Page 2 Portland Observer OCTOBER 12, 1989
rpWQ^iflJ /
Vantage
Along the Color Line
Letter To The Editor
October 9, 1989
To the editor:
I have never taken the time to express my appreciation
for the weekly publication that you and your staff so d iligently provide fo r
our community and for us as individuals. The fact that the issues are so
readily available, makes it a pleasure to obtain, even when you don't have
the funds available to purchase one.
I have on, several occasions, physically visited your facilities when you
were located on N. K illingsw orth near Denver, just to pick up your latest
issue and was always told, "Help y o u rs e lf. A t times they were a ll gone.
I'm sure this little ritual has been exercised by many. However I'm
wondering how many others felt as I did, when I came to what I knew to
be your present facility? I found someone else' there,
I was informed that you had taken headquarters elsewhere. W ell, I fo u id
elsewhere' and am pleased that you are being housed at a new fa cility, where
I can once again pick up my weekly fix on community news and other
inform ative articles.
I had never given any particular thought about the Observer in terms o f
being or not being. A fter all, I've only been an avid fan fo r approximately
eighteen (18) years.
M y point is: please keep the issues coming! You’ve become a tradition,
especially for ^ur area.
Best wishes,
Martha Ollison
Civil Rights Journal
Racism In America
by R on D an iels
The last decade has witnessed an o m i­
nous resurgence o f racism in America.
The climate created by Reagan, Re­
aganomics and Reaganism shaped a
fertile environment fo r the raw face o f
individual and institutional racism to
resurface with ugly and painful conse­
quences. In the final analysis, how ­
ever, I have contended that the most
recent upsurge in overt racism is merely
symptomatic o f deep seated maladies
in American culture, and the character
o f Am erica’ s economic and political
institutions. As we contemplate the
struggle to end racism we must be
careful to avoid simply striking out at
the symptoms. The fight against ra­
cism must eradicate the basic under­
pinnings o f this anti-human and infec­
tious disease in our society.
African-Americans as the principal
object, targe and victim s o f racism
must, out o f a necessity to survive, lead
the struggle to overcome the various
causes o f racism. First and foremost
our survival and development requires
that we constantly seek to counteract
the devastating impact o f racism and
cultural aggression on our own people.
African-Arnericans cannot accept or
yield to the notion o f our inferiority to
other races, ethnic groups or nationali­
ties.
Black self-hatred is one o f the most
devastating effects o f centuries o f rac­
ist oppression, and cultural aggression.
Self-hatred is engendered and perpetu­
ated by a culture and educational sys­
tem that s till largely glorifies the his­
tory and culture o f Europe, and white
America while m inim izing or denying
the culture and history o f A frica and
Africans in America. As African-Ameri­
cans we have a responsibility to teach
ourselves about ourselves and to pro­
mote an ideology o f racial solidarity
and racial development G iver the
history and legacy o f racism in Am er-
ic a A fric a n -A m e ric a n s m u s t b e
ever
v i g i l a n t against racism
and unapologetic about the necessity
and responsibility to protect and pro­
mote our interests.
Racism in America however is not a
African-Am erican problem. Racism is
an American problem. It is rooted in
the culture and the institutions o f this
nation, and the fight against racism
must aim to do no less than erase it
from Am erica’s culture, its institutions
and the American character. African-
American studies at all levels w ithin
the educational system as a critical and
indispensable component o f a m u lti­
racial, multi-cultural, multi-national and
m ulti-lingual educational process in
America.
African-Americans should not tolerate
the perpetration o f an educational proc­
ess which is Euro-ccntric, white o ri­
ented and ignores the contribution to
America and the w orld o f Africans,
Native-Americans, Latinoes, Arabs,
Asians and other peoples o f
color.America must come to terms with
the need to relate to the m ajority o f the
peoples o f the world. In that context
the concept o f “ English o n ly ” is irra­
tional and totally unacceptable. It is
like a national death wish for a m inor­
ity in the world to seek to impose its
cultures and languages on the m ajority
o f the world. African-Americans must
fight fo r an America which appreciates
and respects the rich diversity o f peoples
and culture in America and the world.
A crucial place to begin is by institut­
ing a multi-racial, multi-cultural, m ulti­
national and m ulti-lingual educational
process in this nation.
O f equal importance is the understand­
ing that the struggle against racism is
everybody’s fight. It is not exclusively
a African-Am erican responsibility.
Hence African-Americans must seek
to unite all people-Black, White, Brown,
Yellow , Red who are w illin g to step
forward to resist racism. Though the
culture and institutions o f America make
it virtually impossible for most white
people not to function w ith some preju­
dices and racist attitudes, we must not
make the mistake o f discounting those
white Americans who are consciously
struggling to rid themselves and A m er­
ica o f the disease o f racism. Our strat­
egy and tactics therefore must not treat
white people as i f they are m onolithic.
Both in principle and as a practical
matter it makes sense for white A m e ri­
cans to confront other white A m e ri­
cans as we collectively seek to win the
fig ht against racism.
African-Americans, as we lead the fight,
must create an environment which is
conducive to forging the greatest pos­
sible combination o f forces committed
to ending racism without sacrificing
our own dignity, self-respect and right
to self determination.
Finally, it would seem to fe llo w tha'
African-Americans must unite and leac
the broadest possible coalition o f forces
w illin g to challenge an ideology and
system which fosters and tolerates
racism, racial oppression, and whose
power elite (the rich and the super­
rich) has historically used racism as a
tool to divide, conquer and exploit
w orking people and people o f color
when opportune and convenient. The
American system breeds racism and
economic exploitation at home and
abroad. A decisive fight against racism
therefore, must ultimately seek to trans­
form America and create a new soci­
ety; a new society based on respect fo r
racial and cultural pluralism, humtin
priorities and the principles o f genuine
political and economic democracy; a
society where the exploitation o f human
beings by other human beings is unac­
ceptable.
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A dvenisng R epresentative Am elgam eted P u b le h e rt. Inc . N a a Tod,
Race Violence Against Asian Americans
by Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
by Dr. Manning Marable
sag from this tax cut, but from the
increasingly marginalized sectors o f
the middle and working classes.
American democracy has failed
because o f its institutionalized tendency
to ignore the long-term sufferings o f
m illions o f American people, the
homeless, the poor, people o f color and
working people. When the powerful
and the privileged make demands, both
parties listen and respond. Where is the
political party which represents the ma­
terial interests o f the m ajority o f us, the
women and men who work everyday,
who make the goods and provide the
services? When Latinos and African-
Americans call tor prompt action against
racism, poverty and inferior education,
Bush is blind and the vast m ajority o f
Congress is deaf.
American democracy has failed
because the p olitical system and the
powerelite o f this country would rather
have the ominipresent threat o f nuclear
war rather than make earnest efforts to
build upon the peace initiatives o f the
Soviet Union.Days ago. Deputy Secre­
tary o f State Lawrence Eagleburger
declared “ for a ll its risks and uncer­
tainties, the cold war was character­
ized by a remarkably stable and pre­
dictable set o f relations among the great
powers.” In short, why does the Bush
administration despise Gorbachev, and
why is it nostalgic for the Cold War?
Gorbachev has the political courage to
transcend the m ilitary stalemate and
nuclear te rro ro f four decades, but Bush
has no comparable vision. His advisers
recognize that to close the door on the
Cold War would mean an inevitable
reduction in the billions allocated to
the Pentagon. It would deny the power­
fu l a crucial tool which has been used
to structure national policies in favor
o f private profits and against human
needs.
Our challenge is to create a new d efi­
nition o f democracy, a majoritarian
agenda o f jobs, peace and justice.
W hat’s at stake is the future o f
democracy itself.
Point
Winning The Fight Against
Why American Democracy Has Failed
Last month, the House o f Representa­
tives approved a reduction in the capi­
tal gains tax rate,giving President Bush
a major legislative victory over Con­
gressional Democrats. The bill would
lower the top capital gains tax rate to
19J6 percent, from 33 percent. It would
apply to all income from sales o f stocks,
real estate, and bonds. In effect, the
wealthiest Americans, those earning
over $200,000 annually, w ill receive
60 percent o f the total tax benefits,
about $25,000 per taxpayer. Am eri­
cans earning above $100,000 would
receive 80 percent o f the benefits. This
b ill, an undisguished version o f wel­
fare for the rich, w as praised by B ush' s
Treasury Secretary Nicholas F. Brady,
for “ strengthening America’s econ­
omy, creating new jobs and giving
American's small businesses and en­
trepreneurs a fair chance to compete
internationally.” Even during the high
tide o f Reaganism, it would be hard to
imagine a more naked, aggressive and
vicious assault against working class,
middle income and poor people.
Although the status o f the capital gains
tax b ill remains in doubt, the fact re­
mains that one third o f the Congres­
sional Democrats abandoned their lead­
ership. The vote reveals that a solid
Congressional majority still exists which
blindly follow s the economic dogma
characteristic o f Reaganism. The ra­
tionale that cutting taxes to the wealthy
w ill provide jobs to the poor is only a
crude scheme fo r expanding poverty.
The philosophy behind this vote is that
the government has no obligation to
any significant segment o f society except
the economic ruling class.
W her working people witness this
unvarnished grab fo r profits, the
question arises:“ What are the real
values which inform the policies o f
Am erica’s political system?” Let us
reflect upon the actual uses and
abuses o f power w ithin the current
political process. But to do so, we
must take the perspective not o f the
privileged elites whose pockets w ill
O0IÑIÚH
Event Dates: OC TO B ER 15-16,1989
Pacific
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7 ATLANTA
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13 TAMPA
16 Philadelphia
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19 NEW ORLEANS
21 Seattle
Mon 10/16
6 W pm 1 27 Anahetm
UNDERDOG
2 Houston
4 Washington
6 Miami
8 New England
10 Green Bay
14 Detroit
16 PHOENIX
Ì8 Pittsburgh
20 New York
22 SAN DIEGO
a iw w R it
28 BUFFALO
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Got cas-SO cents per minute )
It is most unfortunate that it often lakes
the tragic death o f a human being be­
fore this society pauses to question
why it is that racially-m otivated vio ­
lence continues to be common place
against racial and ethnic communities
throughout the nation. Now the recent
brutal murder o f Jim Meng Hai Loo in
Raleigh, North Carolina is but the lat­
est in a series o f racial attacks on Asian
Americans which appear to be increas­
ing.
Loo was a young man o f the Chinese
American comm unity. He was mis­
identified by while male assailants who
thought Loo was o f the Vietnamese
American community. According to a
detailed account in the local News and
Observer newspaper, the attack took
place in a pool room when a group o f
white men began name calling and har­
assing Lo r and four other Asian A m eri­
cans. Tw o o f the white men who are
brothers .Robert Piche and L loyd Piche
falsely accused Loo o f being respon­
sible fo r American deaths in the Viet
Nam war. Loo and his friends im m edi­
ately left the pool room but the Piche
brothers fo 1 lowed them outside and a
fierce racial attack began.
Eye witnesses to the incident have stated
that, Robert Piche got a shotgun and a
pistol from his truck and brutally struck
Loo on the head which later proved to
be a fatal blow. It seems as though the
Piche brothers were enraged because
o f their anger toward the Vietnamese
community because one o f their broth­
ers died in the Viet Nam war.
Although the V iet Nam war is o ffi­
cially over, in too many Am erican’s
minds the shame, g u ilt and anger about
this war continues, racism historically
has been the vehicle or the crucible in
which the manifestation o f hate and
racial bigotry thrive. Ms. Christina
Davis-McCoy, a member o f North
Carolinians Against Racist and R eli­
gious Violence, state “ We need to
name this death for what it was, ra­
cially motivated, and as a community
come to terms w ith this racism.
This case is another tragic reminder o f
how deadly racism is in our society.
We all well remember how in Stock-
ton, California five Asian American
students were killed and twenty-nine
others were wounded when a young
white man angered against Asian Ameri­
cans opened fire w ith an AK -47 semi­
automatic assault rifle. We also should
not allow ourselves to forget Vincent
Chin in Detroit, Michigan who was
brutally beaten to death by whites wield­
ing a baseball bat because they thought
he was responsible for the Japanese
intrusion into the U.S. auto industry.
Justice must be demanded in the Loo
case as well as in all such incidents.
This society cannot afford and should
not tolerate this kind o f brutality. The
African American community must be
vocal in solidarity w ith the Asian
American c
ommunity. No act o f racist violence
against any human being should go un­
challenged.
Conscience Is The Issue
by Dr. Lenora Fulani
On the afternoon o f Wednesday, Octo­
ber 4 Mobutu Sese Seko, the self-ap­
pointed president for life o f Zaire (the
Central A frican Country which used to
be known as the Congo) addressed the
General Assembly o f the United Na­
tions. I led a march o f 150 people from
Harlem to the UN to deliver a message
to this fascist dictator: KEEP O U T OF
H A R LE M ! The Black community
doesn’t want fascist murderers like you
in our neighborhood!
A fte r the march, which traced the route
taken 28 years ago when the African
American community stormed the UN
to protest the CIA-orchestraled assas­
sination o f Patrice Lumumba, five o f
us entered the visitors’ gallery o f the
General Assembly. When Mobutu began
speaking, we stood up and shouted:
“ M obutu is a murderer! Long live the
spiritofP atriceLum um baandtheC or-
golese people!” Security guards soon
escorted us out; we were brought down
to the basement o f the UN, where we
were held for an hour and then re­
leased. For a few moments, we had
held this tyrant up to the w o rld ;’s scru­
tiny. No person o f conscience can defend
his right to speak without, at the
same time exercising her or his
right to speak out about his crimes
a g a in s t A f r ic a n humanity.
NAP and I have been accused of
being “ disruptive.” “ Everything
was going so smoothly until NAP
got here,” they complain. I am
proud to say that it’s true! We are
not prepared to let Mobutu’s visit
go smoothly. We are not going to
listen politely while this murderer
o f African children, this monster o f
greed whose colossal wealth was ac­
quired on the backs o f the Congolese
people, tries to foist him self on the
world as a peacemaker and a states­
man. The issue is conscience. U nlike
the Democratic Party, NAP won’t com­
promise with the likes o f Mobutu Sese
Seko. We w ill not tolerate this insult to
the Black comm unity! We w ill not
allow him to set a foot into Harlem!
No, N AP w ill not be silent. We w ill
keep doing what we are doing--what
we have always done-so that the voice
o f the w orking class gets LO U DER
A N D LO U DER, and tire Black-led
independent political movement gcLs
bigger and bigger, until we arc able to
kick Mobutu not only out o f Harlem,
but out o f New Y ork, and out o f the
Congo!
1 am using my independent mayoral
candidacy to support David Dinkins,
the Democratic Party nominee, for
mayor o f New York C ity. I believe that
an African American reformer such as
M r. Dinkins w ill make a better mayor
by far for all the people o f our city than
the right wing, anti-Semitic and white
supremacist cop masquerading as a
choir boy who is running against him.
But David Dinkins w ouldn’t be caught
dead marching with us against M obutu,
or demonstrating at the United Nations
to protest the presence o f this vicious
abuser o f human rights, this a lly o f
apartheid, this assassin o f Patrice
Lumumba. Dinkins and the Democrats
w on’t fight for the people o f New York.
They’re afraid to.
N AP isn’t! The New Alliance Party is
on the ballot, and in the streets, to give
our people a voice in the upcoming
election and beyond. We are doing
what we always do-m aking it possible
for the Black and Puerto Rican-led
working class voice to make itself heard.
The Democrats, including the reform ­
ers, w on’t do it-a n d that’ s exactly how
the Mobutu Sese Sekos o f the wot Id are
allowed to get away with murder.
In the weeks before the prim ary, I led a
doggin’ Dinkins team which follow ed
David everywhere he went. There was
David, saying the acceptable-to-the-
Powers That Be things Democratic Party
candidates are supposed to say. And
there I was, demanding- thtough a bull­
horn!--that he address the issues o f
concern to the c ity ’s working class
communities.
A young Black man, a graduate student
at the C ity University o f New York,
recently said to me, “ Dr. Fulani, what
you’ re saying is so important. Isn’ t
there a way you could do it less ‘offen­
sively’ ? Because I want more people to
hear you, and to like you.” The answer
is n o -th e rc’ s no "n ic e ” way to talk
about poverty, police bmtality and racial
violence. These are issues o f conscience.
And the Powers That Be, who have no
conscience, definitely don’t like any­
one lo talk about them.
Since the primary more and more people
throughout the city have been coming
up to me on the street to express their
appreciation for what I am doing.
They’re saying, “ 1 know how hard it is
for you to bring us in...” It is hard to
run down the street after Dinkins. It is
hard lo stand up at a Democratic Party
event where everyone is on their ‘ ‘ best
behavior’ ’ and make the kinds o f “ em­
barrassing” statements that provoke
the outrage o f the hacks and the hypo­
crites. But conscience is the issue.
Because it ’ s so much harder to stand on
a line at the welfare o ffice knowing
that whatever they decide to give you
w on’ t be enough to feed your children
this month. I l ’s infinitely harder to be
the mother o f a child lying dead on the
street because he committed the crime
o f being black in white America.