Page 2 Portland Observer JUNE 22, 1989
EDITORIAL 7 O PINIO N
To Be Equal
Court Backtracks On Bias
THE BLACK UNITED FRONT
CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
B) John E. Jacob
In his eloquent dissent from the Supreme C o u rt’s decision in the Wards
Cove Packing case. Justice Harrs Blackmun wrote:
On wonders whether the m ajority s till believes that race discrim ination
or, more accurately, race discrim ination against non-whites -- is a
problem in our society, or even remembers that it was.”
Justice Blackm un’s words were * ritten in sorrow tinged w ith anger, and
rig h tly so, fo r the Supreme Court - by the evidence o f recent key decisions
- seems to be abandoning the constitutional rights o f m inority citizens.
Its latest blow came in the Wards Cove case. In w hat another dissenting
Justice, John Paul Stevens, called its “ latest sojourn into ju d icia l a ctivism ,”
the Court ruled that victim s o f job discrim inatory effect.
Instead, the Court ruled, employees must identify each specific practice
in question and prove its discrim inatory impact. Further, they s till have the
burden o f proving that the em ployer’ s explanations have no reasonable
business justification.
1 alk about stacking the deck! The C ourt raised tremendous barriers to
w orker seeking redress in the courts against discrim inatory employment
patterns.
In the past, employers had to show that a jo b p olicy that hail an
unintended discriminatory' effect was necessary. Now, i t ’ s up to the victim
ol discrim ination to prove such policies were not necessary fo r business
reasons
\V hich gets us back to Justice B lackm un’ s comment — what “ business
reasons” could ju s tify discrim ination in a society racked by inequality and
unequal opportunities? D iscrim ination exists, and it was the clear intent o f
the C iv il Rights A ct to elim inate it.
Previous Supreme Courts recognized that ami established common-
Sense standards, such as statistical evidence showing that m inorities were
underrepresented in a com pany’s w orkforce or in its white collar jobs.
But this Court is different — it has been hijacked by an activist conservative
m ajority intent on ro llin g back the clock and undermining past decisions
that lurthered the goal o f equal opportunity over the past two decades.
In effect, this Court represents the real trium ph o f Reaganism. H igh on
the Reagan A dm in istra tio n ’ s agenda was the goal o f reshaping the federal
courts to implement its social program, the cornerstone o f which was
reversing c iv il rights gains.
Since the current decision concerned interpretation o f a federal statute -
T itle V II o f the C iv il Rights A c t - congress can overrule the Court.
It should amend the law to e xp licitly make statistical imbalances in
hiring and prom otion evidence o f illegal discrim ination, and it should place
the legal burden on employers to ju s tify and alleviate practices that have
discrim inatory effects.
This is not something that should be a partisan issue.
Leading Republicans, from President Bush and Party Chairman A tw ater on
down, have stated they want their party to attract A fric a n Am erican votes.
This issue presents them w ith an opportunity to demonstrate their desire
to combat discrim ination in
employment The Administration and Congressional Republicans should
take the lead in form ulating the necessary legislation and cooperate to get
it passed.
And the President should instruct his Justice Department to imm ediately
end its alliance w ith a n ti-civil rights interests and to support discrim ination’s
v ic'im s in future cases that crime before the courts.
Judge Alcee Hastings: Justice On
Trial
By Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
C an an outspoken A frican Am erican Federal Judge receive justice in the
United States of America? Can the United States Senate provide a venue fo r
a la ir trial tor Judge Hastings? W ill the A frican Am erican community as
w ell as m illion s o f others who believe in the pursuit o f justice sit id ly w hile
another travesty and racial injustice occurs against Hastings?
These questions need honest answers. The truth is it w ill be very d iffic u lt
for Judge Alcee Hastings to receive justice because o f his race and because
o f his activism on behalf o f the poor and dow ntrixlden from his ju d icia l
bench. Iron ically, the House o f Representatives has accused Hastings o f
ju d ic ia l impropriety arising out o f the same circumstances that Hasting was
found not guilty by a Florida jury.
On July 10, 1989 or shortly thereafter,, the United States Senate has
scheduled the Hastings trial. Interestingly, and in contradiction to estab­
lished procedure, Hastrings w ill not be tried before die fu ll Senate but by a
g ro u p o f twelve Senators who w ill ultim ately make a recommendation to the
lu ll Senate concerning Hastings’ impeachment. A lthough, Judge Hastings
has not been found g uilty o f any crane or w rong-doing, the Congress o f the
United States is proceeding to prosecute and persecute Hastings.
Are there racial overtones in this case? Yes, we believe that racism and
p o litica l vengeance are the m ajor determining factors in these proceedings.
Judge Hastings was the first A frican Am erican to be a United Suites D istrict
Judge in the suite o f Florida. He alone prevented the Reagan Adm inistration
from deporting thousands o f Haitian refugees and Judge Hastings, as a
Federal Judge, openly criticized U.S. domestic and foreign policies. There
is a vendetta against Judge Hastings.
The c iv il rights com m unity and the church com m unity cannot afford to
remain silent. When the Hastings’ trial begins in W ashington, the Senate
chambers should be fille d beyond capacity and every e ffo rt should be made
to communicate to the Senate that justice should lx* done in this matter. In
tact, a fa ir trial fo r Judge Hastings would be no trial at all because he has
already been tried once and found not guilty.
It is reported that the government has spent between S I2-15 m illio n in
attempts to impeach Judge Hastings. Although the government has pro­
vided no resources to Hastings to defend him self against these renewed
allegations, Hastings is being pressured to abide by an alm ost impossible
schedule o f trial dates. Thus, Hastings is being forced to defend him self in
the context ot a tremendous financial inequity. The vast resources o f the
government arc now being stacked against a Judge who s till believes in the
cause o f justice for everyone w ithout racial discrim ination. Yet, the
economics o f these proceedings also point to institutionalized racism.
Please w rite the fo llo w in g 12 United States Senators and let them know
your support fo r Judge Hastings: Senators Jeff Bingaman, Patraick Leahy,
David Pryor, Richard Bryan, Jay Robert Kerrey, Joseph Lieberman, Arlen
Specter, Dave Durenbergcr, Warren Rudman, Christopher S. Bond, Flade
Gorton, and Conrad Burns.
Judge Hasting is a üghter and even though the cards appear to be slacked
against him, he has refused to surrender. The Hastings trial is a situation
where the ju d ic ia l system its e lf w ill be on tridl is situation where the ju d ic ia l
system its e lf w ill be on trial. Jlistiet demands fairness and an end to the
As one travels around the country these days you can sense a definite
upsurge o f concern and interest about the future o f African-Am ericans.
There is a mood o f crisis. But there is also a gathering resolve to renew or
rc-cncrgize the “ movement” for African-Am erican liberation. This par­
ticu la rly true among young people.
Inspired by this new interest in the Black agenda, and the Black
movement, I have decided to devote the next few weeks to w ritin g about
some basic institutions which I feel every African-Am erican com m unity in
America should create in order to enhance our collective capacity to
promote and defend our interests and development as a people. The live
institutions arc: (1) a Black United Front or Leadership Sum m it; (2) A
Center fo r Com m unity Organization and Development; (3) a Voter M o b i­
lization Project; (4) an Independent Black Political Organization; and(5) a
Black United Fund.
I first presented the idea o f these five institutions in form o f a Model
Black Com m unity Development Plan at a conference at Howard U niversity
in 1980. As we approach the decade o f the 90’ s the crisis in the A frican-
Am erican com m unity is such that these institutions and a model com m unity
development plan is as urgently needed today as in 1980. As young
organizers, activists and leaders emerge to lead us into the future it is v ita lly
important that they not totally reinvent every wheel. Hence my desire to
restate the need for basic institutions fo r capacity-building and w ith in the
African-Am erican com m unity. Let us begin w ith the U N IT E D FRONT.
A united front is sim ply an umbrella organization or mechanism which
seeks to harness the energies o f diverse organizations w ithin a nation or
com m unity around objectives, programs or projects that everyone can agree
upon. O bviously one o f the key problems which confronts us w ith in the
African-A m erican com m unity is the fact that wc have numerous leaders and
organizations and a wide spectrum o f ideologies and ideas about strategy
and methods to achieve our goals. Black unity therefore is often illu sive and
the quest to achieve it is often frustrating and paralyzing. A Black United
Front can help to solve this problem.
A united front is based on principles that allow people or organizations
that have different views to s till function together by consciously seeking
out areas o f agreement. The major principle around which a united fron t is
structured therefore is the principle o f O P E R A T IO N A L U N IT Y The
essence o f operational unity is the search for issues,projects and programs
which all parties can agrees where there is agreement.
The united front recognizes the reality o f diversity and differences. No
organization or individual surrenders their organizational sovereignty or
right to act independently on their own agenda. Operational u nity provides
for “ unity w ithout u n ifo rm ity ” w ithin a united from . Hence our difference
need not necessarily divide us and should certainly not paralyze o r im m o­
bilize us in our e ffo rt to do some common work on behalf o f our com m unity.
As a matter o f strategy we should always seek to m axim ize and emphasize
areas o f aerecment and m inim ize areas o f disagreement w ith in a n n iir r l
front.
There are several advantages that organizations which belongs to a
united front should find m utually beneficial as they seek to work fo r the
betterment o f the African-Am erican comm unity.
- Organizations can SHARE their PERSPECTIVE A N D A N A LY S E S
o f the conditions, problems and issues facing the African-Am erican
com m unity. Needs assessment retreats or conferences can also be
held to facilitate this process.
- Organizations can E X C H A N G E IN F O R M A T IO N about the Various
issues, projects, programs etc. which they are w orking on and so licit
input and support from each other in order io make their w ork more
effective.
- W ith in the framework o f a united front, organizations can devise
IM P L E M E N T A T IO N N which allow for the co-ordination o f ener­
gies and resources and the form ulation o f task forces to execute
strategies agreed upon. A kind o f organizational specialization and
d ivision o f labor can occur which could reduce duplication o f e ffo rt
and unnecessary organizational com petition and c o n flic t
persecution o f Alcee H asting*
■ t ,
New Struggles Ahead For Black Middle Class
In every thing, it seems, members
o f the new Black m iddle class have
to work just a little harder and be just
a little better than their w hite peers.
I t ’s a subtle form o f discrim ination.
And i t ’s everywhere.
A corporate manager finds that
some W hite jo b applicants lose inter­
est when they discover they would be
w orking fo r a boss who is Black. A
real estate agent doesn’ t show a Black
fa m ily homes fo r sale in certain ar­
eas. A bank loan o ffice r turns down
a home-improvement loan that would
probably be approved i f the a pp li­
cant lived in a W hite area (as was re­
cently exposed in the Atlanta Jour­
nal-Constitution).
Over such continuing obstacles,
many Blacks have not only won
equality, but career superiority. On
the job, they are belter paid and in
positions o f authority over Whites.
Yet, in spite o f this, they frequently
feel alienated from the W hite m ajor­
ity w ith a sense that they s till don’t
quite fit in. A nd such managers too
often are judged not as successful
achievers, but as “ Black achievers.”
One third o f a ll Black households
now have incomes over S35.OOO. They
arc financially belter o ff than a third
o f all W hite households. But that is
far from the whole story.
The W hite middle class is on a de­
cline. Using Census Bureau data, re­
searchers found that between 1979
and 1987, jo b growth for those under
35 years o f age amounted to a gain of
almost 3.6 m illio n jobs paying below
the poverty level o f SI 1,611 (fo r a
fa m ily o f 4). A nd during the same
period more than 1.6 m illio n posi­
tions were lost between the SI 1,612
and $46,444 bracket
According to economist Frank
Levey o f the U niversity o f M a ry­
land, men who w orked full time earned
a median income o f S26.000 in 1973.
By 1984, this figure was down to
S23.218 despite inflation.
For children o f the W hite middle
class, a middle class liv in g is no
longer a near certainty. Downward
m o b ility is the chronic condition for
a grow ing number o f W hites, even
college graduates. And it is a situ­
ation some experts hav e called a social
tim e bomb. The o ld are getting rich
and the young are paying fo r it.
“ Y o u ’ re going to have a revolt o f the
young against the old, “ predicts con­
servative economist M ilto n Fried­
man.
For Blacks who get the higher
paying jobs. W hite resentment is
increased by the harsh economic c li­
mate.
A t the same tim e. Blacks are
somehow indirectly blamed for
wanting to enjoy the fruits o f their
success. U niversity o f Chicago soci­
ologist W illia m Julius W ilson au­
thored a theory suggesting that the
worsening status o f the Black poor,
its social isolation and despair, is
linked to the exodus o f the new Black
m iddle class form the ghettos. The
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flig h t, W ilson argues, not only has
deprived poor youngsters o f success­
ful role models (leaving the gangs to
take up this function), but has also
greatly weakened the churches,
schools and other neighborhood in ­
stitution.
But, even i f i t ’s true, who can be
criticize d for not wanting their c h il­
dren to be surrounded by high unem­
ploym ent, hopeless schools, drugs,
teenage pregnancy and welfare de­
pendency?
Blacks, it is being said more and
more, are the ones who must help
other Blacks out o f the despair and
isolation o f poverty. W hile a highly
w orthw hile purpose, this is never­
theless a short-sighted objective.
The middle class itself is in trouble.
Its security has been eroded. W hile
one can point to many real causes,
the bottom line is that the success po­
tential o f its individual members. And
when a society declines, that decline
is a reflection o f the state o f its
members.
“ A race is as great as its in d iv id ­
ual members are self-determ ined,”
says L. Ron Hubbard in his best­
seller Dianetics. One o f the most
acclaimed and w idely read authors
o f all tim e, Hubbard made it clear
through his Dianetics discoveries that
the human mind has no race or color.
Blacks w ill only fu lly integrate
into the middle class when they rec­
ognize that they have not just a re­
sponsibility to Blacks, but to Whites
as w ell. I t ’ s not ju s t a question o f
having made it, but also a question of
keeping those higher standards of
liv in g fo r generations to come. A
shoulder-to-shoulder effort by Blacks,
W hites and all races is sorely needed
at this point to get our society again
headed toward higher prosperity.
D iscrim ination may continue to
exist, but it cannot successfully be
met in the long-term w ith counter­
discrimination, Blacks against Whites.
The abilities and prosperity o f in ­
dividuals need to be upgraded as L .
Ron Hubbard indicated. There needs
to be more material wealth to go
around. New jo b opportunities and
better wages are needed by Blacks
and W hites now entering the jo b
market. And those higher salaries
are o nly going to be found through
increased productivity.
The civil rights movement, in retro­
spect, was only the first step. Blacks
now need to be part o f a bigger
movement - the human rights move­
ment. Inadequate educational sys­
tems fo r today’s high-tech world,
children whose intelligence is lo w ­
ered by poor teaching, land economic
strangle-holds that reduce opportu­
nities are just some o f the new evils
that threaten human rights and the
prosperity o f future generations. I f
poverty engulfs to much o f the W hite
m iddle class, the new Black middle
class w ill find its success short-lived.
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A Black United Front should include the broadest possible range o f
organizations including such groups as: c iv il-rig h ts organizations, p olitical
clubs, grassroots comm unity based organizations, civic groups, profes­
sional associations, union and labor representation, fraternities and sorori­
ties, com m unity based agencies and o f course African-A m erican religions
leaders and organizations. The Black United Front should meet at least once
a month, w ithout fa il, to discuss the status and future o f our people in every
com m unity in this country. The Black United Front can be a vita l tool for
the empowerment o f African-Am ericans. So lets build Black United
Fronts!
-
BLACK ACCEPTANCE OF
REPRESSION
by Abdul VVali Muhammad
Is there a lim it beyond which the
Black com m unity w ill nota llo w gov­
ernmental agencies - federal, state,
local, and m unicipal - to go in their
alleged efforts to curb the plague o f
drug-related crim e and violence?
Shocked at the brutal treatment o f
Chinese students, as well we should
be, but unmoved by the mass evic­
tion o f entire fam ilies from public
housing in Washington. D.C. who
are suspected o f involvem ent in drug
a ctivity, Black people have shut o ff
our outrage meters, and have v irtu ­
a lly acquiesced to techniques and
stratagems that threaten our existence.
We have resigned ourselves to
police force and repression due to
intense fear o f our own youth about
the violent lifestyles theyhave cho­
sen, or better stated forced into, be­
cause their elders have provided no
better options.
What a strange perversion o f
M alcolm X ’ s theme, “ by any means
necessary." Are we now prepared to
see the menace o f drugs - which o f
course is thoroughly intertwined with
the p lig ht o f our youth - ended by
“ any means necessary ?”
In Los Angeles, a mother arrested
for her sons involvem ent in gang
activity and her alleged acquiescence
to his conduct. In Illino is, a mother
arrested for the birth o f her child who
was addicted to crack. Are these
credible efforts toward solving the
problem o f drugs in America? O f
course noL
It is often noted that General
Manuel Noriega o f Panama was in­
dicted, not convicted remember, for
drug selling. Yet, we forget that lie
worked for the C IA , and is linked to
President George Bush, the former
C IA director? I f Noriega was selling
drugs, and he worked fo r Bush, what
was Bush doing.
And wasn’ t Colonel O liv e r North
tied to drug smuggling operations of
the Contras who he worked closely
with in Nicaragua? Where is the right­
eous indignation o f the government
when it comes to its own agents and
o fficials involved in m illio n dollar
drug deals?
Is the menace o f drugs accidental,
or is it a program itself,a strategy
targeted toward what white Am er­
ica, especially the government, per­
ceives as the real menace: the young
Black man?
W hy aren’t these questions being
screamed at the top o f our collective
lungs? I f wc a llow , even call for, the
destruction o f our future generations,
isn’ t that mass suicide?
The institutions o f Am erica, edu­
cation, social, crim inal justice, arc
not serving the ends o f preparing our
youth for the present or the future.
Can we then continue to support these
institutions?O r should wc tell Am er­
ica, “ We w on’ t pay one red penny in
taxes until we arc satisfied that all o f
the institutions that affect our com ­
m unity serve our interests and are
managed by the people o f our choice.”
Extreme circumstance mandates
extreme actions. As M inister Louis
Farrakhan has said again and again.
“ Tim e dictates agenda.”
1
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