Page 2 Portland Observer NOVEMBER 16, 19X9
EDITORIft/OPIÑIOR
J
Civil ‘I tyh ts Journa£
by B enjam in F. C havis, Jr.
by Ron Daniels
You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet
by Professor
M cK in ley Burt
Well folks, I was right on time again--
with my recitation of problems for Black
youth in Oregon Higher Education. A front
page lead in last Thursday's Oregonian
screamed, “ Industry Panel Calls For Shut­
ting Portland State University.” As prom­
ised, I will continue here with descriptions
of “ not untypical racist behavior” at this
school, but will address later this new
unm itigated disaster for Portland Youth,
Black or white.
Do not let the selection of PSU as the
site for a two-day “ symposium On Racism
and Harassment’' lead you to think that the
meeting is being domiciled at an institution
of a liberal bent. To the contrary, I stated
last week that my 12 years of faculty expe­
rience there made me oh so cognizant that
“ faculty predudice and games can retard or
destroy a student-and can spill over into
non-academic areas which are equally criti­
cal to a student's performance and psyche.
A bright Black female student called at
my office in tears. A white sociology pro­
fessor was forcing her to rew rite her term
p ap e r for the fourth tim e. It turned out
that there was * ‘nothing really wrong” with
her work except that the instructor was
writing a textbook on ghetto life and needed
to quote a Black in a context which would
support the thesis he was advancing. When
I made the man aware of my intention to
pursue the matter all the way to the top, he
relented-but the best grade this student
could ever earn thereafter was a B. This
woman is new a top attorney in New York
and Washington, D.C.
Also not uncommon was the experi­
ence of my secretary who was an education
major with Art as a minor. This white
female came back to the office enraged
because her instructor had trashed her art
project on O lm ec Statues in Mexico, in­
sisting that the huge heads “ only looked
African.” And that this was because they
had toppled over, flattening the lips and
noses (stone with a hardness index equal to
granite). My secretary knew better because
she had been abstracting notes for a lesson
plan from Ivan Van Sertima’s book, "T hey
Came Before Columbus” ~ a well-docu­
mented, internationally recognized tome
that used text and photographs to detail the
early presence of Africans in the Americas,
(as had National Geographic Magazine and
the New York Times).
Mr. Van Sertima was brought here
several times from Rutger’s University as
one of the principal consultants to the school
district’s Desegregation Plan. It was to no
avail that the student brought back to her art
class a world o f documentation--’’Niggers
were in Africa until we brought 'em over.''
There were to be no decent grades out of
that class for the rest of the year. It was a
weekly thing that I had to deal with issues
of this nature in support o f students, even
having to go to war with the z\th letic De­
partm en t because an attractive, (Straight
A) Black girl was thrown off the Rally
Squad because she “ looked out of place”
(“ and besides, her rear end isn’t made
right” ).
These types of events could be cited ad
infinitum and speak directly to an overall
atmosphere which, without intervention,
can work a deadly attrition upon minorities.
We have, too, the problem of professional
support in the classroom, especially in
Science, Business and Economics. Without
an equality of effort directed at all students,
you soon find a number of minority stu­
dents switching to soft courses this leads to
soft degrees in an age where meaningful
employment is going to be in the sciences
and technology. Here, I refer to those sup­
porting classroom activities where a stu­
dent is encouraged (aided) io interface w ith
professionals and organizations related to
the student’s discipline. This type of input
and networking is essential to full profes­
sional growth. These functions may often
be cleverly disguised (or unannounced to
most minorities) but you can bet that in
some way institutional resources and time
are involved. Your taxes!
Now, for that headline, "Shutting down
P.S.U..” My files indicate that for the past
two decades Portland State University has
requested and gotten tens of millions of
dollars for "expansion of structure and
department to serve an increasingly impor­
tant Portland Metropolitan Statistical Area
(Tri-Counties) which has been dangerously
neglected because of an unfair and unreal­
istic concentration of educational resources
at two ru ra l universities at Eugene and
Corvallis." What type of gaming is this—
from an electronics industry whose eco­
nomic ineptitude (stupidity?) allowed the
Japanese to walk in and take over a field in
which America was long preeminent?
Believe me, somewhere in the bill of
particulars is an intent to divert hundreds of
millions in taxpayer’s dollars to fund cor­
porate expansion (or survival), plans that
include research and development, employee
training, and other profit-oriented activi­
ties traditionally found in com pany budg­
ets (at least Chrysler only borrow ed the
money). The second point, of course, is
how devastating the suggested manipula­
tions would be to the educational opportu­
nities for minorities. Perhaps I hedged the
other week. Perhaps we do need a Black
H igher E ducation T ask Force —
Yesterday!
Statehood Would End D.C.’s
Colonial Status
On October 27, George Bush vetoed
the budget to Washington, D.C. because of
his objection to monies within the budget
for economically disadvantaged women
seeking to avoid unwanted pregnancies.
The President thus was able to keep his
pledge to anti-abortion forces. Meanwhile
the District of Columbia has been thrown
into a fiscal crisis because the President of
the United States has rejected its 3.4 billion
dollar budget. Increased allocations for the
drug war including more monies for educa­
tion, counseling, treatment and additional
police have been nullified by the Presi­
dent’s displeasure with a particular provi­
sion within the budget. Meanwhile the drug
crisis continues to engulf the nation's capi­
tal.
One is compelled to ask, why does the
President have the right to veto the budget
of the District of Columbia. The answer is
that the District is virtually a colony inside
of these United States. In fact, not only the
budget, but each and every law passed by
the District Council and signed by the Mayor
is subject to final review and approval by
the Congress and the President. The Dis­
trict’s elected representatives do not have
the final say of the ultimate authority to
govern the district. The council and Mayor
are reduced, in effect, to acolonial advisdly
body to Congress and the President. Indeed,
the District does not even have a voting
representative in Congress, instead it has a
“ non-voting Delegate.”
O f the 115 nations that have elected
national legislative bodies, only the United
States deprives the citizens of its Capital
from having voting representation in its
national legislature. And no other major
western democracy has a system where the
President can veto a budget passed by the
duly elected representatives of the govern­
ing bodies within the Capital district. The
citizens of Ottawa, Paris, London, Rome,
etc. have a full right to participate in the
political affairs of their respective nations.
Only in America are the citizens of the
Capital treated like colonial subjects.
The District of Columbia has a popula­
tion of around 650,000 citizens, which is
larger than the states of Alaska, Vermont,
and Wyoming. The District’s population is
about the same as the states of Nevada,
north Dakota and South Dakota. It contrib­
utes in excess of 1 billion dollars to the
federal treasury which is an amount larger
Eyes and Ears of the Community"
Office: (503) 288-0033
F A X #: (503) 288-0015
ton Powell. They did it to Dr. Martin Luther
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A Tribute To Reverend AI Sharpton
racial violence in which Black people —
young men like Michael Stewart, Nicholas
Westmoreland should be asked to re­
sign from the City Council of Houston,
Texas. How can this man continue to sit in
a high office of responsibility while mouth­
ing such an insult full of the whole history of
American racism. The Washington Post
reported that Westmoreland has now claimed
that he was only joking and that he would
not resign stating, “ I don't have one racist
bone in my body."
Mr. Eugene Hawthorne, a local insur­
ance executive who attended a City Council
hearing on the Westmoreland controversy
stated, “ a racial slur like that is repugnant,
not just to Black people in Houston and
Texas, but people everywhere. And I am
afraid it w asn't just a joke, not just an
isolated comment. I am afraid he was re- I
fleeting the white’s true feelings about Mickey
Leland and Black people. Praise them if
they die, but try to forget about them .’
Councilmen Ellis agreed, “ It got real ugly
. . . Mickey certainly deserves a better
legacy than this."
The memory of Mickey Leland will
ultimately not be tarnished by the racial
slurs of Jim Westmoreland. But what is at
issue here is the deep-seated racial hatred
and animosity that continues in our society.
Racism is not a joking phenomenon. It is
one of the most deadly threats to the whole­
someness of the fabric of the nation. That is
why racist slurs like this must not go unchal­
lenged in Houston or anywhere else.
People across the country should first
communicate their support for Councilman
Ellis’ recommendation concerning renam­
ing the airport for Leland. Secondly,
Westmoreland should be censored and
removed from office. But most important,
we all should not let Houston or the world
forget the contributions of Mickey Leland
toward worldwide peace, justice and human
dignity.
'T h e
by l)r. I.enora I'lilani
King, Jr. and to Malcolm and to the Black
Panthers. They are doing it to Minister
Farrakhan. The purpose of such tactics is to
scare Black leaders into silence and inac­
tion. If that doesn't work, the lies and
slander prepare the way for violence . . .
Those Black leaders who crave legiti­
macy (and the privileges that come from it)
have kept their distance from Reverend
Sharpton — as they do from Minister Farra­
khan — in order not to be tarred by the same
brush. They have refused to stand up with
him and for him. Some of them have even
fallen for the divide-and-conquer tactics
that were used in the past to destroy the
Black liberation movement by pitting Black
leaders against one another; they have joined
in the chorus of ridicule and repudiation, to
establish their own credentials as ‘ ‘respect­
able” and “ trustworthy” Black leaders.
Through all of this A1 Sharpton has
stood by his principles and by our people.
He has not become less militant or less out­
spoken - just the opposite. The Black working
class knows who he is, loves him for it, and
follows where he leads. An illegitimate
“ troublemaker” to the Powers That Be, A1
Sharpton is a working class hero in the eyes
of our people.
Most recently, Reverend Sharpton led
thousands of young Black people into the
streets of New York City to express their
revolutionary outrage over the lynch mob-
style murder of yet another black child,
Yusuf Hawkins.
Over the years Reverend Sharpton and
I have worked closely together. In March of
1987 I joined him in a march on the state
capital in Albany to protest the rising tide of
Most of the global community contin­
ues to uplift with deep respect the contribu­
tions of Congressman Mickey Leland for
his commitment to ending world hunger and
for promoting goodwill throughout the world,
particularly in Africa. Leland's tragic death
in Ethiopia from an airplane crash while on
an humanitarian relief mission has caused
not only thousands to grieve the tragedy, but
also now to envision appropriate ways to
memorialize the legacy of Mickey Leland.
We support the recent efforts of Hous­
ton City Councilman, Rodney Ellis, to re­
name the Houston Intercontinental Airport
in honor of Mickey Leland. If there is any
place in the United States where a lasting
tribute should be made for Leland, it should
be in his home city, Houston, Texas.
It is however truly shocking that Coun­
cilman Ellis has now come under undue
criticism for daring to make such a sugges­
tion. At a time when the younger generation
of today needs to be shown positive role
models of achievement and social conscious­
ness, the legacy of Mickey Leland needs to
be lifted up not only for African-American
youth, but for all youth in the nation.
In particular, we condemn the recent
remarks by Houston City Councilman, Jim
Westmoreland. Last month, during a City
Council meeting, Mr. Westmoreland ut­
tered a racial slur in connection with the
proposal to rename Houston Intercontinen­
tal Airport for Leland. Westmoreland, with
an attitude of racist arrogance, went to the
press table at the City Council meeting and
stated. "W e should just name it Nigger
International.” This kind o f blatant disre­
gard for Mickey Leland’s lifelong commit­
ment to human rights and racial justice is a
grievous insult to the Leland family, the
African-American community and to the
entire human family.
PORTLAND OBSERVER
T his W ay F or B lack E mpowerment
Reverend A1 Sharpton is deeply re­
spected in the African-American working
class community; our people know that he
is not afraid to stand up to the white Powers
That Be on our behalf.For exactly the same
reason many black leaders are wary of Rev­
erend Sharpton, just as they are wary of
M inister Louis Farrakhan. Establishment
Black leaders are used to being told--from
the columns of the white corporate-owned
media, from the official pronouncements of
the white Democratic Party leadership, from
the pulpits of "lib eral” white clergymen—
who is legitimate, who is acceptable, who
among us is “ a credit to our race" AND
WHO IS NOT. They are used to being told
which leaders it is alright to be close to, and
which to avoid--or denounce.
Like Minister Farrakhan, A1 Sharpton
is an illegitimate Black leader in the eyes of
the Power That Be. Why do they hate him?
The explanation is simple: he doesn’t dance
to their tune. His loyalty is, first and fore­
most, to the Black community. For this
"crime,” Reverend Sharpton has come under
heavy attack from the white political and
media establishments in New York. Gover­
nor Mario Cuomo, “ Mr. Democratic Party
liberal," has said publicly that he wishes
Reverend Sharpton were dead. He is cur­
rently being prosecuted in the courts as a
"tax evader.” The corporate media, con­
ducting a campaign o f vilification against
him, have “ exposed” Reverend Sharpton
as a police informant and echoed the slan­
der that he is an “ anti-Semite.”
Phony exposes are part of a long tradi­
tion in the effort to intimidate and punish
independent Black leaders. They did it to
Marcus Garvey. They did it to Adam Clay­
than that contributed by 9 stales. A sizeable
portion of the 3.4 billion dollar budget for
fiscal Year 1990 is derived from the Dis­
trict’s taxes and revenues. And yet the Dis­
trict via its council and Mayor cannot spend
its dollars as it deems necessary and appro­
priate. The question is why?
Historically the District of Columbia
was carved out of the states of Virginia and
Maryland in order to provide a safe haven
for America’s seat of government. It seems
that the founding fathers had some anxi­
eties about the citizens of the new found
republic possibly holding the leaders of the
nation hostage. Because of these fears of the
people, the District of Columbia was cre­
ated with no clear provisions for self-gov­
ernment or home rule. Between 1800-1968
various forms of governance structures were
tried in the District. With the exception of
brief period during Reconstruction, none of
these forms of government permitted the
citizens to elect their own representatives.
“ Citizens” from the District were even
denied the right to vote for President! Over
the years the issue of home rule has been a
hot one in the District. It has not been lost on
many students of this issue that one of the
problems has been the fact that the District
has always had a large Black and working
class population.
Because of mounting pressures from
the people, citizens of the District won the
‘ ‘privilege” to elect their own school board
members and the privilege to vote for the
President during the sixties. Congress also
bestowed upon the citizens the privilege of
voting for council, the Mayor and a non­
voting delegate to Congress. These limited
gains however, fall far short of full home
rule and self-government for the citizens of
the District of Columbia. And under the
current arrangements even these limited
privileges can be wiped out by theCongress
at will. Clearly a different and more fully
(Jemocrauc system is required to end D.C.
colonial status.
The solution that people like Coun­
cilwoman Hilda Mason, D.C. Delegate Walter
Fauntroy and most recently Jesse Jackson
have been calling for is statehood. If states
like Alaska, Vermont, Wyoming, Nevada,
North Dakota, and South Dakota can have a
Governor, 2 Sen itors and voting represen­
tatives in Congress, then why net change
the status of the District of Columbia from
colony to a full state within the American
Union.
Houston, Texas: Remember
Mickey Leland’s Legacy
Bartlett and Michael Griffith, as well as
grandmothers like Eleanor Bum purs -- were
drowning, and to demand that the state leg­
islature make the racially motivated murder
of Blacks and Latinos carry a mandatory
life sentence.
On Memorial Day of that year we were
marching together again — this time down
Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn — to protest
the murder of a 21 -year-old Black man by
a white police officer.
Together we raised our voices to de­
mand justice for our young sister Tawana
Brawley, who was driven out of New York
as if she were a criminal - when in fact she
was the victim of a gang of racists and
rapists.
When I brought 5,000 people to At­
lanta last summer to demonstrate our sup­
port for Reverend Jesse Jackson and my
Two Roads Arc Better Than One plan out­
side the Democratic Party nominating
convention. Reverend Sharpton and busloads
of his supporters were there with us.
And when I was not allowed to partici­
pate in the nationally televised Presidential
debates last fall. Reverend Sharpton -- who
endorsed my independent candidacy for
President of the United Stales -- came to
Winston-Salem, North Carolina to lead the
protest against my exclusion.
Now he is demanding that I be in­
cluded in New York’s mayoral candidate
debates — to guarantee that our people have
a voice in the upcoming election.
I am very proud to be a Black leader
who follows the leadership of Reverend A1
Sharpton. He is an independent Black leader
who refuses to sell himself to the Powers
That Be — because he has given himself to
the Black working class.
Governor
Goldschmidt Honors
Unsung Heroes
Nearly 1000 people joined Governor
Goldschmidt Tuesday night to honor nine
of Oregon ’ s “ unsung heroes ” at the second
annual Gold Schmidty Awards Gala, the
Governor’s ceremony recognizing outstand­
ing community service.
The awards, designed by Will Vinton
Productions, were presented by Susan Rut-
tan, former Oregonian and current star of
NBC-TV's L.A. Law; and Jack McGowan,
former host of P.M. M agazine.”
“ Tonight, we honor men and women
who might not make the front pages, but
whose efforts are making this state a better
place in which to live,’ McGowan said.
The honorees were Tessie Williams, a
community health-care advocate for the
Umatilla Tribes; Judie Neilson, founder of
the “ Get The Drift--And Bag It" coastal
clean-up campaign; Tony Hopson and Ray
Leary, co-directors of the Self-Enhance­
ment program for the youth of Northeast
Portland; Dr. Robert and Mavis Bomengcn,
founders and organizers of “ Fridays,” a
teen club in Lakeview; Elsie Stuhr, founder
of the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation
District; and Bill and Sam Naito, Portland
businessmen whose ideas helped transform
downtown Portland from a dying area to a
thriving center of retail commerce and his­
toric preservation.
Music by the George Reinmiller Big
Band, performances by Shirley Nanette,
David Frishbcrg, LINN, and a rap written
and performed by Jack McGowan and
Democratic National Committeeman Gerry
Cogan entertained guests.
Former Governor Bob Straub joined
other well-known Oregon celebrities, from
sports figures to artists to community lead­
ers, in honoring the award winners. The
event was a benefit for the Re-Elect Gover­
nor Neil Goldschmidt Committee.
9
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