Page 2 Portland Observer • Black History Month • February 28, 1990 NATIONAL FOI Articles and Essays by Ron Daniels Glory: Black History and Struggle Die history o f Black America has always b een , fun dam entally, a struggle to be free. E n slavem en t and racial opp ression w ere m ore than p h y sica l restrictions and the use o f co er cio n against a p eop le. D om ination c o u ld o n ly be ach ieved w hen the m ind and spirit, as w e ll as the b od y, w as controlled and broken. M ore than a century ago, the sla v e s cam e to understand that their free­ dom c o u ld on ly be ach ieved if assum ed an a ctiv e role in the stru ggle to liberate them ­ s e lv e s , m entally and p h y sica lly . Freedom handed d ow n from above to the oppressed, is n ot freedom at all. F reedom is on ly teal w h en the op p ressed th em selves, through their ow n initiative and inner strength, shatter the chains o f bon dage. This is the central m essage o f "G lory,” a h istorical dram a depictin g the ordeals o f a B la ck regim en t w h ich fought during the h eig h t o f the C iv il War. The film is based partially o n the actual letters o f U nion A rm y c o lo n e l Robert G ould Shaw (played b y M atthew B roderick), w ho trained and led the M assachu setts 54th R egim ent in a d evastating assault on Fort W agner, South Carolina, in July, 1863. The son o f wealthy abolitionists, Shaw w as convinced that African-American troops, if properly trained and equipped, could exceed the perform ­ ance o f w hite Northern troops. A s the film unfolds, there is a synthesis o f sorts b e ­ tw een this abolitionist-inspired b e lie f in the equality o f B lack s and w hites, w ith the A frican-A m erican desire to strike a per­ sonal and c o lle ctiv e blow against the e v ils o f slavery. The w ise st d ecision o f * ‘Glory* ’ direc­ tor Edward Z w ick w as to focus the heart o f the film not o n B roderick's character, but instead on four fictional B lack m en, w ho are used to represent the divergent person­ alities within the 54th R egim ent. D enzel W ashington portrays a Nat Tum er/M al- colm X styled character, a Black man whose back has been bloodied many tim es by the shot and screen new com er Andre Braughter does an excellen t jo b as a N e w England educated, m iddle class B lack m an, w ho finds his roots and identity by bonding with his fe llo w B lack soldiers. The d evice per­ m its alargely w hite audience to se c both the diversity and hum anity am ong the African- A m erican soldiers, w ho have volunteered into the U nion Arm y in order to liberate their brethren in the South, as w ell as them ­ selves. Through the ordeal o f co n flict, in battle against w hite slaveholder officers, the B lack soldiers b ecom e active partici­ pants in the struggle for freedom . This is not to suggest that " G lo ry " holds up to historical exam ination. A s A m erican film s g o , it is generally very good , particularly the detailed accuracy o f the battle seq u en ces. H ow ever, it is short o f the mark w ithin the fram ework o f B lack slaveh old er’s lash, w h o fights in order to settle scores. M organ Freeman plays the regim ental sergeant, a former gravedigger w ho fights because o f his w illin gn ess “ to die for freedom .” Jihm i K ennedy portrays a rural and illiterate ex-slave, but a crack social history " G lory” provides m any exam ples o f w hite racism w ithin the ranks o f N orthern troops and officers, w ho refused to accept the idea o f B lack m en carrying guns. But this racism w ithin the m ilitary w as sim ply a reflection o f bigotry w ithin the entire Northern society and political establish­ m ent as a w h ole. L incoln didn't free the slaves with the Em ancipation Proclam a­ tion as a humanitarian gesture, but so le ly as a m ilitary decision to disrupt the South's labor supply. The war w as w id ely unpopu­ lar am ong w hite Northern workers, and they targeted their grievances by m aking B lack s scapegoats. O n July 13, 1863, only days before the galant and blood y assault by B lack troops on Fort W agner, the white working class in N e w Y ork C ity rioted against the c ity 's B lack population. Hun­ More African-American Contributions To Technology by Professor McKinley Burt A t the request o f several teachers w e interrupted this series last w eek to reprint the article on R u ssia's fam ed African p oet, Alexander Pushkin, whose statue looks down upon the n ew M cD on ald 's fast food restau­ rant in M o sc o w . A nnie E a slev : This prolific m athem a­ tician d ev elo p s and im plem ents com puter co d e s used in solar, wind and other energy applications. She has m ade major contribu­ tions in research and m anagem ent at the N ational A eronautics and Space A d m in i­ stration's Research Center in C leveland, O h io. A native o f Birm ingham , Alabam a, her expertiste is in identifying energy c o n ­ version sy stem s that offer the greatest im provem ent over com m ercially available system s. Jam es Harris: W hen this nuclear ch em ­ ist jo in ed the scien tific team at the L aw ­ ren ce B erk eley Laboratory, it was not im agin ed that w ithin a few short years he w ou ld be honored as co-discoverer o f tw o n ew ch em ical e le m e n ts-E le m e n t 104 (R u th e rfo r d iu m ), and E lem en t 105 (H ahnium ). T h ese d iscoveries are am ong the m o st im portant in scien ce this century. Dr, W illiam A , B row n: In the fash ion o f " Im h o te p " , c h ie f A rchitect and Pyra­ m id Builder for Egyptian King Z oser (Third (D y n a sty ), this black architect is respon­ sib le for ‘all* A ir Force facilities d esign and construction around the world. A sp ecialist in 'm athem atical criteria' in building stan­ dards, he heads the Air Force construction sta ff at the Pentagon. Dr, G eorge R. Caruthers: This Black astroph ysicist has m ade m any major c o n ­ tributions to ‘S p ace A stron om y’. H is de­ sign o f the A pollo 16 'Far Ultraviolet camera/ Spectograph' “ is the m ost significant single contribution to the program." A t age 25 he w as granted Patent N o. 3 ,4 7 8 ,2 1 6 (N o v ., 1 9 6 9 ) for an ‘ ‘Im age C onverter for d etect­ ing electrom agn etic radiation." This in- ventor-engineer has 6 3 publications in the areas o f electronic astronom y, aerodynam ­ ics, upper air p h ysics, etc. Dr, Patricia D a v is. C .P .A . and m athe­ m atics and statistics major at Stanford U n iversity, is a vice-presid en t and 'head o f Bank O f A m erica's W orld Banking D iv i­ sio n 's System s F inancial Services Group*. Her job has the exact sam e relationship to the firm as w as that o f the V izer or C h ief M inister to the Pharaohs o f the m iddle Egyptian dynasties. has the o fficia l title, "D irector, Dryden Flight Research C enter.” H e is the person m ost responsible for A m erica's technical advancem ent in m any areas o f sop h isti­ cated transportation m odes as in volved in space exploration. Brigadier G eneral Dr, D avid M . H all: A logistics m athem atician. Dr. H all m an­ ages ‘billion s ’ o f dollars o f data processing equipm ent and an 18.8 overall billion d o l­ lar budget for the U .S. Air Force. The overw h elm ing m agnitude o f his financial responsibilities can be seen in the context that he m anages m ore m onies than is the entire national budget for over one-hundred individual countries. Dr. Shirlev A nn Jackson: This 'theo­ retical physicist* w as the first B lack w om an to receive a Ph.D. from the M assachusetts Institute o f T ech n ology. A m em ber o f the M IT Corporation and . . . the sch o o l's Board o f Trustees, Dr. Jackson now sp e­ c ia lizes in solid or condensed state ph ysics. N ow a researcher for the B e ll System Labs, she uses com puters, im agination and so ­ phisticated m athem atics to explain the behavior o f ph ysical system s on the m icro­ scopic level. She has also been associated with the Fermi N ational A ccelerator L abo­ ratory, and has served as a visitin g scientist at the European O rganization For N uclear Research. ERVER OREGON'S OLDEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established In 1970 Alfred L. HendersorVPubUahet Leon Harrla/Qonetal Manager Joyce Washington Sales/Marketing Director F O M lL A N D O B S E B V ia la published weekly by Ext« Publlahlnf Company, Inc. 4747 N J . M .L .K . Bird. Portland. O re t on 47211 P.O. Bos 3137 Portland, Oregon 4 7 2 « * the race riot, these were “ dark and terrible d a y s." O ne o f " G lo ry ’s" m ost m oving se ­ qu ences w h ich depicts B lack troops reject­ ing discrim inatory w ages beneath those o f w hite soldiers is also historically accurate, but insufficient. The E nlistm ent A ct o f July, 1862, had set the pay sca le for white privates at $13 per m onth vs. $7 per m onth for B lack privates. The 54th M assachusetts R egim en t refused any pay for m ore than a year, and the p olicy o f discriminatory wages w as finally reversed in 1864. H ow ever, m any other B lack troops protested the p ol­ icy as w ell. In the third South Carolina all- B lack regim ent, sergeant W illiam W alker m obilized his fellow soldiers, stacking their rifles and refused to fight under Jim Crow w ages. Predictably, W alker w as court m artialled and s h o t F inally, " G lo ry ” g iv es the audience the false sen se that B lack troops w ere an excep tion to the rule in C ivil War com bat. A ctually, a total o f 180,000 B lack s fought in the U nion Arm y by the end o f the war. M ore than 3 8 ,0 0 0 died, a 4 0 percent higher casualty rate than for white Northern troops. B lack s fought in over tw o hundred fifty separate engagem ents, beginning as early as the fall o f 1862. There w ere also scores o f B lack officers, including abolitionists M ajor M artin R . D el any and C apt ain P. B . S . Pinchback. Ex-slaves, both wom en and men, worked as spies behind Confederate army lin es. A frican-A m ericans, civ ilia n s and soldiers alike, were not passive w itnesses in the struggle for freedom . D esp ite these w eakn esses, “ G lory" m akes a substantial contribution to our awareness o f the role o f A frican-A m ericans in the con flict to abol­ ish hum an bondage. To B e E q u a l by John E. Jacob A New South Africa? Dr. Isaac G illiam IV : This supervisor for N .A .S .A . 'Sp ace Shuttle O perations' PORTIA Gary Ann Garnett Business Manager dreds o f people, m ostly w om en and ch il­ dren, w ere killed; thousands m ore w ere left hom eless. For B lack abolitionist Henry H ighland Garnet, w ho w as nearly killed in • ••• •• '8ScßK(,' (503) 288-0033 (Office) Deadlines tor eB submitted materials: A r t ic le s : M o n d a y . 5 p . m .; A d s : T u e s d a y . 5 p .m . The FOR IV A N O OBSERVER wNoona« l iu N u m wbrntMion«. M anosa*><• anS ptMtogtapi» should ba daarbr latrttrT and w,« ba rMurnod I aao n e a n la d b j a >a«-addraaaad anaatopa M ciaalad daatgnad daplar ada bucano dw to la p>opart, al lha r.cwspapa and can not ba waad In «ha> pubfcalione o> pananal uaaga. wrthoul Iho w>Man consoni al lha gononl monagor. onbaa lha diaci has puichaaad lha coirposSion al such ad. IB M PORTIAMO OBSERVER ALL R O U T S RESERVEO. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE O R W PART WITHOUT PERM ISSION IS PA O H SITED . S ubtcpbone: 130.00 pal ro w In lha T ,.C o u rt! w oo The PONTLANO OBSERVER - O ngon s oMcsl N neon A n w Icon PubUcoUon-.s a mandtai M The Naltonal Nssnpspoi Aaaadaalan - Founded in IB M . Tha Ologon Nosnpapw Pwbkshws Assooahon. and Tha Nalamal Adaartaeng RoprooortWMo AfhNganolod PuM shon, Ina.. Naw Talk. Pan-Africanism: Is It An Idea Whose Time Has Come. . . Again? In portraying the reaction to the release o f N elso n M andela, a national network television broadcast captured the Rev. Calvin Butts, the brilliant, progressive, youn g p as­ tor o f the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church, speaking from his pulpit in the heart o f Harlem. In expressing his joy that M andela w as n o w out o f captivity. R ev. Butts said “ W e are an African p e o p le ,” whatever affects A frican peop le anyw here, affects African peop le everyw here. R ev. Butts w as thus upholding the ph ilosophy and prin­ c ip les o f pan-A fricanism : the con cep t that A frican p eople throughout the world m ust unite and w ork together for the d ev elo p ­ m ent o f our African hom eland as a basis for the develop m en t and progress o f African p eople throughout the world. The con cep t o f pan-A fricanism has been a constant current w ithin the stream o f B lack p olitical thought in A m erica. It did not take long for the idea to em erge from am ong the captive sons and daughters o f A frica in A m erica, that A m erica w as a hostile territory w here A frican peop le w ere un w elcom e excep t as slaves. D esp ite the ruthless attem pt to brainwash and de-A fri­ can ize A frican people in A m erica, a crav­ ing for A frica persisted in the hearts and m inds o f at least som e o f the p eop le o f African descen t in this country. Martin R. D el any, W ilm ot S. B lyden and B ish op Henry M cN eal Turner were am ong the 19th century A frican-A m erican leaders w h o extolled the virtures o f ancient African culture and civ iliza tio n and articu­ lated v isio n s o f what B lyd en called “ Pan- N egroism " as a strategy to em pow er and restore B lack p eople to their p osition o f historical greatness on the world stage. In the early 20th century W .E .B . D u bois actu­ ally convened a series o f pan-A frican co n ­ ferences and congresses where African people from around the world d iscu ssed the cur­ rent situation and focu sed on the future prospects for A frica and the race. And o f course pan-A fricanism w as the cornerstone o f the ph ilosophy and m ovem ent o f M arcus G arvey w ho em phatically proclaim ed: "E urope for the Europeans, A sia for the A sian s and A frica for the A fricans at hom e and abroad.” In the latter h a lf o f this century it w as M alcolm X w ho stood apart from the c iv il rights leaders in stressing the pan-A frican and international dim ensions o f the struggle o f African p eop le in A m erica. M alcolm constantly rem inded us that w e m ight be a m inority in A m erica, but that w e are a South A frica appears to be joining the w orldw ide parade o f countries abandoning unworkable, dictatorial system s to exp eri­ m ent with dem ocracy. But unlike m any o f the countries o f the eastern bloc, it is n ot revolutionizin g its system ; m erely agreeing to create precon­ ditions that w ill allow further change to system or becom e an econ om ic basket case. N o t surprisingly, they’re ch oosin g the for­ m er route. Finally, Mr. M andela w as released because B lack South A fricans refused to com prom ise with an e v il system , continued to support their organizations that w ere at war with apartheid, and kept up the pres­ occur. That's a lon g w ay from the euphoric pronouncem ents that greeted the release o f ceived that they are in a n o -w in situation, and that the slow deterioration o f the c ou n ­ try’s econ om y and its standing in the w orld could on ly snow ball into com plete c o l­ lapse. A secon d reason w as the e ffects o f the sure for change. A ll o f these reasons su ggest that the release o f Mr. M andela is just the beginnin; the spark leading to the total co lla p se o f apartheid. B ut only if the three factors continue to be in force. W hite South Africans m ust be m ade to see this is no viab le alternative to dism an­ tling the system o f racial dom ination. Black South A fricans m ust continue to keep up the pressure. A nd foreign nations and com panies m ust keep the sanctions in place until there’s a final resolution o f the issues. T o his credit. President B ush has said that our sanctions w ould rem ain in force until change is established, not sim ply talked ab ou t South A frica’s President D e Klerk is working to convince his countrym en that apartheid m ust go and appears to be anx­ sanctions. M any opponents o f sanctions argued that the stubborn South A fricans w ould ious to enter into serious negotiations with B lack leadership to reach a consensus on a new system that treats all groups fairly. never give up their system , so bans o n trade or other econ om ic pressures w ere futile. A s for black resolve to continue to press for freedom , that is o b viou s. A s Mr. N e lso n M andela from the ja il w here the racist South African governm ent h eld him fo r 2 7 y e a n . N elso n M andela was released for rea­ sons that su ggest further pressure w ill be necessary to destroy the apartheid system . O ne reason for his release w as the realization that continuing along the path o f w hite dom ination in a nation where w hites are a sm all m inority is a prescription for su icide. South A frica’s leaders correctly per­ T hey also said that A m erican com pa­ nies w ould sim ply be replaced by foreign com panies w ith few er scruples, and that the on ly real victim s o f the sanctions w ou ld be B lack s denied the opportunity to work for Am erican com panies with m ore enligh t­ ened p olicies. H ow ever persuasive such arguments w ere, com m on sense su ggested that if you deliver body blow s to a country's econ om y, its p eop le w ill begin to qu estion the need far sacrifice and ultimately change the system that causes the sanctions. And that is exactly what happened. M oderate South A frican ! w ere faced w ith a choice: either change the apartheid M andela said in his first words as a free man: " W e have waited too long for our freedom , and w e can wait n o longer. N ow is the tim e to intensify the struggle.” Mr. M andela has proved h im se lf a man o f dign ity and extraordinary ability w h ose presence provides South Africans o f all races w ith leadership that can usher in a new era for that sad nation. A t present, he has been released from one prison into another, larger prison. For that is what his country is f o r the Black m ajority. W ith continued pressure from w ithout and from within, today's prison can be transform ed into tom orrow 's garden. CREED OF T H E BLACK PRESS The Black Press believes th at Am erica can best lead the world away from social and national antagonisms when It accords to every person, regardless of ra te , color, or creed, hill human and legal lights. Hating no person, fearing no person, the Black Fraas strives to help every person In the firm belief that all are h u rt as long as anyone Is held back. m ajority in the world. For those w h o ridi­ culed the idea o f identifying w ith A frica, M alcolm bristled “ w hy y o u left your m ind in A frica." O n the African continent, it w u Dr. K w am e Nkrumah, President o f Ghana, w ho m ost forcefully projected the v isio n and id eology o f A frican unity and pan- A fricanism as v eh icles for the liberation, em pow erm ent and develop m en t o f A frica and the African diaspora. W ith the call to B lack P ow er, B la ck con sciou sn ess and nationalism in the '6 0 s and '7 0 s pan-A fricanism gained a certain currency and popularity am ong m ovem en t activists. Leaders lik e K w am e Tur-, (for­ merly Stokely Carmichael) o f SNCC, Timmy Garrett o f th Center for B lack Education, O w usu Sadaukai (H oward Fuller) o f M al­ colm X Liberation University, Imamu Amiri Baraka o f the congress o f A frican P eo p le and countless others pressed pan-A frican­ ism and the concep t that " w e are an A frican p e o p le ” to the fo refron tof the B la ck libera­ tion m ovem ent. There w as a genuin e b e lie f during this period that pan-A fricanism w as essential to the survival and progress o f African peop le in A frica, A m erica and throughout the diaspora. This upsurge o f pan-A fricanism pro­ duced organized efforts to provide p olitical and material support for A frica. O rganiza­ tions like P an-A frican Sk ills su ccessfu lly convinced skilled African-Americans to lend assistance to various initiatives, institu­ tions and enterprises in A frica. The S ou th ­ ern African Support Project (S A S P ) w as also organized to provide concrete m aterial support for projects in southern A frica. O n the p olitical front, boycotts w ere directed at U .S . corporations d oin g b u si­ ness in southern Africa like G ulf O il (Angola) and Polaroid (South Africa). The G ulf boycott, w hich w as spearheaded by a young m an nam ed Randall R obinson, had a great im ­ pact. O f course Randall R obinson w ou ld later b ecom e the E xecu tive D irector o f Trans-Africa. T his influential lob b y for A frica and the C a m bean can also be said to be a product o f this period o f pan-A fricanist ascendancy. Last but not least A frican Liberation D ay, as an A frican-A m erican focal point for education and p olitical m obilization around A frica, w as first or­ ganized in 1972. I can still hear O w usu Sadaukai c losin g his address to the crow d o f 35,0 0 0 peop le in W ashington, D .C . ham m ering hom e the words “ W e are an African P eo p le.” Civil ^Rights journal by Bertfamln F. Chavis, Jr. Liberia Needs Liberation The W est African nation o f Liberia needs to be liberated from the sen seless fratricide that is n ow en gu lfin g this nation. During the last several m onths, m ore than 100 ,0 0 0 Liberians have had to flee their hom eland to avoid the blood shed and k ill­ ings. The global com m unity needs to speak out m ore forcefully against the brutality and repression o f the aspirations o f the p eople o f Liberia, by the governm ent o f Liberia, led by the ruthless G eneral Sam uel K. D oe. Reports that are now com in g out o f Liberia from Liberian refu gees attest to the grow ing accounts o f v icio u s indiscrim inate acts o f violence by the Liberian Army against the peop le o f Liberia, in particular innocent w om en and children in c ivilian areas o f the country. The thirty m illion A frican-A m ericans here in the U nited States esp ecially n eed to be m ade m ore aware o f this im pending crisis and n eed to be m ore in volved in helping to resolve the co n flict and stop the m erciless killin g o f African p eop le by som e A fricans w ho are being controlled and fi­ nanced by foreign interests. Toward this end, a little history w ou ld be im portant to note. Liberia w as form ally founded in 1822 by A fricans w ho had been slaves in the United States. The C ongress o f the United States and at the tim e, U .S. President Jam es M onroe, provided the m oney and transpor­ tation for these “ freedm en" to g o back to A frica to set up a U .S .-sty le A frican nation. In 1847, Liberia-- w ith U .S. aid and su p­ port-- becam e A frica's first so-called p o st­ colon ial independent republic. There w ere, how ever, som e obviou s problem s in the historical d evelop m en t o f Liberia as a nation. First, there w ere hun­ dreds o f thousands o f A fricans already dw ellin g in the land now known as Liberia. S econ d ly, m any o f the so-called "freed U .S . sla v e s" were pre-conditioned to think they w ere better than the indigenous A fri­ cans living in Liberia. Thirdly, there were som e authentic African nationalists resettled in Liberia, but m any o f them were pre­ vented from organizing the m ajority native population. In sum , the historic strategies o f " d iv id e and conquer" and "m anipulate and exp loit' ’ w ere put into operation in the develop m en t o f Liberia w ith the com p licit) o f som e A fricans both resettled and native O f course, this history cau sed over the years an enorm ous resentm ent b y the na­ tives o f the region to all those w h o had com e to disenfranchise and exploit the native population. Thus, in 1980, Sam uel D o e o f on e ol the indigenous tribes, led the overthrow ol the Liberian government and has ruled Liberia sin ce 1980. The problem is that Mr. Doc has seem in gly forgotten the history o f in­ dignity that he sought to replace. Today, general D o e w ith full U .S . support o f his army, is killing his ow n p eo p le throughout Liberia. T ragically, the m ain interest o f the U .S . governm ent appears to be the sam e as itw a s 168 years ago: " d iv id e and conquer" and exp loit the richea o f the land for U .S. econ om ic and strategic interests. O nce again, Am erican foreign policy toward A frica is a sad and tragic c o m m en ­ tary. W e m ust raise our v o ic e s lou d and clear in protest to the m assacre o f hundreds o f people in Liberia, Sam u el D o e and his regim e stand as a moral insult to the dignity o f humanity. Kenneth B . N ob le o f the N e w York T im es docum ented in interview s w ith som e o f the Liberian refu gee victim s the e sc a la ­ tion o f the brutality. Several days a g o in the sm all tow n o f Butuo, Liberia, N o b le re­ ported that Mrs. M in do P aye and her fam ily w ere asleep in their h om e w hen D o e 's uniformed armed forces attacked them. M n . P aye's son and husband w ere killed by the soldiers and her 11 -year o ld daughter w as severely w ounded. M indo P aye cried out, " T h ey just shot us like a n im als." T his incident unfortunately exem plifies the current situation in Liberia. There is no justification for fratricide. D oe has exposed his o w n incapacity to rule or lead Liberia. There w ill soon be another popular uprising in Liberia, but the next tim e the target w ill not be the “ e lite " o f Liberian society, it w ill be D oe him self. The liberation o f Liberia has been too long com in g into being, but it w ill be com in g sooner n ow than later.