Page 2 ■ Portland Observer • January 31,1990
¿ X E ditorial I O pinion
Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard
think that one w ould be more careful not to
give out messages of racial animosity. Moving
even closer to hom e; one would hope that in
the city that represents the first known fatal
act of the white supremacist gang, known
as Skinheads, we in the city of Portland
would welcome the symbol of a man who
epitomizes peace, love, justice, and har
mony among people.
But. or course, they say the issue isn’t
racism; that they are concerned about the
possible loss of business. And yet, the very
statement infers that naming a street after
an African-American would hurt business!
I find such an argument to be a contradic
tion. But again, they say surely this isn 't
racism, but rather an attempt to hold on to
a symbol of Oregon’s past. And yet, also a
symbol of Oregon’s past is exclusion laws
and sundown laws for Black people. Still
louder they say, this is isn 't racism! But
while most of us were preparing to cele
brate the contributions of this fallen Ameri
can hero, these individuals were working
frantically in an effort to strike his legacy
from our community.
It would be futile to continue arguing
the point. For it was Dr. King who warned
us that it is not the Governor George Wal
laces, the Sheriff Bull Conners, or the KKK
whom we must fear most. Because these
individuals readily admit that they were
devout racists; therefore, one could easily
see them coming and defend against them.
But those who are most dangerous are those
who “ act like" devout racists, while sin
cerely believing and insisting that they are
n o t With these individuals, it is difficult to
see their hands moving, but the stones are
hitting you right square in the forehead!
Nevertheless, I must make my stand on
Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. And I
invite all of my brothers and sisters-A fri-
cans Americans, White Americans, His
panic Americans, Asian Americans, Native
Americans, Jew,s Gentiles, Protestants, and
Catholics, and M uslim s-to stand with me.
We must lift up a standard o f righteousness
against this insidious act of shame to all of
us. Because if the street reversal is allowed
to happen, the city of Portland and the state
is bound to suffer. And not because of not
many, but, as always, because of a few.
However, our stand must not be based upon
hate or racism; but rather a stand based
upon justice, peace, and brotherly/sisterly
love. By doing so we will also embody the
principles that Dr. King lived and died for.
Let us not be so naive to think that on
the hills of Mulugeta Seraw 's brutal death
by Samuel Pierce
From 1954 to 1970 America experi
enced one of the most significant and en
during eras of her short history. That era
came to be known as the Civil Rights
Movement. It was a movement that would
remind her for the rest of her life, that she
could no longer be partial in the treatment
o f her members, but she must make room
for all o f her children.
Looking back over those times, it seems
safe to say that no other individual personi
fied the consciousness of that era than Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was a man
so impassioned with the righteousness of
justice, that he risked and finally lost his
life in countless attempts to defend i t
No, he was not a perfect man. In fact,
no one admitted that fact more readily than
Dr. King himself. Nevertheless, in spite of
his impetfections, he inspired a nation to
love far beyond his its own impulsion to
hate; to give way beyond its own desire to
be selfish, and in doing so, he set an ex
ample for even the world to follow; I find it
hard to believe that the nonviolent protests
in South Africa, Poland, Czechoslovakia,
and West Germany, to name a few, are not
direct results o f the example set by Dr.
K ing.
But Dr. King wasn’t only a great spirit,
he was also a great mind. We often forget
that this man had genius intelligence- gradu
ating from high school at age 12 and from
college at age sixteen. Furthermore, he was
a most distinguished orator/writer and phi
losopher. Surely he would have been wel
comed in the company of the likes of King
Solomon, Aristotle, SocTates, and even the
M aster himself! At a very difficult time in
its history. Dr. King gave America much
needed leadership and courage.
Yet, against this most distinguished
record of service and achievements, there
are those who are still unwilling to honor
this man. I speak of those who are attempt
ing to return Martin Luther King, Jr. Boule
vard to Union Avenue. In other words,
those who constantly try to take from us the
small gains that we have made; to stump out
this small lantern of hope in our commu
nity.
Standing on the threshold of the last
decade of a millennium that has seen more
human violence than any since recorded
tpjie, one would think that out of mere
hum andecency. racial harmony would b ea
priority. In this “ Peculiar Paradise” that
was the western birth place of the KKK and
presently an Arian N ation ‘ ’ hang out, " y o u
at the hands of Skinheads, in the largest city
in the state, with the largest African-Ameri
can population, in the heart of the African-
American community, having been " d e
n ie d " two other streets in predominantly
white areas, having compromised to give
businesses five yean before the name change
lakes effect, twenty-one years afteT the
death of Dr. martin Luther King, Jr., the
nation will not be watching the first ever
attempt to reverse the naming of a street for
this kind man) If this can happen in the year
of our Lord, 1990-ten y ean before the year
2000- then we have catapulted ourselves
back in time to the Birmingham Bus Boy
cott; landed again on Howard Beach; expe
rienced once again the outrage of Fonite
County. I have always wondered if the civil
rights movement ever reached Oregon- it
appears that we will soon find out. If our
neighboring states (California, & Seattle)
can elect African-American mayors, and
we cannot even have a street named for one,
then something is distastefully wrong!
To close, I have faith in the good people
of Oregon. I believe, as in the case of
presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, they
will again stand up and be counted. For
these good people know, as Dr. King as
serted, that “ their destiny is tied to our
destiny."
To my African-American brothers and
sisters, I say, let us not break ranks. We
must stand united in this crisis-and it is a
crisis! If we cannot have a street named
after someone of Dr. K ing's statute in our
own community, then where can we have a
street named? If we can be driven back
from our own community, then we have
little power as a community. We must put
aside our differences and, as King taught,
band together as a standard o f unity for our
generation-particularly our youth. Yes, I
am aware that some of our brothers and
sisters may have already signed the peti
tion. And the opposition will use this as
evidence against charges of racism. How
ever, I am not impressed. The first attempt
on Dr. King’s life was made by someone of
his own race; and history has long since
confirmed that Judas was not a Roman
soldier.
Finally, in the words of James Bald
win, “ There is only one thing required for
the triumph of evil and that is, that good
men [and women] keep silent." I entered to
be one of those exceptional "good m en.”
And I call upon the decency of other good
men and women to do the same.
To Your Good Health V:
Conclusion
by Professor McKinley Burt
Photo: Dudley M . Brooks/M ashtngton Port
Author, teacher and publisher
Haiti Madhubuti: “ I am where
I am because of black people.’’
by Jacqueline Trescott
the Washington Post
W ASHINGTON-W hen Haiti Mad
hubuti teaches black poetry to his students
at Chicago State University, he is often
asked why the poets of the 1960s were so
angry.
‘ ‘It shows the lack of political involve
ment of today's students,” says Madhubuti,
46, whose own expressions of identity and
protest under the name Don L. Lee created
some of the ’60s most vivid poetry.
Yet now, sitting on a borrowed beige
couch at the University of the District of
Columbia, with many of those '80s stu
dents banging in and out of a nearby door,
Madhubuti expresses the reluctant accep
tance of an elder. " I t is a good question,”
he says, “ because I can explain the context
[of the tim es].”
Social Debates of America
For 20 years, Madhubuti has not only
been living and writing about the shifting
social debates of America, but providing an
important platform. The publishing house
he founded in 1967, Third World Press, is
seen by some as both a textbook case of a
struggling minority business and a weather
vane for the treatment of works by black
writers in the marketplace.
The survival of Third World—it is now
the oldest continually operating black-owned
publisher in the country—"m eans black
people are readers and disproves the myth
that we do not support our ow n,” Mad
hubuti says, adding that ‘ ‘80% to 90% of
our supporters are black."
The press is planning to publish the
work of newer black writers such as Pearl
Cleage of Atlanta, Darryl Holmes of New
York. Estella Con will Alexander of Louis
ville and Ralph Cheo Thurmon of Gary,
Ind.
Continuation of Story . . . .
News From Neil
Letters to
the Editor
State Rep Speaks Out
on ’Hate Crimes'
It is not a matter of coincidence that there
have been a number of “ gay bashing”
incidents in Laurelhurst Park and other
areas of the city.
The names of the hate groups have
increased. In addition to the Kian there are
the Skinheads, The Order, and other neo-
Nazi groups. Some o f the names are new,
but their message of hate and bigotry is the
same as it has always been and it must not
be tolerated.
If we are to stop these hate groups we
must send them a clear and unequivocal
message that they are not to be tolerated.
We must demand apprehension and prose
cution of the criminals. When they are
brought to trial we need to be in the courts
to see that justice is served. Finally, we
must speak our against the hate groups at
every opportunity.
Sincerely,
Margaret Carter
State Representative, District 18
To the Editor:
In the early 1920s the Ku Klux Kian
mounted a vigorous recruitment campaign
in Oregon and particularly in Portland.
They claimed a membership of 14,000
statewide, with 9,000 in Portland alone.
The general election of November 7,1922
was called the “ Kian election,” and Port
land became the headquarters for the Kian
west of the Rocky Mountains.
The reason for the early success of the
Kian in Oregon was because the people of
Oregon tolerated the Kian. They did not
speak out until afteT the Kian was estab
lished.
The recent threats against Halim Rahsaan
and his family are deplorable and must not
be dismissed as an isolated incident. Overt
acts of racism and “ hate crim es” have
been on the increase over the last few years.
In the last quarter of 1989 there were more
than twice as many incidents reported in
Oregon than in any other state in the region.
portla ?® S
erver
OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PUBLICATION
Established in 1070
Allred L Henderson/PubUsbor
Leon Harrla/Gonerai Manager
Gary Ann Garnatt
Joyce Washington
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P O R H -A V D O B S E R V E R
“ Now is the time to translate the re
newal of our economy into the achievement
of our vision; now is the time, by decision
and deed, to take a stand for our future."
W ith this challenge G overnor Neil
Goldschmidt today announced, in the first
of four speeches on the state of the state,
two proposals aimed at helping Oregon’s
children.
Goldschmidt announced that he would
propose to the 1991 Legislature that O re
gon become the first state in the nation to
fund Head Start for every eligible child.
Goldschmidt said he would ask the Legis
lature to refer to voters a constitutional
amendment that would dedicate 30 percent
of the state’s Lottery revenues to Head Start
funding.
Head Start is an early childhood educa
tion program for children of low-income
families that includes services such as par
ent training and health care referral. There
are approximately 15,000 Oregon children
who are eligible for Head Start, but fund
ing, which was doubled by the 1989 Legis
lature, exists for only about 3,900 children.
Goldschmidt also announced that he
would propose to the next Legislature that
drug and alcohol rehabilitation resources
be made available to every addicted preg
nant mother and every child up to age 18
who cannot afford treatment on their own.
"F o r all those who now want to be
cured; for all those who now have to wait;
we are going to take a stand—and no child in
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Oregon is going to have to have to stand in
line for help.” Goldschmidt said of the
proposal for drug and alcohol treatm ent
Cost estimates for the proposal range
from $6 to $9 million a biennium. Funding
for the 1991-93 biennium will come from
expected federal and state resources.
As part of the treatment proposal,
Goldschmidt announced he will establish a
commission on drug addicted-babies to
identify ways to ensure that addicted preg
nant mothers receive treatment. The com
mission will be chaired by Betty Roberts,
former Justice of the State Supreme Court.
Goldschmidt said fully-funding Head
Start would demonstrate O regon's willing
ness to take a stand for " the children of the
shadows—the ones ill provided and ill-
equipped to learn and prosper.”
It costs approximately #3,200 per year
for Head Start for one child. If all of the
eligible children not now being served
enrolled, the proposal would require about
#36 million per year. In addition to Lottery
funds, the program would be financed with
federal monies the state is expected to
receive due to welfare reform.
Goldschmidt called the two proposals
the biggest economic development deci
sions Oregon will ever make. “ It will ulti
mately mean the transfer o f thousands of
Oregonians from the tax-supported rolls to
the taxpayer rolls; from having cells built
for them, to building a future for them
selves,” the said.
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Portland Observer!
SCHOLARSHIP
DEADLINE
High school students who are
Interested In applying for $1,000
college scholarships should request
applications by March 16,1990 for
Educational Communications
Scholarship Foundation, 721 N.
McKinley Road, Lake Forest, Illi
nois 60045. To receive an applica
tion, students should send a note
stating their name, address, city,
state and zip code, approximate
grade point average and year of
graduation. Slxty-flve winners will
be selected on the basis of aca
demic performance, Involvement
In extra-curricular activities and
. need for financial aid.
In concluding this series on health is
sues in the Black community, I wish to
emphasize that, as in the case of Black
economic development or political empow
erment. whatever is accomplished will seldom
be enough. African-Americans will have to
be eternally vigilant against what may be
described as the new m oral recidivism on
the part of the powers-that-be. These type
of assaults (backlash) are always seen to
occur whenever a minority group makes
any strides toward solving a social or eco
nomic problem.
While it is the case that the poor of this
country, irrespective of race are becoming
victims of deliberate assaults in the social
welfare area-v is a vis the repeal of the
"Peace Dividend,” and the recent vote in
Congress to repeal the Catastrophic Health
Coverage A ct-th ere are other more dia
bolical (even criminal) acts that lurk in the
wings. Whenever there is a discovery of a
Black social problem of particularly dis
turbing dimensions, funds may become
available to research the issue (if not to
address it). While some of the investiga
tions will be ethical, and geared toward
solutions, some are always formatted in the
context o f antebellum ethnic suppositions
or within a framework of vicious acts befit
ting of Nazi Germany.
Let me cite a worst case example (Tony
Brown, April 29,1989):
''F or example, fo r 40 years, from
1932 until 1972. the U S. Public Health
Services, and later the Centers fo r D is
ease Control in Atlanta, conducted the
most atrociously unethical and racist
experiment in our history. Black people
with syphilis in Tuskeeee. Ala., were
intentionally not treated to test the de
structive path o f advanced syphilis. Even
when penicillin was discovered as a
treatment it was withheld. During those
years, this experiment was reported in
13 major medical j ournals, read by over
100.000 doctors and discussed at con
ferences. It was an open secret.''
Another kind of racism is revealed by
my own experience with the student job
placement bureau at Portland State Univer
sity in the early 1970s. A female African-
American student o f mine boasted of her
luck in securing a part-time job as an inves
tigator for Emanuel Hospital—interview
ing Black (only) families in Northeast.
Examining the questionnaire at her request.
q
* y
w
I was startled and angered at the scope and
intent of the questions contained in this
medical document. Far afield from any
consideration of health care were scores of
demeaning queries about social mores: How
many men of what ages visit the home each
w eek-overnight? What is the relationship
to the occupants? Are clothes of these visi
tors found there? The minor children in th
family are represented by how many differ
ent fathers? What are the ages of the fe-
m ales-at what age first sex-frequency? On
and on for five legal size pages went this
deplorable invasion o f privacy.
Very quickly I got members of the
community aroused on this issue, and a
confrontation with Emanuel Hospital re
vealed that they had hardly glanced at this
document which was a paid subcontract
from the southern research center of a very
famous university. These people knew better
than to run this caper in their own racially—
sensitive area and had farmed out the ques
tionnaires to what they felt were the more
naive sections of the country. Many A fri
can-Americans had learned that right wing
organizations were using the subterfuge of
Health Grants to gain information for their
attacks on congressional welfare and child
care appropriations. Overall, it is germane
to realize that health and biomedical re
search are a business, a huge industry where
without constant surveilance the problems
of the poor will seldom be the first priority
(as with education).
There is one heartening aspect to all of
this, and that is the response of Black
female medical practitioners to the urgen
cies o f African-American health care. I
would mention The Association of Black
W om en Physicians who held their eighth
annual fall benefit in Los Angeles, last
October 28th. This organization was founded
in 1982 "w ith a mission to improve the
health and welfare of the community and
humankind in general, through education,
guidance and service.” It is a philanthropic
organization that provides needed mone
tary support for individuals and projects
related to fundamental health issues im
pacting the Black community. The organi
zation sponsors an annual Rebecca Lee,
M.D, Scholarship A w ard to deserving,
dedicated, African-American women in
medical school -something for Portland to
think about (I just put aside $25 out of my
social security check). Right on medical
ladies!
To Be Equal
f'
by John E. Jacob
African-Americans And The Courts
In a major article published in the
National Urban League’s recently released
annual study, The State of Black America
1990, Julius Chambers, Director-Counsel
of th NAACP Legal Defense and Educa
tional Fund, has a relatively optimistic
message.
Mr. Chambers, recognized as the dean
o f civil rights law, analyzes the flood of
recent court rulings that circumscribe civil
rights gains.
Those are serious setbacks, he writes.
But he says-and I agree-that " it would be
a mistake for Black Americans to assume
that the clock has been turned back perma
nently in America’s courts.”
He points out that while past gains have
been threatened by key Supreme Court
decisions, those rulings are not necessarily
the last word. There are numerous legisla
tive and legal strategies now under way that
could repair th damage and to help safe
guard legal rights.
Some of the cases decided in the Court's
last term, for example, involved 19th cen
tury civil rights statutes that were over
turned because the Court's majority found
some language vague. The obvious solu
tion is for Congress to rewrite those laws to
meet the Court’s objections while strength
ening civil rights protections.
One important area demanding action
is the Court’s ruling that overturned the city
of Ricmond, Virginia’s program of seta-
sides for minority contractors.
The stringent new standards established
by the Court for such programs have al
ready led 17 states or cities to end or
suspend their setaside programs, and some
236 programs nationwide are in danger of
being gutted or weakened because of the
ruling.
Local governments should strengthen
their setaside laws to ensure that they are
firmly based on remedying historic dis
crimination and that they meet the Court’s
standards.
O f particular importance are employ
ment discrimination cases. The Court’s
rulings made it more difficult to bring legal
action against discriminators and easier for
companies to defend against such charges,
however legitimate.
The continuing fight against the death
penalty is another area requiring action.
Despite clear statistical evidence that racial
discrimination is a factor in the application
of Georgia’s death penalty, the Court said
statistics don't prove bias. It requires proof
of purposeful discrimination by the judge
or jury.
That’s in line with the Court’s ten
dency to throw statistics out the window, no
matter how convincing, and insist on the
“ smoking gun” test of discriminatory in-
tent-something virtually impossible to prove.
The Congress is now considering a bill
that would allow a challenge to the death
penalty if statistical evidence shows it is
part of a pattern of racially discriminatory
sentencing.
Congress needs to pass that bill and
other legislation that plugs the loopholes
created by the Court.
Swift action is required to prevent the
Court’s rulings from leading to intensified
discriminatory activity.
The Court’s excessively narrow defi
nition of what constitutes racial harassment
on the job, for example, has already led
almost 100 employment discrimination
claims to be dismissed in lower courts.
Justice Thurgood Marshall has said
that today's Supreme Court is no longer a
friend to civil rights, and that while we
should not give up on the court and on legal
challenges to discriminatory practices, we'll
have to turn to other forums.
Important civil rights victories can be
won in state courts as well. In October the
Texas Supreme Court ruled that the state
must equalize disparate funding between
poor and wealthy school districts, based on
the state constitution.
The Court's abandonment of civil rights
simply means the struggle must be carried
on in other forums- -legislative bodies, state
courts and local agencies as well as in the
federal courts.