Along the Color Line
by Dt M .inning Marable
Dr M anning M e able is professor of sociology and political science
at Purdue U niversity
A lo n g the Color Line' appears ,n over 14C
new spaper* internationally
South Africa's Elections: An Analysis
by William E. Davis
Chancellor of the Oregon
State System of Higher Education
Straight Talk About Faculty Salaries
It's time for some straight talk about faculty salaries
at Oregon's public, four-year colleges and universities.
First, we can be proud that our two-year-old projec
tion has become reality: As a result of the 1985 Oregon
Legislature's appropriation of $40 million for faculty
salaries, Oregon State University has risen to 77th in
salary rankings among 110 public universities that grant
doctoral degrees.
That ranking, which includes a May 1 salary increase,
shows the progress that the lawmakers' commitment
achieved. Although 77th is a long way from where the
State Board of Higher Education wants Oregon to be by
1992-93, the advance from 96th in 1985-86 is nothing
short of dramatic.
The University of Oregon, after adding the May 1 in
crease, ranks 89th. It would rank higher except for
hiring of lower-rank faculty to meet enrollment in
creases, reducing the overall average. Portland State,
meanwhile, advances to 79th.
In a ranking of 11 regional colleges in the West, Eas
tern (at La Grande) ranks eighth, Western (Monmouth)
fifth and Southern (Ashland) fourth.
In 1985, we asked legislators to expect national
faculty-salary increases of 6 percent. The Chronicle of
Higher Education reported a national increase of 6.1
percent for public, doctorate-granting institutions dur
ing 1986-87. We told legislators their action would take
OSU's rank to 76th; we made 77th.
The State Board's goal is for Oregon faculty salaries
to rank in the bottom of the top third—that is, about
35th out of 1 1 0 - by 1991. That would put Oregon in a
league with comparable states such as Arizona, Colo
rado and Washington-
Continued progress is critical to retaining and attrac
ting top faculty who will not only deliver high-quality
instruction, but also attract other high-caliber teachers,
draw new millions in research dollars and be still another
incentive for industry to locate in Oregon.
But as lawmakers consider faculty salaries for the
1987-89 biennium, there are those who are using selec
tive data to argue that Oregon's salaries are more com
petitive than they are. Let me set the record straight
in three key areas:
• Pay raises: We acknowledge that our faculty pay
raises this year exceeded those nationally, but they
came after absolute freezes in salaries in 1983-84 and
1984 85 (when national raises were 3.9 and 6.6 percent,
respectively).
• Retirement contribution: It has been argued that
the 1979 decision to add 6 percent as an employer-paid
retirement contribution should be reported as salary.
But this is not salary; it is retirement. The American
Association of University Professors, which compiles
the data, has expressly told us to report it as retirement
to keep Oregon consistent with other states.
• Higher-education spending: Some argue that Ore
gon spends more per $1,000 of personal income than
Washington state on our four-year colleges and univer
sities. That is true (Oregon is 32nd, Washington 33rd),
but per-student state appropriations draw a sharply
different picture: Washington ranks 11th, Oregon 30th.
It has been reported that Washington state will in
crease faculty salaries by 9 percent in each of the next
two years.
Here in Oregon, Gov. Neil Goldschmidt has recom
mended a faculty salary increase equal to what other
state employees will receive (estimated at 2 percent a
year) plus $10 million. We figure that would be an in
crease of 3.65 percent in each year of the next bien
nium. We expect other states to increase faculty sala
ries by an average of 6 percent annually during the
next biennium.
Yes, Oregon has made good progress toward what is
the State Board's No. 1 goal. But we still have a lot of
catching up to do even to be average in university
faculty salaries.
Continued progress is both realistic and affordable,
and will enhance higher education's contribution to the
Oregon Comeback.
This is the kind of straight talk I want to carry not
only to our legislators, but also to all the Oregonians
who will reap lasting benefit from the jobs and pros
perity that will follow strengthening of public higher
education in Oregon.
CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
A NEWS SERVICE
OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
COMMISSION FOR RACIAL JUSTICE
Support Judge R. Eugene Pincham
a judge's spoken and personal support of a candiate;
only actual participation by a judge is forbidden.
Let us be very clear here. White judges in Chicago
have always been politically active, for Chicago has
always been a highly political city. In fact, judges have
traditionally been appointed by the Democratic Party
structure. The reason Judge Pincham is under attack is
because he is unashamedly African American.
For example, during the PUSH speech, given during
Black history month, the Judge also spoke of African
American slave revolts, the lynching of African Ameri
cans in the 1700's in New York City, and the struggles
of the Civil Rights Movements. He also said that we
should all be accountable one to another, noting, "I'm
now a Justice of the Appellate Court of Illinois because
[my auntl Ada 'toted' me. I didn't get there on my own.
I'm still riding on her shoulder. You see, we Afro-
Americans must be aware that we got here on some
body else's shoulder."
It's no wonder the white establishment of Chicago
wants to get rid of Judge Pincham. They have been
gunning for him for the past 10 years and now they
think they see an opportunity to shoot him down. They
will not be able to succeed, however, if we organize
and solidify support of Judge Pincham in his struggle
for freedom of speech. Judge Pincham's free speech
is our free speech. Together, we will not be silenced.
First it was Judge Alcee Hastings of the Federal Dist
rict Court in Miami. Now it is Justice R. Eugene Pin
cham of Illinois' First District Appellate Court in Chi
cago. Both are African American judges and both are
currently the object of proceedings to remove them
from the bench. Together they have become objects of
a dangerous attack on the small percentage of African
Americans who have actually made it to a state or fede
ral judgeship.
Judge Pincham has been a judge for approximately
10 years. Before becoming a judge, Pincham was
known as one of the best trial lawyers in the nation.
He is also widely known as an outspoken advocate of
African American rights. This was not an easy thing to
do in the repressive racial environment which existed in
Chicago before Mayor Harold Washington took office.
Yet the judge never backed down, not even from his
remarks made during the Chicago primary election,
before an audience of Operation PUSH. The judge
verbally —and personally—supported Mayor Harold
Washington.
The word "verbal" is important. For now, using that
speech as an excuse, the overwhelmingly white Chi
cago Council of Lawyers has filed a complaint against
Judge Pincham. That complaint, which has now been
formally approved by the Judicial Inquiry Board, could
well lead to the removal of Judge Pincham from the
Illinois bench. Yet nothing in the Illinois code orecludes
$15 for one year
PORTLAND OBSERVER
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*34
Last month's whites-only election in South Africa
marked the end of any peaceful, democratic change —
if such an option actually ever existed. But the way in
which we interpret this election may help us to accele
rate the process of change with a minimum of losses to
the African majority.
In general, one can subdivide the 4.6 million white
South African population into four primary constituen
cies. The first group, a very small minority of intellec
tuals, writers, youth, political activists, clergy and
others, are bitterly opposed to the apartheid system,
seek its total destruction and advocate the principle of
"one person, one vote." Thousands of these dissidents
now live in exile, and many others are in jail or have
been silenced. But one day, these progressive whites
will play a responsible role in a Black-majority, South
African government.
The second group, much larger than the white pro
gressives, can be termed "moderates," at least in the
context of South Africa. They are subdivided into two
blocs by ethnic identity and party affiliation. The more
liberal of the two are the descendents of English-
speaking settlers, who support the gradual end of apar
theid within a framework of capitalism. These whites
are best represented by the Progressive Federal Party,
which won over one quarter of all whites' votes in the
1981 election. To the Progressives' right are the mode
rate Afrikaners, who call themselves the "verligtes" or
the "enlightened ones." These moderates mostly be
long to the ruling National Party, which built and main
tained the odious system of apartheid for 40 years. But
these "verligtes" Nationalists worked inside the govern
ment to achieve slow reforms. For serveral years, their
strategy achieved a few limited victories.
The largest white group comprises the vast majority
of Afrikaners in the racist National Party. Led by P.W.
Botha, it enjoys a cordial relationship with the admini
stration of Ronald Reagan, and it pursues domestic and
foreign policies which can be best described as fascistic
and totalitarian. But to the Nationalists' ideological
right is the Conservative Party, which favors the strip
ping of all Blacks' rights and the complete racist parti
tioning of the whole country. These hard-core racists
oppose any form of concessions or negotiations with
Blacks, and will be satisfied only with the complete
destruction of the African National Congress and the
multiracial, reformist United Democratic Front.
. . ■
In the recent whites-only election, these parties bat
tled each other for the hearts and minds of their fellow
whites. The results, by any criteria, were a resounding
victory for reaction, white supremacy, and Black sub
jugation. The Progressives lost seven of their 26 parlia
mentary seats, and dropped to only 18 percent of the
popular vote. Prominent "verligtes" who had defected
from the National Party generally lost seats to white
racist hard-liners. Botha's ruling National Party won 50
percent of the popular vote, and still controls the
government. More onimously, the far-right Conserva
tives won 29 percent of the vote, making them the o f
ficial parliamentary opposition to the rigid Nationalists.
In short, the white electorate was plunging the nation
from the political frying pan of racism into the fires of
fascism.
Prominent Americans who oppose harsh sanctions
against South Africa's tyranny tried to discuss the
election's results in rosy terms. Author Anthony Samp
son, who has written an apology for continued U.S,
corporate investment inside apartheid, argued in the
New York Times that the election results showed "big
rifts in the Afrikaners' camp." "The worst thing Ameri
cans and Europeans can do," Sampson pleads, "would
be to wash their hands of South Africa." The Wall
Street Journal's analysis was even more distorted and
dishonest. The Journal claims that the moderate whites
"gained status" in the election, and that Prime Minister
Botha has a real "opportunity to fulfill his promises for
further reform. The U.S. has gained nothing from sanc
tions and disinvestment, which have served the cause
of those promoting racial solutions . . . " Perhaps the,
Journal's editorial writers should reread the analysis of
Zulu Chief Mangosuthu Bethelezi, one of the most con
servative, pro-governement Africans:
The whites
knew what they were voting for, and they deliberately
voted to support white privilege. Whites prefer to de-,
stroy rather than to share power." Only by strong sanc
tions and divestment from corporations with apartheid
ties can we increase the pressure on this renegade,
fascist state, and accellerate the movement for demo
cracy and Black empowerment. Not by appeasement,
but through unyielding pressure, shall South Africa .
become free.
U.S. Helps South Africa Keep Angola in State of War
by Paul E. Brink
The United States is helping South Africa and its
"Contra-like" client. UNITA head Jonas Savimbi, to
keep Angola in a state of war, an American Friends
Service Committee spokesperson charged today.
Jerry Jerman returned recently from an extensive
visit in the southern African region, including Angola —
rarely visited by people from the U.S.
"The human toll of this war is staggering," he said.
"One sees large numbers of amputees —victims of land
mines. There are some 700,000 displaced persons out
of a population of 8.6 million." Herman coordinates
southern Africa programs in this country for the Quaker
organization.
UNITA is an acronym for Union for the Total Libera
tion of Angola.
"There are reports that land missiles used by Savimbi
forces in southern Angola are supplied by the U .S .,"
said Herman. "The Angolans feel their national security
is threatened by the presence of two U.S. battalions
just across the Zaire border at Kamina, a former Belgian
air base, where recently an outdated air strip was leng
thened to handle modern military jets.
"A second threat is from the joint South African and
UNITA forces occupying part of Angola's territory in.
the south."
’ ci
Herman said the Texas-size country faces constant
brutality because dams which produce electrical power
are blown up by the South Africans; also UNITA forces
are mining farm lands.
"These acts are part of South Africa's military and
economic pressures throughout southern Africa," he
declared. "The most striking observation in Angola is.
the way it has had to respond to external pressured
from the U.S. and South Africa."
Herman concluded that Angola government officials
repeatedly stressed what they termed was an official
position, that the government wants very much to have
U.S. investment in their country. "There could be so
much positive economic development, education, and
general assistance if this war could be brought to aft
end," he charged.
Herman also visited Zimbabwe, Malawi, Swaziland",
and Botswana. Two others with him, Linda Mizell Tay
lor of the AFSC's Denver area office and Daki Napata
of the Service Committee's Middle Atlantic Region,;
based in Baltimore, visited Mozambique, Swaziland
and Botswana.
Letters to the Editor
We Must Work Together
Recent editions of the Observer have devoted consi
derable space to the issue of support for Black-owned
businesses in Portland and have brought to the surface
some underlying tensions between the Black and Asian
communities. We of the Rainbow Coalition are parti
cularly concerned that these tensions do not come to
divide two struggling communities that have much
more to gain by working together than through con
frontation. We are also concerned that the real pro
blems which do exist are addressed and resolved in a
way that allows us all to move forward together.
In other cities in this country, tensions of this kind
have sometimes led to violence among ethnic minority
groups and between whites and non-whites. During his
recent visit to Portland, Rev. Jesse Jackson reminded
us that these violent incidents are symbols of the fact
that "race-conscious behavior continues to endanger
our society." But he was quick to point out that these
symbols must not serve as substitutes in our minds for
the real problems. "The White House," he said, "is
more segregated than Howard Beach.
Dr. King's
dream is closer to reality in Queens than on Wall Street.
The white working people who live in Queens County
and Forsyth County did not design the economic policy
that is costing Americans jobs, closing off education
and limiting health care. They do not invest in South
Africa;*they are not responsible for foreclosing on farm
mortgages."
These same principles can be applied to our own
immediate situation. Asian immigrants and small busi
nesspeople are not responsible for the history of racism
and economic discrimination which has made the deve
lopment of a healthy Black business community almost
impossible In Portland or anywhere else in the U.S.
They did not establish the bank lending policies which
keep investment monies out of the Black community
and property values depressed.
However, we must acknowledge that not all of the
problem has been created outside the community.
Black patronage of Black-owned businesses is alarm
ingly lo w —increasing that support is an important self-
help goal which should not be misinterpreted. It is also
important for non-Black businesses located in predomi
nantly Black neighborhoods to acknowledge that they
have a role in helping improve those areas through the
development of jobs and reinvestment in the commu
nity.
The tensions which threaten to divide and weaken us
must be confronted and resolved or people of all colors
will suffer. In the words of Rev. Jackson; "W e must
move beyond the bettleground of race-conscious be
havior onto the common ground of economic pro
gress.”
Macceo Pettis
Co-Chaif,
Portland Rainbow Coalition
NOTICE
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We expect to be moved into our modern and
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additional information in upcoming issues.