Page 2 Portland Observer April 6, 1989 O P IN IO N EDITORIAL CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL- RIPPING OFF HOMELESS CHILDREN by Benjam in F. Chavis, Jr. W hat kind of person or group would deliberately ‘rip -o ff a benefit for homeless children. Well, it now appears that the answer to this question can be found in New York City? Recently, the Commission for Racial Justice of the U nited Church o f Christ sponsored a “ Rap A rtists’ Benefit for Project H otel,” at the Beacon Theater located in M anhattan. This project is being sponsored by the Com m ission to provide sum m er cam p opportunities, a fter-sch o o l tutorial and college-prep counselling as well as other program s for some of the thousands of homeless children who live in New Y ork’s infamous “ welfare hotels” . During the last two years, the Com m ission has been very successful in soliciting the support of African American ‘rap’ artists to aid Project Hotel through performances at the Apollo Theatre located in Harlem. To our shock and dismay the event at the Beacon Theatre exposed the ‘behind- the-scenes’ contradictions involved in the promotion and m anagem ent o f rap artists. Specifically, Rush Productions, a M a n h a tta n -b a se d ra p a r tis ts ’ m anagem ent firm was retained by the Commission for Racial Justice to provide rap artists for the Beacon Theatre concert. Rush Productions m anages som e o f the top African A merican rap artists, for exam ple Run D .M .C., Public Enem y, Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince, De La Soul, and Slick Rick. A lthough the Commission had a good working relationship with Rush Productions prior to the Beacon Theatre concert, it soon becam e clear that Mr. Lyor Cohen is now the key decision-m aker at Rush Productions and his influence concerning this concert made it im possible for the benefit to be successful. It is ironic that Rush Productions is ow ned by Mr. Russell Sim m ons, an African American who has struggle hard to provide m anagem ent services for the lucrative rap artists’ industry. It is evident, however, that Mr. Lyor Cohen has been making decisions that are not in keeping w ith the principle of c o n stitu e n c y a c c o u n ta b ility n o r responsible business ethics. The New York Daily News published a very critical article about this concert stating, “ Calling Friday’s rap benefit concert for Project Hotel a “ r i p - o f f w ould be polite.” N ot only w ere p rom ises broken concerning the financial arrangem ents, but also the concert was plagued with poor managem ent due to Mr. Cohen s negative interventions. It appeared that Mr. Cohen was only interested in getting money directly in his pocket at the expense o f the reputation of Slick Rick and De La Soul two o f the groups who attempted to perform under great duress. It also appeared that Mr. Cohen had no interest or real concern for the plight of the homeless children whom the benefit was supposed to give aid. One moral of this drama is that African Americans who are fortunate enough to ow n com panies and businesses, should not allow the m anagem ent o f these companies to be put into hands o f greedy, avaricious hustlers. It rem ains to be seen whether or not Rush Productions or Mr. Cohen will “ repent” for their sin. And it rem ains to be seen w hether or not Mr. Russell Simmons is really in charge o f Rush Productions! DYMALLY SECURES PASSAGE OF FOREIGN SERVICE RETURN TO THE SOURCE THE MISSION OF THE YOUNG GENERATION by Ron Daniels President o f the Institute for Com m unity Organization and Development in Youngstown, Ohio Amilcar Cabral, the brilliant theoretician and leader of the struggle for independence in G uinea-Bissau in W est Africa, argued that students, intellectuals, and the middle class were key to sparking the struggle for change among oppressed people. Cabral observed that the petite bourgeosie had three principal tendencies: some tend to “ w anabe” like the rulers and oppressors and take the side of the oppressor against the masses, another sector, perhaps, the majority simply vacillate, are indecisive and tend to play it safe; but another sector chooses to com m it “ class suicide,” by deciding to “ return to the source” to merge their interests with that ol the m asses o f the oppressed workers, peasants, and the poor to tight tor fundam ental change. Though the masses are decisive in ultimately making change, this return to the source or return to the people, ones own people, is a crucial elem ent in crystallizing the struggle for reform or revolution. The Howard University student revolt is illustrative of this tendency of som e am ong the student - intellectual - middle class sector to sacrifice sell- interest in order to struggle for a change in the condition of disadvantaged and oppressed people. Cabral pointed out that it is only natural for those who are relatively well off to aspire for more, particularly within agreed oriented and m aterialist society. To risk com fort, security and the future in the interest o f those who are less well off than you is unusual; its like com mitting suicide - class suicide! But it is precisely this risk, this act o f com m itting class suicide which is required to m ove an oppressed people to liberate them selves. As Frederick Douglass put it “ power conceded nothing w ithout a dem and, it never has and it never w ill” . The students at Howard, like their predecessors in the sixties, risk suspension, expulsion, arrest and the sacrifice of their own education in the interests o f the collective good of African-Am ericans students and the national A frican-A m erican community. They retused to accept the insult to Black people that Lee A tw ater’s appointm ent to the Howard University Board of Trustees symbolized. But beyond the Atwater aftair, the students w ere challenging the adm inistration to cease and desist in having the university function as a virtual neo-colony of the government and more particularly the Reagan-Bush administrations. The university, they protested m ust be more sensitive to the needs o f students and to the African-American com m unity. In making these dem ans, the Howard students also threw down the gaunlet to the A frican-A m erican Nation. Black people should provide a greater share o f the resources, o f the money to aid in the developm ent ot predom inantly Black colleges and universities thereby enabling these institutions to more freely and effectively serve the interests ot the principal constituency they were created to serve - African-Americans. 1 his challenge is well put, for he who pays the piper picks the tune! In the sixties, African-American students who engaged in the “ movement” had a cam pus and a com m unity agenda. O n cam pus there was constant pressure for open adm ission and substantial student aid programs to enable disadvantaged Black students to gain access to higher education. Students also fought to create African-Am erican. Studies Program s as vehicles to provide both an ideology and the skills to equip students to provide service to their comm unities. Anti-Vietnam protests, the anti-apartheid movem ent, and the ongoing struggle against racism also em erged as key focal points of Black student activism. In the com m unity A frican-A m erican students joined picket lines, boycotts and protest dem onstrations around issues of concern to the local community or national Black community. They created alternative educational institutions, liberation academ ies and youth program s. They organized co-ops and community economic development projects, and spread Afro-centric ideology and culture in the com m unity. The m ovem ent moved in the sixties because students in m assive num bers returned to the source. Hopefully the Howard student revolt marks a turning point which will inspire large numbers o f the young generation to com m it itselt to return to the com m unity to serve the people, to aid, assist and lead the oppressec National A frican-A m erican in the quest to achieve liberation. Support O ur Advertisers! Say You Saw It In The PortlandObserver! OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established In 1970 A lfred L. Hendereon/Pubiisher Gary Ann Garnett Business Manager Lonnie Wells Circulation Manager L e o n H arrls/G eneral Manager Joyce Washington Sales/Marketing Director Marie Deculr Photographer INTERNSHIP W ashington, D.C. - During its consideration o f the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, the House Foreign Affairs Com m ittee voted unanimously to approve H.R. 1488, a bill introduced by Representative M ervyn M. Dymally (D-CA), which would establish a Foreign Service Internship Program within the U.S; D epartm ent o f State. The first internship, which will be held in W ashington, D.C. at the D epartment o f State, will focus on the study o f International Relations, the functions o f the D epartm ent o f State and other agencies that use the Foreign Service system , and the nature o f the Foreign Service. PORTLAND OBSERVER is published weekly by Exie Publishing Company, Inc. 525 N.E. Klllingsworth St. Portland, Oregon 97211 P O. Box 3137 Portland, Oregon 97208 (503) 288-0033 (O ffic e ) Deadlines for all submitted materials: Articles: Monday, 5 p.m.: Ads: Tuesday, 5 p.m. Th* PORTLAND OBSERVER welcomes freelance »ubmiMion». M enutcrpH end photographs should be clearly td ^ ie d and will ba returned if accompanied by a »all-addrassad envelop« All created designed display ads become the sole property d thia newspaper and can not be used in other publications or personal usage, without t h e written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition ot such ad. 1909 PORTLANO 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 PORTLANO OBSERVER - Oregon's oldest African American Publication n a m e m b e r of The National Newspaper Association - Founded in 1885, The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers. Inc , New Yorti. Dear Editor: A llow me to co m m en d the PORTLAND OBSERVER for the recent article, “ Minority Business Enterprise in Oregon, Part V: A Curious Entrepreneurial Advocacy,” by Stephen F. McPherson (March 23,1989). As former staff to State Representative M argaret L. Carter (D istrict 18), I can attest to the struggle to bring public attention to minority contracting issues. Since 1985, State Representative Margaret Carter has worked endless hours to bring reform and focus to the Oregon M BE/W BE Program. You are providing a much needed public service in raising community issues before all Oregonians. Sincerely, Jon Christenson Portland Observer The article by John E. Jacob was highly offensive to all African Americans who love babies. Abortion is simply killing our babies before they are bom . No one who has seen these infants (as in the enclosed photo) can deny that they are human beings. Because it’s the law o f this land does not make it right. Segregation was the law at one time too. Make no mistake about it, this law was designed to help eliminate African American babies to keep our members down while the abortion industry gets rich. Abortionists don’tcare about poor women, they w ant money. I have been receiving the O bserver for a year and have yet to see articles on prolife. There are many African Americans in this m ovem ent but none arc reported on. I challenge the Observer to start giving us both sides o f the issue. G. M orris 6555 SW 207 ave. Aloha, OR 97007 P.S. How about some west side coverage of A.A. TO BE EQUAL HIKE THE MINIMUM WAGE by John E. Jacob Every year Congress considers raising the minimum wage, and every year the notion is put back in storage. But this year looks d ifferen t O ne big reason is the Bush A dm inistration’s support for a minimum wage hike, accompanied by a so-called lower “ training wage for new, inexperienced workers. That’s a welcome shift from the previous Administration’s firm opposition to any increase in a minimum wage so low that a full-time w orker at the legal minimum earns a yearly income below the poverty level. Behind the new consensus for raising the minimum wage is a new regard for fairness. The principle that work is the route to independence and self- respect is undermined when wages are too low to provide much o f either. The minimum wage was established back in 1938 in the belief that work should be adequately rewarded. Since then, the minimum has usually been set at about half o f the average hourly earnings o f non-supervisory workers. But now, the minimum o f $3.35 an hour has sunk to only about a third of those average earnings. The last increase came in 1981, and inflation has reduced the buying pow er of the minimum wage far below the point o f fairness. T hat’s led to a second reason behind the new consensus: a higher minimum wage will have less effect on em ployment. Opponents of a higher minimum always claim ed that raising the wage floor would mean losing jobs, since em ployers would not hire unskilled workers at a higher minimum. But now, many states have their ow n minimum wage laws, set higher than the federal level. And many em ployers routinely pay new hires a dollar or more above the federal minimum. That puts into question the need for a lower training wage. Small em ployers are already exempted in the current law, and no one has m ade a convincing case that jobs would actually be lo st But there is a strong case for a higher minimum to help the w orking poor. O pponents of a higher minimum say that it ju st helps teenagers pick up extra money after school. But over a fourth of all m inim um -w age workers are heads o f households. And m ost o f those needed another wage earner or public aid to survive. H alf o f all heads o f poor families work at least part-tim e. A lm ost one m illion work full-time, year-round. And about three m illion children live in poor fam ilies in which one of the parents is a full-tim e worker. So a higher minimum is long overdue, and a lower “ training w age” would be a mistake - it’s a way to perpetuate poverty for workers. As a last resort - and only if it is politically necessary to secure a higher minimum wage - the basic minimum should be raised across the board and, to determ ine its effect on new entrants to the labor force, a low er training wage could be tested in a handful o f selected cities. After a year or two, the results would be studied and reported to the Congress. If indeed that lower training w age proved to expand job opportunities, it could be extended nationwide. If not, there would be no need for it. T hat’s better than imposing a tw o-tier minimum wage right off the bat, and it’s better than losing this opportunity to bring fairness and higher w ages to the working poor. by McKinley Burt Portland State University Campus, and for Newton, arriving at a strained version. see pictures of the old ‘Egyptian Theatre’. o f the O ld Testam ent verse (I K ings ( VIL23) that yielded a value o f Pi; a t 3 l / , Look about! A frica is all around you. Much o f the theology and most of 7 in the Tabernacle Structure. The actual _ verse, however, leads to the contradiction, the icons o f the Christian Church are that Pi equals 3, “ A lso, he m ade q docum ented as African in origin. molten sea ten cubits from brim to , Exam ine the doors o f the A M E Zion )rim, round in com pass, and five cubits , C h u rc h at North Vancouver Avenue and Skidmore; then, reflect upon the the height thereof; and a line o f thirty 23rd Psalm s, verse 4, “ ...thy ro d and cubits did com pass it round about.” They say that “ when in doubL g o to thy staff, they com fort m e.” If you saw the source” . O ver 2,000 years before the K ing T u t E x hibit in Seattle, you There arc many, many exam ples of this feeble attem pt to establish the ex act : know that this pair of religious icons African architecture and urban design value o f Pi, the A fricans had already- in the city of Portland (and m ost others originated in A frica as the C rook a n d accom plished the task by incorporating; in the world). In the past two w eeks I flail o f the beneficent god of harvest, into the great Stonegate o f the Tem ple! O siris (and portrayed today by the have presented some basic contributions. of K a rn a k a value o f 3.1416, c o rre c t; establishm ent as the ubiquitous “ Jolly This includes last w eek’s citation of to four decim al places. This is to be; P o rtla n d ’s L a d d ’s A d d itio n as Green G iant’ ’). seen yet today, indelible in its stone- From “ Never at R est” : Biography incorporating basic elem ents o f the W ashington, D.C. designs o f African- o f Isaac Newton (p. 346) we have — testim ony to genius. This tem ple ii; “ The tabernacle o f ‘M oses’ and the located on the N ile at the site o f the! A m erican su rv e y o r B e n ja m in two tem ples of Solom on a n d Ezekiel, ancient city of Thebes which was extolled B anneker. The Africans pioneered the concept Newton decided, had all been built to by the G reek poet and oral historian, Homer, as ‘ ‘M any-Gated Thebis (100),' of building in stone (Ethiopia, Nubia the same plan” . Here, again, we have and Egypt), and invented both the Newton searching for the exact value of the most w ondrous spectacle in the functional and decorative ‘colum n’ as that original and basic African constant w orld” . O f the “ Seven W onders o f thq A ncient W orld” , four w ere located id supporting structures. “ The main branch o f mensuration, the c u b it -necessary Africa: T hebes, th e P y ra m id s, th e o f the United States National Bank of to his adoption o f the G re a t P y ram id Colossi, an d the L a b y rin th s. T hebes Oregon, 321 SW Sixth Avenue, is for the geodesic standards of his’Theory was a state capitol a thousand yeará considered by architectural historians o f U niversal G ra v ita tio n . In 1837, astronom er John Greaves, before Rome. to be P o rtlan d s finest example of The m onarchy at Thebes lasted á classical arc h ite c tu re ” says The who actually went to Africa and phenomenal 1,000 years (2,160-1,100 O regonian for April 29, 1989, p. U2. personally m easured the Pyramid for B.C.) and from here at various tim ei And, well, it m ight be for the interior Newton, included in his publications scores o f Ethiopian Kings and Queen? Newton’s first book, “ Dissertation Upon and exterior photographs feature the ru le d th e know n w o rld ’ as fa r aw ay the Sacred Cubit of the Jews and the same style magnificent colum ns as seen as the E u p h ra te s, Palestine, Syria and Cubit o f Several N ations” . But, what in National Geographic articles or in the “ Tim e-Life Scries: E gypt” , or in we see to have happened(as did Newton) Asia (see, pp. 126, etc., D ubois, “ The W orld And A frica” ). In the temple® Baroca’s, “ Monuments of Civilization: is that m uch w as lost in tra n sla tio n here (as in King T u t’s Tom b), w e find when the Hebrews of the Exodus brought E gypt” . Also, take a look at the lobby another African icon that left w ith thè out what astronomy and mathematics o f the Dckum Building, 519 SW Third Exodus: The A rk o f th e C o v en an t;" 1 they had learned in Africa. This is Avenue. The style is unmistakable. understandable, as we have Anta Diop EXODUS XXV, an oblong chest erf The Scientific American magazine Shi turn (acaci wood), 2 1 /2 cubits long, for December, 1985 tells it all in an stating in his “ African Origin oi by 11/2 broad and d eep ” . Smith in his Civilization” , pp. 5-9, “ Having entered article titled, “ The Construction Plans “ Dictionary of the Bible” and Wilkinson Egypt as 70 shepherds grouped in 12 for the Tem ple o f Apollo;...in order to in “ Ancient Egypt” cite their illustrations patriarchal families, nomads w ithout achieve such perfection, the Greeks used o f the Ark, "E g y p tia n ” . The Africans in d u stry o r c u ltu re , the Jewish people techniques that were not significantly not only used sim ilar ships for left there 400 years later, 600,000 strong- different from those em ployed e a rlie r explorations and military conquests, but by the E gyptian arc h ite c ts; and that after acquiring from it (Africa) all the built replicas ‘for transport o f the soufe were used later by the R om ans and still elements of its future traditions, including of the deadT m onotheism ” . later by builders in the m iddle Ages Nchemiah, a Rabbi (150 A.D.), was O f course, the G reeks didn’t just follow the best model in the world, they followed the author of “ M ishnat-ha-M iddet” , the only model in the world. Check out the earliest H ebrew G eom etry known to us--and he too made things difficult the B lackstone A p a rtm e n ts on the PERSPECTIVES URBAN INNOVATIONS FROM AFRICA; PART II