Page 2 Portland Observer DECEMBER 13,1989 E ditorial I O pinion G uest E d it o r ia l ] Articles and Essays by Ron Daniels Where, How, and Why We Must Count! More! by A. Lee Henderson There is a need to take a careful meas­ ure of the way we count success in the recent elections. We have to consider where the elec­ tions are held and how they were conducted before determining the future of our politi­ cal strategies as minority peoples. It is essential that we share this message with each other, because we know we count. And we know for our future and our chil­ dren’s future why we must count! More!! We stand to lose the advances of ghetto politics which is shifting our electoral dis­ tricts into areas of pure B lack or pure White racial divisions. Ironically, the Voting Rights Act which was put into force in 1965 “ to end such things as poll taxes and literacy tests that disenfranchised millions of Blacks" has helped to set up guarantees to Black and Hispanic candidates. It does so by estab­ lishing inner-city districts. Local politi­ cians, therefore, appeal to the segregated populace and confine Black candidates to stay pul on local levels rather than risk winning with an interracial platform in a non-ghettoized district. Virginia’s new Governor and New York’s new Mayor offer stunning examples of a future we have ahead of us! But we must heed the critical local level! There is an advantage certainly to Black congressmen that the law offers in protecting their seats which they might find in jeopardy with a population decline. U.S. News and World Report cites figures that claim Blacks hold just 15 per­ cent of elective political offices while ac- counting for 11 percent of the voting-age population.” Black influence is felt in confined dis­ tricts of concentrated Black populations, such as in Chicago, but what would happen if this influence was encouraged to extend beyond these set boundaries? Our vision ought to include this type of expanded democracy so that we can impact humanity. Where? Universally. How? By fixing our sites beyond our present bounda­ ries. Why? Because we must count to make a difference in effecting changes that will strike all levels o f society for economic, social, and political progress. We must Count! More!! We wish to avoid the inequities that occur when districts are depleted of B lacks, as happened in Atlanta to raise the propor­ tion of Blacks in an adjacent district. The depleted district elected conservative Re­ publican Pat Swindall to office in 1984. However, Atlanta’s fifth congressional district did elect Black Andrew Young in 1972 who became the Mayor o f Atlanta! Carol Swain, a Black political scientist at Duke University notes, “ More Blacks could be elected. It’s just that there's gen­ eral perception among Whites and Blacks that Blacks can’t win in a majority White district ’ ’ We contend that the stage is set for a greater participation of political action, and that this is a meaningful time to stride forward and erase all inequities. We can be meaningful and mighty as we participate in our own future and the future of humankind. L e t t e r s to t h e E d it o r MINORITY OUTREACH LETTER I am writing to let you know about some important services Human Solutions offers which we want to bring to the atten­ tion of racial and ethnic minority persons. Human Solutions, Inc. is a social serv­ ice agency offering a wide variety of serv­ ices to low-income, elderly and handicapped persons in Multnomah County. Our serv­ ices include homeless and aging case management, housing counseling, energy assistance, information and referral, and weatherization. Our services are outlined in the enclosed brochure. I am writing to you because Human Solutions wants to boost the participation of minorities in our programs, particularly in programs which have had a low partici­ pation rate by minorities or which are in­ tended to benefit minorities. These pro­ grams are: * Critical Maintenance. This HUD funded, Multnomah County sponsored program provides funds for the repair and maintenance of owner-occupied dwellings in portions of east Portland, and mid and east Multnomah County. Repairs are made where the health of the occupant is threat­ ened, where the habitability of the building is in jeopardy, or to increase the energy efficiency of the dwelling. Funds for this program are limited. * Fair Housing Counseling. This coun­ seling is for persons who feel they are or have been discriminated against in any area of housing including rental, pre-rental, purchase, pre-purchase, shared housing, displacement and re-location, or landlord- tenant issues. * Weatherization. We can weatherize qualifying homes and rental units at no cost to the home-owner or landlord. Weatheri­ zation will help reduce the amount of money clients spend on energy and allow them to spend their money on other necessities. Human Solutions performs the weatheriza­ tion work but intake for this program is handled by Multnomah County. Human Solutions programs usually are limited to low-income, elderly or handi­ capped persons. Fair housing counseling is an exception to our guidelines; it is avail­ able to anyone regardless of income, age or physical condition. Access to all human Solutions programs is available to anyone regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, sexual preference, famil­ ial status, or physical or mental handicap. All services are handicapped accessible. In addition, we have Spanish speaking staff available. In the meantime, if you would like more information about Human Solutions’ programs or would like to refer a client to us, please call Lucy at 248-5200. If you would like to refer a client for weatheriza­ tion please call the Multnomah County Community Action Program Office, at 248- 5464. We appreciate your referrals of quali­ fying racial or ethnic minority clients. Thank you. Sincerely, Steven H. Rapp, Public Inform ation Officer PORTLfì ERYER Progressive Black Politics: Way by Professor McKinley Burt 1 called it right again, didn’t I, when forecasting that the political upheavals in Eastern Europe would mean very little to this nation’s B lacks-w ho might have be­ lieved that big cuts in the military might translate into an improved economic situ­ ation. I’m sure you saw that headline quot­ ing the president, “ D on't hold your breath expecting a peace dividend there isn’t going to be a lot of excess money floating around out there." In case you were naive enough to think that any "excess” would be funneled into such critical areas as healthy education, housing or drug wars, you’ve been forewarned in this column-the money is going to our kinfolk overseas to get them back on their communist feet. So much for our relatives; let us pro­ ceed with the task we assigned ourselves last week; “ where do we go from here?” Writer Shelby Steele said we suffer from a "victim-focused Black identity,” and we were admonished for a “ lack of ability to take responsibility and seize opportunity." Now, there is something we really need to consider here. The American media works overtime to convince this nation (and the world), and perhaps Blacks themselves, that this is just the case. Day and night all of us are bombarded with the shrill assault of the denigrating images and verbiage which can only serve to portray-one sidedly-a poor, forlorn, despised and hopeless mass of people (with no future and no Statue of L iberty to beckon ‘ ‘Send me your poor and downtrodden masses' ’). This debiliating radiation pours from the tube: “ illiterate, imprisoned, jobless, drop out, drugged (from womb to serility), rapist, unruly, unhoused, uneducated, and unparented.” If there is another level of Black existence, it is not intended that the world should know of it. The media is not interested in how these situations came ab o u t-it would not dare explore these is- su es-th e media is interested in sales and ratings, the balance sheet. If there is an ebony body politic, beleagured but alive and functioning—then it is certainly going to have to assert itself or we may all perish under the weight of the assault. It is my belief that Blacks have got to Business Manager Saies/MarkeUng Director There has been talk lately in Con­ gress about increasing federal excise taxes on everyday consumer goods. Many economists argue that legisla­ tors favor consumer excise taxes on alcohol, gasoline and tobacco prod­ ucts because they can be hidden in product cost. A nickel here, a dime there doesn’t sound like much, but the total cost can be staggering. Even more staggering is the fact that Congress is proposing an increase in federal consumer excise taxes alter 23 states raised gasoline taxes. 13 states raised tobacco product taxes and seven states, alcoholic beverage taxes in 1989. According to a survey newly re­ leased by the National Conference of Slate Legislatures (NCSL). the number ol slat.es increasing consumer excise taxes in 1989 was the highest in years, and these regressive taxes were the fa­ vorite target ol stale legislatures. A re­ cent comprehensive study by the non­ profit, non-partisan Tax Foundation found that consumer excise taxes on alcohol, gasoline and tobacco, along with sales taxes, absorb almost 10 percent ol the income of the lowest in­ come lamilics, hut less than 2 percent ol the highest income class. How much more will we pay in stale excise taxes lor 1990 alone? fry approximately S I.5 billion, f l i c esti­ mates by individual state from the NCSL survey tell the story. Id a 1989. PM Editorial Services rTbO Y ou T ARE Y o U N EAT,T hav F [SNORE ? rend ie ^ isiative A gence DOYbU SUEP HAVE IN YOUR .UNDERWEAR?^ ever EATEN JARE Y ou a KIWI , L( s OO{)BMER?J I FRUIT ARE You .AÍMQKER? FNV i Æ nv WT • aV>«N i W m M and w.H ba rMwnwd d «ocom pan») by • M d -a ddraiM d «nvalep*. AJI ciMUcd d..ign«d dúptey ad. beoorrw dw .ote preparty ol tha nawapapar and can not ba u.ad in o» » . "i. Long Term Health Care When the history of the 1980s comes to be written, the strange saga of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act will likely be a prime illustration of how greed and special interests undercut compassion and social needs. The Act was passed in 1988 after a two- year struggle to meet the disastrous impact of long-term illness on the elderly, many of whom found their lifetime’s savings wiped out when Medicare coverage ran out. Many of the elderly have chronic con­ ditions that require steady consumption of expensive prescription drugs, and the Act partially reimbursed those expenses, as well. The improved coverage was financed through a surtax on the elderly. In effect, the beneficiaries of the bill would pay for it. All seniors pay a small monthly fee; those liable for federal income tax pay a modest surcharge, and the wealthiest 5 percent of the elderly wound up paying the top sur­ charge of $800 per year. When the Act was passed, everyone— leaders of both parties, senior citizens groups, and health experts-hailed it as a long over­ due improvement benefitting the most vulnerable of the elderly. Then greed took over. Affluent seniors balked at having to pay up to $800 a year extra, although they’d benefit from the legislation, too. A massive letter-writing campaign was launched for repeal and Congress, fearing the shrill opposition of the affluent elderly, backed down. In the rush for Thanksgiving adjourn­ ments, Congress repealed the Act, although congressional leaders say new proposals for Medicare expansion will be high on the agenda after New Years. Congress should reconsider its action and reconstitute a Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act, for it is just as important today as when it was passed, and there was no reason to give in to the hysterical calls for repeal. It's estimated that the average M edi­ care subsidy to high income retirees is worth well over $2,00 per year, so the extra tax surcharge to pay for it just reduced an already large subsidy to the affluent, while extending benefits for the less well-off. The greed factor, so typical of the 1990s, is going to boomerang on the afflu­ ent, too. Many objected to the modest sur­ charge because they can afford private insurance that provides similar benefits. But private insurers held premiums down only because many benefits were picked up by the Medicare program. With the A ct’s repeal, those private insurance premiums will go up-m ost likely by a lot more than the surtax that upset so many of the affluent. Most important, the Act provided important benefits for the elderly poor, such as a requirement that state Medicare programs provide Medicare deductibles, premiums and co-insurance charges for the poor. That must be part o f any new legisla­ tion. The African-American elderly have a special stake in an improved Medicare- Medicaid program that caps out-of-pocket expenses for covered hospital and physi­ cian services. Any changes in the Act must preserve features that benefit the poor, such as Medicaid buy-ins, caps on out-of-pocket payments, and prescription drug expense caps. It is, unconscionable for Congress to pander to a relatively small group of afflu- envpcople who have benefited from the tax cuts of the 1980s while stripping vital pro­ tection away from the poor and the moder­ ate income elderly. d ' e t A A * A* * • ' ’ * • * • ♦ • • ♦ ». • ■ a ïfc t -»i '-L - . » • 3' RETSUI 'T A W W a f t 60T OUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT Subocigdrana: S20.00 par yaar In Iha TrkCaunly araa. Tha PORTLAND OBSERVER - Oragon'a oMaai Alrrcan-Amerlcan Pubitcatron-ii a m anijar a Tha National Naanpapar Aa.odanon - Foundad In IM S . Tha Oragon Nam papar Publr.har. A lte ra tio n . and Tha Nalonal Advarbam, Hapraaanlatnra Amalgamated Pwbliahar«, Ina., Naw Vari. recognizes that while racism and racial oppression remain major barriers to A fri­ can-American progress, an explorative economic system also works to keep Afri­ can-American progress, an explorative economic system also works to keep Afri­ can-Americans, other minorities and poor and working people locked at the bottom of the economic ladder. The American politi­ cal economy is a system of prosperity for some and misery for many. That system must change. The mission of progressive Black poli­ tics, therefore, is to " , . . accept major responsibility for creating both the atmos­ phere and the program for fundemental, far ranging change in America . . . It is the challenge to consolidate and organize our own Black role as the vanguard in the struggle for a new society.” Progressive politics is not a politics of the status quo. It is not about the business of apologizing for or legitimizing the present system. Pro­ gressive Black politics is apoliticsof social transformation. Progressive Black politics is forced to raise hard questions as it relates to the present system. How is that the wealthiest and most technologically endowed nation on the face of the earth can have 3-6 million homeless people, 37 million people with no health insurance, 60 million people who are either functionally illiterate or completely illiterate, 30 million plus people who live in poverty, and urban inner city centers that are collapsing under the weight o f jobless­ ness, crime, drugs and decay? As Martin Luther King put it: “ true compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.” Progressive Black politics therefore must be about the task of exposing flaws and contradictions in the American political - economic system and it must press for “ restructuring.” Itseeks not to plunge into the "m ainstream ” o f what America is, but to transform the very nature of the main­ stream. of what America is, but to trans­ form the very nature of the mainstream. Progressive Black politics therefore must forge a fighting program and enter into coalitions not to dilute the Black agenda or to accommodate the status quo, but to unite any and all who have a vision of a new America and a new tomorrow. And as the Gary Declaration exhorted African-Ameri­ cans nearly two decades ago: "th e society we seek cannot come unless Black people organize to advance its coming.” Such is the vision, mission and challenge of pro­ gressive Black politics in our time. To Be Equal Established in 1970 Gary Ann Garnett If the masses of African-Americans are to survive, develop and prosper in America, indeed if the masses o f working people, B lack or white and other minorities are to benefit from the "good life” in America, then Black politics must move beyond mere skin color to a progressive vision and agenda for change in America. African-Americans most assuredly should aspire to gain access to power both in the public and private sectors and we should seek to forge coalitions. But our access to power and the coalitions which propel our leaders into positions of prom i­ nence, may only produce disillusionment if black politics is not grounded in a progres­ sive vision and agenda. Without a vision, an agenda and the capacity to wage struggle to enact that vision and agenda. Black faces in high places will make no difference. In fact there is the danger, absent a progres­ sive vision and agenda, that Black faces in high places may only legitimize the present system and thereby perpetuate the status quo. What does it mean to be "progres­ sive"? The Gary Declaration which was issued at the historic 1972 Gary Conven­ tion summed up and set the tone for pro­ gressive Black politics in terms of vision, goals and a sense of mission. It is useful to cite this document from this great gathering as a basis for guiding our deliberation and actions in this crucial period. "T he crises we face as Black people are the crises of the entire society. They go deep, to the very bones and marrow, to the essential nature of America’s economic, political and cultural systems. They are the natural end product of a society built on the twin foundations of white racism and white capitalism." The progressive vision is based on an analysis of the problem facing Afri­ can-Americans and other oppressed groups in this country. America as is, with its racist institutions, chauvinist culture and an ex­ ploitive economic system which promotes and tolerates extremes of wealth and pov­ erty is not acceptable. Hence the Gary Declaration went on to state” . . . all truly Black politics must begin with this truth: THE AMERICAN SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK FOR THE MASSES OF OUR PEOPLE, AND IT CANNOT BE MADE TO WORK WITHOUT RADICAL FUND- MENTAL CHANGE. (Indeed, this system does not really work in favor of the human­ ity of anyone in America).” Progressive Black politics is based on a race-class analysis and perspective. That is to say that progressive Black politics ToGo! O R E G O N ’S O L D E S T A F R IC A N -A M E R IC A N P U B LIC A TIO N Allred L. Handerson/PubUsher The Vanguard For A New Society * * i ■ ’ -r • -i r •-* ' : ■ I ■V