Portland Observer, October 5. 1983 Page 5
Between accommodation and liberation
by Trevor W. Purcell
Tw o campaigns occurring among
Blacks these days should give every
responsible member o f the Black
community hope, but also cause for
concern: one is Jesse Jackson's cam
paign for president— undeclared
though it is— and the other is the
fair-share campaign by Operation
PUSH and the N A A C P to secure
agreements from major corpora
tions to give more jobs and con
tracts to Blacks at all levels. The
benefits to the Black community
(and indeed to the country as a
whole) from both efforts are indis
putable.
Jesse Jackson fever
Jackson's possible candidacy—
though not the first by a Black —
demonstrates that both psychologi
cal and material limits imposed on
Black progress for over four centur
ies in this country can be overcome
with sanguine political struggle. He
may not win the Democratic nomin
ation but there are important con
tingency goals which, if achieved,
will make his candidacy worthwhile:
Black voters will participate more
fully as a bloc, and the Democratic
candidate will be forced to pay at
tention to the collective demands of
Blacks. In effect, the groundwork is
being laid for a serious reckoning
with Black political power in the fu
ture.
Fair share e ffo rt
The fair-share effo rt w ill bear
badly needed economic fruits imme
diately, although the long-term re
wards will depend on the general po
litical direction o f the B’ack com
munity. Nevertheless, the N A A C P
has negotiated over $100 million in
fair share agreements and P U S H ,
which initiated the effo rt, has also
made significant strides. Aligned
with the fair-share effo rt is the boy
cott weapon which has been effec
tively employed by both organiza
tions. W ith an estimated $146.1 bil
lion a year spending power among
Blacks, corporations can no longer
afford to ignore the Black hand with
the green note.
But lest we allow ourselves to be
swept away by the excitement o f the
moment and the apparent glitter o f
the futue, we should pause and re
flect on some of the less obvious but
potentially troublesome aspects of
these two efforts. There is no inten
tion on my part to throw (he pro
verbial wrench into the works;
Blacks are in a historical rut and we
have a moral obligation to extricate
ourselves. The crucial question is by
what method we shall achieve our
goal. W e cannot assume the end jus
tifies the means and therefore any
means
will
do.
In
historical
processes the means have a sneaky
way o f becoming part o f the end
We must therefore define our ends
clearly and unambiguously so that
we may select the most appropriate
and dignified means.
C o m m o n struggle
Long term goals
Jackson's candidacy and the fair-
share campaign have several things
in common, but there is one particu
lar aspect I want to highlight: They
both indicate, among other things, a
willingness to struggle for Black lib
eration within the confines and ac
cording to the dictates o f the present
socio-political system. Indications
are that Blacks who enter the main
stream political arena soon discover
that possibilities for meaningful
change are limited by the constraints
within the system, become co-opted
by the social and political demands
inherent in trying to remain in o f
fice, or become shackled by a touch
o f both. A n incident involving
M arion Barry, a former 1960s civil
rights activist and current mayor o f
Washington, D .C ., is illustrative. In
a recent Public Broadcasting System
documentary a young Black journ
alist pointed out that when poor and
desolate residents o f Southeast D .C .
complained that they get little or no
attention from the mayor, Barry's
response was, "They don't vote.’ ’
The pressure to conform to the
S tre e t B eat
b y L a n it a D u k e a n d R i c h a r d B r o w n
system weighs heavily on politi
cians. Black or while. But the priori
ties o f the Black politician must be
different from those o f the uncriti
cal white. T o put it figuratively, (he
Black politician is a descendant of
the slave while the white politician is
a descendant o f the master. The
slave cannot liberate himself or her
self by conforming to the values of
the master. Granted, we are no
longer slaves but we are still op
pressed— along with other poor sec
tors o f the population Black politi
cians must therefore be more con
scious o f the plight o f the op
pressed. It is only by liberating the
oppressed that they can liberate
themselves. They must not only ful
fill the just functions of their office,
they must also struggle to reform a
society which has consistently failed
to live up to its own humanitarian
ideals.
The goals o f Blacks as well as of
the society at large, simply staled,
should be peace and freedom. These
goals must be achieved through a
just distribution o f economic re
wards regardless o f race, color or re
ligion, along with respect for other
cultures and societies, and for the
environment. W e should ponder the
question o f whether or not these
goals can be achieved by struggling
only within the confines of the pre
sent political structure. In doing so
we must never lose sight o f the un
fortunate fact that this is the same
society that is responsible for our
enslavement, that rationalized our
domination in terms o f natural in
feriority, and that is responsible for
our worsening economic position
even after the bitter civil rights
struggles o f the 1960s We must be
aware that this country covertly but
strongly supports the oppression of
South African Blacks under apart
heid, that it continues to support the
overthrow o f left-wing or liberal re
gimes dedicated to the alleviation of
oppression in Latin America and the
The success o f the Washington State
Lottery was on the minds o f the
S treet B eet team as they asked,
“ Would you favor or oppose having a
State Lottery in Oregon as a means of
raising revenue?”
Caribbean and imprudently props
up right-wing regimes that violate
human rights.
These and other glaring atrocities
are not simply the result o f freak in
dividual or institutional deeds They
have their roots in the very way the
society is structured as well as in its
injudicious desire to maintain, at all
costs, its position o f dominance
over the rest o f the world. A simple
change of leadership will not change
the nature of (his society.
A w ssom s
raaponalbility
We as Blacks must ask ourselves
whether our salvation lies in simply
getting a piece o f the American pie
or in recognizing that the recipe is
not so good in the first place since
one o f its essential ingredients is the
oppression o f one group for the
benefit of another. This country has
built its highly flaunted "lib e rty ”
on the blood o f Native Americans
and the sweat o f Africans.
Such considerations suggest that
the responsibility in the hands o f a
Black leader— Jackson or any other
— would
be
awesome.
W ould
he/shc be allowed to put together a
government which balances the de
mands of big business with the
growing desires o f the worker to
have a greater share in decision
making at the workplace? W ould
he/she be permitted to create an
economic atmosphere wherein a job
is a human right? W ould the hawks
in the society countenance the dis
continuation of American militar
ism abroad by a Black president, or
would such discontinuation be
viewed as a threat to the "lib e rty "
o f (he mainstream? W ould a Black
president be allowed to restore to
Native Americans the land and dig
nity taken from them with such
brutality? Finally, would a Black
president be effective in convincing
Americans to consume less if we are
not to deplete (he earth's natural re
sources and thereby hasten the ter
mination o f life on this planet?
$146.1 billion is far more than the
Gross National Product o f most
Third W orld countries It is up to us
to decide whether we want to use
such leverage simply to gain a piece
of an already infected pie or whe
ther we might channel our efforts
toward developing our own pie. We
may not want to reject American so
ciety; we are part of it. But we
should recognize its inherent short
comings and not depend on it for
our salvation unless we are prepared
to effect deep changes. W e should
not seek a piece o f America simply
because our oppressor controls it.
By doing so we allow him to define
the terms o f our self-worth and the
conditions of our liberation. It
might do us well to remember that
during the colonial period there
were a few Blacks who, when they
got the opportunity, owned other
Blacks as slaves. They thought they
had arrived. We must choose be
tween accommodation and libera
tion.
DR. BRADY’S
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
FOR SAVING TEETH
FOR FAMILY DENTISTRY AT
LOWER COSTS
“SAVING TEETH 1983“
HIGH QUALITY PORCELAIN CROWNS A BRIDGES
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PHONE IN FOR A FREE ESTIMATE
REPLACE YOUR MISSING OR DECAYED TEETH WiTH PERMANENT CAPS
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& OTHER ANESTHETICS BY REGISTERED ANESTHETIST
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COME IN FOR A FREE ESTIMATE
Complete Cooperation on ALL DENTAL INSURANCE PLANS
OPEN SATURDAYS
NO ADVANCE APPOINTMENT NECESSARY
•
Hour«: W e e k d a y s 8 3 0 am to 5pm . S atu rd ay 8 30am to 1pm
Park F re e — Any Perk n Shop Lot
DR. JEFFREY BRADY, DENTIST
SEMLER BLDG.
S W 3rd A Yam hill
Downtown-PORTLAND
SALEM
110' i Commercial N E
SB1 8699
228-7545
The Oregon Transportation Commission
wants your opinion
about
highway improvements and
repairs planned for this area.
Attend a public meeting on the Six-Year
Highway Improvement Program
Location: Multnomah County
Tim e: 7:30 p.m .
Floretta Davldaon
Housewife
Dan Bauar
Driver
fa v o r! I live in Washington
and it gives the people a chance
to win some money or get some
o f their money back.
I favor a lottery in Oregon. I
want people to be able to make
some money. You have got to
spend-money to make money.
D ata: Tuesday, October 11
George Portwood
Maintenance
Address: Multnomah County Sheriff's Bldg.
Auditorium
12240 N.E. Glisan
Portland, OR
I would oppose having one in
Oregon. I feel the m ajority o f
people who buy tickets can’t a f
ford them. There is a big " I f ”
either way. I w ouldn’ t want to
see a lottery in Oregon.
Phone: 653 3090
• Hear a report on the condition of the state highway
system.
4
Leern whet improvement projects are scheduled for
your erea.
•
Tell tranapo'tation officials what projects you think
ere most important.
A copy of the Preliminary Six-Year Highway Improvement
Program la available from the Department of Tranaportation.
Unde Tucker
Housewife
DeAnn Kamiah
Billing Clerk
fa v o r— for the fun o f it. And
| people who can't afford to play
shouldn't even buy the tickets.
Favor! I think it is a good
idea. People are going to
gamble anyway so you might as
well have the money going for a
good cause.
104 Tranaportation Building, Salam, Oregon 9 7 3 1 0 .
For Information Phone...
Jackie Files
Student
I would love to have a lottery
in Oregon. It gives you a chance
o f having something new, I
think Washington has benefited
so why not Oregon?