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B lack H isto ry M onth • F ebruary 1 9 9 0
VOLUME XX • NUMBER 5
“ The Eyes and The Ears of the Community”
Community Leaders Condemn
Death Threats To Rahsaan
W hile news o f the death threats at
Halim Rahsaan was still spreading Mon
day, community leaders gathered to con
demn the threats and call attention to the
lack o f racially-integrated businesses.
Halim Rahsaan, an advisor at Portland
Community C ollege, has received several
threatening phone calls at work and home.
The callers used racial slurs and threats of
physical abuse to Rahsaan and his family.
Student organizations and staff mem
bers at PCC lobbied for an affirmative
action plan that includes accountability before
the college Board o f Directors, January
18th. An article appeared in the college's
newspaper January 25th and Rahsaan was
quoted in favor o f the A. A. plan. The phone
calls started the next day.
Rahsaan was not present at the press
conference, as advised by Ron Hemdon,
co-chair of the Black United Front. Hemdon
opened the conference with a statement
from the black United Front condemning
the situation at PCC.
“ We believe that his activism around
the issue (affirmative action) has made him
and his family a target for the cowardly
racist threats he received," said Hemdon.
Jean Drew, co-chairperson o f the Afri
can-American Council at PCC, presented
statistics on minority affairs. 85 out of
4,100 employees total at PCC are Black,
Drew said, but the Council maintains that
number is 65 Blacks.
In 1987 to 1988, seven out o f the 17
discrimination complaints filed were racial
harassment. Currently the college has no
racial harassment policy and is considering
a plan presented by the Council on racial
and sexual harrassment.
Bishop A .A. W ells spoke on behalf o f
th Albina Ministerial Alliance to protest the
threats.
“ Steps must be taken in practice, strat
egy and public expression, denouncing and
condemning such acts and attitudes lest we
be perceived as condoning it," Bishop Wells
said.
“ Those therefore, who have been out
front in proclaiming these truths for racial
harmony and equality, w e encourage to
continue,” he said.
Harold W illiam s o f the Coalition o f
B lackM ensaid, “ W e have com e to support
Halim 's efforts. W e ask those at PCC to
stand up and be counted.”
Later W illiam s added, ' ‘When som e
thing like these threats happen, you know
w hose going to stand up in the com m u
nity.” The challenge is to the larger com
munity, he said.
“ When Black people talk about af
firmative action, people think you ’re tak
ing the shovel out o f the hands o f w hites,”
said Hemdon.
“ There's an unspoken agreement,”
Hem don added, “ we don't have to hire
B lacks.”
District-Wide Workshops For
Albina Community Plan Feb. 10,
March 3, and March 24
The ACP total study area includes all
Citizens o f North and Northeast Port
or part o f 13 neighborhoods : Arbor Lodge,
land w ill have the opportunity to partici
B o ise, Concordia, Eliot, Humboldt, Irving
pate in three district-wide workshops being
ton. Kenton, King, Overlook, Piedmont,
held in February and March. The dates for
Sabin, Vernon and W oodlawn. In addition
these workshops are: Saturday, Feb. 10th;
to discussing land use issues, participants
Saturday, March 3rd; and Saturday, March
w ill have an opportunity to identify prob
24th. The first workshop w ill be held at
lem s and opportunities within the area and
Peace Lutheran Church, 2201 N . Portland
work with others addressing much broader
Blvd., an Saturday, February 10 ,1 9 9 0 from
issues, including: employment, housing,
9:30 A.M . to 1:00 P.M. Citizens are invited
im age, transportation, education, family
to attend and participate.
services, econom ic development, public
Sponsored by the Portland Planning
safety, historical preservation, and capital
Bureau, the workshops are designed to solicit
improvements.
input from citizens and interest groups about
“ These workshops provide an excel
the future o f the Albina Community Plan
lent
opportunity for citizens to participate
(ACP), a blueprint for revitalization o f inner
in shaping
North and
the future o f
N o r th e a st
their neigh-
P o r t la n d .
“ These workshops provide an excel
b
orhoods
These work
lent opportunity fo r citizens to participate
and commu
shops w ill
nity;” says
in shaping the fu ture o f their neighbor
p rovid e a
Earl Blum e
forum for
hoods and community;’ ’ says E arl Blum e
nauer,
Com
participants
nauer, Commissioner o f Public Works,
missioner of
to be heard
“ hopefully this community based process
P u b lic
and to share
W orks .
in the crea
will ensure your participation and access
" h o p efu lly
tion o f the
to city employees and others currently in
this commu
u ltim a te
volved in the development o f the A C P .”
nity based
plan. Addi
process w ill
tionally, the
ensure your
w ork sh op
participation and access to city em ployees
w ill serve os a mechanism to update the
and others currently involved in the devel
Arterial Street Classification Policy, a guide
opment o f the A C P .” Blumenauer w ill
to direct the future development o f Port
open the workshops, along with representa
land's transportation system. City Plan
tives from the Planning and Transportation
ning staff w ill build on the Economic
Bureaus who w ill be providing information
Development Action Plan, developed by
and facilitating the session. This effort,
the North/Northeast Economic D evelop
along with other neighborhood, business
ment Task Force. The Planning C om m is
and
district w ide m eetings w ill produce a
sion recently approved a planning process
comprehensive plan for the inner North/
to guide the development o f the ACP.
Northeast district
C o m m e n ta ry
fry Leon Harris
T wo recent issues o f the Portland
Observer (1/10-1/24/90) featured articles
concerning Black Male/Female Relation
ships. Written by U llysses Tucker, Jr. the
articles dealt primarily with expressed
opinions o f som e Black males and females
regarding the difficulty o f social interac
tion with each other. Tucker, a free-lance
colum nist for the Observer wrote the ar
ticles after a roundtable discussion (infor
mal) with a group o f Black professional
males, who expressed a desire to meet
Black females who were professional, mature,
goal oriented and had their "heads to
gether.” The group, ranging in ages 27-40
years old and allegedly with incom es be
tween $29,000-$500,000 annually, talked
about their desire to meet and hopefully
build a relationship with Black females,
without the expectations o f having to be the
sole source o f econom ic security if the
relationship develop maturity. They also
expressed consternation relative to getting
involved in a relationship that introduces a
“ ready-made fam ily.”
Understandably, the burden as sole,
financial supporter in any relationship has
Cross Burning
At Washington
Park
— Commenting on the January 15th, cross
burning in Washington Park, City Com
missioner Mike Lindberg said, “ There once
was a time when Germans thought Hitler's
brown shirts were a mere nuisance, unwor
thy o f much attention. I am not making that
mistake here. I want to empathically ex
press my total disgust with the skinheads
and Nazis who were involved in the cross
burning at W ashington Park. It was an act
o f barbarism perpetrated by cowards. All
parks personnel have been alerted to watch
for racist activity, and I am committed to
supporting stepped up police efforts to catch
the criminals involved in acts o f racist
terrorism.
There is no place in Portland for racist
trash. I want to see them driven out o f our
city and out o f our state. I urge all citizens
to report acts o f racist terrorism to the
police. It is important to understand that we
are not dealing with one or two isolated
incidents. Sadly, there is a rapidly evolving
hate movement in our country. Citizens
must commit them selves and their respec
tive organizations to combatting the rising
tide o f bigotry in our community. W e must
all speak out publicly and often. The time to
take a stand is now . Waiting only increases
the likelihood that more Nazi vermin w ill
look to portland as a good place to nest.”
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
New Guidelines To Help Oregonians’ Get
Low-Interest Loans And Tax Credits
Sen. B ill McCoy, D-Portland, said that
new guidelines for low-interest loans and
tax credits w ill help Oregon families with
below-median incomes buy a first home.
Starting Feb. 6, a family o f three or
more with a maximum annual income o f
431,700 will be eligible for the loans or for
credits on their federal income tax returns.
Households o f two will qualify with an
income o f up to $28,500 and one-person
households with an income of up to $24,000.
Sen. McCoy said, "This is the first
lime the program has considered family
size as part o f eligibility, and it should
stretch the funds and tax credits available to
reach the largest number o f people pos
sible."
Limits on Ihe price o f homes to be
purchased vary by location from a low o f
$57,420 in Marion and Polk countries to a
high o f $121,880 in som e metropolitan
areas targeted as econom ically distressed.
Statewide, targeted areas include all o f 13
counties, seven cities, and portions o f six
larger cities.
“ Parts o f Portland in this district are
designated as targeted areas, including areas
along NE Broadway, NE Seventh, and the
St. John’s District,” Sen. McCoy said,
“ that means there is more leew ay in the
price o f houses eligible for the programs so
people can get into the type o f house they
really want and n eed.”
historically created havoc for the individ
ual upon whom the burden falls unless he/
she understands and is prepared to accept
full responsibility.
But, a “ ready-made fam ily” is a fact
of life in today’s society and be it Black
male/female or white male/fem ale, if the
“ chemistry” is right, one could care less.
Tucker made a good point in citing the
failure o f Black males in the forementioned
salary brackets to fraternize in an environ
ment conducive to meeting Black females.
At least two o f the Black males who re
sponded to his articles expressed surprise
when informed by the Observer that many
Black females who meet or exceed $29,000
annually, socially interact in N.E. Portland.
So, perhaps those Black males who wish to
meet articulate, professional, and beautiful
Black females, would fare better if they
came back to their “ roots.”
And as Tucker stated also in his ar
ticles, what is sorely needed in the Black
community are more social events or places
to meet to bring the two together.
Any suggestions anyone?
a
To Dennis G . Payne o f M etropolitan
Transportation Service District of
Oregon. Payne was recently promoted
to supervisor of the fare inspection
and money room operations, moni
toring and coordinating the payroll
tax collection system and assisting in
developing and monitoring Tri-M et's
investments.
JANUARY 31,1990
Publisher Of The Skanner
Appointed Tostate
Banking Board
Oregon Gov. N eil Goldschmidt has
appointed Bernard V. Foster, publisher o f
The Skanner newspaper, to the State Bank
ing Board, effective Dec. 29, 1989. Foster
will serve a four-year appointment
The State Banking Board, which falls
within th Department o f Insurance and Fi
nance, consists o f five years employment as
senior officers o f banking institutions, and
the other two should be members o f the
general public with no banking associations.
Foster fits the latter category.
'Tm excited and proud to be a part o f the
State Banking board," Foster said. "It is a
tremendous opportunity to leqam, and I w ill
strive to help the state's business community
during my term."
A s an appointee to th State Banking
Board, Foster's duties will include reviewing
statewide banking needs and functions, rec
ommending rules and policy changes and
proposing legislation for th welfare and
progress o f the banking industry and the
public it serves. The board also reports on
bank failures and law violations within the
banking industry.
T v e always been heavily involved in
affairs o f the business community and have
always encouraged economic development,"
Foster said. "As board member, I hope to
continue pursuing those goals."
Outgoing members include Doris K.
Bounds o f Hermiston; Stephen K. Foster o f
Portland; Kenneth L. Smith o f Portland;
Joseph H. Johnson o f Portland; and Gerald
ine C. Thompson o f Portland.
Bernard V . Foster
Publisher T h e Skanner*
Bernie Foster is V ice President o f the
West Coast Black Publishers Association,
Board member o f the PortlandChamber of
Commerce, and a member o f the State Fire
Marshal's Public Education Advisory com
mittee.
African Image Challenged
by Professor McKinley Burt
My introduction to history began in the second grade and it was in the
form o f a little poem that went something like this . . .
“Christopher Columbus Sailed The Ocean Blue Discovered America
In 1492”
O f course, it never happened that way.
The only thing that Columbus discovered
was that tool-making Africans had landed
in the N ew World many centuries earlier.
His detailed reports to Queen Isabella of
Spain describe how the metal arrowheads
sent back to the assayers proved to be o f the
exact same alloy as used by the peoples on
the west coast o f Africa. See Ivan Van
Sertima’s book, They Came Before Co
lumbus (Mr. Van Sertima, a Black Rutgers
University Professor, is a consultant to
Portland Public Schools, and a world-rec
ognized authority on the early presence of
Blacks in the Americas). It was the Norwe
gian explorer, Thor Heyerdahl (Kon Tiki,
1950) who conclusively demonstrated that
it was easily possible to traverse the broad
expanses of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
in the simple balsa and reed boats used
throughout history by peoples o f African
descent
Given the conventional om ission of
these accomplishments from standard texts,
what then. Is history. Is it simply a compen
dium o f dammable lies concocted by an
allegedly superior master race, with the
intent o f maintaining an ethnic and cultural
oneupmanship? Is it a finely-tuned cultural
device to justify the horrors o f slavery and
colonialism? Is history simply a manipulat
ive tool for shaping the political and social
infrastructure o f Third World Countries to
a format which permits a continuation of
centuries-old economic exploitation? Is
history the current scheme for denying
identity and self-esteem to African-Ameri
cans in a society where im age is every
thing? History is any and all o f these things.
So who is it so blind and so naive to ask,
w hat Is the need for Black H istory?
In direct relevancy, it most immedi
ately com es to mind that there is in this
world a most monstrous travesty o f a na
tion, South Africa, whose white (enfran
chised) citizens still claim to have taken
over an "unoccupied" land. Anyone who
has read the well-documented book by Black
historian, Walter Rodney (How Europe
Underdeveloped Africa, Howard Univer
sity Press, 1982) will well understand why
in the preceding paragraph I have sug
gested the real intent of establishment ver
sions o f history. The fact of the matter is
that the African owners o f the land have left
an 8,000 year old archaelogical record o f
their occupancy, including vegetation-
covered buildings and mining and smelting
operations. Even more to the exploitative
point we have this Associated Press report
o f January 17, 1987:
M inerals exempted
"TenSouth African-produced stra
tegic minerals, have been ruled exempt
from the U.S. import ban under the anti-
apartheid sanctions law because they
were essential to the U.S. economy or
defense, a State Department official said
Friday.
Another official said five compa
nies had been removedfrom a list o f 144
South African companies that are being
boycotted by the United States.
Among the minerals that can be im
ported are andalusite; antimony;
chrysolite asbestos; chromium, includ
ing ferromanganese andferrosilicoman-
ganese; platinum group metals; rutile,
including titanium-bearing slag; and
vanadium"
This, o f course, is in addition to the
trillions in gold and diamonds produced by
slave labor to date.
For years there has been a valiant effort
on the part o f African-Americans to regain
and authenticate their history-w ith only
partial success. An illustration is the fol
lowing excerpt from an article appearing in
the Portland Observer, January 4 ,1 9 8 4 . In
th 1970s there was a revolt on the part o f the
Black scholars in this white (African) or
ganization, scholars whose disgust and
resentment o f the standard perversions and
omissions by the authorities prompted them
to withdraw and set up their own African
Studies organization. This development in
no way implied that the problem had been
solved--anyone than one Affirmative A c
tion appointment o f a single Black signifies
that there is equality o f opportunity in a
given industry. Less than one-tenth o f one
percent o f the membership o f this African
studies organization was (is) Black.
African hnagrduilenged
“ To many Americans, the mention of
Africa conjures up a land of wild beasts,
dark jungles, half-naked natives and tyrant
leaders-what some refer to as the 'Dark
Continent.'
Aspiring to dispel that image and
heighten awareness o f Africa's global
significance is Dr. Robert J. C ummings,
director o f the African Studies and Re
search Program at Howard University,
who has recently been elected vice presi
dent o f the African Studies Association
(ASA).
Cummings is the first Black Ameri
can to be named to the post and in 1985
will assume the presidency o f the nearly
30,000 strong international organiza
tion of scholars and specialists in Afri
can research and affairs.
“What I would like to do is try to
transform the negative image of Af
rica," he says. “If Africa is not re
spected, then Blackpeople are not going
to be respected."
by Henry Duvall
In this presentation, the first of my four
weekly monographs for Black History Month,
I wish to introduce and define some o f the
terminology that historians use. These terms
provide some insight into the structure and
modality that historians use to develop
their ideas and data. Even understanding
this brief exposition o f their methodology
should enable one to follow and criticize
the mindset o f some practitioners o f the art.
What I am really hoping for by the end of
this series is to furnish that modicum of
guidance which will turn the reader o n -
and that might even provoke a new and en
thusiastic interest in historical accounts as
he says to him self, “ aha!, so that is what’s
going on, this is the way they can cleverly
assemble an extensive data base, completely
accurate, yet in totality comprise a damn
lie! There follow s some initial terminol
ogy
Euhemeris (Euhemerism): Eu-hem-er-
is was an ancient North African historian
whose investigations revealed that most
m yths grew out o f a people's traditional
accounts o f historical persons and events.
Eponym (Epononomous): It was com
mon for ancient tribes to call them selves
after the name o f an ancestor (eponym),
real or fancied (e.g. “ H ellenes" from a
man named H ellen-or Ham, Canaan, Cush,
et. al.)
Putative: Commonly accepted assumed
to have existed.
Tradition: The handing down o f infor
mation, beliefs and customs by word of
mouth or by example from one generation
to another without written instruction--
cultural continuity in social attitudes and
institution.