* • jt
,«î « ; -fc —»
Page 2 Portland Observer, December 14, 1963
ED1TORIAL/OPINION
Love real kids not cabbage kids
Twenty million children die before they reach
the age o f four years. Millions more are stunted
physically and mentally and can never hope to
reach their potential. Millions are continuously
hungry, lack medical care, have no homes and
will never be educated. While his horrible situa
tion exists— and is becoming worse— in many
parts o f the world American adults are going
crazy over “ Cabbage Kids.”
A ll over the country and even in Britain,
adults are hysterical over the dolls— spending
enormous amounts of time and money trying to
acquire one.
The 18-inch one-of-a-king dolls come with
"adoption papers” and a parenting booklet.
The Cabbage Kid might have its own “ personal
ity” but it is still just a toy.
We must wonder what is happening to the
American people, who will go to any means to
obtain a doll to love, while millions o f children
are starving and while millions are homeless.
Yes, it does take more commitment and love to
raise a child. He can’t be locked in a drawer or
thrown in the garbage can when a better toy
comes along.
But those who are looking so desperately for
something to love would find that a child can re
turn that love. And for those who can’t adopt a
child, there are many helping organizations that
could use money or volunteer help.
Nixon henchman on the loose
Henry Kissinger is bursting on the scene again
— being drug out of hiding by President Ronald
Reagan.
His glamour was somewhat tarnished when he
was found to be deeply involved in Nixon’s
crimes and he slipped out of sight for a while.
It is rumored that Kissinger is being primed to
take over as Secretary of State during Reagan’s
second term. Reagan recalled his great expertise
in foreign policy— which included his complicity
in the violent overthrow of Salvador Allende
and Allende’s murder— when he sent him on a
oi, mo / - j&se jMdsow is E eailv
6aw6 To rum Foe msioewr
“ fact rinding” mission to Central America.
That the people of the U.S. should ever be ex
pected to believe anything Kissinger says about
Central America is simply amazing.
Then we saw him on A B C -T V , following
“ The Day A fter," advocating the “ limited nu
clear war” theory that the entire world rejects as
suicidal.
The sight of Henry Kissinger, so frequently on
T V and considering his sordid past, points out
even more how crucial it is that Reagan be de
feated next November.
< ASKtD HM MOT
TÓ DO IT BECAUSE
tuic
TWS
COULD-
r n tii
lack children scrooged again
During
holiday
seasons our
thought* frequently center on chil
dren and the special joy we want
them to share. Thousands o f Black
children attending Portland Public
Schools will find little joy in their
future seasons because they will not
have been taught necessary skills to
meet the challenges o f an increasing
ly technological world. A t the ripe
old age o f ten these children are a l
ready two or three grades behind
white children. Their adult lives are
almost guaranteed to be Tilled with
suffering and abject poverty. Future
seasons contain prospects o f low-
paying jobs if any, welfare, little if
any health care, the penitentiary and
an early death. Portland Public
Schools could help Black children
avoid this horror; it is the institution
capable o f providing children with
the academic and technical tools
which could enable them to lead
productive lives. Unfortunately the
school system is not doing this, only
making excuses for their failure.
For those who faithfully embrace
the racist notion that poor Black
children can't learn, please read the
countless reports written by D r. Asa
H illiard , chief desegregation con
sultant to Portland Public Schools
for the past four years. He has pro
vided documentation o f public
schools all across the country in
which Black students are perform
ing at grade level and above. Dean
Derrick Bell and other eminent edu
cators have also made reference to
these schools. In spite o f this evi
dence, far too many administrators,
principals and teachers in Portland
THIS COULD
Letters to the Editor
White for
Jesse Jackson
Miss America
misses boat
To the editor:
To the editor:
I f I have the opportunity, I'm
going to vote for Jesse Jackson. I
am old, white, widowed— a member
o f a minority that is probably the
most disadvantaged in the country.
I am a retired union member, and
during my early years I believed that
labor would lead the way to eco
nomic and social justice. But labor,
through years of prosperity, seems
to have forgotten its roots. I'm pre
sently convinced that Black people
ore the only ones to have the guts
and the gumption to challenge the
wimps and Strangeloves that dom i
nate the two old parties.
I f Blacks, politically aware w om
en, Chicanos and other minorities
should united behind Jackson, and
even if he didn't win, we could at
least scare the hell out o f that old
crowd o f bunglers, and probably
make them change for the better.
I have read the Portland Observer
for many years, and have always
found your newspaper to be an in
formational source of personal and
professional current events, in and
outside our Black community. The
importance o f having a newspaper
in the community is unquestionable.
Recently I read an article— in your
Nov. 23, 1983 issue, in the Observa
tions section, (subtitled "F ro m the
Sidelines")— that I was disappoint
ed in. After reading the article I was
confused about whom the article
was reporting on. Was the article
reporting on the first Black Miss
America or was it an advertisement?
Being a native o f Portland, over
the years I ’ve read o f and seen many
positive actions we can attribute to
the prominent family o f the late L u
cius W illiams. I would have been
proud to read about Ms. B.J. (W il-
liams) Thompsons' future business
ventures in a separate article but cer
tainly not upstaging a historical
event such as the visit of Miss Am er
ica to Portland, Oregon.
Being a parent o f three teenage
children in our current economic
status, I would have enjoyed read
ing a little more about the young
Miss America and to what experi
ences she attributes her success.
M ore detail on her background, and
her future goals, would have been
nice. I think we missed an opportun
ity to give something more positive
in negative times to our young peo
ple.
Jacqueline M . King
The Observer welcomes Letters to
the Editor. Letters should be short,
and must contain the writer's name
and address !addresses are not print
ed). The Observer reserves the right
to edit f o r length.
M ay B. Du Bins
—-
■ ■ lO 'P iJ ii"
^ H Ne«s .| iin"
Pulii.
U m
H
K
iH
Portland Observer
T h . P n rtla n d O bserver IU S P S 959 M O I is published *»•> »
Tbuisdav by f .»a Publishing Company, Inc 2201 N inth Killings
worth, Portland Oregon 9721 7 Post Ottice B o . 3137 Portland
Oregon 97208 Second class postage iia.d at Portland Oregon
Grenada
(Continued from page I column 6)
Since the Monroe Doctrine of
1823 and the U .S. victory in the
Spanish American W ar in 1898, the
trend has been for the U.S. to step
into the shoes o f Spain, England
and France as the colonial power in
the Caribbean. Between 1898 and
1965, he said, the U .S. intervened 34
times in Central America and the
Caribbean to “ restore order,” stay
ing as long as 18 years in the case of
Nicaragua in the early part o f this
century. The process involved set
ting up rulers from those countries
sympathetic to U .S. imperial inter
ests, hence leaders like Tom Adams,
Eugenia Charles, Eric G airy and
Anastasio Somoza.
The Grenada invasion constitutes
the first incursion of the U.S. into a
this struggle. I want you to know
that I have rolled my sleeves up. I
am ready to work with you. We are
all in this together. Black people
suffer together, wherever we may
be. Our destiny lies in our hands.
O ur survival, our freedom, our lib
eration is in our hands. Together we
can succeed.
You are all attractive to me. You
arc all wonderful. But we have work
to do. The future o f oui children in
education, the future o f our youth
in employment, we all must come
together to find solution to these
problems to ensure the future is a
bright one It is an African saying
that the future belongs to the chil
dren and that we must prepare them
for what lies ahead. I do not want to
sound paternalistic. This is from the
bottom of my heart— that you are
all good people. I am glad to be part
o f you. We must work together. It
does not mean we are not going to
disagree hut
our disagreement
should not divide us but rather be an
incentive to bring us to a closer
understanding o f one another.
Unity is a must.
Thank you very much.
former British colony, Purcell ob
served, and could be a model for
things to come as the U .S . tries to
step into England's colonial role
Repression and the U.S. might
make it likely that revolution is not
imminent in countries like Jamaica
and H a iti, however, said Purcell.
The conditions are there, he said,
but the leadership is not. So what do
energetic young people do? “ These
countries have never really belonged
to us, so we leave," said Purcell.
And many, like Purcell himself,
come to the U .S.
Purcell migrated to the U.S. in
1968 at age 20 after a childhood of
extreme poverty in an agricultural
area of Jamaica. Tw o years spent in
the U .S .
A rm y, including
13
months in Korea, "was an extreme
ly good education for m e,” he said.
" I t was in the army that I learned
about American racism. I started
reading about history, racism, and
so o n .”
After the army Purcell entered
Brooklyn College and eventually
earned a Ph D. in anthropology
from Johns Hopkins University.
His odyssey, leading from impover
ished Jamaica to his job as one of
two Black professors at Reed, has
not been without stress, he said.
Being a Black instructor teaching
Third W orld subjects in a predom
inantly white college with a curricu
lum "biased toward western Eu
rope" has left him feeling alienated.
"Since I come from a poor back
ground, I don't want to appear like
I'm educating the elite . . . I am
someone who cannot separate my
academic and my political life. M y
anthropology must have relevance
to the people."
I
P " " " " o r Hand Tlarhes^daiT-ownl’Tnewspaper.
S News fo r
Subscribe today! I
Yaa. I w o u ld Ilk a a aubacription
to th a Portland Observer.
and about
I have enclosed my check or
money order for 1,5. for a
one-year aubacription.
sal • * • • • « •
!you^
283 2486
|
!
B o . 3137, Portland Oregon 97208
A lfre d i. Henderson. Edilor/Publisher
A l Williams. Advertising Manager
Association - founded 7885
I have been in Portland for about
six months with my wife and kids
and I want to thank most o f my
Black brothers and sisters who have
received us so well. When these
people knew that I was in need of a
job, there was a great pronounce
ment to the community leaders.
These people rallied around me to
see that I found a job as soon as
possible. I want to thank Commis-
siner Jordan and his wonderful
staff, George Rankin o f Urban
League, Commmissioner McCoy,
Ronnie Herndon o f the Black
United Front, and Shirley M inor o f
City H all's A ffirm ative Action o f
fice. M any o f you that I did not
mention have spoken to me to show
me the corners to cut and the Baro
metric changes to be aware of, to
the extent that you educated me so
well that within a short time I be
came a Portlander.
Although I felt a great sense of
unity on my behalf I have not seen
that unity in facing the problems of
the Black community in Portland.
As a Hum an Relations Specialist for
the M etropolitan Human Relations
Commission, I have had the expo
sure to the low achievement ratings
o f the Black children in the school
systems. It is very sad and discour
aging as is the high rate o f unem
ployment among Black youth. All
these things have become o f great
concern to me.
I am a Nigerian by birth but have
spent my adult life in America. I
specialize in Black affairs and Black
political systems. But if one were to
look at all the Black communities all
over the world, credit must be given
to the Black Americans. They have
been struggling for the last 200
years. They have a sense o f purpose
and a sense o f direction. I f one were
to have watched CBS' 60 Minutes
program on Nigeria, West Africa,
on Sunday, November 27th, 1983,
one would have sensed the hopeless
ness o f over 100 million people, a
nation with tremendous potential,
both in manpower and natural re
sources. Ghana is another tragedy.
Zaire is in a state o f despair. One
can fel that the Grenadians have be
come a subdued people.
I am appealing to all o f you that I
am your brother here to join you in
I PORTLAND OBSERVER
The Portland Observer was established m 1970
Subscriptions 115 00 per year m the Tri County area Post
m aster Send address changes to the Portland Observer P 0
MEMBER
room.
T o make matters worse, princi
pals recently received a memo from
administration stating. "Principals
are not directly accountable for the
achievement o f their students-----
[Principals! should not and will not
be evaluated directly on the basis of
their building's achievement test
score levels or gains." The memo
further states that teachers are not
responsible for the achievement of
their students and will not be evalu
ated directly on the basis o f their
class's achievement test score levels
or gains. Like modern-day versions
o f Pontius Pilot, all have washed
their hands o f low-scoring Black
children. Contrast all o f this with
various School Board policy state
ments about quality education being
available for all children. “ Three
card molly” at its best.
It is clear— Black parents, organi
zations and concerned citizens must
step forward now; if we don’ t,
Black children by the thousands will
be continually sacrificed on the twin
altars o f gradualism and political
expediency.
An appeal to the Black community
by Dr. D apo Sobomehin
TMlS COULD...
perately in need o f help. D r. H il
liard's recommended math program
guarantees a minimum o f two grade
levels o f gain for each year of in
struction as well as teaching algebra
and geometry. Dallas. Texas, has
tried it and is so pleased it is now
moving to expand the program sys
tem-wide.
Portland principals and teachers
have not been taught how to imple
ment programs and strategies that
can reverse this case o f pervasive
child abuse and neglect. “ Do your
own thing," reigns supreme from
school to school, classroom to class
still spout this nonsense about "so
cioeconomic m ake-up" being re
sponsible for Black children's poor
academic performance As one dis
tinguished educator so aptly ob
served, "Schools’ response to fam
ily background is the principal de
terminant o f pupil performance
Schools teach those they think they
must, and when they think they
needn't, they don’t . "
D r. H illiard recently referred to
the November 28. 1983 San Francis
co Chronicle report that the average
eighth-grader in Sausalito, C alifo rn
ia public schools reads at the elev
enth-grade level. This school system
is 42 percent Black, most of whom
are poor. This success could be rep
licated in Portland. Failure to do so
again validates Dr. Kenneth Clark's
analysis that, "These children are
perceived and treated as if they were
uneducable. From earliest grades
they are programmed for failure."
Correcting this shameful situation
is not a priority for Portland Public
Schools. I f the majority o f while
children in Portland's schools per
formed below grade level, it would
be viewed as a crisis and concrete
steps would be taken immediately.
Portland Public Schools has no
systematic approach to free Black
children fro m this educational out
house. In spite o f Dr. H illiard's re
peated recommendations o f math
and reading programs proven effec
tive in other cities, Portland has
adopted none o f them; however, the
same local educators who have
failed to educated Black children
claim to have programs as effective
as H illiard's. Not only is this un
proven, but even those so- called e f
fective local programs have not been
systematically placed in schools des
by Bon Herndon
Co-chair. Bloch United Front
N atio n a l A dvertising R ep resentative
A m a lg a m a te d Publishers Inc
N e w York
■
"
|
PLEASE PRINT
Mail to Portland Observer
Box3t37
Portland Orwoon 97200
N a m e ------------------------------------------------
A d d res s _________________________
C ity___________________ State
Z i p _______
»■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
» . •• , * * f * ' * • ’
•
- '
X** ri* >
• «'
“ 4
'
,
ir
■
âC“ «V aT*- >4
«. **
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
J
sz-
*rt
'.A
J
’
*
»