Page 2 • Portland O bserver • N ovem ber 2, 1989
EDITORIAL7 OPINION
Why the Democrats Keep Losing
Jackson Doctrine Should Guide U.S. Foreign
help to create an atm osphere where re
spect for international law can flourish.
On the question o f self-determ ina
The Good, The Bad
And The Beautiful
by P rofessor M cK inley B u rt
A great deal o f interest was ex
pressed in last week's description of Los
A ng eles "W indsor Hills Elementary
School Miracle." There was only adm i
ration for the parents who in three short
years o f determ ined effort were able to
advance this school from m ediocrity to
the finest in the city — 'ra n k e d first' in
mathem atics and reading (episode de
scribed in Parents Magazine).
Several members o f the community
voiced strong reservations about achiev
ing this type of success in Portland,
whether the effort was m ounted either
within or without the system. They rightly
pointed out that the C alifornia success
had a lot to do with socio-economics; the
dem ography o f the area was that o f an
ambitious, upwardly mobile Black, ur
ban, professional population '(BL'PPIES)'
driven by their first taste o f the "good
life," and a determ ined com m itm ent to
similarly advance the future of their
children. So what about 'P ortland's Black
Middle Class?'
An informal m eeting at a neighbor
hood restaurant produced other interest
ing comments or reservations: "I alw ays
thought it was the job o f the 'N A A C P '
and sim ilar organizations to mount the
legal challenges to institutional racism
and inequities - and not ju st lay back
and expect a few Ron Herndon's and
Haleem Rashan's to spend years fighting
an underfunded battle for us all." 1 heard
this too: "My father tells me that during
and after W orld W ar II, the then presi
dent o f the 'P o rtla n d N A A C P', Rev.
Clow of the M l Olivet B aptist Church,
was a prime mover in a com m unity
wide struggle against discrim ination in
em ploym ent, public facilities, and ur
ban institutions "(Today's com m unity
owes much to the fighting spirit o f this
early organization).
There was considerable discussion
o f Portland's 'B lack College Exodus* --
and it was not that positive! T he tone of
the conversation was that "Everybody
talkin’ about heaven ain't goin' there”;
that is to say the youth who will be going
south for their education are, primarity,
the children o f what is called 'P o r t
la n d 's B lack M iddle C lass' - while
90% of Black high school graduates in
our community do not have this finan
cial option for continuing their educa
tion (99%?). The key point made - with
which I concur - was that those parents
with the education and political skills
necessary to effect change in several o f
Oregon's racist institutions o f higher
education w ill, instead, exhaust them
selves trying to finance this expensive
diaspora to other lands. L ast week the
Portland O bserver featured a front page
article: "Black College Recruitment Rally
Draws 460 High School Students." We
quote as follows:
"Brooks said that 70 percent to 80
percent o f the black youngsters fro m the
Pacific N orthw est who attend Black
colleges graduate; a much lower p e r
centage o f B lack students graduate fro m
Oregonj's non-black institutions o f higher
education."
He credits the success rate to the
more individualized care and attention
students receive at most black institu
tions.
In a B la c k college you are not only
wlecome an d accepted, you are treated
as a human being and are not allow ed to
graduate w ithout having a good educa
tion." she said. "You not only receive an
education, you learn about your history.
Corporate Am erica and other col
leges and universities, she said, actively
recruit at B lack colleges.
The fust quote is attributed to Samuel
Brooks, conference chairman.
If it is suggested to you here that we
have a 'b r a n d ra in ', or even possible
that a new 'fa d /sta tu s sy m b o l' has sur
faced, you are absolutely correct. W hile
I have alw ays dem onstrated every em
pathy for the Black parent whose child
has faced a great educational disadvan
tage from day one, those parents with the
aforem entioned "educational and politi
cal skills" should be at the forefront to
correct O regon's inequities at the level
o f 'h ig h e r e d u c a tio n ' as well. W e've all
paid the taxes to support these institu
tions and have otherw ise fulfilled the
mission o f good citizenship. Now, lets
redirect som e o f the lime allotted for
golf, teas, soap operas and fashion shows.
We may not have to assume the expen
sive task o f 'e x p o rtin g ' our next genera
tion abroad (few will return).
It should not be assum ed here that
we are in anyw ay denigrating the 'B lack
College S ystem '; Its over-a-century
success record stands for itself (23
members o f my own family -- from
1893). W hat I am saying is that it is a
'm u st' that we correct the current d is
abilities o f our own colleges as we quote
the speakers at the "Recruitm ent R ally.”
This can be accom plished if we have the
same type o f response from our more
skilled and advantaged population as we
have had from our grassroots educa
tional activists the last two decades. After
all, we are 'a ll' at risk! More on this next
week, for we m ust have 'e q u a l regional
o p p o rtu n ity 'o ro u rc o m m u n ity will die.
by Ron Daniels
One o f the great ironies o f A m eri
can history is the fact that the U nited
States, which was supposed bom out o f
a "revolution" or struggle for self-deter
mination, has consistently been on the
wrong side of social revolution in the
world. Indeed U.S. foreign policy either
overtly or covertly has been a buttress
for colonialism and neo-colonialism
throughout the world. The driving m oti
vation for U.S. policy has not been a
guest for dem ocracy, and human rights,
but the narrow self-interest o f U.S. busi-
nessess, and corporations. The legacy of
this greed oriented foreign policy is a
moral bankruptcy particularly as it re
lates to A frica and the Thaird W orld.
It was against the backdrop o f failed
U.S. foreign policy that Jesse Jackson
boldly stepped to the forefront during
the 1988 presidential cam paign to pro
vide some much needed vision and lead
ership on the question o f the principles
which should guide U.S. foreign policy.
Like many o f Jackson's proposals, the
principles are simply and yet profound
in terms o f their pow er to transform
America into a more humane, righteous
and reputable nation. The "Jackson
Doctrine" consists o f the following prin
ciples:
* S u p p o rt and S tren g th en the
R ule of In te rn a tio n a l Law.
* P rom ote Self-D eterm ination
a n d H um an Rights.
* S u p p o rt In te rn a tio n a l E co
nom ic Ju stice an d D evelopm ent.
As an adjunct to these principles
Jesse Jackson also talked about C O N
SIST E N C Y as opposed to hypocrisy in
U.S. foreign policy.
In a graphic illustration o f A m er
ica's inconsistency and hypocrisy in
foreign policy, Jesse Jackson pointed to
the contradiction of A m erica condem n
ing the late Ayatollah Khomeni for mining
the Persian G ulf while Reagan was ille
gally mining the ports and habors of
Nicaragua. Nicaragua took the United
States to the W orld Court accusing
A merica o f a flagrant violation o f its
sovereignty and won the case. America
disregarded the verdict and continued its
illegal actions against Nicaragua while
continuing to condemn Iran for its ille
gal actions in the Persian Gulf. The
Jackson Doctrine proclaims, whats ille
gal actions in the Persian Gulf. The
Jackson Doctrine proclaims, whats ille
gal is illegal. U.S. policy must affirm
and uphold the rule of law, and strengthen
those international bodies like the United
Nations and the W orld Court which can
tion, the Jackson Doctrine essentially
argues that the United States (or any
other nation) does not have the right to
impose its will on another nation, or
thw art the legitimate aspirations of
oppressed people for self-determination.
The character of self-determination must
be asserted by the oppressed people
them selves based on their own history,
culture, and unique economic and politi
cal needs. The persistent pattern o f pro
viding military assistance and troops to
support backw ard, rightwing, dictator
ships, and oligarchies against the w ork
ers, peasants, students intellectuals etc.
m ust be reversed. Im plicit in the Jackson
D octrine is a respect for cultural and
ideological pluralism and a sense of
confidence that people struggling to
liberate them selves from tyranny and
oppression will ultimately shape sys
tems o f dem ocracy and hum an rights
based on their own culture and interests.
In a radical departure from prevail
ing U.s. practice in foreign policy, Jesse
Jackson called for support o f interna
tional econom ic justice and develop
ment. As opposed to viewing the devel
oping world through the narrow prism o f
profit hungry U.S. corporations, Jackson
contends that U.S. interest, even the
self-interest o f U.S. corporations lies in
the creation of a prosperous and peace
ful world. Hence instead of heaping heafty
am ounts o f m ilitary aid on U.S. puppets
regime to create safe havens for U.S.
corporate investors, U.S. policy should
promote econom ic growth in develop
ing nations.
M assive econom ic assitance not
military aid should be the priority. A
code of conduct for U.S. corporations
should also be developed to prevent them
from exporting capital and factories
abroad simply to exploit what am ount of
slave labor m arkets abroad. The rights
o f workers to organize in developing
nations should be a fundamental tenet of
U.S. foreign policy. As Jesse Jackson
puts it "slave labor anyw here is a threat
to organized labor everywhere."
I cite these principles which com
prise the Jackson Doctrine because it is
essential that A frican-A m ericans be on
the right side of social revolution in the
world. As M artin Luther King warned in
1967, "our nation has taken the role of
those who make peaceful revolution
impossible by refusing to give up the
privileges and pleasures that com e from
the immense profits of overseas invest
ment" M artin L uther King was on the
mark, and so is the Jackson Doctrine.
African-Americans must use the Jackson
Doctrine as we seek to refocus U.S.
foreign policy in the interest o f world
peace and prosperity.
T his W ay F or B lack E mpowermen t
by Dr. Lenora / ttlani
Teaching Our Youth The Truth
On a Saturday evening at theend of
July, a group of eight Black students
hanging out in the cafeteria o f the State
University o f New York at New Paltz
w ere told by a campus police officer to
low er their radio cassette player; among
other thaings, they have been listening
to M inister Louis Farrakhan. Although
they turn the sound down, the cop comes
back. Shoving and threatening, he tries
to confiscate the box. Seven o f the stu
dents are charged with resisting arrest,
disorderly conduct, and failure to com
ply with governmental p rocedures-the
first tw o charges each carry a possible
one-year jail sentence. The case is in the
hands o f the district attorney.
Darold Thompson, a 21-year-old
ju n io r at SUNY New Paltz, is among the
seven students who faces a jail sentence
for having been in the wrong place at the
w rong time that summer night when a
w hite cop decided that the Black stu
dents on campus were getting "uppity."
As one college official put it when stu
dents cam e to his office, by appoint
m ent, to com plain about police harass
m ent on campus: "F___ k people of
color!' you're trespassing."
Darold is a secondary education
and music education major. He says he
doesn't know a lot about politics but
would like to learn. He knows a lot more
now than he did before his arrest. "We
spoke with many people out there who
should have been willing to help us, but
they weren't,' he told a reporter recently.
"Black leaders don't want to lose what
they already have. Their attitude is, 'I
don't want to stick my neck out for them
because that might lose m e the next
election. I already have m ine.' W hat I
liked about Dr. Fulani is that she was the
first Black person we saw who said things
to us that w eren't for herself. A lot o f
students have contacted her and will be
taking part in the New Alliance Party."
It's absolutely true that a lot o f the
people the students go to for help aren't
com ing through - just as they haven't
come through for the vacationing Black
college students who were set upon by
the Virginia Beach police over the L a
bor Day weekend. So now they're reachi-
ang out to me.
They've gone to everyone else first;
NAP is the last resort — because we're
not legitimate," because they've been
told that NAP is "too" radical and "top"
m ilitant. But unlike most o f the estab
lishment Black leaders -- who are telling
these young men and women to cool it -
- we'll go all the way with them, and they
know that.
Black leaders' message to young
people is that if they protest racism they're
"making trouble" ~ by which they mean
trouble for the Black middle class. The
Black Democratic Party establishm ent
is terrified that if the students who were
involved in the police riot protest too
much. It will jeopardize Lieutenant
G overnor Douglas W ilder's chances of
becom ing the first Black governor of
V irginia - ju st as Black Democrats in
New York City were afraid that Black
outrage over the murder o f Y usef H aw k
ins would "spoil" David Dinkins' chances
of being elected the first Black mayor of
New York C ity? But who cares about
electing W ilder and Dinkins if the price
we have to pay for it is our children?
The sad truth is that the African-
American establishm ent is afraid to fight
for these kids. And in that context the
white authaoritics - from college deans
to police captains -- feel that they have
been given a license to do whatever they
want to do to Black working class youth,
which is to get rid of them - to throw
them out o f school and into jail. The
Powers That Be have sensed the estab
lishment Black attitude, which is that
our children are expendable; our so-
called leaders arc prepared to sacrifice
Dr. l-enora Fulani it the national chairperson o f the New Alliance Party and a practicing Social
Therapist in Harlem. She can be contacted at the New Alliance Party, 2032 Fifth A venue, New York, N Y
10035 and at (212) 006-4700.
by Dr. M anning M arable
The greatest myth in American
politics is that we have a two party
system with real choices for voters.
Actually, we have a one party system:
we have the Republicans, the party for
the rich, and the Republicans who call
them selves Democrats, m ost o f whom
support the politics o f privilege against
the interests o f the poor, m inorities,
working people and the powerless.
our children. And the folks who run
these white institutions, which are very
closely intertw ined with the Democratic
Party, know very well where Black lead
ers are at — because a lot o f those leaders
are sitting at the tablewith them, trying
to cut a deal, trying to get a piece of the
action. My job is to teach young people
the political significance o f these ties
and the reaction o f the establishm ent -
Black and w hite - when they "mess
things up" because they don't protest
"the right way."
The Black establishm ent may con
sider angry Black working class youth a
potential threat to the status quo, and
hence to their own privileged positions
within it. As an independent Black leader
I have no stake in preserving the status
quo. I want those young people -- out in
front with me, building and leading the
independent political movement that will
bring the new Black Agenda into being.
N ew Location;
Portland Observer
4747 N.E. M artin Luther
King, Jr. Blvd.
Portland, Oregon 97211
Although the Democrats have con
trolled Congress for decades, except for
the OOP’s domination of the Senate during
much o f the Reagan adm inistration.
Democratic presidential candidates have
been disasters. Since the election of 1952,
Democratic presidential candidates have
lost seven out o f ten times, and five out
o f six races since 1968. M ost Demo
cratic candidates have failed to gain at
least 45 percent o f the popular vote in
presidential races. But the m ost amazing
statistic is the pathetic inability o f the
Democrats to win a majority o f votes
from the w hite electorate. Since 1952,
Democratic presidential candidates have
received at least 50 percent o f the white
vote only once-L y n d o n Johnson's 1964
landslide victory over Barry Goldwater.
Many explanations have been ad
vanced to explain the party's sorry rec
ord at the polls. Some have suggested
that the m ajority o f the w hite electorate
has become middle class and affluent,
and its social class interests on economic
issues no longer coincide with those of
the labor m ovem ent, but with big busi
ness. Others suggest that the backlash
against civil rights, affirm ative action,
and liberal social policies such as abor
tion rights have created massive defec
tions from cultural conservatives and
racists from the D emocratic Party into
the Reaganite wing o f the Republicans.
These explanations give part o f the truth,
but not all. Because more than any other
single factor, Democratic presidential
candidates keep losing because the party
has lost the courage of its convictions,
which were best expressed during the
crisis o f the G reat Depression.
The party lost its identity and politi
cal soul because it fails to acknow ledge
w hat every Republican elected official
and petty bureaucrat already k n o w s-
that social class conflict lies at the heart
o f Am erican politics.
Pow er and wealth in A merican
society are concentrated in the hands of
f
/
a very small m inority o f people, who
employ their clout to secure public poli
cies favorable to their interests. There is
no mystery to this process. This elite has
established hundreds o f corporate and
W all Street political action com m ittees
which reward Congressm en and Sena
tors in both parties who favor its inter
ests. In 1988, alm ost tow thirds o f all
m oney raised by political action com
mittees went to Democratic inclum bents
in Congress, and virtually none w ent to
their Republican challengers. As liberal
political critic R obert Reich o b se rv e s:"
The anticipated need for more money
tends to stifle indignation tow ard the
sources o f funds and to constrain bold
thinking. Democrats have com e to sound
like Republicans because they rely on
the same funders and make the same
contacts as the GOP."
Democrat presidential candidates
lose because they no longer speak out for
the interests o f loyal, traditional con
stituencies. No single group o f voters
has been more steadfast or dependable
as A frican-A m ericans to the D emocratic
party. Yet m ost Democratic candidates
who are white say next to nothing about
the Reagan-Bush assault against civil
rights.
In West Virginia, thousands of miners
are struggling against the Pittston co
alm ining com pany in a strike has far-
reaching im plications for the entire la
bor m ovement. To date, nearly 3,000
m iners have been arrested. The central
issue o f contention is that Pittston has
refused to honor a forty year com m it
m ent to make contributions to a health
care fund covering pensioners and their
w idow s, whose average age is 76.W here
are the leaders o f the Democratic party
to fight for the rights of labor?
Earlier this year, Exxon dum ped
millions o f gallons o f oil over thousands
o f miles o f beautiful Alaskan shoreline.
But the D em ocrats as a group barely
peeped words o f discontent, w here is the
political party who will actively fight for
the environm ent?
You can't defeat something with
nothing. Its become fashionable for
Democrats to deny that there are social
class divisions within American society,
or that issues like civil rights, labor, and
the environm ent don't divide consituen-
cies based on class. As long as Dem o
crats believe this, and try to act like
Republicans, they'll continue to be de
feated at the polls.
C i v i l fR jghts j o u r n a l
Challenging Racism In Chicago
by Benjam in F. Chavis, Jr.
The pervasive and system atic exis
tence o f racism in the city o f Chicago is
really nothing new. Since the unfortu
nate and tragic death of M ayor Harold
W ashington two years ago and the sub
sequent election o f Mayor Richard M.
Daly, there has been a steady increase in
overt and violent racist acts in Chicago.
M uch o f this renewed racial vio
lence has been directed against the A fri
can-A m erican and Hispanic com m uni
ties. The good new s today is that there
appears to be a grow ing cityw ide grass
roots m ovem ent o f concerned Chicago
residents w ho are determ ined to make an
effective challenge to racism and vio
lence in Chicago.
R ecently, more than 1,500 persons
staged a successful "M arch A gainst Fear
and Racism" through a predom inantly
white section of Chicago where two young
African-American youth had been beaten
by a white mob. The march was called
for and led by local civil rights leader,
Atty. Lewis Myers.
The details of the incident that pre
cipitated this large protest march is worth
review ing. Tw o m onths ago, fourteen-
year old Joseph Weaver and Calvin McLin
w ere walking from a baseball gam e at
Com iskey Park. These tw o African-
A m erican youth were picked up by two
white Chicago police officers for al
leged curfew violations. O ne o f the po
lice officers, Kathleen M oore, report
edly slapped both youths across the face
and shouted racial epithets at them. The
New York Tim es reported that O fficer
M oore asked the two youths if they had
ever been "kicked by a big, fat, white
lady."
Then the police officers drove Jo
seph and Calvin to the predom inantly
w hite Canary ville section o f the bridge-
port neighborhood o f Chicago where
they were released to a w hite mob who
brutally beat and chased the youths.
Thus this case reveals the often
close connection betw een acts o f ra
cially m otivated violence by police offi
cers and the racist mentality o f white
mobs who have attacked African-Ameri
can youth in many different cities through
out the U nited States recently. This kind
o f police brutality and racial violence
again cannot be tolerated by o u r society.
U nfortunately, there seem s to be a "pass
the buck" attitude by too m any A m eri
cans who refuse to speak out about this
increasing problem because it has not
yet happened in their neighborhoods.
Yet, we believe one single act o f racial
violence anyw here in this nation poses a
serious moral threat to justice for all.
W e w itnessed the peaceful march
through the Bridgeport neighborhood and
it was a sign o f hope and encouragem ent
to see African-A m erican clergy and
com m unity leaders join with large
numbers o f other Chicago residents in
chanting, "racism must go" and "police
brutality m ust go." Joseph W eaver and
Calvin McLin also returned to that neigh
borhood to help lead the march against
fear and racism. Atty. Lewis M yers and
the Rev. W illie Barrow o f O peration
PU SH held the hands o f Joseph and
Calvin as they marched together on the
front row o f the march. This kind of
m ulti-racial people's challenge to ra
cism provides a glim m er of hope for
Chicago. Near the end o f the march,
Joseph W eaver stated, "I want to thank
all o f the people who have come today to
help us. The last time Calvin and I were
here we were very afraid for our lives.
But today, our fear is gone."