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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 1985)
.. » . { I V I - i t y o f Orff'on L ib ra ry ur on V /W i Youth City Council Israel and South Africa Breakers open Jäaai PORTLAND OBSERVER US*S«»«D»6 C feto <O . for Volume XV, Number 19 March 6, 1985 25c Copy I, Two Sections /MM Committee specifies academic problems I < ■ by Loruta Duke GRASSROOT NEW S, N .W .-T h e majority of Black children in the Port land Public Schools are not being treat cd in an equitable mannet ixw are pres ent teaching methods effective in in structing them. These conclusions were among those presented to the School Board February 28th, as the Desegregation Monitoring and A d visory Committee made its mid year report. Halim Rahsaan, D M A C ’s chair person, defined the committee per spective as, “ Wanting the content of education to be accurate, appropriate and relevant in reflecting contribu tions o f African American, Native American, African, Asian and His panic cultures. W e want the aims of education to be the complete develop ment o f a person and not merely preparation for the available low level, or even high level jobs, that may serve no purpose beyond individual enhancement," Rahsaan noted. D M A C both criticized and com mended the school district in its de segregation effort». Multiethnic curriculum Deniae William» (toft) and Cynthia Oliver (right!, member» of the Portland Breaker» rally »quad, the Heart Braakar». Ju«t prior to the aeeaon'a opening game with Lo» Angeles With the Heart Breaker», the crowd put together the first succeasful wave In Civic Stadium. (Photo: Dan Long) Anti-fascists to aid Nicaragua by Robert Lothian Nearly fifty years ago, Frank Alexan der and Bob Reed fought on the sale of Spanish loyalists against the dictator Franco and his forces. Supported by Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. Franco invaded Spain with a colonial army after the country elect ed a democratic government Reed and Alexander, both from Seattle, see parallels between Spain and Nicaragua, and although they are both in their 70s, they retain their internationalist ideals and want to help. They, together with Abraham Lincoln Brigade members across the country, have organized an effort to send ambulances to Nicaragua to aid victims o f contra attacks. “ Reagan is doing (in Nicaragua) exactly what Hitler and Mussolini did in Spain, and he’s using the same ex cuses," said Alexander. "H itle r said, ‘ I am stopping Communism.’ That's exactly what Reagan says.” Alexander and Reed are heading an effort in Seattle to raise $25,000 by Apnl 10th for a fully equipped medi cal vehicle. W ith the help o f churches, Hispanic organizations, and Central America groups, they have raised about $8,000 so far. A L B veterans on the East Coast are gathering donations for an additional two ambulances, they said. Reed visited Nicaragua last summer with a Seattle-Managua sister city delegation. He said contra attacks against civilians there remind him o f the massacres o f civilians carried out by Franco forces in Spain. " I t ’s on a smaller scale than Spain but it’s the same bloody thing," he said. If the Nicaragua fighting intensi fies, Reed said he is sure that an inter national brigade will organize to fight on the side o f the Sandinistas. The Nicaraguan government would have to call for such help but so far hasn't, he added. D M A C thanked School Super intendent Matthew Prophet for im plementing training incorporating African American curriculum. But D M A C said they were not satisfied with the performance of project direc tor, Darrel Millner. "W ithout the as sistance o f local consultant, Joyce Harris, the math and art essays would not have been distributed......... There have been contractual problems in the handling of contracts by the project director regarding payments to na tional and local consultants," Rah saan said. D M A C recommended a full time project director to coordinate the baseline essays (lesson plans) through the curriculum department. Also, it said the project director should have the support o f the community with a background in classroom teaching at the elementary or secondary level. Special Education BOB REED Alexander is the son o f a slave and one o f about 250 Black Americans who served in Spain. He was among the last o f the internationalists to re treat, arriving in France on the day that Franco proclaimed victory. Said Alexander o f his service in Spain: " It was the only time in my life that I didn't know I was a Black m an." One o f the first Blacks to be ad mitted to the A F L -C IO , Alexander remained an active union member until his retirement. Reed grew up in a family o f Texas tenant fanners. He was educated by free-thinking radicals at Common wealth College in Arkansas, later shut down by the government, and he was an organizer o f the Southern (Photo: Richard J. Brown! Tenant Farmers Union before leaving for Spain. His ship was torpedoed o ff the Spanish coast and he was picked up naked by a fishing boat By the end of his first day in battle, two-thirds o f his platoon was missing. About one-third of the Brigade members died in Spam, he said. Alexander and Reed were both wounded. Reed will appear in Portland at two showings o f “ The Good Fight,” a movie about the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, on Sunday, March 10, at 2:00 p.m ., Reed College Vollum Hall, and at 7:00 p.m. that night in Room 75, Lincoln H all, PSU. A $3 donation is requested for the ambulance fund. D M A C analyzed the total special education population and found a "real bias present." "Native American and African Aniencaii students arc extremely over represented by nearly twice as much as Caucasian and Hispanic," Rah saan said. "T h e percent o f African Americans enrolled has decreased, but the percent enrolled in special ed ucation has increased.” D M A C said they believed the dis proportion stems from the lack o f consistency in procedures for place ment o f students in special education. Discipline D M A C commended the district for retaining the services o f Dr. Junius Williams, a nationally recognized authority in the area of discipline. But the committee added, “ African Amer ican students are more than twice as likely to be suspended or expelled," Rahsaan stated. Ronnie Herndon, co-chair o f the Black United Front, expanded on the discipline disproportion: "Five years ago when we started this campaign to address inequalities in the school sys tem, the major areas o f discipline abuse occurred in schools outside the Black community. The situation has Hkim Raahaan. chair person of »ha Desegregation Monitoring and Advisory Commina» addressee the School Board. (Photo Richard J. Brown) been reversed. The major areas of abuse occur in the Early Childhood Education Centers (EC EC s)." Herndon added, "Blacks make up 60 percent o f the EC EC population, but comprise 90 percent of all suspen sions. Vernon has a Black population of 62 percent, yet 85 percent o f all sus pensions are Black students. Irvington has a Black student population o f 50 percent but 90 percent of all suspen sions were Black students." D M A C called for a consistent disci pline policy. Herndon said there was a need to evaluate the in-house suspen sion program and keep records of those students referred to time-out rooms. Academic achievement Prior to D M A C ’s presentation, Superintendent Prophet issued a progress report. "Forty-one percent o f our Black students in grades 3 - 7 are reading above the national level. This is up from 31 percent three years ago. In mathematics, 31 percent are above the national level compared to 23 percent three years ago." Herndon questioned these results. “ I f it took three years to go from 31 percent to 4 1 percent in reading, it will take 18 years for Black children to read at the national level." Herndon added, " A t the rale the district is teaching math, it will take 24 years to get 87 percent o f Black students at national level.” Herndon also expressed concern for the number of children of color re ceiving modified diplomas "T otal minority students are 26 percent, yet they are given 66 percent of all modi fied diplomas." He recommended the district ex pand its Desegregation C oordinat ing Committee to include business representatives, community residents, effective teachers and principals "W e need a collective resolution to these problems. If we do not come up with some way to positively address this problem society will pay for it one way or another," he concluded. Philippines increases freedom by Robert Lothian Filippinos refer to government opposition leaders who are "salvaged" — sent to their salvation in heaven. It ’s a semi-religious, half-joking way o f saying they were assassinated, says Peter Bacho, professor o f F ilip pino history at the U niversity o f Washington, who spoke in Portland recently. Ironically, many Filippinos escaped oppression in their country by being salvaged. That is, until the assassina tion o f democratic opposition leader Benino Aquino at Manila Airport in 1983. A t that tim e, said Bacho, the na tional reconciliation promised by A q u in o ’s visit seemed dashed to the ground. "F o r many Filippinos then, growing p olarizatio n and civil war seemed the grissly components o f a future without hope.” But surprisingly, said Bacho, while the assassination added to ranks o f a growing leftist insurgency, it has also brought unprecedented reform. "O ne surprising result is that democracy, if not quite healthy, is not yet dead," he said. There is now m ore freedom o f the press, said Bacho, a F ilip p in o - American who visited the Philippines recently. The supreme court has been m aking decisions unpopular w ith a u th o rita rian President Ferdinand Marcos, he continued, and last M ay, the country’s National Assembly was revitalized by elections which saw 60 seats change hands " T h e real story was the people turning out in the face o f bayonets, and voting to show their displeasure” with the government, he said. The National Assembly, once d o r m ant, can now serve as a forum for issues and candidates that w ill chal lenge Marcos in the 1987 elections. M arco s’ health is at issue, and if he should die,” said Bacho, the P hil ippine m ilita ry might take over the country and wipe away recent re forms. The military, a key component o f M arcos* a u th o rita ria n rule, has been shaken up recently. M an y top leaders were demoted after having been implicated in the Aquino assas sination. Tw o huge U .S. bases and U.S. aid (Atonr rum to fhtge 9. (oium n I) 'W 9 9 • ' « « Ó . - i s * ’»-* ’ *• 'I » 4
