Page 2, P o rtla n d O bserver, M arch 23, 1988
EDITORIAL
On March 20th, Town hall, a KATU-TV public affairs program, presented a
one hour program on the subject of racism. According to the show s modera­
tor Jack Faust, the program was to address such penetrating questions as
How common is racism?", "W hat forms does it take?” "W ho benefits from
racism?” , Should we try to compensate victim s of racial discrim i nation , o r
does this only lead to reverse discrim ination?", "Does the media perpetuate
racist attitudes?", "How can we break down these stereotypes? , ’ Are some
people |ust overly sensitive?"
.
Penetrating questions to be sure. However, when the show aired last Sun­
day, it turned out to be merely a day of grace for racists throughout the City ot
Portland — a day when they cried crocodile tears.
Of course the show's intentions were good. Yet, if you were an African-Ame­
rican watching the show, a frequent question kept popping up: Why wasn t
there more representation from the so-called responsible white leadership.
Why did the City of Portland and the State of Oregon fail to come on the show
and reveal to Oregonians what is being done to nip this morbid problem in the
bud7 Did they stay away simply because very little is being done to bring Port­
land and Oregon on-line with its African-American citizens and the need for
comprehensive, enforceable and practical laws to combat racism in this state
From an African-American point of view, the Town Hall show was merely a
discussion between African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics and a le w w h ie
folk Those white folk turned out to be a mix of everything from racists to
affirm ative action haters to the very few who viewed racism as wrong and into­
lerable As usual, the voice of the American Indian was missing.
The Town Hall Show was symbolic of how Portland and the State of Oregon
go about dealing with the race problem. Talk. Talk. Talk. The prevailing attitude
appears to be confusing the issues with small talk. "Let sle®P'n9 d°9® l,e .
Find other ways to deal with the problem rather than go straight to the heart of
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The M inority Student Programs
werecreatec jn d e r the auspices
of the offices of student services
or student life on most white
campuses. By the last 1970s over
3,000 Black adm inistrators were
employed at white institutions,
as many programs designated
specifically to recruit and to re­
tain Black students came into
existence. O ffice of M inority Af­
fairs usually included some or all
of the following programs: aca­
demic and learning skills suppor­
tive services: personal counsel­
ing, dealing with Black students’
em otional and personal pro­
blems and attempts to adjust to a
p re d o m in a te ly-w h ite e n viro n ­
ment; sponsoring Black cultural
activities and lectures on cam­
puses; internships and parttime
jobs for Black students in the pri­
vate and public sectors during
the summer months; and assi­
stance for preparation for the
Graduate Records Examination,
LSAT, and other tests.
As with the Cultural Centers,
the Offices of M inority Affairs
frequently were marginalized by
white adm inistrators on white
campuses. There was often a
very high turnover rate among
Black counselors and profes­
sional staff, which was reinforc­
ed by low pay and a sense of in sti­
tutional isolation. Central admi-
nistrationsalsofrequently reduc­
ed m inority staff positions and
budgets after the Blacks and His­
panic student unrest subsided
on their campuses.
The only way to reversen racist
trends on white campuses is to
build strong Black academic in­
stitutions in these institutions.
Black parents have an obligation
to demand that colleges set
aside substantial resources to
support Black academic suppor­
tive services and cultural pro­
grams, before sending th e ir
children to such schools. Black
educators must come together to
reinforce the goals of academic
excellence and institutional ac­
countability, in order to create an
environment which the numbers
of Blacks may be increased,
ced tocom peteagainst the Black
Studies Department or M inority
Affairs O ffice for steadily de­
creasing funds. Come Black ad­
m in is tra to rs took the s h o rt­
sighted view that only a certain
amount of money would be spent
by their universities on "Black
Issues” , and that any funds for
Black faculty salaries, com pet­
ing Black programs and so forth
indirectly affected their own in­
stitutions. The politics of in sti­
tutional austerity sometimes fed
the politics of negative com peti­
tion between Black educators.
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Richard J. Brown
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Dr. Manning Marable is Chairperson of
the Black Studies Department, Ohio State
University. "Along the Color Line" ap­
pears in over 140 newspapers interna­
tionally.
by Dr. Jamil Cherovee
Editor
• &
President Reagan’s drug pre­
vention program has popularized
the slogan “ Just Say No." Well,
the President certainly knows
the meaning of the word. He has
said "n o ” to adquate funding for
urgently needed drug prevention,
treatment and rehabilitation pro­
grams since he took office.
The President says that the
country is “ beginning to win the
crusade for a drug-free America,
while his wife, Nancy, says, "The
people who casually use cocaine
are responsible" for the drug
crisis. Both statements divert at­
tention from the major problem
— lack of funding for drug pro­
grams. From 1980 to 1986 the
Reagan Adm inistration slashed
funding for such programs by a
whopping 40 percent, according
to the C ongressional Select
Committee on Narcotics Abuse
and Control.
The effect of insufficient fund­
ing for these crucial programs as
noted by Diane Canova, Director
of Public Policy for the National
Association of State Alcohol and
D rug A b u s e D ir e c to r s (o r
NASADAD). This non-profit or­
ganization is composed of the
state adm inistrators of publicly
funded drug prevention and treat­
ment programs. Clearly, they
know whereof they speak.
Ms. Canova discussed the im­
pact of the funding cuts, saying,
"In most states waiting lists for
drug treatment are common, usu­
ally averaging a 2 to 3 month wait.
What this means is that even
when intraveous (IV) drug users
finally make the decision to seek
treatment, they are being turned
away and then have nowwhere
else to turn. These users are at
particularly high risk of con­
tracting and spreading AIDS.”
It is estimated that there are,
right now, as many as 1.5 m illion
IV drug users in this country.
NASADAD estimates that only 10
percent of these addicts are cur­
rently being treated. More impor­
tantly, they also estimate that an
additional 30-40 percent of these
addicts would seek treatment if
only it were available.
The Administration, with its
usual o n e -step-fo rw ard tw o-
steps-back approach, has pro-
OPINION
Richard J. Brown
Sports
Drug Abuse Funds:
Reagan “ Just Said No
Part I of a Two Part Series
Portland, Oregon 97211
P.O. Box 3137
Portland, Oregon 97208
Phone Number: (503) 288-0033
Fred Hembry
Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.
The Politics of Black Higher Education
In recent months, hundreds of
Black students across the coun­
try have been protesting the con­
tinued existence of racism in
white colleges and universities.
At Bradley University in Illinois,
for example, Black students have
picketed their adm inistration for
its failure to recruit m inority
faculty and staff. At the Univer­
sity of Massachusetts at Am­
herst, Black undergraduates
seized a building for several
days, forcing their president into
negotiations concerning cam­
pus racism.
The factors behind such de­
monstrations are obvious. De­
spite the rhetoric of Affirmative
Action and equal opportunity,
most white college adm inistra­
tors have done little to recruit or
Many white Oregonians appear confused when it comes to identifying and
retain Black faculty, staff or stu­
recognizing racism, although American racism is a white invention. This 'nyen-
dents
at white academic institu­
tion, which led to the enslavement of Africans in America, tends to upset many
whites when talked about openly and honestly. However, no amount of denia
tions. As federal cutbacks in
or being upset w ill get rid of the fact that American racism was invented by
higher education intensify, crip­
whites and w ill remain a part of this country’s fabric until whites find the cou-
pling the prospects of Blacks,
aqe to confront it w ithin themselves. Racism started within, not without.
Hispanic and low income stu­
That some whites are pushing the idea of "reverse discrim ination is an illu­
dents,
many white universities
sion and a misadventure. To even use the words "reverse discrim ination is to
say that African-Americans are taking the personality, the values and the cha­
are reducing funds to Black
racter of white racism and using it against whites in the same way whites have
Studies Departments and Minor­
and are using it against African-Americans. This is an untrue assumption
ity Affairs Offices.
W hite Americans in this country have vet to experience an 'nve.n t®d
°
Black educators, parents and
■•black racism ” . If African-Americans would have had the need to invent a new
students
alike need to devise a
form of racism, they would have done it during tneir enslavement. And this
racism would have been based on the belief that all white people are evil be­
counterstrategy designed to ad­
cause of their actions and because of the color of their skin.
vance our collective interests, in
Malcom X the great African-American Muslim leader, once said, When you
a period of political retrench­
nut a rope around a man’s neck, you can expect him to fight and scream about
ment and social reaction. Our
it." When white Americans put the ropes around the necks of African-Ameri­
starting point should be an anal­
cans African-Americans fought and screamed. They didn’t go silently to their
ysis of the effectiveness of Black
deaths But, neither did they see the need to invent a new form of racism in or­
der to equalize white racism. Instead, they began to push he notion of
institutions which are located on
brother/sisterhood, a togetherness of the races, a forgiveness of » ^ s e " h i ’ es
white campuses. Other than
who had conspired to make life very miserable for all persons with black skins.
Black
Studies
departments,
When African-Americans react to white racism, in whatever way they deem
there
are
at
least
three
other in sti­
necessary, it cannot be called "reverse discrim ination." It is a reaction to, a re­
sponse to a defensive reflex to something that is dangerous and deadly.
tutions or organizations which
We hope the Youth Gang Task Force was listening when members of the
Black control at white colleges:
Eastside Skinheads expressed their brand of white racism. We hope Mayor Bud
Black Cultural Centers, M inority
Clark and Governor Neil Goldschmidt were listening. We hope the Portland Po­
Affairs Offices, and Black Stu­
lice were listening. We hope they heard what we heard: th a ttheS k," h®®d® ar®
dent Unions.
neo Nazis and are determined to keep African-Americans out of East Portia
The cultural centers were a by­
and elsewhere. Their brand of racism is meant to injure, hurt and even kill. And it
that's not serious, then chicken ain’t poultry.
product of the Black Power up-
KATU and Jack Faust showed a lot of courage by creating a forum from
surgence on white college cam­
which diverse opinions and beliefs could be expressed. We commend them
puses in the late 1960s and early
sincerely However, the show also revealed just how far apart many white
1970s. By the mid-to-late 1970s,
communities are from their Black, Hispanic, Asian and Indian neighbors.
there
were perhaps as many as
In the future, we would rather hear about what the City of Portland and the
150 cultural centers throughout
State of Oregon are doing to dim inish the tide of white racism. We would rather
hear what white leadership is doing to eliminate the problem. We'd rather hear
the United States. The objec­
what white businesses, corporations and educators are doing to help solve the
tives of the Black cultural centers
problem. We already know what the problem is and who is perpetuating it.
were to sponsor social and cul­
But, more importantly, we call on the responsible white leadership and white
tural events, concerts, plays,
citizenry to stand up and be counted. We implore them to start acting as role
dances, and other a c tiv itie s
models for their children who w ill one day go out into the world and help shape
it. We ask them to confront racism wherever they find it, even within
w h ich gave Black people a
themselves.
chance to interact with each
The time is now.
other in a social environment
which was nonthreatening and
non-antagonistic.
The centers also frequently
sponsored academic lectures by
visiting Black scholars, commu­
nity forums and speeches on
contemporary issues, students
m entoring programs, and li­
braries.
The major problem, which af­
fected these centers was the ra­
OREGON'S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION
cism of most white adm inistra­
Established in 1970
tors, who didn’t want to finance
Alfred L. Henderson/Pubiisher
Leon Harris/Gen. Mgr.
more than one well-funded Black
PORTLAND OBSERVER
institution on their campuses.
is published weekly by Exie Publishing Company, Inc.
Consequently, at most white col­
5011 N.E. 26th Ave.
leges, the cultural center was for-
Nyewusi Askari
Civil Rights Journal
Manning Marable
The Revelations of Town Hall
j; * 4
OPINI
Along the Color Line
EDITORIAL
“ 'i
/
El Mina
Today universities throughout
the world are turning their atten­
tion to the histories of Black peo­
ple. The arrogant assumption
that the children of Africa should
be grateful for the crumbs of civi­
lization and culture which fell to
them from the caucasoid man’s
table has been blown away by the
hurricane of change sweeping
over Africa itself.
I’m inclined to believe Black
educators should visit the an­
cient land of Ghana, which name
once designated most of what is
now West Africa. It was a land of
plenty, abundance of food, hills
covered with fine woods, lakes
and wide rivers besides which
dwelt happy and prosperous peo­
ples. Traders came and went;
from the city of Timbuctoo cara­
vans of goods traveled across the
northern plains of Tunis, to Alex­
andria, through Tashkent to Pek­
ing. Order and justice and peace
reigned in Ghana.
Then, on an evil day came
ships from the N o rth -P o rtu ­
guese, Spaniards, Danes and
later English. These newcomers
saw the gold ornaments worn by
the people of Ghana, gazed in
amazement at the golden stools
of their chiefs and the fine
casting of bronze pots. Greedily
they fingered the gold nuggets
with which the children played,
and son terror stalked the land.
Old maps preserved in the or-
chives show the land of El Mina,
one huge mine of wealth They
tore and gutted the earth, but­
chered the people, quarreled and
fought among themselves. For a
long time gunsmoke hid the sun,
rivers and brooks turned red with
blood, forests were destroyed
posed an increase in drug abuse
funding over last year. But, as Ms.
Canova points out, this level
which the Adm inistration agreed
to only because Congress forced
the issue.
We have all become alarmed
by the evidence of the increasing
drug crisis — and the related
AIDS epidemic — in our commu­
nities: the young people who
roam our streets like the walking
dead, the innocent children who
have been slain by errant bullets
during battles by drug dealers.
The nation’s cities are under
seige. Yet the funding for those
programs that might offer some
relief is w oefully inadequate.
Rep. Floyd Flake, the Congress­
man from Queens, NY, sections
of which are ravaged by drug vio­
lence, reminds us that on the
federal level, the $3 billion ear­
marked for drug education and
enforcement represents a mea­
ger 1% of the $300 billion de­
fense budget. And this at a time
when the drug abuse crisis has
been called the number one
threat to this country’s national
security.
The question then becomes —
what can we do? First, we should
be aware that Congress is now in
the thick of negotiations over cer­
tain key items in next year’s bud­
get. The President’s own AIDS
Commission has recommended
that $1.5 billion a year should be
spent on drug treatment and
rehabilitation. This funding pro­
posal is a start but it should be in­
creased.
In addition, we should under­
stand that the Reagan Adm ini­
stration continues to fund the
very right-w ing dictatorships,
from Columbia to Panama, which
supply the drugs in the first
place. This must be stopped.
Next, we should make sure
that the drug crisis becomes a
major issue during this year’s
presidential race. Only Jesse
Jackson has thus far emphasized
this issue.
We can no longer throw up our
hands as if this problem were in­
surmountable. We must treat the
problem like the life-threatening
crisis that it is. We have no alter­
native.
The Civil Rights Journal, written by Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., is a publication of the United
Church of Christ.
until West Africa was a vast arid
waste through which wandered a
few old men and women and
homeless children. Black men
and women had died fighting or
were driven into holes in the
ground to dig and dig and dig.
The s o - c a lle d C h ris tia n
caucaoid conquerors divided the
land among themselves and the
British called their section the
"G old Coast” .
If one look at the land which
guards entrance to the bay, one
see the old fortress, Christian-
burg Castle, where African wo­
men were raped at will, high on
the rocks and jutting well out into
the water. This castle is pre­
served today, symbol of the so-
called Christian caucaoid man's
power since the early 18th cen­
tury. It was by way of the Gulf of
Guinea that most of the African
slaves started on that long, peri­
lous journey from which none
ever returned. And the course of
those vulture vessels across the
Atlantic Ocean to America is
marked by the bones of those
who perished at sea.
Here is where it all began —
Our History. And no one in Ghana
forgets. Today, independent and
free as only a handful of nations
in the world are free, Ghana
writes fresh and glowing pages
of history. She has reinstated her
ancient gods, returned herchiefs
to their place of honor, honors
her dead and recalled many of the
lost children of her ravaged land.
Now, without hate or recrimina­
tion, apologies or hesitation,
Ghana moves forward to take her
-
place in the modern world — not
as a suppliant, but as a leader
among those who would build a
new social and economic order
for the betterment of all.
We cannot depend on the pub­
lic so-called educational system
to teach Black History. Teachers
and educators must help Black
students to deepen their ac­
quaintance with their own rich
and prideful history. When I was
in the South several weeks ago, a
beautiful Black grandmother told
me: "If all the rivers, swamps
and woodlands of the Southern
countryside could recount the
tales of the tens of thousands of
black bodies trust into watery
graves, strung up on unoffending
trees, tortured and murdered by
church-going, Democrat-voting
caucasoid defenders of the
“ American way of life ," their
story would be too horrible forde-
cent humanity to bear."
Clearly, then, we are dealing
not merely with a single “ ease"
orevenanum berof “ cases" of in­
tim idation and murder. The late
Roy W ilkins, executive secretary
of the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored
People, provided the clue when
he stated: "w e are dealing with a
system !" What is this system
whose most graphic and revol-
See “ El Mina" — Page 5
PORTLAND OBSERVER
The Eyes and Ears ol the Community’
288-0033