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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 1988)
Page 2, Portland Observer, January 27, 1988 EDITORIAL / OPINION Civil Rights Journal EDITORIAL One very noticable aspect of community meetings is the absence of young Black teenagers, the Black male, and the Black college student. This is especially true for meetings on matters of crime, teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse/addiction, unemployment, neighborhood development, and personal growth. Most community meetings are attended by seasoned, front-line war riors. These warriors are involved, concerned citizens who seem to have been around forever. However, during the past several years, their ranks have dwindled and their replacements have been slow to emerge. Many front-liners suggest that the absence and lack of involvement of younger Blacks is due in part to a depressed Oregon economy. Others say it's because of a lack of cultural/social identity. And still others say it s be cause younger Blacks are joining the "M E” generation: a generation that believes status, materialism and individualism are more important than help ing others who are less fortunate. Whatever the reason, it is important and necessary that young Black students and young Black adults become involved in every aspect of commu nity development. Increasingly, young people are the target of community concern. But the message is not reaching them. More and more, teenagers and young adults are falling victim to drug and alcohol addiction, unwanted preg nancies, homelessness, prostitution, anger, social barriers and hopelessness. The key word here is hopelessness. Many young people, especially those who've grown up during the Rea gan years, believe they have no reason to be stimulated or encouraged about the past and current conditions that now exist in this country. Many of the messages they receive tend to strongly suggest that "they are the problem." Truthfully, many are treated as "problems." The Black community cannot afford to fall into this trap. Black youth must be treated as part of the solution. The Black community cannot merely hope that young Blacks will get involved with community development. It must make sure. One way to make sure is to reorganize our cultural resources. The Black community has many respected and nationally recognized Black artist, musi Beniamin F. Chavis Jr. cians, speakers, activists, educators, writers, business persons, and histor ians. Individually, they continue to achieve, but as a functionally visible group that is dedicated to influencing and encouraging young Blacks, they are as fragmented as broken glass. It is a known fact that Black youth are influenced by those they look up to. Historically, the Black artist, the Black educator, the Black activist, the Black business person, etc., have always played a big part in the personal growth and development of younq Blacks. When you ask some young Blacks why they don't attend community meetings, they often say, "W e don't feel welcomed. Besides, you guys aren’t getting anything done." This perception is fueled by our inability to solve the problems of racism, unemployment, crime and the abundance of other problems that pop up on a daily basis. We need our young people as much as they need us. We must now learn how to convey this message very clearly. If we don't, we stand a chance of losing an entire generation to ignorance of basic, important issues that will determine the direction in which their lives will go. Under these con ditions, they will lose the right and the ability to control what is happening to and with them. Such an attitude will almost guarantee that their children will carry on the same tradition — a tradition of non-community involvement and a lack of knowledge of the real issues. We must let Black college students know that they stand at the front of this movement. They will be next in line to replace those who have kept our community in a constant state of positive political, social, cultural and eco nomic evolution. We must stress responsibility and bestow upon them the tools and techniques they'll need to meet the challenge. In the future, organizations in the community should make it a goal to recruit a certain number of young Black, white, Asian, Hispanic and Native American youth to attend meetings, social gatherings, and any other gather ing of importance. If we make these young people feel important, wanted, needed and secure in their effort to join forces with the older generation, then we can rest assured that we have a bright future ahead. Letters to the Editor Legislators are in agreement with the request to postpone conversion activity. The Chancellor's office has as sured the Board and the Education Sub-Committee of Ways & Means that there are no costs involved in switching to semesters. That is a very flawed claim. There has to be tremendous expense involved, both in budget dollars, and in lost teach ing time, as the Professors com pletely rewrite ever/ course by this June. Most community colleges are not planning to convert to the seme ster system for various reasons in cluding costs. Yet the 1987 Legi Dear Editor: How many people are aware that the State Board of Higher Educa tion has ordered all seven state uni versities and colleges (OSU, OIT, etc.) to convert from the traditional school year of three terms to a two semester system starting in late Au gust of 1989? I appeared in person before the Board at its December 18 meeting and requested that they call a halt to all semester conversion activity until June 30, 1989. There has been limited input accepted from faculty and students. No public hearings were held by the board. At the pre sent time, I know that at least 31 slature was assured that the conver sion to semesters would only be done in cooperation with commu nity colleges. The fall semester beginning in last August will have a very adverse effect on students who need to earn their college money by working in tourism/recreation, agri- culture/food processing, timber and construction related activities. Not only will the students be adversely affected, so will the natural resour ces related businesses who have need of employees only for the sum mer season which extends beyond Labor Day. The 11 members of the State Board of Higher Education should reconsider their position. There is no conclusive evidence that chang ing to semesters will improve the quality of education. It will reduce by at least one-third the number of courses a student can take in a four- year period. There will be complica tions and costs galore if the con version is allowed to proceed. If you are concerned about the change, or want more information, please write me at 27070 Irish Bend Loop, Halsey, OR 97348. Liz Van Leeuwen State Representative D is tric t 37 Establishment Media Control PORTLAWbÒB&ERVER OREGON'S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established in 1970 Alfred L. Henderson/Publisher Leon L. Harris PORTLAND OBSERVEK 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: 1503) 288-0033 Richard J. Brown Editor Gary Ann G arnett Business Manager Nyew usi Askari Richard J. Brown Writer Photographer M a ttie Ann Callier-Spears Leslie V. W hite Religion Editor Art Director Kendel Bryan C ovington Vivian E. Richardson Entertainment Editor Sales Representative Joyce W ashington Rebecca Robinson Sales Representative T y pesetter / Production A rnold Pitre Lonnie W ells Sales Representative Distribution Deadlines for all submitted materials Articles M o n d a y . 5 p m T h e Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions Ads T u e sd a y 5 p m Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed stamped envelope Subscriptions 115 00 per year m the Tn County area The P O R TLA N D OBSERVER Oregon's oldest African American Publication is a member of The National Newspaper Asaooation - Founded m 1885 The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers Inc e N ew York ” , *Ja4 —4 -, 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 Name Address City __ State__ Zip Concerning "Heroine Angered Over Media Coverage," 1-20-88, by Nyewusi Askari: It's a shame the caucasoid news media would at tempt to criticize Ms. Catherine O'Hara. Our so-called democratic society is mortally imperiled by rac ism _ a cancerous disease which will destroy not only an individual, but also, if allowed to metastasize without radical surgery, a great na tion. The Black masses are now threatened with the most grievous form of ignominy — the most cut ting form of racism — that of "nobodyness." One need only consider the enor mous quantities of newspaper, periodicals, radio and television pro grams operating in the United States today to see the fundamental relationship of the media to state power. Creating and transforming consciousness, the "mainstream" media in present day Amerika [sic] operate in monopoly fashion, like all the other centers of capitalist power. While the material mono poly of electronic giants such as ABC, CBS and NBC is deplorable, even worse is the monopoly and uniformity of content that they have established; and in similar fashion, the giants of the printed world — Times, Newsweek, and the Hearst chain. The New York Times, Scripps-Howard, Knight, etc., or ganize, conceptualize and report the same information in almost identical fashion. Contrary to its own rhetoric, the function of racist bourgeois media is not to provide information and the free flow of ideas, but to indoc trinate the reading public in perpe tual affirmation of established values. The Portland Observer must continue to present the Black cri tique of Amerikan [sic] and world events. It is to the examples of John Russwurm, Martin Delany, Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Du- Bois as publishers, editors and jour nalists, that we must aspire. It is incumbent upon the Black media to exercise its strength to the end re sult of expanding the communities' consciousness and political power. In a nation so vast, communica tions — written, audio and audio visual — are the matrix which can either unite us as a people or, if misused by the majority group, can encourage and propagate insti tution racism, both overt and co vert. Why didn't they tell the mother to have her son checked because Sister Catherine might have AIDS? I'm inclined to believe the printed media or the daily news papers, radio and TV of Amerika [sic] are the most racist of all forms of communication. Prostitution and the Law — C on't fro m motels along Interstate Avenue are involved in allowing criminal acti vity, but a great number of them are. Potter said it is estimated, by people who work with the pro stitutes along Interstate, that any where between 80 and 90 percent of the business of the motels comes from prostitution and drug dealing. He said a meeting with motel own ers and citizens from the Overlook neighborhood produced positive re commendations, in particular (1) that a sign be placed in motel rooms that say all occupants of a room Victory in Keysville, Georgia Victory is sweet. Just ask the African American community of Keysville, Georgia. Against strong opposition from the white commu nity which controls the town, Afri can Americans, on January 4th, elected an African American mayor and four African American council- members. After we discussed the upcoming election in an earlier commentary, a number of callers, including seve ral media organizations, asked us for further information. They be came interested not only because Keysville's majority Black popula tion had no sewage system, no run ning water, no indoor plumbing and no control over the affairs of the town, while the white residents had all of the above. Rather, what was of greater inter est was the fact that the January 4th election was the first time that African Americans had ever voted in a local election since administration of the town had been remanded to the county in 1933. This was an his toric election with national implica tions. And it came about because the African American community of Keysville decided that if they reacti vated incorporation of the town, they would be able to tax residents and, thus, attain essential services which they do not enjoy at this time. The white community, fearing a change in the traditional power re lationship, fought the election. Black voter turn-out would be crucial — and turn out they did On Election Day, over 85% of the Afri can American electorate voted. This tremendous voter participation was no accident, however. It came about through prolonged and inten sive voter mobilization activities. For the past year-and-a-half Ashaki Binta, a seasoned organizer from the Christie Institute, a public interest law firm, has been based in Keysville. She worked in and with the community day after day, to plan strategy and to organize the voter mobilization and registration campaign. Working with her were local residents like Mrs. Turetha Neely, the African American super intendent of elections. As Mrs. Emma Gresham, a retired teacher and the new mayor of Keys ville, asserted, "W e met every Mon day night since 1985. Even if we didn't have but four people in the room, we never stopped meeting. And then the meetings started get ting bigger and bigger. Before you could have had them in my living room. Now we have to hold them in the community center." Mrs. Gresham also talked about the voter education marches held every Saturday by Rep. Tyrone Brooks, the African American state representative from their district. She also talked about the assistance of the Southern Christian Leader ship Conference, particularly their youth members and their Executive Director, Dr. Joseph Lowry. She spoke with pride of the serious com mitment of local youth, saying, "They are truly our hope for tomor row and our hope for today, to o ." Campaign workers left nothing to chance. Under Ms. Binta's direc tion they gathered the names of every potential voter and canvassed door-to-door. On Election Day they instituted a sophisticated car pool and had babysitters and hot food available for the voters. Their organization paid off. The entire Concerned Citizens' slate won, with the exception of one write-in candidate who lost by only two votes. At the joyous rally which was held in an overflow African American church on election night, Mrs. Gresham warmly thanked the people of Keysville for their sup port and their hard work. She also thanked God, saying, "God truly has a timetable and this is Keys ville's tim e." However, not everyone under stands that. The white slate is chal lenging the election in the courts. But, as Mrs. Gresham says, "This court challenge is just a little hurdle because the people of Keysville have already spoken." The Civil Rights Journal, written by Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., is a publication of the United Church of Christ. -------------------- ------------------- ----------------- ------ --------------- The Black press, since the found ing of Freedom's Journal 161 years ago, has been the only spokesman for the teeming millions of Blacks in Amerika [sic], the only light to open the broad highways of hope so that our children's children may live fruitful lives. Every man at some moment must discover that he has a cross to bear. The cross that the Black press has borne proudly over the years is proclaiming the evils of racism. The insensitivity of the establishment is such that, while the Black press is dealing with the pro blem of racism, the caucasoid press has been ignoring it. And caucasoid corporate Amer ika [sic] seems to conspire against the Black press by withholding ad vertising, without which no press in this country can survive. The Black press must light torches, even bon fires, to expose the misery, the de privation, the crimes against the Amerikan [sic] creed. We must never be satisfied with cursing the darkness, alone. But if we proclaim to the world the one-ness of 45,000,000 Blacks, wandering in Diaspora, we shall be worthy of our heritage, knowing we have sustain ed the fabric and the matrix of our most previous survival asset — as we proclaim that Blacks have, and belong to, each other; and, because of this indivisible circumstance, have a common fate. As I close, let us make a covenant among ourselves: That we shall invest in the common welfare of our Brother man, to tell it like it is, w ith out fear or favor. We must stop talking about men like Jesus Christ, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The Honorable Elijah Mohammad, and live by the principles those great men layed down. Men and women of good will must keep pounding on the citadels of an insensitive, avaricious establishment, demand ing the equal control of the news print and the airwaves, as a first step toward freedom and self-deter mination, until that good day when there are no longer domestic colon ials but neighbors dwelling side by side, willing to save a life, like Sister Catherine — a family of peo ples. I would like to remind that female reporter that Dante has warned: "The hottest places in Hell are re served for those who in times of great moral crisis do nothing. Dr. Jam il Charovea haviors defined as enticing, solici ting, or procuring. The courts have struct down, as unconstitutional, many statutes that were designed to punish people for lewd behavior, or behavior that's provocative or be havior that interferes. The ACLU said the problem occurs because no one understands what such words mean. It was apparent during the ques tion and answer session that many citizens are still taking a wait-and- see attitude when it comes to police handling of prostitution/drug enfor- cement. Many say the Portland crime wave of 1987 has convinced them that words and statistics, no matter who speaks them, are not crimestoppers. However, this wait-and-see atti tude did not interfere with citizens' opinion that the forum served its purpose. Said one satisfied participant, "This is what it's going to take to deal with the problem — getting to gether like this and showing that we all are determined to work together to solve these terrible problems." Page 1 must be registered with the motel and (2) that all persons not register ed with the motel will be subject for arrest for tresspassing. How ever, Potter said, they had received information that very few of the motels were implementing the re commendations. The ACLU explained the legal aspects of prostitution. According to the ACLU, citizens have the right to challenge statutes that they con sider unfair or unconstitutional, and that police departments have to be careful when trying to interpret be