Page 4 Portland Observer, October 13, 1982
Mississippi racism
EDITORIAL/OPINION
By Dr. Manning Marable
' 'From The Grassroots ”
Arms race extends to space
Tw enty-five years ago the U .S .S .R .’s Sputnik
opened the door to space. The benefits o f space
exploration have been le gio n— com puter tech
n o lo g y , m edicine, p a cka g in g , b u ild in g m a
terials, com m unications, etc. B ut there is also a
dangerous aspect to space e x p lo ra tio n — the
spread o f the arms race to space.
Already the U.S. has spent over $60 b illio n on
m ilita ry space research. Caspar W einberger re
cently ordered the A ir Force to develop by 1985
weapons capable o f destroying a ll Soviet satel
lites.
G eneral Lew A lle n , head o f the A ir F orce
General S ta ff, on June 21 announced the crea
tion o f a U.S. m ilita ry Space Com m and that w ill
coordinate all U.S. m ilita ry activités in space, in
cluding the spaceship C olum bia. A lle n also an
nounced the establishment o f three new research
laboratories whose task w ill be to develop the
“ k ille r satellite.” The A ir Force hopes to have
k ille r satellites— satellites designed to d estroy
other satellites— which can be launched fro m F-
15 fig h te r jets by 1987. The A ir Force w ill also
Part I o f a two-part series
b u ild a space c o n tro l center at P eterson A ir
Force Base near C o lo ra d o Springs, w here the
Space Comm and is located.
The C olum bia o ffic ia lly started the exploita
tio n o f outer space fo r m ilita ry use. Its fo u rth
flig h t, in July, included secret experiments p ro
gram m ed by the Pentagon. These included an
improved telescope designed to detect missiles or
other objects in outer space. T w enty-five o f the
70 planned spaceflights o f the C o lu m b ia and
sim ilar ships through 1987 w ill be under the con
tro l o f the Pentagon, while nearly 50 per cent o f
those th ro u g h 1994 w ill have a secret m ilita ry
purpose.
W hen Ronald Reagan welcomed the C o lu m
bia home fro m its fo u rth voyage he announced
that the C olum bia is part o f the nation’s plans to
develop better satellites.
W h ile the people o f the n a tio n and o f the
w orld are pleading fo r an end to the arms race, a
nuclear freeze, the U .S . is p re p a rin g to take
these deadly weapons in to space.
Thug?
Ronald Reagan called the P olish
banned the S o lid a rity u n io n and
workers cannot strike against their
“ thugs.”
N o t lo n g ago Reagan had th e
leaders w ho
said P o lis h
government
w orkers Fired and th e ir leaders arrested, had
th e ir u n io n d e c e rtifie d and said g o ve rn m e n t
workers cannot strike.
W ho is the “ thug” ?
a ir c o n tr o l
For millions o f blacks living in the
rural counties and small (owns o f
the "N ew South, the political terror
of Jim Crow and racial exploitation
which sparked the C iv il Rights
M ovem ent o f the 1950s still exist.
Nowhere is this more vivid than in
the sovereign state o f Mississippi.
The root o f black poverty and po
litical powerlessness in Mississippi is
found in the economics o f racism.
Perhaps the best way to analyze the
dynamics o f econom ic underde
velopment is be reviewing data on
black agriculture in the region since
World W ar II. In 1949, black farm
ers owned 80,842 commercial cotton-
producing farm s in M ississippi’ s
Black Belt region, about 66 per cent
of all cotton farms in the state. D ur
ing the 1950s and 1960s, "agribusi
ness” — corpo ratio ns which went
into agricu ltu ral p ro d u ctio n — ag
gressively pushed thousands o f
small rural farmers out o f business.
By 1964, the num ber o f black-
owned cotton farm s declined to
21,939 in the state. O nly five years
later, the fig u re dropped to only
1,000 black-ow ned cotton farm s.
Since the C iv il Rights M ovem ent,
the number o f black farm residences
has fallen still further, both in M is
sissippi and across the country. N a
tionally, between 1970 and 1980, the
black farm population declined by
65 per cent com pared to a 22 per
cent drop am ong w hite farm ers.
Part o f the reason for the process is
the extreme d iffic u lty which black
farmers have in obtaining capital.
A ccording to a 1982 U .S . C iv il
Rights Commission report, “ Many
insurance companies, which finance
the bulk o f farm loans, require
loans to be at least $100,000. While
com m ercial banks lend lesser
amounts, they often require repay
ment w ith in 5 years, a term too
short fo r the average black land
owner. Federal land banks tend to
require amounts o f collateral that
are too great for blacks to q u alify."
The federal government has done
little to reverse the decline in black
farming. For example, the Farmers
H om e A d m in is tra tio n (F m H A )
which is the principal public lending
agency for farmers, lent $6.3 billion
in fiscal year 1980 and almost $7 bil
lion in fiscal year 1981 to farmers
nationwide, l oans to blacks were so
few, however, that in March, 1981,
black M ississippi farm ers helped
stage a 21-day sit-in at one F m H A
county office to protest discrimina
tion. From 1979 to 1980, the num
ber o f black F m H A com m ittee
members nationally dropped from
427 to 257, while total com mittee
membership rose 5,863 to 5,966. In
M ississippi, (he num ber o f black
F m H A com m ittee members de
clined 53 per cent, 48 to 21, from
1979 to 1980. Between 1980 and
1981, not surprisingly, the number
o f farm ownership loans to blacks in
Mississippi fell from 101 to 30. U n
der intense criticism, the Carter ad
ministration authorized the F m H A
in 1980 to initiate a project especial
ly "geared to reach small farm en
terprises w ith gross annual in
comes as low as $3,000.” in Missis
sippi and in six other Southern
states. However, no loans were ever
made under the p ro je ct, and few
black p o te n tial borrow ers ever
learned about the p ro je ct's exist
ence. Under Reagan, in December,
1981, the F m H A discontinued the
program.
Losing their lan d, many ru ral
black merchants and potential busi
nesspersons tried to in itia te com
mercial establishments in Jackson,
Greenville, and smaller Mississippi
cities. W ith rare exceptions, they
were unable to compete with larger,
white-owned firnu and quickly went
out o f business. In G reenville, for
instance, a middle-sized city with
about 38,000 black residents in
1977, 179 o f the town's 247 black-
owned firms do not possess a single
paid em ployee. G re en ville's 24
black-owned construction compan
ies w ith o u t paid employees earn
annual average gross receipts o f
$7,790. The five black-owned real
estate firms in the city have average
gross receipts o f $ 5 ,0 0 0 . T he 68
black selective services without em
ployees collected an average gross of
$11,320 in 1977, according to the
Bureau o f the Census. The process
of underdevelopment, therefore, a f
flicts (he nascent urban black m id
dle class as well as all farmers, and
their collective economic plight has
actually become worse with desegre
gation.
The current economic difficulties
of rural Mississippe"blacks are sym
bolized by Mound Bayou. By 1979
the a ll-b lac k tow n was over
$133,(XX) in debt. W hen the town
lost a c ivil lawsuit ju d g m en t that
year which totalled an a d d itio n a l
$59,(MX), bankruptcy seemed em i
nent. Banks froze the c ity 's ac
counts, and the 19 acres o f city
propery, including a park, the city's
public swimming pool, and its mu
nicipal building, were sold at auc
tion. Southern Bell cut o ff the city’s
telephones because o f an unpaid
$1.700 bill, and Mississippi Power
and Light threatened to halt city ser
vices. In April, 1982, a Memphis ra
dio station helped to raise $120,000
to pay o f some o f M ound Bayou's
bills But without adequate stale or
federal assistance, the status o f this
town o f 2,900 people seems bleak.
White Mississippi politicians fre
quently now describe their state as
the most "progressive” in the na
tion as far as electing black officials.
Superficially, this assertion appears
true. As o f July, 1977, M is s is s ip p i
had a total o f 295 black elected o ffi
cials, the highest number in the U.S.
A detailed analysis o f this figure,
which exceeds by more than 100 per
cent the total number o f black offi
cials in the entire country in 1965,
reveals some incongruencies. Only
4 o f Mississippi's 98 state represen
tatives and state senators are black.
138 are mayors or city councilper-
sons in small rural, m ajority-black
towns. 116 are law enforcement o f
ficers or have posts on m unicipal
school boards. None are Congres
sional representatives.
PDC recycles homes
COOULD YOU FUND STANDING ON TH £ 0TH6R
SI0C 0FTH 6 STRCÇT p c e ^ s e ?
Letters to the Editor
In civilizations such as those o f
B abylon and E g y p t, the Tem ple
prostitute performed a sacred func
tion and was held in high regard;
even later, in Greece and Rome, the
courtesan was a woman o f esteem,
often the honored com panion and
in s p iratio n o f great philosophers
and artists. W hen Saint Paul
introduced pru d ery in to W estern
consciousness, all this changed and
the whore became an object o f con
tempt and the victim o f persecution.
Prostition is a crime without vic
tims— a totally voluntary relation
ship that would not be a crime at all
in a rational society. In this country,
the plutocrats make it a crime but
also they enforce their law selective
ly: Except in rare cases, where the
police or D .A . is trying to make
headlines, the customers are never
arrested or harassed, but the prosti
tutes are subjected to these indigni
ties constantly.
•4» MB» K
In my opinion, these ladies prob
ably do more than all the M .D .s and
psychiatrists in the country to re
duce rape, prevent neuroses and ul
cers, relieve the body, calm the mind
and generally slow down our de
scent into mass hysteria. I f there’s
any truth in the hypothesis that sex
ual fru s tra tio n leads to violence,
sexual freedom m ight be the one
thing that can save our society from
collapse.
Poor and working people cannot
afford to build prisons, that we may
end up in. It's time that the honest
people o f Portland saw the light and
joined the trend o f legalizing prosti
tutio n . M an y European countries
have legalized the w o rld ’ s oldest
profession. Require all prostitutes
to register w ith the local board o f
health, to give each registered
woman an identification card and to
require a weekly checkup by a board
o f health doctor. M andatory regis
tra tio n w ould allo w the C ity to
control professional standards and
A ll o f the houses have new kitch
ens and baths, new carpeting, exter
ior paint, and new electrical wiring.
Four o f the houses have two bed
rooms, one has three bedrooms.
Sale prices range from $36,000 to
$44,000 and only 5 per cent is re
quired for a down p aym ent. One
year o f tax and insurance reserves
and other closing costs arc also the
responsibility o f the purchaser.
M o n th ly payments on the house,
which include taxes and insurance,
are usually under $400 with the ef
fective interest rate at 8'/i per cent.
Persons interested in viewing any
of the Recycled houses should come
to the open houses. Houses are lo
cated at 3932 N .E . Grand. 419 N .E .
Mason, 4838 N. W illiam s, 4840 N.
Williams and 4137 N. Albina.
{Continued fro m page ! column 6)
an identification card would give the
customer certain health guarantees.
The laws suppressing p ro s titu
tion are, indeed, contradictory and,
in my o p in io n , ra th e r ridiculous.
Prostitution is a fact in this country
(as any clergyman or social worker
who has ever worked in any city will
attest but one which o ffic ia ld o m
seems to think will "go away" if it is
ignored o r i f it is rigorously sup
pressed by ill-th o u g h t-o u t legisla
tion.
T he selling o f one’ s body fo r
monetary gain is rather innocuous
when compared with the daily com
promising o f principles and integrity
that most people indulge in (and for
no gain or pleasure whatsoever). So
why all the uproar about physical
prostitution? The soul is supposedly
more precious than the body; yet the
soul is peddled at c u t-rate prices
everywhere.
D r. Jamil Cherovee
_______ Field Representative, C O R E
Portland Observer
"A s we see it, this is not an attempt
to catch up with the Soviet Union,
but an attempt at superiority which
we w ill never accept. W e w ill both
continue to waste money, resources,
and manpower to get superiority."
The U .S .S .R . considers the current
status o f 12,000 to 8 ,0 0 as rough
parity that it can accept.
The tim e to reach a reduction
agreement is now, Berezhkov said.
“ Some people believe that our
economy w ill collapse if we must
{Continued fro m page ! column 4}
that the military should be cut is that
their companies are the beneficiaries
o f the m ilita ry budget. H a rry J.
G ray o f United Technologies C o r
poration, whose sales o f jet aircraft
engines and helicopters make it the
second largest m ilitary contractor,
said, “ Yes, look at defense.” Regi
nald H . Jones o f General Electric,
o f life because someone doesn’t like
it. You should not think that social
ism will collapse or change in some
way. We never say that the U .S .
should change or that then we will
ta lk . W e have to accept both so
cieties like they are. We must talk
now.
" W e stand before the danger o f
nuclear war and we must eliminate
the danger."
the fourth largest military contract
o r, com m ented, " I just question
whether we can spend the projected
increase wisely.”
The corporate leaders fear that
the enormous deficit will fuel in fla
tion and retard general recovery
fro m the current recession. The
same o p in io n is held by the
opponents o f the planned m ilitary
b u ild -u p who say that one o f the
m ajor causes o f the federal deficit,
inflation, economic stagnation, un
employment cycle is m ilitary spend
ing which overburdens the national
budget and spends money and ener
gy on technology that is not used
and therefo re ads nothing to the
economic growth of the nation.
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m a in ta in an arms race. This w ill
never happen. Our people will sacri
fice; we will have a lower standard
o f living. But we will be there and
we will do everything we can to keep,
p a rity .” The U .S . economy is hav-
ing problem s, he said. "S pending
money on the m ilita ry aggravates
your problems o f unemployment, o f
crime, etc.”
Others believe the Soviet Union
will change. " W e will be as we are;
we are not going to change our way
Leaders question military
The P o rtla n d Observer (U S P S 959 6801 i t published every
Thursday by Exie Publishing Company, Inc.. 2201 North Killings
worth, Portland, Oregon 97217, Post Office Box 3137, Portland,
Oregon 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland. Oregon
MEMBER
C ity b u ild in g codes, (hen otters
them fo r sale to q u a lifie d p u r
chasers. To qualify for the program,
a purchaser must meet P D C ’ s in
come guidelines, be at least 18 years
old, own no real property, and have
income to make the m onthly pay
ments.
Nuclear survival a fantasy
Prostitution should be legalized
To the editor:
Five houses are now being offered
for sale through the Portland Devel
opm ent C om m ission's Recycled
Housing P rog ram , a program de
signed to make home ownership a
reality for low and moderate income
families. The houses now available
w ill be shown during open houses
on Tuesday, October 19 from 6 to 8
p.m.
Under the Recycled Housing Pro
gram , the D eveiopm ent C o m m is
sion purchases vacant and ab a n
doned houses located in the City o f
Portland, rehabilitates them to meet
Mail to: Portland Observer
Box 3137
Portland, Oregon 97208
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2832488
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Amalgamated Publishers. Inc.
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