• • ♦ »vt ♦ « • * w » f 3 ♦ » y >- ♦ ■» 9 < > < « •« « « « « « ♦ r Page 2 Portland Observer NOVEMBER 29, 1989 rPÎTORiAL 7 QPINIQN Jackson’s Presidential We Ve Got to Keep Bids Pave The Way For V ir g in ia T h a n k s g iv in g , T h e On Keepin ’ On Victories On Nov. 7th Im p a c t O f W ild e r ’s V ic t o r y Articles and Essays by Ron Daniels by Professor McKinley Hurt We will use the next several articles to tie up a few loose ends, and then w e'll raise the curtain on an exciting and hard hitting New Year. 1 will continue to push that his­ toric adage that “ Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty--and education. I have assailed Oregon’s high tech in­ dustry for coming up with that nefarious plan to "shutdow n Portland State U niversity," a process which would wreak further havoc on the higher education aspirations of Port­ land’s minorities and poorer whites. The self-imposed problems lying behind the machinations of these firms are further understood when one reads last Thursday’s article by Valerie Rice of the Knight-Ridder News Service: ‘ ‘Time is running out on U.S. Memories Inc., the fledgling memory chip consortium that raised hopes for a return to competitiveness by the U.s. electronics in­ dustry” —Intel, IBM, etc. “ Hope” is about all that was raised. Like the nation’s auto industry, these rather inept entrepreneurs snowed us with their grandoise and arrogant ads promising the good life for both the public and employ - ees-and, like the Savings and Loan Indus­ try, would have the very same victims bail them out. Il is understandable that high-tech would now look to state funds or any other source to bail them out o f their debacle- even the lotteries. The consortium above has not nearly reached its goal of half a billion dollars so the poor and disadvantaged had better practice that admonition, “ Eternal Vigilance.” Last week’s article was titled "E duca­ tion Needs Structure—Not Lotteries. ’ ’ I went on to describe these gambling schemes as free wheeling bonanzas for bureaucrats and hustlers, and a regressive tax on the poor. But there are other economic implications that can affect us all. I particularly appreciate the comments of National Basketball Associa­ tion Commissioner, David Stem; “ I find it a peculiar irony that today the athletic director of a great institution like Oregon State Uni­ versity would be sitting here, explaining why the people of the state of Oregon should encourage gambling by their population.” This, of course, is the same university whose attitudes I have described to be as regressive as the lottery—especially in the area of race relations. It is equally ironic that in its planning stages the Oregon State Lottery was extolled as the key element in advancing “ Economic Development, capable of restoring the state’s economic vitality in the face of a disastrous decline in Oregon’s lumber industry. This process seems as flawed as that of the afore­ mentioned “ U.S. Memories, Inc.,” the be­ lated and failing effort of the hi-tech industry to reverse two decades of hindsight and gross underestimation of the Japanese. The enter­ prises funded by the lottery have a poor track record if balanced against the loudly her­ alded massive increases in payrolls and workplace incrementations that were to be gained; nothing at all like that North Caro­ lina success model we described last w eek - employing the people, educating the kids for the 21st century. We are still waiting for our establishment media to conduct a thorough, indepth analysis of this unique foray into a terra incognito. Who got what and why? There is another media-highlighted situ­ ation that does not bode well for Blacks in the workplace. At the top of the news are the historic political upheavals in Eastern Eu- rope-the end of the Cold War is forecast. Already, the defense department is project­ ing the closing of scores of military bases, the mothballing of scores of naval vessels, and the discharge of hundreds of thousands of military personnel. Now, the question is will the Trillion dollars saved over the next decade be used to rebuild America’s infra­ structure of decaying highways, bridges, industrial plants (which cannot compete with the Japanese), and deteriorating school sys- tems--or will this money be expended to re­ vitalize Eastern European Kinfolk in a m es­ sianic campaign similar to the Marshall Plan that followed World War II? In either case the country will be facing massive unemployment and economic dislo­ cations. We may ask how energetically Black leadership and social agencies are preparing for the onslaught? As Dr. Manning Marable told us last week, this is a nation where already “ drugs are destroying our neighbor­ hoods, nearly 2000 teenagers drop out of high school each day, two million sleep in alleys and abandoned automobiles, and 37 million have no type of health insurance.” All this in a nation where lovemaking has become more dangerous than fighting. As the election returns rolled in on Tues., Nov. 7, it became clear that African- American politicians were posting unprece­ dented victories in cities like New York, New Haven, Durham, Seattle and in the state o f Virginia. David Dinkins would be elected the first African-American mayor of the nation's largestcity and Doug Wilder would become the first elected Black Governor in American history. But while the air was filled with eupho­ ria, particularly among African-Americans, a curious phenomenon was unfolding. Numerous journalists, analysts, opinion moulders and party pundits were having as different celebration. They were hailing what they preceived to be the demise of Jesse L. Jackson as the preeminent Black political leader on the national scene. Jesse Jackson was declared the “ big loser” on Nov. 7. Commentators virtually rejoiced in the victories of Norman Rice of Seattle, John Daniels of New H aven and of course Dink­ ins and Wilder. The were annointed the “ new breed” of "m oderate” and respon­ sible "m ainstream ” Black politicians who could appeal to and gain substantial white votes. Their elevation to public office, so some analysts reasoned, meant the inevi­ table decline of the liberal-progressive style and substance o f the Jackson factor in American politics. What this gleeful exer­ cise in wishful thinking ignored, however, was the fact that the Jackson factor contrib­ uted mightily to the impressive results on Nov. 7. Far from diminishing Jackson’s stature, the election results enhanced Jesse Jackson's standing as a pioneer who paved the way and opened the door to broader dimensions of political power and influ­ ence. In both the 1984 and 1988 campaigns, Jesse Jackson repeatedly stated that one of the goals of his presidential bids was to increase voter registration and to inspire increasing numbers of African-Americans to seek public office at all levels. Jackson put forth the vision of a Rainbow Coalition and projected a platform based on “ com­ mon ground” issues as the vehicles to victory for black and progressive politi­ cians. And though Jesse’s Rainbow was derived in '84 as a rainbow with one stripe, by 1988 there was no question but that rainbow politics had arrived. T his W ay F or B lac k E mpowermen I hv Dr. I.e tu n a I tila n i The Non-Aligned Movement For their own economic and political reasons the international “ big guns” —the United States, the Soviet Union, and China- have made a deal with one another. These “ superpowers” are dealing not from posi­ tions of strength, but of wealtness. As surely as the Berlin Wall has come tumbling down, the socialist world is clearly collapsing. At the same time the capitalist world is sinking under a stagnating econ­ omy; not surprisingly, it is poor and work­ ing people -and most particularly poor people o f co lo r-w ho are the first to go under. The social problems for which we are blamed andpunished-drugs, crime, abuse, AIDS-- are all symptoms of the profound social decay that is part of the economic crisis. While the Soviet Union must divert its attention, and its resources, away from liberation struggles and progressive gov­ ernments to the demands of its own people for democracy and economic growth, the United States has been forced into a recon­ ciliation (a “ rapprochement” ) with the socialist world by the urgent need to open up markets: China, for example, represents one billion new customers for American products. Likewise, American investors stand to gain many economic advantages from the "cooling o ut” of conflicts in Black Africa; this is why the US was so anxious to broker the peace accords between the gov­ ernment of Angola and South Africa. Meanwhile, the masses of the world's people have been excluded from the new arrangements . . . in just the same way as poor and working in this country are being left out of the ‘ ‘rapprochement” which has PORTLfifibtf^ERVER OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established in 1970 Allred L. Hendereon/Pubtlsher Leon Horrls/Goneial Managor Gary Ann Garnatt Joyce Washington Business Managor Sales/Markeling Director • PORTLAND OBSERVER la published weekly by Exit Publishing Company, Inc. 4747 N.E. M .L .K . Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97211 P.O. Box 3137 Portland, Oregon 972W *e *a (503) 288-0033 (Office) Deadlines lor all submitted materials: Articles: Monday, 5 p.m.; Ads: Tuesday, 5 p.m. The roR T LA N O OBSERVER watoomaa IrM tanc* tubrm siont M v iu ta ip lt and photograph* should ba dearly labalad and an* ba ralurnad I aoconrpaniad by a s*ff addr.stad anvalopa All created designed ditplay ad, become the tola properly of Hue rewepaper and can not be used in o th e r publcelion* or personal usaga. without the w ritte n o o n .e r d ol the general m a n a g e r, u n le s s the clien t h e , p u ir h a s e d the c o rrp n .rlio n o l s u c h art I t » « P O n tlA N O OBSERVER. A l t H U N T S RESETTVED. REPRODUCTION IN W H U .E O il IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. Subscrysbone. S20.00 pet year In the Tri-County area. The PORTLANO OBSERVER •• Oregon's otdesl Alrican American Pubt.celion-n a m u rtisi el The National Newspaper Aasooation - Founded In IM S . The Oregon Newspaper Publisher, Association, and The N alorul Aduerbseig Representative Amalgamated Pubiahan. Ins.. New Y art. brought the Democrat and Republican Parties closer and closer together and further and further to the political right. The Black-led, multi-racial independ­ ent political movement which I have been building over the last ten years is a move­ ment of those who have been locked out of the political process. This independent political movement is a natural ally of our sisters and brothers in the people of color- led international non-aligned movement who have been left out of the new rap­ prochement between Washington, Moscow and Beijing. In 1988 the independent New Alliance Parly chair emerged from the Presidential election-in which I received 2% of the national Black vole—as America’s fourth largest party. Last week an insurgent Democrat, a grassroots Puerto Rican leader running on the NAP line for a City Council scat from New York’s impoverished South Bronx, received 42% of the vote. The fact that nearly half the electorate-B lack and Puerto Rican working class people--de­ fected from the Democrats to vote for the candidate of a pro-socialist, pro-gay, anti- imperialist parly was a thrilling and highly significant step forward for independent politics... a sign that this ‘ ‘pcoplc-instead- of-profits” party, joining forces with a progressive grassroots leader, can ex ei. political influence (including winning elec­ tions) in jurisdictions throughout the United Stales on behalf of the disempowered m a­ jority. I believe that the new rapprochement has created the same opportunity for members of the non-aligned movement who have been "left out in the cold" to exert leverage as an independent political force at the international bargaining table. The no longer all-powerful “ super­ powers,” like the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are now vulnerable to such pressure from within their borders as well as from outside. We have the opportu­ nity, and the responsibility, to make the most of their weakness by building alli­ ances between the non-aligned here and around the world. The '88 Campaign set the tone, staked out the issues, and helped to create a mind­ set that is possible for African-American candidate to receive substantial support among white voters. It is useful to recall that of the nearly 7 million votes which Jesse Jackson won in 1988 nearly 3 million were white votes. Jackson did extremely well in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Wash­ ington State, Oregon and Idaho. He scored victories in Michigan and Vermont, the whitest state in the nation. Jesse Jackson clearly demonstrated that it was possible for a black candidate to receive sizeable support in areas with miniscule Black and minority populations. Jesse Jackson also won the state of Virginia and the city of New York thereby strengthening the prospects for Dinkins and Wilder in 1989. Especially New York city, it was Jesse Jackson’s '88 campaign which provided the cement which bound together the coalition which would eventu­ ally carry David Dinkins to victory. After a demoralizing failure in 1985 it was Jesse Jackson who urged blacks and Latinos to forget their past differences and join with labor, the Irish and other ethnic groups to forge a formidable coalition for change. When Jackson carried New York City dur­ ing the ’88 Democratic Primary he made believers out of disbelievers. Il was on that night that the coalition was convinced that it was possible to dump Koch and win the office of Mayor. These reminders are important, not because it is necessary to glorify the ac­ complishments of Jesse Jackson, but be­ cause there are always forces within the media, the party establishment and the power structure which seek to separate us from our history. Much of the media is hostile to Jesse Jackson because he won big in 1988 despite their presistent negative predic­ tions to the contrary. And there are forces within the Democratic party, particularly the southern based Democratic Leadership Conference (D.L.C.) who fear Jackson’s brand of lib­ eral-progressive politics, these forces would like a more moderate and mild mannered type of mainstream Black leadership to emerge. Jesse Jackson refused to be suffi­ ciently accommodating. so whilc African-Americans can legiti­ mately applaud tire outcome of the Nov. 7 election, we need to guard against the dan­ gers of media manipulation, divide and conquer and the old game of w e’ll pick your leaders for you. When we decide to demote Jesse Jackson w e’ll let America know. For now lets give him his propers. Jesse Jackson’s campaigns paved the way for the successes on Nov. 7. c of past histoiy or in isolation o f the present moment. Remembering the struggle o f his grandparents who were slaves on Virginia plantations. W ilderstated, “ W ehavecom e this distance because people who have come before us believed and kept the faith ." At the wilder victory celebration there was a spirit of giving thanks because o f the suc­ cess of the campaign in bringing all Vir­ ginians together despite racial divisions. W ilder affirmed, “ I believe in coali­ tion politics and we have shown that coali­ tion politics works.” Another significant aspect of W ilder's election is that the path has now been made for others in other states to more readily consider running for Gov­ ernor and other statewide elected offices. For one, Andrew Young is now strongly considering running next year for Governor of Georgia. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., dreamed of this day. The election of Douglas Wilder to be governor o f a state that once was one of the leading states of the Confed­ eracy during the Civil W ar is in itself a significant turn of history. Thus, we all should join in the spirit of giving thanks that this kind o f victory can be won in the wake of the Reagan years and amidst what many have concluded is a more conserva­ tive America. when families gather for Thanksgiving this year throughout the nation we do have much to be thankful for and we all should be grateful for the gift that Douglas wilder and the voters of Virginia have given to the nation. The United States of America will never be the same now that for the first time in history an African-American has been elected Governor of a state. The myth that this was an impossibility has now been broken. L. Douglas Wilder, the grandson of African slaves in Virginia, has now been elected Governor of Virginia. While much of the national media has concentrated on the narrow number of votes that enabled Wilder to win the election, the national significance and impact of Wilder’s election in Virginia should not be underes­ timated. In a slate where the electorate is approximately fifteen percent African- American, it took a large number of Anglo- American voters to cast their vote for Wilder which caused hit election. At a time when there has been a resur­ gence of overt acts of racial violence through­ out the nation, W ilder's election is indeed a welcomed step forward for the improve­ ment of race relations in the United States. Although Wilder correctly did not base his campaign on the issue of race, there were racial overtones in the manner in which his opponent tried to infer to the voters of Virginia that the state was not ready for an African-American to be Governor. Of course, Mr. Marshall Coleman, the Republican conservative candidate for Governor, was unsuccessful in making that argument to the voters of Virginia. Douglas Wilder expressed his grati­ tude for all of the hundreds of thousands of his supporters. Wilder also realized that his election should not be viewed in isolation , 1 9 6 . PM E ato n « Seoncm C ommentary Election Year 1990: Goldschmidt or Frohnmayer? The forth coming election for 1990 promises to be the most interesting in recent memory. Governor Neil Goldschmidt is being challenged by Attorney General Dave Frohnmayer. While the Governor has yet to announce his candidacy, his bid for re-elec­ tion (if he decides to run) faces a serious challenge from the Attorney General. Some Oregonians are miffed at the Governor's alleged lack of leadership in areas such as education, prison overcrowding, crime and youth gangs. of Pelett was considered by many to be "lukewarm" at the most. Meanwhile, Frohnmayer has launched a formidable campaign which appears to be well organized and well financed. Given this states problems with drugs and crime he has made a creditable impact as the number one law enforcement officer in the state. The race for Governor should be inter­ csting? It « fw'sl twUs STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP. MANAGEMENT ANO CIRCULATION rvgw».,r Ar <« (T t r MMT| I A. I ' l l « o r BURLICAIIOM in r u w t » c a t t o n n o » r m u u tu t.* * Or lis u t l j o a ti or ’ iu * 9 JA. NO o r »SUMS ru ailS M C O J«. ANNUAL « v étc n iT T IO N ANNUALLY rn»c« «.' l Ó a IF Í* i i MAiEUnyAuuñtU or rnöwn ö FF»¿E ÒF F u * lk . â îiô m » xsmvl l ñ »7 k cötwu n MAtiiNÍAiiuniii of I m he AizuuAiti in« u ' u e n ir A l business JMM eêe lié e s ( e e e l »A av urnci ior t»«« Fveimiin ¿ a «, e e - e i i ru t L m a m is A N i i r i ' o r i t l t m a il in g A u tm ts s o r r t t w iin n n , u n i o n , a n o m a n a g in g | ( h i o r , | s b , „ . . N U .trjY u rs v *« .-• ( r u " l I I H i n /Maata t a —AtvM »laVrwg A AV was/ .od C lA I U»t tfte^ r f / Ca^PfvM Ma4,ag A 44 yt,/ 772. J 7- ¿ ■ D K L > . I / A A I Z C -> MAN AuiNla I OI I O«» f Aasaa a«4 Caa»p<«t« MaMVwf 444><>t/ / 7 ’ «satt A» Iva»v4 va4 «Vsa faaa«4as«fr IWax. a4yv fWa »««.«• eoS «44.vt.vt a/ v,arS»aV4~. aawwt» av «-Lvi», I f t f H H * • atava af »vat aasatta» a / («VW I If ee l » y , rwvpavavMw ,»« xw , v, aw4 a44.. ,ws a f sAv l-^aaV-4 a «wave « • « »V «raw tr .W P .I Ba • pavtttvvMBt a . aybv. A— . «va -a-.» Don 7SO RAin AMnzon n r o s i t n r t n r m c tit a h o m 1 Xvtv. tb.aw^ sMa*a.t ax« «a*,iav«, ts,a«i ivrs B ws «w4«atta.a. .«.«a C, r n t A t rA tn AMiunn w t o u iir io c in c M L A liO N »raas af 1SS1 e»S » ••/» ( oe a v i n A i.r Mn rtirtT 1 r a t m i m u t OuntMO r n rc d H N O l a t l M T a m o MATun» o r r t n c t n » ItO R /.tvv »«i,s.vS»-w, aw v«.«..v s»4v/ A TOTAL NO C OrtC I fAvs ^ « m Baaf African-Americans are miffed at the treatment given Frcddye Webb-Pelett. It appears that the only real criticism of the Governor that is jusified is the manner in which Ms. Pelett was forced to resign as Administrator of Adult and Family Services Division. Unqucstionally, Ms. Petett'sresig­ nation was forced as a result of power poli­ tics manifested by the Republican bloc in an apparent attempt to embarass the Demo­ cratic Administration. Goldschmidt's defense i COMTLt T t MA«tUTO AQQOrtT ' 7 o it t n t e o n o N p a » p r r « M nt r . r o r i r t m o t T M trn u M itrn DO 1 t»ar*sa Naw. Mv.w Apaw.s A 3 S G TOTAL y l a M a /r FT awtf 1 .A m M vawat aar pv«M swa ( A a M «■ AT 1 e » < lily th » t ihB lt B t» m » n lt m«rlB b y SV.« BtHW« ■ « • COTTBCl «ori co n i|» i« l« r» r a .s j s , « t iw , i » i t \ /SDOGO p T (a o r it M iu n . r ir e i't m n . »•«¿"A 'vn« a n o . . a- D e t M n rsK in ei . _ reeenef 33S /cl.O D O b u »» m »» i J anako , cm ownin'