Page 2,
.Hand Observer, February 3, 1988
EDITORIAL
/
Freedom Et Social Justice
EDITORIAL
When it comes to survival, African Americans are capable,
qualified, insightful and productive.
Emerging from a condition of absolute American slavery,
African Americans have committed themselves to achieving
full participation in all aspects of American life.
The ironic thing about American slavery was America never
truly paid its economic debt to those it enslaved. As a result,
African Americans were forced to start a new life under less-
than-ideal conditions.
Reconstruction, the period after so-called emancipation,
failed because of America's refusal to fulfill its promise of total
inclusion of Blacks into the American mainstream. Instead,
African Americans found themselves facing the violent rage of
the KKK, Black Codes, betrayal by the United States Govern
ment and every other conceivable miscarriage of justice.
However, these conditions didn't deter the African Ameri
can quest for social, political and economic freedom.
As the 20th century draws to a close, Black Americans
have made economic growth and development a top priority.
Led by capable men and women, the movement is gaining
momentum, and all African Americans are being urged to parti
cipate by spending more of their income with Black businesses.
In an effort to support this important development, The
P o rtla n d O bserver is urging Black Oregonians to join the
"B u y Black" Campaign. The campaign is designed to promote
community self-help through economic growth and develop
ment, and the development of youth programs which will ad
dress problems of drug and alcohol addiction and abuse, teen
pregnancy, crime and other major issues of concern to Black
Oregonians.
The P ortla nd O bserver is also urging Black Oregonians
to re-examine the attitudes, behaviors and practices of local
business and corporate establishments toward the Black com
munity. We are asking Black Oregonians to decide whether
it's sensible to spend their money at establishments that do not
contribute to the social, political and economic growth and
advancement of the Black community.
Now is the time.
Anti-Drug PushGainsMomentum
Drug abuse in our nation's
schools is a tragedy which is not
only destroying and crippling our
youth, but is also threatening our
future as a nation. Sixty-one per
cent of all high school seniors have
tried some form of hard drugs, while
one out of twenty smoke marijuana
daily. Small children as young as
seven or eight serve as runners for
drug dealers.
Into this frightening arena steps
the Concerned Businessmen's As
sociation (CBAA), a group deter
mined to get drugs off of school
grounds within five years.
This
year, as it has done since 1986, the
CBAA is sponsoring a contest
which will award $5,000 to the stu
dent organization which creates and
implements the best anti-drug cam
paign for its school. There are three
contest divisions:
high school,
junior high, and elementary.
The name of the competition is
the "Set a Good Example Contest."
Each year this contest has grown
in popularity. Celebrities ranging
from John Travolta to Kim Fields,
star of "Facts of Life" have en
dorsed it. Corporations ranging
from MacDonalds to IBM have
given financial support. And accor-
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Leon L Harris
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The really heartening aspect of
the contest, however, is the re
sponse it has sparked among stu
dents. The anti-drug events pulled
off by the students of Eunice High
School in Eunice, Louisiana, are
particularly inspiring.
These stu
dents arranged for their biology
class to do research on the effects
of drugs on the body, the math
class did surveys on the student
body to discover their attitudes to
wards drugs, the drama class put on
skits, and the list goes on and on.
They even got the local news
papers, radio and TV stations to
cover their campaign. Not surpris
ingly, Eunice High School won the
1987 contest in the high school divi
sion.
For more information about the
1987-88 "Set a Good Example Con
test", and rules, write to Alex
Jones, Church of Scientology, 400
C Street, N.E., Washington, D.C.,
20002.
Dear Editor,
1. Who is Dr. Jamil Cherovee?
2. For whose benefit is he w rit
ing?
I would appreciate some sort of
response to this inquiry.
Matthew Chavis
To that curious reader, we give
the following reply.
Dr. Cherovee, for years, has been
a faithful supporter of The P ort
land Observer newspaper, and,
like all of our subscribers, he speaks
for himself. By doing so, he never
fails to give his honest, and some
times painful views and opinions on
issues raised by The Portland Ob
server.
The Portland Observer views
itself as "The eyes and ears" of Ore
gon's Black citizens, rather than as
a newspaper that speaks for the
Black community. Our purpose is
to inform, educate, inspire, chal
lenge unfair policies and practices,
and to provide a medium through
which Black Oregonians can be
heard.
We are sure that Portland Ob
server subscribers and readers will
agree that Dr. Cherovee takes full
advantage of that medium.
As Tom Peterson says, "Free is
a very good price."
Why are We
Losing the War
on Crime?
Editor:
Concerning "W ar on Crime Los
ing,” 11/25/87: To be young and
Black in the internal colonies of the
United States is to be subjected to
all the harshest elements of oppres
sion at the most vulnerable period
of one's life.
And, it is in the
machinations of internal colonialism
that we see the future of Black
Amenka Isicl, its young people,
decimated by their role as a re
serve labor force, military pawns
and disruptive force in the Black
communities around this nation.
The process of colonization threa
tens to make Afro-Amerikan Isicl
youth its primary victims. It is they
who will suffer most from the op
pressive rule of the colonial order.
As a group without the psycho
logical maturity of adults or the
emotional shelter of children, they
are most vulnerable to the dyna
mics of racism in its most crude
form.
The Armed Service Committee
will bring back the draft next year.
Since about one-half of all Black
labor force dropouts are male teen
agers, the poor Brothers who hap
pen to miss prison will be called to
serve that laughing hyena who calls
himself our Uncle Sam. While such
a situation may be disastrous to the
Black community, it serves the in
terest of the colonial order quite
well.
Afro-Amerikan Isicl youth
now comprise the largest segment
of the industrial reserve army. Capi
talism maintains this category of
workers at the lowest level of sub
sistence, and uses them when its
industries require additional workers
in the event of economic expansion.
At the same time, they provide
competition to other workers by
seeking their jobs, and, hence, de
pressing wages are particularly ap
propriate for this role, because they
do not think of themselves as a
class, they have few family respon
sibilities, and possess little political
consciousness or leverage. As the
most powerless of a colonized
group, they are especially valuable
in this role.
One might dismiss the problem of
unemployment of Black youth as
being relatively insignificant in the
overall picture of Black oppression.
Yet, to many low income Black
families, the additional income of
their teenage children is vital to their
existence. This is particularly true
during this period when many adult
males have lost their jobs. More
over, many of these young Blacks
will, themselves, be heads of house
holds. More than half of all Black
births are from Black teenagers
between the ages of 14 19 in some
inner cities. When these teenage
mothers are unable to find work,
they are forced into dependency on
the meager sum alloted to them by
Natchez,Mississippi: The
Movement Renewed
In many places these days you
get a sense of the Movement re
newed. Nowhere is this more evi
dent than in Natchez, Mississippi
in Adams County. For the past
month the African American com
munity of that city of 22,000 has
been engaged in an effective eco
nomic boycott of the white-owned
commercial district.
They have
done so over a concern which takes
precedence over all others — their
children.
As African American Alderman
George Harden of Natchez said,
"W e can no longer sit by while
those in authority make unwise and
unchallenged decisions that will
continue to have a negative impact
upon the children of Natchez for the
rest of their lives."
What is at issue here is a school
system which is 70% African Ame
rican but which continues to be
white-run. In fact, the school ad
ministration is 87% white: all 11
department heads are white and
three of four assistant superinten
dents of education are white. In
terestingly enough, the one African
American superintendent is the only
one of the four to hold a doctor
ate.
K
In 1979 a federal government
study showed that Natchez was
among 15 of the most segregated
school systems in the nation. What
this means is that North Natchez
High School, which is all-Black, has
no auditorium, an inadequate li
brary, an inadequate gym without
even a track field and a limited cur
riculum. South Natchez High, the
white school, is located just two
miles up the highway. It not only
has an auditorium, its auditorium is
air-conditioned, as is its cafeteria
and its gym. It also has a track
field and a considerably more ad
vanced curriculum.
For months the Black elected o f
ficials from Adams County met with
the-powers-that-be to gain improve
ments. Their pleas fell on deaf ears.
That's when these Black elected of
ficials became boycott leaders. Al
derman Harden, County Supervisor
Phillip West and State Represent
ative Barney Schoby joined forces
and organized the Concerned Citi
zens of Natchez. In December they
were joined by a fourth official,
newly-elected county supervisor
Thomas Campbell.
When they announced the boy
cott, they did so at a press con
ferenced attended by 45 community
leaders and heads of organizations.
Since then, the regular meetings of
the Concerned Citizens group have
never had less than 400 people in
attendance. And the most recent
program, held on Martin Luther
King's Birthday, drew over 700 peo
ple, as well as a number of Black
elected officials from all over the
state of Mississippi in support of
the boycott effort.
These days, very few African
Americans can be seen shopping
in downtown Natchez. Stores like
K-Mart and Kroger's food store are
already beginning to feel the heat.
And the Natchez/Adams County
Chamber of Commerce admits that
the boycott is having a great impact
on the community. When asked
why the boycott was so successful,
Alderman Harden pointed to the
Black elected officials, noting,
"Each of us represents many thou
sands of people and we've repre
sented them well for years, so the
people trust us. They know that we
wouldn't get out there — or get
them out there — unless we had
our facts and our strategy toge
ther." Indeed, their strategy is very
together.
Car pools are coordinated through
the boycott headquarters from 9:00
in the morning to 9:00 every night.
No one is turned away. Similar to
the Montgomery Bus Boycott in
1955, the car pools are staffed by
volunteers. Much sacrifice is in
volved. Some folks have to travel
as much as 125-200 miles away,
even going into Louisiana to get
what they want. But they help each
other with rides, for this is a united
effort. As Alderman Harden men
tioned, "Wherever there's a cause,
there's sacrifice. The people knew
that when we took this thing o n."
Yes, the spirit of the Movement
continues to be renewed in places
like Natchez, Mississippi. And each
effort, each success, contributes to
sustaining the on-going freedom
movement. For this, we should all
be thankful.
The Civil Rights Journal, written by Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., is a publication of the United
Churrh of Christ
welfare institutions or prostitution.
They face an economic reality en
tirely different from that of the Cau
casoid teenager, who can more ef
fectively use his kinship and friend-
of-the-family network to secure em
ployment.
Around this nation, I see rage and
frustration in the Black communi
ties. A feeling of despair and hope
lessness arises from the intolerable
high levels of unemployment.
There is bitterness over the lack of
significant political power. Many
poor young people roam in the
streets and loot and fight back be
cause, even if they don't, they will
end up trapped in a racist system of
criminal justice. I'm inclined to be
lieve there is an insensitivity on the
part of the entire criminal justice
system toward the poor. I believe
that astronomically high levels of
unemployment, especially among
Black teenagers, are linked to both
crime for profit and racial violence.
History has a way of repeating it
self.
A very real division in economic
resources — a very unequal distri
bution of wealth — means that
while incomes are rising for some,
unemployment and poverty loom
for many. The haves accumulate
and the have-nots must watch with
frustration. I'm sure the Mayor is
aware crime and violence are gene
rated by the control that the power
ful seek to exert over the power
less.
There are a few Brothers and
Sisters who understand that to re
main silent is to endorse the in
justice and to dishonor ourselves.
Multiply by ten the combined atro
cities of Attila the Hun, Tambur-
laine, Genghis Khan, the barbarians
of the Dark Ages, and Adolf Hitler
— and you will not begin to match
the crime against mankind that this
country is plotting. Hitler saw to
the slaughter of six- to seven-million
Jews, Gypsies, Poles, and Rus
sians. All were innocent of any o f
fense. Hitler's final solution, until
now the metaphor for unimaginable
cruelty and brutality, resulted only
in mountains of skeletons, rivers of
blood, tons of human cinders.
Only the most crazed advocates
of preparation for thermonuclear
war argue that such a war will end
with winners and losers. Every rea
sonable person knows there will be
only losers. There is a hint of divine
retribution in this arrangement —
that the arch-criminals of all history
should perish by their own device.
Make no mistake about it, we are
the arch criminals.
Dr. Jam il Cherovee
and Portland Chief of Police Richard
Walker, in formulating his original
proposal.
When asked if the continuum of
services offered by the county could
include training in basic moral
values along the lines of City Com
missioner Bob Koch's "boot camp
for criminals," "'on Clark said that
he was not hostile to such an ap
proach, or to others that may be put
forward. Said Clark, "There is no
single panacea for crime. IThe an
swer isn't just] more jails or more
cops on the street or more social
services alone . . . Crime is a com
plex phenomenon that needs to be
attacked on a variety of fronts.”
$25 00 for two years
PORTLAND OBSERVER
Address ______________
ding to Jerry Sierra of the CBAA,
the current contest which ends Ap
ril 1, 1988 has already attracted over
3,000 schools from around the
country.
Letters to the Editor
Look for Our African American Who is Dr.
Cherovee
History Special
This week a curious reader asked,
"W ho is Dr. Jamil Cherovee and
February 10,1988
who does he speak for? . . ."
S u b s c rip tio n s
Civil Rights Journal
by Alexander R. Jones
Promote Community Self-Help
A rticle s M o n d a y 5 p m
OPINION
Zip
Clark Reports
Continued from Page 1
Chuch Duffy, Assistant to Mayor
Bud Clark, said the Mayor feels the
continuum of services concept is a
"tremendous proposal. This is what
the Mayor has been calling for for
the past three years. . . "
Response from other local and
state elected officials, as well as
justice system administrators, has
also been supportive of the triage
proposal. Michelle Williams, assi
stant to Clark, explained th t that
support was hardly surprising since
Clark had sought the input from 50
of those officials, including Oregon