Page 2, Portland Observer, February 17, 1988
EDITORIAL
Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.
Black United Front Commended
cipate in the creation of the Satur
day School.
The Saturday School speaks to
what can be accomplished when
citizens work together to eliminate
serious problems.
The African-
Americans, whites, and Hispanics
who spent four weeks of intensive
training in the African-American
community in preparation for the
School's opening are to be com
mended, honored, supported and
remembered. They have created
their own special place in Oregon's
African-American history.
We cannot overstate how proud
we are of all who have made the
Saturday School a reality. At a time
when Oregon is experiencing mor
bid racial tensions, it is refreshing to
know that there are citizens who
will step forth and work together to
create new cultural, social and racial
realities.
But more importantly, our child
ren will always be greatful for the
creation of this new reality. It will
help them to go forth and create
new realities of their own.
The Saturday School is about
education and excellence.
It is
about neighborhoods working toge
ther. It is about making our com
munity a place where children feel
safe and loved.
It is an historical effort by com
mon people — parents, actors, edu
cators, artists, college students,
civic leaders, grandmothers, grand
fathers, writers, dancers, the un
employed, and students.
Enuff said.
Now it's time for round two. It
should be a knockout!
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R egistration during Saturday School rally. Photo by Richard J. Brown
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OREGON'S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION
Established in 1970
Mitred L.
Leon L. Harris/Gen
H enderSO n/Publisher
Capital Punishment — Texas Style
Clarence Brandley is a 36-year-old
African American. He has been on
death row in Texas since February
1981 and has escaped two execu
tion dates by the skin of his teeth,
most recently in March of this year.
When the Brandley case was pre
sented before Cong. John Conyer's
Subcommittee on Criminal Justice
earlier this year the Congressman
raised the question: can a young
Black man receive justice in the
small southern town of Conroe,
Texas?
That is, indeed, the question.
For, evidence presented at a recent
judicial hearing indicates that Mr.
Brandley's case was handled in a
blatantly racist manner. Key evi
dence was lost or thrown away,
there is strong indication of collu
sion between the prosecutor and
the judge, and one of the prosecu
tion's own witnesses has now con
firmed the racial overtones sur
rounding the arrest. He testified
that a Conroe police officer said of
Brandley before his arrest, "You're
the nigger; you're elected."
The case is based on a 1980 as
sault and murder of a white female
student at a high school in Conroe,
Texas. Conroe is just 45 miles out
side Houston. Five janitors worked
at the high school. Mr. Brandley
was the only African American jani
tor. At the first trial in 1981 the
white janitors provided alibis for one
another, but not for Mr. Brandley.
In addition, and most importantly,
Brandley was tried twice by all-
white juries.
The first tiral trial ended in a mis
trial because one, lone white juror
held out, saying the prosecution
had not proven its case. That juror
was beseiged by thousands of angry
telephone callers screaming "nigger-
lover" and other epithets. The se
cond trial ended in conviction.
Then, finally, in October of this
year, Mr. Brandley was granted a
hearing that looked at new evidence
in the case. The new evidence is
convincing. First, one of the white
janitors, John Henry Sessum, has
now revealed that he saw another
white janitor, Gary Acreman, accost
the girl at the high school just be
fore she was murdered. Then, after
a photo of Mr. Acreman, the white
janitor, was televised, it was dis
covered that he had been fired from
his previous job because of physical
harassment of a female employee
Letters to the Editor
Richard J. Brown
Editor
Gary Ann G arnett
Business Manager
Nyewusi A skari
Richard J. B row n
W riter
Photographer
M a ttie Ann Callier-Spears
.Leslie Y, W hite
Religion Editor
A rt Director
Fred Hem bry
A rnold Pitre
Sports
Sales Representative
Joyce W ashington
Rebecca Robinson
Sales Representative
T ypesetter / Production
Lonnie Wells
Distribution
Deadlines for aM submitted materials
Ads Tue sda y 5 p m
Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled
and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed stamped envelope
Subscriptions
$15 00 per year in the Tri County area
The PO R TLA N D OBSERVER
Oregon oldest African American Publication
is a member of The National
Newspaper Association
Founded m 1885 The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association and The National
7* >
» • ’ $*
Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers Inc
New York
Editor:
Our African-American organiza
tions keep passing up golden oppor
tunities to buy property or build
establishments in N.E. Portland. It
is amazing that year after year we
keep pumping money into "Hotel
Whatever" for "This 'n' That af
fair, when the same money pooled
could have long ago built a com
munity owned hotel or other esta
blishment. What are we waiting
for? When will we learn? Are we
going to keep making other folks
wealthy with our hard earned dol
lars that don't even turn over one
complete time in our own commu
nity? Or, are we going to wake up
and buy and build lasting African-
American institutions!
Alberta Coleman
NAnn*)*,
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The Parable of
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Editor:
To start the Portland Observer coming every week
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$15 00 fo r one year
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$25.00 fo r tw o years
PORTLAND OBSERVER
Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
Name
Address
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and the Rainbow Coalition ate changing Ametican elec-
Rainbow Coalition registered two million new voters in
Jesse Jackson held the lead in the polls for over six
Jackson travels - to family farmers in Iowa white work
ers in Pittsburg, Chicano workers on strike in Watsonville California, health
workers in New York - Jackson's calls for peace and re-mvestment in
America are greeted with enthusiasm.
True in a society bombarded with racist imagery from the Media it «
not easy io change hearts and minds. But the Jackson campaign and Rain
Church of Christ.
5011 N.E. 26th Ave.
Portland, Oregon 97211
P.O. Box 3137
Portland, Oregon 97208
Phone Number: (503) 288-0033
T h e Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions
Jesse Jackson
toral politics. The
9 W ^ n d in 1987
X h s Wherever
The Civil Rights Journal, w ritten by Benjamin F. Chavis, J r., is a publication o f the United
PORT LAND OBSERVER
Articles M o n d a y . 5 p m
ar.d had, in fact, been involved in 1
several such incidents.
Now, as for the old evidence: it
was revealed before Brandley's first
trial that certain key evidence was
allegedly lost. Then, before the se
cond trial, additional evidence, also
essential, was thrown away "by
mistake," according to the autho
rities. In addition, the new hearing
showed that Sessums, the white
janitor who testified against his
white co-worker, was threatened
both by Acreman and by the Texas
ranger who supposedly investigated
the case. And let's look at that
investigation.
The investigating Texas Ranger
spent 500 hours on the case. But,
according to Atty. Paul Nugent, a
member of Brandley's defense
team, "The Ranger and other in
vestigators were not trying to find
the murderer; they were trying to
convict Clarence Brandley." Not
surprising when you consider that
there are 94 Texas Rangers in the
state of Texas and all of them are
white. Or that, as the New York
Times noted, Conroe has "a history
of ugly racial incidents."
Both the New York Times and
"60 Minutes" have done extensive
pieces on the Brandley case. How
ever, it was the crusading Black
press of Houston and the unified
support of the African American
community of the area which first
turned the tide. From the begin
ning, the Coalition to Free Clarence
Brandley, including the Black cler
gy, has supported him with rallies,
marches, and daily prayer vigils at
the trials.
At the conclusion of the recent
hearing, Presiding Judge Perry
Pickett recommended a new trial
for Clarence Brandley, telling a
packed courtroom, "The pervasive
shadow of darkness has obscured
the light of fundamental decency
and human rights [in this easel."
There are now 261 inmates on
death row in Texas. And Texas
has the dubious distinction of
having put more prisoners to death
than any other state in the union
since capital punishment was re
instituted in 1977. The question is
not just whether Clarence Brandley
can receive justice but, also, whe
ther this country can morally con
tinue a policy which can so easily
put a seemingly innocent man or
woman to death.
The Economic Justice Movement
The Media Can't Stop
bow Coalition are changing society, arousing the conscience
ing self-interest of black and white together.
The Village Voice and
L.A. Weekly recently published stirring accounts of growing massive white
supportfor Jesse Jackson.
It is the U.S. corporate Media - not the public - that is waging a hostile
campaign against Jackson’s uplifting candidacy. Day and night
on NBC,
CBS ABC in Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, The New
Republic, The N.Y. Times - the Media repeat one cynical refrain. Jack-
son cannot win; Jackson cannot w in ." The Media claim that Jesse Jackson
is by d e fin itio n unelectable, and Media try unsuccessfully to predict Jack-
son into defeat prior to the primaries.
Monoply Media tell us Jackson cannot win because whites are inherent
ly incapable of voting for a progressive black candidate. The Media does not
say that white-only elections are bad, or that racism should be opposed. On
the contrary, the Media encourages subm ission to the status quo. The
Media take the existence of racism as a normal, acceptible situation and try
to blame the people for it.
Media predictions of Jackson's defeat are neither fair or objective. They
reflect a conflict of interest between the Corporations, who run the Media,
and our right to open elections. After all, why are the Media so adament to
exclude Jackson from serious contention?
Look at NBC. NBC is ow ned by General Electric, the third largest pro
ducer of nuclear weapons in the world, a company that laid off U.S. workers
and exports jobs and capital to slave markets in Chile and South Africa. It is
obvious that GE and NBC - its mouthpiece - have vested interests in the
very policies Jesse seeks to change. If we do not choose our own candidate
a labor candidate, the Corporations will choose th e ir candidate for us. How.
Through false prophecy.
An A necdote A b o u t W artim e Propaganda: The present situation in
the primaries resembles a work-place before a strike. "You workers are too
weak; defeat is inevitable; no one will support you" - all of us know this
catechism of management in times of social conflict. Smart workers never
base their judgements on prophecies of defeat — hostile predictions that
break down hope, reinforce apathy and despair.
Many years ago, I was a switchboard operator in a large hotel. Condi
tions got bad and our union called a strike. It was my first strike, and the
department head kept telling me we could never win. A custodian, an old-
timer from Scotland, saw that I was worried. He was a tough man who lost
two brothers in World War II, working in the British shipyards. He saw I was
full of doubts about our potential and strength.
He told me a story about the War. There was a period, he said, when it
looked like Hitler was going to win the war. Hitler invaded Eastern Europe
and the Soviet Union and won a series of blitzkrieg battles. The Nazi Air
Force dropped thousands of fliers behind enemy lines. The fliers said: Dear
soldiers and workers. You are running out of food. Times are hard, and
you cannot win the war. If you surrender now, it will be easier. We will
treat you well. You have no chance of winning." The Allies fought on; they
resisted, not only Hitler's bombs, but Hitler's psychological warfare
as well.
Well, I joined the strike (after a story like that, what else could I doll,
and we won most of our demands.
D efeatist Hype During Elections: Of course a national slection is not
equivalent to a war or a strike, but defeatist prophecies can be just as insi
dious in elections as they are in war.
There are still some working people today who are reluctant to vote for
their own candidate — the peace candidate, the full-employment candidate,
the labor candidate — Jesse Jackson. They like his programs. They too
want to cut the debt-producing military budget, stop the flight of capital to
slave markets abroad, and re-invest in productive programs. But the corpor-
See "Justice and the Media" - Page 3
Mgr /controller
is published weekly by Exie Publishing Company, Inc.
V 'i
O P IN IO N
Civil Rights Journal
EDITORIAL
The success of the Black United
Front's Saturday School Teacher
Training sessions demonstrates the
potential of Portland's Africa-
American community to pool its ta
lents, resources and creativity to
address one of its most serious pro
blems, the education of its children.
Last Saturday's Saturday School
kick-off
rally
and
registration
brought together more than 70 vol
unteers, dozens of parents and their
children. They came from as far
away as Woodburn, Salem, Sheri
dan, and Vancouver, Washington,
from all different neighborhoods,
and racial groups, yet they all pos
sessed one fundamental sameness
—the desire to do whatever they
could to ensure the proper and ade
quate education of African-Ameri
can children.
The historical significance of the
rally must not be overlooked.
When African-Americans first
started their quest for quality educa
tion, they did so with little support
from outside their community. At
that time. Chattel slavery had been
shattered, the South was in sham
bles and the American government
was desperately seeking a solution
to its "Negro problem".
While the American government
fumbled for a solution, African-
Americans forged ahead and they
made education a top priority.
Portland can be proud that the
Black United Front is continuing
the legacy left by those early and
courageous Black pioneers. The
City of Portland and the State of
Oregon should applaude all of its
citizens who have chosen to parti
/
Once there was a lion who lived in
a cage in a wilderness. He did not
like living in a cage, but he was put
in the cage by his master. He was
strong and he used to run free, but
n o v he was in a cage. The master
fed the lion food to make him sleep.
Soon the lion began to like sleep
ing. He would sleep all day. Visi
tors came to the cage and wonder
ed why this lion was sleeping all
day. The master had trained the
lion so that he never growled any
more. He just slept all the time. He
even had a sleepy look on his face
when he was awake. Some people
called him sleepy. "Sleepy, wake
up," someone said. "D on't bother
m e," he said, "Can't you see I'm
sleeping?"
One day Sleepy's friend, another
lion, escaped from the cage next to
Sleepy's. Sleepy could have es-
capted, too, but he was sleeping.
And, when he woke up and found
the other lion gone, he was very
angry. "I'll never sleep again," he
said, "I'll never sleep again."
Now, when it came time to eat,
the master got angry because
Sleepy wouldn't eat the food that
made him sleep. Sleepy wasn't a
fool! The master couldn't under
stand his lion. "E a t," the master
told Sleepy. Sleepy growled for the
first time in a long time. The master
jumped back, he was so shocked.
The arrogant master got his whip
and went into the cage. "E a t," he
said, cracking the whip over
Sleepy's head.
Sleepy growled,
turned, ran to the master and began
eating him to death.
I cannot overemphasize the
importance and the value of educa
tion in every avenue of our lives.
We can travel as far as our money
will go, but our ability to seek and to
comprehend knowledge will go as
far as our ability to think. In my
travels around the world, I have to understand our history, not our
come to realize. Racism is an afflic
horoscope, our class and national
tion of the collective caucasoid.
situations, not the nonsense of
3eal knowledge begins with
ghetto assumptions and homespun
knowing that there is nothing un
metaphysical
interpretations
of
knowable, only things unknown;
reality. To know is to acquire a
and that ail mysteries are temporary
responsibility to act. If we know the
and will eventually be unravelled,
laws of society and yet don't move
not by revelation from on high,
to apply this knowledge, to actively
but by work, research and struggle
and audaciously change society, we
below. To know is to begin to take
shirk our responsibility and deserve
charge of our lives and end the hold
the fate that befalls us. There is no
mythology has on us. A correct and
need knowing the world if we don't
serious grasp of reality clearly
move to change it. If we don't
shows that mythology, spookism
practice, preaching is of little use.
and metaphysics come from our
You who profess to be followers of
failure to understand and master
the man Jesus, should follow the
nature and society. We need gods
principles he laid down. You who
because we don't have each other,
believed in the teachings of Dr. Mar
because we feel alone and alienated
tin Luther King, Jr., should follow
and powerless before the artificial
the principles the man layed down.
majesty of capitalist might. The fact
Ten thousand theories cannot save
that people only ask their gods for
us if we, ourselves, don't dare to
what they can't do themselves or
struggle, to go against the tide and
can't do with others and that they
do as Cabral urged, "act audacious
turn to their gods for security and
ly and with great initiative."
solace, proves this feeling of power
We are dealing with paronic per
lessness and this alienation from
sonalities projecting their own dis
each other. This also clearly points
tortions, fears and hostilities upon
to our need to reach out and form
others. Segregation and racial dis
real and strong relationships, so that
crimination is practiced by people
we can give up all Charlie Brown
who do not see life as it really is.
blankets and other illusions of secu-
For those who may not under
tiry and solace, and begn to change
stand why I decided to use a Para
ourselves by moving to change so
ble, or the Parable, I was only say
ciety. In a word, the demand to
ing, "It is almost a historical axiom
abandon illusions about our condi
that you can only trample on a peo
tion is a demand to abandon a con
ple so long before that people reach
dition which requires illusions.
up from the gutters and try to break
I'm inclined to believe we are so
your neck.” Some say that it is a
cial beings, creatures, not of any
rule or law of physics that when you
power in heaven or oversea, but of
take something away, something
society and this world; and if we
else must take its place.
want to change the world, we must
Dr. Jamil Cherovee
remain in it and stay out of the
stars. To understand ourselves is
ra t.
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