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Black Professional Network
THE 1 9 8 8 NATIONAL
BLACK TALENT DIRECTORY
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Copv'"P’t E i h * Piihlishin<| Ci» Ini
1984
Volume XVIII, Number 15
F e b ru a ry 24, 1988
‘The Eyes and Ears of the Com m unity"
Saturday School Opens:
It’s Magic
by Nyewusi Askari
This is not an a rticle . It’s a
story — a story I’m going to tell
in the style, custom and tra di
tio n of A frican-A m erican story
telle rs — ancient, present and
future. There is a m usical voice
here, fille d w ith the voices of
children. It is fo r them that th is
story is w ritte n .
Saturday, February 20.
On
th is partly clo u dy m orning in
N orth/N ortheast Portland, there
is a lot of excitem en t in the a t
m osphere — the m usic o f c h ild
ren’s voices dance through the
cool m orning air as they file out
o f cars and trucks in fro n t of
churches where teachers w ait to
m eet and g ie e t them.
There is som ething d iffe re n t
about th is p articula r Saturday
m o rn in g .
There are m ore
m others, fathers, relatives, and
k in fo lk out and about. They, too,
are headed to church.
Once
there, they meet, they greet, and
they em brace each other. They
sm ile, they laugh and they talk
about what a great day in the
m orning it is.
When they enter the ch ur
ches, it is like they have entered
an A fric a n -A m e ric a n h is to ry
m u se u m .
A fric a n -A m e ric a n
h istory over here, A frican-A m e
rican history over there, African-
A m erican h istory everywhere.
The atm osphere is warm, frie n d
ly, and e le c tric — the kind o f a t
m osphere you find when old
frie n ds meet to create som e
th in g gracious and pow erful.
And like a lig h t being turned
on gently and slow ly, the chur
ches transform into classroom s
and teachers, disp laying co n
fidence, eagerness and d eligh t,
e ffo rtle s s ly becom e the bearers
and sharers o f cu ltural w isdom ,
know ledge and understanding.
The ch ild re n are w elcom ed.
Hanging on the w all o f each
classroom is a banner that says,
“ W elcom e to the Black United
Front Saturday S cho o l.”
The
teachers ask the stud e nts if they
know the name o f the program
they are attending. “ The Satur
day S chool,” they shout. The
teachers p o in t to the banner and
Children at the BUF Saturday School find themselves in a loving and car
ing environment.
Photo by Richard J. Brown
tell them the school is spon
sored by the Black United Front,
an organization that is w orking
to im prove p e o p le s’ lives.
“ Many people volunteered to
help the Black United Front
make th is program happen," the
teachers say.
W hile passing out name tags
and crayons, the teachers ask
the students to state the ir name,
age, and the school they attend.
The students are then in stru cte d
to w rite th e ir names and de
corate th e ir name tags.
The
students ju m p to the task like
it ’s som ething good to eat —
chicken ’n ’ dum plings, maybe,
w ith som e plum co bb le r on the
side.
The in tro d u ctio n o f the Satur
day School Pledge of Excel
lence ig n ite s group p a rticip a
tion, recitation, and que stio ns to
the students. “ W hat does e xcel
lence means?
W hat does it
mean to be proud? How can you
show that you feel proud? What
do we prom ise to do in our
pledge?”
The stud e nts shoot
back the right answ ers like c o l
lege graduates com peting for
the ir degrees in law.
By now there is n ’t a dry,
w ordless m outh in the house.
The classroom s are a buzzin’. A
“ Draw Y ourself P roud” sheet is
d istrib ute d , and stud e nts are in
structed to draw and co lo r a pic-
ture of them selves. Then com es
the in tro d u ctio n to the Black Na
tional Anthem . S tudents are in
form ed that they w ill sing the
A nthem each Saturday a fte r they
say the Pledge of Excellence.
U sin g th e O ral T ra d itio n
technique o f group recitation,
and ca ll and response, the
students learn q u ickly and can’t
seem to w ait for the next set of
in stru ctio n s. What they get is
an in tro d u ctio n to the rules of
the S aturday S cho o l.
“ Be
re s p e c tfu l o f y o u rs e lf, your
classm ates, and your teacher.
Be courteous. We can all sing
together, but not talk. No put-
dow ns o f any kind. If it ’s not
positive, d o n t’ say it. No run
ning at any time. Ask perm is
sion before leaving the group.
Clean up behind yourself. If you
can’t abide by these rules, you
w ill be asked to leave.” They tell
the children that these are the
rules that they w ill be expected
to fo llo w w hile a tte n din g the
Saturday School. "N o sw eat,”
the students say.
Then the teachers and the
students get way down inside
the rules. “ W hat is a rule? Why
do we have rules? W hat rules do
you have at home and school?
What happens when we d o n ’t
fo llo w the rules? W hat should
we do when som eone forgets to
fo llo w a rule? How can we help
each other fo llo w the rules?”
It is evident that this day
belongs to the children. On this
day they are not bridled by the
c o lo r o f th e ir skin.
Their
tea ch ers, B la ck and w h ite ,
speak the same language, im
part the same knowledge, and
show the same warm th, love and
concern. On th is day, Black and
w hite are doing it together and
color a in 't got nothing to do w ith
it. On this day, the children ex
perience how it feels to be con
stantly told, “ You can learn; you
are smart; excellence is your
purpose; be proud of yourselves,
your fam ilies, and your com
m u n ity.”
From som ewhere deep inside,
the children know that the day
belongs to them, and they show
their appreciation and under
standing of what is taking place.
I hey follo w the rules. They par
tic ip a te when called on. They
help each other answ er d iffic u lt
questions. They say “ excuse
m e” when feeling out of line
about som ething they did ac
cid e ntly or purposefully. They
address the teachers by “ Mr.” or
“ M s.” . They pay attention. And,
they learn.
On this day, they are the
b rig h te s t stars in O regon's
universe.
O n t h is d a y , th e y a re
pampered; they are given un
d iv id e d a tte n tio n ; th e y are
treated special; they are con
gratulated by strangers, applau
ded by fam ily members, and
praised by all.
The energy is high; the poten
tial is unlim ited.
The opening of the Black
United Front Saturday School,
Feb. 20, was an h is to ric event;
an event all of Oregon should ap
plaud and support. And those
who were there on th is day w ill
never forget it. Indeed, we all
should “ L ift every voice and
sing, till earth and heaven ring,
ring w ith the harm onies of liber
ty ." And, we should “ Let our re
jo ic in g rise high as the listening
skie s,” and "L e t it resound loud
as the ro lling sea.”
13 GIRLS ARRESTED AT ROSEMONT
by Ian MacCrae
The Rosemont Residential
Treatment Center and School at
597 N. Dekum was the site of a
disturbance on Monday, Feb. 22
which resulted in the arrest of 13
children. The children, ranging
from 14 to 16 years of age, had
barricaded themselves inside an
upstairs dormitory. Rosemont
Executive Director Allen L. Hunt
explained that the trouble began
on Thursday with the arrival of a
new girl who behaved aggres
sively toward staff members, re
fusing to cooperate with staff
members and threatening sev
eral of them. By Friday, said Hunt,
the newcomer's violent behavior
had had a destabilizing influence
on several of the other girls in the
unit for emotionally disturbed or
"borderline personalities.'' Two
counselors were bitten, and
others received minor injuries.
One counselor, initially thought to
have a broken collarbone after
Aftermath of the unrest at Rosemont.
being kicked by the children, was
later diagnosed as having a
sprained shoulder.
The childrens misbehavior
Photo by Richard J. Brown
continued through Saturday
when three juveniles were ar
rested, taken to the Donald E
Long Juvenile Detention Center
and charged with fourth degree
assault, according Police Bureau
Information Officer Henry Groep-
per. The children were returned
to the school later Saturday in ac
cordance with a state law which
prohibits detention of most
juvenile defenders for prolonged
periods. Problems continued
through Sunday night, but by
Monday morning the children
seemed to have calmed down.
After having breakfast Monday
morning, however, twelve of the
children suddenly “ shot back"
into their dormitory on the second
floor of the school, said Hunt,
using beds to barricade the door.
At this point, he said, both clini
cians and staff were exhausted
from having worked overtime
every night over the weekend
Feeling they could no longer
handle the children, Hunt called
in the police who quickly talked
See “ Rosemont” —Page 4
To Move or Be
Made To Move!
by M attie Ann Callier-Spears
Everyday here in Portland,
when we listen to or read the
news, there is som ething about
the gangs that have com e to the
N orthw est.
A ll this talk and
p rin t about these gangs and
their a c tivitie s is not solving a
thing.
There are some Portland resi
dents who have resolved to
move, because they feel that the
problem has gotten out of hand.
They feel that the police are not
equipped to handle them; the
and then it went outside, be
cause one o f the boys was buz
zing around a girl who had com e
w ith her boyfriend.
The boyfriend d id n ’t like it.
Right? The boyfriend called the
outsider. Right? W rong! The
o utsid e r did not com e alone. He
had not one or two, but eight
com rades w ith him.
D escrip
tion: gang.
Not only did he have his little
friends w ith him, but he had the
biggest gun you ever saw in your
“ Youth gangs in Portland, and especially Northeast area, have increas
ed their presence and violence. There is a growing number of incidents
being reported by citizens concerning youth gangs and the fear that is
gripping the city about violence at schools, on Tri-Met and in the com
munity. There is a need for all citizens to become active in efforts to
solve the problems. Our young people need to know that we care and
that the community is willing to do whatever is necessary to safeguard
them. Not all, but only a small number of, young people are involved in
gangs, and we must support the vast majority of youth who are doing
positive things.” — Dennis Payne, Youth Gang Task Force
Photo by Richard J. Brown
police are not trained to handle
them; and the police are ju st
“ s p in n in g ” the ir wheels.
“ Why d o n ’t we ju s t move and
let them have it,” stated one
neighbor. Well, th is w ill not do.
W hy should we as home ow n
e rs, w h o have ra is e d o u r
children and have lived in the
same house for 10, 15 or even 25
years, ju s t up and leave our
hom es and allow these m is
guided children to run over our
lives?
Move? NO! Stay and fig h t for
what is rig h tfu lly ours — not
theirs.
The Portland Police Depart
ment is now getting it together.
There are liaison persons w illin g
to hear you out on any grievance
you have w hich has resulted
from any gang-related d is tu r
bance. There are also support
personnel in the schools. There
are parent groups — w ith not
enough parents in them — m eet
ing on a m onthly basis — all try
ing to find the com m on d en o m i
nator.
This past weekend, a group of
young boys entered a party —
uninvited. Crashed it, if you w ill.
Crashing a party — th a t’s really
no big deal . . . 15 years ago,
maybe, or even 5 years ago.
Here in Portland, all you had to
do was to have your parents
com e to the door or basement
and re m o ve th e u n w a n te d
guests from the premises.
W ell, this party started inside
life. It d id n ’t stop there. He not
only pulled the gun, w hich hap
pened to be a 357 magnum, but
he fired it.
Q uestion: Is th is Portland? Is
this my neighborhood?
“ In appearances — only — is
it s till the place where I, my
children and my friends live,”
states one of the neighbors.
“ Ever since those little hood
lum s moved around the corner,
th e
n e ig h b o r h o o d
has
changed,” quotes s till another
person on the block.
This kind of occurance has
got to stop. We, who have been
here in the c ity a long time,
should not let a handfull of peo
ple com e into our tow n and lite
rally take over: take over the
m inds of our children; take over
the moral values; take over our
s c h o o ls ’ operation; take away
our peace o f mind and security.
The schools are occupied by
our ch ild re n.
I said "O u r
c h ild re n !”
We, as parents,
should know what our children
are doing, who the ir frie n ds are,
what they are doing w ith th e ir
spare tim e, and why they are not
behaving in a usual manner.
How many parents are able to
say, "I really know my son or
daughter."?
Just tw o weeks ago, there
was a lot o f young people in the
m iddle of the in te rse tio n at the
end of our block. There was a
See “ Move” — Page 4