Page 2 Portland Observer February 16, 1989 EDITORIAL The Legacy of the Hidden American History by Dr, Jamil Cheravee At Florida International University, I w as asked to speak before a group of Third W orld and Black students in Journalist Very few students had read The Black Free Views Am erikan Im perialism , by George P. Marks, III. Republican Doctrine, One w ho steals a ham is a thief. One w ho steals a fortune is a financier. One who assists in stealing the Philip pines is a patriot. From the Chicago Board Ax, Oct. 27, 1900, charges “ Philippines” in the above quote to “ Vietnam ” and it could easily be a verse in any Left publication today. The verse appropriately sums up a decade of Black sentiment. From the 1890's through the turn-of-the-cen- tury, Blacks were the most consistent and vocal of those opposed to A m eri kan econom ic-m ilitary expansion in the Third World. This little known sidelight forms another pari of the legacy of hidden Am erikan history. Fortunately, the progressive w rit ings and speeches of Black spokes men on this question have been compiled in the work, The Black Press Views Am erikan Imperialism 1898- 1900, by George P. Marks, III. Part of the New York Times collection on the “ Am erikan Negro: His History and Literature,” the book opens investi gation into the long neglected area of Black involvement in the historic radical movement. Other works on the Black press include: The Negro Press in the United States; The Negro New spa per; The Negro Press Re-Examined; Fifth Years of Progress in Negro Journalism ; W ho's W ho in the A m eri kan Negro Press and The Negro Press, Past, Present and Future. All of these works have chosen to ignore the early press material on Black activism. I’m inclined to believe, the articles and editorials in M ark’s work are particu larly significant as a gauge of the thinking of the Black Intellectuals in that period. Most of the newspapers had incomplete volum es of editions making the task for the anthologist more difficult. In 1900, the Black press was in its em bryonic stage of devel opm ent and hadn’t yet becom e es tablished institution in the Black community. Nearly all the papers faced prob lems of tow budgets, shortage of trained personnel, and distribution. Often the papers went under in a relatively short period of time and were not preserved. The period, 1898-1900. Marks treats, was critical for the em ergence of Am erika as a world force. The new corporate industrialists demand for new markets, raw materials, and cheap labor supplies, pushed them into the scram ble for territories. Before the end of the 19th C en tury, Cuba, the Philippines, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico fell into the circle of Am erikan econom ic domination. To push expansion, the national leaders first had to convince a basically reluc tant and isolationist Amerikan public to accept militarism as a priority. This was no easy task. Many sena tors and congressm en initially voiced strong reservations about Am erika’s new direction. The National Anti- Imperialist League political figures in the country. Socialists and numerous key labor leaders lined up against im perialism. However, as expansion increased the liberal opposition melted away. The Black population though was another matter. The Black press believed that the w ar being fought in Cuba and the Philippines was a racist war aimed at the subjugation o, other non-cauca- soids. Keenly conscious of racism at home, Blacks didn't fail to note the sim ilarities between the way Cauca soids described the Filipinos ("d e generate,” "uncivilized," “ lazy,” etc.) and themselves. Blacks reasoned that as long as the governm ent didn’t provide civil rights and equal protection in Amerika then they shouldn't be asked to serve in the military. Lewis Douglass, son of the abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass, in an article in the C leve land Gazette, Dec. 23, 1899, argued: "The administration holds that this is a caucasoid m an’s government and that dark races have no rights which caucasoid men are bound to respect. It is a sorry, though true, fact that wherever this governm ent controls injustice to dark races prevails. The people of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Manila know it as well as do the wronged Indian and outraged Black man in the United S tates.” Other Blacks were not as polite, and labeled those Blacks who chose to enlist as "race-traitors." The Re porter, Feb. 1, 1900, bluntly stated: “ Any Negro soldier that will cross the ocean to help subjugate the Filipinos is a fool or a villain, more fool, how ever, than villain, we trust. May every one of them get ball-strung is our sincere prayer." W hen war loomed as possibility in China during the so-called Boxer rebellion in 1898, Bishop Turner in a letter to the New York Age, July 27, 1900, vowed to do everything in his power to prevent Blacks from enlist ing: “ This is not war, and the Black man that puts a gun upon his shoul der to go and fight China should find the bottom of the ocean before he gets there." I’m inclined to believe, the knowledge of racism was not the only elem ent that fueled Black anti war sentiment. The growing labor m ovem ent with its large Socialist constituency had a m ajor impact on Black thought. Black workers tended to support labor against the em ploy ers despite the attem pt to use Blacks as scabs and strike-breakers. A few Blacks saw Henry G eorge’s single tax theories as a possible alter native to capitalist exploitation. Many more talked about labor and con sum er co-operatives; still others considered com m unal land develop ment projects in the South and West. A small but active sector posed So cialism as the best solution to im peri alism and war. Charles G. Baylor, a Black Socialist Labor Party organ izer, in an analysis of th Amerikan oc cupation of Cuba in the Richmond Planet, July 30, 1898, noted: “ The central and important fact in this whole m atter is that the revolution in Cuba was, from the beginning, an Afro- Cuban Socialist up-rising against Spanish tyranny, capitalistic greed, and priestly r u le ... this was not to be tolerated by the Camegies, Pullmans, Rockefellers of Am erika any more than by the confederate so-called Christian caucasoid aristocracy of the South. In the next months edition of the Richmond Planet, Boylar urged Blacks to join either the SLP if pos sible or a labor union to secure eco nomic emancipation. Much the same thinking went into Black condem nation of the gold stan dard which was then being debated in corporate circles. An editorial in the Chicago Broad Ax, July 21, 1900, reflected this: “The Negro is not an investor of capital. Those who insist that gold shall be the money of the land give no employment to the Negro, though em ploying thousands of la borers.” I believe, the Black opposi tion to monopoly capital was also in corporated into the platform of the National Afro-Amerikan party outlined in Howard’s Amerkan Magazine, June, 1900: “ W e are opposed to all m o nopolies and trusts, and favor the ownership and control of the public highways by the general government, such as railroads, telegraph and tele phone.” I'm inclined to believe, the paral lels suggested in the book with to day’s radical m ovement are certainly immediate and important. The final value of th Black Press Views A m eri kan Imperialism must lay in the first hand glim pse it gives into the real roots of Black radicalism. / O P IN IO N To Be Equal Econom ic State o f Black America Each year the National Urban League releases a book-length report on The State o f Black Am erica. It features articles by outstanding scholars who examine the situation o f African- Americans in key areas o f life. The current report includes, among many such valuable contributions, a revealing portrait o f the Black economy by Dr. David H. Swinton, Dean o f the School o f Business at Jackson State U niversity. Dr. Swinton marshalls an impressive array o f data proving not only that African- Americans did not share in the recent economic comeback, but that the black- white gap is disastrously large. For example, Dr. Swinton shows that the per capita income fo r Blacks was only $575 for every $1,000 for w hite-- and the gap has grown over the past decade. W hat that means to the Black economy can easily be seen - if Blacks had incomes comparable to whites, African-Americans would have an additional $162 b illio n in purchasing power. Dr. Swinton also documents the different aspects inequality takes w ithin the A fric a n -A m e ric a n and w h ite communities. Both saw a shrinkage in the middle income brackets. But among whiles, it was accounted fo r by middle income fam ilies m oving up into the high income category. Among Blacks, the drop in the middle income group was divided almost equally between those m oving upand those moving down into the lower income category. Dr., Swinton calculates that die income gap means that “ about 1.5 m illio n more Black fam ilies had incomes less than $10,000 than would have had such low incomes i f parity existed, w hile about 1.7 m illio n fewer Black fam ilies had incomes over $35,000.’ He finds that the increase in Black poverty accelerated in the past decade and that at every level, African-American fam ilies earn less than comparable white fam ilies. That goes for fam ilies w ith several earners, for female-headed households and for other disparities. So the conventional argument that Black income is lower because more Black families are female-headed is blown out o f the water. Dr. Swinton calculates that “ differences in family headship could account fo r no more than 11 percent o f the racial disparity in income.” ESTEEM Grades $6.95 ca. Amt Qty K-4Vol. I Inventors K-4Vol. II Inventors 5-8 Vol. Ill In Space 5-8 Vol. IV Women Add $.25 per book for postage Mail to: Mills Enterprises He finds that i f Blacks has the same poverty rates as whiles, there would be 6.6 m illio n fewer African-Am erican poor people including almost 3 m illio n fewer poor children. P. O. Box 11072 Portland, Oregon, Oregon 97211 Telephone (503) 681-0874 Control by Linda D. Wattley I first experienced the reality that I did not have total control over many events in my life one evening just as the sun was going down. I had just experienced the sudden death of my husband, I was lacking the understanding of why this tragedy had taken place. While driving down a tree-lined street at about 25 m.p.h., a cute little fuzzy brown and white rabbit hopped under my car from the passenger’s side. The decision to stop, speed up or slow down all raced through my mind. I did a little bit of them all then I felt a lump. The rabbit was instantly killed. At first, I thought about the rabbit's m other and family. They would never see him again. Tears slowly rolled out of my eyes. But then my spirit within brought it to my attention that I had absolutely no control. Not only did I not have control, the rabbit had none either. The only obvious control available to me was what I was going to do next. Either I would mourn the death of the rabbit or rejoice in the revelation. All of our experiences are ordered by the god of our being. However, we are granted certain authority over our life. This specific authority usually becomes obvious after the experi Perspectives ence or event has taken place. We either ascend or descend in our souls and consciousness from each en counter. W hat do you have control over? You have control over your percep tion. But, if there is no knowledge fed into your mind prior to the experience, you are very limited in your authority and ability to respond with the highest quality for spiritural growth. Know l edge is the one thing that determ ines how we will conduct ourselves in our everyday lives. There is not under standing without accumulated knowl edge. You have no control without knowl edge. You must feed your mind just as you feed your body. Because it will utilize every drop of knowledge you feed it and grow weary when there is no replacement. Spiritual awareness is a result of knowledge. Through spirituality, there is power and where there is power and spirituality, there is control even when you do not have direct control over the process that prom oted the experience. The god of your being welcomes you as one with its all-knowingness. Once this unity is established, control means absolutely nothing because you know you are the life flow that can never be destroyed. OREGON'S OLDEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established in 1970 A lf r e d L. 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How To ‘Use’ Black History Part 11. lead article.W e were able to obtain his address and telephone number from the journal and wrote him enclosing a copy of Black Inventors o f America. Crosthwait responded very prom ptly. That is the kind o f man he was. He provided many details o f his life and accomplishments. He also staled how d iffic u lt he found it to deliver his role model theme to African- American youths because o f what he called “ the inertia o f educators and social by M cK inle y Burt, Historian As it was [pointed out in tis column last week, one o f the most im portant uses o f history is the reinforcem ent o f identity. “ Not only am I somebody, but I ways was somebody” ... somebody very important to the development o f w orld civiliza tion . L et us look at another technique and a more recent phrase “ A frican-Am erican. ’ ’ M ost reader are fam iliar w ith the inventors portrayed in my book, Black agency people who don’ t seem to Inventors o f Am erica. Given technology understand the value o f African-American like the railw ay telegraph, the automatic technical accomplishments in the areas air brake and the third rail by G ranville o f either careers or motivation in general.” Woods...the refrigerated truck and box One o f his most im portant revelations car by Frederick M cK inle y Jones, many was when he told me that Norman Rillieux, teachers and counselors around the country the inventor o f the sugar refiner have used these materials to inspire and was a far greater contributor to die world’s to motivate their pupils. In some cities technology in thermodynamics than the educators have sponsored student clubs quote from the U.S. Department o f named in honor o f the contributors to the Agriculture evinced in m y book, tow it: technology o f Am erica and the W orld. “ R illie u x ’ s invention is the greatest in This is far superior and quite competitive, the history o f Am erican Chemical die involvement o f the talent and energies Engineering.” N described how this o f African-Am erican youths than the “ triple stage evaporation” process (patent gang activities o f Crips and Bloods! #4879, 1846) completely changed the L et us take several role model that basic concepts o f thermodynamics and have not appeared in this column. David physics. They formed the basis fo r the Crosthwait, the w orld’ s foremost heating great German Chemical Industry. Norm and air conditioning engineer, was granted R illie u x was educated in Europe and 114 U.S. and foreign patents on this type there he wrote im portant technical and o f machinery between 1923 and 1976. economic papers on steam applications This African-Am erican graduate o f before returning to Louisiana to change Purdue U niversity led the fie ld in design, the sugar refining industry forever. installation, testing and servicing o f power So great was the involuntary servitude p la n ts , healing and ventilation systems. tradition o f the South in need for the An authority on heat transfer, Crosthwait genius o f this African-Am erican in order developed the systems and controls for for that industry to be com petitive w ith heating and cooling major buildings and Europe in sugar production that the gave skyscrapers throughout the world, R illieu x the status o f a free man. But including the Rockefeller Center in New true to that tradition o f separatism, b u ilt Y ork Center. a home fo r him on each plantation Have you ever thought about what w he re ingenuity and technical competence it must require to develop a power plant and plum bing system fo r the delivery o f heat and hot water up to the 105th floor o f a skyscraper and then maintain equal volume and temperature levels over a 24 hour cycle o f variable usage? O r have you ever considered the mechanics fo r handling sewage disposal requirements in huge structures containing thousands o f offices and lavatories? This African-Am erican genius first came to my attention in 1972 during my leafing through a trade magazine o f the air conditioning industry. Everyone in the business section o f the library heard me exclaim when I saw an African- American man’ s picture featured in a a I- * • * z * * e -, - , t he s u p e rv is e d the in s ta lla tio n o f his systems which was apart from both the quarters o f the workers and those o f the owner. They became known as the Rillieux Houses throughout the Delta. Once more we may speak about the genius o f David Crosthwait. Throughout America and the w orld, his authoritative writings, manuals, standards and building codes dominate the fields o f heating and air conditioning. We arc reminded o f Howard Latim er, the inventor o f the ligh t filam ent in Thomas Edison’s laboratories, whose work in the area o f street lig h tin g rem ains standard throughout the world. M r. Latim er died in 1976. How much more do we need educators and parents to motivate and direct our youth?