Page 2 ■ Portland, Observer ■ M artin Luther King, Jr. Special Edition - January 10, 1990
E ditorial I O pinion
To Be Equal
To Your Health II
From African-
Americans
"Of all the forms o f inequality, injustice in health
is the most shocking and inhuman.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
That quotation is the lead for the intro
ductory section of Black H ealth: A Re
view of the Births and Deaths of Black
O regonians published in September, 1989
by the Health Division, Oregon Depart
ment of Human Resources (call center for
Health Statistics, [503-229-5897])
Today's article, however, is not an
assessment of this very useful and informa
tive publication, but, rather, we carry on
from last week our review of the Black
contribution to medical science--from ancient
times to the modem era. I feel that such an
examination should serve as an inspiration
and motivation for our youth--providing
role models for the generation of African-
Americans needed to intervene in the trau
matic state of Black health. Our youth
cannot reach or aspire if our generation
allows the establishment version of history
to dehumanize them with its deliberate
omissions and usurpations.
We move now from the ancient Ethio
pians, Nubians and Egyptians to the medi
cal contributions of their descendents on
this continent. Several intervening epochs
are omitted because a detailed description
would require more space than a simple
column permits. Reference is to the A fri
can M oors who, beginning in the 8th cen
tury A.D., revived science, medicine, and
philosophy--rescuing European mankind
from the D ark A ges culminating with the
Renaissance, the peak of intellectual re
vival. These "dark-skinned” (Shakespeare)
Moors also established in West Africa the
greatest school of its day in the world, the
University o f Timbuktu. Europeans came
there to study in the same manner that
today's Africans go to Oxford and Cambr
idge. These European immigrants were later
to return home and establish their own
schools—Proliferating the knowledge of
Africa but never giving credit where it was
due; like the Greeks.
The African-American pioneers we
honor here are by no means the only major
Black contributors to 20th century medical
science, but it is felt that their names and/or
specific achievements should ring a bell
that transcends the generational gap. We
would keep in mind also that the African-
American physician-like our ministers—
has also been in the forefront of the civil
rights struggle and other social issues, from
discrimination to voting rights. Their time,
monies and energies have so often been
placed at the disposal of the community.
We have seen them as writers, publishers,
philanthropists, businessmen, advisors and
a score of other categories. Our selection
for this week follows:
Dr. Charles Richard Drew (1904-1950):
This world-renowned pioneer in blood
research and the developer of the modem
blood bank, was an African-American sur
geon to whom millions in this world (and
their descendents) owe their very lives. The
quick transfusion of blood plasma is vital to
the victims of traumatic injuries-house-
hold, traffic, industry, crime or war. It is the
fruition of this Black m an’s lifelong labors
and dedication that has saved so many
lives. Conquering every conceivable form
of racism and discrimination in both aca
demic and the laboratory, he nevertheless
managed to reach "The Mountain Top.”
Dr. Drew gained his BA degree from Amherst
College and his medical degree from McGill
University in Montreal, Canada in 1933 on
his 29th birthday (Doctor of Medicine and
Master of Surgery). His residency require
ments were met at Montreal General, and
from here he accepted an appointment at
Howard University Medical School as In
structor in Pathology.
The turning point in Dr. Drew's career
came when he was awarded a research
scholarship by the Rockefeller Foundation-
it provided the opportunity to pursue his
lifelong interests in blood, shock and trans
fusions. This two years of work (1938-
1940) at Columbia University and its Pres
byterian Hospital paved the way for his
many momentous developments in the field
(It was in 1939 that Drew’s doctoral thesis
"Banked Blood,” 245 pp., was accepted
by Columbia University and he became the
first Black in the country to be awarded the
prestigious Dr. of Science o f M edicine-at
age 35).
Though his work was seminal to all
further development and was the basic struc
ture for blood banks throughout the United
States and the world, it was only in Europe
that Dr. Drew was given the high honor and
position he deserved—that of “ Medical
Director for the Plasma Project of Great
Britain.” This permitted the American
establishment to backhandedly accept his
work as the Model for the United States
Arm y. Ironically, Dr. Drew died from loss
of blood after an automobile accident on a
southern highway. There have always been
rumors that his death was due to the unusu
ally long transport to a hospital that would
accept a Black traffic victim at the time.
The Legacy of
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King, Jr., has been dead
for nearly a generation. The political envi
ronment which defined his activities, the
oppressive conditions of legal segregation
and political disfranchisement, no longer
exist. It is easy, therefore, for those who had
opposed the democratic social vision of Dr.
King while he was alive, such as President
bush, to provide platitudes about racial
equality and justice.
In the wreckage of the destruction of
the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, the
absence of enforcement for affirmative action
and equal opportunity legislation, and the
policy of ignoring the mounting tragedies
of Black unemployment, homelessness and
growing poverty, most white American
politicians hid behind the soothing image
of King as an advocate of racial peace. They
fear the disturbing implications of K ing's
economic and social demands for restruc
turing America's social order in the final
years of his life, and pretend that this final,
radical phase of his political career never
existed.
Black politicians have a different re
sponsibility to be truthful within African-
American history. To be sure, Martin
symbolized the struggle to desegregate the
racist South, to dissmantle the structures of
civil inequality. His famous " I Have a
Dream” speech, given on the steps of the
Lincoln Memorial on that hot August after
noon in 1963, spoke for the democratic
sacrifices and struggles of millions of A fri
can-Americans, from the abolitionists like
Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth to
the early civil rights crusaders like Dr.
W.E.B. Du Bois, A. Philip Randolph and
Ida B . Wells. Black elected officials and all
Blacks who had gained some degree of
success within the cultural, social and po
litical hierarchy of white America owe part
of their accomplishment to King and thou
sands of other nameless freedom fighters,
who demanded a redefinitionof democracy
beyond the color line.
But civil rights was not the only issue
to divide America in the 1960s. Under the
Johnson administration, the U.S. had sent
over one half million troops to southeast
Asia. Black Americans represented one out
frj
John E. Jacob
The Housing Crisis
of seven soldiers in Vietnam, and suffered
disproportionately high casualties because
they were unfairly ordered into combat
units. While the NAACP and Urban League,
fearing political retaliation, cautioned against
civil rights involvement in the Vietnam
War debate, King made the decision to
align his political beliefs with his ethical
hatred of war. Against bitter attacks, Mar
tin urged Black Americans to reject Ameri
can imperialism abroad, and the sterile
logic of crusading anti-Communism. King
inspired millions to oppose the U.S. war
effort.
But Martin’s political legacy transcended
the issue of Vietnam. He began to recog
nize that the political program of integra
tion was insufficient to achieve the material
basis of equality for people of color within
the U.S. He began t call for the nationaliza
tion of basic industries, in order to guaran
tee jobs for the central cities. Martin fa
vored a plan for a guaranteed income for all
Americans, and expanded social programs.
To finance this domestic reconstruction,
massive reductions in the Pentagon budget
would be required. American foreign pol
icy abroad would have to pull back from its
support for imperialism, economic exploi
tation and political domination.
M artin’s political vision also makes
sense for the 1990s. We must advocate
certain socioeconomic prerequisites for full
participation in a democracy, such as the
human right to a job, the human right not to
starve, the right to decent housing and free
medical care. Martin would insist that the
battle against racism today is being lost,
and that all Americans lose when Blacks'
median incomes are barely 55 percent those
of whites. Poverty is directly connected
with urban crime. And the answer to urban
chaos, Martin would tell us, is not more
police and capital punishment. The termi
nation of drugs, crime and social unrest will
come about only with the total reconstruc
tion of the central cities, requiring the
cancellation of billions of dollars from the
military budget. The real legacy of Martin
Luther King demands a rededication to the
struggle to create both a political and eco
nomic democracy in America.
American enters the 1990s in ahousing
crisis that demands resolution. The poor
and the near poor are victimized by esca
lating rents, a pressing shortage of afford
able housing, and the results of a decade-
long government withdrawal from low-
income housing assistance programs.
Fortunately, the Bush Administration
plans to reverse that withdrawal. It has
announced plans for a $4 billion, three-year
housing program that includes encouraging
first-time homebuyers, tenant ownership
of public housing and other measures.
It would also create ‘ 'housing opportu
nity zones” in low-income neighborhoods
with incentives for affordable housing crea
tion and rehabilitation.
The package is nowhere near the scale
needed, and the focus on home ownership is
questionable. If the housing crisis is to be
solved, the first priority should be a vast
expansion of the housing stock and this
proposal doesn't add a single new housing
unit to the limited supply.
Many also doubt whether converting
public housing projects to tenant co-ops
will do more than saddle the new tenant-
owners with maintenance and rehabilita
tion costs they can’t afford. Isolated ex
amples of successful conversions don’t
necessarily mean the process will work
everywhere.
So while it is encouraging to see the
federal government expressing concern about
housing, realism suggests that its proposed
solutions to the crisis offer too little, too
late.
And crisis is the only word to describe
the housing crunch that afflicts moderate
income families.
Over the past decade the number of
poor households increased by more than 25
percent, while the number of low-rent housing
units declined by 20 percent
It's estimated that there are 8 million
low-income renters competing for 4 mil
lion housing units. And that ratio is bound
to get worse, as low-income areas become
targeted for new developments aimed at the
middle-income and affluent
Minorities are hit hardest by the hous
ing crunch. About a third of all poor African
Americans live in substandard housing —
about two-and-a-half times the proportion
of poor whites living in such circumstances.
And as the poor got poorer in the 1980s,
the share of their shrinking incomes de
voted to housing costs rose sharply. A clear
majority of all poor families spend more
than half their income on housing, and two
out of five of the minority poor spend at
least 70 percent o f their incomes on hous
ing.
That doesn't leave much for other es-
sentials-food, clothing, transportation. And
the situation is even worse for poor single
parent households with young children.
The most visible part of the housing
crisis of course, are the homeless and espe
cially the growth o f homelessness among
families with children. The invisible part of
the homeless situation is the widespread
doubling-up that's happening, as people
who can't afford to maintain their own
homes move in with relatives and friends,
often shuttling back and forth among sev
eral hosts.
Policy-makers have to understand that
the demand for affordable housing is double
the supply, and that the housing crisis can't
be resolved unless the supply is drastically
increased.
’ ahp t ’M fea iM * V«**, w
eoo, tue Ä «e A T e w
Statement on Multi-Cultural Involvement
We are a culturally diverse society.
This diversity is our strength. To honor
diversity, to affirm excellence in each tra
dition, and to recognize that excellence is
defined by the people within all cultures the
Metropolitan Arts Commission will respect
and seek to achieve multi-cultural diversity
in our programs and administration through:
Ensuring culturally diverse represen
tation in decision-making through:
* attention to multi-cultural diversity
among juror selection panel members and
advisory bodies;
* affirmative recruiting and hiring of
permanent and temporary staff; and
* continual consideration of multi-
Cf AU A tt AMAtUeLt
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,
cultural candidates for arts commissioner
appointments.
Development of policies, guidelines,
formulas, and procedures which provide
equitable distribution of funding to arts
organizations, artists, and activities which
represent the diverse, multi-cultural com
munities of the state, county, and city.
Provision ot technical assistance in
designing steps toward greater diversity in
board membership, staffing, and artistic
programming of institutions and organiza
tions which receive state, county and city
funding.
Problems Plaguing Businesses Today!
Drugs in the workplace, employee theft,
unethical business practices, job related
stress; these are some of the problems plagu
ing businesses today. The time has come
for business to move beyond the old work
paradigm into the new. New Thought N et
work has recently been founded to assist
employers and employees in creating healthy
work environments by promoting ethical
business practices that acknowledge hu
man value, foster personal growth, and
produce “ win-win" situations.
Terry Rahm, president of New Thought
Network, has found that many employees,
and their employers, are expressing a strong
desire for shared vision and ethical and
supportive workplaces. With 20 years
experience in the business world, the last 11
in business and financial management, Rahm
believes “ Work and pleasure can be one
and the same; career and convictions go
hand in hand; personal val ues and ethics are
compatible with successful business.”
New Thought Network is an associa
tion of businesses and individuals who share
similar vision and values. Members meet
monthly to exchange ideas and develop
strategies for positive change. Classes and
workshops are offered which are designed
to assist in practicing ethics in the workplace,
gaining enjoyment and satisfaction from
one’s current job, increasing self-esteem,
and improving interpersonal communica
tions. New Thought Network facilitates
networking among members offering
employment and those members seeking
employment. Additional services are of
fered dependent upon the needs of the
members.
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Burnt Beans In Boston
by Ullysses Tucker Jr.
One thing I learned about my living
experience in Boston was that, it was a
culturally polarized town filled with "E llis
Island” ethnics full of nationalistic pride
and self-imposed limitations.
The Irish in Southie, Jewish folks in
Brookline, Italians in the North End, Blacks/
Jamaicans/West Indians in Roxbury/Mat-
tapan/Dorchester, and the W.A.S.P.’s in
the Back Bay/Beacon Hill. Each neighbor
hood has it's own set of values, morals,
politics, and attitudes. Furthermore, each
area has established a general perception or
list of stereotypes associated with commu
nities outside of their own. The bottom line,
you stay out of my neighborhood and poli
tics and I will stay out of yours.
As a youth, I can vividly remember
watching on television a Black man being
stabbed with the point of a flag pole, bear
ing our nations flag, during a anti-busing
demonstration. Considering the nationalis
tic mentality that exists in Boston, one can
see now how it may have been difficult to
accept your third generation family m em
ber from Israel being bussed to a German
area high school (the Holocaust all over
again?) or any other ethnic area with a
competitive attitude towards one another.
Actually, I had forgotten about the
television incident mentioned earlier until
a major corporation I worked for relocated
me to Boston. Outside of Larry B ird and the
Irish being King, I knew very little else
about the city. As a Manager for a broad
base of accounts, I had to travel all through
out Massachusetts, as well as the region, in
order to take care of business. If I desired to
eat and pay bills, I had no choice.
In mentioning to some of the few friends
I met while there that I had gone to areas
like Charleston, South Boston, Medford
(Yes, there is another one . . . ), etc. . . . I
would get called crazy and kindly told to
get a gun. I knew no limitations or even
considered the notion that I was not sup
pose to be in certain areas after dark. Ironi
cally, I moved to Boston on Dr. Martin
Luther King’s birthday (1986) because I
thought it would be an excellent company
anniversary date.
Granted, I was called "nigger’ and
" b o y ” several times but like boxer Mike
Tyson, 1 took the punch and continued my
progress forward. I had accepted within
myself that racism, a cancer, is something
that I have to fight with "chem o,” my pride
and dignity, for the duration of my life. A
man can not ride your back unless it is bent.
So, it comes as no great revealation that
Charles Stuart, the man who gained na
tional sympathy and attention after report
ing that his pregnant wife had been shot/
murdered by a black assailant, turned out to
be a hoax. White, middle-class suburban
ites, even tax paying — "N o welfare get-
tin’” folks done wrong by them Black
people, again. The city's attitude was primed
for such an event.
Oh, Boston was hurting, crushed emo
tionally at such a cold-violent act, and
many donated money toward a reward fund.
The mayor said that Boston would capture
this cold-blooded person and bring him to
justice. The old racists pulled out the white
sheets, rekindled the burning crosses, and
tossed the old rope up on the hanging tree
for this special occasion. The public lynch
ing of an undesirable spccies--a Black man.
All the better, an excellent excuse to
harrass undeserving Blacks, a reason to
knock off some o f the cobb webbs still on
the "N ightsticks," or better still, another
reason not lo trust your well meaning, tax-
paying Black neighbor, who just so hap
pens to be a suburbanite loo. No wonder the
NAACP, the Boston Urban League, and
other civil rights groups are mad.
When you consider that 43% of the
male prison population are Black males, it
only makes a logical person wonder how
many William Bennetts, the accused, their
are imprisoned unjustly in America’s crimi
nal justice (just us) system . . .7 The mayor
and many others have since apologized to
Bennett for the incident.
I can only begin to imagine how the
Mayor (Ray Flynn) and others on the “ lynch
mob” felt when they learned that Charles
Stuart, who went so far as to point Bennett
out in a police line-up, jumped off the
Tobin Bridge shortly after learning that he
had become a suspect. Stuart’s brother,
Matthew, came forth with C arol's Stuarts
wedding ring to prove that no holdup oc
curred. Investigators are still checking
accounts that Stuart and his brother were
after $600,000 in insurance money. A sad
story, indeed, at the expense of the Black
community and a innocent Black man.
Unfortunately, the general perception
held among white people is that Blacks are
basically criminals and on welfare. By the
same token, many Blacks feel that they
can’t get a decent break in this political/
economic system. It’s also easy to see how
the media can serve as gasoline on an
existing fire by reinforcing existing atti
tudes towards each other. Be it Boston,
Washington, D.C., New York City, Chi
cago or Portland, there is a great deal of
hatred between races. All it takes is one
incident like Howard Beach, Taw ana
Brawley, Norfolk, VA, and now Boston for
that cancer, racism, to rear it’s ugly head.
As people in these United States, we
have a long ways before achieving what Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. desired for all
mankind. He wanted truth, justice, and
equality for all. Let us use his birthday, not
just as a day off work, as a day to reflect on
our attitudes, values, and committment to
keeping his dream alive. Stop the madness.
1
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