Page 2 Portland Observer JULY 13,1989 OPHOR Along the Color Line "no Glory For Old Glory” the Supreme C ourt’s insistence that the First A m endm ent rights of those O ne o f the m ost controversial who reject the governm ent and its Supreme Court decisions in years flag had to be preserved. N everthe­ was the recent ruling which protected less, the high court’s ruling was cor­ the protest act o f burning the A m eri­ rect, although I would advance dif­ can flag as a protected form o f free ferent reasons to preserve the right of speech. By a narrow five-to-four those who choose to destroy the flag majority, the high court declared that as a form of political protest. The flag is not symbolic of the flag burning may be a detestable act, but it is nevertheless an expressive heritage of the entire people, but conduct protected by the First Amend­ rather a civil icon o f the federal ment to the C onstitution. “ W e do government. Should any state punish not consecrate the flag by punishing dissenters for attacking symbols of its desecration,” declared the court, the governm ent as an act o f protest? “ for in doing so we dilute the free­ Suppose Soviet dissidents gathered dom that this cherished em blem rep­ in M oscow ’s red square and burned resents.” Significantly, the ruling was the governm ent’s red flag? If Soviet supported by two conservative Jus­ authorities imprisoned the protectors, tices appointed by form er President the same American politicians in both Reagan. parties would dem agogically insist The politicians scaled the heights upon the release of the prisoners,. of political demagoguery in denounc­ If pro-Contra demonstrators burned ing the Supreme C o u rt’s decision. In the Sandinista flag in M anagua, last year’s presidential election, Nicaragua, Buchanan would be prais­ G eorge Bush utilize the phony issue ing them. W hy is the A merican flag o f mandating the pledge of allegiance any different? No government should in schools to smear Democratic chal­ have the right to imprison or punish lenger Michael Dukakis as “ unpatri­ those who reject its banners or sym ­ o tic.” Bush was quick to declare his bols, whether the icons are stars and criticism o f the recent ruling, stating stripes, or ham m ers and sickles. W here do you draw the line in his “ personal, em otional ” belief that prohibiting legitimate protest? A con­ “ flag burning is dead w rong.” In a rare display of bipartisan unity, stitutional amendment could be passed Republicans and Democrats clam ­ to outlaw the burning of the flag. ored to display their patriotism. House W ould artists’ paintings which used Speaker Tom Foley declared that the flag in a critical m anner also be “ A m ericans look on the burning of forbidden? Perhaps there w ould be a the A merican flag with abhorrence, dem and to outlaw any political and it is deeply offensive to virtually dem onstrations which burned m od­ all A m ericans, and it will be a diffi­ els o f the statue of liberty, or photo­ cult m atter for them to understand graphs o f the president. W ¡thin a few how it can be justified under any years, we might be jailed for writing circum stances.” Republican C on­ letters to newspapers which criticized gressm an Ron M arlenee o f Montana U.S. policies. W hat does Old G lory really repre­ rem inded his colleagues o f the flag- bearing soldiers depicted at the M a­ sent to millions o f Americans who rine Corps mem orial and declared have experienced racism , unem ploy­ that “ those six brave soldiers were m ent, poverty, and homelessness? symbolically shot in the back.” Demo­ The stars and stripes flew over slave cratic Congressm an Doug applegate m arkets where Black fam ilies were fum m ed that the justices had “ hu­ perm anently divided. It was unfurled m iliated” the flag, and wondered at the m assacre of W ounded Knee in aloud, ‘ ‘Are they going to allow for­ 1890, when hundreds o f Native nication in T im es Square at high Americans w ere slaughtered. It flew from public buildings which were noon? Even m ore irrational and jin g o is­ segregated by law for decades. The tic were conservative ideologues, who flag was carried into illegal and immoral military operations from Vi­ felt betrayed by the Reaganites on etnam to G renada. T here’s no glory the Suprem e C ourt who inexplicably in Old Glory for those who have been voted with the few rem aining liberal deliberately denied the American justices. Form er Nixon speechwriter Dream. And as long as equality and and conservative journalist Patrick justice are illusions for m illions of Buchanan w as livid. “ The Supreme people, the flag will be an ironic Court has turned a hate crim e into a rem inder o f absence o f real dem oc­ constitutional argum ent,” Buchanan racy in this country. stated. “ They d o n ’t understand the Protectors who bi m the flag, meaning o f the flag.” In Buchanan’s however, do not advance the struggle opinion, the ruling “ is an invitation for dem ocracy, because they create to civil war, when you underm ine the easy and em otional targets for public sym bolism ” o f the American flag. outrage. Instead of burning the flag, Should the public burning of “ :Old we need to challenge the political G lory” , the stars and stripes, m erit a system it represents in order to achieve prison sentence? More than tw o out econom ic opportunity and social o f three A m ericans polled oppose justice for all. by D r. M an n in g M arab le Z / a ?. . * ’ ■‘•»'’A. — k.. /< • *'*:V ■>-.v - • I •r *.c 5 k J < A #« fc»?* LETTER TO THE EDITOR: R ecently, a considerable am ount o f discussion has been made about MS. Joyce Boles regarding her pub­ lication called the N.E. Reformer. The latest edition which is num ber 5, has May crossed out with June in­ serted , and has added my name to the list o f neighborhood representatives who are supposedly responsible for the decline of the Inner N ortheast area o f Portland. Ms. Boles is con­ stantly writing about persons not being truthful, w hile at the same time is printing untruthful statem ents. She has printed an article specifying that I am a do nothing m em ber o f the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods who has been a mem ber for decades, pluralized. H ow ever, ten years ago, I was a student leader at Portland U ni­ versity, with no prior experience with the N ortheast Coalition. She adds that I have done a work project on something obscure relating with cable access, but fail to mention that the Portland Cable Access headquarters is located w ithin the N ortheast area for com m unity, or church organiza­ tions to use.She does not speak on any o f the large num ber o f subjects or tasks, that I have perform ed in the N ortheast C oalition, which are all beneficial to the Inner Northeast area. But let’s talk about Ms.Boles, who at one tim e was a m em ber o f the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods. First, she was a m em ber o f H um ­ boldt Neighborhood Association until ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ it was realized that while going to Bureaus, Businesses, and O rganiza­ tions for inform ation, she was not there on behalf o f H um boldt N eigh­ borhood Association. Second, Ms. Boles was a member of Vernon Neigh­ borhood A ssociation, because at the time she supposedly had a business within the area, yet no business even existed. Third, she was a nominee for secretary o f Concordia Com m unity A ssociation, but was rem oved when it was discovered that she did not reside within the neighborhood boundaries. To me, that’s three strikes and you’re OUT. Her publication is printed som e­ w here, but w here? W ho is helping her insult the M ayor and his staff? W here is the needed revenue com ing from that assists in degrad­ ing the Northeast C oalition of N eigh­ borhoods, its Coordinator, staff and elected officers, I repeat elected o f­ ficers? Is there really racism or bias involved, because she could not re­ main a m em ber o f the Northeast C oalition in good standing? If at all possible, I plan to file suit against Ms. Boles, the location where she has the tabloid printed and sources o f revenue received for this publica­ tion on slander and defam ation of character. ADAM ABDUL-HAKEEM (LARRY DAVIS) WINS RIGHT TO SEE ATTORNEYS CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL AN AFRICAN PEACE IN ANGOLA by Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. A fter fourteen years o f w ar in and on the P eople's Republic o f A ngola. Judge David R o sso f the A p e lla te D l,,M on of^ 2 ^ e n T o f C o ^ u ^ itn o w a p p e a rslh a tp ea c e w illh a v e a c h a n c eo fb e c o in in g a re a lity .P re sid e n i Slale o f New York issued an order requiring the D ° P ^ d " ' ° 5 ° ^ ' ° ; o“ E d i d o dos Santos is io be congratulated for working wilh the io make Adam Abdul-Hakeem (form erly known as Lrury Davis) available fte sid e n ls o t other A fncan nations to fm d a peace p - o p o s . iba, would be accepted in the interest o f the people o f A ngola and the peoples o f southern M tA b d H d a k ^ Africa. u 1,1 At a recent sum m it m eeting ol A fncan presidents which was e 1 G badolite, Zaire, Jonas Savim bi, the leader o f the Angolan rebel group, UNITA, agreed to the peace proposal that was a product o f African diplom acy acy and and peacem peacem aking. aking. UNITA, UNIT A, with with the the backing o f so South Africa and diplom backing ot utn A inca anu the United States, had unsuccessfully waged w ar against the govem m en ol Angola during the last fourteen years. Now that President dos Santos has taken another initiative to bring a lasting peace to Angola and inore stability to the southern African region, it will be interesting to see w hether or not the Bush Adm inistration will change its current policy o f supplying weapons o f 0, R jte „ p n son guards, has been nrf»vpnif»d from seeing his attorneys by Correction authorities who had “ m alingenng” and therefore did not require assistance insisted that he was m annge g in gaining access to them. “ I f sa v e ry important victory,” noted the internationally prom inent civil / K u n stk r who appeared on behalf o f Mr. Abdul- Hakecm . calls for South A frica to stop its illegal occupation and exploitation ^ der was a response to an emergency appiicalion m ed by attorneys Harry Nam ibia. ... .. . r .. f Kreskv and Michael Hardy, acting o f counsel to the International People’s The peoples o f A ngola, N am ibia M ozam bique and from other frontlmc ¿ titution Mr K unsder, who feared that Mr. A bdul-H akeem ’s life states have suffered much from the destabilization and war^-making b ^ b a r- ’ ,f he wefe nQt allow ed access to over the Juiy 4 ity o f the racist apartheid regim e o f South Africa. Angola has sulfered one J P j o f the highest am putee rates per capita of any nation in the world as a result ° end weeRend last month) M r Abdul-Hakeem o f these brutal acts o f war N o w that a n o th er sten has been taken to ensure oeace in the region it is im portant that the international cam paign against aDartheid be increased. O ne o f the most rem arkable issues concerning the peace proposal and agreem ents between the governm ent o f A ngola and the UNITA group is the fact that the basis for peace is the future o f A ngola and the future o f all of southern Africa in the context o f African unity. W hat was displayed in Zaire . Anfnrra/t was severely beaten by Rikers Island guards and then secretly transferred to the Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill. New York w ithout the know ledge o f his family or attorneys after having been threatened that he would be killed if he did not keep silent. Ricardo Burgos, Mr. Abdul- H akeem ’s close friend who has stepped forward to corroborate his story of drug trafficking by corrupt police officers, was also badly beaten by pnson at the sum m it o f African presidents was the best o f African unity. The fact that soldiers from UNITA and from the governm ent o f A ngola will no longer shoot at each other will be good new s to all people. It is our hope that the governm ent o f the United States will no longer support and encourage UNITA to attack Angola. The United States should send m edical aid for the victim s o f the war rather than more land mines and bom bs which will do nothing more than increase the num ber o f victims, An African proavv peace 10 is u a p/uvv peace with justice ----- and with ZYimiltLOll --- respect for the right — of ination o i f the peoples o t f * southern Africa. O nce again if this s self-determ e ii- a e ie r m in auou u u ic p v u p iv a u j u u iv u . — o — — — peace holds, the future for A ngola is very bright. The United States should officially and diplom atically recognize this A frican nation because in the world com m unity the struggle o f the A ngolan people is respected and saluted. A LUTA CO NTINUA guards that weekend. “ M ore than 100 years ago Fredenck Douglas, the bnlliant Black leader o f the abolitionist m ovement, raised the question o f w hat Independence D ay, the Fourth ofJu ly , m eant for the N egro,” noted Dr. Lenora Fulam, the independent candidate for m ayor o f New York City who chairs the Adam Abdul-H akeem /Ricardo Burgos Coalition to Save Our Youth. The Coali- tion staged a vociferous demonstration outside the courthouse on behalf of Mr. ------------ Abdul-Hakeem and Mr. Burgos. “ African Americans and all “ Ne- ---- — groes’ -p e o p le o f color, lesbians and gays, wom en, and other disenfran- -------------------- - - - - - , - c hised g ro u p s-a re still trying to answer that question today, when justice is being systematically undermined at every level of the sy stem -starting with the Supreme C ourt of the United States. “ I ’m glad that justice was carried out today,” continued Dr. Fulani, who was at the courthouse when Judge Ross announced his decision. “ The C oalition is inspired and moralized by it, and we will be out there for Ricardo and for Adam. Because it takes hand to hand com bat to get even a little bit o f justice.” A ttorneys for Mr. Burgos will go before Judge Vincent Vitale o f the quired to realign the districts o f state Suprem e C ourt o f Bronx County to dem and that their client be given legislatures. He also charged six of m edical treatm ent for injuries resulting from the beating he received last his colleagues, including his boy­ month. Mr. Burgos, who is currently aw aiting trial for a quadruple hom i­ hood friend W arren E. Burger, with cide, is charged with having acted in concert with Mr. Abdul-Hakeem and displaying “ a preternatural solici­ another person, both o f whom were acauitted of the murders. tousness for corporate well-being and Mr. Abdul-Hakeem is scheduled to go before State Suprem e Court a seem ing callousness toward the Justice Richard B. Lowe III as part of the proceedings involved in his trial investing public,.” in restricting for the m urder of a reputed drug dealer. law suits by victims o f stock fraud. B ut no previous decision by Jus­ tice Blackmun produced more ripples in the judicial w orld than his January 1973 ruling in Roe v. W ade. For this, Justice Blackmun reportedly received a barrage o f hate letters objecting to his decision, which struck down anti­ Acting for the first time under the authority o f the Fair Housing m AUTHOR OF ROE vs. WADE SPEAKS OUT “ I fear for the f uture. I fear for the liberty and equality o f the millions of women who have lived and com e of age in the 16 years since Roe was decided. I fear for the integrity o f and public esteem for this court,” said U .S . Suprem e Court Justice Harry A. Blackm un, a United M ethodist lay­ m an, after w itnessing the chipping aw ay at his m ost famous opinion. Justice Blackm un, author o f the landm ark 1973 Roe v. W ade opinion establishing a w om an’s right to ter­ m in a te an u n w a n te d p re ­ gnancy,sharply dissented from the July 3 decision on the M issouri law barring abortions by public em ploy­ ees including physicians, the use of public facilities for non-life threat­ ening abortions and the testing o f fe­ tuses 20 weeks or older to see if they can survive outside the womb. “ For today, at least,” he said, a constitutional right to abortion re­ mains. “ But the signs are evident and ominous and a chill wind blows,” he concluded. Lashing out at other justices for eroding the fram ew ork o f Roe v. W ade, Justice Blackm un charged it with * ‘discarding a landmark case of the last generation and cast(ing) into darkness the hopes and visions of c v c ij women in this country who had com e to believe that the C onstitution guaranteed her the right to exercise some control over her unique ability to bear children. The plurality opinion is filled with winks and nods and knowing glances to those who would do away with Roe explicitly.” Justice Blackmun, often described as a quiet, hum ble man, has inter­ rupted the stillness of the Supreme C ourt on other instances as well. He delivered a unanim ous opin­ ion on reapportionm ent that could becom e a model for courts when re- KEMP TAKES ACTION IN FAIR HOUSING ENFORCEMENT abortion laws in m ost states. A ccording to the 81 -year-old ju s­ tice, a m em ber o f M etropolitan M em orial United M ethodist Church here, his majority opinion favoring abortion did not mean that he is “ pro­ abortionist.” Early in his 1973 decision, Justice Blackm un introduced the issue of when life begins, one that was skirted by the high court in its three-month debate of W ebster v. Reproductive H ealth Services. H said .1. in » 1973, “ the court ma- n c e &oiu jf , —--------------- jority agrees that it cannot resolve the difficult issue” and states that those trained in m edicine, philoso- phy and theology “ are unable to arrive atan y consensus.” W hen life begins ¡s j u sto n e key ruling state legislators w ip declde in the future. W hile the 5-4 vote July 3 stopped short o f overturning Roe V. W ade, states now have pow er to impose sharp control over w ho gets an abor­ Am endm ents Act o f 1988, Secretary o f Housing and Urban Developm ent Jack Kemp issued a charge o f racial discrimination this week in housing against a real estate agent and a landlord who refused to rent a house to a black man in Little Rock, Arkansas. ‘ ‘President Bush and I believe that fair housing is a fundam ental right of all Americans and I will not hesitate to bring the full w eight o f the Federal G overnm ent to bare in the fight for equal opportunity in housing,’ ’ said Secretary Kemp. “ Melvin W hite represents the thousands o f Americans who feel the sting o f bigotry every day. This is a landm ark in civil rights enforcem ent because he is the first American to have his governm ent stand up for him in court under the new fair housing law .” In a com plaint filed with HUD, Melvin W hite, a black man, alleged that he was denied the - opportunity to rent - - a house .W located at B 211 Linw ood -- -- ---- -----— ----------y ------- 'W'MWW'M M »» W VW Court, W -XW ZM - Little Rock, Arkansas. Named as respondents in the com plaint are Natalee Schay, a real estate agent, and B. Jeffrey Pence, ow ner o f the house, A ccording to Mr. W hite, upon his arrival at the house, he was informed by Ms. Schay that the house had been rented - despite the fact that other individuals were told the house was available and that the house was not actually rented until alm ost five weeks after Mr. W hite’s visit. Based on the evidence gathered by HUD investigators, HUD determ ined that reasonable cause cause exists exists to to believe believe that that the the alleged alleged discrim discrim ination ination has has occurred. occurred. ‘ ‘O ur goal at HUD is fair housing for all. W e hope to use conciliation, but when necessary we will not hesitate to file cases such as this one to ensure that rights are protected,” Kemp said. The Fair Housing Amendments Act o f 1988 authorizes HUD to investi­ tion. gate com plaints of discrim inatory housing practices and, if such a com plaint Justice Blackmun is the first United , cannot be resolved through conciliation, to determ ine whether reasonable M ethodist to serve on the Supreme cause exists to charge illegal discrim ination. Because the parties in this case C ourt since the retirem ent o f Charles refused to conciliate, HUD com m enced an enforcem ent action by issuing E. W hittaker in 1962. He has been a the charge. This is the first com plaint to reach this stage o f the process. member o f the denomination’s Board Now that HUD has issued a charge *-» o f discrim --- -MW.BX ination, .., MIV the com plaint will o f Publication and as a trustee o f the be heard by a HUD A A dministrative dministrative Law Law Judge Judge or or a a Federal F ed er a l D D istrict istr ic t Court. C ou rt. ------------- , --------- M ethodist-related Hamline U niver­ In either proceeding, the com plaint will be prosecuted by governm ent sity in S l Paul, Minn. attorneys. Civil penalties, under the new Fair Housing Law, can be as high as $ 10,000 for a first offense. The Fair Housing Act also provides that any party may, w ithin twenty days of the issuance o f the charge, elect to have the com plaint heard in federal district c o u rt Com plaints of housing discrimination can be filed at a local HUD office A FR IC A N -A M E R IC A N PUB LICATIO N 1-800-424-8590. 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