Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 1987)
I ■ • Page 2, P jnd Observer, July 8, 1987 A lo n g th e C olor Line by I >' M.inmng M anille Dr M anning M, • »HI»» »s professor o f sociology and polttu .«I s. >» at Purdue Univ» is iiv A lo n g th« C olor Line a p p e a rs m o v e i * •• 140 n e w s p a p e rs -in te r nuti< m olly Racial Conflict in Europe Part I of a Three Part Series I was invited to travel to Europe for several weeks by the University of Amsterdam's newly-established Cen ter for Racial and Ethnic Studies. My original purpose was to lecture on the state of Black American politics and U.S. race relations. Although my audience has been highly receptive and remarkably well-informed about current conditions inside the U.S. for Black peo ple, the dialogue has been a two-way affair. Because throughout the past several days, in my travels both in France and the Netherlands, it has become strikingly apparent that the ugly spectre of racism and ethnic intolerance is being cultivated and revived all over West ern Europe. In Amsterdam, there are numerous signposts of the devastating effects of intolerance and ethnic bigotry from previous generations. There is a large Holocaust museum in the city, marking the fact that at least 107,000 Dutch Jews fell victim to Nazi terrorism during World War II. Only one block away from the Center for Racial and Ethnic Studies is the famous Anne Frank House, a tall and narrow, typically Dutch residence where the Jewish family, the Franks, hid in silence for two years under the Nazi occupation. Anne Frank's diary, saved by accident from the Holocaust, remains a stiring testimony of a teenaged girl's resolute commit ment to humanism and to the struggle for freedom. Today's racism in Holland is far more subtle, but it has an explosive potential for tearing the entire fabric of society apart. About one in ten residents of the country are ethnically non-Dutch. These people of color can be subdivided into two, ecclectic groupings. The first were the emigrants from Holland's former overseas colonies in Curacao, the South American nation of Surinam, and Indonesia. Some of these Black and brown emigrants were refugees from their colonies' middle classes, who could not accept political independence and the social instability which it caused. Others came from the work ing classes, drawn by the potential promise of higher wages and a superior social welfare system established by the government. The second group, which generally doesn't hold legal citizenship rights, are the "guest- workers” from Turkey and northern Africa, whom the bulk of the Dutch treat even more harshly than the Blacks and browns. The Dutch pride themselves on "liberal" racial atti tudes, and the government assumes a public posture of ethnic tolerance. There is little overt school or housing discrimination against nonwhites. However, nonwhites suffer much higher unemployment rates, and have cir- tually no representation in the nation's political, econo mic or cultural elites. Increasingly in Amsterdam, Suri namese and Indonesians comprise a very high percen tage of the menially-paid, marginal labor force in hotels and businesses. Moreover, in the past national elec tion, a small rightwing political party was formed which campaigned under the racist slogan "Holland for the Dutch" and called for the forced expulsion of nonwhites from the country. In France, the tensions of racial conflict and crisis are even more readily visible. The "problem", accord ing to French conservatives, is the rapid influx of emi grants from the dismantled "em pire." From former colonies in Indochina come Laotians, Vietnamese, and ethnic Chinese; from north Africa arrived Algerians, Tuisians and Moroccans; from subsaharan Africa came workers, students and others from such countries as the French Congo, Mail, Senegal, Guine, and the Ivory Coast; from the Caribbean came settlers from Guade loupe, Martinique, and French Guiana. In the post- World War II period, France required a pool of lowly paid, semiskilled and unskilled laborers, a subgroup which could be easily discarded when economic or political conditions changed. But as Malcolm X might have put it, the "Chickens came home to roost." For a century and more, the French overseas empire com mitted mass acts of brutality, rape and economic ex ploitation against millions. Now the unwanted sons and daughters of the bloody process of imperialism have come to the metropole. The most overt manifestation of racism in France today is the neo-fascist movement of the National Front, led by demogogue Jean-Marie Le Pen, which has captured the support of about 10 to 13 percent of the electorate. To date, French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac has cynically accommodated the rise of racism, calling for a pragmatic "union of the right" between his own conservative political party and Le Pen's National Front. When Michel Noir, Minister of Foreign Trade under Chirac, denounced Le Pen's group as Nazi-like and racist, members of his own party called for his re signation. Even the liberal opposition party, the Social ists, have not taken the racist threat of Le Pen seriously, and have done next to nothing to recruit or to elevate nonwhite leaders inside their own party. On my last day in Paris, I encountered a particularly vicious grafitti slogan scrawled on a subway wall in the city's fashionable center: "The Blacks are dangerous! The Blacks must be forced out of France! National Front, Le Pen.” Such slogans may soon become national policy. Legal Journal Are You Being Given Proper Legal Representation? by William E. Davis Chancellor of the Oregon Extension: Like Having A University At Your Fingertips by Omari Kenyatta, J.D. How much do you know about the Constitution of the United States and the way that your rights are ef fected by this document? What is a Constitution? A constitution is a body of existing rules made for the purpose of controlling the states' or the federal government's actions. "Constitution" also means a document in which these rules are written. How and Why Was the Federal Constitution Adopted? The federal constitution that we now have was adop ted in order to form a stable national government. Under these Articles of Confederation, the Congress was without power to enforce its own laws; and this could not be remedied, for the consent of all the states could never be obtained to any amendment. What does Article 1, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution State? This is the important part of what is stated in this article: "N o state shall make anything but gold and sil ver coin a tender in payment of debts." Do You Know How Article 1, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution Was Applied If It Was Applied In This Case? Lane County vs. Oregon, 7 Wall 71, 74 US 71 (18691: It’s stated in the case as: "Thus any citizen can volun tarily give anything to the state he or she wants to, and the state can accept all the citizen wants to give without technically violating the law. If the citizen does not ob ject to assessment, levy fines, etc., in anything but gold and silver coin, regulated in value by Congress, then the citizen has waived his or her rights under Article 1, Sec tion 10, Clause 1 for that particular transaction, and no constitutional questions arise. Do You Know How Article 1, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution Was Applied in the Case of People of Ypsilanti vs. Franklin Cit, Case No. TY-19676 This is a case that deals with a traffic ticket where there would be a fine to be paid by Dave Franklin. See the MSJ Volume 1, No. 12, Page 9. What happens in this case is that on the 22nd of November, 1982, Dave Franklin was to appear in court to answer the charge that he had been traveling 55 MPH in a 45 MPH zone. Franklin pleaded no contest to the ★ charges. However, he asked the court to allow him to explain to the court how Article 1, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution should be applied to his case. The court gave him permission to do so and listened to his explanation about how this Article in the constitution should be applied to his case. After he finished explain ing to the court, the case was dismissed by the presi ding judge. Within five days after the case had been tried, this court's Judge Fink signed this order: "It is hereby or dered that citation No. TY-19676 is hereby dismissed with prejudice due to the fact that the plaintiff has failed to state claim upon which this court can grant relief." This is Another Case that Happened in Kansas In October, 1981 However, Judge Larry E. Moritz, a municipal judge in Spearville, Kansas, believed in the U.S. Constitution as well as the Constitution of Kansas. He has said that he will continue to read to people their money rights when they appear in his court if there is a fine involved. What this judge is talking about is Article 1, Section 10 and Article 1, Section 8, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution. This information goes right over the heads of most peo ple in this country. The reason being is that they have not read the U.S. Constitution, nor have they read the book called "Miracles on Main Street" by Frederick Tupper Saussy, plus they have not tried to find out the three following things: 1) Is Article 1, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution still binding on the State of Oregon or on their own state? 2) If Article 1, Section 10 is still binding, can a citizen be forced to pay his or her debts in present federal reserve notes if they are objected to? 3) What is the money of account of the United States that the court must conform to at Title 31, Section 371 of the United States Code? When you finish reading this article, you should put your thinking cap on, because what you have read is very important. Take the case of Marbury vs. Madison: Chief Justice Marshall based his opinion on the grounds that the court was bound by its oath to support the Constitution of the U.S.A., and, therefore, as the Constitution was superior to any set by Congress, the court must follow it and not the inferior law. _____ NOTICE ★ The Portland Observer has moved to our modern, spacious facility. new address is 5011 N.E. 26th Ave., Portland, OR 97211. have gone on to college. • Sherman County farmers are taking Extension- led stress classes aimed at helping them cope with long . hours, machinery costs, trade policies and other un- ; predictables that can contribute to heavy smoking, alcoholism, insomnia, family problems and accidents. One farmer told an Extension agent the class gave his family what it needed to ride out a tough year, and that • a subsequent bumper crop put the farm in the black for the first time in a decade. • Hundreds of parents enrolled in Master Parenting classes in 14 counties are learning skills in discipline and other child-rearing issues. One teen-age mother in • Portland, for example, told a volunteer that in the future she will try not to hit her child. • Fishermen's wives groups organized by Extension trained supermarket meat workers in how to buy, han dle, display and promote bottomfish, increasing retail demand for the seafood. A wives' group in Newport successfully promoted serving locally caught bottom- fish in the Lincoln County schools' cafeterias. Clearly, these are programs in which Oregonians are helping themselves. First, Extension's financing comes from a combina tion of county, state and federal dollars. Second, more than 22,000 Oregonians volunteer an nually (including 8,000 in 4-H alone) to help their neigh bors learn about gardening, home economics, energy conservation and woodland management. All those volunteers add up to more people than the combined populations of Pendleton and Redmond. Third, Extension's philosophy is to educate citizens to undertake projects for themselves rather than doing tasks for them. By teaching citizens, Extension pro vides lifelong skills they can put to use to improve their lives. Extension offices offer hundreds of free and low-cost publications on subjects ranging from pruning and potato storage to controlling carpenter ants and raising chickens. Whether Extension agents and volunteers are making house calls, answering phone calls or calling on farm ers, it's clear why Extension has been called the most successful adult-education movement in history. I urge you to support Extension, to volunteer your skills, and to learn what it can offer to you, your family and community. A frantic mother who called the county Extension Service office in Portland told agent David Adams her 20-month-old son had become sick after eating a plpnt. The agent calmed the woman on the phone, then drove to her home, identified the plant as a calla lily and called the Poison Control Center. The Oregon State University Extension Service, with offices in all 36 counties, does more than help people with questions about gardening, food preservation, cooking and sewing. Some agents, like Adams, even make house calls. Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, Extension offices are prepared to teach citizens in areas ranging from spraying home orchards to preparing venison. For Oregonians, it's like having the resources of a major research university at their fingertips. Oregon's Extension agents deliver useful education to farmers, homemakers, 4-H youth, foresters, fisherman and seafood processors, home- and business owners (weatherization information), and communities (for issues of land, economics and leadership). These are only a handful of Extension projects impro ving the state's livability and Oregonians' livelihoods: • Oregon sheepraisers are saving an estimated $100,000 annually as a result of Extension helping to introduce "livestock guarding dogs" into 23 counties. The guarding dogs, which have lived among livestock in the Old World for centuries, protect the sheep from coyotes and other predators while reducing the need for traps and poisons. • A shrimp-peeling technique that significantly in creases yields, developed at OSU and taught by Exten sion, is saving West Coast shrimp processors an esti mated $50 million a year in meat that was previously lost. • In northeastern Oregon's Umatilla County, a cbm- puter-assisted project helps farmers efficiently schedule irrigation. Farmers can phone or call up a "computer bulletin board" for satellite-transmitted weather infor mation. One grower says this is saving him $18 an acre in yearly water costs, which would amount to close to a million dollars when spread across 50,000 acres. Incidentally, as a result of this project about 50 far mers in the area now own computers. • Programs in Douglas, Linn and other counties are helping at-risk youth, including those who abuse alco hol and drugs, stay in school, get jobs and join youth organizations (such as 4-H, Scouts and Camp Fire). Parents have told of successful children who otherwise would have dropped out of school, including some who Oh, and that 20-month-old lad who ate the poisonous calla lily? He survived. CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL A NEWS SERVICE OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST COMMISSION FOR RACIAL JUSTICE A Salute to Justice Thurgood Marshall perfections of the Constitution, Reagan would also have to admit that a strict interpretation of the Con stitution would put African Americans back in chains. As Justice Marshall reminds us, "Moral principles against slavery, for those who had them, were compro mised." One of the reasons this country has never been fully exorcised of its racism is that it never truly admitted the racist underpinning upon which this country was built. You cannot repair a wrong until you have admitted it. By revealing the flaws in the lofty, yet imperfect, Con stitution, Justice Marshall has validated the continuing struggle for change that will make that document truly democratic. As he himself notes, the credit for pro gressive change in this country " , . . does not belong to the Framers. It belongs to those who refused to acquiesce in outdated notions of 'liberty,' 'justice,' and 'equality,' and who strived to better them . . . [Tlhe true miracle was not the birth of the Constitution, but its life, a life nurtured through two turbulent centuries of our own making." Justice Marshall has reminded us that the rights of the oppressed should never be sacrificed for the so- called greater good of maintaining order or political cohesion. This country has yet to repent for slavery and until it does, we will continue to reap harvest after harvest of racial turmoil. We salute Thurgood Marshall for his valiant contin ued efforts towards the cause of justice for all people. He is like the old soldier who has fought many a war and is now coming back for one more, necessary battle. Such is the image of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, a man, who, in the sunset of his years, has shown that plain, outspoken courage is not just the pur view of the young. The Reagan Administration had hoped to use the Constitution's bicentennial to enshrine and therefore to stagnate that document. The Constitution, thus diefied, was to become yet another tool in Reagan's attempt to ¡(legitimize the progressive gains made be fore Reagan took office. But this was not to be. Jus tice Marshall, the lone African American on the highest bench in the land, saw to that. While President Reagan and his cohort, former Chief Justice Warren Burger, praised the Constitution as a perfect document and its framers as "giants,” Thurgood Marshall brought a little reality to the situation. In a recent speech Justice Marshall noted that he did not, "find the wisdom, foresight, and sense of justice exhibited by the Framers particularly profound. To the contrary," he added, "the government they devised was defective from the start . . . When contemporary Americans cite 'The Constitution,' they invoke a con cept that is vastly different from what the Framers bare ly began to construct two centuries ago." One of the defects to which Marshall was referring was the matter of slavery, a> subject which Reagan carefully omits in his speeches. And so he must. For by discussing the im- • • VHI Portland Observer The f* t‘r ilu n d ()h \e r w r (U S P S 9 6 9 580) Thursday by F*»« Pubbshmg Com pany. Inc w nrth Portland O regon 97211 «s puMtshed 1463 N F Post O ffice Box 3137 every Killinqs Portland O regon 9Z2TX S econd r l a » postage pa«d at Portland Oregon usPS weaen«* A rtr P w N h A î M r <> /* MEMBER Our 4ssoc»eoon - founded 1885 Th»» f 'o r t ld m l 1 >b\er \e r Subscriptions m a s te r ahs estatriished m 1970 $15 00 pe» yea» »n the Tn ( m inty area Send address changes to the P o r t la n d i > h \ r r \ ? r P ost PO 288 0033 Box 3137 Portland O regon 9 72OR Mirai / Henderson. I ditor/P ublisher A l H dliarm, ( tenera/ Manager N a t io n a l A d v e r tis in g R e p r ä s e n t a t iv » A m a lg a m a t e d P u b lis h e rs N e w Y o rli ln<