Page 2 Portland Observer NOVEMBER 9, 1989
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Power For The Black Majority Is The
Goal In South Africa
The Rocks Cried Out,
No Hiding Place
by Professor McKinley Burt
That is what the Black poet said
about his trip "down to the river to hide
my face ." And, indeed, there is noplace
to hide our faces from the pressing need
to redouble the effort to secure a proper
representation of our youth in Oregon's
system of higher education.
While the advantages o f the "Black
College" were recognized last week, it
was also put, on balance, that the pre
requisite for maintaining and building a
more viable Black community depends
upon retaining and educating a sizeable
cadre o f talented youth at home. Given
the present circumstances o f Black edu
cation in the state-from K1 to graduate
program s-there can be no underestima
tion of the resolve, resources and ener
gies needed to bring about change. A
good question, of course, is W here do
you sta rt? ', since, as described above,
the system is vertical and has traumas all
along the line feeding into higher educa
tion.
Let me cite that old adage, "Let
down your bucket where you are." If you
are already involved, redouble your ef
forts, and if not change your ways—the
next vicums of the system may be your
next burglars, or the new pushers on the
block. I make no clarion call for the
immediate creation of a "Higher Educa
tion Task Force." That may be alright
down the line but would require careful
structuring. I have had occassional bad
experience with band wagon Blacks
who seek only media attention, or with
those whose contributions are stifled
because they are establishm ent-owned,
dispatched into the fray as gate keepers.
The following is typical of problems
faced by Black students of Oregon's
institutions of higher learning. The trau
matic experience of Ms. Tay Johnson, a
1986 graduate of Oregon State Unives-
ity: Earning a degree in Business and
Computer Science, she was notified two
days before leaving campus that she
lacked a key credit for graduation--not
true of course, this was a reprisal for
(
frequent visits by her parents to protest
racism and harassment; on the very first
day o f a calculus class she was told "no
way you can expect an A in here." Signs
tacked on door of dormitory room, "Nigger
go home." There was an attempt to run
down both Miss Johnson and another
Black coed with a pickup truck by two
cursing white males.
This is where the community needs
to come into play for repeated appeals to
the dormitory matron and the President
of the University were to little avail.
These events may be cited as not un
usual, though at those institutions. Where
they do not frequently occur, we find a
no-nonsense university president-we
have stated before that there has to be
com m itm ent at the top, citing both aca
demia and affirmative action. The Black
personnel at these schools may be under
various forms of discrimination or du
ress themselves, whether in teaching or
support areas, so it is always problemati
cal that issues are being addressed.
Additionally, there are compelling
issues of an urgency that applies to both
Black and white students. Writer Eliza
beth Wallace pul them very well in the
Oregonian's Forum section, Sunday,
October 29. Among other things, "Stu
dents need recommendations for jobs
and graduate schools from faculty who
know their work well. Turnover of part-
time instructors is high." There are many
other across-the-board disabilities of the
system which require the intervention of
that "skilled and advantaged" segment I
have mentioned.
A vivid recital of racist scenarios
can be abstracted from my 12 years of
faculty experience at Portland State
University. Not so much that tnese con
frontations were distinctly different from
events occurring at other institutions,
but that the recitation is of personal
involvement, not hearsay. Next week I'll
detail how faculty predudice and games
can destroy a student, and how these
attitudes can spill over into areas that are
nonacademic but nevertheless crucial to
a student's performance. Unbelievable?
Believe me!
Journal
j
Immigration In Los Angeles
by Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
Now that a new Commissioner of
the U.S. Immigration and Naturaliza
tion Service (INS) has finally been con
firmed, it is hoped that the cries of thou
sands of persons seeking immigration or
an adjustment in their INS status will
receive timely and fair responses. There
have been many allegations concerning
racism and discrimination involving the
process of immigration to the United
States, particularly for those persons from
Latin American, African and other na
tions from the developing world. In
addition, there has been gross discrimi
nation aimed particularly at undocu
mented workers who labor throughout
the nation under often difficul t and inhu
man standards.
The news from the city of Los
Angeles concerning current U.S. Immi
gration laws and the plight of undocu
mented workers sheds a ray o f hope for
thousands. Los Angeles has taken the
lead on this issue by establishing a for
mal program to help find jobs for day
laborers, most of whom are undocu
mented workers whom the U.S. Immi
gration and Naturalization Service would
like to deport. Most of the workers in this
pilot program are Hispanic.
the finding of jobs for day laborers "is
technically legal despite its clear chal
lenge to the 1986 Immigration Law,
under which it is illegal to hire illegal
aliens." In many cities the INS has car
ried out raids on sites where day laborers
gather. To be sure, the present policies
and laws on immigration need to be
made more humane as well as the en
forcement of present immigration re
strictions needs to be done even handedly
and fairly without racial discrimination.
by Ron Daniels
The noted African-American abo
litionist and freedom fighter Frederick
Douglass once warned that "power con
cedes nothing without demand, it never
has and it never will." Throughout the
southern Africa region power is yielding
before the onslaught of determined
demand. As the struggle for liberation
reaches its climatic phase, it may be
useful to remind ourselves that the real
goal in the region is power, and the
ability to control land and resources in
the interest of the people. In South Af
rica in particular, the fight is not for
integration, but for Black Power (Black
majority rule). This is what the illegal
regime in South Africa fears most, and
has fought fiercely to prevent through
out the region. The final countdown on
this heinous regime, however, is clearly
underway.
The winds of change are blowing
briskly throughout the southern Africa
region. Angolan troops backed by their
Cuban allies battered South African forces
and blunted their incursion into soveri-
egn Angolan territory in the battle of
Cuitoqunauale. The defeated South
African troops withdrew and South Af
rica sued for peace. Recently the world
witnessed the historic picture of Sam
NJumo, President of the South West
A frican
People's
O rganization
(S.W.A.P.O.), kissing the ground of his
native land upon his return to Namibia
after thirty years in exile. The liberation
struggle has produced a victory which
has paved the way for free elections;
elections which S.W.A.P.O. is expected
to win. With S.W.A.P.O.'s ascenion to
power, the people will be able to control
their own destiny. The illegal racist
minority regime in South Africa has
suffered yet another defeat, and now is
compelled to retreat to the confines of
South Africa itself where it must face the
stark reality of the growing demand for
Black majority rule. South Africa is
increasingly isolated.
The massive unending struggle by
liberation forces inside South Africa, the
tightening vise of worldwide economic
sanctions, and the pervasive pressure of
unfavorable world public opinion is
forcing change in South Africa - the last
bastion of white supremacist ideology
and rule on the African continent. De
spite the regime's boast to the contrary,
sanctions have had a telling effect as has
the constant instability cuased by strikes,
mass protests, boycotts and armed
struggle. The "outlawed" African Na
tional Congress will not die. In the face
of the regime's awesome military arse
nal, against incredible odds, the power
of the people is prevailing.
It is necessary to caution, however,
Many cities particularly in Texas,
Illinois, Florida, New York and in Cali
fornia will be monitoring the Los Ange
les experiment. The success of this proj
ect may provide a unique bridge to change
some of the other discriminatory prac
tices of the Immigration and Naturaliza
tion Service.
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'
ERVER
OREGON'S OLDEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PUBLICATION
Established In 1970
Allred L. Hendereon/Pubtisher
L eo n Harrls/Goneral Managor
Gary Ann Garnett
Joyce Washington
Business Managor
Sales/Markoling Director
PO R TLA N D O BSER VER
la published weekly by
E«le Publishing Company, Inc.
4747 N X M . L . K . BI»<L
Portland, Oregon 97211
P.O. Box 31 n
Portland, Oregon 9720B
(503) 288-0033 (Otflco)
Deadlines lor all submitted materials:
Articles: Monday, 5 p.m.; Ads: Tuesday, 5 p.m.
Having a job is critical to making it
in this society. Despite the myth of lazi
ness o f the immigrant community, thou
sands of persons come to the United
States not to steal, not to loathe, but to
make an honest day's work and to make
a contribution to society. The whole
concept of "illegal aliens" has been used
to systematically discriminate against
Now is the time for ail Americans to
certain immigrants, again particularly work harder to make this society not a
those immigrants who are non-Euro place divided by racist stereotypes and
institutionalized alienation but a place
pean racial and ethnic.
where we all can work together and live
According to the New York Times
together to improve the lot of all human
the city of Los Angeles plan to facilitate
ity.
* t ♦ / - . > * • • * *
The recent release of Walter Sisulu
and seven other political prisoners was
timed to forestall a further call for sanc
tions within the British Commonwealth.
It is no secret that the "liberal" new
President F.W. de Klerk and others within
the regime also hoped that the release of
the political prisoners would create a
split within A.N.C. between the older
leaders, and the leadership which has
emerged during the long period of im
prisonment of Mandela and Sisulu.
However, Waller Sisula was quick to
dash these hopes by declaring that there
would be only one A.N.C. Sisulu also
issued a call for a united front among all
elements of the liberation movement in
South Africa - bad news for a regime
hoping to cling to power. This desperate
effort to retain power is bound to con
tinue. There is simply too much wealth
at stake for the privileged minority.
In this final dangerous phase of the
liberation struggle in South Africa, nei
ther the A.N.C. or its many friends,
allies and supporters abroad can afford
to be co-opted or lulled to sleep by the
cosmetic changes that will be offered up
to appease the Black majority in South
Africa. On the contrary inside South
Africa and throughout the world the
political and economic pressure must be
intensified. In the United States the free
South Africa movement must increase
the pressure for black majority rule,
thereby strengthening the hand of A.N.C.
and the liberation forces inside South
Africa. Progressives and freedom fight
ers everywhere must keep their eyes on
the real prize - POWER for the Black
majority in South Africa!
PO R TLfl
We agree with many immigration
rights organizations that all laborers in
this nation should be treated with dignity
and respect. We caution the INS not to
attack the outreach of the city of Los
Angeles to members of its community
who simply want to work and have de
cent living conditions. We agree with
the Coalition for Humane Immigration
Rights based in Los Angeles as they have
challenged the hypocrisy and racism of
current U.S. immigration procedures. Ms.
Linda Mitchell of the Coalition has stated,
"you can either hunt them down or you
can integrate them into your community
. . . if you deny them health care- school
ing and the right to work, you will just
further improverish them.”
* ? -•, t ' a,
that power seeks to preserve itself at all
costs. And so it will be will the regime in
South Africa. Having failed to brutalize
the people into submission through the
rein of terror unleashed under the state
of emergency, the regime will next seek
to emply co-optation, and divide and
conquer strategies to achieve an accom
modation which is most favorable to its
own interest. That interest is plain and
simple - to maintain maximum control
over the gold, diamonds, uranium, cop
per, platinum, nickle, chrome, tungsten
- the land, resources, and wealth. The
regimes first ploy will be to make a few
superfluous changes in order to preserve
this vital interest
Hence the barriers of apartheid or
segregation are already being gradually
removed. Total integration is likely to
be a reality in the not too distant future,
as the minority regime seeks to pacify
the Black majority by wiping out the
laws which have heaped indignities on
Black people for decades in their own
land. Even inter-racial dating and mar
riage, the most dread images of social
relations from the perspective of the
segregationists, will soon come to be
tolerated.
What will be viewed as intolerable
and unacceptable is integration into real
political and economic power.. The regime
will try virtually anything to cling to
power.
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fo r Black E m pow erm ent
A New Black Agenda For A New
Generation
television) that the Democratic Party
by Dr. Lenora Fulani
leadership would continue to insult our
Recently the Black Student Union leaders, reject our Agenda, and exclude
at the State University of New York in our people while taking our votes for
New Paltz invited me to be the "Speaker granted.
of the Month." It always gives me
Internationally, we are witnessing a
enormous pleasure to speak to young new "rapprochement," or coming together,
people because, unlike many of their between the United States, the Soviet
elders, they have not yet learned to be Union and China similar to the "unity"
cynical.
that the establishment African-Ameri-
Our young men and women repre- can leadership has arranged with the
sent a new generation of Black voters, Democratic Party. Yet these arrange-
who stand on the brink not only of a new ments exclude the masses of the world"s
decade but of a new political era. And people, who do not benefit economi-
for that, a new Black Agenda is called cally, politically, culturally or in any
,or
other way from the deals that are being
Il s not that all of the old problems CU[ .. supposedly in our name,
have been solved - far from it. The
What about the 30 million Zairians,
cancer of apartheid still eats away at the for example -- whose children are dying
bodies and souls of our African sisters o f hunger while their self-appointed
and brothers. Here in the United States president for life, a multi-billionaire
police brutality, poverty and racism are named Mobutu Sese Seko, is being pro
still very much with us. A recent govern- motcd by the Bush administration (and
ment report says that although the health some Black
most notabl
of the overall American population is California Congressman Mervyn Dy-
improving, there is a continuing dispar- mally)
the ”statesman« responsible
ity in the death and illness rates of Blacks for negotiating the peace accords (which
and whites: m 1987 life expectancy for
already collapsing)
lhe
wh.te Americans was 75.6 years, 69.4 popularly elected government of An-
years for Blacks; being Black and poor gola and
South African/CIA-subsi-
in white America still kills us way be- dizeij UNITA terrorists led by Jonas
fore time.
Savimbi?
But we are in a new phase of the
struggle, the struggle for economic
Zaire is at the top of the new Black
democracy, and for that we need new Agenda. It is inseparable from the fight
tactics — new weapons. The old tactics f°r ^a*r eketions >n this country. Be-
aren't adequate because they don't take
political process is opened
into account everything that's happened UP 1° new v0*ces and new views -- the
since they were first devised. I am talk- v0*ces the views of the left out, the
ing about the enactment during the '60s disenfranchised, the disinherited — the
ofcivil rights legislation that we paid for professional politicians of the major
in blood . . . and the fact that today, a Parties wil1 continue to monopolize the
generation later, although we have fi- political dialogue. And that means only
nally won the legal right to vote, the l^e old" problems, with their "old" so-
masscs of our people still do not feel lutions, will be allowed a hearing: South
they have a reason to go to the polls.
Africa, yes; Zaire, no. Democratic Party
politics, yes; independent politics, no.
I am talking about the fact that 17
years after the 1972 National Black
I believe that only an independent,
Political Convention in Gary, Indiana — Black-led and multi-racial political party
which rejected the option of building an committed to people instead of profits
independent Black party in favor of a can open up and democratize thazt po-
strategy that focused on increasing the litical process . . . the major parties,
number of Black elected officials, mainly committed as they are to perpetuating
through the Democratic Party - we have the right of white corporate America to
seen their number increase by 365%, yet make a profit by any means, are far more
the masses of our people have little to concerned with closing down the dia-
show for that "success."
logue.
I am talking about Reverend Jesse
Zaire, fair elections, the struggle
Jackson's historic Presidential campaigns
for economic democracy - these are the
1984 and 1988, which galvanized the
issues for the new Black Agenda that our
Black community and our allies among
new generation confronts. The young
other people of color and progressive
people that I am speaking to are down.
whites — and showed us (on national
Are you?
New Group Forms To
Fight Legal Drugging
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights of
Oregon recently established a new Chapter
North Portland. The North Portland Chapter
will fight Ritalin and other psychiatric
drug abuses in that area. "There has been a
tremendous outcry over the street drug
problems in our area, but what so many people
d o n ’t realize is that many of today's
psychiatric drugs are very addictive and in
many cases do not help the individual." Dana
Popick the North Portland Director claimed
Jessica Allen, Assistant Director stated,’
"The Black Community as well as elderly and
low income families are very often hit hard
by this particular psychiatric abuse because
government funding has made psychiatric
programs readily available, the most common
t r e a t m e n t of mental ailments today
todav is
1 r drugs
first, discussion later or never. On a
Statewide level, the largest number of
psychiatric abuses comes from these areas."
The 1989-90 Oregon Media
Guide is now available. The media
guide lists newspapers and publica
tions, radio, cable and television sta
tions that accept news, articles and
public service announcements. Could
you se some free publicity for your
agency or event? Indexes help you
target areas of special interest. A "How-
Regional, Madia A City Uatlnga
To" section will help you get started.
Addraaa, Phone and FAX Numbers
Contact the Center for Urban Educa Owners, Publishers, Directors & Managsri
tion, at 223-3444 to order your Ore
Deadlines and Formata Accepted
"How-To” Section
gon Media Guide.
This is the eighth bi-annual Oregon Media Guide, done by Center for
Urban Education, 3835 S.W. Kelly, Portland, OR 97201.
A resource book for those seeking publicity or needing access to the
various media throughout the stale. Resources included have confirmed
having some public access availability.
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