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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 12, 1986)
nrf-J — - I, p age 2, Portland Observer, March 12, 1986 ‘Retreat From Equality" EDITORIAL/OPINION Zone Change Should be Allowed The city o f Portland should grant the request by Fred Meyer, Inc for a zone change that w ill enable the company to build a new store on the abandoned Hyster Co site near N I. 2Kth Ave and W cidlcr St It the zone change is granted. Fred Meyers w ill build a full service store on the 17-acre site Although some living in (I k * area complain that the store would harm the livability of nearby neighborhoods, we believe this is not the case By allowing the /one change, clearing the way for a $12.3 m illion lu ll service store, some 250new jobs w ill be created Besides, the store w ill attract busi ness into the area and revitalize the deteriorating Hyster property Approving the new store w ill send a positive message to investors that Portland is open tor busi ness I he Slate ol Oregon is still suf fering from a sluggish economy, resulting in the closure of many lactones and high unemployment Former Mayor Frank Ivancie and Gov Vic Aliyeh have traveled abroad on many occasions to solicit business tor Portland and the state. To deny a local investor the right to do business m it's own city doesn't make sense Especially a company such as Fred Meyer Fred Meyers has tor many years been supportive o f the community and many charitable causes Fred Meyers has distinguished itself as a model of corporate responsibility and corporate equality when it comes to insuring opportunities tor blacks and other minorities Denying the zone to Fred Meyer, Inc w ill send a message Io other investors that Portland isn’t open for business This w ill destroy the livability of Portland, not the construc tion of a Fred Meyer store on the old Hyster site Letters to the Editor Pear Editor I'm uh lined to believe. Mathematics is the keystone to adancements in chemistry, physics, biology, medicine, all phases ol engineering, architecture, economics and ihe social sciences Without a thorough understanding of post high school algebra, calculus, analytic geometry, and mathematical statistics, a brother/sistcr can only deal with the physical and social sciences from an I Hth or 19th century perspec tive! And this where Black Amerika is at But before we advance some methodological solutions tor bringing Black Amerika into the technological present, we must deal briefly with two of the fundamental reasons why we arc ihe most technologically backward people in the most super technologically oriented country Caucasoid racism is the first, most tun damcntal reason W’c were wrenched from West Atrikan shores and brought Io Amerika as slaves According to the so-called Christian caucasoid man. we were subhuman, having no culture, language, history and. o f course, no scientific skills f rom Ihe Crusades to the present, tlx- caucasoid man had to continually create "s c ie n tific " myths about how much o f a superior being he was/ts and how savage and uncivilized noncaucasians wcrc/are Their earlier scientific myths were crude and un sophisticated Atrika had no history be fore Ihe so-called Christian caucasoid man because it was not written; A fri cans have no history ot technology be cause they weie not only ignorant but always had Io struggle against nature (Ihe jungles, beasts, heal, diseases and desert, etc ) I he essence ot leaching and learning mathematics correctly begins with the demystification ol mathematics It must be revealed that math is not an esoteric aixl difficult subject lor a liny group of caixasoid geniuses It must be shown that mathematics played an cs scntial role in the development ol A fri kan, Arab. Indian and Chinese civihz.i lions long before the caucasoid man roared out ol f uropean caves I believe. to achieve demystification and an accu rate history, we need to begin on the home-front and m all phases o f school Before a child is able to talk he or she has ihe ability to comprehend very basic mathematical thought especially d is tin g u is h in g one object from another and then degrees of d iffe r ences So one o f the simplest things a family can do to help a baby discrim i nate things is to have various objects mobile and immobile within his or her visual environment As the little brother or sister gels older and begins to walk and talk, counting objects around the house and playing with specific, non racist education toys is essential Io tlx* child tx-coming confidently familiar with mathematical and perceptual con cepts Ihe introduction to two impor tant "gam es" m this age group is basic Wan and the Abacus Wan is a West Afnkan "g a m e " played on a wtxxlcn board usually consisting o f 12 to 16 scoops distributed in two rows ot 6 or H respecti.xly I he Abacus is a calculat ing machine ol Igypn.m . Arabic, In- dian and Chinese origin In at least the 4th Century BC, the Egyptians were using a prototype of the Abacus we know today But the Chinese appeared to have a prototype ol the Abacus as lar back as lire 14th Century B C 1 They developed long before 'he caucasoid man became civilized an Abacus that had red beads to symbolize positive numbers and a Black set to symbolize negative numbers Parents can inexpensively buy or make their chiklren’s Abacus We must re instate the Abacus as a fundamental tool in the home and school It is not only further develops the abilities that Wart pro duces but it also develops speed and accuracy in adding, subtracting, multi plying, dividing and even finding square nxits o f very large or very small numbers I he so called Pythagorean theorem I the sumol tlie squares of the length ol a right triangle's legs is equal Io the square ol ihe length of the hypotenuse longest side) so essential to trigonometry. geometry and algebra is not o f the (»reek origin that Caucasians force down our throats It Pythaggoras was ol Greek origin land there are sen ous doubts ih.it he was), his educational developrix-nl txcurred in Egypt, Baby Ion and India And the Egyptians had extensively dealt with triangles and pyramids lor at least 1600 years before the Greeks hecanx- civilized There is much early history o f math and science that need to he written in a truthful manner It is obvious that Ihe Europeans being racists and late comers to the civilized world needed to justify the m ythoi their superiority over the rest o f the world Hence, they re write all history to make them apjiear as the originators ol everything Dr Jamil Cherovee Dear Editor Please accc|U my most sincere thanks lor your support lot this year's filth Annual National Council lor Black Studies Pacific Northwest Region X Conference* Ihe couteieixc- was ,ui overwhelming success An estimates! live hundred individuals, including scholars, community and business leaders, and students, participated in tlx- three day program from tlx- re sponses that we have received. Ihe con lerence w as both memorable and histor xa lly significant I lx- conference had a profound impact on tlx- Portland met ropolitan area as well as ihe Pacific Northwest region I he success ol the conference once again is evidences ol the (act that Ihe Portland Slate I'niver sits Department of Black Studies is one ol the leading centers ol A lrxan and African American scholarship Again, thank you lor making the conference an overwhelming success I Itxik lorward to your continued support and gorxl w ill Sincerely. Dr W illiam A Little, Contercixe Coordinator and Vice President, Pacific Northwest Reg ion National Conns il lor Black Studies TO BUILDA BETTER BLACK COMMUNITY. Along the C olor Line by D r M anning Mararne racially-based information Prominent Black neoconservatives like Thomas Sowell. Glen Loury and Clarence Pendleton fre quently assert that the Reagan administration is sincerely committed to the goal o f racial equality They insist that the President shares Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, ideal o f a "c o lo r b lin d " society But what they don't say is that the phrase "c o lo rb lin d " has two distinctly different meanings For King, "c o lo r b lin d " meant transcending the barriers ot legal and de facto wicial segregation For the Reaganites, it means hypocritical rhetoric which favors racial equality as a social end, while sim ul taneously doing everything possible to bury the interests o f Black Americans within the political arena "C o lo r blind” under the era ot Reaganism means a public policy " in v is ib ility " for Afro- Americans Examples arc all too numerous Several years ago, for instance, the Reagan administration made the decision to curtail if not totally eliminate the compilation o f data on the participation o f racial minorities in the job market, in housing and educa tion According to the publication Black Issues in Higher Education, the U S Education Depart ment's Office of C ivil Rights has been ordered to reduce its surveys on school desegregation all over the country. In 19X2, there were over 5,(XX) elementary and secondary school systems which were studied for overall racial balance Two years later, the number o f departmental desegregation studies dropped to 3,5(X) Black Congressman Major R Owens slates that the Reagan administra tion, through the Office o f Management and Budget, has tried to "d o away with information it dixrsn't like under the guise ot reducing paperwork and the burden o f citizens o f fillin g out federal forms " Other vocal critics have insisted that Reagan’s tierce opposition o f racial numerical goals in affirmative action policies has sparked the movement to eliminate the collection o f all lh W i/zfzirz»v Several weeks ago. President Reagan declared that he was unsure whether to dismantle the execu tive order issued in 1965 which requires many Federal contractors to set numerical goals for h ir ing Blacks, Hispanics, women and other minorities First, the President resorted to lying about his own racist political record: " I was doing things about civil rights before there was such a program.” Later. Reagan twisted the meaning o f equality for Blacks: " I think that we must have a color blind society Things must be done for people neither because of nor in spite o f any differences between us in race, ethnic origin or re lig io n ." Reagan’s argument is reinforced by those rightw ing intellectuals and bureaucratic hacks who supervise national c iv il rights policy. The difficulties o f the Reagamte position are spelled out by Mary Frances Berry, a member o f the U S Commission on C iv il Rights " C iv il rights laws were not passed to give c iv il rights protection to all Am ericans," but rather out o f a recognition that "some Americans already had protection because they belonged to a favored g roup," while minorities and women were con fined to "disadvantaged groups," states Berry In other words, it one is "c o lo r b lin d " to the histori cal legacy o f racism, or to the particularity o f oppression suffered by Blacks and other minorities, no policies can ever be developed w hich recognize their specific problems If no data is collected on the socioeconomic, educational and political status o f Afro-Americans, how can their progress or losses be measured? By pretending to be " c o lo rb lin d ," the President and his functionaries are leading a massive retreat from equality . Blacks and their allies must con tinue to press for their rights, understanding that no viable path to equality exists without affirmative action and race-conscious policies Ifu h tb lr ir m h n [ « 'l i l i i i i l H in n tlh m \ r w l o r i p o p r n tn irrtn i1 tt> n a ll\ 4/<»«e m h id I d k s the ( o / o r / me- ,n ( < > /f t f /r I ' n i \ f r i i t \ u p p e u n in o v t r 1411 n r m Healthwatch by Steven Hailey N. D. r* li\ ( hersl S„(<(//< i contain another h.umlul substance cholesterol I he b»xiv needs some cholesterol, but is able to produce enough to meet its needs w itliout taking in any m the diet E xtra cholesterol is stored in the bltxxl and Ixxly tissues When there aie high level' ol at in Ihe blood, the excess stored cholesterol can lead lo tlx- developnx-nl ol sores or ah cessc-s. called "p la q u e s", on the hltxxl vessel walls this is what is known as "alherosc lerosis" <>n the standatd Xiix-ric.in high lal diet these plaques start lo lorm in very young people I hey gradually buildup and c ause a narrow ing ol the blood ves sets I his narrowing reduces the amount ol bltxxl and oxygen tx-ing o r culaled lo Ihe body In tune tlx- heart lues to compensate by raising tlx- blood pressure more and more I his is one ol ihe important causes ot high bltxxl pressure oi hypertension. When (lx- vessels that supply blmxl to ihe heart ilselt heconx- narrowed enough ot bltxked. then any extra de mands on the heart (such as physical strain, emotional stress, or even a laltv meal l c an cause ihe terrible pain ol an gina I venlually the loss ol oxygen to the heart can lead to heart attack Many studies have shown that a diet in which lal and cholesterol are shaq'lv reduced can reverse Ihe plaque forming process, and can reduce or even elimi naie ihe synijitonis caused bv bltxxl vessel damage Eoi the diet to work V U Manx |x-<>ple have certainly lx-aitl Ihe phrase. "yo u are «hat you eat" Every day clearer links are seen het ween our health and our diet Heart and blood problems, like high hlmxl pres vine aixl angina, diseases like diabetes and hypoglycemia. which relate lo I he body's ability lo handle sugar, and many other comnxui ailnx-nts are being lied by researchers to what we cal I he diet eaten in advanced countries, like the I mted Slates, has a total lal content ol 40 50 percent ol the total calorie intake II is also very high in re fin e d carbohydrates, like sugai aixl white lloui Researchers have lound that in jsHirer countries, where people ollen eal less than 20 |x-rcent ol then calories in lal and eal more unrefined t.uls'hydrales I whole grains, beans, trutls. and starchy vegetables), these diseases are lately lound Countries that (all in between in diet habits also tail in between in disease rales High tais and refined carbohydrates mean more degenerative diseases Ihe kind ol lal docs not seem lo mailer as much as the total amount While saturated tats dike margarine, butler, atxl meal tall are considered to lx* more damaging than liquid vegeta ble oils, it's the total amount ot lals ol all kinds that counls I he more lal. the more disease symptoms Besides lal. nearly all animal toods IS PORTLAND OBSERVER well, refined carbohydrates and salt should be reduced, loo, since these have bad effects on blmxl lal levels and water retention I he same kind ot diet has been seen lo help prevent or reverse other disease pnxesses as well, such as diabetes or hypoglycemia, and certain arthritic conditions Some cancers, such as colon and breast cancel, have also been linked lo high lal in the diet I here are many benefits lo Itxtk lo r ward loon a low lal diet E very member ot your family from the youngest child on up w ill enjoy better health And children who develop low lat eat ing habits can Itxik forward lo more disease Iree adult years Prevention is always easier than cure One unexpected advantage ol a low tai diet is that, even though you in crease Ihe unrefined carbohydrates in your diet (the whole grains potatoes, beans, and Iruils). you w ill not gain weight, and it you are overweight, this diet is a great way lo reduce while eat ing satisfy mg quantities Some bixiks to give you more gui dance on how to change your own diet are t it m h i t by Covert Bailey. Ih e P iillla ii I h i l by Nathan I’ritikin. and Ih t Mt D o a g d l T h in by John MeDougal In a later column I w ill talk about Ihe role ol exercise in lal and sugar mclabolivm. and practical ap proaches to changing your diet US for orx yti' ♦?S for two years Bo> 313? Portland 0 * 9 I I Si-sai < rn n o m < Q ö Ï * ? ft < Z * O T Apt CI TV state * ZIP P o rtla n d Observer____ Th« Portland O t n m e r IU S P S 9»«U U I ’• putAahed M P , Thurydey by E m PutWtexng Company. Ine.. HB3 N E K *n g e worth. Portland Oragon #7211. Poet Ottica B oi 3137. Portland Oragon 97209 Second data poaraga paal el Portland O ago n rw*9*«W Ok. MEMBER Subecnpttone (neater 115 00 par year In the Tn County area Poal Sand addraaa changea lo lha Portland O b am e r. P 0 o a»»' -aA'i-aaA, •zafeiM' 288-0033 Boa 3137. Portland. Oragon 97209 A lfre d L. Henderson, E d ito r/Publisher Aaaociebon - founded 1995 > )«•> The Portland Otaervee was eatabkahad m 1970 € 5 -f -t jö IO CZ) * -f ? X. 3) A l Williams, General Manager ■a* N a tio n a l Ac v a rtia in g R e p re s e n ta tiv e A m a lg a m a te d P u b liah era. Ine N e w York
