Page 3 Portland Observer February 23, 1989
STUDY OF BLACK
HISTORY TO DAY SEEN AS
RELEVANT AS EVER
Rep. Dix Introduces
Bill For First-Time
Home Buyers
By H enry D u v a ll
Rooted in the 1920s but bom in the '60s,
Black H istory M onth comes and goes
every February giving Americans what
Professor Russell L . Adams o f Howard
U niversity calls a “ momentary view o f
the black experience.”
Describing the annual observance as
beneficial but insufficient, Adams, who
chairs H ow ard’ s department o f A fro -
Am erican studies, says the study o f black
American history continues to be relevant
because many Americans have “ inherited
uncorrected stereotypes” o f blacks and
the Am erican experience invo lvin g race.
“ In the past, A fro-A m erican studies (on
college campuses) were seen as correcting
the historical record,” he points out.
“ While that’s still important, these studies
are also seen today as a useful component
o f one’s preparation for living in a diverse
society.”
A dam s a ttrib u te s some o f the
interdisciplinary fie ld ’ s gains to an
increasingly m inority presence in the
nation’s growing multicultural workforce,
where a degree o f cultural awareness
may go a long way in clim bing the
career ladder in the next century.
He believes that the black experience is
intertwined with the American experience
and culture. Although he indicates that
the typical American knows very little
about Afro-Am ericans, their importance
is underscored by the fact that a c iv il war
was fought to determine their status in
society.
“ We are just beginning to study the
black experience in a form al sense,
whereas the study o f Western culture
goes back centuries,” says the scholar,
an associate professor in H oward’ s
College o f Liberal Arts.
Adams says there has been a greater
need fo r the study o f black history and
culture during the Reagan administration,
which sparked a conservative mood in
the nation, he contends.
“ Decision makers need to have all the
objective inform ation they can receive,
especially during an era o f conservatism
when stereotypes may take the place o f
(reasonable) though,” he emphasizes.
The conservative mood breeds “ reliance
on stereotypes and withdrawal o f attention
to the realities o f our experience,” adds
Adams, who is black and holds a Ph.D.
degree in p olitical science from the
U niversity o f Chicago.
The professor says the study o f black
history is also relevant today because o f
the nation’s “ social amnesia,” explaining
that Americans quickly forget the struggle
that has been waged fo r social justice.
“ W e now have generations o f young
people who were bom since the ’60s but
know nothing o f it," he points out. “ Black
studies function as a social memory bank
fo r this generation.”
Although the national observance o f black
history began around 1926 as “ Negro
H istory W eek,” it wasn’ t u ntil the ’60s
that the observance expanded to a month
long celebration and the study o f A fro -
Am erican history emerged on college
Black Mayor For New York?
Colgate - Palmolive Co. Yields
to Pressure from African-
Americans
By Don Ringler
chums, have been in positions o f power
for many, many years and they have
utterly failed to provide that kind o f
leadership on behalf o f the people o f this
city. They haven’ t been able to solve
S alem -T o enable Oregonians who find
themselves priced out o f
the home buying market to afford a new
hom ejlouse M ajority Leader David Dix,
problems before they’ ve turned into crises
D-Eugene, has introduced a b ill that w ill
or after. Rather, M r. D inkins has spoken
allow individuals to establish tax
for the Deocratic Party, he has acted for
deductible accounts.
it, and he has supported that party’s
The measure. House B ill 3273, provides
candidates-including Ed Koch. I f anyone
that amounts contributed by individuals
wonders why many folks in the
or couples to an “ Oregon housing
com m unity might be skeptical about the
account” and the interest from that
By D r. Lenora Fulani
announcement, that’ s the reason.
account are deductible from Oregon
The prospect o f having a Black mayor Onceagain, I think it is very important to
taxable income provided the holders o f
has to please not o nly the A frican- support M r. D inkins’ primary run. B u ll
the account meet conditions set up by
A m e ric a n
c o m m u n ity
but
a ll wU1 continue to build an independent
the law.
progressiveminded people in our city. coaIition ^ o u g h the series o f Dump
"The Am erican dream is to be able to
The New Alliance Party has always Koch spcakouts I ’ ve been conducting
own your own home and i t ’ s no secret in
supported, in principle and in deed, greater dnoughout the city for the last six w ceks-
this stale and across the country that the
inclusion o f politicians o f color in c ity. so * * we can ™ candidates for various
number o f fam ilies buying homes is
state and national government. Therefore. P°slUons ,n
Prim ary
even more
declining,” D ix said. “ This plan w 3ill
I welcome Mr. D in kin s’ announcement *mportantly, in the general election,
provide one avenue fo r them to realize
that he is a candidate and I extend my 1 wlH announce m y own plans to run for
that dream again.”
support to him . I urge everyone in New c,tyw ld e office at a major speakout in
The account can be established at any
Y o rk ’ s diverse comm unities to jo in me M arch- 1
t0 w ork w ilh a s,ale o f
bank, savings and loan, or credit union
in supporting his Democratic Party true independents who w ill function as
and contributions cannot exceed $2000
prim ary campaign.
watchdogs on the scandal-ridden and
peryearand$10,000totalforcouples. In
But it w ould be less than candid o f me i f Profoundly corrupt city administration
addition, no one can open a housing
I did not respond to everything that M r. «bat has failed miserably to solve problems
account who owns or has owned a home;
either before they’ ve turned into crises
the money can be used only for purchasing Dinkins said in announcing his candidacy.
or after. We need to made sure that the
a home; and the purchase must be made “ New Yorkers are tired o f politicians
people’ s interests, and not those o f the
w ithin 120 months. The b ill sets no who...act only after problems reach crisis
Democratic Party or the Republican Party
maximum income level for e lig ib ility . proportions,” M r. Dinkins says. That is
"This is an e ffo rt to both allow young certainly true. But the fact is that David are represented down at C ity H all and in
people in the state to buy their firs t home Dinkins, along with his Democratic Party each o f the borough halls.
and to stimulate the housing economy,”
The view s expressed in th is a rtic le are th o se o f Dr. F ulani and do not
said D ix. “ I think i t ’s something we
re fle c t th ose o f the Portland Observer.
should push through this session.”
When Colgate-Palmolive Co. bought half
ownership o f the Hong Kong firm Hawley
& Hazel
, the giant New York-
based conglomerate found its e lf w ith a
fu lltim e public relations problem. H & H
manufactures the most poplar toothpaste
sold in Asia, Darkie. The toothpaste was
marketed with a logo featuring a minstrel
in blackface.
PORTLAND OBSERVER
For tliree years C-P shareholders, religious
organizations and African-Am ericans
have criticized the company for promoting
racial stereotypes.
G iving way to
unrelenting pressure, Colgate-Palmolive
has announced that it w ill change the
toothpaste’ s name to Darlie and its logo
to a portrait o f a man o f ambiguous race
in a top hat,tuxedo and bow tie.
“ T he Eyes and Ears o f th e C o m m u n ity ”
2 8 8 -0 0 3 3
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campuses.
Black students were outraged to find
that many American universities claiming
to be comprehensive in scope had
practically ignored the Afro-A m erican
presence in their curricula, says Adams.
The professor says that today the study
o f A fro-A m erican history and culture
enjoys increased support at many o f the
nation’ s colleges and universities.
On some campuses, the schools are
considering making
Afro-american
studies mandatory fo r a ll freshmen, he
emphasizes, noting that Howard has such
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a requirem ent
Says Adams, “ The schools have accepted
the fact that a good college curriculum
includes recognition o f the black presence
in this society.”
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Deborah H. Menefee
Assistant Store Mgr.
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284-7150
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Ethnic Cuisine
Southern Style
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Full Service Seafood Market • New Full Service Deli
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New Frozen Vitari Machine
• New Pharmacy
New Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice Machine
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In c lu d in g :
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MEMdERS QUESTS
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