Page 2 • Portland Observer • February 9, 1989
EDITORIAL /
[ CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
Suprem e Racism
V antage P oint
The Mis-Education Of The Negro
education as a control mechanism
which hampered the ability of African-
Am ericans to think Black, and act
Black. This m is-education rendered
Black people helpless and harmless
in term s of Black people unifying and
acting decisively around their own
self-interest. As long as we were
chocolate coated white people,
W oodson reasoned, the white op
pressor had nothing to fear from his
client. The white m an's ice would
always be colder!
The corrective Carter G. W oodson
prescribed was a liberal dose of the
study of African-American history and
the Black experience. Black people
who had been afflicted by white edu
cation needed to be re-educated. At
the heart of the re-education process
must be a love of self and African
people born of the knowledge, appre
ciation and respect for African culture
and history.
It was to deal with the "o re o ”
com plex that the idea of Black History
Month was developed. Given the brutal
and dehumanizing experiences of slav
ery, and the ongoing impact of white
racism, cultural aggression, and white
oriented education, African-Americans
can never get enough Black history
and culture. O ur churches, civic and
fraternal associations, and social clubs
should all be consciously integrating
our history and culture into their pro
grams. And of course we need to
teach African-Am erican history and
culture at home.
African art, music, folklore and lit
erature should be m ainstays of our
educational d ie t. The projection of A f
rican-Am erican heroes and heroines,
and a regular recitation of the histori
cal contribution of Africans to world
civilization can be a great stimulant
for young aspiring Black minds. Sur
rounded by a Euro-American ocean
of whiteness, there can be no such
thing as being TOO BLACK. Our
history, culture and identity should
serve as a basis for group cohesion,
and the collective pursuit of an Afri
can-American agenda for moral, social,
econom ic and political advancement.
by Ran Darnels
In the sixties and seventies the
phrase was "o re o ." It meant Black on
this approach to affirmative action in
the outside, but white on the inside. In
the letting of contracts.
an era of intense, even militant Black
This ruling should not go unchal
consciousness this concept of the
lenged. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught
oreo (named after the cookie) was
us 25 years ago that it is immoral to
used to depict Black people who
obey an unjust law. W e believe it
thought and acted like white people,
would be equally immoral to accept
or Black people who behaved in such
this latest ruling of the Suprem e Court
a way as to prom ote white interests to
the detrim ent of Black people. This
without issuing a call to continue to
idea of duel identity or internal conflict
dem and affirm ative action. Justice
over identity and direction is not a
Marshall has taken exception to this
new phenomenon in the history of our
ruling and we have a responsibility to
people here in America.
do no less. W hen the Supreme Court
engages in racism it is up to the
W E B. Dubois spoke of a kind of
people to becom e involved in the
“twoness,” a double sided conscious
ness, one black, the other white tug
necessary legislative processes to
rectify judicial injustice.
ging inside the minds of all of us,
struggling for our allegiance. Fanon,
states and localities, from acting to
author of the "W R ETC H ED OF THE
rectify the scourge of past discrim ina
EARTH” also published a book en
tion. This is the harsh reality of the
titled BLACK SKINS, WHITE MASKS.
majority's decision, but it is not the
Another author in the sixties wrote a
Constitution’s com m and.”
work entitled BLACK AN G LO -SAX
With the unem ploym ent rate in the
ONS. More than any other group of
African-American community soaring
African people in the diaspora., A fri
at an unprecedented level, the action
can-Am ericans have been plagued
of the Supreme Court will now cause
by the psychological and cultural
thousands of others in racial and ethnic
tensions and conflicts which arise
communities to become unemployed.
from double consciousness or racial
Minority set-aside programs were
ambivalence.
designed originally to ensure that a
Carter G. W oodson, one of our
fair percentage of contracts, particu
most distinguished historians, and the
larly governm ent contracts, would be
founder of the Association for the
given to minority vendors and con
Study of Negro Life and History, was
tractors. Of course, minority contrac
convinced that the dilem m a of racial
tors were able to provide thousands
consciousness and identify was not
of newly-created jobs as a result of
an accident. W oodson, who is the
father of Black History Month, pointed
to what he believed to be the deliber
ate “ m is-education of the N egro” as
the source of the African-Am ericans
agony over identity and direction.
Carter G. Woodson put forth the notion
th a t-H E W HO C O N TR O LS THE
MIND HAS NOTHING TO FEAR
FROM THE BODY.
People who receive a white educa
tion and internalize white culture were
Parti
bound to think like and act like white’
philosophy that were carted on from people. Hence, Woodson saw a Euro
Africa bv the shipload.
centric or white oriented American
The Mardi Gras festivals which
honor Hermes continue a 4,000 year-
old African religious/philosophical
them e in the tradition of ‘The Proces
sion to Edfu’ in honor of the African
goddess Hathor-T h e Greeks called
her Aphrodite. Here, downstream on
the Nile, she was to become, in this
yearly ceremony, the bride of H orus.
by Harald Williams
The African god whose eye Thomas
Jefferson placed above the Great Pyra
In these tim es a sm ile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches
mid in his design of the Great Seal of
those who receive, without making poorer those w ho give. It takes but
the United States. See the reverse
a moment, but the memory of it som etim es lasts forever. No one is so
side of a one dollar bill (Jefferson
rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and no one is so poor but
forgot to tell anyone other than his
that he can be m ade rich by it.
fellow Masons that this act was in
A smile creates happiness in the house, fosters goodwill in
honor of Herm etic tra d itio n and the
business, and is the countersign of friendship. It brings rest to the weary,
supporting African philosophy of Maat-
cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and is nature’s best
Truth and Justice. Perhaps it would
antidote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or
have appeared hypocritical for a slave
stolen, for it is som ething that is of no value to anyone until it is given
holder).
away.
I can see specific uses for this type
Some people are too tired to give a smile. Give them one of yours,
of Black h isto ry-o th e r than the gen
as no one needs a smile so much as he who has none to give. So smile
eral revitalization of spirit and energy
we need the joy that it gives!
that occur when a race is reintro
duced to a glorious past that has been
hiddervstolen. Why should it be wrong
for Blacks to recall and honor their
traditions and heroes? If many Euro
pean churches (who know their
sources) can portray the Virgin Mary
and Christ as Black, then, why can't
OREGON'S OLDEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PUBLICATION
African-Am erican churches do the
Established in 1970
sam e? If so many of the African ritu
Leon Harrls/General Manager
A lfre d L. Hendereon/Pubiisher
als and traditions from the Festivals
of Edfu to “divine revelation as the
Joyce Washington
Gary Ann Garnett
Sales/Marketing Director
Business Manager
source of truth” to the Pope who set
the ‘Birthday of C hrist’ to coincide
Richard Medina
Lonnie Wells
with that of O siris, the African god of
bv Beniamin F, Chavis. Jr.
The recent ruling by the Supreme
Court ot the United States against
state and municipal minority set-aside
program s is the latest in a series of
anti-civil rights rulings by the Reagan-
dom inated court. Thus, another blow
to affirm ative action has been dealt.
The Suprem e Court is the highest
judicial body in the nation and its
rulings have far-reaching implications.
Theoretically, this court is supposed
to display the greatest amount of
objectivity and fairness in the quest to
ensure justice for all citizens of the
nation. Former President Reagan was
successful, however, in stacking the
court with persons who are ideologi
cally opposed to equal justice when it
com es to the rights and privileges of
African-Am ericans and other racial
and ethnic citizens of the United States.
In other words, the recent rulings by
the Supreme Court give evidence
that the majority of the current ju s
tices on the Supreme Court do not
have the ability to prevent their own
racial prejudices from influencing their
decisions on matters of racial justice.
In writing the dissenting opinion,
Justice Thurgood Marshall stated, "...
today’s decision marks a deliberate
and giant step backward in this Court’s
affirmative action jurisprudence.”
Justice Marshall added that the Court's
“ unnecessary pronouncements will
inevitably discourage or prevent
governm ental entities, particularly
Perspectives
How To ‘Use’
Black History
by Professor M cKinley Burt
How, indeed, 'do' you use Black
histo ry-a n d for what purposes? If
you have been following the news
lately, you have been made very much
aware of several geographical places:
The Kush Mountains, through which
the Russian armies are passing as
they leave Afghanistan, and the Mardi
G ra s F e s tiv a ls in N e w O rle a n s a n d in
Rio Janerio. Brazil.
In recent articles I have pointed out
that Kush (“ Cush” in the Bible) was
the ancient nam e of Ethiopia, indicat
ing an early African presence in this
area between Russia and India (As if
a casual glance at many of the ‘Af
ghans’ wouldn't yield the same infor
mation). Now I was outraged when
the television media described the
Mardi Gras festivals as having their
roots in ancient ceremonies celebrat
ing the ‘Greek god, Herm es. You do
rem em ber my quote on January 26,
"It was not until the gods of Egypt
w e re a c c e p te d by th e G r e e k s, that
there appears to be an ceremony that
could be called dram atic.” (Encyclo
pedia Britannica, Voi. I, p. 131,1958).
Hermes, the African god Thoth.
“the inventor of letters, numbers and
philosophy,” was often referred to as
Hermes Trismegistus (thrice great)
by the Greeks who studied at the
Egyptian Temple Schools. The Her
metic philosophies permeated the
entirety of W estern c u ltu re -fro m The
Christian church to Masonic ritual,
and from European literature to
M ozart's Opera, The Magic Flute.
See Peter Tompkins book, The Magic
of the Obelisks.
An obelisk is an African architec
tural icon (of religious significance)
found in the form of a single stone
shaft of great height. Though there
are many in the United States and
Throughout the world, the best known
exam ple in this country is the W ASH
INGTON M O N U M EN T' New York,
London. Berlin. Paris and Rome have
many of these symbols of Hermetic
OPINION
Why We Should Smile
ERVER
PORTLA
vegetation-were incorporated into the
Christian church, then why can’t A fri
can-Americans acknowledge their con
tributions? Are they still slaves? Are
we free, or not?
Next week I will introduce some
new Black Inventors, and sugges
tions how we may use their accom
plishments to motivate our y o u th -
and to intervene in the destructive
social processes occurring in our
communities.
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Along The Color Line
Ron Brown's Victory: A Political Defeat In Disguise?
by Dr. M anning Marable
emerges as the official candidate.
But the political interests of the Afri
can-Am erican com m unity, many
Hispanics and progressives call for
an Evans victory. Brown might be
ra ile d uDon to Drovide the cover of
Black and liberal legitimacy for Daley.
Complicating matters ever further
is the ambiguous role of Jesse Jackson
in recent days. Jackson publicly
endorsed Sawyer in the Democratic
primary, despite the fact that the Black
incumbent had been pushed into o f
fice by anti-W ashington, anti-Black
city alderman. In one Chicago Sun-
times poll late last year, Evans was
supported by 52 percent of all Afri
can-Am ericans surveyed vs. only 14
percent for sawyer. Overwhelmingly,
Black voters know that Evans, not
Sawyer, represents a fight-back strat
egy which will increase Black and
progressive power. A correct strat
egy would be to bypass the Demo
cratic primaries, building a progres
sive political network which can be
represented by a broad - based elec
toral ticket outside of the Democrats'
control and manipulation.
The issues which progressives are
confronting in Chicago's upcom ing
mayoral race must be faced at a
national level as well. If w e simply
place our collective aspirations upon
Jesse’s presidential bid in 1992, we
will continue to exist on the margins of
political power in this country. White,,
mainstream Democrats learned sev
eral lessons last year. They under
stand that the Black electorate repre
sents the cutting edge of any liberal-
left politics, which was symbolized by
the Rainbow.
To destabilize progressive and
Black politics, leadership from the
African-American community must be
absorbed or coopted into the main
stream. In one sense, that is why Bill
Gray has becom e such a media
superstar in the past year; it’s also the
reason for Ron Brown’s emergence.
Tragically, most white Democrats
accepts the view that Dukakis and
Mondale lost because they w ere too
far "left,” and that Blacks, feminist
and liberals must take a back seat in
maries. Conversely, Daley is the the Democratic Party. To operation
product of a corrupt and racist politi
alize this strategy, a group of Blacks
cal machine.
and other minorities are necessary in
The Democratic Party bosses will
leadership roles. Jackson doesn't
dem and that Brown back Daley, if he
seem to com prehend what's at stake.
The apparent victory of Ronald H.
Brown as the first Black national
chairperson of the Democratic Party
has been taken by some observers
as a “victory” for Jesse Jackson and
the liberal-left wing of the party. But
upon closer examination, this individ
ual victory in the short term may pres
ent a defeat in disguise for the Rain
bow Coalition.
Ron Brown has a long track record
in liberal Dem ocratic circles. In the
1970s, he worked for the National
Urban League. For a time, he was an
aide to M assachusetts Senator
Edward M. Kennedy. His m ajor break
occurred in the 1988 presidential
election, as the pivotal broker and
coordinator in Jesse Jackson’s cam
paign. Brown was “ credited” by the
press and party hierarchs for acting
as a moderating influence upon the
charismatic candidate. He succeeded
in getting Jackson to com e to terms
with Dukakis. Mainstream liberals and
centrists were impressed, as Brown
created a moderate political image
for himself not unlike that of Philadel
phia Congress person Bill Gray, who
remains the leading Black contender
for the vice presidency in 1992.
One by one, Brow n’s white oppo
nents for the Democratic Party’s chair
dropped out. Form er Representative
Jam es Jones of Oklahoma, a conser
vative Democrat who continued his
challenge, warned that Brown, “ if he
wins, will have to make some moves
to the center and disassociate him
self from (liberal) perceptions.” The
first real test for Brown will com e in
Chicago, where Black m ayor Eugene
Sawyer is running behind Richard
Daley for the Democratic mayoral
nomination. If Daley wins, as seems
probable at this point, he’ll be chal
lenged by independent candidate Tim
Evans, who represents the reform,
progressive tradition of Harold W ash
ington. It was W ashington’s historic
victory as C hicago’s first Black mayor
in 1983 which catapulated the m ove
ment for a progressive, insurgent
challenge by a Black presidential
candidate within the Democratic pri
To Be Equal
Court Strikes At Affirmative Action
by John E. Jacob
Some 190 cities and counties and
36 states have affirm ative minority
contracting programs. They are now
in peril because the Suprem e Court,
the Reagan Adm inistration’s legacy
to the nation, has struck down one of
the most sweeping of those local laws.
And while the Court's action is di
rected at state and local contract
awards, it sends a serious signal that
other forms o f affirm ative action by
local governm ents are in danger of
being struck down.
The Court didn't ban setaside pro
gram s for minority contractors out
right. But it did m ake it a lot harder for
local governm ents. They’ll have to
dem onstrate that such program s are
the clear result of previous discrim i
nation, and they may have to show
how other corrective actions that stop
short of outright setasides w on’t work.
The Court based its verdict on the
notion that discrim ination was not
proved, therefore governm ents can’t
rem edy it. But how much proof is
necessary to show that Black con
tractors in the Richmond, Virginia
construction busin e ss-th e case in
q u e stion -fa ced discrim ination?
Richmond was the capital of the
Confederacy, had rigid segregation
until the 1960s, and its history of
public and private discrim ination is
richly documented, even in earlier
court cases, as Justice Thurgood
Marshall pointed out in his dissent.
Justice Marshall eloquently reveals
the shallowness of the Court's logic
and the disastrous effects its decision
may have.
“ Today’s decision marks a deliber
ate and giant step backward in ... af
firm ative action jurisprudence Cyni
cal of one m unicipality's attempt to
redress the effects of past racial dis
crimination in a particular industry,
the majority launched a grapeshot
attack on race conscious remedies in
general. The m ajority’s unnecessary
pronouncem ents will inevitable dis
courage or prevent governm ental
entities ... from acting to rectify the
scourge of past discrim ination. This
is the harsh reality of the m ajority’s
decision, but it is not the Constitution's
com m and.”
The Court’s majority took refuge
behind ideological barriers to come
up with a sweeping opinion that at
tem pts to rewrite recent history.
Affirmative action and minority se
tasides were instituted because m i
norities had been excluded from cer
tain sectors, including construction
contracting, and affirmative action was
needed to redress that unconstitu
tional situation.
Black businessmen have been de
nied contracts, refused loans, and
squeezed out of com petition. G ov
ernment setaside contract require
ments are an effective way to remedy
that. They serve a valid public pur
pose in expanding minority business
opportunities, and a constitutional
purpose in remedying illegal and
unconstitutional past discrimination.
The Court could have found fault
with the Richmond statute and issued
a narrow ruling applying only to the
case in question. Instead, it issued a
sweeping decision that hurts affirm a
tive action and makes it harder for
minority business people to survive.
All of this is done under the cloak of
racial neutrality and removing race as
a consideration-a position that ig
nores and distorts the reality of pas,
racism and present-day discrim ina
tion This decision is shameful