Page 6 • Portland Observer • January 31,1990
NATIONAL FORUM
Black History
Can Help Set
Violence and Crime in the Black Community The Record
Part I of a Two Part Series
Straight
Violence in the African-American
community has become an epidemic, which
no longer shocks or surprises us. Year after
year, the carnage and terror becomes worse.
Last year, 433 killings occurred in Wash­
ington, D.C. alone, up from 369murders in
1988. Over 1800 were killed in New York
City. New Orleans, Philadelphia, Charlotte,
Kansas City and other cities broke their
records for homicides.
To understand the impact and devasta­
tion of violence within the African-Ameri­
can community, we need to review some
basic facts. Violent crime, or aggressive
offenses which do violence to human beings,
consists of homicide, forcible rape, rob­
bery, and aggravated assault Property crimes,
or the unlawful seizure o f other’s property,
include burglary, larceny, arson, and motor
vehicle theft. There are many other types of
offenses which are defined as criminal
behavior-including vagrancy, public drunk­
enness, illegal gambling, prostitution and
embezzlement--but the most devastating
types of crimes are those in which violence
is committed directly against individuals,
or in which a person’s property is seized by
force.
According to the Sourcebook of Crimi­
nal Justice Statistics for 1981, the total
number of Americans arrested was nearly
9.5 million. Blacks comprise only 12.5
percent of the total U.S. population, but
represented 2.3 million arrests, or about
one fourth of all arrests. Black arrests for
homicide and non-negligent manslaughter
were 8,693, or about 48 percent of all
murders committed in th U.S. for robbery,
which is defined by law as the use o f force
or violence to obtain personal property, the
number of Black arrests was 74,275, repre­
senting 57 percent of all robbery arrests.
For aggravated assault, the number of Afri­
can-Americans arrested was 94,624, about
29 percent o f all arrests in this category. For
motor vehicle theft, the number of Blacks
arrested and charged was 38,905, about 27
percent of all auto theft crimes. Overall, for
all violent and property crimes charged,
Blacks totaled almost 700,000 arrests in the
year 1979, representing nearly one-third of
all such crimes.
One of the most controversial of all
J XJQU/l
» * - • •
violent crimes is the charge of forcible
rape. Rape is controversial because of the
history of the criminal charge being used
against Black men by the white racist legal
structure. Thousands of Black men been
executed, lynched and castrated for the
imaginary offense of rape. Yet rape or
forcible sexual violence is not imaginary
when African-American women and young
girls are victimized. In 1979, there were
29,068 arrests for forcible rape. Black men
comprised 13,870 arrests, or 48 percent of
the total. Within cities, where three fourths
of all rapes are committed. Blacks total 54
percent of all persons arrested for rape.
The chief victims o f rape are not white
women, but Black women. The U.S. De­
partment o f Justice’s 1979 study of the
crime of forcible rape established that overall,
most Black women are nearly twice as
likely to be rape victims than are white
women.
The research illustrated that in one
year, about 67 out of every 100,000 white
women would be rape victims; but the rate
for Black and other nonwhite women was
115 per 100,000. In the age group 20 to 34
years, the dangers for Black women in­
creases dramatically. For white women age
20 to 34, 139 out of 100,000 are rape
victims annually. For Black women the
same age, the rate is 292 per 100,000. For
attempted rape, white women are assaulted
at a rate of 196 per 100,000; Black women
are attacked sexually 355 per 100,000
annually.
There is also a direct correlation be­
tween rape victimization and income. In
general, poor women are generally the objects
of sexual assault; middle class women are
rarely raped or assaulted, and wealthy women
almost never experience sexual assault.
The statistics are clear on this point. White
women who live in families earning under
$7,500 annually have 500 percent greater
likelihood of being raped than white women
who come from households with more than
$15,000 income. The gap is even more
extreme for African-American women. For
B lack middle class families, the rate of rape
is 22 per 100,000. For welfare and low
income families earning below $7,500
annually, the rate for rape is 127 per 100,000.
for anempted rape, low income Black women
are victimized at a rate of 237 per 100,000
annually.
Rape is almost always intraracial, not
interracial. Nine out of ten times, a white
rapist's victim is a white female. Ninety
percent o f all Black women who are raped
have been assaulted by a Black male. Sex­
ual violence within the African-American
community, therefore, is not something
"exported” by whites. It is essentially the
brutality committed by Black men against
our mothers, wives, sisters and daughters.
It is the worst type of violence, using the
gift of sexuality in a bestial and animalistic
way, to create terror and fear among Black
women.
The form of violence which most di­
rectly impacts Black men is homicide. Nearly
half of all murders committed in any given
year are B lack men who murder other B lack
men. But that’s only part of the problem.
We must recognize, first, that the homicide
rate among African-Americans is growing.
Back in 1960, the homicide rate for Black
men in the U.S. was 37 per 100,000. By
1979, the Black homicide rate was 65 per
100,000, compared to the white male
homicide rate of 10 per 100,000. In other
words, a typical Black male has a six to
seven times greater likelihood of being a
murder victim than a white male.
The chief victims of homicide in our
community are young African-American
males. Murder is the fourth leading cause
of death for all Black men, and the leading
cause of death for Black males age 20 to 29
years. In the 1990s, more Black men will
kill each other than the total number of
American troops killed during the Vietnam
War. today in the U.S., a typical white
female’s statistical chances of becoming a
murder victim are one in 606. For white
men, the odds narrow to one chance in 186.
For Black women, th odds are one in 124.
But for Black men, the chances are one in
twenty nine. For young black men living in
cities who are between age 20 to 29, the
odds of becoming a murder victim are less
than one in twenty. Black young men in
American cities today are the primary tar­
gets for destruction--not only from drugs
and police brutality, but from each other.
NEW YORK-"There is nothing wrong
with running fast and having rhythm -un-
less that is the ONLY perception of the
Black contribution," declared Wallace Terry,
who admitted that he grew up ignorant of
the range of contributions by Black Ameri­
cans.
In an article to be published this Sun­
day in ‘Parade’ magazine, Terry urged Blacks
to celebrate Black History Month in order
to "w ipe away ignorance and arrogance
until the time comes when all history is
one.” He said it is an annual reminder of
what has been missing from our movie and
TV screens and from the pages o f our
textbooks.
Terry recalled that his son had once
explained a D-minus in history by saying,
"B lack people don’t do well in science.”
"W hen I calmed down, I reminded
him that Black scientists and inventors
have been serving this nation for genera­
tions. For example, George Washington
Carver saved the soil of the land that had
enslaved him by teaching farmers to rotate
their cotton crops with peanuts. Elijah McCoy
invented a lubricating cup to oil trains in
motion. And Garrett Morgan developed a
gas mask that saved thousands in World
War I. My son got the message. On the next
report card he had an A-plus.”
The proportion of Blacks living in the
South increased from 1980 to 1988, the first
such rise in this century, according to a
report on the black population released
today by the Commerce Department's Census
Bureau.
Fifty-six percent of all Blacks resided
in the South in 1988, compared with 52
percent in 1980. The proportion had de­
clined since the beginning of the century
when it was 90 percent. Census Bureau
experts say the growing concentration is
likely to continue well into the next cen­
tury.
The Northeast is the only region in the
1980s to show a significant decline in its
proportion of Blacks, dropping from 19
percent to 17 percent. The proportion for
the Midwest (19%) and West (8%) did not
change significantly.
The number of Blacks living in the
South totaled 16.4 million in 1988, an in­
crease of 2.8 million since 1980. However,
for the rest of the nation, there was no
significant change in the number of Blacks
at 12.9 million in 1988.
* The ratio of Black-to-White family
median income in the North and West at 58
percent in 1987 was not significantly dif­
ferent from the south at 56 percent
* Black families in the South in 1987
had a higher poverty rate (31%) than those
in the North and West (28%).
* Black married-couple families in the
South comprised 53 percent of all Black
families n 1988 compared with 49 percent
in the North and West. The proportion of
Black female householder families with no
husband present was 41 percent in the South,
and 45 percent in the North and West.
* Seventy-five percent of Blacks in the
North and W est lived in central cities
compared with 43 percent in the South.
N A T IO N A L
* The median eamings of Black women
who worked year round and full time in­
creased by 7.8 percent ($14,840 to $16,000)
from 1979 to 1987. The eamings; of com­
parable B lack m e n at$ 1 9 ,0 1 0 in l9 8 7 w ere
not significantly different from their eam ­
ings in 1979. As a result, the median eam ­
ings ratio of Black women to Black men
Nationwide tne macK population
numbered 29.3 million in March 1988, an
increase of 14 percent since 1980; the White
population grew by 10 percent to 203.9
million. The Black proportion of the total
population rose from 11.7 percent in 1980
to 12.2 percent in 1988, the report says.
Here are additional highlights from the
report;
R E G IO N A L
* Four out of five Blacks in the South
aged 25 to 34 had completed high school in
1988, a proportion not significantly differ­
ent from those in the North and West;
historically. Blacks in the North and West
have had higher educational attainment levels.
For Whites, however, the proportion in the
North and West completing high school
was higher than in the South.
* The 1987 median income of black
families living in the South at $17,300 was
10 percent lower than in the North and West
where it was $19,120. The median income
of White families in the South at $30,730
was 8 percent lower than in the North and
West at $33,130.
Civil tyjfits journal
by Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
Coming To America:
President Dos Santos Seeks Peace
Millions of Americans are in a state of
excitement and great expectation about the
upcoming journey of the President o f the
People’s Republic o f Angola to the United
States. President Jose Eduardo dos Santos
is "com ing to America.”
President dos Santos is scheduled to
arrive in New York City on February 5,
1990 to speak to the United Nations. Thou­
sands o f well wishers are now fervently
organizing welcoming receptions, solidar­
ity rallies, religious services and other events
to welcome this African head of state. While
there have been many heads of state from
many different nations of the world who
have given speeches at the United Nations,
we expect the “ message of peace” to be
delivered by President dos Santos to be
enthusiastically received not only by the
delegates to the United Nations, but also by
the vast majority of the thirty million Afri­
can-Americans who live in the United States
in addition to millions of other Americans
who support Angola's quest for peace and
developm ent
It is our hope that in the cities of
Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Georgia, and in
Los Angeles, California, along with m as­
sive turnouts o f people in New York City,
there will be tremendous expressions o f our
respect and support of the struggles and
victories of the Angolan people when the
Angolan President visits these cities.
Certainly, we believe that in the spirit
of “ peace making,” President Bush should
welcome President dos Santos to the White
House for constructive talks. It is a sad
irony that the foreign policy o f the United
States presently seeks to destabilize An­
gola rather than to help this African nation
achieve a lasting peace. We also under­
stand that one of the reasons why the Intel­
ligence Committees of both the House and
the Senate continue to permit President
Bush to give more than one hundred million
dollars in military and other aid to the group
known as UNIT A, which is led by Jonas
DATA PROCESSING
PROFESSIONALS
There’s a Million Reasons
Why We Speak Your
Language!
Proportion of Blacks Living in the
South Grows for the First Time This
Century, Census Bureau Reports
increased from 0.74 in 1979 to0.84 in 1987.
* The unemployment rate for B lacks in
1988 was 11.7 percent compared with 4.7
percent for Whites. Unemployment among
Black teenagers was 32.4 percent com ­
pared with 13.1 percent for White teen­
agers.
* Black females outnumbered Black
males by 1.9 million in 1988; there were
100 Black females for every 88 Black males.
Among Whites, there were 100 females for
every 96 males.
* The median age of Blacks in March
1988 was 27.3 years, up from 24.8 years in
1980. The median was 25.8 years for Black
males and 28.6 years for Black females.
The Census Bureau plans to continue
publishing reports in the P-20 population
characteristics series on the social and
economic status of Blacks in America.
Copies o f The Black Population in the
United States: March 1988. Series P-20,
No. 442, are available prepaid from the
Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Gov­
ernment Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
20402.
— —
. . . I - —
Savimbi, and is attempting to destablilize
Angola through terrorist and other inhu­
mane acts, is because the voice of the
people o f the United States has not been
heard in Congress on this issue.
In the recent aftermath of the many
different ceremonies in tribute to the last­
ing legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., we should recall that Dr. King
emphasized the importance o f understand­
ing the interrelationship between the struggle
here in the United States for justice with the
worldwide peace movement. President dos
Santos' visit, therefore, provides an excel­
lent opportunity for giving concrete ex­
pression to Dr. K ing's dream of worldwide
justice and peace.
Angola today has the highest amputee
rate per capita of any nation in the world
which is directly attributed to U.S. made
land mines that have been deliberately planted
in civilian areas by Savim bi's UNITA. The
majority of these amputee victims of the
war, more than 54,000 are women and
children. It is not right for our tax dollars to
be used for violence against innocent A fri­
can women, men and children in Angola.
Thus, we view President dos Santos’
trip to the United States as a bold initiative
in the quest for peace, not only in Angola
but also for peace and economic develop­
ment for the entire region of southern Af­
rica. Students and community residents
surrounding Howard University in W ash­
ington, D.C., are in for a special treat when
President dos Santos speaks on campus on
February 7th. Religious leaders from through­
out the nation will be assembling in the
historic Riverside Church in New York on
Sunday, February 11th for a special “ N a­
tional Ecumenical and Interfaith Service
for Peace in Angola” in which President
dos Santos, along with the Rev. Jesse Jackson,
will participate.
Thank you President dos Santos for
coming to America. May your trip be safe
and successful.
PROGRAMMER ANALYSTS
Requires a minimum o f 2 years
experience in performing systems
analysis and design, coding, testing
and implementation assignments.
C IC S W skills a definite plus.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield o f Oregon,
a m ajor health insurance company
PROGRAMMERS
provides health insurance to over
Requires a degree in Computer Science
one m illion people. You expertise
or at least 1 year o f experience
in new development and large scale
performing program design, coding,
enhancements w ill help all o f them.
testin g
and
im p le m e n ta tio n
Several large projects and new
assignments.
business efforts w ill be requiring
In addition to significant technical
individuals with experience working
challenge and professional growth,
in a large scale IB M mainframe
we offer flex-tim e work hours,
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excellent benefits and a competitive
A ll
p osition s
req u ire
strong
salary. Send your resume or apply
communication, interpersonal and
in person at:
user skills. Candidates must also
have experience in the following:
•V S A M
♦ T S O /IS P F
• COBOL
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Blue Cross and
LEAD ANALYST
Blue Shield o f Oregon
H u m a n Resources D epL, 5th F ir
Requires extensive background in the
development o f C IC S based systems
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100 S .W . M a r k e t
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Equal Opportunity Employer
management role.
IN S U R A N C E
MEDICAL CLAIMS ANALYSTS
Blue Cross and Blue Shield o f Oregon is currently accepting applications
for M edical Claim s Analysts. This position is responsible for accurate
and tim ely payment o f Blue Cross and Blue Shield o f Oregon's medical
claims. Experience necessary to perform this taks w ill include:
PERCENT OF THE BLACK POPULATION LIVING
IN THE SOUTH: 1900 TO 1988
Percent
* 1 year recent clerical work experience in a doctor's office or hospital
MEDIAN EARNINGS OF BLACK PERSONS WORKING
YEAR ROUND AND FULL TIME, BY SEX: 1979 AND 1987
(In 1907 dollars)
100
setting.
* Demonstrated knowledge o f medical terminology and anatomy.
This may be obtained through a classroom setting or office experience.
* IC D -9 /C P T -4 Coding.
* A minimum o f 6 -12 months experience using a C R T in a production
oriented environm ent
* Fast, accurate use o f a 10-key calculator.
Previous claims processing or insurance billing experience highly
desirable.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield o f Oregon offers an excellent employee
benefits package, flex-tim e work hours, and competitive salary. Please
apply or send resume to:
1900
1910
1920
1930
1
SOURCE: U.S BUREAU 0E TUE CENSUS
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1988
1979
1987
Blue Cross
Blue Shield
of Oregon
H u m a n Resources D epL, 5th Floor
100 S .W . M a r k e t
P o rtla n d , O R 97201
Equal Opportunity Employer
l