Portland Observer, November 5, 1908
Letters to the Editor
Along the Color Line
by Dr Manning Marable
"A Third Force Or A Third Party"
Dr. W .E.B. DuBoi», in "Reconstruction" Mid: "The
most magnificent drama in the last thouMnd years of
human history is the transportation of ten million human
beings out of the dark beauty of their mother continent
into the new found Eldorado of the West
They de
scandad into HoH; and in the third century they arose
from the dead, in the finest effort to achieve democracy
for the working millions which this world had ever seen
It was a tragedy that beggared the Greek; it was an up
heaval of humanity like the Reformation and the French
Revolution. Yet we are blind and led by the blind. We
discern in it no part of our labor movement; no part of
out industrial triumph; no part of our religious exper
ience Before the dumb eyes of ten generations of the
tan million children, it is made mockery of and spit
upon; a degradation of the eternal mother; a sneer at
tumen effort; with aspiration and art deliberately and
Maborately distorted. And why? Because in a day
when the human mind aspired to a science of human
»ction, a history and psychology of the mighty effort of
the mightiest century, we fell under the leadership of
those who would compromise with truth in the post in
order to make peace in the present and guide policy in
the future."
Black people have yet to formulate a precise modus
operandi for the acquisition of power and the politics of
survival. Mao Tse-Tung wrote: "W hat my enemy
affirms, I reject. What my enemy rejects, I affirm."
That defines a philosophical parameter for action, but in
the unique experience of the Afro-Amenkan, a rejection
of the apparatus of the majority leaves no alternative If
Black people refuse to operate within the system in the
belief they will be oc-opted, what kind of alternatives
are open to acquire Black Power and insure Black sur
vival? W e must acquire Political Power. There is no
other recourse. Political Power is government control
or the ability to decide who shall control. Black Political
Power, a direct funtion of numerical weakness, is
limited solely to the ability to infrequently influence
that control and, then, on the most peripheral levels
Black Political Power has rarely been in the forefront of
controlling or influencing the control of government
Caucasian Plitical Power has maintained a monopoly on
the apparatus of control by winning elections and, so
doing, demeaning Black Political Power. Ever since
,860. national elections have been won by one of the
two major parties, the Democrats or the Republicans
They have done so by putting together the broadest of
Dr
the elect or ate
Black people ore owned lock, stock and barrel by the
Democratic Party which has as much contempt for
them as Mr Reagan and Company. The reason the
"Black vote" has rarefy decided the outcome of an
election is because of its Political ignorance and blind,
single party loyalty. For example, in 1932 and 1936,
when Amerikans voted overwhelmingly for a Demo
cratic President. Black people m opposite numbers
voted for the Republican candidate, because a Repub
licen President had freed their ancestors 70 years ago.
They were still paying Political booty Then, in 1962 and
1966, Amenka shifted its political sentiment and voted
in equally overpowering numbers for a Republican Pre
sident, but Black people voted Democratic 74% and
77% respectively in those two elections. This time they
were paying Political booty to a Democratic President
who hod put food in their stomachs.
Block and caucasotd leaders have a moral responsi
bility to use their training and skills to help solve the
racial, political, educational, and economic problems
facing poor people in the State of Oregon. They must
address these problems and direct attention towards re
forming the "Power interests" in the State of Oregon
who demonstrate little concern for the poor and dis
advantaged Educators, ministers, and teachers should
not misuse their profession by an unhealthy society to
justify the exploitation of Blacks and the poor. Instead
of changing people's minds to conform to an unhealthy
society, our professionals should work to change
society. Let's deal with the social disorders, let's deal
with the cause, and maybe we can lessen the effects.
W e must become aware of the unhealthy social condi
tions affecting the physical and psychological well
being of Black and poor Caucasian Amerikans No one
should be asked to accept and adjust to inequalities
and injustices
Sociologists, psychiatrists, and pay
shologists should use the constructs and primcples of
their professions to improve the quality of life for the
poor and oppressed in Oregon
Amerika is entering an era started under the Johnson
administration and one which the Reagan Administra
tion is neurotically pursuing with a vengeance. It is
the era of caucasoid consensus Politics "Come let us
reason together," exhorted Lyndon Johnson in a ter
rible bastardization of the sentiments of one of the
greatest Biblical prophets
Dr Jamil Cherovee
ON SOUTH AFRICA
D isengagem ent From South Africa
IBM. through provision of strategic items, will not cause
South Africa's military budget to shrink
Therefore,
there will be no restraint on South Africa's ability to
wage violence and war against its neighbors and its own
citizens '*
Editors Herman and Conrad, who have travelled,
written and spoken extensively, are available for inter
views on issues of corporate withdrawal from South
Africa and sanctions Herman has been to South Afn
ca, including Soweto, and heads AFSC's nationwide
education and organizing work on South Africa. Con
rad has testifier, before the United Nations committees
and is the author of an AFSC book "Automating Apar
theid." Conrad's original research on high tech sales to
South Africa is widely utilized by anti apartheid activists
and organizations around the world Both are exper
lenced with the media The AFSC has staff based in
Southern Africa and has been working on the issues in
volved for more than 26 years Please call for details
Paul Brink (215 241 7060); (215 241 7000); (215 544
20381
Local contact in Portland Avel Gordly, 2249 E Burn
side, 230 9427
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Alfred L. Henderson. Editor/Publisher
A l Williams. Genero! Manquer
Along iha Color Lora
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"T h e Paradox of D e s e g re g a tio n "
Perhaps the greatest challenge facing the black
community today is the "paradox of desegregation "
Neither Mertin Luther King, Jr., nor his contemporaries
inside the civil rights leadership a generation ago. anti
cipated the political and social problems which would
be generated by the very successes of their social move
ment for equality During the Jim Crow era. the black
middle class was small, yet highly organized and organi
cally connected with every element of black working
class life. Black doctors or dentists had no choice ex
cept to open their offices in all black neighborhoods,
because few or no whites would become their patients
Black teachers usually were employed in all black
school systems, black attorneys normally had black
clients, black entrepreneurs had to look to the black
consumer market for their sales
Racial segregation
created a barrier which was both repressive and an
asset to black group solidarity
This is not to be nostalgic for Jim Crow, in the least
The totalitarianism of rigid racial stratification of the
labor force, and the denial of democratic rights and
civil liberties, was odious to every black American. The
desegregation struggle was a populist movement, in the
sense that it galvinized the near unanimous energies
and support of every segment of the national black
community The popularity of the mass movement was
partially a function of the clarity of the issues at stake
To oppose Jim Crow meant to strike a blow against
second class schools, segregated residential districts,
and inferior social services
A vote for Lyndon Johnson in 1964, from a black
perspective, was to endorse voting rights legislation,
expand welfare programs, increased educational oppor
tumties, and other liberal reforms which were of imme
diate and direct benefit But as the Great Society co
alition fell apart, the question of group interests became
more complex
Affirmative action pitted traditional
liberal allies against each other, as the conservative
Republicans began to make a successful bid for dis
enchanter, white workers and Dixiecrats
The white
left liberals who campaigned for McCarthy and McGo
vern had gravitated behind Gary Hart and his not so
new ideas Each segment o, the liberal alliance went its
own way. leaving blacks politically isolated
Class stratification dramatically increased within the
black community between 1970 and 1986 As the num
bers of college educated blacks soared, a new social
stratum began to Oreak away from the bulk of the black
working class and the poor One could term this new
group the "buppies"; black urban professionals By the
tradition of their racial group's political culture, they
were Democrats But in terms of their own historical
experiences and class expectations, they shared a firm
kinship with the new white upper middle class, the
"yuppies ." They had faint memories of Martin Luther
King, Jr., and the civil rights movement. They were
generally too young to take part in the sit ins and mas
sive desegregation campaigns, and had no direct per
sonal experiences in civil disobedience.
The "buppies", unlike the older black middle class,
generally do not live or work in all black environments,
and maintain fewer ties to the traditional political and
social institutions of the black community. The paradox
of desegregation, in short, created a parvenu black
elite which was in effect at odds with the very concept
of black solidarity around progressive economic and
social policies In this sense, black conservatives like
Glen Loury and Walter Williams are "buppie theorists":
uncritical apologists for the big corporations, Reagan
ism and political reaction against blacks.
The crisis of black politics can be resolved through
the development of multiclass and multiracial, progrès
sive political structures, agencies of social change
which bring together all elements of the black commu
nity The Rainbow Coalition has the potential for créa
ting a vehicle which unite the educated and relatively
affluent black middle strata with the vast majority of
blacks who remain unemployed, impoverished, and/or
within the working class. It also may build links with
segments of the traditional labor movement, feminist,
peace, and other liberal constituencies, which hold the
greatest promise for participation in a new progressive
coalition in the 1990s Yet in the long run, the success
for such a coalition which could challenge the new con
servative hegemony depends upon a radical realign
ment of the Democratic party, and probably a decisive
split between the party's liberal and conservative fac
tions Until this occurs, we can expect the continued
defection of some black politicians and intellectuals to
the right, as well as a deepening of the crisis inside
the black electorate as a whole Unless the black free
dom movement quickly regains its capacity to take the
offensive against the right, the entire American liberal
left may be isolated in the political wilderness for
another generation.
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Call For Total U .S. Econom ic
The IBM, General Motors and Coca Cola changes in
South Africa must be seen as interim steps toward the
necessary total U.S economic disengagement in that
country, the American Friends Service Committee de
dared today
"While we welcome their recent announcements,”
said Jerry Herman of the Quaker organization, "These
firms still will be supporting and making profits from the
apartheid system W e call on them to totally disengage
economically in order to bring a new beginning for that
troubled land and its oppressed majority."
Thomas Conrad, as AFSC researcher/author, who is
one of the nation's foremost authorities on computer
exports, said IBM's equipment has been used for years
in sensitive and military/strategic ways as well as to
repress the Blacks and other peoples "IBM technology
is widely used by local government officials, who are in
the forefront of enforcing the apartheid system," he
said Their sale of South Africa operations will in no
way limit their sales to South African authorities
Herman, coordinator of AFSC U.S. programs on
South Africa, said "GM . IBM, and Coca Cola, through
payment of corporate taxes and in the case of GM and
M enrang MofoIXo is protaeoor of oocalogy and pohtica, octanes
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A m é lg a m e te d P u » » e h e r» , In c
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J u ve n ile C e n te r G ood Public Policy
A joint plan by the Portland Public Schools,
the State Children's Service Division, the Port
land Private Industry Council, and the Mult
nomah County Juvenile Court to build an edu
cation and training center for juvenile often
ders is good public policy.
Youngsters who are released from state run
training centers face a gamut of problems after
they are released back into their respective
communities. Chief among them is lack of
academic achievement in the classroom,
which is one of the main reasons many get
into trouble in the first place.
Not only will the new training center address
the youngsters’ educational needs, it will also
reduce the state juvenile population. As with
many adult prisoners incarcerated in state pri
sons, many juvenile offenders have no busi
ness in state training facilities in the first place.
By providing these kids a place where they
can receive the necessary education that is
essential in making them productive citizens,
our entire state will benefit.