Page 2, Portland Observer, October 6. 1988
.. ••
EDITORIAL /
GUEST EDITORIAL: I
To beEqual
t a point in history where we available win need skills different
seem to be enjoying an eco­ from those possessed by the peo­
ple who are now looking for work.
nomic boom, when there is prac­
That’s why the Urban League
tically full employment among
and
other minority, community-
white male workers; when the na­
tion is enjoying one of its lowest based agencies are placing such
official unemployment rates in great stress on education and on
many decades, the unemploy­ getting minority kids' school per­
ment rate for Black America is form ance up to parity w ith
national averages.
still officially around 12 percent.
We have mounted an attack on
I say “ officially” because when
the educational deficiencies, that
we factor in what we call hidden
unemployment — people who are exist institutionally, and are also
working part-time when they want working with the kids in our cities
full-time work, or people who to raise their performance levels
become so discouraged that they in a measurable way.
The purpose is first, to keep
have stopped looking for work
altogether — we’re no longer talk­ them in school, and secondly, to
ing 12 percent, but 20 percent get them to take the right
courses.
unemployment.
It’s not enough to graduate —
Clearly, when we still have 2-1/2
times the unemployment rate for it’s of equal importance that they
Blacks as we have for whites we take courses that will equip them
have a serious disparity in to interact and succeed in a
highly technological, information-
employment.
Despite that, I think there is a oriented society.
So we are trying to get kids to
significant window of employ­
take
math and science, an Eng­
ment opportunity that may open
lish
courses.
We are trying to get
for Black Americans. Not be­
cause America has suddenly be­ kid s to be sm arter, m ore
come more moralistic about this analytical, more technologically
issue, but because America will literate, because we believe if we
have a workforce supply and de­ do that, race will become of less
mand problem that will require it importance.
What America is going to need
to end discriminatory employ­
are
people w ith skills, and
ment practices for its own
because
the supply will be so
economic survival.
! As we move into the year 2000, short it won’t make any difference
we are confronted with a shrink­ whether they are female or male,
ing white male labor pool. It’s ex­ black or white or purple.
The fact is that by the year
p e c te d that only 15 percent of
2000,
the country will be so
new entrants to the workforce will
desperately in need of skilled,
be white males.
Workforce growth is among mi- trained, highly educated people,
Inorities and women, who repre­ that Black people will finally have
s e n t the population base which the opportunity to participate
Ith is country will have to draw equally in the system.
So what we do today to en­
I from in order to fuel the economy
land to do the jobs that must be courage our young people to ex­
cel in school will have a tremen­
done.
dous effect on the economic
The difficulty we will confront
is that the jobs that will be future of all Black people.
A
I
I
I
I
Abusive teacher.
This message is in protest of the
actions of Portland Public School
teacher (musical director) Mr.
Cam Cross.
On September 23,1988, at Civic
Stadium, M r. Cross approached
my son, Darwin Singleton, and
challenged him to a fight. To Dar­
w in he said, " I heard about what
you said about me after the parade
in 1987." Then he challenged Dar­
w in to fight him. "W e can go out­
side and do it now. Come on and
fight like a man. M y son, confused
at w hat was happening, kept
asking M r. Cam what was he
talking about. Mr. Cam said, "You
know ." Yet, he never did tell my
son what he was to supposed to
have said.
As a mother, I am outraged at
the offer of 'lets go outside and
fight like a man” My son is a 19 year
old student at M t. Hood Com­
munity College where he is study­
ing for a degree in music. He has a
3.8G PA.
W hat kind of teachers do Port­
land Public Schools hire
Mr. Cross is an unfit role model
for any student. Regardless if a
student is in high school or college, a
teacher does not have the right to
challenge him or her to a fig h t.
Asam other, I am determined to see
that the district take appropriate ac­
tion against Mr. Cross. I am not the
only parent who has a valid complaint
against Mr. Cross. On the night he
challenged my son, he also hit, on the
head, my son's friend.
M s. DeloiseW illiam s
BAN
ftPARTHEIDI
PORTLflfiUb^ERVER
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OPINION
Along the Color Line
The Other Side
là
Dr. Manning Marable
.
Lavell
1 Williams
W hy Dukakis may
losetheelection...
by Harold C. Williams
could be turned around and put
on the right track for a successful
n Sunday’s Oregonian, Oct. 2,
life.
1988, there was an article w rit­
We cannot let the Crips and the
ten about LaVell Matthews. A
Bloods destrov such talents and
former student and track star
we sit on the sidelines and say,
from Jefferson High School who
"Oh isn’t that too bad?” It would
is now doing ten years in prison at
be a shame knowing the talent
Eastern Oregon C orrectional
that LaVell Matthews has and his
Institution in Pendleton for at­
potential, and then to allow him to
tempted assault with a firearm.
rot away for ten years would be a
What is very disturbing is that I
disgrace. We could collectively
personally know this young man
come together as a community
and felt that he had great poten­
and make a plea to the powers
tial. It is disheartening to read to
that be to put this young man on
see that he has gone astray and
parole now, giving him an oppor­
that his life is being wasted away.
tunity to get his GED and get
What is also disturbing is that this
started in college. We have in­
great talent will not have an op­
vested in others in the past who
portunity to reach its potential
were less deserving, why not one
because it's being wasted away in
who could win if guided right?
prison. One can’t excuse the
Prison is not the solution to
crimes that LaVell committed
LaVell's problem, but a commit­
with just a slap on the hand,
ted community sending a state­
however, but ten years is a little
ment to the State of Oregon, the
harsh. For many who have com­
gangs, and to young people who
mitted murder and have been in
are going right that we are sen­
and out of prison many times are
sitive and do care about what hap­
not given as harsh a sentence.
pens to them. We will not tolerate
We all are concerned about
their wrongdoings, but if they are
stopping crime in our community,
willing
to correct themselves, we
slowing the spread of gang in­
will assist in getting them back
fluence on our youth, but to make
on the right track. This appeal is
an example of a unique talent is
to the right track. This appeal is to
beyond one’s comprehension of
the total community to help this
fair play. If there is an issue we
young man get a second chance.
chose as a community to give
Would you please write or call the
someone a second chance, what
Portland Observer at 288-0033 and
a great opportunity this would be
state your willingness to be in­
for all of us to collectively invest
volved in the crusade to free
in LaVell Matthews. He is only
LaVell Matthews. If we can do
19-years-old. If given the oppor­
this
it would be a great triumph
tunity, with what he has already
for
LaVell,
the community, and
experienced behind the prison
also hope for us all. Please call
bars, we can be reasonably
and lets make this happen.
assured that this young man
I
THE BLACK UNITED FUND
OF OREGON
"The Helping Hand that is Your Own"
¿a
LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR:
Stop police abuse
Dear Editor:
This is the responsibility of state
Police abuse threatens Black and city officials who prefer to
and H isp a n ic co m m u n itie s, crack down on those demanding
strikers and groups demanding change than to fund serious pro­
social justice.
grams for equal opportunity in
In San Francisco on 9/15/88 education and jobs for women
the police brutally beat United and men who are poor and/or of
Farm Workers co-founder Delores color. The media promotes scape­
Huerta at an anti-Bush rally. Huer­ goating of the Black community
ta’s spleen was removed because for crime and drug abuse and ig­
of the severe beating. On 9/17, 3 nores the U.S./C.I.A. involvement
pro-choice activists were wrong­ in drug smuggling and the lack of
fully arrested because they de­ a decent future that traps too
fended women's access to the many in poverty and/or crime.
Pregnancy Consultation Center
In Portland those who protest
from rightwing fanatics of Opera­ abuse have no where to turn. The
tion Rescue, a national campaign Police Department stonewalls
to close abortion clinics. The 3 citize n co m p la in ts and the
women. Radical Women (RW) org­ Portland Internal Investigations
anizer Roanne H indin, RW Auditing Committee is hampered
member Kathy Seeley and sup­ by no authority and some mem­
porter Kass McMahon face a bers who are pro-police. In San
felony charge of “ faiiure to Francisco the police are going
disperse” that carries heavy fines wild and if they are not stopped i f
and jail. Huerta, Hindin, Seeley will signal open season on people
and McMahon were punished for across the country.
exercising and defending con­
Defend the right to demand a
stitutional rights to assembly and better future and stop the police
to abortion.
from crushing1 social protest. De­
The Bay Area Coalition Against mand that San Francisco Police
Operation Rescue, who organized Chief Frank Jordan be fired, that
the clinic defense says “ The the charges against Hindin, See­
police are the rightwing in uni­ ley and McMahon be dismissed
form.” Seeley says of her arrest and that the police who beat
“ They had no reason to arrest us Delores Huerta be fired and pro­
but they did anyway. Groups like secuted for attempted man­
ours are a thorn in Mayor Art slaughter by writing to D.A. Arlo
Agnos’ side, since he directs the Smith, Hall of Justice, 800 Bryant,
police an seeks to maintain the Room 322, S.F., CA 94103 and to
status quo. The teetering eco­ Mayor Art Agnos at City Hall,
nomic system cannot afford Suite 200, S.F..CA 94102.
human rights today.”
Sincerely,
Portlanders face disrespect Adrienne Weller
and abuse by the police daily. Portland Radical Women (RW)
You've tried the rest
Now try the best
PORTLAND OBSERVER
“ The Eyes and Ears of the Com m unity"
288-0033
ith only one month prior to
the presidential election, a
definite trend has developed.
P re sid e n t G eorge Bush is
unquestionably in the lead in
every poll, with Dukakis struggl­
ing to gain ground. Bush has
been successful in dictating the
major issues or perhaps more ac­
curately, he has skirted the cen­
tral public policy questions In
favor of patriotic demagoguery,
shrill rhetoric and reactionary
posturing. Bush has wrapped his
campaign in the flag, implying
that "loyal Americans” don’t favor
the near-subversive positions of
Dukakis.
Since the Republican conven­
tion, Bush has been on the offen­
sive. The Dukakis team was first
in disarray, apparently less ex­
perienced in handling the pres­
sures of a national campaign in a
general election than Bush’s
forces. The media played a con­
tributing role in Dukakis’s August
and September nose-dive, by
“ underreporting” the Democratic
nominee’s policy position on
financing college tuition pay­
ments and the more recent health
care program In itia tiv e . By
creating the appearance of going
overboard in its critical examina­
tion of Senator Dan Quayle’s per­
sonal problem s, the m edia
created a sympathetic backlash
for the Indiana reactionary. By
focusing too heavily on the
pseudo — pledge of alliegance
issue, the press and television
media boosted Bush's fortunes.
Back in 1984, the media handled
Reagan with kid gloves, doing all
it could to return the Republican
president to the White House.
Now it appears that the press is
trying to repeat this service for
Bush.
But if the Dukakis-Bensten
W
ticket goes oown into political
oblivion next month, the Massa­
chusetts governor should not
Vice
look for scapegoats to explain his
defeat. The temptation w ill be
great to cast the blame on Jesse
Jackson, the Rainbow Coalition,
and the remarkable electoral
mobilization of American pro­
gressives and minorities in 1988.
Dukakis and his team of sour
grapes experts will declare: “ It s
all Jesse’s fault! W ithout a
Jackson condidacy, the Duke
would have locked up the Demo­
cratic party’s nomination before
the Wisconsin primary, and cer­
tainly by New York’s primary.
Jackson’s high negatives among
Jew ish voters, low -to-m iddle
class whites and Southern whites
turned off the Democrats who
had previously voted for Reagan.
Dukakis’s tireless efforts to move
the Democrats back to the
ideological center, and to go after
the political moderates, was too
k ittle , to o la te. J a c k s o n ’s
radicalism and rhetoric doomed
Dukakis M
I suspect that this script is
already dra fte d , a p o litic a l
scenario which would fit nicely
with the national electoral ambi­
tions of former Virginia Governor
Chuck Robb, Georgia Senator
Sam Nunn, and New Jersey Sena­
tor Bill Bradley, who sat out the
primaries on the sidelines. Their
view is that the American people
need two Republican parties, not
one; that “ Reaganism” can be ad­
ministered by Democrats more ef­
ficiently and humanely. Jackson
simply doesn't fit into this conser­
vative consensus, so he will catch
the blame for any defeat. Never
mind the fact that Jackson’s core
consistuency will vote by a
margin of ten to one in favor of
Dukakis over Bush.
C re e d O f T h e B la c k P re s s
The Black Press believes that America can best lead the world away from
social and national antagonisms when it accords to every person, regardless of
race, color, or creed, full human and legal rights. Hating no person, feanng
no person, the Black Press strives to help every person in the firm belief that
all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.
Perspectives
Anybodyseen
the North pole?
by Professor McKinley Burt
severe frostbite, “ When I cut his
fter a romance of almost
eighty years the prestigious boots off, several toes from each
foot snapped off.” Soon after­
National Geographic Magazine
has turned upon its most famous ward, Peary lost all but two little
and eulogized hero, Robert E. toes, severely handicapping him
Peary, the ‘official’ discoverer of for exploration —almost ten years
before, the final North Pole
the North Pole —That is until this
year! (see the September 100th expedition.
The following should emphas­
Centennial Issue).
And there in lies a tale, for all ize our need to be on guard
these many years Matthew Hen­ against the latest round of
son, his Black Associate, has been tangenital attempts to remove
acknowledged as actually the Blacks from a glorious heritage of
“ first man to sit on top of the accomplishment, yea, even to
remove us from the grave of
world" (The Oregonian, 8/25/88).
When Henson returned from a honor. Wally Herbert, the author
scouting trip to make this declara­ of the National Geographic arti­
tion, April, 1909, Peary was quite cle, indulges in a hodge podge of
angered, and ‘later’ after making supposition, invendo and undocu­
his own sortie, he (Peary) refused mented speculation, ranging from
to shake hands with Henson, doubts about the accuracy of
Peary’s compass to some ‘missing
“ both hands covering his face."
As we shall say further on, we pages' in the explorer's diary.
Herbert even speculates about
need to note the timing of this
and other recent rewrites of ‘the state of Peary’s mind —as
history. It was only a few months though he were a qualified pscho-
ago that Black Matthew Henson analyst, rather than the post­
was given a hero’s burial in Arling­ mortem detractor he proves to be.
Our hats are off to Black Har­
ton National Cemetery.
Additional light is shed upon vard professor of Neurophy­
siology, Dr. S. Allen Counter who
the ‘support’ role of Henson when
is also a student of the lives of
we consider particulars of the
major Black figures. It is due to
long-term association between
his efforts that Matthew Henson,
Peary and the Black seaman-
turned-explorer. From 1891 to who died in 1955 at the age of 88,
1902 the two logged more than was removed from an undistin­
guished grave in the Bronx, New
9,000 dogsled miles in the bitter
cold of Greenland. It was in York to A rlin g to n N ational
January 1899 that, after a fool­ Cemetery, America’s place for
heroes. Let no wizened-souled
hardy trip insisted upon by Peary,
detractors remove him in either
the 32-year-old Henson saved the
fact or fancy.
leader’s life bv treating him for
A