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. Support O ur Advertisers! Say You Saw It In The PortlandObserver! Photo-Composition/Layout Circulation Manager Marie Deculr - Photographer PORTLAND OBSERVER is published weekly by Exie Publishing Company, Inc. 525 N.E. Killingsworth St. Portland, Oregon 97211 P.O. Box 3137 Portland, Oregon 97208 (503) 288-0033 (Office) Deadlines for all submitted materials: Articles: Monday, 5 p.m.; Ads: Tuesday, 5 p.m. The PORTLAND OBSERVER welcomes freelance submissions. Man user fits and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope All created designed display ads become the sole property of this newspaper and can not be used in other publications or personal usage, without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased ’he composition of such ad 1969 PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART W ITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. Subscriptions: $20.00 per year in the Tri-County area The PORTLAND O BSERVER - Oregon s oldest African-American Publication-is a member of The National Newspaper Association - Founded in 1865. The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, lne„ New York. 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