Page 2. Portland Observer, February 27, 1965
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District should use community
As the Desegregation M o n ito rin g and A d
visory Com m ittee (D eM ac) makes its quarterly
report to the school board, we are rem inded
that the inequalities, discrepancies and in e ffi
ciencies which faced children o f color in the
Portland public Schools 15 years ago still exist.
But the crack o f an open door that forced a halt
to an educational policy that penalized Black
children may be the district's saving grace.
the previous adm inistration. The com m unity
asked the district to dismantle the “ Schools o f
the 70s** plan and the district delegated this task
to the people who advocated the elimination o f
upper grades and the scattering o f Black chil
dren with a punitive bussing program . These
elements were tradem arks o f the “ Schools o f
the 70s” plan.
D eM ac sited the disproportion in the n u m
ber o f Black students receiving a m odified d i
plom a, being suspended from school and the
pattern o f low achievement in Early Childhood
E d u catio n al Centers in N o rth and Northeast
Portland. W e see a ray o f hope in this presenta
tion and in the soon to be implemented African-
American curriculum.
The residual damage fro m this plan con
tributes to the disp ro p o rtio n ate num ber o f
Blacks in the crim in al justice system, on the
unemployment rolls and on public assistance.
The disappointing small num ber o f Black
certified teachers and adm inistrators at Early
Childhood Educational Centers is the aftermath
of past and present poor recruitment by the Dis
trict’s personnel office. The problems contin
uing to plague Black children result fro m the
continued employment o f archaic policies and
the individuals who created them.
The architects o f the African-A m erican cur
riculum were not the district's employees, but
local consultants with a wide range of expertise.
Also, the talents o f the nation were tapped to
educate an institution in the most effective way
to teach children o f color. Another example o f
citizen outreach is the H O S T program where
citizens are asked to spend 30 minutes a week
helping a child to read. Both items o f success
were b u ilt upon citizen p articip atio n and re
sources.
One reason for the current inequalities in the
school system is that the designers o f the p ro
grams which perpetrate these disproportions are
still operating with the authority they enjoyed in
The district should undergo some self-analysis
and consider re-structuring its staff. One solu
tion that demands immediate consideration is
the successful utilization o f community and out
side resources to tackle the district's structural
limitations. There is nothing wrong in admitting
that you need help. W ith a declining tax base
and questionable results from the current struc
ture the district might better serve our children
if they solicit, incorporate and fund the com
munity and outside resources to serve the District.
ON SOUTH AFRICA
Tina Turner
condemns
So. Africa
Unify in Action has received a copy
of a letter o f agreement from singer
Tina Turner pledging that she will not
p erfo rm again in A p a rth e id South
A fric a “ w hile the present circ u m
stances there p rev ail.” W e welcome
Ms. Turner's promise to honor United
Nations cultural sanctions.
This agreement was preceded by a
succession o f expanding protest dem
onstrations against the singer's con
certs in many cities including New
Y o rk , T o ro n to , and Los Angeles.
Unity in Action gratelully acknowledges
other activist p ro -lib eratio n forces
whose concerted, very visible, and
embarassing protests and confronta
tions with Tina Turner were the major
effort which brought about this vic
tory — rather than anyone's co n
structive engagement.
Immediately prior to receiving the
copy o f Tina Turner's letter Unity in
Action had notified the Roger Davies
Managem ent Firm o f its determ ina
tion to picket her presence at the
February 26 G ram m y Awards cere
mony at Los Angeles' Shrine A u d i
torium. This would have been in keep
ing with the action o f last July when
T u rn e r perfo rm ed at the F orum .
W h ile she was not a target o f the
G ram m y d em o n stra tio n , u n fo r
tunately Ms. Turner’s statement did
not come in time to prevent Unity in
Action's bringing pressure against the
N A C P 's Image Awards program in
December As a result, all three Turn
er nom inations for “ Best Female
A r tis t," “ Best Song o f the Y e a r,"
and "Best Album o f the Year" were
withdrawn.
A spokesperson for Unity in Action
stated, “ A lth o u g h her prom ise is
welcomed and accepted, it is regret
table that Ms. Turner was so badly in
form ed as to South A fric a 's reality
that her letter referred to “ South
Africa” and the so-called "Republic”
of Bophutatswana as separate coun
tries. O nly the fascist South African
government recognizes the false " in
dependence" o f this forced resettle
ment area where Black South A f r i
cans, stripped o f their birthright by
law, are dum ped as denationalized
and disenfranchised aliens.
" I t should be noted that undoubt
edly Ms. Turner, as with other Black
persons who enter South A frica, i.e.
Jesse Jackson, did so under the con
dition that she renounce her African
(Black) identity and submitted to the
o ffic ia l ap artheid designation o f
"honorary white."
Tina Turner's letter o f January 15
signals a m a jo r b reakth ro ug h fo r
local and n ation al an ti-ap arth eid
forces who are continuing the cam
paign here to keep U .S . artists and
athletes out o f South Africa.
The Cultural Boycott barring artis
tic collaboration with the racist apart
heid state is part o f United Nations
and O rg an izatio n o f A fric a n U n ity
imposed sanctions intended to iso
late the inhuman regime. The U .N .
has termed South A fr ic a ’ s system
o f forced racial separation and o p
pression “ a crime against humanity.”
Who profits from apartheid?
Street
eat
The G o vern o r has an idea o f how he
wants to allocate the lottery revenue but the
Street Beat team asked, “ H ow would you
like to see the lottery income spent?”
by Lenita Duke and Richard J. Brown
John Simmons
Unemployed
" I hope toward jobs. A lot
ot people are unemployed and
they can see a return on money
they would spend on the lo t
tery."
Irene Finley
Clerical
Elaine Rockwood
Housewife
"S ch o o ls! T hey need it. I
know property taxes are not
enough for schools. W ith the
lo tte ry , 1 hope my property
taxes will drop.”
" T h e y should spend it on
education. They could use it to
purchase eq u ip m ent, te x t
books and special programs."
T. T. Jermany
Retired
"T h e y need to spend it on
state and property tax relief.
But w e've got to watch the
politicians to see that they
spend it on what they say they
will spend it o n ."
Toni Schlinkmeier
Carrier
" I would like to win the lot
tery and see the state pul the
money in road im provem ent
and tax relief."
Christine Pennington
Packer
" I don’ t believe in the lo t
tery. I did not vote for it. Peo
ple shouldn't spend their little
money on gambling."
Portland Observer
i «i i
The P ortlan d Observer ZUSPS 959 6801 i t published every
Thursday by Esie Publishing Company. Inc 2201 North Killings
worth. Portland. Oregon 97217. Post OMice B om 3137. Portland.
Oregon 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland Oregon
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MNI »
The Portland Observar was estab, ned in 1970
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N ew Y octi
Along ihe C o lor Line by D r. M anning M arable
South A fric a is unquestionably
the most im m o ra l and repressive
stage on the face of the earth. Despite
the Reagan administration's cozy and
supportive relations with apartheid,
dubbed "constructive engagement,”
the reality of its tyranny is too monu
mental to obscure. Since 1967 over six
and o n e -h a lf m illio n citizens have
been arrested and tried for pass law
violations; hundreds o f opposition
leaders have been crippled, tortured
and even murdered by apartheid po
lice; over one hundred laws restrict
and censor the press; and since June
1961 1,500 people have been "banned"
by the g o vern m en t’ s M in iste r o f
Law and Order, the continuing non
violent protests throughout the U .S .
led by civil rights and religious leaders,
has helped to highlight these brutal
ities, and has made President Reagan's
support fo r this N a z i-lik e regime
more difficult to justify.
But larger questions remain. W ho
benefits m a teria lly fro m the exist
ence and perpetuation of a state whose
legal justification is white supremacy?
Does the investment o f U.S. corpora
tions in the regime help or hurt Am er
ican taxpayers and workers? A n y
analysis o f the p o litic a l economy
o f South A fric a illustrates that
the U .S . is decisive in the running
o f the racist government. Am erican
corporations control 70 percent of the
South A frica computer market — in
fact, an IB M computer runs the stock
exchange in Johannesburg. G o o d
year and Firestore sell tires to the
regim e, which are used fo r police
forces. Several multinational oil com
panies, including Exxon. Caltex and
M o b il, have sold oil to South A frica
in direct violation o f the 1979 O P E C
embargo. In all, about 20 percent o f
all foreign direct investment in South
Africa comes from U .S. firms. As o f
1983, fo r exam ple, M o b il O il had
$426 million invested inside the coun
try , w ith 3,577 w orkers; G eneral
Motors, $243 million and 5,038 work
ers; Newmont, $127 million and 13,535
workers; Union C arbide, $54.5 m il
lion and 2,465 workers. Control Data
had $17.8 million in sales in 1983 in
side South A fric a , a p au ltry figure
I
I
I
com pared to I B M ’s sales o f $262
m illio n and w o rk fo rc e o f 1,800.
American banks, led by Chase M an
h attan , C h em ic al, Bankers T ru s t,
First Boston and M an u factu re rs
Hanover, had outstanding loans total
ing nearly $4 billion as o f 1984.
The reasons for U.S. corporate in
terest in South A fric a are easy to
explain. Despite the union m ember
ship o f about 350,000 African labor
ers, the vast majority o f the nonwhite
labor force is unorganized. Strikes are
illegal, and nonwhite union activism
is viciously repressed. The m ajority
of Black workers live in poverty. Even
according to the biased statistics o f
the apartheid governm ent, A fric an
households below the official poverty
Ivel include 62 percent in Johannes
burg, 65 percent in D u rb an , and 70
percent in Port Elizabeth. Racial seg
regation lowers nonwhite labor costs,
using M ay 1983 figures, the average
monthly wages in all manufacturing
firms was $1,290 for whites, $460 for
Ind ian s, $365 fo r C o lo u re d s , and
$320 for Africans. According to the
Survey o f C u rre n t Business. U .S .
companies averaged 18.7 percent an
nual rates o f return on capital invest
ment between 1979 to 1982. A p a rt
heid laws and the rigid regimentation
of nonwhite labor reap their rewards.
H o w does this investm ent affect
Americans? Researchers for the Wash
ington O ffice on Africa and the Civil
Rights Department of the United Steel
workers o f A m erica recently pre
pared a brief study on this issue. For
several years, the U.S. steel industry
has experienced a state o f rapid col
lapse Between 1974 and 1982 d o
mestic steel production declined by
50 percent. In 1983, the seven largest
steel producers reported losses o f
$2.7 billion that year alone. M ajo r in
dustrial towns dependent upon steel
producers reported losses o f $2.7
billion that year alone. M a jo r indus
trial towns dependent upon steel pro
ductivity to generate jobs have had
staggeringly high rates o f jobless
ness. Simultaneously, the U .S . steel
industry has ciphoned domestic prof
its and reinvested them in T h ird
W o rld nations where au th o rita rian
PORTLAND OBSERVER
regimes guarantee a low wage, non-
unionized labor force. Imports from
foreign nations producing steel now
exceed one fifth of the domestic mar
ket. And since 1975, U.S. imports of
apartheid's steel have increased 5,000
percent.
South African steel is largely pro
duced by a state-owned firm , the
Iron and Steel Corporation (ISC O R )
A ll o f Ihe m a jo r U .S . companies
which have experienced d ifficu lties
producing steel at home — A R M C O ,
Allegheny Ludlum, U.S. Steel, Phelps
Dodge, and others — have invested
millions into apartheid's industries.
Recently, C h icag o ’ s Southw orks
steel plant, owned by U .S. Steel, laid
o ff several thousand workers, on the
rationale that U .S . workers weren’t
sufficiently productive and that the
plant w asn't m aking p ro fits . Then
local steelw orkers learned that the
steel beams used to build a new stale
office building in Chicago had been
imported from South Africa, despite
the fact that Southw orks produces
the identical steel beams. Even more
outrageous was the fact that C o n ti
nental Illinois Bank has loaned money
to ISCO R, which had produced these
beams. In short, C h icag o laborers
were giving their hard-earned wages
to a local bank, which in turn financed
a competitor which was stealing their
jobs!
There are dozens o f similar exam
ples. The Phelps Dodge copper m in
ing corporation has a poor record on
domestic labor relation s, and has
called for wage cuts from its workers.
But in its mine in South Africa, Blacks
earn under 40 cents an h ou r, and
labor 60 hours per week. Investment
in apartheid not only buoys the racist
regime, and oppresses African w ork
ers, it also destroys jobs and neigh
borhoods inside the U.S. Wage labor
cannot compete with slave labor. We
have a direct m oral and econom ic
interest in cutting the corporate cords
between the U.S. and apartheid.
Dr. M anning M arable teaches p o
litical sociology at Colgate University.
H a m ilto n , N ew York. "A lo n g the
Color L in e“ appears in over 140 news
papers internationally
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Bon 3137 Portland OR 97208
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