V P.iqez, i oitidiid Observer, May 20, 1987 Along the Color Line A G R e s e a rc h : C u ltiv a tin g D o lla rs fo r O re g o n by Or M an n in g M ar able 0< a by W ilburn E D . iv is B u t fababeans w h e n green, they resem ble lim a beans o ffe r p ro m ise as feed for O regon sw ine, w h ic h o fte n eat m ore expensive feeds b ro u g h t in fro m o u t o f state A s a c ro p n e w to O regon, fababeans are a fo c u s o f a g ric u ltu ra l scie n tists' research at the O regon A g n c u l tu ra l E xperim ent S ta tio n , baser! on the O regon S ta te U n iv e rs ity cam p us in Corvallis A n d they .ire b u t one exam ple o f h o w exp e rim e n t s ta tio n researt hers are w o rk in g year ro u n d and state w id e to i m ate ne w p ro d u cts, to fin d ne w m a rke ts, to le n g th e n shelf lives and to im p ro ve the q u a lity o f fo o d s w e eat In a state w h ere a g ricu ltu re is one o f ttie to p tw o in d u s trie s , the e x p e rim e n t s ta tio n ’s c o n trib u tio n s can be as a ttra c tiv e to our farm ers as an un gra zed alfalfa m e .id o w is to a h u n g ry heifer C onsider these exam ples ■ trea watermelon growet ftei harvest their cro p s u n til late July, long after the Fourth of Ju ly peak o f w a te rm e lo n co n s u m p tio n A g ric u ltu ra l E xperim ent S ta tio n researchers, ho w e ver are w o rk in g w itti fab ni a n il plastn row covers used in f uro pe that m ay he lp m elons ripen earlier w hile also p ro te i tin g them against in clem e nt w eather • M a n y O rego n g ro w e rs o f .o ft w h ite w tie a t are lo sing m oney because a g lu tte d w o rld m arket lias de pressed prices C rop si le ntists titta i lied to O S U . flo w ever are d e veloping strains of hard red w in te r w tie a t, like th.rt g ro w n in the Plains states w h ii h m ay enable O regon w heat g ro w e rs to ini lease overseas sales • Turkey*. a $12 l million cash crop for O re g o n in 1985. eat expensive M id w e st g ro w n i orn and soy beans A nim al si le ntists are ex|>erim enting w ith yellow peas and w ith a w heat rye co m b in a tio n th a t can be g ro w n in O regon If suci essful, they w ill have redin ed tu rke y g ro w e rs I o sls w h ile also expanding m arkets for O regon field i tops Even if yon aren t a farm er to you "A lo n g the C o k x l r w ... over ’ 40 n a w w a p iix m lm nalio naav C hances are y o u 'v e never heard o f a fababean Even if yo u have, they p ro b a b ly a re n 't g ro w in g in you r back yard garden • M anning M . -.itila « jyotaaao. o t «ociotogv and potare al acian« • al Poirtiw U n n n iM iy this resean h is im p o rta n t If farm ers can t g ro w t to p s e co n o m ic a lly and then sell the m , they w o n t m ake a p ro fit I, farm ers c a n 't m a ke a p ro fit, the y w o n t .(lend m on ey w ith local restaurants, gro cery stores, service sta tio n s, travel agents, appliance dealers and theaters To those in a g ricu ltu re , w o rk at the exp e rim e n t sta lio n is as e x c itin g as tha t being c o n d u c te d at IB M or Bell Labs For exam ple, cro p scie n tists at the exp e rim e n t sta tio n developed the S tep hen s w h ea t variety, an unusual ly disease resistant strain tha t n o w a cco u n ts fo r nearly 75 percent o f w h ea t g ro w n in O regon Research also d o m e stica te d a crop called m ea do w foa m , w h ich yields a high p rice d oil used in cosm etics, lu b rica n ts and soaps A nd they in tro d u c e d bush beans so th a t O regon far m ers, w h o pre vio usly g re w pole beans, c o u ld use m ore eco no m ical m echanical harvesters Because O regon g ro w s m ore than 170 crop s in 10 d is tin c t regions, the A g ric u ltu ra l E xperim ent S tatio n also w o rks statew ide Branch sta tio n s are lo cated in A u ro ra . M e d fo rd , H o od River M o ro R edm ond. Burns, K la m ath Falls H erm iston, Pendleton. U n ion and O ntario fh e ir w o rk ranges fro m p o ta to e s and o n io n s to ca, tie and sheep In a d d itio n related o p era tions to help g ro w e rs w ith Easter lilies and seafood o p era te at B ro o kin g s and A storia Experim ent statio n research also teach stud ents, and the branch stations across O regon are available to both graduate and unde rgrad ua te stu d e n ts for their studies Ret og nizing the clear e co n o m ic value o f this re search, the 1985 Legislature vo te d O regon L o tte ry re venues to build ne w facilbe s Io c o n d u c t research in to g ro w in g (M)tatoes la $100 m illio n dollar in d u s try in Ore g o n l and raising sheep (w h ere O regon is No 8 na tion a llyl A i ross O regon, these advances in a g ricu ltu ra l sci w h ethe r in fru its fo w l forag e or fababeans State and federal dollars invested in the Aqn< ultu ral e rii e are b o o s tin g th e s ta te s farm e c o n o m y I xpenm enr S ta tio n have an eco no m ic p a y o ff th a t ex te n d s b e y o n d O re g o n s b o rd e rs a m i ,n l o s s g e i e r a t « i Ol SI WS IH I W e usually th in k o f this con tra du bon m »»tther racial term s, or gender term s Tti.it is. m ost ot us are n o w sensitized to racial prejudu w e kn o w it w h e n w e see it J im C ro w as d legal system no longer e n s ts W e are less sensitized to gender disc rim m a tior >>r sewism But we all k n o w th a t jo b disc rim m atior -r educ ational dis crim in a tio n against w o m e n is n o t «•< «»pt.tbh tnd th a t it is illegal Yet so m any o f us w h o are a< c u te ly cons« »ous of these fo rm s of disc rim m a tio n o v e r l o o k tb«» system ic disad vanta ges of the poor w e an fre q u e n tly b lin d to the c rip p lin g stereo types m-p. •,»•f >. .«« -• . p o rn ip le s a n d polic les w h ic h p e rp e tu a te ttie aft • me o v e r a n d ab<>ve ttie ♦ • • f litis m IS ttie I’ JH , ra te plannee I a n d A n d t h e r e «in • gro u p o f people , ste u • . j • - , • a n d ju s tify «Hitist p o lic ie s nun . r i,,, • . a m p le s or m a n ife s ta tio n s o f in eq uality T h e re is th e in e q u a lity » ,M,m ,n o ‘il by th o se m illio n s o f A m e rica n s w h o liv e tie W the p o ve rty line or w h o de pend on pubic as ,i ta n • for their survival There is the in e q u a lity o f tt ♦ • 20 m illio n Amenc ans w h o g o to sle«»p h u n q ry «sic h jtit There is the* in e q u a lity o f ttie s m a ll fa rm e r a n d fa rm w o rk e r n o rn ii w h o is fore ed in to e c o p e n u ry b y d e s tri« tiv e fe d e ra l g o v e rn m e n t p o ll tie s a n d by ttie a g rib u s m e s s e s s < » re p e titive p o w e r o f m o n o p o ly o w n e d In e q u a lity < a n n o t be s e p a ra te d fr o m Wilt t h ir d 4 ill f.im ili«*s whic h liv e tie lo w th e f »• J«*r a p n v x a ty l«‘vel «rre headed tiy wom«»n U c A is iM c tip n h e n d th e ro le o f m u lti D . iv is is i h»n<.«Hkw of the Oregor, State System of Higher t 'I« h s e xist s o c ia l o rd e r n .ito ry w a y p o v e rty is e x p e rc m i e,f m a disc rim i Be- a ir • , ,f c , lSn c la s s O p p re s s io n .1 t t ie r e is a h ig h e r p«»r siq m fic .in t s o c ia l v a ria tile m u s t is o la te th» we m d c u re s to th e d ile m m a o f e litis m U N I I I I) ( H l k ( H <)| IO R ( H K IS I RA( IA I JUSTICE Ttie rn.it« e litis t average in com e o f all tw o par«*nt fam ilies has d ro p p e d - >ver 3 p«x «»nt b e tw e e n 1973 and 1984 The burden o f econom ic in e q u a lity falls m ore severely am i u n fa irly u p o n y o u n g fam ilies Back in 1973, the aver.ige salary o f a 30 year old m ale w as $25.253, in c urre nt dollars A decade later, th e sam e w o rk e r too k hum»- .m average salary o f $18. Z63 As w a ge s fell, m ost young con sum e rs w e re for. ed to rely on cre d it to cover basic n«»«*ds C onsum er in sta llm e n t de bt rose to over 16 pen ent o f ill pe rson al in com e tiy 1986 O th er fa m i­ lies began c u ttin g bac k try in g to lo w e r the ir exp ecta tion s A i co rd in g to B u s in e s s W eek, the ty p ic a l fa m ily headed tiy som eone .ig«*d 25 to 34 spent 14 p e rce n t less o n fu rn itu re in 1981 tha n a sim ilar fa m ily did in 1973. They spent 15 p e rc e n t less on personal care, and 38 , M e a n w h ile , prices c o n tin u e to spiral In 1984, th e average price for a single fam ily, 3 b e d ro o m 2 b a th hom e in D e tro it w as $95,000 T w o later th e average pric e had increased to $110,000 w ell be yon d the m eans o f an average, w o rk in g fam ily A n d ttie h o m e prices in m ost A m e rica n cities y e a rs wer« » rally m ore «»wpi'nsiv«* els«.»where 7 he average house» in 1986 w e n t fo r $112,000 in B altim ore ; $115.000 m (.tin a g o s su b u rb s $124,375 in W a s h in g to n . D C $ 180,000 in B oston, and «in unreal $375,000 in San Fran CISCO On«» of the greatest p o litic a l q u e stio n s o f 1988 is w h e ther the w h ite m id d le class, especially those in co m e ♦ •arners b e lo w 40 ye.irs o f age, w ill c o m p re h e n d the und«»rlyiny m asons for the exp an sion o f social e litism and onomic in e q u a lity in th is decade, and w h e th e r they II vo te a cc o rd in g to their o b je c tiv e in te rests T w o politic ,il o u tco m e s seem m ost p ro b a b le The w h ite m.dcfl«» 1 lass fru s tra te d and m ire d in con sum e r de bt, m ay look for sc apeg oa ts to exp la in their p lig h t The p ro blem s of A fro A m e rica n s Latinos, and p o or pe op le m ay b«* s«*«»n as s«»condary and even irre leva nt to their o w n c o n d itio n s The cry against elitism and d e c lin in g liv in g s t.in d .ird s m ay feed a re a ctio n a ry p o p u lism head ed tiy Reagan clones Kem p. Dole. etc. The o th e r op tio n is that w tn te m id d le A m erica w ill discover th a t it. ! ,s vii tim ize d tiy ttie p o litic s o f elitism , co rp o ra te g r.ift and so. lal w e lfa re c u tb a c k s The a b ility o f Jesse J.ic kson and the R a inb ow C o a litio n to a rtic u la te a co ( j '- o t p o i i t u al m essage of m ultiracia l, rnu lticla ss eq u a lity ■ »ed » »nomic ju stice m ay spell the d iffe re n c e b e tw e e n vi< to ry and de feat in H)88 “BLACKS HAVE BEEN AWAKEN ED . . f C iv il R ig h ts H ead C h a rg e s " E n v iro n m e n ta l R a c is m " Le veling tire cha rge o f "e nviro nm e ntal racism Dr B e n ia m in I Chavis Jr . f xecutive D irector o f the Com m ission for Racial J u stice o f the 1 7 m illio n m em ber U n ite d C h urch o f C hrist. def lated tfia t their just released na tio n a l re p o rt show ed tfr.rt rat ism m ay tie a fa c to r nr tire lo c a tio n o f hazardous w aste sites th ro u g h o u t th e U n ited S tates The re p o rt, "T o x ic W astes and Rai e in the U n ite d S tates A N a tion al R eport on the . Racial and S ocio E conom ic C haracteristics of C o tn m u nitie s W ith H azardous W aste S ites w as released at a press i onferen« e held W ednesday, A pril 15, at th e Na tio n .il Press C lub nr W a sh in g to n , D C was never m ore a ccu rate a d e scrip tio n o f so cio e co n o m ic realities th a n it is to d a y The dream o f a m id dle p f o ent less on 1 h a rity o t a delibe • fie-, of p u b lic p o licy de ■ i! ille g ib ility Ttie stereo s s t e n t u u tc o rn e L is io n s whic h p c e s e ry •• •.« ty p e s ratio» » /♦ la s s o r *• • »• i .♦ m o th e r c lass c o n s id e ra tio n s o f r«i< •• or g e n d e r b«s a u s e m a rac ist a n d SI K \ K I C O M M IS S IO N One o f th e m ost s trik in g c o n tra d ic tio n s ab o u t A m en can so cie ty is ttie tre m e n d o u s d ista nce b e tw e e n its rh e to ric o f d e m o cra cy, social eq u a lity and "e q u a l o p p o rtu n ity for .ill, and the harsh rea lity of r lass in eq ua lity, social b ig o try and » < o n o m ic d is c rim in a tio n o f a g rii u ltu ra l p ro d u c ts This p a y o ff is tru ly glob al th ro u g h the sharing of in fo rm a tio n that im p roves tfie lives o f people a ro un d the w o rld CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL A E litis m a n d In e q u a lity lily m the n a tio n , w ire h ret eives w astes fo rm o ve r 45 states arrd several fo re ig n i o u tlin e s . is lot ated m Emelle, Alabam a, w hose p o p u la tio n is 85 A tm a n A m erican 5 t'P 7 l 5 /5 f \ I IB H l 1C U H C h S h'HO CAPE A ß O U r THE BLACK , VII V'H (V/ -I EHE NONE EX IB TB TO PA Y A t ttie press co n fe re n ce Dr Chavis ta ile d the sitoa tiorr an insidious fo rm o f in s titu tio n a l rat ism I, is. nr e ffe c t, e n v iro n m e n ta l racism He added G iven the d is p ro p o rtio n a te e ffe t I o f these w astes on rat lal and ethnic com m u nitie s, this has becom e n o t o n ly an en v iro n m e n ta l issue, b u t a racial ju stice issue as w ell Dt Ctravis also cha rge d the Heat,an A d m in is tra tio n ant) its E nvironm ental P ro te ctio n A g e n cy IF P A l w ith m a lig n a n t neglect anti s.titf this was to ta lly consis terr, w ith the Reagan A d m in is tra tio n s general non e n fo rce m e n t p o lity , pa rticu la rly in the area o f civil rig h ts lir e C om m ission tras called on President H e a t,an to ta k e im m e dia te co rre ctive a ctio n in lin e w ith d ie re p o rt s re co m m e n d a tio n s Copies o f Toxic W aste and Race are available from lire C o m m issio n for Rat ral J u stice , Uruted C h urch of C hris,. 105 M adison Ave N ew York N Y 10016 Letters to the Editor TO BPENP THEHEB7 0 E THEIR U \E B PABBINO THROUGH A OAUHJLET OCHUGCWC. A re Y ou G u ilty ? A re y o u g u ilty of t hild atmse? As th e fa th e , o f three c h ild re n , I m increa sing ly con cern ed w ith this qu estio n In Or to b e r o , 1986 the S tate o f O regon issued new "a d m in istra tive rules i o n i ernrng the d e fin itio n o f child ab use 1 hese new rules con tain m an y vague and open ended phrases As a result, it s n o w very d iffic u lt to k n o w if on e is c o m p ly in g w ith ttie la w It's also a lo t easier to fie accused o f ch ild abuse fo r trivia l reasons The phrase includes, b u t is n o t lim ite d to appears re p e a te d ly in the rules This te rm in o lo g y can be con • tr u e d to m ean alm ost a n yth in g For exam ple, w h a t w o u ld yo u as a p a ren t think the term ' neglect ' means? W o u ld th is fie " n e g le i,? " These ru le s d is c rim in a te shat ply against poor fam ilies, especially single m o th e rs w ho are stru g g lin g to pro vid e for their ch ild re n Tiie A m erican Humane A ssociatio n in A tla n ta reports tfia t over a m illio n fam ilies annually art' falsely accused o f ch ild abuse As a parent you can be accused tiy any one. at any tim e, for any reason You w ill be reported an o n ym o u sly O nce accused, it is e n tire ly up to you to prove your in no cence Recent cases o f false abuse in O regon have s h o w n th is to be a co stly and traum a tic experience for the w h o le fam ily Senate Bill No 782. n o w lo g,am m ed in the Senate ju d icia ry, w o u ld put som e cla rity in to present vagire ter For one th in g , "neglect can be in adequate fo o d ' D o t's th a t m ean th re e m eals a day? A d ie t o f T w in k le s and c h o c o la te m ilk-' Is th a t neglect? H ow ab ou t "in ad e q u a te c lo th in g ? " W h a t if there were holes in the m in o lo g y o f the law This bill w o u ld restore to parents the freedom to raise g o o d ch ild re n in the fra m e w o rk of the ir o w n un iq ue s e ttin g the hom e knees o f y o u r bo y s jeans or a tear in his tennis shoes? The O bserver w elcom es letters to the e d ito r ^ M H te r s should be typed or neatly printed and signed w ith the author's nam e and address (addresses are not pub lished) W e reserve the right to edit for length M a il to: P ortland Observer. P O Box 3137. Portland, OR 97208 R espectfully. Roy G arrett ¡P O R T L A N D OBSERMER M» Mr 5 M* I I L M/s, Portland Observer ¡¡I O ’ F IJ I I I I New.ji.ijie« Publisln'.s A s m i . «.Hion T M M x i I v i « «JAxrrvrr IU SPS M »<)K )i • putiMfieri ever, T K x v l» , by Ex« P u tM h n g Company Inc ,4S3 N E K P n p t wonh Fortland Omgon »7211. Ooxi 0»«ca B o. 31J7 Portland » • g o n 9Z30» Sacond daaa poataga pan, al Portland Omgon Tkia A a ite n d «X n r . . « wax axiaM ahadai t»X) X Sutiacnpiion* I I S 00 pa. yaa. ai i»xa Tn ( .a a ity anxa Poal in oata. Sand addraaa changas Io lha A v i t o * . ,« h .n .v c P 0 Box 3 ,3 7 Portland, » a g o n V A » MEMBER XiiociaNon - Pi PER r »aw A l l n i l l H e n d e r u w , I t h t o r / P u h h 'h e r .xxxaux^ v. A! Williams, Getteru! Manager A 288 a im * * * * * * A d v a .,.« .n g « a p . a . a . . i . . , v - A m a lg a m a ia d P u b lix h a .« In. Naw Vo,x r