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Joe Holcomb
Continued
Martin Luther King Remembered
Page 2
Section II
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January 13, 1988
'The Eyes and Ears of the Community"
Volume XVIII, Number 9
Saturday School Report Card
by Nyewusi Askari
Due in great measure to the en­
thusiastic efforts and participation
of community residents, activists,
educators, teachers, students, per­
forming artists, ministers, churches
and others too numerous to name,
the Black United Front Saturday
School is scheduled to begin classes
February 20, 1988.
The Saturday School System will
consist of approximately 15 chur­
ches and institutions which are lo­
cated in North/Northeast Portland.
The churches include: Mt. Olivet
Baptist Church, Vancouver Avenue
Baptist Church, St. Andrew’s
Catholic Church, Highland Baptist
Church
and
Mallory
Avenue
Church.
Door-to-door recruitment of stu­
dents will begin February 6 in the
North/Northeast community and
will cover the Vernon, Humboldt
and King attendance areas. Volun­
teers and parents who still wish to
contribute to the school's success
are encouraged to call Avel or Karen
at 230-9427.
Teacher Training Session
Last Saturday morning, approxi­
mately 70 volunteer teachers, tutors
and instructors attended the Satur­
day School's first Teacher Training
Session in the conference room of
the Albina Human Resource Cen-
"The Conceptual Model for De
veloping Positive Programs for
Black Children" (Eugene Useni Per­
kins) explored the educational, cul­
tural, social and economic oppres­
sion of Black children. Once these
areas had been spotlighted, the
model moved to show how the posi­
tive development of Black children
can be accomplished in the areas of
(1) self-appreciation, (2) self-asser­
tion, (3) self-reliance, (4) self-affir­
mation, and (5) cultural awareness.
/ ^ ^ x im a t e l^ O v o lu n t e e r s attended the firs t Saturday School s
Teachers' Training Session.
ter, 5411 N.E. Union Avenue. The
session was conducted by Ron
Herndon, Co-Chairman of the Black
United Front.
Teachers were required to read
and discuss three important works
that will provide the foundation
upon which the School will operate:
(1) The Black Child - A Destiny
in Jeopardy; (2) Functions of Cul­
ture for Black Children and (3) Con­
ceptual Model for Developing Posi­
tive Programs for Black Children.
It was made clear during the dis­
cussion of the works that few of the
Willamette Week
Cartoon
by Nyewusi Askari
A cartoon showing tw o robed
and hooded figures, with one
holding a book with the title s
first word being "Kian", appear­
ed in the Dec. 22 28,1987, edition
of the Willamette Week news­
paper. The caption was "Don't
you love it when they're still
warm from the dryer?”
When the Willamette Week pub­
lished the Callahan cartoon des­
cribed above in its Dec. 22-28 issue,
no offense was intended according
to Mark Zusman, Editor. However,
when the cartoon was brought to
the attention of Black Oregonians,
most were offended and outraged.
Among that group is Kathleen
Saadat.
When Ms. Saadat saw and read
the cartoon, she immediately wrote
a letter to Zusman and the Willa­
mette Week. The letter asked for
an apology for publishing the car­
toon. Contacted by telephone, Ms.
Saadat said she was acting as an
outraged, private citizen who is very
sensitive to and concerned about
the positive development of race
relations in the State of Oregon.
She said she doesn't feel that the
Willamette Week's display of racial
insensitivity is a reflection of the
true racial sentiments of the major­
ity of Oregonians.
Ms.
Saadat's
letter
reads:
” ...
This letter is in reference
to a cartoon you published in Willa­
mette Week, Vol. 14, No. 9, Dec.
22 28 issue. Specifically the Calla
han cartoon on page 8. To say the
’f
•
Aisha Irving, age 12, said he is
glad he came to the session. "M y
mom told me about the Saturday
School, and I wanted to help tutor
the kids. I think this will help me,
because I'd like to be a teacher
when I grow up. Plus, it feels good
to be part of something like this,"
he said with a smile.
it defines their relationship with
other living things, it defines values
and rituals, methods of education,
etc. . .'
least, the cartoon is in extremely
poor taste. It is neither funny or
thought provoking. Along with the
apology due your readers, you
might take the time to denounce
the K.K.K. They are not funny,
they are not cute, and they are not
yet history.
There is absolutely
nothing funny about advocates of
white supremacy, especially in a city
"To say the least, the car­
toon is in extrem ely poor
taste. It is neither funny
nor thought provoking."
- Kathleen Saadat
where recently (Nov. 11, 1987) a
Black woman was attacked by a
white teenager who use racial pejor
atives prior to his physical assault
upon her automobile, the results of
which left her with cuts on her cor­
neas.
Oregon is a publically-
announced target for Aryan Nation
infiltration.
Oregonians must be
aware of the messages we send
and work against bigotry. I am sure
you will agree and hope you will
apologize for publishing the car­
toon . . ."
Responding to questions posed
by The Portland Observer, Willa
mette Week Editor Mark Zusman
said he is sensitive to Ms. Saadat s
position. "I understand why the
cartoon may have offended some of
our readers. On the other hand, I
think that John Callahan is a valu
able cartoonist One who is botit
funny, and, I think, infuses his work
.... .
Photo by Richard J. Brown
teachers believe that white-control­
led educational institutions - re­
gardless of whether they are ele­
mentary schools or universities
will educate Black, poor white,
American Indian and Hispanic child­
ren.
"The Black Child - A Destiny in
Jeopardy," by Dr. Bobby Wright,
stressed the need for African-Ame­
ricans to work toward developing a
Black social theory. According to
Dr. Wright, "A social theory deter­
mines the destiny of a people by
establishing guidelines of life, e.g.,
Using this model, the Saturday
School will focus on "family
strengths" and strive to give the
children (1)a sense of identity, (2)
a sense of history, (3) a sense of
struggle, (4) a sense of responsi­
bility and (5) a sense of nation­
hood. Along with creating a libe­
rated student, the School will em­
phasize (1) educational excellence,
(2) cognitive skills, (J) survival skills,
(4) analytical skills and (5) voca­
tional skills.
The session provided teachers
with information on how to go
about developing cultural programs
for Black children. This particular
Ron Herndon leads the discus­
sion during the Training Session.
Photo by Richard J. Brown
information stresses the importance
of (1) helping children to feei proud
of their Blackness in everything
they do, (2) inviting Africans from
the continent to talk with the child­
ren as often as possible, (3) making
every effort to have your materials
contain Black images, (4) establi­
shing the programming of Black
culture as a priority, (5) consulting
with knowledgeable Black people
in various fields to help you imple­
ment certain programs, and (6)
never using Black in a negative or
derogatory manner.
Pam Phillips expressed similar
sentiments. "A s an original Afri­
can-American from Portland, I am
excited about the Saturday School.
All children want to know who they
are. I was no exception. As a
child, I used to spend recess time
in the library searching for books
about Africans. I won an award for
reading so many books, but none of
them mentioned anything except
for slavery. The Saturday School
will offer positives for children by
teaching truth in history, art, etc.,
while building self-esteem. It's a
step in the right direction and I'm
glad to be a part of it," she ex­
plained.
Ron Herndon, at the close of the
session, summed up the School's
basic philosophy: "Our job is to
teach the students how to think,
not what to think. Because if they
don't know where they are going,
then any road will get them there.
Construction Brigade From Portland Goes to Nicaragua
The Ben Linder Construction Brigade left Sunday night for Corinto,
Nicaragua, representing the culmination of months of preparation and plan­
ning The Portland-Corinto Sister City Association spearheaded this effort
which also involved hundreds of individuals and organizations donating time,
money, and materials.
Thirteen brigade members embarked at midnight on a fifteen-hour trip
to join two other brigade members already in Nicaragua. After spending a
day in the capital city of Managua, they will continue on to Corinto. Corinto
is Nicaragua's main port. It is a town of 30,000 located three hours north­
west of Managua. In April 1985 Portland's City Council voted to make
Corinto our official sister city.
In Corinto the brigade's main project will be repairing the town's only
hospital Repairs will include work on the roof, painting, installing new
screening and lighting. Approximately $5,000 was contributed in cash or
in-kind donations just for building materials and tools. With the coopery
tion of Farmers for Peace in Canada, about $3,000-worth of these materials
have already been shipped. This includes zinc roofing, paint and fans. The
brigade is taking additional tools and materials. They also have a bicycle,
a sewing machine, hospital lab equipment, and a high school physics i
all donated by Oregonians for the people of Corinto.
The brigade will spend three weeks in Nicaragua. Besides their stay in
Corinto, they will also visit Managua, Leon, Masaya, and Matagalpa where
they will visit the grave of Ben Linder.
While in Corinto, brigade members will be living with Nicaraguan
families. During the stay they will meet with community groups, unions,
opposition parties, and other organizations. "When we return, we will take
every available opportunity to let people know what we have learned on our
trip," said one of the brigade members.
Individual brigade members have financed their own way. Many have
raised money from their relatives, friends, and co-workers, and even went
door-to door after Christmas soliciting contributions in exchange for hauling
with a certain amount of social com­
mentary. It may not have been
done in this particular cartoon. He
is someone I enjoy publishing and
will continue to publish," Zusman
said.
Zusman said there is very little
that appears in the Willamette Week
that doesn't offend someone at
some point along the line.
John
Callahan's cartoon was not printed
to give credence to the K.K.K. I
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think it was an attempt to simply
take a figure that has a uniform,
identifiable for good or for worse,
and make a lighthearted comment
about it. My concern is I think peo­
ple are making too much of an in­
ference out of that cartoon to sug­
gest in any form or fashion that
John Callahan or Mark Zusman or
Willamette Week is endorsing the
principles of the K.K.K. or anything
they stand for. If individuals saw
4
P C Peri is one of the thirteen Ben Under Construction Brigade mem-
bers who left Portland Sunday night for Nicaragua^ Pen, an em ­
ployee at Boeing, will be in Portland's Sister City of Corinto helping
with the repairs on the town s only hospital.
Photo by Richard J. Brown
awav used Christmas trees.
.
"W e are like the tens of thousands of others across the country who
were inspired by the example of Ben Linder and stepped forward after h.s
murder to join protest actions against the U.S. war in Nicaragua, to jo in
volunteer work projects like this one in order to see Nicaragua for them­
selves and take action in solidarity with the Nicaraguan people. The U S .
orqan.zed Contra mercenaries may have killed Benjamin Linder. But they
cannot kill his example." stated Susan Leo. a member of the brigade.
that cartoon and felt that there was
an attempt on the part of the Willa­
mette Week or Callahan to give legi­
timacy to the K.K.K., I apologize
for that . . ." Zusman explained.
John Makareno, a Northeast
Portland resident, believes Zusman
and the Willamette Week, whether
they intended to or not, gave cre­
dence to the K.K.K. by publishing
the cartoon. "Sure, he can apolo
gize, but that doesn't explain why
Willamette Week allowed the car­
toon to be published. It's as if they
didn't see the sheets. It's as if they
ignored what the presence of the
K.K.K. has meant to African-Ame­
ricans in this country," he said.
Black Oregonians who have seen
and read the cartoon agree with
Ms. Saadat's position that the mat­
ter is neither funny nor thought
provoking. As one put it, " I t ’s the
same old soup warmed over."
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