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Page 4 Portland Observer February 16, 1989
B lack H istory M onth
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Urban League: State of Black America
VALUING DIVERSITY:
THE MYTH AND
THE CHALLENGE
DR. PRICE M. COBBS
PRESIDENT, PACIFIC
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
My examination of The State of
Black America 1989 finds many un­
finished and complex issues. These
issues remain unfinished because our
national leaders have placed a low
priority on understanding and resolv­
ing them. They remain complex be­
cause this country has not yet come
to gripe with deeply embedded atti­
tudes, assumptions, and behavior re­
garding racial and cultural differences.
As a psychiatrist, my first task in
conducting this examination is to
determine how people are develop­
ing, growing, and faring in their inner
lives. Next, the task is to understand
how people interact with others, es­
pecially observing relationships in­
volving individuals most alike and most
unlike. A third and equally critical task
I assume is an analysis of the society
in which people live. What dynamics
are operative now and how do they
compare to previous periods?
In my work throughout the nation,
impinging on the above issues, are
several overarching themes I find
intellectually challenging and emo­
tionally seductive. These themes are
incorporated in words like diversity,
pluralism, and inclusion. What do they
mean and why are they appearing
now and so frequently? Are they
describing cosmetic and superficial
shifts in the complexion of the country
or do they speak to a series of issues
Black people should be aware of in
preparation for the year 2000?
Until quite recently such words and
themes might be only discussed in
obscure academic journals or an
arcane doctoral dissertation. Quite
suddenly, they are becoming staples
of newspaper articles, magazines,
TV shows and business journals.
Practically everyday one reads ac­
counts or hears analyses of the chang­
ing demographics of the United States
and the implication of these changes
on everything from the workforce to
marriage rates.
Thus, to write about the themes of
diversity and differences is to focus
on a major tributary of contemporary
thought an discussion. Moreover, in
exploring the implication of these
themes, I sense possibilities of a
powerful shift occurring in how many
Americans view themselves and de­
fine their individual identity and there­
fore how they want to be viewed by
others. Further, if my notions about
these possibilities are correct, Amer­
ica could be at the dawn of a major
transformation in how it defines itself
and will be defined by the world in the
twenty first century.
With few exceptions we have seen
in this myth only serve to remind us
that they were just that, exceptions.
Accom panying these visible
changes the country is deluged with
words like workforce diversity, cul­
tural pluralism, and valuing differences.
In many organizations people are
challenged to prepare for the year
2000 when the words will be the order
of the day and the ideas implied will
be standard operating procedure.
In grappling with these ideas, what
ought to be the posture of Black
America-to embrace and co-opt these
themes or to stand aside and risk
again the possibility our issues and
concerns will be made secondary? At
bottom, what is the individual and
group self-interest of those Ameri­
cans who are at once the most like
and most unlike the idealized image
of an American?
Even today, all but the most ra­
cially healthy Americans at some point
in their lives have an assumption Af­
rican-Americans are somehow tainted
or otherwise inferior. Even after many
years of experience, I remain fasci­
nated as I watch new immigrants in
the process of Americanization adopt
negative assumption and prejudices
against Black people.
However, even more important is
for Black people themselves to
u nd e rsta n d the se d yna m ics.
Throughout my lifetime I have observed
individuals struggling to resolve the
historical quality of being Black and
American. The perception that to be
different from white America is to be
inferior is no recently arrived at
formulation heralding a worsening state
of race relations. It has been there in
good times and bad, through periods
of civil rights advances and
conservative revolutions. For Black
people, it is a central and constant
dynamic to be understood and
mastered. In my view, a most powerful
tool in combatting the fear of success
is a deeper understanding and
acceptance o, one’s individual and
group cultural differences.
Analyzing and embracing the
themes inherent in workforce diversity
and valuing differences also helps
individuals shed the deficit model view
frequently accompanying affirmative
action programs. In this view Black
people and sometimes other non­
whites are regarded as incomplete
white people and therefore deficient
in ways usually unvoiced or
unspecified.
As we approach the year 2000, Af­
rican-Americans must take leader­
ship in further developing and refining
the language and imagery which de­
scribes differences. We must actively
challenge the notion that there is some­
thing called colorblindness. At pres­
ent, most visible symbols and most
the language describing success or
power relates to white people. Such
descriptions must be changed as Black
people define themselves and their
successes beyond a comparison with
whites.
The Black experience in this coun­
try has been a complex one. While it
has involved the differences of race
and skin color, it has also involved
cultural differences. Honoring and
valuing these differences remains an
unfinished task for leaders in govern­
ment, industry, academia and all other
walks of life. How they champion the
ideas of workforce diversity and cul­
tural pluralism will define the society
of the next century.
TO MAKE WRONG RIGHT:
THE NECESSARY AND PROPER
ASPIRATIONS OF
FAIR HOUSING
DR. JOHN O. CALMORE
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL
Becoming law one week after the
death of Martin Luther King, Jr. Title
VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968
declared that it was national policy "...
to provide, within constitutional limits,
for fair housing throughout the United
States.” The fair housing commit­
ment of antidiscrimination and de­
segregation complemented the Civil
Rights Act of 1866, which provides
that Blacks, as citizens of the United
States, possess the same right “ as is
enjoyed by white citizens... to inherit,
purchase, lease, sell hold and convey
real and personal property." Addi­
tionally, Title VIII refined the commit­
ment Congress made in the Housing
Act of 1949, that ‘every American
family’ be provided ‘a decent home
and a suitable living environm ent...
as soon as feasible’” These three fair
housing “commitments,” singularly
and combined, however, have come
to represent more hope than help as
Black America's cumulative, circular,
and synergistic harms associated with
housing deprivation, racial discrimi­
nation, and segregative disadvantage
persist in placing us uniquely outside
the American Dream.
Housing has been described as
“the last major frontier in civil rights.”
Housing is “the area in which prog­
ress is slowest and the possibility of
genuine change is most remote. ” The
1980s will be recorded as the decade
of radical fair housing retreat. The
1990s will likely present the last chance
directly without a prior administrative
complaint or resolution; (2) a civil
action brought by the Justice Depart­
ment in "pattern or practice” and
“general public importance" cases;
and (3) an administrative complaint
filed with HUD.
On September 13, 1988, Presi­
dent Reagan signed new legislation,
the Fair Housing Amendments Act of
1988, effective 180 days from that
date (i.e. march 12, 1989). These
statutory changes substantially
strengthen HUD’s enforcement pow­
ers and extend the Act’s coverage to
prohibit discrimination on the basis of
handicap and on the basis of familial
status. Moreover, HUD is required to
report on the progress made nation­
ally in eliminating, discriminatory
housing practices, including recom­
mendations for further legislative or
executive action.
Efforts to improve life for poor Blacks
must now be redirected to create
spatial equality in the sense that, even
under conditions of segregation, the
setting where Blacks live should be
improved so that Blacks are not un­
justly disadvantaged because of where
they live.
The conditions of segregation were
for making "fair housing."
In 1982, President Reagan’s Com­
mission on Housing assured the na­
tion that “Americans today are the
best housed people in history.” Presi­
dential commissions notwithstanding,
the United States approaches the
1990s mired in a deep, long-term
crisis that will likely cause a qualita­
tively different housing future for
Americans, Black and white. The cri­
sis is reflected in terms of unafforda­
bility, unavailability, overcrowding, poor
quality, forced diplacement, and ine­
quality.
Since 1981, the federal admini­
stration has virtually declared war not
on poverty, but on poor people, and
federal housing programs have been
the principal target. On February 5,
1988, the President signed the Hous­
ing and Community Development Act
of 1987. This represents the first free­
standing federal housing bill in seven
years. While it is a welcome end to the
drought, it is too little, too late for
many.
There are three separate and in­
dependent means of enforcing title
VIII: (1) a private civil action brought
projected in 1968 in the Report of the
National Advisory Commission on Civil
Disorders. The report recognized that
the national was rapidly moving to­
ward two separate Americas and that
within two decades, “this division could
be so deep that it would be almost
impossible to unite." The societies
described were Blacks concentrated
within large central cities and whites
located in the suburbs, smaller cities,
and on the periphery of large central
cities. While today’s division seems
to be that of three separate societies,
as some suburban middle-class, Black
entry has occurred, but still within
segregation, we nonetheless have
had two decades pass and we really
have moved very near to a point of
division that is beyond uniting. White
America will not make wrong right
until it provides for spatial equality.
Black America has a right to receive
it. White America has a duty to pro­
vide it.
It is virtually impossible in today’s
environment to "prove” that race is
the motivating factor in one’s vote,
but survey data are useful (if limited)
sources to consult. In a real sense we
cannot expect significant political
empowerment of Blacks if the atti­
tudes of whites and Blacks on a range
of important issues are not shared.
Black-Americans are a distinct mi­
nority, thus, what white Americans
believe-and how they proceed to
behave based on those beliefs—is
very important.
T he N ational C ouncil
of N egro W omen , I nc .
PORTLAND OBSERVER
Tri-County Section
I ’ .O. Box 12130, I’ortlaiul, Oregon 97212
“ The Eyes and Ears of the Com m unity”
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and economic viability of the Black
community; the economic viability of
the nation, and diminishes the na­
tional competitiveness of America in
world society.
Between 1976 and 1986 ‘The per­
centage of young people completing
high school in the 18-to-24-year-old
age cohort has improved more for
Blacks than for any other racial or
ethnic group. The high school com­
pletion rate increased from 67.5 per­
cent in 1976 to 76.4 percent in 1986.
Black females completed high school
at a higher rate than Black males
throughout this period. However, Black
males experienced a larger gain. The
gap between Black completion rates
and those of whites narrowed during
this decade (whites remained rela­
tively stable at 82.4 percent in 1976
and 83.1 percent in 1986). Neverthe­
less, nearly one-fourth of all Blacks
continue to leave school without a
diploma, and the dropout rate in in­
ner-city schools is even higher.
The number of Blacks enrolled in­
creased slightly from 1984 to 1986 by
about 5000 students. However, this
increase did not make up for the loss
of over 30,000 Black students from
the peak of 1980. Moreover, this in­
crease was almost entirely at gradu­
ate level. Blacks in undergraduate
school showed no appreciable in­
crease between 1984 and 1986. The
Black enrollment decline is com­
pounded by the particular loss of Blacks
in four-year colleges, while every other
minority group showed increases in
these key institutions to baccalaure­
ate degree attainment and the path­
way to graduate and professional
school. Between 1984 and 1986, Black
four-year enrollment declined by 2000
students.
Black graduate enrollment in­
creased by 5000 students in 1986,
which brought those enrollments back
up to the 1976 peak of 72,000 stu­
dents. Despitethis improvement, and
including the 1976 peak, Blacks have
always been underrepresented in
graduate schools, and they consti­
tute only 5 percent of the total stu­
dents. Creating the faculty of the fu­
ture will require substantial increases
in Black enrollment, particularly in
Ph.D. programs.
This crisis is related to the decline
in leadership by the Executive branch
of the Federal government in matters
affecting civil rights and equal oppor­
tunity programs to overcome past
discrimination. Indeed, the decline in
leadership has not been a passive
phenomenon, but has been charac­
terized by an active assault on educa­
tion funding, affirmative action, and
social welfare programs. The clarity
of this negative leadership has not
been lost on the general populace
which has responded with overt acts
of bigotry and a retreat from a com­
mitment to social justice that had not
been experienced in this country for
over fifteen years.
We now need a Marshall Plan for
America to save itself or one-third of
our nation, trapped at the bottom will
drain all of our ability to prosper. It is
in the self-interest of all Americans to
see that does not occur. The question
is do we have the will as a society to
regain the sense of commitment to
social justice and equal opportunity
that sparked our national momentum
in the 1960s and, through our higher
education institutions, develop the
Black leadership and professionals
that will truly make us the equalitarian
society our Constitution promised.
Increasing Racism And a
Widening Gap Between
Economic Classes
America is headed for serious prob­
lems if current trends of increasing
racism and a widening gap between
economic classes continue. Our
economic success in the future de­
pends on our ability to halt and re­
verse the growing percentage of
minorities slipping into poverty, drugs
and crime. Since many of these prob­
lems have their roots in the soil of
racism, we must focus our energies
on training a new generation to re­
joice in racial and ethnic differences
rather than fearing them. People who
know and appreciate their own heri­
tage and the heritage of the diverse
population in America will be empow­
ered to make the best of their own
lives and to work harmoniously with
others in tackling the issues facing
America.
“ Empowering Ourselves: Multicul­
tural Education for All.” This is the
theme of the Fifth Annual Conference
of the Oregon Multicultural Education
Association. The conference is open
to the public and will be held at the
Chumaree Hotel in Salem on Thurs­
day and Friday, February 16 and 17,
1989.
Conference registration begins at
noon on Thursday. The conference
itself begins at 1:00 p.m. with Dr.
John Erickson, Superintendent of
Lincoln County (Oregon) Schools,
speaking on “ Changing Schools in
Changing Times." Thursday's Banquet
begins at 7:00 p.m. Kathleen D.
Saadat, Oregon Affirmative Action
Officer, will speak on “ Looking to the
Future: Multiculturalism for Oregon."
On Friday morning, February 17,
Dr. Homer Kearns, Superintendent of
Salem Schools, will present the wel­
come address. Keynote speaker Byron
Kunisawa, Director of Operations, San
Francisco Multicultural Training Re­
source Center, will speak on "Multi­
culturalism for Oregon."
On Friday morning, February 17,
Dr. Homer Kearns, Superintendent of
Salem Schools, will present the wel­
come address. Keynote speaker Byron
Kunisawa, Director of Operations, San
Francisco Multicultural Training Re­
source Center, will speak on “ Multi­
culturalism in the Year 2000: Changes
Necessary to Address Multicultural
Issues over the Next Decade.”
The luncheon address on Friday
will be made by Dr. Jake Nice, Sci­
ence Education Professor at Oregon
State University. Dr. Nice will talk on
"Whole Brain Children in a Half Brain
World." Twenty workshops on the
theory and practice of multicultural
education will be offered beginning
Thursday afternoon through Friday
afternoon.
For further information about th
conference or to obtain registration
materials, call Dapo Sobomehin, 230-
2378.
Contact: Dapo Sobomehin, Presi­
dent, Oregon Multicultural Education
Association, P.O. Box 40749, Port­
land, Oregon 97240.
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SUMMARY
BLACK HIGHER EDUCATION:
CRISIS AND PROMISE
DR. REGINALD WILSON
SENIOR SCHOLAR
AMERICAN COUNCIL
ON EDUCATION
The circumstance of Blacks in
higher education in America repre­
sents both crisis and promise. The
crisis is detailed in statistics in this
report. The base outline of the crisis
can be succinctly summarized: high
dropout rates from high school; de­
clining college enrollments; low par­
ticipation in science and mathemat­
ics; low participation in teacher edu­
cation; overrepresentation in the armed
forces; overrepiesentation in proprie­
tary schools; and high unemployment
for under educated teenagers. In short,
the circumstance of Blacks reveals a
national crisis that affects the social
— 253-9577
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