Page 4, Portland Observer, November 21, 1984
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Demand affirmative action now
W ith the passage o f the C itizens U tility
Board and a State-run lottery, Governor Vic
Atiyeh has his hands full considering a smor
gasbord o f proposals and applications from
well-meaning groups and individuals.
Overtures from the Northeast community,
people o f color and the rainbow political appa
ratus need to be heard, represented and incor
porated if Oregon is to remain true to the tune
of “ liberty and justice for a ll.”
The inner city and the rainbow constituency
have been ignored for decades by legislators
and Senators in Salem, the fact that aid to two-
parent families was cut and the elimination of
supplem ental funds to pregnant mothers
should send a signal to the Rainbow Coalition
that there are people in policy-making posi
tions who are insensitive to the needs o f low-
income families, single mothers and people o f
color.
This is not the time to let other people speak
for you. The catch word and key response is to
monitor, monitor and monitor again. An elec
tion year is always around the corner and it’s
tim e to m ake our representatives earn our
votes.
The inner city resident, single mothers and
people o f color constituencies must not allow
any politician, board or commission to take
our input for granted. We must demand A f
firm a tive A ction in board and commission
placements. These boards and commissions
must do the necessary outreach to silence, once
and for all, the cop-out, "W e can’ t find any
qualified women or minorities.”
I f this perspective is not adhered to, what
ever plans, boards and commissions are
formed will be incomplete. Sooner or later the
elitist, narrow policies resulting from exclusion
will be in direct conflict with the aspirations of
the inner city and the rainbow com m unity.
The boards, commissions and plans will even
tually be altered to incorporate a fairer per
spective.
Save time and money by getting involved
now. Demand a scat on the Citizens U tility
Board, the Lottery Commission and any and
all others. Lobby, write and call the Office of
C itizen Representatives, 160 State O ffic e
Building, Salem Oregon 97310, 1-378-4582.
Don’ t let others speak for you, because they
may sing or represent a different tune.
People lose with Reagan C ourt
Along the Color Line by Dr. Manning Marable
Two-thirds of the white American
electorate endorsed the politics o f
reaction and racial in eq u ality by
reelecting President Reagan. Now
millions o f us who understood what
was at stake — Blacks. L atin o s,
Jewish Americans, low income fam
ilies, and unemployed people — will
be forced to pay the price of the po
litical recklessness o f the electoral
majority.
on stiff penalties for the taking of
hostages, airline sabotage, and pro
vides cash rewards for inform ation
leading to the arrest and convic
tion of individuals who commit ter
rorist acts. In practice, the new law
permitted four hundred FBI agents
and police to arrest nine New York
City activists on October 18, on the
grounds (hat they were planning jail
breakouts and robberies. On the leg
islative horizon is H R 56I3/S 2626,
which failed to pass but will be re
introduced fo r debate next year.
The b ill permits the Secretary o f
State to classify any foreign gov
ernments as “ terrorist"; once in ef
fect, any p o litic a l support, fu n d
raising activity or related efforts in
side the U .S . on b ehalf o f these
states could be considered violations
of criminal law. One legal expert has
described the b ill as a threat to
"freedom of speech and of associa
tion, (by) defining support for na
tional liberation movements and so
cialist countries as criminal.” Mean
while, Reagan continues to violate
U.S. Laws by funding anticommun
ist terrorists, sanctioning contra
m ilitary actions in Nicaragua, and
supports the terroristic policies o f
apartheid South Africa.
The features o f the coming po
litic a l m aelstrom are already dis
cernible. Joan Clay brook, head of
the civic advocacy group. Public
C itizen, noted recently in the New
York Times that the Reagan admin
istration's record on civil liberties is
“ the worst in modern times. Reagan
has endorsed lie detectors, w ire
tapping, blacklisting and censor
ing.** Coretta Scott King and other
liberals have been barred from
speaking on the Voice o f America.
Reagan has restricted A m ericans’
rights to travel to various nations,
and has pro hib ited many foreign
critics from entering the U.S. Next,
the President will attempt to under
mine citizens* rights by weakening
the Freedom o f In fo rm a tio n A ct.
To suppress public information and
discussion, C layb ro o k notes, the
administration “ wants to eliminate
the fairness doctrine, which permits
people to talk back to television and
radio programs transmitted over the
public airwaves.” Reagan slashed
federal aid to libraries, and favored
postal rate hikes fo r n o n p ro fit
groups. His press conferences are
manipulated to limit direct contact,
and “ further isolate him from pub
lic accountability.”
To m uffle the voices o f the left,
Reagan signed into law a series o f
“ anti-terrorism bills” on October
12. In theory, the legislation focuses
The most serious challenge to our
c ivil liberties and human rights,
however, is presented by Reagan’s
expected selections to the Supreme
Court. Five o f the justices are 75 or
older, including the three most lib
eral justices. Recent decisions o f
the C o u rt have already voided
Fourth Amendment rights to pris
oners, and allowed police to circum
vent the “ exclusionary ru le ” in
the collection o f court evidence in
the “ Massachusetts vs. Sheppard”
case. The Court's endorsement for
"last hired, first fired” employment
rules will weaken affirm ative action
and equal opportunity programs,
as well as increase minority and fe
male joblessness. With the addition
o f three or four more Reagan ap
pointees over the next few years,
abortion rights could be outlawed,
and the cause o f racial desegrega
tion could be crippled for a genera
tion. Even moderate Republicans
have recognized the ominous threat
to justice. Justice John Stevens, a
Ford appointee, recently described
the conservative Court members as
having replaced “ judicial analysis
with their own political agenda.”
Justice H a rry Blackmun more ac
curately noted that the Supreme
C ou rt was “ moving to the right,
where it wants to go___ by hook or
by crook."
The bottom line of Reagan's state
o f siege can be reduced to a single
word: inequality. Reagan pushed
through a $4 5 billion bailout for
(he grossly mismanaged Continental
Illinois bank, yet plans to cut one-
half million participants o ff the fed
eral nutrition program for women,
infants and children, the adminis
tration's tax cuts gave households
with over $80,000 annual income a
$35 billion after taxes, while more
than 35 m illio n Am ericans have
been out o f work at some point
since 1981. Four more years w ill
mean higher infant m ortality rates
for the poor, a reduction in civil
liberties, and a Supreme C ourt
which could perpetuate Reaganism
easily beyond the year 2000. As
Reagan gloated last m onth, “ You
ain't seen nothing yet.”
Dr. Manning Marable leaches po
litical sociology at Colgate Univer
sity. Hamilton, New York. "Along
the Color L in e '' appears in over 140
newspapers internationally.
Portland Observer
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i
ON SOUTH AFRICA
r
by Marcus Cheatham
Three men o f color have been
living in the British consulate in
D urban, South A fric a since mid-
September. They are there seeking
assylum from their government
which has issued detention orders
for them. The orders were issued be
cause the three are opposed to
apartheid. South Africa's racist so
cial and economic system. In South
Africa, anyone who advocates such
change is labelled a “ com m unist"
under the notorious Suppression of
Com munism Act and is liable to
punishment that includes the
death penalty Among the men in
the consulate is Archie Gumede, a
widely respected president o f the
United Democratic Front (U D F ), a
coalition of organizations formed to
oppose elections held in September
front which Africans were complete
ly barred.
The men in the consulate have
good reason to fear detention. For
mer detainees with scars and marks
to prove it report that torture is
commonplace in interrogation cen
ters such as the infamous John Vor-
ster Square station. Amnesty In
ternational says, “ All evidence indi
cates that torture is extensively in
flicted on p olitical detainees and
the Government sanctions its use."
Deaths in detention arc frequent
and many go unreported. Often the
death of a detainee is called a “ sui
c id e ,” as when a young teacher,
Ahmed Timol, was said to have lepl
from an escape-proof tenth story
room which had bars on the w in
dows. At other times the deaths arc
investigated. When Steve Biko,
leader of the Black Consciousness
Movement was killed in prison in
1977 an inquest was held. But be
fore it had even started two a tto r
neys general said that no crim inal
proceeding would be instituted no
matter what the result. In fact, de
spite clear evidence that Biko had
been beaten to death by his interro
gators no one was charged with
his murder.
People o f all races have died in
custody in South Africa. As long as
the victims were people o f color
white South Africans were relatively
unconcerned w ith prison co n d i
tions. But the 1982 death o f Neil
Agate, a lawyer who defended A f
rican trade unionists, called a “ sui
cide,” showed that white skin is no
guarantee of safety.
The men in the consulate are not
the only ones in trouble with the law
in South A fric a . In September a
wave o f protests against the elec
tions, corrupt local governm ent,
in fe rio r education fo r A fricans,
and political detentions broke over
the country. D em onstrations,
blockades, and rioting paralyzed
many of the impoverished African
townships. T o restore order, the
arm y occupied the townships, lit
erally searching and checking on
every single person and handing out
colored stickers to those "cleared.”
Now a nationwide strike has been
called to demand that the arm y
leave the townships. As a result,
thousands o f people have been a r
rested. M any have been charged
with no crimes. Indeed they have
committed none. A battery of laws
such as the Terrorism Act and the
Internal Security Act allow the au
thorities to arrest anyone on the
flimsiest of pretexts, to hold them
indefinitely without charges, and to
deny them access to legal represen
tation or any communication with
the outside world. The number of
political detainees in South A frica
is now around six hundred. That
figure does not include other hun-
dreds held for political reasons but
charged with non-political crimes,
or thousands arrested under laws
that are blatantly racist.
Archie Gumede was originally de
tained with dozens of other oppon
ents o f the government in Septem
ber when the government tried to
squash protests against the elec
tions. He was subsequently re
leased by a judge, only to be slapped
with another detention order. He
fled underground, emerging in the
British consulate w ith five other
men. They asked for political asy
lum in Breat B rita in , which was
denied, but they were allowed to
remain in the consulate. They then
turned to the U nited States fo r
help, but under “ constructive en
gagement" the Reagan administra
tions' foreign policy toward South
A frica, actions which may alienate
the South African government are
being avoided and asylum was de
nied. Last month, while the six were
awaiting the result o f a legal chal
lenge to their detention order, three
o f them decided to leave (he con
sulate. They were immediately de
tained and their fate is unknown —
a grim lesson to Gumede and his
two companions. As these men
struggle to remain free despite an
indifferent world reaction, now is
the time for us to focus our atten
tion on the fate of all political pris
oners in South Africa.
Marcus Cheatham is a member o f
Portlanders Organized fo r Southern
African Freedom fPOSAF), a local
m u lti-racial citizens action group
that supports black majority rule in
Southern Africa and an end to U. S.
support f o r apartheid. F o r more
information, call 230-9427.
Letter^ to the Editor*
Save lives
ings, not only during this week but
throughout the year.
V IC TO R A T IY E H
Governor
To the Editor,
Operation Lifcsaver is an ongoing
safety program to educate the popu
lace o f the potential hazards that
may occur at rail-highw ay cross
ings, and the program has been
implemented in 41 states throughout
the nation.
The Oregon railroads, in cooper
ation with state agencies, tra ffic
safety, railro ad transp o rtatio n,
engineering, insurance and police
organizations, have undertaken the
development and implementation of
this program in the State of Oregon.
There have been unnecessary fa
talities at rail-highway crossings in
Oregon during recent years, as well
as numerous accidents and in ju
ries at these crossings. Through
education, engineering and enforce
ment, this program w ill bring a
greater awareness to all our c iti
zens o f the need for rail-highw ay
safety.
Therefore, as Governor, I hereby
proclaim the week o f Novem ber
18-24, 1984, as "O p e ra tio n L ife -
saver Week ” in Oregon.
I call upon our citizens to exer
cise extreme caution when a p
proaching railroad-highway cross-
No democracy
To the Editor,
Brother Jesse believed the dictum
o f Empedocles, “ Similia similibus
p e rc ip iu m tu r,” must be supple
mented by a second dictum, “ Simi
lia D issim ilib u s.” A ll things are
alike in being objects. But knowing
is distinguishing, and there must be
contrast between objects to awaken
our attention. The Supreme A rchi
tect o f the Universe (G od ) knows
sin, though it is the antithesis of his
holy being. The ego knows the non
ego. We cannot know even self,
without objectifying it, distinguish
ing it from its thoughts, and re
garding it as another. In dealing
with humans, we should rem em
ber what Hermann Lotz said: “ C ol
or in general is not representable by
any image; it looks neither green nor
red, but has no look whatever. So
one could say, the generic horse
has no particular color though the
in d ivid ual horse may be Black,
White, or Bay. God is not necessar
ily in fin ite in every respect. He is
in fin ite only in every excellence.
Brother Jesse opened up the deca
dent, abnormal cellular growth in
the political process in this country,
to let the world see though America
claims to be a democracy, she's as
far away from a democracy as Rus
sia. This is not a democracy. It has
never been. It may evolve to be that
one day, only when there is an en
lightened electorate.
I'm not a politician, but I know
that America is not a democracy. I
know that America does not work
for the masses o f the people. Black
or Caucasoid. I know that America
is set up to work for the aristocracy
and a class that makes laws to pro
tect their wealth. I'm under no il
lusions whatsoever. I'v e watched
the games that people play. I'm sick
o f game playing, and those who
play games with the aspiration o f
the people.
D R J A M IL C H E R O V E E
The Observer welcomes letters to
the editor. Letters should be typed
or neatly printed and signed with the
a u th o r’s name and address fad-
dresses are not published). We re
serve the righ t to ed it f o r length.
M a il to: P ortlan d Observer, P. O.
Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208.