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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1989)
Page 2 Portland Observer March 23,1989 EDITORIAL / BAIL OUT THE POOR by John E. Jacob For years w e’ ve been hearing about how the deep budget d e fic it prevents us from affording federal programs that deal w ith poverty and urban problems. But there was always something fishy about the excuse that deficits prevent adequate funding for social programs. A fte r a ll, d e fic it or no deficit, we poured two trillio n dollars into the m ilita ry in the past h a lf dozen years. And few questioned the reason why the d eficit was so large. The cause wasn’ t runaway spending — it was the runaway tax cuts that slashed the tax b ills o f high earners. M eanwhile, the numbers o f the poor speedily increased and the w orld ’ s wealthiest nation became best known for its homeless. People were forced to live in the streets and to go w ithout adequate food and nutrition a ll because, we were told, the budget d e ficit doesn’ t allow us to do much about our social problems. W e ll, the big budget d eficit excuse has fin a lly been exploded. Washington suddenly discovered that the savings and loan industry was in trouble, w ith hundreds o f thrifts insolvent. Some o f them became so through fraudulent means, some by mismanagement, some by external market factors they couldn’ t master. But a ll were supposed to be regulated. So how come government regulators d id n ’ t keep those banks up to accepted business standards? And why did the regulators fa ll down on their jo b so badly that the mess exploded in a way that supposedly requires Uncle Sam to pay the bills? Now the government is stepping in w ith a program to restructure the savings and loan industry. The cost: upward o f $100 b illio n . Some say it w ill be a b it less, others say it w ill be a lo t more. W here’ s the money going to come from ? That’ s right, from the same government that said it couldn’ t afford programs that house the homeless, feed the hungry, and create w ork for the jobless. When the National Urban League and others called for the equivalent o f a domestic M arshall Plan we were told that our ideas were pure fo lly and that W ashington couldn’ t afford i t But a ll o f a sudden, it can afford perhaps $100 b illio n or more to prop up the S&Ls. Government always seems to be able to fin d the money to pay for tax cuts fo r the affluent, for swollen defense budgets, and for bailouts o f troubled corporations. But when it comes to the poor, there’s no bailout money left. W hile the Treasury scares up the money to save the th rift industry, the poor are lik e ly to be h it w ith new cuts in Medicaid, low income housing, and education. President Bush is to be commended fo r including in his proposed budget some additional spending initiatives fo r proven programs that serve the poor. But too many o f them are paid for by sim ply cutting back on funds fo r other programs targeted to the poor. And the Pentagon and N A S A are s till on the gravy train. An analysis o f the budget by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities suggests that many programs w ill actually experience reductions below the levels needed to keep pace w ith inflation. Now that the fig leaf o f “ there’ s no money because o f the d e fic it” has been torn away by the S & L bailout, let’ s get our priorities straight and implem ent the domestic programs we need to save our cities and help people out o f poverty. B ailing out the poor makes more sense than bailing out failed banks. OPINION DRUGS VERSUS EMPOWERMENT As a mental health worker, as a p o litica l activist, and as the mother o f tw o Black c h ild re n -a 15 year old daughter, A inka, and a twelve year old son, A m a ni-I am deeply, deeply concerned about the epidemic o f drugs that is ravaging our communities. I know you share that concern. Because we understand that drugs are k illin g our children—k illin g their bodies, k illin g their minds, and k illin g their souls. W hy are our children dying? Because there is no room fo r our children in white Am erica and the Powers That Be w ould rather see them dead-physically, em otionally, and m en tally-tha n alive, angry and empowered. There are really two drug problems in the Black c o m m u n ity-th e problem o f illegal drugs that make people “ h ig h,” and the problem o f the legal kind o f drugs, pushed by the doctors and the social workers, that are supposed to cool folks out. What I am saying is that drugs have an economic fu n c tio n -th e y make big money fo r big tim e dealers, legal and illegal, and they put a few dollars in the pockets o f people in the com m unity who don’ t have and can’ t get "respectable” w ork because there isn’t any to be had. I t ’ s the small time dealers and users who usually get scapegoated when the politicians decide to make a show o f dealing w ith the drug problem. The real wheelers and dealers stay behind the scenes and rarely get touched. But drugs, legal and illegal, have a very im portant p o litic a l function as w ell. N ot only do they make huge profits fo r those who deal them, both are designed to keep our ch ild re n-cspccia lly our young m e n -o u t o f it: out o f the w orld, out o f their minds, and out o f control. Because i f you arc “ high ” on crack or down on thorazine, or chained to a methadone c lin ic every day o f your life , you’re not in any place to fig h t back against the racism and poverty that brought you there in the first place. As a developmental psychologist who has worked w ith drug abusers, 1 have often heard it said that politics and psychology don’ to r shouldn’ t, m ix. But I disagree. There is no such thing as a p o litic a lly “ neutral ’ ’ psychology. A psychology which measures mental health, “ m aturity ’ and development in terms o f how w ell people can adapt to a w orld where m iddle class white men are “ normal” and defines mental illness in terms ol maladjustment — such a psychology is not neutral. Su. h a psychology is embedded in politics and politics is embedded m it. Regardless ot who practices this brand ot psychology, it is fundamentally eonservative-which means that it is fundam entally racist, classist and sexist—because it validates, rather than challenges, the status quo. i t is a psychology ol disempowerment, w hich functions (whether intentionally or not does not matter) to keep our people in our socially prescribed places—at the bottom. Over the last ten years my colleagues and 1 have been developing a Social T h c ra p y -a theory and practice o f psychology that refuses to leave Black people at the mercy o f a system which regards Black lives us expendable. Social Therapy has discovered that, contrary to what we are taught in traditional psychology, development can take place at any age; the human capacity to d c v c lo p -lo c h a n g c -is in fact unlim ited. It is society that places lim its on our development, not anything inherent in us. Especially i f we are Black, i f we are poor, our development is not just ignored, it is intentionally stifled and stunted. In fact, drugs are a m ajor means by w hich the mis- dcvclopm cnt and underdevelopment o f Black people and other people ot color is accomplished. When we are forced to adapt to a society which slops development. * That’s why 1 help people to become active changers o f their environments, including themselves and their em otionally, rather than passive objects o f a racist and anti-poor social and emotional environment. Empowerment and development is what we need to stop drugs in our com m unity. Dr. Lenora Fulani is the national chairperson of the New Alliance Party and a practicing Social Therapist in Harlem. She can be contacted at the New Alliance Party, 2032 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10027 and at (212) 996-4700. ABUSE DOES NOT EQUAL EDUCATION Lean On Me, the just-out m ovie about New Jersey high school principal Joe C lark, is described by the folks who put it together as "h u g e ly entertaining.” A nd what could be more entertaining in w hite Am erica than the story o f a Black man who uses a baseball bat to dispense “ tough love ” to poor Black and Latino teenagers depicted as stupid, violent, drug- addicted savages? But we cannot afford to be entertained-or misled-by those who inlfrltt i ona l l Y underdevelop and miseducate our children, w ho blame them and beat them up for their failures, and they try to sell us on a ‘ happy ending that has them looking forward to making it in a make-believe society from w hich racism and poverty have been carefully edited out. The fact is that our children are dying o f drugs, o f poverty and despair. W ho is responsible for Ute killin g ? The w hite corporate-controlled media, a ll too often aided and abetted by the Black establishm ent-our professional politicians, our professors, our “ entrepreneurs” and our “ experts” -w a n t us to th ink it is our fault. We are told that we don’ t teach our children the rig h t values, so they end up w ith a bad attitude, bad friends, and bad morals. But 1 don’ t believe that we, or our children, are to blame. And I don’ t agree w ith the Joe Clarks o f this w orld that the solution to drugs and dropping out lies in beating young people into obedience so that they can learn how to f it in to a society that has no room fo r them, a society that neither wants nor values them. Listen to what another B lack educator, Barbara Taylor, has to say about it. L ike Joe C lark, M s Taylor is also a school principal. B u t she is not a media-made celebrity, nor has she become a heroine to the Powers That Be. Because Barbara T aylor is not under the illusion that abuse equals education. Ms. T aylor is the founder o f an independent, community-based day care center and elementary school in Harlem w hich bears her name. “ A t the Barbara Taylor School we teach the children that they need to be p o litic a l,” she says. “ And what we mean by being p o litica l is know ing w hat’ s going on in the real w orld and being w illin g to take the necessary risks to change it. Because when children don’ t do that, they ju s t end up getting used, and abused, and then told that i t ’ s for their own good. T hat’ s how the Democratic Party and the Republican Party treat the Black com m unity, and that’ s how Joe Clark treats the kids in his school. O ur educational philosophy is based on a theory and practice o f empowerment, not adjustment to oppression.” U nlike Joe C lark, w ho has earned a name fo r h im s e lf-a n d the adm iration o f Ronald R eagan-by abusing Black people (in the name o f education), and unlike the makers o f Lean On M e, who (in the name o f entertainment) stand to make huge profits from it, an organization o f progressive educators, helping professionals and attorneys called the Association for the Development o f Social Therapy has adopted the Barbara T aylor School as an experiment in bridging the gap between professional workers and the com m unity. The AD S T has com m itted itself to supporting the B T School through a sustainer program, fundraising, research, prom otion and training. The Barbara T aylor School and the A D S T are, togather, fighting back against a system that makes entertainment out o f our children's degradation, a system that , w ithout fundamental change, offers our children only the future o f the g h e tto - drugs, despair, violence and death. HOWARD UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: VICTORY FOR THE MOVEMENT by Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. Reminiscent o f the successful student protest o f the late 1960’ s and early 1970’ s, Howard U niversity students recently staged a successful sit-in protest around number o f justice issues. There are many who believe that A frican Am erican students o f today are not as aware or involved in what was called “ the freedom movement” which reached its peak in the 1960’s. Student leaders o f Howard U niversity and their student supporters proved this b elief to be incorrect, however. The protest not o nly was successful in getting new commitments from the adm inistration to improve financial and adm inistrative procedures, but also the adm inistration o f the university has comm itted that there w ould be more A frica n Am erican studies courses and other curriculum changes demanded by the students. One central demand that was achieved by the students was the calling fo r the resignation o f Lee Atwater, chairman o f the Republican National Committee from the Board o f Trustees o f Howard U niversity. The students concluded that M r. Atw ater had a record o f racial prejudice and bias against the A frica n Am erican com m unity because o f the role he played in the election campaign o f President George Bush. You m ight recall that during the 1988 election, the Bush campaign was accused o f racist p olitical advertisement to attract white voters who had anti-A frican Am erican view points through its sensational use o f the W illie Horton ad, M r. Atwater was chairman o f the Bush election committee. Yet one o f the aspects o f the Howard U niversity student sit-in was that it appeared to have learned some lessons from the past which enabled the protest to tbe effective. For example, the student’ s demands were very specific, which facilitated the negotiation process. Secondly, the students w isely had their own security detail which kept the situation from becoming violent. They also had a team ofattorneys w orking w ith them. We are also aware that the M ayor o f Washington, D.C., M arion Barry, played a key role in preventing the Washington, D.C. police from storm ing the b uilding that was occupied by the students. Likewise, the Reverend Jesse Jackson was instrumental in assisting the negotiation process. It is our hope that the o fficials at Howard U niversity w ill learn something from this protest. Students who are trained and educated to think and act objectively and reasonably w ill not tolerate adm inistrative insensitivity and bureaucratic lethargy. M y comments are not meant to throw stones at Howard U niversity, but, speaking as an alumnus, I was greatly dismayed that U niversity o fficia ls were so slow to deal w ith legitimate student complaints. Thus, the victory o f the Howard U niversity students is a victory fo r the cause o f justice. I l is our hope that this w ill signal a rebirth o f the kind o f student activism and leadership that is so desperately needed in the PORTLAND OBSERVER “ The Eyes and Ears of the C om m unity" 288-0033 BLACK AGENDA MUST DICTATE AFRICAN-AMERICAN ROLE IN POLITICAL PARTIES The “ grand mound o f rebound,” Philadelphia 76 Sixer super-star Charles Barkley voted fo r Republican George Bush fo r President in the 1988 general election. According to a recent article in U .S.A. Today, Barkley was stunned by criticism from his fa m ily who were dismayed that he would vote fo r a Republican fo r President. A fte r all his fa m ily camplained, the Republicans are for the rich people. How did Charles Barkley respond? “ T hat’s w hy I voted fo r him , because I ’ m rich,” Barkley is said to have informed his fam ily. In a real sense the Republican strategy fo r capturing support w ith in the African-Am erican com m unity relies heavily on the hope that a sizeable segment o f the Black m iddle class w ill abandon traditional concerns fo r c iv il rights, and social justice and support the Republican party because o f what they perceive to be their “ class interest; “ that is to say because they see themselves as wealthy, w ell o ff, or “ ric h ” . Indeed the Republicans are taking straight aim at a new generation o f ‘ ‘ buppies’ ’ , young Black upward moble professionals in hope o f building on the “ Barkley syndrom e” . This absence o f an e x p licit philosophy or ideology in approaching the question o f voting and the selection o f a political party could pose grave dangers for African-Am ericans as we grapple w ith the questions o f survival and development for the masses o f our people. The Republican Party after all has in fact been the party which historically has identified w ith and promoted the interest o f the rich and the power to the detrim ent o f m inorities, w orking people and the poor. A fter some impressive leadership around emancipation, and c iv il-rig h ts after the c iv il war, the Republican party abandoned their “ lo y a l” devotees in 1876 in the infamous Hayes- Tilden Compromise w hich kept the Republicans in the whitehouse, but left the fate o f southern Blacks to the southern states. Since that tim e, the Republican Party has not o nly been pro-rich, but a n ti-c iv il rights. Docs this mean that African-Am erican who jo in any political party Democratic, Republican, Independent, Socialists, etc. should do w ith eyes wide open and w ith a sense o f mission and purpose. Since the era o f Roosevelt, the Democratic Party has been the party that has in the main supported the interests o f African-Am ericans, m inorities, w orking people and the poor. Buteven the Democratic Party has been g u ilty o f violating the interests o f A frican-Am ericans and w orking people. The rate o f progress towards c iv il-rig h ts , labor reform , and social legislation has often been slowed to a snail’ s pace by southern conservative “ Democrats” . Dubbed “ D ixiccrats” in the fiftie s and sixties, and “ boll w eevils” in the seventies, these conservative Dcmocratics and alliance w ith a largely conservative Republican Party were often able to stymie Black progress. On the other hand there have always been a few w ithin the Republican Party who have been relatively forthright on issues o f concern to A frican- Americans. One thinks o f form er Senators Javites and Keating o f New York, form er M ayor Lindsey o f New Y o rk C ity, Senator C liffo rd Case o f New Jersey, Mathias o f M aryland, L o w e ll W eicker o f Connecticut, and Mark H atfield, the Senior Senator from Oregon to mention a few. The point is that African-Am ericans must approach politics from the vantage point o f our collective interest as a national com m unity. A frican- Am erican w ill either remain on the sharp cutting edge o f progress and the transformation o f Am erica into a true p olitical and economic democracy or we w ill be absorbed into the sickness o f an America which places p ro fit, greed, m aterialism , and power above the interest o f human development and fu lfillm e n t for a ll the people o f America and the w orld. African-Am ericans need to retain a ‘ ‘progressive’ ’ agenda fo r change in Am erica, and wage struggle fo r the implementation o f that agenda in the Democratic, Republican, or any other party which m ight emerge. Those African-Am ericans who chose to jo in the Republican Party should be fighting to develop the liberal-progressive wing o f that Party and challenge it to move beyond its racism to be a party relevant to the interests o f the masses o f African-Am ericans, m inorities, w orking people and the poor. African-Am ericans who cast their lot w ith the Democratic Party should obviously do likewise. Beyond cosmetics, and empty symbols, there must be substance fo r African-Am ericans. Thats why a progressive African-Am erican agenda is always critica l to our development as a people. For as an old A frica n proverb puts it, “ i f you don’ t know where you’ re going, any road w ill take you there.” OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established in 1970 L eo n Harrls/General Manager Alfred L. Hendereon/Publisher Gary Ann Garnett Joyce Washington Business Manager Sales/Marketing Director Marie Deculr Lonnie Wells Photographer Circulation Manager 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 lor all submitted materials: Articles: Monday, 5 p.m .;Ads: Tuesday, 5 p.m. The PORTl AND OBSERVER welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscrpts and photographs should be dearly labeled and will be returned it 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 ol the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. 1989 PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. Subscriptions: $20 00 per year in the Tri-County area. The PORTLAND OBSERVER -- Oregon's oldest African-American Publication-is a member of The National Newspaper Association - Founded in 1885, The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc., Now York. Support O ur Advertisers! Say You Saw It In The PortlandObserver!
