t • December 30, 1987, Portland Observer, Page 7 Nipping Prejudice in the Bud Perspectives by Professor McKinley Burt fifth graders said children are teased immune to prejudice, the seeds for Imagine a school classroom about the color of their skin; 31 prejudice are sown at an early age, where children are divided into percent said children are teased prior even to children starting groups according to the color of about their religion. school. their eyes or hair. They are told Although the teachers interview The handbook emphasizes the that those with blue eyes may not speaking of a trillion dollars. ed were usually aware of problems, important role teachers can play in speak to children from the other Now, let us look at the automa­ many did not know how to initiate reducing the formation and growth groups, may not play with them or tic lubricator patented by Elijah discussion about them. All were in­ of prejudicial attitudes by challeng­ assist anyone except from their own McCoy, July 18, 1882 (no. 261,166). terested in activities that would help ing many of the stereotypes to group. Before this invention, by a son of children understand the differences which children are exposed. In another classroom, a child is slaves, all moving machinery had to among them and show more toler­ The aims of the book are to help asked to describe his feelings about be frequently stopped for lubrica­ ance for others. The majority also children: a good friend . . . why they are tion. In authentic western movies, agreed they would like to spend • Understand such concepts as friends, what the person is like, you see train passengers walking more time on citizenship issues. prejudice, discrimination and stereo­ positive characteristics and so forth. around while the crew oils the loco­ The manual deals with such typing; Then the child is asked to look at his motive parts. In the early Charlie topics as learning about prejudice, • Examine their own and other friend through a large magnifying Chaplin movie, “ Modern Times", discrimination against the disabled, people's treatment of people who glass covered with colored cello­ you see him prancing around with an race and ethnicity, religion, differ­ are different; phane and describe how the friend oversized oil can, lubricating the ences in life-style and the influence • Be better able to analyze and has changed. The obvious answer machinery (Obviously, the airplane of gender on how children are reflect on their own feelings, there­ is that the friend has changed color. would have been impossible since treated. by differentiating between reason­ But does this change the child's it could not be stopped to lubricate In the section on learning about able dislikes or caution and pre­ feeling about the friend or what his the engines ). Within a few years prejudice, tests are suggested to judice; friend is really like? after introduction of this device, help youngsters make value judge • Gain an awareness and enjoy­ These are just two of the exer­ most factories and railroads speci­ ments regarding things they know ment of diversity in our society; cises for fighting prejudice in a new fied that all their machinery be little about. They are made aware • Act in ways that are nondis- manual for use in elementary equipped with a Real McCoy Lu­ of the difference between disliking criminatory. schools, being distributed by the bricator. A Black man's name had someone or being prejudiced Some activities are appropriate Anti-Defamation League. become part of colloquial English. against them. For example, it is for kindergarten and primary grade Entitled "Teacher, they called me What is suggested here is that natural to dislike someone who is children while others are for more a ________ I" the book gives there has been a gross failure on the mean to you. On the other hand, cognitively sophisticated elemen­ teachers more than 60 classroom part of Blacks and leaders alike to a prejudiced person may decide that tary school children. activities and down-to-earth ap­ (1) appreciate their own genius and everyone who looks like the mean In preparing the book, 101 ele­ proaches for counteracting preju­ capacity to create wealth, whether person must also be mean. The mentary school children were selec­ dice and discrimination against formally educated or not, and to manual also points out that some ted to be interviewed, half from a children. (2) reach a level of cooperative ef­ kinds of prejudice — such as being rural area and the other from a sub­ The work, originally prepared for fort which would permit the building skeptical of strangers who offer urban Salt Lake City community. the Utah State Office of Education of financial institutions for the sup­ presents or favors — may be accep Third and fifth graders were asked and published as a book by ADL port of business and industrial spin­ table. individually to respond to questions was written by Dr. Deborah A. To effectively fight racial and eth­ offs. about what it means to be an Ameri­ Byrnes of the Department of Ele­ More on this in later articles. nic prejudice, the book explains the can, about their views of different mentary Education of Utah State In any case, the next time you reasons for differences in the color ethnic, racial and religious groups, Univeristy. Dr. Byrnes interviewed shut the sliding door on your van, of hair, skin and eyes. how they learned about each speci­ both teachers and students to deter­ remember that this locking mechan­ In the “ discrimination simu­ fic group and whether they knew mine the issues to be addressed. ism was invented by a Benson High lation," where a class is divided into anyone who belonged to such The book's introduction notes School Black graduate, Don Ruth­ minority groups. They were also See "Prejudice", Page 10 that, although adults in America erford, June 8, 1954, Patent No. questioned about reasons that society like to believe children are 2,680,268. children tease each other and why some children are excluded from group play. First graders were shown 10 pic­ tures of boys and girls from five different racial or ethnic groups - Black American, Mexican Ameri­ can, Native American, Asian Ameri­ can and Anglo American. They Except for short breaks over were asked with which child they Christmas and on New Year's Day, would most like to play, using an winter term registration at Portland elimination process so that all but Community College will continue one was selected. They were also through January 8, college officials questioned about the teasing of dif­ ferent ethnic and racial groups and have announced. Prospective students can sign up about their knowledge of religious at all campuses and centers during groups and about what in general open registration December 21-23, children tease each other. December 29-31, January 2 and du­ Eighty-five percent of the first graders interviewed said children ring late registration period Janu­ are teased about the way they look ary 4-8. Registration will be from 9 a.m. — the most frequent examples re­ Kelvin Little, 4 years old (L). and Etrece' Brazzle (R) were lated to weight, clothes, hair and to 4 p.m. except December 30 among 23 children from the Woodlawn Center of AM A Head­ skin color. Seventy-one percent and January 4-7 when hours will be start that visited Commissioner Pauline Anderson. The children said children are teased about what extended to 8 p.m , and January 8 presented Anderson with a poster and a plaque in appreciation church they attend - such as call­ when offices will be open until of her visit to their center. Photo by Richard J. Brown ing a particular church "dumb' or 5p.m. PCC is offering nearly 5000 winter "bad" or claiming to be better than someone who attends a different classes during the term that begins the week of January 4. church. Seventy-six percent of third and Technology: Old MacDonald Had A Farm “ Old MacDonald had a farm and on this farm he had some ducks . . . " And old Jefferson Davis, 'Father of the Confederacy', had a plantation and on this planta­ tion he had some slaves. One was quite an inventor, designing a boat propeller which increased the speed by many miles an hour. Now, what we cannot learn from that old folk song is about the many Black con­ tributors to the Industrial Revolution — or about hamburgers. However, from an Arno Press monograph (New York Times Publishing Co.), and from Commager's "Documents of American History” (public li­ brary), we can learn of this inven­ tion and its consequences for the legal structure of the Confederate States. TECHNOLOGY When Jefferson Davis tried to patent this invention of a slave, the Attorney General of the United States made the final ruling that Davis could not acquire rights in this invention, because a slave had no rights w h ich m ig h t be acquired. This setback caused the first pre­ sident of the Confederacy to initiate an interesting chain of events. Ex­ amining the Constitution of the Confederate States of America, we find in Article I, Section 8, that “ The Congress shall have the power . . . (8) To promote the progress of sci­ ence and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inven­ tors the exclusive rights to their re­ spective writings and discoveries." Davis followed on most imme- diately with another pet piece of legislation by having passed a law specifying that “ all in ventions of slaves shall become the property of the m a ster". Shocking (and re­ vealing), but there is an even more startling analysis to be made. If we evaluate the economic benefit to Black people created by their thou­ sands of inventions (patented) from emancipation to the space age - for all practical purposes they might just as well have been inno­ vated during slavery. Given the basic importance of many of these inventions to the In­ dustrial Revolution, we might have expected a corresponding increase of some magnitude in Black wealth other than wages — and certainly we would expect to see a signifi­ cant involvement in the manufac­ ture and distribution of goods. So­ cial and economic data for the period reveal nothing of the kind. To make my point, I cite these two major inventions: Frederick McKinley Jones patented the re fri­ gerated tru c k , July 12, 1949 (no. 2,475,841), and the refrigerated box car, December 7, 1954 (No. 2,696,086). The marketing and food consumption habits of an entire na­ tion were changed as the inexpen­ sive transportation of fresh or frozen foods developed around the innova­ tion of a Black sixth-grade dropout. Jones' invention created tens-of- billions of wealth in citrus and other crops, in transportation industries, in meatpacking, and in California and Florida real estate. World wide, over these forty years, we may be Scholarships For Minorities Available PCC Registration Continues Through January 8 Pre-schoolers Visit Multnomah County Court Two scholarships for Black nurses are available through the Nurses' Educational Funds, Inc. (NEF) for the 1988 89 academic year. The awards, for registered nurses enrolled in masters or doctoral degree programs, recog­ nize outstanding scholastic achievement and potential for leadership in the nursing profession. The Estelle MasSey Osborne Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a Black registered nurse who is pursuing a masters degree in nursing at a National League for Nursing accredited school. The award is made in honor of Ms. Osborne, the first Black nurse irrth e United States to receive a masters degree. The award is made in memory of her contribution as a teacher, as an educational administrator as a nursing service administrator, as a public health nurse, as a writer, and EDUCATION as a leader and role model to Black nurses. The M Elizabeth Carnegie Scholarship is awarded to a Black registered nurse who is pursuing a doctoral degree in nursing or in a related field. The award was initiated by Dr. Carnegie, a member of NEF s Board of Directors, in 1981 to recognize Black nurses who were pursuing advanced degrees. Dr. Carnegie is currently serving as the first visiting professor of the Vera E. Bender Endowed Chair in Nursing at Adelphi University, Garden She is the author of "The Path We Tread: Blacks in Nursing 1854 1984, as well as other articles on nursing education and Blacks in nursing. Those applying for either the Osborne or Carnegie scholarships must also be: a U S. citizen or have declared their official intention of becoming one, and a member of a national professional nursing association. The next time monies are available from the Nurses' Educational Funds, Inc is for the 1988 89 academic year, beginning September 1988. Qualified applicants should send a $3.00 check to NEF to cover postage and handling of the application kit. Deadline for filing the completed application is March 1, 1988. Write: Nurses' Educational Funds, Inc., 555 West 57 Street, New York, NY 10019. The Nurses' Educational Funds, Inc., is the only non government, in- dependenl sou.ee of funds fo. graduate education in nursing Orrgrna»» established in 1911 as the Isabel Hampton Robb Memorial Scholarship, NE has given away more than $1 million over the years to hundreds of nurses who have gone on to become leaders in research, education, administration Golden Age Program Offers Senior Privileges Residents of the Mt. Hood Com­ munity College District who are at least 62 years of age are eligible for special privileges, including free tuition, through the college's Gol­ den Age program. Husband and wife may both apply if one is at least 62 years of age. Close to 3,000 residents now take advantage of what the program offers. In addition to free tuition, members also are entitled to re­ duced admission to the MHCC Aquatic Center for use of swimming and hydrotherapy pools, free use of the library and student admission to all college events and activities. If a class requires service or material fees, such as supplies for an art class, they must be paid by the stu­ dent. Residents may apply for the Gol­ den Age program by contacting the MHCC community services offices at 667-7449. and outstanding practitioners, as well. Quality Copies - Wholesale Pricing On Groceries Gone Public DELIVERED! Y . a n (t* rjutlrn copiB--K'nko i p* nphi i° 284-2129 ALPHONSO'S SANDWICH SHOP • Sandwiches • Salads • p in n e r s • Cate'rjng • PORK RIBS • CHICKEN • BEEF RIBS i/M ll-iO. HOURS. MON-THUR 11 30-9 00 FR i -SAT 11 3 0 -1 '0 0 SUN 12-6 3328 N E KILLINGSWORTH • 288-3836 _ t . f o u n t r r i - r r r i i 111I LU $