Page 2, Portland Observer, September 18, 1985
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Black colleges: Endangered?
A long the C o lo r Line hv D r Manning Marable
Purl I I o f a Two-Part Senes
Peters should resign for a better Portland
Stan Peters should resign as President o f the
Portland Police Association. Peters’ constant de
fense o f officers who engage in acts o f racism and
crim inal behavior and his verbal attacks against
Black community leaders and city officials has d i
vided the C ity and increased racial tension be
tween the Black co m m u n ity and the P ortland
Police Bureau.
Peters' actions have demonstrated he is unfit to
represent honest officers in the Department. Be
sides the racist and criminal acts o f individual o ffi
cers, Peters has done more harm to the image o f
the rank-and-file officers.
Many citizens consider Peters a racist and point
to his public statements:
• Peters has called Ron Herndon, co-founder
o f the Black United Front, a racist "o p p o r
tunist” and a "vu ltu re .”
• Former Oregonian reporter Linda Williams
wrote a series in 1981 on police b ru ta lity
against Blacks and the corrupt actions by the
Special Investigation D ivision (SID). W il
liams, who is Black, was told by the Police
Union newspaper, the Rap Sheet, that if she
ever needed help, not to call the police.
• When Chief Penny Harrington recommend
ed to M ayor Bud C lark to fire the officers
who sold the " D o n ’ t C hoke ’ Em, Smoke
’ Em T -s h irts ," Peters said H arrington and
Clark were too quick to follow recommenda
tions by leaders o f the Black community in
Portland. Peters also referred to Mayor Bud
Clark’s staff as the “ Amateur H our.”
• When the Police Internal Investigations A u
diting Committee was formed to monitor the
manner in which the Bureau handled citizens'
complaints against individual officers, Peters
said the committee was "o n ly good fo r the
bleeding U-arts." He also said, " I don’t agree
with any u..ng they ’re doing.”
• A fte r o ffice rs dum ped dead opossums in
front o f a Black restaurant, Peters staged a
police protest in downtown Portland in sup
port o f the two fired officers (who were later
reinstated).
• It was recently revealed that since September
16, 1981, Peters has been drawing half o f a
patrolman's salary without perform ing any
work for the City. On Friday, September 13,
Chief H arrington ordered Peters to report
for fu ll-tim e duties in the Bureau's report
unit. He responded by saying it was a p o liti
cal move by the Chief to weaken the police
union.
Such irresponsible statements by the President
o f the police union only creates friction between
police administrators and the rank-and-file o ffi
cers in the Department. The result is low police
morale and poor police service for the entire City.
When Chief Harrington ordered Peters to earn
his City paycheck, there were no politics involved.
Chief H arrington was only correcting an illegal
arrangement ordered by former Chief Ron Still.
Peters’ belief that the C ity should pay him for
nothing, casts doubt on the integrity o f the entire
police union. This lack o f confidence can only be
changed by Peters resigning as Union president.
A fte r the m a jo rity o f Portlanders voted out
Frank Ivancie as Mayor, a new era started in City
government. It was no secret that the Black com
munity was glad to see Ivancie leave. When newly
elected M ayor Bud C lark took o ffic e , form er
Chief Still resigned and Clark appointed Harring
ton as the new Chief o f Police. Harrington, to her
credit, has tried to improve relations between the
Police Bureau and the Black com m unity. Stan
Peters is the only obstacle standing in the way o f
the Chief’ s efforts. Not only d»x*s Peters prevent a
better relationship between the police and the
Black com m unity, his verbal attacks directed at
Chief Harrington reveals his sexist attitude. There
is little doubt, if any, that Peters and other officers
in the Department resent taking orders from a
woman. During Harrington’s career on the force,
she has tiled dozens o f discrimination complaints
against the Bureau for not promoting her because
she was a woman. It sexism can be found within
an organization, you can be sure racism is also
present.
When acts of racism and criminal behavior are
committed by police officers, com m unity lead
ers and others should have the right to question
the behavior o f those officers without being ver
bally attacked by Stan Peters II Peters and o ff i
cers who engage in such acts don't like to be ques
tioned by the public, they should resign from the
Bureau. I he City and the Department would be
better o tl without such individuals anyway. The
only police departments where officers can kill or
brutalize citizens without question from the public
are in the U S S R and South Africa
Why are historically Black colleges
absolutely essential fo r Black A m er
ica's future? The current crisis within
higher education stems from what I
call the "paradox o f desegregation."
The m ajority o f white society has re
jected the social policy goal of desegre
gation in regards to public school sys
tems — but this rejection has not in
cluded a desire lo m a intain the his
torically Black colleges.
For example, after a series of school
desegregation victories in the Federal
courts in the 1960s, public schixil sys
tems were required lo develop rigorous
in te g ra tio n plans which re a ffirm e d
"th e original understanding" o f the
I9M Brown decision, which “ required
integration as the means o f insuring
equal educational opportunity . " I he
legal tu rn in g point was perhaps the
1974 M illiken vs Hradtev decision, in
which the Supreme Court overturned
a lower court order which mandated
the consolidation o l D etroit's public
schools with 53 white suburban schixil
districts. A fte r 1976, according to
legal scholar Derrick Bell, "th e Court
stiffened standards o f p ro o f in even
those districts where large scale busing
would be lim ited to a single district.
Arguments that segregation was un
c o n s titu tio n a l regardless o f how
caused were rejected P la in tiffs were
now required to prove that schixil o ffi
cials had acted affirm atively to segre
gated schixils, and remedies were to be
lim ite d to the harm caused bv the
discrim ination." Since the late 1970s,
many lix a l Black educational organi
zations have not pursued desegregation
strategies, and have opted to improve
existing schixil systems within a major
its Black context
Iro n ic a lly , the desegregation ot
Black higher education continues to
accelerate Former Black colleges
West V irg in ia State. I D iversity ol
Maryland I astern Shore, and I incoln
I Diversity ot Missouii
have major
itv w hile student bodies W ilh in a
decade, I ennessee Stale I niversitv and
other state supjxirted. Black colleges
mav also have majority white faculties
and student (stipulations
I he demise ol h isto rica lly Bl.u k
institutions might not be as regrettable
if the recruitm ent o f Black fa cu lty,
students and administrators had con
tinued at white universities. U nfortu
nately, the trend at white institutions
during the past decade has been to
ward greater racial segregation, the
total number o f Black college profes
sors in the United States in 1981 was
approximately 19,300, about 4 2 per
cent o f all u n ive rsity fa cu lty. Over
one-quarter o f this group are em
ployed at ju n io r colleges, and h a lf
teach at historically Black institutions.
Only a small m in o rity, probably less
than 25 percent, arc employed full u n it
at white, four year institutions. Since
1975, both the number and jiercentage
ot Black faculty at white colleges has
declined. There are innumerable ex
amples fro m 1984-85 academic sta
tistics: ol C ornell U niversity's 1,561
fu ll-tim e fa cu lty, only 25 arc Black
(1.6 percent); o f 500 full-tim e faculty
at the University ol Mississippi, 9 are
Black 11.8 percent); o f 935 Texas Tech
U niversity fa c u lty . 5 are Black (0.5
percent); o f C o lu m b ia U n ive rsity's
1,315 faculty, 20 are Black (1.5 per
cent)
I he paradox o f desegregation re
quires a comprehensive strategy to
save and ,0 H a ilsto rm h isto rica lly
Black academic in s titu tio n s. E co
nom ically, a national e ffo rt must be
in itia te d to increase college endow
ments, particularly fo r those schools
in immediate fiscal d ifficu ltie s. This
must include all A fro -A m e ric a n
churches, trade unions, sororities, fra
ternities, civic assix'iatioiis, civil rights
organizations and professional socie
ties. It requires an intensive and coor
dinated lobbying effort by Black repre
sentatives 111 state legislatures and in
the ( ongressional Black Caucus to
preserse the existence o f all Black insti
tutions jxilitically. and to incicase slate
and tederal funds to these colleges.
Black colleges must establish struc
tural ties with two sear institutions to
ensure that Black students make the
transition to complete their B A. de
grees A fundamental revision of col
lege curricula is also necessary to meet
the realities ol U S labor force pro
jections 111 the next century A number
ot wlute liberal arts umveisities have
established departments o f “ Comjxrtct
and Inform ation Studies" during the
past decade, instructing undergrad
uates in the theoretical and concrete
analysis o f co m p u ta tio n , autom ata
theory and in fo rm a tio n systems
theory l ew Black universities have yet
adopted courses in computer technol
ogy. Part o f the problem, o f course, is
(he lack o f capital needed 10 inmate
ambitious programs in the sciences at
many private schixils. Yet there is also
the related tendency o f Black private
colleges to attem pt to provide too
many progmis with two few resource*.
As educator I awrence E. Gary has
raxed, “ Black colleges offer too many
courses given the size o f the faculty. In
some cases, one can find a department
o ffe rin g 20 courses w ith o nly three
faculty mem bers." Many Black co l
leges have been lo o re lu cta n t, w ith
some notable exceptions, to focus on
several specific academic fields, while
cross-listing courses at neighboring
universities which have resources or
faculty in other areas.
The survival o f Black colleges also
depends upon their intim ate involve
ment w ith in the p o litica l and socio
economic struggles o f their surround
ing Black communities. This agenda
must be expanded to embrance inter
national and African issues, the prob
lems o f technolgy and economic de
velopment, in order to prepare stu
dents to assume conscious positions ot
civic and in te lle ctua l leadership as
pari o f the national Black community.
Black alumni and students must exer
cise a m ore decisive p o licy-m a kin g
role in the restructuring o f our colleges
as well.
It every while university in America
was truly desegregated, there would
still be a reason for Black academic in
stitutions. As W E B. IXiBois observed
a halt century ago, only a Black univer
sity can fully examine the "conditions
and know ledge" necessary fo r Black
development. There is no conflict be
tween Black colleges and the goal of
equably.
Dr. Manning Marable teaches po
litical sociology at Colgate University,
Hamilton, New York.
ON SOUTH AFRICA
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY
by John Huchanan
Jerry Falwell has built his career as a
rcligiH-jxilitical leader on an intolerant
debating lactic. To hear him tell u,
there's only one position that a "g ix x l
C h ris tia n " can lake on ju st about
every p o litica l issue. I f you disagree
with Falwell, the devil made you do II,
lo r, as he said o l those who oppose
him: "O u r battle is not with human
beings. Our bailie is with Satan him
sell
N ow. F alw ell is using in to le ra n t
tactics lo defend one o f the most in
tolerant social arrangements on earth:
South A ttic a ’ s racist system ot apart
held. He is debating the issue o f Unit
ed Stales policies towards South A in
ta the way I k deflates most other pub
lie issues: by questioning the patriot
ism, I he personal character, and the
religious la iih ot people who disagree
with him
th ro u g h o u t the w orld, people o l
good w ill were shocked when Falwell
called Bishop Desmond I ulu " a
p h o n y " fo r supporting econom ic
sanctions against South Attica. As the
A nglican Bishop o f Johannesbuig
and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, Bish
op lu tu 's in te rn a tio n a l re p u ta tio n
will survive I alwell's crude attack and
his subsequent clumsy apology. But
Falwell's attack upon Bishop lu tu 's
is typical o f the tire and brimstone he
pours upon those who oppose the
South African government
On May 26. Falw ell used his i i . i
tio n a lly televised program "F a lw e ll
1 iv e " to denounce the Sojourners, a
group o f evangelical ( hrisians w ho
had dem onstrated in W ashington
earlier that week in o p p o sitio n lo
apartheid Instead o f simply taking is
sue w ith the S o jo u rne rs' views on
South A fric a , I .dwell declared they
are n 't sincere about their religious
beliefs Introducing two "red herrings”
into the debate, I alwell attacked one
leader o f the S ojourners, charging
dial, as a pacificist, he wouldn't have
fought H itle r, and claimed that the
Sojourners have tailed lo protest So
viet atrocities Since returning fro m
South A frica , I alwell has also made
an uglv personal attack upon the Rev
Joseph 1 owety, president ot the Sou
them C hristian I eadership t outer
ence, suggesting ilia, his opposition to
apartheid is not to be taken seriouslv
because he "w ill speak lo any position
lie ’ s paid f o r . " Falw ell has also ai
tacked the World ( omicil ot ( hurdles
and the South A fric a n C ouncil ot
(h u tc h e s tor supposedly backing
“ Marxist activities "
Following his return Irom Ins bnel
trip lo South A lrica . Falwell has mo
bilized his entire ielevangehc.il appa
ralus for a campaign to build Amen
can support fo r the South A lric a n
governm ent Reaching m illio n s ot
viewers each week, his television pro
grams
" T h e O ld lim e Gospel
H o u r " and " I a llw e ll I iv e "
are
'vroadcasimg slick propaganda defend
mg the Botha regime M eanw hile,
I alwell is also using his religious pro
gramming and his monthly newspaper,
\1orut M ajorat Rc/»>rl, to urge ( tins
lians to buy krugerrands, the South
Alrican gold coin.
Falwell may never do anything as
thoroughly repugnant as his cut rent
attem pts to cloak apartheid in the
garb o f C hristianity. W hile I alwell is
always eager to claim that his own
p o litica l views arc mandated by the
Bible, apartheid contradicts the most
basic premises o f Americans’ religious
and political heritages that all people
are created in God's image and are en
dowed w ith inalienable rights. It is
particularly contemptible for Falwell
lo urge Americans, as Christians, to
bus krugerrands when these gold coins
are mined by Bl.uk winkers employed
umler conditions whose brutality de
fies the m oral code shared by every
major religion As a vehement " p ro
fa m ily ' advocate, Falwell should be
concerned that the miners' families ate
forced lo live far away in their soj
called trib a l "h o m e la n d s" and need
special government authorization just
to visit then husbands, lathers, and
brothers m (he industrial areas W hile
the M oral M a jo rity has attacked the
Equal Rights Amendment and even
child abuse as "a n ti-fa m ily," it appat
enlly fin d s nothing o bjectionable
about apartheid policies that disrupt
Black families Americans who under
stand the cruelty o f apartheid will not
follow Falwell's siren song to sell out
their commitment to human rights (or
X> (sieves ot krugerrands
Not s u rp ris iiig lv , most religious
leaders
in South Attica, the I titled
Slates, and throughout the world
oppose apartheid On the same dav
that Falwell announced his m illio n
dollar camjsaign to support the South
A fric a n governm ent, the leaders ol
that n a tio n 's A nglican, ( a th o lic,
Methodist, ( ongregational and Pres
bvterian churches met with President
Botha to urge the im m ediate aboli
lion ot apartheid Here in the United
Slates, leaders ot the P rotestant,
( atholic. and Jewish laiths have all
spoken out against South A fric a 's
racial policies.
Jerry Falwell's statements on South
A frica have halted lus own e ffo rt to
win acceptance as a mainstream relig
ions and political leader I arlier this
seat, he ajvologizcd for his jvasl stale
rnenls that have been construed as
anti Semitic In recent sears. I alwell
has apologized tor his eat her support
ot racial segregation in America which
I k once declared as “ ( iod's law "
I alwell lo o k years to repudiate
segregationism and anti-Sem itism .
W ith South A frica seething with un
rest, we d o n 't have lim e to wait for
I alwell to apologize for his supjsort of
the racist regime And. it the past is
any guide to the future, I alwell w ill
never repudiate the most consistent
feature o f his public career: an intoler
ant style ol debate that tie has used lo
condone some ot the worst injustices
o f our times, fro m the American
South ol the 196tI's to South Africa in
the I98t)\.
John Huchanan is C hairm an o f
People l o r the A m e rica n Hue, a
150,000 member national nonpartisan
citizens organization working to pro
tect and prom ote constitutional liber
ties 4zt o rd a in e d S outhern H aptisl
minuter, Huchanan served eight terms
as a Republican Congressman fro m
Alabama He was ranking Republican
on the A frica n A ffa irs Subcommittee
o f the House foreign Affairs t ommit
tee and has traveled in South Africa.
the group " I remember the violence
bv Paul Hunk
ot South A frica, including against its
" I would like to ho|K that there is
still tin- avenue ot jKaceful solution 111
South A ttic a , but the governm ent's
fa ilu re in the summer to meet w itli
Hishop lu lu and its failure to recog
mze legitim ate B l.u k leaders in that
country, makes one wonder it there is
still a cfiance "
Avel (io rd lv , member ol an XI St
delegation lo southern Alrica in lime
and tills. adds that the only wav to
end the immense difficulties in the Re
public ot South A lric a to stop the
enlorced racial separation called apart
held Another delegation member
says, " I he whole region w on't settle
down u n til there is one person, one
vole in a united state 111 South Alrica "
I our members ol the group were de
tamed lo u r times bv South A frica n
government agents
twice at gun
point
as they tried to make then
wav Irom the independent nation ol
I esotho to one o f the so-called in
dependent homelands ol South A t
rica
the transkei. One o f them was
Avel G ordly, who said, " I was tern
lie d .” She directs the A I SC's Port
land-based Southern Alrican Program
in Oregon and southern W ashington.
The four eventually were released after
a tew hours, but were trailed later on
their return lo Lesotho, which is sur
nxinded bv South Africa
Some ol the A t SC visitors also saw
the destruction and heard ot lives lost
in a South A frica n raid on the Bots
wanan capital o f Garbarone. Said Jo
seph Y o lk, head o f the A I SC Pece
Education D ivision who was part o f
neighbors such as Botswana and I e
sotho when the South A frica n De
fense Force attacked those countries.
"It's so obvious. We oppose violent
methods bv anyone lo r any purpose.
I was appalled to hear South A frican
olficials. who use violence and terror,
call on anti aparltietd groups to give up
violence South A frica itself employs
violence and South A frican o fficials
must themselves renounce the violence
ol a|iailheid "
Members o l the delegation said
tliev were uplifted bv the spirit, com
lin im e n t and awareness ol the op-
piessed people in South A ttica, espe
cially the young, despite the prevailing
poverty, hopelessness and despera
lio n . " I here is an intensity that en
courages us to continue our efforts to
develop creative efforts to end apart
heid," said Avel Gordly. She added dial
" I recall p a il ot a sign we saw at a
refugees' dormitory in I esotho, which
said, '
We d o n 't determ ine our
enemies bv the color ot the skin, but
by their deeds’ . "
W hat more can be done'* Robert
X dale, a Quaker stockbroker from
P hiladelphia who was part o f the
A I St. visit, savs he has come to the
conclusion the no presence in Amen
can corporations in South A fric a is
preferable toother pro|x<sals
Savs V itale " I believe that Black
[Kople as a whole are likely to obtain
political and economic freedom and
justice more q u ickly and w ith less
overall suffering it American and other
corporations were threatening to leave
South A frica and would leave, than if
they were to stay." He adds, however,
that he hopes a so lu tio n w ould be
found before too many actually had
lo leave.
V itale, a member o f the AFS(
( orporation and ( hair ot the AFS(
Finance Committee, adds that a con
tinned I S presence makes possible
the suppression o f 100 percent ot
Blacks, although employment by U.S
corporations helps directly only about
two percent o f the Black population
Here are two o f \ dale's other sug
gestions, fo r the I S. governm ent,
which would be symbolic, but he feels
very helpful: I) funding to r legal as
sistance regarding persons in police
custody in South Africa, and 2) attend
.nice bv the I S Secretary o f State at
the funeral ol a Black leader. He also
savs U.S consumers mav want to give
consideration to boycotting products'’
or services o f companies involved in
South Africa
Jerry Herman, coordinator o f the
Service Committee's Southern Africa
program in the U.S and also on the
trip, concludes that “ We have gained
a much better understanding o f the
issues a ffecting the southern A frica
region, and now have a greater deter
mination to find new and better ways
lo educate Americans.
Portlanders Organized lo r Southern
Alruun freedom tPOSAC), a hsal
m ultiratial
citizens action
group
that supports Hlatk mtponty rule in
'southern Africa and an end to L S.
support fo r apartheid Tor more in
t< >rmati< >n < all 23(k <M2
Portland Observer
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