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