Page 4, Portland O bserver, April 10,1966
EDITORIAL/OPINION
YOUTH WATCH:
I
Keep 14-year-olds out of jail
by l inda Johnson
To keep an eye on issues affeeling
youth, the greatest resource of this
community and others throughout the
nation is indeed a task worthy of
undertaking. "Y o u th W atch" will ap
proach youth issues to develop a
youth, family and community con
tinuum for you to preview. “ Youth
W atch" is meant to stimulate thought,
to provoke actions on behalf o f youth
and to provide a voice for youth.
Bills in the Oregon Legislative As
sembly need to be examined. Senate
Bill 414 and H B 2955 are bills related
to lowering the remand age to 14. The
litmus test used to measure whether a
youth should be tried in the adult
court system for specific violent crimes
or the attempt to commit any crime
on this laundry list is. . . “ the child at
the time o f the alleged offense was of
sufficient sophistication and maturity
to appreciate the nature and equality
o f the conduct involved. .
The
youth in our community will be ad
versely affected by these bills since
they are predicated on institutions
which are biased to children who
are from different ethnic backgrounds
and face socio-economic deprivation.
These two factors alone should alarm
and outrage our community.
Perhaps in areas where the institu
tions are more culturally sensitive,
this approach would make these bills
acceptable but the State o f Oregon is
not one o f these areas. These bills at
tempt to preclude the Death Penalty
for children who will be remanded.
The fact is the constitutional amend
ment passed last November 1984 on
the Death Penalty could supercede the
amendment found in SB4I4 and
HB29SS.
Different states boast about their
lower juvenile population in their de
tention facilities. I submit to you.
their juvenile population is down be
cause they are locking children up in
their jails and penitentiaries.
Did you know some states think
12-year-oid children can be considered
adults? I f the Oregon legislature is
z
ANO HELP THE ECONOMY BY
able to lower the remand age to 14
and deny the resources of the juvenile
system to children who most need and
would benefit from it, Oregon will
also attempt to lower its remand age
to 12.
Concerned citizens should write
their Oregon legislative representa
tives and Judiciary Subcommittee
members, encouraging them to vote
" N o ” on HB2955 and SB4I4 and call
Legislator Access: I -800-982-1211, or
Legislative Bill Informatin: 1-800-
452-0290, to acquire more inform a
tion on the status o f these bills. Speak
to Rep. James H ill, the representa
tive from Salem who is a sponsor
o f these bills, and ask him to with
draw his sponsorship publicly, based
on the abusive effects on children in
our community.
l.mda Johnson, youth and com
munity advocate, encourages com
munity response and suggestions in
the development o j "Youth Watch. "
Contact: P .O Box 12088, Portland,
Oregon 97312.
During the Pal Gillis controversy, one o f our
participants suggested that we ask if politicians
should submit to lie detector tests. The Street
Beal team asked, "Should politicians take lie
detector tests pnor to distributing information
to voters?"
eat
Street
?
by Lanita Duke and Richard J. Brown
z
J. L. Hatchar
Ratirad
"Yes, if we have to lake
Dabby Yanaar
Houaawifa
Sandra Malone
Aaaambly Worker
"N o , lie detector tests havt
tot been proven effective."
" N o , it would put all ol
them out o f business. "
Â
CUTTING EDUCATION
HOW CAN HE
PLAY&OLOOÇ6
WITH THE
' FACTS?
DOCUDCAMA
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US W
Ilka irW -
Mark Twain no racist
Along the Color Line b y Dr. Manning Marable
W ith the possible exception o f
Clarence Pendleton, virtually every
Black person in the U.S. has directly
experienced racial discrimination. In
its more overt forms, racism has
meant Jim Crow restrictions, the
inability to obtain jobs, education,
and decent bousing, and the lack of
political rights. M ore subtle are other
manifatations o f racism, such as the
assignment o f school texts which
foster racial stereotypes. Both forms
of racism have forced A fro-A m eri
cans to initiate strategies o f resistance
which, in turn, raise serious ques
tions about the relationship between
the rights o f the oppressed vs. free
speech and civil lib ertia.
Examine the controversy surround
ing the 19th Century novel by M ark
Twain, "The Adventures of Huckle
berry Finn.” Most literary critics agree
that the book is a classic in American
literature, ranking with Ralph E lli
son’s "Invisible M a n " and the works
by Merman Melville, Ernest Heming
way, Alice W alker and other great
writers. M ark Twain was a staunch
opponent of white supremacy; never
theless the book contains racial siereo
types and racisi language Thus for
years, a number o f civil rights coali
tions have advtxatcd the banning of
"Huckleberry Finn” from public
schools. In 1982 the chair of the hu
man rights committee at a Fairfax,
Virginia, school termed the book
"racist trash." I a s i year Waukegan.
Illinois, school administrators banned
the book from a required reading list.
And in Eeburary, 1985, one member
of the Chicago School Board declared
that the novel "ought to be burned.”
Dr. John H . Wallace, a noted educa
tor, describes "Huckleberry Finn”
as “ the most grotesque example of
racist trash ever w ritten."
But other scholars have now
atablished the fact that M ark Twain
provided the funds for Warner T.
McGuinn to attend Yale l aw School
in the 1880s. McGuinn went on to
become an N A A C P leader and a ma
jor contributor to desegregation cam
paigns in Baltimore. Twain's lan
guage in bis novels and essays is ra
cially slanted by contemporary stan
dards. but it is simply incorrect to
attribute to him a Reaganite con
tempt for Black people. "H u c k Finn”
t r i« to condemn white society for
its own perpetuation o f racial inequal
ity. If H itler’s “ Mein Kam pf” is
available in school libraries as a
testament to racism and anti-Semitism
"H uck Finn" should be present as a
flawed but noble effort by a while
liberal who attempted to challenge
the racism o f his era.
A second, slightly different, con
troversy relates to the efforts o f anti
apartheid activists who have urged
the boycotting o f artists, athletes and
entertainers who have traveled to
South Africa. Several months ago the
N A A C P was pressured to drop two
Black performers, Tina Turner and
Daniebclle H all, from their 17th an
nual “ Image Awards” ceremony in
Los Angeles, because they had toured
South African resoris. The United
Nations Special Committee Against
Apartheid has initiated a "cultural
boycott" against any artists who
have performed inside South Africa
since 1981. Most o f the entertain
ers on the U .N . list — including Ray
C h a ri« , Frank Sinatra, Cher, Goldie
Hawn, Linda Ronsladt, and the
Beach Boys - are millionaires who had
no direct need to travel to Johann«-
burg and provide cultural legitimacy
to a dictatorial regime. But these
artists now find themselv« "black
listed” from performing at any func
tion sponsored by the United Nations.
Liberals such as Harvard Law pro-
f«sor Alan Dershowitz are out
raged that artists who have profited
from the racist regime should be cen
sured in any way. The U N ’s action is
a "civil lib erti« violation,” D « h o -
witz complains in a recent essay:
“ Consider an artist who is against
apartheid but who performs to a
Black audience in So w eto.. .the artist
shouldn’t be punished for his or her
political
decision,”
First,
such
"logic” would scarcely be applied by
Dershowitz and other white liberals
about American artists who performed
let’s say, in Nazi Germany in the
1930s. Second, virtually none o f the
artists on the U .N . boycott list have
been active in the Free South Africa
Movement. Most had no contact
or solidarity with oppressed Africans
inside the apartheid regime. They
went to South Africa for the money,
period. And in their lust for profits,
they tacitly reinforced the cultural
viability o f the immoral state. U.S.
consumers, Black and white, have a
right to know whether the artists they
support are in turn supporting funda
mental, human rights issues. A rt
ists who have profited directly from
institutional racism abroad should
not be overtly harrassed or subjected
to personal attacks by anti-apartheid
proponents. Yet we have a right to
initiate "selective buying” campaigns,
as we did against Jim Crow businas-
« in the I961X, targeting those celebri-
t i« who contribute toward Black op
pression.
Dr. Manning Marable teaches po
litical sociology at Colgate University
Hamilton, New York. "Along the
Color Line" appears in over Id) news
papers internationally.
Letters to the Editor
Wlllya Goat
Nuraa
“ It would be hard to say.
Ilf they took the test and the
test is not accurate, then what
do we have?"
|
William Brown
Salf-Employad
Kan Hovey
Raglatarad Nuraa
" N o , it's a violation o f their
constitutional rights. Gillis, I
hope, was an isolated inci-
Jent."
|
" I would hope that lie de-
ector tests aren't necessary.
However, I ’m fully in favor of
Gillis' recall."
Portland Observer
*• "la ,
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Beware indeed
To the Editor,
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In the March 20 issue o f the Port
land Observer, Joe "Bean” Keller
wrote an article entitled "Verbal
Agreements — Beware,” in which
he castigated me, Ken Adair, for
breaking a verbal agreement. The
facts surrounding our contracting M r
Keller’s servic« for Youth Week
Kickoff are so far removed from M r.
Keller’s reality that they demand
clarification.
As a Commissioner for the M etro
politan Youth Commission and as
Chairperson for Youth Week Kick
o ff, I was responsible for contracting
servic« for the Kickoff. Joe Keller
called me about providing lighting for
the event. I told him I was strongly
considering someone else for the job,
and that I would call him back to dis
cuss it in detail with him. In classic
unprofessional manner, M r. Keller a t
tempted an end around by calling a
fellow Metropolitan Youth C om
missioner and a staff person and was
promptly referred back to me. His
demeanor appeared to be almost one
o f desperation to secure the job. I
finally gave him the job d ap ite the
fact that the other person I was
strongly considering for the job could
bring it in for less money; but, keep
& va < *a
ing in mind M r. Keller is a young and
struggling Black husin«sinan, I gave
him the job.
Joe Keller’s anger apparently stems
from March I, the day o f Youth
Week Kickoff. W ith one hour to go
before the start o f the program, Joe
Keller informed us that he was not
prepared and needed some additional
equipment which he had Io rent. I
reminded him of his written contract
for $225.00 to provide for all lighting
arrangements and that y « , if he need
ed the equipment he had better get it.
With the mayor o f Portland, Dr.
Prophet, the performing hands, and
the crowd awaiting the start o f the
program, lighting was crucial; how
ever, I at no time said W E would pay
for it. And what was the cost o f this
extra item? The incredible sum of
fifteen dollars.
Finally, M r. Keller could not wait
to receive his check for service like
the rest o f the contractors. Against
advice o f the Metropolitan Youth
Commission staff, I gave him a per
sonal check from my checking ac
count and paid him in full At that, to
show the measure o f the man, he
stormed out o f my office when he was
informed he would have to absorb
the $15.00 for lighting.
Y « , I agree with you, M r. Keller
Beware o f verbal contracts; but also
be aware o f written contracts people
commit to, and are unable to live up
to. I f you can’t handle them, I sug-
g «t you get a job and work for some
one who can.
K E N N E T H B A D A IB
Commissioner,
Metropolitan Youth Commission
V /V
• * -•
Help Black
Americans 1st
To the Editor,
Africa. Africa. This seems to be the
main focus o f our Black organiza
tions and leadership. Whether it is
Ethiopia or South Africa the facts
remain, more is being done for those
two co u ntri« than for Black Am eri
cans by our leaders. Il has been a long
time since I have seen so many o f our
leaders go to jail for a cause; too bad
it isn’t the Black Americans they are
fighting for. I f our leaders would take
a good look around, they would see
that their work is cut out for them to
get the Black Americans back on the
road o f progras. While I am not in
sensitive to the plight o f those A fri
can nations, I am more concerned
with the status o f the Black man in
America. W hile food famine is a se
rious problem and one that should
be addr«sed by the world, it is a
problem that can be turned around
in a short period o f time. Each coun
try has had to fight for independence
in their history.
The mind is a terrible thing to lose
and when a large group o f people be
gin to lose their minds, their goals of
equality and their spirit to fight for
themselv«, then we have a very seri
ous problem I am tired of Africa and
I am ready for some serious work on
Black America, the poor, the hungry,
homelas, unemployed and those
people unsure of what truly lies ahead
for them Black is beautiful, but it
has taken an unidentifiable turn in
shade and (hat is scary.
B A N S O M E D D IN G S