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Krs Frances Schoen-Kewspaper Roo«
U n iv e rs ity o f Oregon L ib ra ry
Eugene, Oregon 97403
PORTLfl
“ The Eyes and Ears of the Community”
NEWS IN BRIEF
4th OF JULY
FAMILY DAY
Jenkins Estate
209th & Farmington Road
(Off Grabhorn Road)
Aloha, Oregon
Monday, July 4th, 1988
12:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
The estate grounds, including
Camp Rivendale, w ill be open
for picnicking and self-guided
tours. The sounds of Jim Beat
ty’s seven man Dixieland Jazz
band will be featured from
1:30-4:30 p.m . The “ A ll
American Hot Dog Co.” will be
on site selling refreshments.
FREE ADMISSION
Families should bring their
own briquettes for a communi
ty barbecue.
Eight handmade Continental
flags w ill be on display. Call
642-3855 for more information.
Director Michael Grant
Weils, Wishes, and
and Felt Dreams
Written by: Michael J. Grant
Passin Art: A Theatre Co.
Independence: Myth Or Reality?
by Professor McKinley Burt
as the ‘Fourth of July’ ap
proaches, many are inclined to
ask what exactly did the ‘Found
ing Fathers’ have in mind when
they used the term “ INDEPEN
DENCE” in that famous declara
tion of theirs?
"In Congress, July 4, 1776, The
Unanimous Declaration of the
Thirteen United States of Amer
ica; When in the course of human
events, it becomes necessary for
one people to dissolve the politi
cal bands which have connected
them with another, and to assume
the Separate and equal status to
Reverse of the seal of the
which the Laws of Nature and of
United States of America.
Nature’s God entitle them ... cer
According to Manly P. Hall,
an expert on Masonic lore,
tain unalienable Rights, Life,
not only were many of the
Liberty and the Pursuit of Hap
founders of the U S. govern
piness."
ment Masons, but they re
Sounds good doesn’t it? Defini
ceived aid from a secret and
tive! Unequivocal! But, I shall
august body existing in
demonstrate that contrary to this
Europe, which helped them to
rhetoric, the United States has
establish the United States for
not pursued an independent and
“ a peculiar and particular
autonomous
course of affairs —
purpose known only to the
neither
then,
nor now — has not
initiated few.” The Great Seal,
really
exercised
this highly ac
says Hall, was the signature of
claim ed ‘independence’ from
this exalted body, and the
Europe, or from AFRICA. I direct
unfinished pyramid on its
your attention to the illustration
reverse side “ is a trestleboard
setting forth symbolically the
and text at your left. Here, we see
task to the accomplishment of
the preoccupation of Thomas Jef
which the U S. Government
ferson with the African roots of
was dedicated from the day of
Philosophy, Religion and Math
its inception." The eagle was
ematics. Featured is the central
apparently intended to rep
concept of Egyptian Civilization,
resent a phoenix or symbol of
MAAT (MAET), with PYRAMID
the immortality of the human
and
the all-seeing EYE of HORUS,
soul. Great currency has been
the
African god of Truth and
given to the pyramid and
Justice
(see reverse side of a one
phoenix symbols by placing
dollar bill).
them upon a one dollar bill.
We have this from the Portland
I 6 I l f hat’s In A Word?” , as
Oregonian for January 4, 1982
Shakespeare put it in
(William J. Papp). “ The reverse of
his play, ‘Romeo and Juliet’; and,
VV
Thomas Jefferson
the seal depicts a pyramid, with
1776 in the Roman numerals
MDCCLXXVI on its base. The
pyramid represents permanence
and strength. Its unfinished con
dition symbolizes that there was
still work to be done to form a
more perfect government and
signifies the expectation that new
states will be admitted to the
union. The eye in the triangular
glory represents an all-seeing Dei
ty. The words ‘Annuit Coeptis'
translated as ‘He (God) has
favored our undertakings’ ...”
Given all this, may we assume
that the 'God of the Hebrews’ was
patterned after an African con
cept during their 400 year sojourn
in Egypt? I can remember when
whites referred to Blacks with a
w h ite beard lik e m ine as
“ MUSE(S)," the African prophet.
Let us cite the infamous TRI
ANGULAR TRADE of slaves, cot-
♦on, molasses and rum between
Africa, America and England. It
was during th is period of
genocide for millions of Africans
that the base was built for the
wealth and power of international
(in te rlo c k in g ) d y n a s tie s of
fa m ilie s and c o rp o ra tio n s .
Interstate Firehouse
Cultural Center
JULY 8th - 17th
FRIDAY/SATURDAY - 8:00 P.M.
SUNDAYS - 2:00 P.M.
Tickets are $5.00 in advance
For information please call
243*7930 or 284-4108
CONGRATULATIONS!
Jim Williams: 106 Years Old
Dr. Robert L. Green, Ph.D
A u th o r The Urban Challenge
Race and Poverty
June 29,1988
Portland, Oregon
Volume XVIII, Number 33
Observer’s Commentary
peaking at an informal ses
sion of the City Council last
week. Commissioner Dick Bogle
said “ It’s time to stop talking and
start acting.” Bogle went on to
say that the Council “ Failed to
dem onstrate that we mean
business, and that we intend to
jump out front with the kind of
leadership the public demands.”
Bogle went on to propose a
“ Sum m it M eeting” of local
elected officials to hammer out
short and long term strategies for
dealing with the growing threat of
‘Gangs’.
S
A few week prior to Bogle’s
summit proposal, Mayor Bud
Clark journeyed clear out to S.E.
Foster Road to make a anti-crime
com m itm ent to the Portland
Organizing Project rather than
come into the Inner Northeast
community and make the same
commitment.
The Bogle/Clark scenario is a
clear illustration of what is wrong
with the City’s handling of the
drug/gang problem in the Black
community — A lack of leadership
and clear vision.
It is obvious that the city of
Portland was not listening, when,
years ago, the Black United Front
warned of the consequences of
racial discrepancy, untreated
substance abuse, and the uncon
trolled influx of drugs into the
c o m m u n ity . O th e r A fric a n -
American organizations warned
of a pending crisis if something
wasn’t done to address the pro
blem of drug addiction, the lack
of personal self-esteem among
Black teenagers, and on and on.
Again the
warning fell on deaf
ears.
Portland City Comm issioner
Dick Bogle
Portland Mayor
Bud Clark
Now, the African-American
community is willing and ready to
implement its own anti-crime
agenda and strategies. The
em ergence of the A frican-
American Male Forum: The Coali-
tion of Black Men; The Self-
Enhancem ent Program; The
Tender Loving Care Program; The
Think ‘N’ Try Program; The Satur
day School, And a host of other
youth oriented programs il
lustrates the serious intent of
Black Oregonians to solve the
problem they face in the com
munity.
The Youth Gang Task Force
and law enforcement agencies
tell us they know who the real
gang members are — Crips and
Bloods from California. They also
tell us that Portland youth who
are involved are very young — 11,
12, 13, 14, 15, 16-years old. If this
is true, then why hasn’t the city
and the county made an effort to
bring Black families, particularly
Black women, into the problem
solving process? No task force or
agency has the right to unilateral
ly make crucial decisions regar
ding Portland’s Black teenagers
without bringing Black parents or
extended family members into
the decision making process.
M onths ago, the Portland
Bloods (Homeboys) shared their
story in an exclusive interview
with the Portland Observer. In
that interview they imparted infor
mation valuable to the city’s
understanding of what was hap
pening. City and county explain to
the community what alternatives
they have implemented for the
Black community that could be
perceived as drug/gang problem
solvers?B Continued Next Week
Against this same backdrop of
“ Independence,” we find that the
slave-financed international com
bines have carried forward the ex
ploitation of Africans until today.
Soon the world cartels of moved
on South Africa to control the pro
duction of gold and diamonds by
cheap African labor. And the
genius as well as the labor of the
‘newly-freed’ African-Am erican
was sucked into the man of the
world-conquering machine.
Pacific Northwest Bell spon
sored an accurate presentation of
the Black Inventor, Howard Lati
mer, during Black History Week.
Hired by Alexander Graham Bell
in 1876 to make the paten draw
ings for the telephone, Latimer
came to the attention of Thomas
Edison where he became the only
Black member of the ‘Edison
Pioneers’ group. It was here that
he invented the carbon filament
that MADE EDISON’S LIGHT
BULB PRACTICAL! As chief elec
tric a l e n g in e e r, he super-
vis e d /d e s ig n e d the lig h tin g
systems of New York, Philadel
phia, Montreal and London. His
pioneering books, and his evalua
tions of the British electrical
generating systems were the data
base for attempts by American
companies like General Electric
to sieze control of and interna
tionalize the British Companies.
In its ongoing series, “ Oceans
Apart," Oregon Public Broad
casting System has chronicled
this particular battle of inter
national monopolies — Again, a
battle to internationalize the pro
duct of Black genius — “ IN
DEPENDENCE" indeed!
Affirmative Action:
Utilities
By Stephen E. McPherson,
cial. On the other hand the
Columbia-W illamette Financial
Group is a leasing company. The
lmost 100 years ago Station Columbia-Willamette Investment
A performed a phenomenal Company manages a stock port
folio valued at $30 million. Finally,
feat for its time by transmitting
electrical power generated from Portland General Exchanges,
Willamette ra ils to Portland, a buys, packages and wholesales
distance of 14 miles! That was electrical power and related ser
long distance transmission in vices within the utilities. The cor
1889. Today, PGE with total poration is headquartered in the
assets of $2.4 billion transmits Portland World Trade Center,
power over 1,967 miles of lines formerly known as the Willamette
and distributes it over 12,887 Center at 121 S.W. Salmon.
This writer interviewed Carol
miles of lines. They now service a
population of 1.2 million people D illin , a p ub lic in fo rm a tio n
w ith c u s to m e rs n u m b e rin g representative, on the 24th floor
of their impressive glass tower. At
greater than one half million.
Last year PGE sold 16.4 kwh her behest, the EEO people
and generated revenues of $763 already had researched the
m illio n . Even w ith c e rta in following statistics.
The total payroll for 3,101
reserves made necessary by the
failure of th e ir W ashington employees is about $116 million
Nuclear Project in the amount of which averages close to $39 thou
$72 million they still earned a sand per person. Of 489 managers
18.8% are women, an increase of
handsome $113 million in 1987.
As purveyors of a highly 4.9% over the last year. Minority
specialized volatile product, PGE managers constitute 3.1% or a
is a peculiar creature. Electricity decrease of 0.15. Professionals
cannot be stored in bulk. Because fared better. Of 573 so classified
of the very short half life, PGE is 21.8% are women, an insignifi
more a distributor than a producer cant decrease of 1.1% over last
of electricity. It generates only year. Minorities are 6.8%, a
37% of what it sells with 12% decrease of 0.4%. Technicians
coming from inexpensive sources dropped by 10% in 1987 leaving
such as the Mid-Columbia River; 404 of whom were 26.7% were
8% coal, a low cost but polluting women, an increase of 1.9% and
fossil fuel and 17% from nuclear minorities increased by 1.2% to
fuels such as those that run the 10.1%. There were no sales
Trojan Nuclear Power Plant. It has workers listed in 1986. In 1987, 41
been in operation for 11 years and were hired of whom 12.2% were
is a model for such systems with women and a petty 4.9% were
regard to cost effectiveness and minorities. Office and clerical
people with low paying jobs
environmental considerations.
Surplus electrical power is sold usually are the stronghold of
as far away as California. By such women and minorities. Of the
a clever manipulation of multiple 649, 83.5% are women, a gain of
sources, PGE sells its customers 2.4%. Minorities are 10.3% gain
some of the least expensive elec ing only 0.9%. The skilled crafts
have a force of 495 of whom a
trical power in the United States.
The Portland General Electric paltry 0.2% representing only one
and four other companies are person was a woman, but
subsidiaries of the Portland minorities had an impressive
□ PGE Falls Short Of
Affirmative Action Goals
A
General Corporation. Portland
General Holding gives the Cor
poration finincial flexibility while
the Columbia-Willamette Finan-
■ Please Turn To Page 3
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