Strange Silence From
Black Elected Officials
The proposed closing of the
adm inistrative section at the Al­
bina Human Resource Center on
N.E. Union Avenue has provoked
protest and outrage from com ­
munity leaders and city officials,
including Portland Mayor Bud
Clark.
The State Department of
Hum an Resources claims it can
contract out the services now being
provided by the administrative staff
at the center to non-profit groups
at cost savings.
What the departm ent fails to
by Dr. Marinina Marable
ices by the agencies housed in
the center. The elimination of their
section could possibly mean poor
people will once again fall through
the "cracks" and find themselves
at the "m ercy" of those less car­
ing.
The D.H.S. proposal would add
to the welfare and unemployment
plight which would be inclusive of
the staff of the administrative staff.
This seems hardly consistent with
C
Governor Goldschmidt's economic 1
developm ent plan for N.E. Port­
fi
land.
c
c
D
B
Stranger than fiction has been i
the apparent lack of interest by
Oregon's Black Elected Officials.
To date, none has com e forth
B
with a word of protest. A com m u­ I
nity’s voice, backed by its elected 8
8
officials lend credence during a
crisis. And, this is truly a crisis.
Now is the time to act.
COM M ENTARY
point out is “their cost savings will
com e about as a result of elim i­
nating seven positions," includ­
ing some with at least 17 years of
service with the state. Most of the
community non-profit groups have
rejected the offer, claim ing (and
rightfully so) that it is impossible
to provide the services currently
being met by the seven, soon to
be jobless employees, at a frac­
tion of the cost.
The departm ent also failed to
consider, that after 19 years, the
adm inistrative staff of the center
provide emergency services for
clients that are rejected for serv-
The com m unity is looking for
an elected official (Black or white)
to step forth and join Mayor Bud
Clark in helping to save a much
needed resource.
Whom shall be the first to speak
out?
QUEST EDITORIAL:
Jackson Action:
Black Against
Black Violence
I
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CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
hv Benjam in F. Chavis. Jr,
Freezing To Death
In America
To depend primarily on the police
The different kinds of mortality of a
and
other law enforcem ent agencies
ociety give an indication of the social
to
treat
the homeless, as if their des­
riorities of that society. Across the
titute
state
is a criminal offense, is
inited States during this winter sea-
neither
a
compassionate
nor humane
on there is an alarming increase in
approach.
In
surveying
how
some of
ie number of homeless persons who
the
m
ajor
cities
in
the
United
States
re freezing to death on the streets.
handle the homeless, particularly
Recently in the city of New York 5
during the winter months, we were
lomeless persons died on the streets
alarmed to find the proclivity to use
luring one week-end. The frequency
police action rather than social serv­
if these deaths has not aroused a
ice support systems. For example, in
ireat public outcry. In fact, there seems
Atlanta, Georgia: Portland, Oregon
o be a growing social acceptance
and in Phoenix, Arizona the police
hat a fair number of homeless people
routinely cite homeless persons with
¡hall die during the winter. Many of
violations of city ordinances as a means
hese victims of hom elessness are
of moving them off the streets. Yet,
acial and ethnic persons whose names
this does nothing to solve the prob­
will never be known, not even to the
lem of the state of homelessness in
;ity morticians. W hether the names
these cities. It just adds to the misery
of these victims will ever be known to
of the homeless.
ocal or national politicians is a matter
Douglas Lasdon, the director of
of how well concerned citizens of this
the
Legal Action Center for the
oation make this issue a priority.
Homeless,
stated, "this system is by
W hen we hear of the great suffer-
definition
inhum
ane."
ngs of people throughout the world,
W
e
believe
that
there is only one
some caused by natural disasters
solution
for
the
homeless
and that is
and others caused by the sins of
to
provide
adequate,
affordable
hous­
greed and avarice, we should re­
ing
for
all
persons
living
in
this
nation.
m ember the daily sufferings of the
people living on the streets of Amer­ W e should no longer tolerate persons
ica this winter. There needs to be a freezing to death. We should no longer
comprehensive and effective response tolerate the homeless being home­
The urban ghettoes of America
increasingly are becoming armed,
military zones. Millions of people live
in fear of being raped, robbed or
mugged. Thousands of homes are
burglarized every week in Black neigh­
borhoods. Hundreds of our young
people are being slaughtered in the
streets and back alleys. And many of
our high schools are now battlegrounds
for drug pushers.
Between January and August,
1988, only eight months, 143 people
were murdered in Miami, a figure
which was higher than the city’s total
number of murders in 1987. Crime
statistics from other cities are equally
grim. During the same period in 1988,
New Orleans recorded 216 murders;
Houston, 411 murders; Washington,
D.C., 323 murders; and New York
City, 1,231 murders. The vast m ajor­
ity of the victims are nonwhite males.
In the United States, a white male has
a one-in-186 chance of becom ing a
m urder victim. For all Black men, the
odds are one chance in twenty nine.
And for those living in W ashington,
D.C., the South Bronx, C hicago’s
South Side, or other urban centers,
the m urder rate odds for Black males
probably decline to less than one out
of twenty.
Urban violence frequently takes its
casualties from the innocent bystand­
ers, those who have no role in drugs,
crim e or murder. Two weeks before
this Christmas, a nine year old boy
died in a Chicago public housing project
because paramedics refused to enter
the apartment building at night. The
paramedics later claimed that their
ambulance was being hit by rocks
and eggs hurled by local residents.
The family of the dead boy disputed
these charges, and filed a $60 million
suit against the Chicago Fire Depart­
ment. W hether the param edics were
attacked or not, is secondary to the
larger issue of the pervasiveness of
urban violence. W hen postal work­
ers, delivery workers, medics and
other healthcare professionals are
afraid to enter neighborhoods without
police protection, then the quality of
life for the population in that area
must deteriorate.
Police argue that most of the re­
cent violence is directly attributable to
the proliferation of crack. The street
trade in crack cocaine is so profitable
that many gangs are now as heavily
armed as police SWAT team s. W it­
nesses of drug-related crimes often
disappear; the arrests of thousands
of young people who are low-level
dealers has done little to keep thou­
r
\ __
bv Ron Daniels
Jesse Jackson has becom e a for­
midable fact of life inside the Demo­
cratic Party. The liberal progressive
Rainbow electoral coalition which he
forged in 1988 demonstrated that with
the right m essage, and the strategy
the Democratic Party can expand its
base and rem ain a viable force in
presidential politics. For the record
Jesse Jackson polled nearly 7 million
votes in his prim ary presidential elec­
tion bid. T hat’s more votes than any
runner-up in the history of the Demo­
cratic Party. W alter Mondale won the
nomination in 1984 with 6.7 million
votes. Jesse Jackson won 13 states,
100 congressional districts, and cap­
tured more than 1,200 delegates at
the Democratic National Convention.
Of equal im portance Jesse Jackson
kept critical issues on the table. These
are issues of importance to Black and
Third World people -d rugs, housing,
health care, education, jobs, peace,
justice. These historic accom plish­
ments have propelled Jackson into
the leadership of the liberal-progres­
sive wing of the Democratic Party.
Never one to rest on his laurels,
Jesse Jackson realizes that given the
panic which the conservative tide has
created am ong Democrats, the lib­
eral-progressive forces will have to
fight hard to keep the Party from
stam peding to the right and self-de­
structing. He has issued a major chal­
lenge to his supporters to PARTICI­
PATE in and TRANSFORM the Demo­
cratic Party from the precinct to the
presidency. The fact is Black people
have yet to really master and fully
exploit the benefits of “traditional"
electoral politics. African-Americans
need to press the two traditional par­
ties to produce every gain and benefit
possible in the interest of the masses
of Black people, other minorities, poor
working people, and the struggling
reached.
Black leaders must begin to ad­
dress, squarely and forthrightly, this
crisis of human values within our
communities. Many social Institutions
such as churches and schools no
longer exert the moral and social in­
fluence among younger Blacks. The
economic crisis of poverty and unem ­
ployment directly contributes to the
violence as well. W hen people can­
not eat or clothe their children, they
will steal to survive. When crack dealers
pay unem ployed teens hundreds of
dollars per day, why should they aspire
to hold subm inim um wage jobs? A
person without a job and who has
been influenced by the rampant
materialism of the dom inant culture
can be recruited into criminal activity.
The only long term, fundamental
solution to the violence between Black
people is found within the strategy of
community and group empowerment.
People who are involved in political
change, economic development and
community-based reform movements
do not destroy each other. They
channel their energies into the con­
structive acts of socio-econom ic and
political change, and their outlook on
their friends, peers and neighbors
also changes. They seek to build
local institutions and to equip others
in the tools for political and social
involvement, and in doing so, their
understanding of interpersonal rela­
tions deepens.
If a person hates himself or her­
self, and has no appreciation for the
culture and sacrifices of Black people
of previous generations, he or she will
act in a crim inal manner against other
Blacks. To end the violence, we must
organize ourselves from within.
Letter To The Editor:
If the truth be told African-Am ericans
have never really systematically fought
to make the Democratic Party re­
sponsive and accountable to Black
people at all levels. The tim e has
come to take our vote and participa­
tion seriously or to stop com plaining
about others taking advantage of us.
The Black vote must be used around
a progressive agenda for change and
benef it for the masses of Black people,
minorities, poor and working people.
In that regard we must fearlessly
reward our friends and punish our
enemies (elect and de-elect). Under­
standing this Jesse Jackson contin­
ues to place a premium on voter reg­
istration. Of the 7 million votes which
Jackson won in 1988, about 4-1/2
million were Black votes. But guess
what, there were 14 million Black
registered voters eligible and avail­
able to vote in 1988 and another 7 - 8
million Blacks unregistered. Remem­
ber Mondale won the Democratic
nomination in 1984 with 6.7 million
votes and Dukakis won in 1988 with
about 9 million votes. THE BLACK
VOTE POTENTIAL IS 22 MILLION
middle class.
Though the vast majority of Black
people vote Democratic, we are re­
ally not in the Democratic Party. Black
people seldom seek positions on the
policy making bodies within the Party
at the state, local and national levels.
And when we have gained access to
these policy-m aking bodies we have
often been guilty of not knowing the
rules, or w orse yet, falling to attend
the meetings on a regular basis. Black
people vote Democratic and then leave
the business of setting rules, and
establishing the policies by which the
Party will function to someone else.
No one else will project and defend
your interest like you. Jesse Jackson
therefore is challenging Black people
and progressives who vote Demo­
cratic to fight for full representation
and a equitable share of EVERY­
THING within the Democratic Party.
J
Dear Mr. Henderson,
.
. . .
o 1/Q..
Thank you very much for putting your editorial opinion in 2-1/8
Columns. It makes everything more readable and faster.
I read your paper regularly and find it helpful and interesting I m white.
I was elected to the Oregon State Legislature 1963-1975.
Howard D. Willits
VOTES!
The Jackson Action Agenda inside
the Democratic party calls for a major
effort to liberalize voter registration
laws to make it easier for potential
voters to register and remain on the
books. The Conyer's Bill which pro­
motes same day, same site election
day registration is the center piece of
the Jackson registration program.
Other components of the Jackson
agenda include D.C. Statehood,
minority and women set aside pro­
grams for business and support for
the Dellums’ Bill for tougher sanc­
tions against South Africa. Needless
to say expanded aid for housing, health
care, education, jobs, and a sane
foreign policy will continue to be inte­
gral to Jackson's efforts to restore
sanity to the Democratic Party.
That’s essentially the strategy which
Jesse Jackson will be harnessing his
supporters to fight for inside the
Democratic party. The next four years
with critical mayoral and gubenatorial
elections in 1989, the census in 1990,
re-apportionment in 1991 and presi­
dential elections again in 1992 will
provide ample tim e to test the possi­
bilities of the inside strategy. M ean­
while, those who would seek to deny
Jesse Jackson his just do as the
leader of the liberal progressive wing
of the Party need to re-think their
position. Another debacle like 1988
and even Jesse Jackson will not be
able to stem the flood of disaffection
and defections from the Democratic
Party. INDEED W HAT AFRICAN-
AMERICANS A N D TH E PROGRES­
SIVE M OVEM ENT REALLY NEED
IS AN INSIDE-OUTSIDE STRATEGY.
less.
to this growing problem.
1988 Year Of Drift:
PORTLfiMb
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The Inside Strategy
sands more from taking their places.
The flood of violence, however,
can only be understood by going
beyond the single issue of drugs.
Why does violence become the sole
method for resolving conflict between
so many young Black men? W hat is
the long-term political and economic
impact of violence within the national
Black com m unity? People resort to
violence in their relations with each
other when they devalue the human­
ity and dignity of those individuals
with whom they are in conflict. Dis­
agreements are inevitable within all
societies. But when people are rou­
tinely shot for less than ten dollars, or
a young Black man in Detroit can be
murdered on a city bus for no reason,
a very disturbing level of human al­
ienation and social decay has been
1988 was a year was a year domi­
nated by politics.
It saw the rise of a serious black
presidential candidate, and the elec­
tion of a new president who appears
capable of breaking with at least some
of the m istaken directions of the past
eight years.
Conventional wisdom says the 1988
election proved the political power­
lessness of blacks. But, as is often
the case, conventional wisdom is
wrong.
The black vote makes its maxi­
mum impact in close elections, but
the 1988 presidential campaign wasn’t
close. Blacks gave over 86 percent of
their votes to the loser--not out of
enthusiasm for him, but against a
candidate who served the current
Administration.
On the state and focal level how­
ever, the black vote did have an impact
on several important races. Black
votes, tor example, provided the margin
of victory for Senator Lautenberg ot
New Jersey over his popular Repub­
lican rival
And the number of blacks in Con
gress increased to 23. with the addi
tion of Donald Payne, who earned
Dodges And Little Change
New Jersey’s 10th Congressional
District.
The justified pride in his election as
the state’s first black congressm an
should, however, be joined by heart­
felt gratitude for his retiring predeces­
sor, Peter Rodino, who was a stal­
wart cham pion of civil rights and who
did so much to assure passage of key
civil rights laws.
Conventional wisdom also says
whites w on’t vote for black candi­
dates, but Jesse Jackson garnered
white votes in his primary campaigns,
and Mississippi Congressm an Mike
Espy won re-election with 40 percent
of the white vote.
But politics wasn't all there was to
1988. A sm all step forward was made
by passage of the Civil Rights Resto­
ration Act, which closes a glaring
loophole that allowed discrimination.
And another loophole was plugged
when Congress passed amendments
to the Fair Housing Act that for the
first time, endows authorities with
enforcem ent powers.
That such action was needed is
dem onstrated by a University ot C hi­
cago study released in November,
wfiich concluded blacks remain highly
segregated no matter where they live with typical black income frozen at
in metropolitan areas.” The study about 56 percent of white income.
highlighted continued segregation in And for all the publicity about school
reforms, most experts agreed that
suburban housing.
reform was bypassing the inner-city
The one m ajor change in social schools that need it most.
So 1988 was a year of business as
p o licie s-a new welfare la w -fe ll far
short of the necessary overhaul of the usual, a year that started with high
welfare system. The income gap hopes and finished with little real
between blacks and whites rem ains- change.
I'LL GET ON THAT AfcMED R063ER<CAS£ Z H IE F ,
« V Ì E FINISH UP THIS SMOKING V iO t b lO N -