- iL)p 2
•’
• d Observer November 12. 1986
Along the Color Line
EDITORIAL/OPINION
by Dt M a n n in g M arable
D* M «- rung Mer «»(><** I« p*
at Pursue Ur, I y e» v t»
Freedom And Social Justice
E c o n o m ic and B la c k
P ris o n s — T he In ju s tic e A g a in s t B la c k s
W e have to do so m e th in g a b o u t crim inals, tin t w hat
we are d o in g n o w is not rig h t
It is un,ust it d o e sn 't
work and it wastes b illio n s Consider som e facts
This c o u n try lia s m o te p e op le in prison per capita
than any o ilie r in d u stria lize d na tio n in the w o rld and
the 'argest ethrnr g ro u p in our prisons is B la rks
We
also hand o u t the s tifln s t sentences, and on the ave
rag>- t>lai k o ffe n d e rs in federal prisons serve 20 percent
longer sen teni e s for the same crim e as tfo w h ite o fle n
t ie s
Yet all th is lo c k in g up does US little g o od fot
A c erica has ,lm w o rld 's highest recidivism (form er in
m ates w h o re tu rn Io i n m e l ra le generally estim a te d .it
Zb percent
f lin tie r
the num ber o f Blai ks in prisons has little to
do w ith crim e
One stu d y fo u n d that the pe rcentage
of Blacks in a p o p u la tio n w .is the ch ie f pre d icto r o f
in carce ra tion rates even th o u g h there was no direct
relation lx*,w ee n d ie num ber o f Blai ks and d ie crim e
rate
Former prison w arden W illiam Nagel o f die A m erican
F o u n d a tio n did the stud y Nagel discovered, fo r exam
pie, d ia , M ississippi has the highest p e n entarje o f
B la rks of any stale has a very low i rim e rale, b u , ye,
has a very high inr an e ra tio n rate
C olorado, on the o th e r hand tias a very sm all per
cen tage of Blai ks a very hig h < rim e rate and yet a
very lo w in ca rce ra tio n rate
Nor are these isolated
exam ples
Nagel fo u n d d ia , lo t every 10 pen ent in
cre.ise in the pe rcentage o f B la ik s in the jm jiu la tio n .
any given state w o u ld tend to add another 3 / b prison
ers per 100.000 p o p u la tio n
Our prison system m ust tie r h a n g e r )
I II disc uss
som e in n o va tive so lu tio n s in a fu tu re colum n
Ai, . ,
II
..........
IM
. ■ • ’
IW
I Atta
c>, it ■ c .,1 , ,,r s, „ .Lt,,i,„h i, i , ,
D e m o c ra tic C o n tro lle d U.S. S enate C o u ld B e n e fit B la cks
A fte r the vote s w ere fin a lly tallied fro m the Novem ber
General Election, the D e m ocrats had 55 o f the 100 U S
Senate seats, a net gain o f eight seats The reco ntrol
of the Senate by ttie D e m ocrats w as a m ajor defeat
for President R onald Reagan
D u ring the cam paign.
Reagan visitie d 22 states and traveled som e 25,000
m iles o n the be ha lf o f R epublican S en atorial candidates
W ith the D e m o cra ts n o w having the m a jo rity in bo th
the U S H ouse and Senate. President Reagan is surely
to become a lam e du ck president
H o w eve r, the
c o n tro l o f th e U S Senate by the D e m ocrats cou ld
b e n e fit m illio n s o f A m ericans
For a D e m ocrat c o n lro le d Senate and House w ill
p ro b a b ly m ake it m ore d iffic u lt for Reagan to c o n tin u e
som e o f his do m estic po licies w h ic h have b ro u g h t dis
pair to m illio n s of A m ericans, especially the elderly,
p o o r, farm ers, and blue collar w o rkers
Equally im p o rta n t, perhaps, the D e m ocrats w ill slow
of
m
> m ,
<t p. •»•tai -, »• .»
j,
.«(>(>•-<»'% m over
inter national!»
bv
Alexander R Jones
The U S p riso n system represents a great in justice
tut Blai li A m e rica Feat, and th e th irs t to r pu n ish m e n t
are takin g yo u n g lil.n k m en gone aw ry and casting
the m in to hell holes where they be co m e angry, bitte r,
.mil m ore crim in a l Ilia n ever There, they are the targets
uf u n to ld b ru ta lity ranging fro m tie a tin g s to psychiatric
ex|>erim entati( in
‘ »- s m .'
Along the Color I
the Reagan A d m in is tra tio n s attar ks on civil rig hts
S ince Reagan s firs, term in o ff" e tie has m ade civil
rig h ts and civil rig h ts e n fo n em ent the lo w est p riority
on his agenda
In f a t , |ust las, w e e k the S eattle
o ffic e o f the U S C om m ission on Civil R ights an noun
ced that the y w ill close as a result of federal bu dg e,
cu ts
By g a in ing c o n tro l o , It» ’ Serial»' the D em ocrats
w ill also have d ie m a jo rity on the all im jx jrta n , J u d ii lary
Commit,»re The C o m m itte e appro ves nom inees o l d ie
President to the federal be nch and tier ides on a host of
P o litic a l P o w e r "
Since the G tea, D epression, m ost black p o liticia n s
and the black e le c,o ,a te have sup p o rte d p u b lic policies
w h ich a,e c o m m o n ly id e n tifie d as 'lib era l'
A ctu a lly,
in the c o n te x t o f in ,e ,n a tio n a l p o litics, the progressive
po licy agenda fa vo re d by m ost black A m erican s is
social de m ocra cy
increased u n e m p lo ym e n t pro
gram s, pu blic ho u sin g expanded health cate, educa
tional o p p o t,u n ity , m afor re d u ctio n s in m ilitary spen
ding, and so fo rth
E conom ic change was alw ays tied
to p o litica l change
The strategy o f b l.ti k social de m ocra cy has been
pushed in co a litio n w ith o th e r mass co n stitu e n cie s
such as organ ized la,»or
A t the h e ig h , of the Civil
R ights m ove m en t this co a litio n secured the a d o p tio n
o f th e Civil R ights and V o tin g R ig ,its A cts, as w ell as
the W a r on P overty
S h ifts in de m o g ra p h y and poll
tu al cu ltu re , as w ell .is the im p act o f Black Power and
the d e flate over V ie tn am , slo w ly de stro ye d this coalt
tion
The collapse o f w h ite litieralism and c o n c u rre n tly
the Reagaruzation of b o th m ajor parties has isolated
and fru s tra te d b o th black leaders and the ir c o n s titu e n ts
In this harsh e n viro n m e n t of the free m arket and Ram
txusm
.i politic al rea lig nm e nt inside th e M ock co m m u
ruty was perhaps iiievitatil«» A new p o litic a l m y th o lo g y
w .is created w h ich a tte m p te d to net,ate the real sic
i esses o f the Civil R ights M ove m en t
One p ro m o te , o f th is new m y th o lo g y is R obert
W ood son president o f th e N ational ( 'e n t e r to r N e ig h
tx irh o o d Enterpnsr
In a ris en, in te rv ie w W o o d so n
presented a th o u g h tfu l, it erro ne ous critiq u e u f the past
strategu s h o t,c o m in g s o f civil n g , it s o rg a n iza tio n s
M o s t g ro u jis in this sot ie ,y didn , start o ff try in g to
achieve p o litic a l eq u ity
They w e n, in to business.
W o o d so n ob serve d
Blacks, u n fo rtu n a te ly , have
civil rig h ts issues
Under the leaders,up o f o u tg o in g C hairm an S tro m
T hurm ont), R S C the J u d ic ia ry Com rruttee had be
com e anti r ivil rig hts by r o n firm in g |ud < i.c a p ,xiin ,e e s
w fio are ove rtly in s e n s itiv e t o issues im j «riant to n m o
nties H o pe fu lly a m ore sensitive D em ocrat. m a jo rity
focused alm ost e xclusive ly on civil rig h ts for th e jias,
tw e n ty years ot so as if a p plying civil rig h ts so lu tio n ?
w o u ld som e ho w translate in to eco no m ic e q u ity It does
not
W o o d s o n s base a rg um e nt, tti.rt p o litic a l pow er
does n o t translate in to eco no m ic po w e r, is an over
S im p lifica tio n
It is tru e tha t sp e cific social classes
w h ich exercise p o litic a l leverage w ith in the state m ay
no, w itdd sim ilar a u th o rity in the m arketplace, and vice
versa Bu, to suggest that sm ial classes o t even eth nic
groups whi» h achieve a level o f poldu al e m p o w e rm e rtt
do nut at least in d ire c tly increase their ca p a city to rea
lize their o b je ctive in te rests in th e eco n o m ic realm is
pure fantasy
M oreover, W o o d so n ha stily a tte m p ts to re w rite black
po litica l h isto ry by ju xtip o sm g the stru g g le for civil
rig h ts w ith black eco n o m ic d e ve lo p m e n t
The firs,
M arch on W a sh in g to n M o ve m e n t, organized tiy trade
unionist A Philip Randolph in 1941, cu lm in a te d in the
,11 hievernent o f E xecutive O rder B812 w h ic h desegre
gated defense f.u tones The second M arch on W ash
in g to n . D C tw e n ty tw o years later, called fo t a < o m
prehensive jobs p ro g ra m A ffirm a tiv e actio n, a c e n tra l
tenet o f the civil fig h ts agenda, has created h u nd reds
nf tho usan ds uf jo b o p p o rtu n itie s to t m in o ritie s and
w om en
But despite the actual record. W o o d s o n in
sists ttia t civil tig h ts leaders have ig no red eco n o m ic
issues
"If you have econom ic p o w e r /' W o o d s o n
re,»eats
you vote every d.ty w ith your m on ey If you
have political (lo w er. you vote only on ce every tw o
years '
No blac k A m erican can be against strateg ies for
jro u j» eco n o m ic de velopm e nt
Bu, to counterpose
ttiem to a p o litic a l strateg y tot e m p o w e rm e n t is short
sighted am i w io m j
ON SOUTH AFRICA
Ju d icia l C o m m itte e w ill reverse this disgrai eful trend
" W IT H D R A W A L " FR O M S O U T H A F R IC A : A
LEND LEASE S C A M
The Foundation of Your Child's Education is
So
,• .! tug Amen» an co rp o ra tio n s art* w ith d ra w in g
tio ru S ou th A ,m a
o i are th e y ’
A ll th e e v id e n t e s a y th»*y a re n o ,
IN THE HOME
Rei e u , c o ijio ra te nu ll o u ts all ajiear to have certain
asjiec ,s in < o m m o n
w ith d ra w a l tias been ai tueved
by selling iti»’ e xistin g plan, and o f business to a con
veoiently available loi al ijto u ji
1
Io e .i. h i e.e the
2
Io eai ti i ase the business is i o n tin u m g u n in te r
tu jite d ly ( oke m ade fro m the co m p a n y s sy,up is still
ben j sold Cats an il tru i ks am still m ade in the form er
(iM ,Manis and sold to the S o u th A b u an arm y im n n g
oth ers IB M tias beaten the N ovem ber deadline io the
new A m erican san ction s l«*gisldbori w ith a long term
i o n ,ta t , to t sales .rod serve e o t its c o m p u te rs
so
useful tu the new id e n tity i an, system and to S o u th
A frica n m ilitary o p e ra tio n s
as w ell as fo i the transfer
o, f u t u r e t e c h n o lo g y
A . a ilin g to the W a sh in g to n
Post o f 23 Oi tobru
behind the ,a< ade of
sales and service
burg) o f 22 Oi to b e r
in te nd ed to serve as i
a w ill tie business as usual
ni^w i om p a n y lo go s in term s of
Or as Business Day (Joh an nes
j»uts it the local op e ra tio n s ate
o n d u d s for A m e rica n e xp o rts in to
S ou th A frica
3
F urthe rm o re m each re jx irte d case th e w ith d ra w
mg ro r,M ira tio n is not n o w re p a tria tin g the p u n base
price o f the business sold to local in te rests Instead
it is fin a n c in g th e deal for the local purchasers Indead
on 22 O ctober Ttie Star I Jo h a n n e sb u rg ! re p o rte d
huge
in flo w s o l m oney in t o S o u th A tm a as A m erican com
panies scram bled to reorganize their e q u ity o< fina ncial
stru c tu re in th is c o u n ity
These new arra ng em en ts tiave m any advantages
C urrent S o u th A to. an finam ial c o n tro ls m ake repatria
lio n o f ( apital u n p ro fita b le but by the tim e the put
( hase pm e is repaid i o n tro ls may be lifte d or eased.
M ea nw hile The
w ith d ra w in g
c o rp o ra tio n d r.iw s
wtu .pj ..ng interest on its Io.in A n d the N ew York T im ps
ie jio ite .1 on 24 O ctober th a t at least som e » o rp o ta tio n s
a»e o e ijo t a lio n buy lia ck agreem ents
Clevet i o rp ora te strateg ists have thu s devised a
to rm u la
likely Io tie fo llo w e d by other U S com
jia o ie s
wh>. b is le s iijr ie d to w m p la u d its fo t (lu llin g
out o f S o u th A fric a w h ile enabling the m to c o n tin u e to
shore up the S o u th A frica n regim e w ith the it p ro d u c ts
and theit »oiled over ca p ita l c o n trib u tio n s
O jijio n e n ts o f the a p arthe id regim e m ust th e re fo re
os ognize ttia t the new fo rm o t w ith d ra w a l is n o , a
v ic to ry It is ttie new stra te g e in to un de rm ine san ction s
and to disarm the d ive stm e n t cam p aign
The divest
m ent b a ttle m ust co n tin u e u n til n o t only all fo re ig n cot
p o ta tio n s but also the ir p ro d u c ts services and m on ey,
have tieen to ta lly w ith d ra w n fro m S ou th A m erica and
N am ibia and they no longer give aid and i o m fo rt to the
w h ite m in o rity regim e in Pretoria
R eprinted fro m Episcopal ChurchPeople for a Free
S o u th e rn A b u a. ne w sle tte r no 4 /
Healthwatch
by Steven Bailey. N D
The recent N ew England Jou rna l of M edn me article
on th e relatio nship tie tw e e n alcoh ol c o n s u m p tio n and
th e in» idence of stroke lO c tu tie i 23 1986» exem plifies
h o w sta tistica l analysis < an lie u s e d ,<» su p p o rt in sig n if
Portland Observer
T M ei./il««<r r»iuw>w ( u s e s w n a i i n ,.,.r * v .« i
1b..rvt«v by , « • euhfcUwn) Cofupxe» Inc
14B3 N t rr««>u»
worth PurlUnd Or»ouri 972,1 Po»t Otfic» Bor J , 37 Portlxrwt
Oraynn 9720B Sar ond < la « pottaqa
M Portland
Thw
t .« rvA-.t* M (
••
MEMBER
» n o c a i.o n • foundad ,M S
O tw w
mtaMabed m 19M)
Subac t^itvm* P S 00 i * raw «t the Tn County ara» Po«t
m a tta r Sami a>ktr«« « hançat to the Av-rta««, n f t v « .« P O
288 0033
B oi 3137 Portland Ortg»xi9720B
■\ II red / Henderson. I dilor/Publisher
AI Williams, General Manager
N a tio n a l A d v e rtis in g A ep ra a a n ta tiv a
A m a lg a m a ta ti P u b lis h e r* Inc
N e w York
ican, relatio nships and still rei eive w ide na tion al recog
nitron for th e fin d in g s
This rep ort co n clu d e d that
peopl»* w h o drink 4 tim es the average m o u n t of a lcoh ol
are much m ore likely to develop a stroke than people
w h o drink an average am o un t W h ile I d o n ', d o u b t ttia t
th e s ta te m e n t is true, it is like the statem e nt that people
w h o pass a d rivin g test are m ost likely to lie the
causative force in m ost car accide nts
The reason that I fin d fhe stud y to lie in sig n ifica n t is
th a t the researchers failed to prove any spe cific causa
liv e role in th is stu d y
They tailed to consider any
social e co n o m ic, p sych o lo g ic or n u tritio n a l fa c to rs in
assessing llie ti w o rk W h a , they did sh o w is th a , people
w h o th ro u g h sam pling, rep ort high a lco h o l in ta ke aie
m ore likely, as a u n ifie d g ro up , to develop stroke
Inclu de d in the bs g ro u p are those w h o drink due to
severe depression, in dividu als w h o do cardiovascular
dam age due to high b lo o d sugai people w h o p ro vid e a
s ig n ifica n t p o rtio n o , the ir daily caloric in ta ke in
m p ty
i atones
people w h o im b ib e in oth er dru gs w h ic h m ay
in d ivid u a lly c o n trib u te to stroke d e velopm e nt yet m el,
in to the lu m p classifii a tio n o , heavy a lco h o l " intake
The next tim e you read a re p o rt o f a stu d y th a , con
eludes a fairly ob vio u s generalized sta te m e n t, take if
w ith a gram o, salt for i, m ay really tiave very little
usable in fo rm a tio n in spite o f all the g lo ry th a t sur
ro u n d s the fin d in g s
C ertainly overuse o f a lco h o l has
m any ne ga tive social and personal he alth aspects
There is m u i h research to explain w h y it m ay in d ivid
ually w o rsen m any he alth ( on ce tn s so w h y plai e so
m uch e xi dem ent on the revelation that i, d o e s ’ M aybe
out research dollars w o u ld be be tte r spent on n u tritio n a l
pro gra m s edm atronal pro gra m s on life style and sub
stance at,use and research on h o w to got som e o f
these hig h level a lco h o l con sum e rs lo d im in is h then
habits
Support Our Advertisers!
Say you saw it in the
Portland Observer!