 W . 155th Street, New
York City. 10036. (212)690-9058.
The economy and social justice
by Norman H ilt, Executive Director
A. Philip Randolph Institute
For decades the civil rights and la
bor movements have argued for
greater social justice and for safe
guards which could better protect
workers from the recessions which
recur in any free enterprise econ
omy. Such arguments have been
based upon a humanitarian impulse,
upon the view that all human beings
are entitled to an adequate stan
dard o f living and to the right to
lead a dignified life.
T oday, a m ountain o f evidence
appears to suggest that greater so
cial justice, increased social spend
ing by governm ent, jo b security,
and greater protections for workers,
not only are morally laudable, but
are good for economic growth. Such
is the evidence contained in a criti
cally important new book. Minding
A m e ric a ’s Business, (H a rc o u rt
Brace Jovanovich, 1982), co
authored by Robert Reigh, o f H a r
vard U niversity’s Kennedy School
o f Government, and Ira Magazincr,
a consultant to business and labor.
In essence, the book makes a per
suasive argum ent fo r adopting
much o f the agenda favored by o r
ganized labor and the c iv il rights
m ovem ent. Through im ag in ative
and concise use o f charts and statis
tics the authors document the de
cline o f the U .S . econom y. In
I960, the U.S. was first in the world
in terms o f standard o f living. T o
day, we are no better than tenth, be
hind such countries as France, H o l
lan d, D en m a rk , West G erm any,
N orw ay, and Belgium, with Japan
quickly approaching us and signifi-
cantly outpacing us in productivity
increases and economic growth.
W hat, ask Reich and Magaziner,
do these countries have in common?
W hat policies have their go vern
ments and industries adopted to
achieve economic growth?
The evidence shows that those
Western democracies which outper
form our economy have a higher,
not lo w er, degree o f governm ent
spending on social expenditures
than does the U .S. In each o f these
countries there is a higher degree o f
per capita social spending for such
programs as social security and un
employment insurance. Workers in
these countries receive on the aver
age four to five weeks annual paid
vacation (while U .S. workers aver
age 2.5 weeks time o ff). In each o f
these countries there are substantial
government- and industry-financed
health insurance programs.
Job security also is one o f the cor
nerstones o f industrial productivity.
As Reich and M ag azin er suggest;
" I t is difficult to gain workers’ com
mitment to a company if they know
that the company is not ultimately
com mitted to developing their ca
reers.” They assert, on the basis o f
evidence fro m such countries as
Sweden and Japan, that " it h in a
com pany’s best interest to be con
cerned about the career develop
ment o f all employees, not just the
few at the to p .” In this regard, the
authors argue, " it would not only
be more humane but also less costly
to develop the employees they have
rather than bear the substantial coat
o f employee disaffection and high
worker turnover.”
S ig n ifican tly, Reich and M aga-
ziner suggest that government could
promote job security by reimbursing
companies for keeping workers on
the payroll or in training during re
cessions.
Finally, the authors indicate that
unionization is not an obstacle to
economic development. Rather, by
creating more decent work con d i
tions unions help to spur productivi
ty. In countries which outperform
the U .S . econom ically, levels o f
unionization are from 50 per cent
greater than ours (Japan) to 400 per
cent greater (Belgium and Sweden).
M inding A m erica ’s Business is a
book which deserves serious atten
tion from labor and civil rights com
m unities. Its evidence flies in the
face o f President Reagan’s supply-
side and free m arket pieties.
G overnm ent is not the p ro b lem .
Rather, when it reflects the popular
w ill, it is a responsible and indeed
essential part o f the solution.
HANDYMAN
I repair almost any and
«verything—oil furnaces,
plumbing, electric work, and
r®Mgerators.
I
287-6075
Ask for John Hartley