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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 1987)
•nd Observer Decemher 30, 1987 IP Z r EDITORIAL / Freedom & Social Justice EDITORIAL In recent statements to the press, the Martin Luther King Street Naming Committee said it believes the objections to renaming Front Avenue in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King are related to the street's historical significance. Acknowledging that concern, the Committee said it wanted the renaming process to be a positive and learning experience for those who may not recognize the ideals for which Dr. King stood. In keeping with that spirit, the Committee is now re questing that Union Avenue be named in honor of Dr. King. The Committee's decision is commensurate with its concern about the livability of Portland. It believes that Portland should be in the forefront in terms of the image it projects to our children, to visitors to this City, and to citizens throughout the State of Oregon. In its statement, the Committee says that Portland is a beautiful and progressive city and the time has come for us to join the ranks of those who believe in providing visible reminders of what we want our world to be. Dr. King has already received honors from around the world — including the Nobel Peace Prize. The renaming of a street, while a tri bute to Dr. King, is really a tribute to our City. It is a reminder that truth, justice and peace are important as we attempt to build a better tom orrow." The Portland Observer agrees with the Committee's wisdom and totally supports it's request that Union Avenue be named in honor of Dr. King. As the Committee has pointed out, Union Avenue connects the Northeast and Southeast sides of Portland and it is part of our State highway system. The length of Union, the location of signi ficant landmarks (the Convention Center) and the traffic flow clearly meet our criteria. What's in a name? History, pride, heritage, and positive change. To íame Union Avenue in honor of Dr. King is to bring about a historical auge we all can be involved in. Not only that, it gives us all a chance to ■ lerstand the process and know exactly how to implement it when the ,,(.j arises again. It gives our children the important chance to be involved th a pro. ess they will be required to keep in place decades from now. Theit-f-ire The Portland Observer requests that the City Council of jrt a n d and Governor Neil Goldschmidt support the efforts of the Martin King Street Naming Committee to rename Union Avenue in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. OREGON'S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established m 1970 A lfred L Henderson Publisher Leon L. Harris PORTLAND OBSERVER Gen Mgr./Controller IS published weekly by Exie Publishing Company, Inc. 5011 N.E. 26th Ave. Portland, Oregon 97211 P.O. Box 3137 Portland. Oregon 97208 Phone Number (503) 288-0033 Richard J Brown Editor Gary Ann G arnett Business Manager Richard J. Brown Photographer Writer M a ttie Ann Callier Spears A rnold Pitre Religion Editor Sales Representative Kendel Bryan C ovington Vivian E. Richardson Entertainment Editor Sales Representative Joyce W ashington Rebecca Robinson Typesetter/ Production Sales Representative Lonnie Wells Distribution Deadlines fo» all submitted materials Articles M o n d a y 5 p m T fe » . 1 w tiand Observer welcomes freelance submissions Ads Tue sda y 5 p m Manuscripts and photographs should tie dearly labeled f>e rntijinnd ♦ accompanied by a self addressed stamped envelope Stib«“ • ptmns $15 00 per year in the Tri County area m ’ I AND OBSERVER Oregon oldest African American Publication is a member of The National N e w s ..p<M A M ... .an.,n Found«) m 1885. The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association and The National Advertisu ti Representative Am algam ated Publishers Inc New York To start the Portland Observer coming every week $15 00 for one year $25 00 for two years ! PORTLAND OBSERVER Box 3137. Portland. OR 97208 I Name a Address I City State ! Z'P Civil Rights Journal Beniamin F. Chavis Jr. by Alexander R Jones Health Wars Nyewusi Askari OPINION Nearly 20 years ago, P Joseph Lisa embarked on a trail of research that would bring him face-to-face with a sinister conspiracy to destroy competition in the health care in dustry. In his explosive book, "The Great Medical Monopoly Wars", he exposes the hidden battles, and de tails example after example of in justice and dishonesty in the medi cal establishment's drive to wipe out legitimate health care competition, and limit your freedom to select the type of health care you desire. At the center of this conspiracy is the American Medical Association (AMA) which has waged this war in the media to discredit alternative health care providers. It has waged this war in the Congress to ensure only legislation is passed that will protect the AMA's monopoly. It has fought this war with the active cooperation of government agen cies such as the Food and Drug Administration. One of the most-publicized and well-documented AMA attacks was the professional genocide waged against chiropractors. A secret 1971 AMA memo clearly states that the purpose of this infamous cam- paign was "first the containment of chiropractic and, ultimately, the eli mination of chiropractic.'' Unfortunately for the AMA, a group of chiropractors got wind of this effort and filed a restraint of trade suit against the medical giant in 1976. Later, in 1979, the New York attorney general filed a $13 million criminal conspiracy suit against the AMA and others. The results has been dramatic. Chiropractors are now officially re cognized by the AMA as legitimate health care practitioners, and are allowed to send their patients to hospitals for diagnostic x-rays, something forbidden in the past. "The Great Medical Monopoly Wars" covers the cases of numer ous other targets of the medical monopoly conspiracy, and ends with copies of actual documents Mr. Lisa obtained during his re search. It is an enlightening book which will forever change your viewpoint regarding the health care industry. It is published by the International Institute of Natural Health Sciences, Inc., P.O. Box 5550, Huntington Beach, CA 92615. Alexander R. Jones is the Director of Mino rity and Third World Affairs for the Church of Scientology IRI International Letters to the Editor threatened his life and told him he Editor: had better take a lower profile in the The Northeast YWCA staff would prison system. like to express our appreciation to We fear for Marco's life, for the The Portland Observer for its assi Ku Klux Kian members are the insti stance in "getting the word out" gators of the form and are the ones about our "Grand Opening" held threatening Marco. Members can December 3, 1987. be found throughout the State of We want to compliment your , Georgia, therefore, we have re staff for the story on the history of quested of Governor of Oregon, the YWCA, and the follow-up cove Neil Goldschmidt and Governor of rage of the "Opening". The center Georgia, Joe Frank Harris to make has received calls requesting infor arrangements to transfer Marco out mation about o1'- programs, and du of the State of Georgia to another ring the opening, people signed up state, preferably Oregon. to volunteer. Our son and I ask you, the public, The Portland Observer's assi to write or call to Governor stance has definitely helped in let Goldschmidt: Office of the Gover ting the community know about the nor, State Capitol, Salem, OR Northeast YWCA. We believe the 97310-1347, (503) 378-8024 and Go regular "leports" on the Northeast vernor Harris: Office of the Gover Center in The Portland Observer nor, State Capitol, Atlanta, GA will help community members to be 30334, (404) 656 1776. Please en come more familiar with our pro courage them to transfer Marco out grams and activities, and it will also of Georgia. encourage them to participate. Marco did what was correct, he Once again, the staff and I appre needs our support. For our entire ciate your continued support, and lives, we will thank you for making thanks to The Portland Observer your voices known. staff for the lovely plant. I look forward to working with Mrs. M arco Polo Hernandez c. The Hernandez Family you in the future. Happy holidays and best wishes to you and your staff for the coming new year. Constance G. Carley D irector Concerning "Black Press Warned N ortheast YWCA Center To Prepare For The Year 2000, 12/2/87: I' inclined to believe media is best viewed as an organi Editor: zer. While newspapers, magazines, This is an example of a mock ap television and radio do inform and plication form given to my husband, entertain, they first and foremost Marco Polo Hernandez Cuevas shape and collectivize an audience. (EF203594), an inmate of a Georgia Messages, attitudes, emotions, in state prison:___________ formation, lies and distortions of all Application For Employment to kinds permeate our consciousness Jesse Jackson's Staff, Candidate — and big stakes are involved. For, For President. Place of Birth: a) to control the consciousness of a Charity Ward _____ b) Cotton people is to control a significant Patch _____ c) Zoo --------- d) element of their political destinies. Back Alley _____ e) Free "Lobbyist Charged With Making Clinic_____ f) O ther--------- False Statements," 12/2/87, sheds Source of Income: a) Theft light on the political stage. _____ b) R elief_____ c) Welfare I've given this matter a lot of _____ d) Unemployment Compen thought. We need to provide an sation _____ educational forum for the expres Prior Experience: a) Gov’t W ork sion of the ideologies and attitudes er _____ b) Black P a n th e r____ of the Black movement in all its c) Evangelist_____ d) Pimp e) ranges. There is a profound rela Rapist _____ f) Used Hubcap tionship between politics and cul Salesman g) Dope Dealer ture: one is the mirror reflection of the other. By continuing to re How Many Children Do You gister the best Black cultural and Have? 1st Wife 2nd Wife political thought available to us _____ Neighbor's Wife The P ortland Observer, continues Shack Ups in its historic function as an hide In 50 Words Or Less, State Your pendent and reliable source of Blac k Greatest Desire In Life (Other Than information and opinion a White Woman). I am not one of those w ho is a History Records Marco complained about the dis tribution of the form to the admini stration of the prison facility Since that time, the prison administration has harshly reprimanded Mann new spaper m aker; not one w ho pet form s the task the newspajM’ i and other m edia are asked to perform Emerson once w ro te W e have the newspaper w *’" h does its best to Voting for Change in Keysville , Georgia The African American citizens of Keysville, Georgia, 26 miles west of Augusta, liken their situation to the old plantation system. Most whites in their town have running water, Blacks don't. Most whites have a sewage system; Blacks don't. And most Blacks are dependent on the whites who control the town for their livelihood. Now the African American com munity of Keysville has organized to change all that. On January 4th of next year the town will hold an election. It will be the first local election in which African Americans of this town have ever voted. The power relationship of the town could thus be changed forever. It all started back in 1985 when the home of the Streetman family caught on fire. As members of the African American community fran tically tried to put out the fire, they also called three county fire depart ments. The fire department for their county was 20 miles away. The other two, though closer, re fused, saying Keysville was not in their jurisdiction. The Streetman home burned to the ground while the Black community watched, helplessly. That's when the African Ameri can residents formed the Concerned Citizens of Keysville, spearheaded by Mrs. Emma Gresham, a retired teacher. At community meetings the group talked about their situa tion: about the outhouses and the lack of indoor plumbing; about hav ing to haul water from their chur ches, from those few African Ame rican residents with wells, or from the creek because the African Ame rican community had no water sup ply. They talked about going 18 miles to the nearest clinic because there was no doctor in Keysville, and about sending their children almost 20 miles each way, every day, because the African American school as closed down after school desegregation. They also talked about the white owned nursing home which ran its sewage including the waste from its patients — into an open ditch and through the African American community. They also talked about the economic and political strangle hold which the Marshall family, the owners of that nursing home, had make every square acre of land and sea give account of itself at your breakfast table." That is a proper function for the press. But, I am rather one of those who is a con sumer of news, whose daily work is affected by what the newspapers, and of course, radio, television, all the media purvey, and I am one of those whom the newspapers ask to give an account of himself. But, there is another sense in which the press is terribly impor tant to me. For what is true of my role and yours as a Black person in all aspects of Amerikan Isicl life is also true in my and your relation ship to the press. We are frequently excluded, distorted and patronized. And yet, the seller of the newspaper will take a quarter from me as from a caucasoid hand. The media in this country profoundly underplay Black people in any hut the most menial jobs: We are allowed to sweep the TV studio just as we are allowed to sweep the White House, and even the mansions of the governors. But, those who use the media to ad vertise their products will take my dollar, as long as it's green, just as quickly as they will take a caucasoid person's dollar. In brief, the cauca soid owned and controled press and other m edia in this country are profoundly racist, just as in every other institution in our nation. N ow aren't you surprised? D id n 't you th ink by watching the line coverage Black folk get io your newspaper and on the radio and TV screen, that Blacks ow ned m ost of the radio and TV stations and news pa|iers in the i o u n tiy ’ Of < nurse you ie nut sutpnsed lor you know as well as I do that wherever the i am asoid poWi ■ tun tore has < on on the town. And about the changes the African American com munity could affect if that nursing home weren't the only game in town, and, thus, able to get away with paying barely minimum wages. Some even recalled how old Mr. Marshall, the white patriarch of the town, used to say he was the mayor of the town, even though no elec tion had been held since 1933. Administration of the town had been turned over to the county during the Depression. Now Afri- . can Americans, who are 80% of ; Keysville's population, want it back. ; With the help of Herman Lodge, the county commissioner and Rep. Ty--' rone Brooks, their state represen tative _ both African American — they began to reactivate the town government. Now Mrs. Gresham is running for mayor. She articulates her plat form like a practiced politician: "a government for all the people . . . a water and sewage system that the poor and elderly can afford . . . new jobs and industrial development . . . an A-1 city." Mrs. Gresham, Mrs. Turetha Nee ly, who is Keysville's African Ameri can Superintendent of Elections, and others active in the struggle face heavy opposition, however. The Marshall's and other local whites haven't paid local taxes in 54 years and they don't want to start now. The Marshalls are even said to have threatened their African American employees with dismissal if they support the move toward self-government. Then, too, many white residents wonder why the Black folks want to change things; after all, if they need anything, all they need to do is ask. Gayle Korotkin of the Christie Institute, a public interest law firm which has provided invaluable legal assistance, said it best: "Rights without power is meaningless. This election would mean real political power for the Black community." The Concerned Citizens are ask ing for Justice Department obser vers on January 4 and after to insure fair elections. We must all support them in their request. For through the act of voting on election day, they risk much. Their victory will be our victory. trol, racism is institutionalized as part of its system of control. The media are surely no exception. We must not allow them to dis- troy the Black press. It seems to me we need to look at racism in greater detail, not only to understand what it is, but ultimately to understand how to fight it. For that is the order of the day; that is the legacy left us by the great leaders of our recent past, by Dr. Martin Luther King and by Malcolm X and by Paul Roberson and by W.E.B. DuBois. It is a le gacy which tells us that the struggle against racism is the first task which Black people face, not because we care a whole lot about educating our so-called Christian caucasoid oppressor, or about making him/her our friend, but rather in order to get him/her off our backs, so we can go on about the business of living. History records, from the very experience of our own people, the great importance of the media to our struggle. We have found some of our greatest leaders on the pages of newspapers or magazines: Fred erick Douglass on the North Star, W E B. DuBois on the Crisis — and we may well find them there again. There is just not enough space for me to deal with institutionalized racism of the caucasoid owned me dia. The task of the media in the hands of Black people today is to seek hope, to suggest means of s.niggle, to develop our talents, to revise any self debasing image of ourselves. That is the task which tin* Black media can perform, onlv if you if we join hands in the struggle foi a media fiee of ta i asm free of middle < lass bias, and ultimately anil in truth tier Dr J a m il C herovee