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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 1985)
Page 4. Portland Observer, January 23, 1986 EDITORIAL/OPINION National racism must be fought As 58 pcrccnl o f I he 31 percent o f registered voters who voted placed a crown on the head of Ronald Reagan, black leaders and organizations sidelined by his politics arc shocked as Reagan criticized them fo r distorting his civil rights record. In an interview on January 17th with USA Today, Reagan said Black leaders have ignored minority gains made in the last four years. “ I have come to the conclusion that maybe some o f these leaders arc protecting some rather good positions..........and they can protect them better if they can keep their constituency agricved believing they have a legitimate co m p la in t,” Reagan said. Reagan continued his assault of black leader ship and organizations by adding, “ I f they (Blacks) ever become aware of the opportunities that are improving they might wonder whether they need some o f those organizations.” Ronald Reagan’s statements are destructive, insulting and racist. How dare he try to under mine leaders and organizations who are just tell ing the truth. His racist remarks are the after- math o f the Urban League’s annual “ State o f Black America,” which said under the Reagan Administration people o f color and low-income have had their civil, economic and social rights trampled upon. The reason Black leaders have no, dissemin ated this so-called progress which Reagan alludes to is because their constituency will not be lied to. Under the Reagan Administration, Affirm ative Action has become tokenism, the C ivil Rights Commission has become the civil wrongs com mission and the number o f Americans living below the poverty line has increased. Ronald Reagan has a lot of nerve. He is em ploying one o f the oldest tricks in the books — divide and conquer. Nationally, statewide and locally, whenever people o f color organize to make change, the institutions or individuals forced to capitulate always question the leader ship o f the movement. On the national level, Reagan’ s tactics are much more destructive to the nation as a whole. The lac, that he sidestepped Black organizations and leaders who have traditionally fought for people o f color and low-income families is an indication that he is trying to pick our leaders. Reagan incorrectly assumed that Blacks are "politically committed to the Democratic Party." This same party that locked out the legitimate candidacy o f Jesse Jackson is the same party that fought for legalized racism in the form of dual parties in the South. And this same party ran their 1984 presidential campaign as if they wanted Ronald Reagan to be re-elected. Reagan does our country a disservice by pick ing bits of information that he wants to hear and choosing the "house Negro” that he wants to hear it from . Reagan may think a ll’s well that ends well, but he is deceiving himself at taxpay ers’ expense. The powerless and the voiceless w ill no, allow anyone to pick their leaders for them. by Bill Bigelow I jest August elections were held in South Africa. Just over two months later Nicaraguans went to the polls. How the U.S. government responded to these two events tells us a lot about what is genuinely behind U.S. foreign policy. W e arc all fa m ilia r w ith Reagan, Shultz, and company’s denunciation of the Nicaraguan elections. They were a " s h a m ” , a “ p h o n y” , a l a d l e to so lid ify the iron grip o f the Sandi- nistas in then “ totalitarian dungeon.” But what of South Africa's elections? According to the State Department, these represented a move tow ard “ decisive political change.” Our lead ers quietly lamented (he exclusion of South A frica's Black m ajority from the voting, but expressed hope that the elcctons would accelerate the process o f change. What is it, really, that determines whether the U.S. responds to an elec tion in another country with congrat ulations or threats o f annihilation? Our government consistently burps out rhetoric about “ d em o cracy” . Ix t's take them at their word. What is democracy? Patricia Kullberg, in an insightful article in the November is sue o f C e n tra l A m erican U p d ate, argues that at the very least it means “ that the people have equal political power and the capacity to use it.” So cieties in which few people decide who will have work and who w on't, what crops will be grown, and what goods m a n u fac tu red , is not d em o cratic — even though the pow erful and powerless may be “ equal" when they arrive at the ballot box. Nicaragua is attacked. South A fri ca is applauded. How does the A d ministration decide? South Africa's racist social system •> MKI • i ! O re g o n N ew spaper P u b lis h e rs Asst», »ation i Letters to the Editor The Observer welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be typed or neatly printed and signed with the au th or's nam e an d address (ad dresses are not published) We re serve the right Io edit fo r length M ail to: P o rtla n d Observer, P. O Box J137. Portland. O B 9720b Editorials lack credibility To the Editor. This week in Portland, a victory was scored when the collective efforts o f many forced the resignation o f Oregon’s honorary South African consul Calvin VanPell. It will take this same col lective effort to offset the racism from the Rea gan A d m inistra tion. Reagan has surrounded himself w ith a handpicked Black leadership. As they paint him a picture o f calm acceptance of his unfair policies, the civil rights movement w ill shock him back Io reality because the ground will rumble with cries for justice. mA I J ON SOUTH AFRICA "Democratic" double standards "OK... we've gotten religion out of politic«. which leaves... two part* demagoguery one part hypocrisy, and a smidgen of hot air." is old news: over 70% of the popula tion is relegated io 13% o f the most useless land; these same people — Black South A fric an s — have no vote, cannot live where they wish and can be imprisoned simply for speak ing out against this oppression. W h a t’ s new are the recent elec tions. For the first lime, all so-called Colored and Indian South Africans were allowed to vote. The South A fri can governm ent's goal was trans parent: divide and rule. Split o ff siz able numbers of Indians and Coloreds and the potential non-white alliance would be dealt a severe blow. Sound " d e m o c ra tic " ? The U .S . State D epartm ent ate it up. I netr argument was as simple as it was wrong: more people voting — more democracy. The reality was the opposite — "successful” elections, in which C o l oreds and Indians enthusiastically em braced their newly-bestowed suffrage, would have crippled the real move ment towards democracy by giving them a stake in an undemocratic sys tem and pitting them against the ma jo r ity , extra-electo ral opposition. (As it was, over X()% of the Coloreds and Indians chose to boycott the elections rather than be co-opted.) Don't U.S. rulers see through this sham? O f course they do. They fully support this process o f democracy- avoidance. For a clue as to why, one might note that direct U.S. investment in South Africa has gone from $140 million to over $2.5 billion in the last 25 years. It's no wonder: profit rales in South Africa through most of this period were twice what they were in the United States. Continuing injus tice in South Africa doesn't hurt U.S. economic interests; it helps. I t ’ s obscene, but true: the U .S . feigns a concern fo r dem ocracy to mask its actual goal — a safe and pro fitable investment clim ate. The problem is that these two goals lend to be at cross purposes: real democra cy poses a m o rtal threat to e x p lo i tation. Unlike the restrained optimism the U.S. expressed for elections in South Africa, which excluded over 70% of the potential electorate, continuous vitriolic attacks have been heaped on Nicaragua's elections. This, despite the fact that no Nicaraguan of voting age was excluded, and political parties ol all persuasions were allowed—even encouraged— to campaign. I agree with your editorial of Janu ary 9, 19X5, that Bud Clark and G ret chen K alo u ry should be confronted with their failure to include Blacks on their staff However, I take exception to one statem ent you made which dilutes your im pact and calls into question your credibility. You slate that the failure to include Blacks on their staffs “can only prtxiuce policies that will make the Grand Wizard of the KKK proud.” Black involvement wiin policy ideas will certainly make them more sensitive to Blacks and ad- vocated more strongly. However, just because policies arc developed by while people does not mean they automatically will reflect the racism of the KKK. Pointed criticism is an important function of your paper However, im plying such a negative asstxialion for your potential or actual allies leaves very little tor those who really deserve it. B IL L M A B L O W E Credit to Carter Judge not each other To the Editor, To the Editor, I have attended eight or ten of the Joint Sessons o f the O regon State legislature. I was State Representative o f Dis trict 21 for six terms, 1963-1975. This Joint Session was the most im pressive of a ll. You were (here, I understand. That's great! Rep. M arg a re t C a rte r, D ist. 18, was the O N E person p rim a rily re sponsible for its momentous success. She and her Jo yfu l Sound chorus, with her own personal singing at times stirred everyone with contagious en thusiasm. Margaret led the whole au dience in clapping, some in singing. I notices even many of the august mem bers o f the judiciary joined in clap ping to the music, some in singing. Twice the whole audience stood and clapped with applause, longer than any other event on the program. The chorus' three numbers were beautifully rendered, highly impres sive, inovative, stirring and m agnifi cent. M argaret deserves most o f the credit. Margaret had been in office only a few minutes. She has already made a great name fo r herself. I think she will make a great lawmaker for us all. Concerning the article which ap peared in print about Brother Danny Boyd and o f Ron M a r tin , I find nothing pleasing about the gross in terpretation concerning either. What I do find grossly disturbing is that we, as convicts and brothers, have dis played what I feel this system desires: conflict and dissension am ong ouit Black-selves. I am sure that Brother M arlin has constructed avenues for Black prog ress within the system.. .I'm sure that Brother Boyd’s comments were nqt to injure but aid us in understanding what we must conquer through a transition pernxl of a group structure. To Brothers Ron M artin and Dan ny Boyd I congratulate you for gener ating dead minds to live issues, which I see as an a ffirm a tiv e approach to doing s o m e th in g . And as Brother Malcolm X has said, "W e are not to judge each other but to judge those actions put forth . He, loo, was a convict and a Black man, or have we forgotten? O r have we forgotten that all we have to m aintain in this envi ronment is our Black pride. Black m anhood. . .our Black-selves. , ,! Walk in Balance. H O W A R D D. W ILLITS MARCUS The Nicaraguan revo lution has shifted state resources to programs to benefit the m a jo rity o f the people: health clinics, literacy program s, day care centers. I and has been re distributed and workers offered new rights and encouragement. The econ omy would still have to be considered capitalist, but owners' prerogatives are limited and profit is no longer the sole criterion for production. In short, it is the investment c li mate in N icaragu a that is gloom y, not necessarily the prospects for democracy. N icaragu a, one o f the smallest, poorest, and least developed coun tries in Latin Am erica, is no big loss for U .S . capitalism . But the possi bility that bigger fish, such as FI Sal vador, Guatemala, or — God forbid — C h ile , might fo llo w its lead and take control o f their own economic destinies is a chilling thought. The U .S . government's slander of Nicaragua's elections was as inevit able as was its g lo rific a tio n o f the South African balloting. Ultimately, these decisions stem from economic consideations not from a lust for w orld w id e dem ocracy. W e should recognize the deeper roots o f U .S . policy. However incomplete and still u ndefined, the Nicaraguan experi ment challenges the dom ination o f U.S. economic control. Portland Observer | 1 The P o r tla n d ( ) h \r r v ? r f U S P S 959 680) i t pu blished every Thursday by Ewie Publishing Com pany. Inc , 2201 North Killings worth. Portland. Oregon 97217, Post OMice Bow 3137, Portland. Oregon 97208 Second class postage pael at Portland, Oregon M e s » » » t* The Portland O hwrvar was established m 1970 MEMBER S u b xcnp tion i »15 00 par » • « In the Tri C ounty area F o a l m a t t e r Send a d d re tt c h a n g e t to the P o rtla n d Observer. P O Bo« 3137 Portland. Oregon 97208 A lfre d I.. Henderson, Editor/Publisher Aitociaboo - Founded IM S A l Williams, G eneral Manager 283 2486 N a tio n a l A dvertietng R ep resentative A m a lg a m a te d Publishers Inc N a w York 'f - 'Ç r f r ‘ÂY i f • • .*» K COX
