No Man Is An Island Unto Himself : Neither Is An Island
White property owners were able to secure
bank financing to develop their lands and
the taxed value of all lands shot up to
$100,000 per acre. Denied similar loans to
the unsettled western frontier territory of
Oklahoma. Many settled down, homestead­
ing and fanning; others went on to become
the most fabled cowboys, sheriffs (and
outlaws) in American history. From O kla­
homa many branched off to Texas and
Mexico where many still speak their native
tongue. Professor William Stewart says of
these former Sea Island people (1987(',
250,000 Gullah speakers live in the U .S '
including some 10,000 in New York City.
Patricia Jones Jackson, Black doctoral
candidate in linguistics (1986, U. of Mich.),
said a number of Gullahs in the South and
Mexico “ speak no other tongue.” One
linguistic appraisal describes Gullah as " a
headlong Sea Island's Creole, yielding a
tongue that is sometimes called G eechee."
Bibliography For Island Series
Patricia Jones-Jackson, Researcher
set up develujimenl corporations, most Blacks
lost their land to the sheriff for taxes. T o­
day, some developed beach properties
sell for as much as one thousand dollars per
front inch. Jets fly in weekend guests from
New York-if they are rich, white and famous
(one day soon, they may jet into the high-
rise helicopter pads in northeast Portland).
See “ Sea Islands,” National Geographic
Magazine, Dec. 1987.
Gullah People: Many of the Black people
of the Sea Islands are described as Gullahs,
and have a distinct language and culture. As
in the case of the talented slave ironworkers
whose contribution to colonial industry is
usually omitted from American history,
these Blacks, kidnapped from Sierra, Le­
one, Africa, have not been assigned their
key role in the creation of American wealth.
It was their expertiste in the growing of rice
that made them especially prized as slaves
by the island plantation ow ners-along with
a resistance to lowland fevers that was
developed in a similar ecosystem in Africa.
Medicines came with them from Africa as
well, from their new environs came herbal
teas for asthma, mullein tea for colds, tinc­
tures of woodchips and turpentine for purg­
ing the system, poke leaves for sprains, lily
bushes for fevers, and special roots to ease
childbirth.
Many escaped from the greedy slave
owners and fled to join the Seminole Indi­
ans in the mangrove and cypress swamps of
Florida. Ultimately defeated in battles with
the U.s. Army, these brave people, now
“ unreliable as slaves," were shipped off to
(May be ordered through Looking Glass
Bookstore or B. Dalton Bookstores)
* Kon Tiki, or Kon Tiki For Children,
Thor Heyerdahl.
* The Polynesians: Prehistory of an
Island People, Peter Bellwood, Thomas &
Hudson, 1987.
* The Last Navigator, Stephen D.
Thomas, Hutchinson, London, 1987.
February 28, 1999 • Portland Observer
(Continuedfrom From Page)
* Islands and Empires: Western Im ­
pact, Vol. VIII, Ernest S. Dodge. Univ. o f
Minn.. 1976.
* The Fatal Impact (On Tahiti and
South Pacific) Alan Moorhead. (Distrib­
uted by 'Common Reader' Inc., No. 3601,
$25.00).
* Margaret Mead and Samoa: The
Making and Unmaking of an Anthropo­
logical Myth, Derek Freeman!Australia?).
* Sweetness and Power The Place of
Sugar in Modem History, Sidney W. Mintz,
Viking Press, 1985.
* When Roots Die, Patricia Jones
Jackson, unfinished Doctoral Thesis, Uni­
versity o f Georgia Press, (But see article
below to which this Black researcher was a
major contributor.
* Nowhere to Lay My Weary Head:
Sea Islands, National Geographic M aga­
zine, December, 1987 (In-depth essay).
* Sea Island Plantations Being Reborn,
Emery S. Campbell, Vol. 2, No. 4 o f the
"Front Page," quarterly publication o f
the Black United Front, Portland, Oregon
(Excellent, Contemporary).
’ Various ‘Gullah Group’ Anthropo­
logical Studies, see Serial Literature by
Joseph Opala, others.
A HISTORY LESSO N-A high school editor, (right), and her teacher-advisor,
stop at the photograph of Frederick Douglass, abolitionist and publisher of
“ The North Star,” newspaper during a visit by 30 high school editors to the
exhibition, FREEDOM’S JOURNALS: A History of the Black Press in New
York State at The Gallery at Continental Insurance, 180 Maiden Lane, New
York City. The exhibition was created by the Schomburg Center for Research
in Black Culture. Officials of four current Black New York City newspapers
later talked to the students during lunch during the event sponsored by the New
York City Board of Education’s Office of Business Collaboratives and the
Continental Corporation Foundation.
Black History Month • Page 7
Why I Do Not Date
Women With Children
by U llysses T ucker, Jr.
Recently, I wax asked by a female
friend of mine why I preferred not to date
women with children. She suggested that
certain Black men, because of their social
and economic status, think that they are
beyond this social phenomenon and ulti­
mately raise expectations or standards in
the mate selection process.
I love children Someday, I hope to
have my own. It has nothing to do with the
children or their mother. It's the father that
I have, problems with and regardless of
their level of participation with the children
he fathered, many men do not like the idea
of another man filling the role they should
be taking care of. Some men do not mind
another man playing father to their chil­
dren. Others take it personally and attempt
to reinforce to the children, negatively,
who their father is and make great attempts
to poison the relationship with the non­
father. I guess you could say that I have had
more negative experiences with ladies with
kids than ones without. Have you ever
heard the screaming words of a child say­
ing, " , . . you're not my father!?.” It hurts.
In that case, I knew that I wasn’t the father,
but I was there for hugs, support, at soccer
games, etc. . . . where was the real dad? I
(don’t get me wrong), know some wonder­
ful women with children.
Another example: This past weekend,
a very good friend called me early Saturday
morning and wanted to talk. He said that I
wouldn’t believe what had just happened to
him.
He was visiting a lady friend overnight
when her ex-husband (divorced two years
+) drove by and saw another car parked in
front of her house. It was about 7 a.m. The
ex-husband parked his truck and started
banging on the windows, kicking on the
doors, and screaming nasty words as he
circled the house. My friend got out of bed
and asked what was going on. She ex­
plained that he was abusive, insecure, and a
recovering cocaine addict. He was suppose
to be at home with her three young children.
Though he had weekend custody, it was one
of the first times in a long time in which he
decided to spend some time with his chil­
dren. Why he would leave them alone, my
friend's lady did not know . . .
My friend had wanted to leave the
house, but he'd feared for his safety and life.
The ex-husband might have had a weapon.
She then called the police. At that point, my
friend learned that he was currently under a
restraining order and had consistently been
a disruptive force in her life. Since the
divorce, the ex-husband had done every­
thing within his power to hurt her and make
life unhappy for my friend's lady. He even
vowed to bring her down economically by
not paying child support the last six months.
Having great esteem and a strong sense of
self, she survived without his help and this
made his attitude worst. He then resorted to
threats of violence and intimidation of any
man who attempted to be in her life. Whether
he, the ex-husband, won with my friend by
scaring him away, I don’t know yet. H e’s
still trying to sort out the madness. Sadly,
the legal system does not offer any help to
a woman in this predicament.
As my friend talked more about the
incident, I learned that he had attended a
basketball game of his lady's friend son
during the week and found out at the game
that the ex-husband was the coach. My
friend said that had he known before the
game, he would not have attended and
definitely stayed away. Was she dishonest
for not telling him? My friend had also
given the kid a few autographed basketball
cards and a couple of other basketball-
related gifts to be supportive. He felt totally
uncomfortable as he sat with his lady friend
during the game and all his worst fears
came into reality early that morning.
Eventually, the police came and my
friend left her house. The ex-husband cursed
my friend as she tried to explain what
happened to the police. He even threatened
my friend's life. The ex-husband also told
my friend to stay away from his children,
who by the way have developing a liking
for him, even though h e’s doing nothing as
a father for them. The police said that
verbal threats are not against the law. The
ex-husband even repeated my friend's li­
cense plate number and suggested that he
had a score to settle. He said that he would
kill his ex-wife and my friend. The situ­
ation got so ugly and verbally abusive that
the police arrested the ex-husband. My
friend got into his car and drove away. Why
me? he thought to him self. . . all he wanted
was a mellow evening with his new lady
friend.
Should my friend decide not to see her
again, the ex-husband wins because he has
made her life unhappy again. Is it worth the
relationship, risking his life and safety for?
Will the ex-husband always be a problem,
regardless of who she dates? Is it fair to the
children if my friend drifts away? Should
she have explained her ex-husband to my
friend before they really got involved?
Questions, questions, questions.
When my friend stopped talking, I told
him that I really felt sorry for him and that
I understood what he had on lus mind. I also
knew what he felt like when he said that his
life flashed before his eyes as the husband
circled the house. I know the feelings well.
Not all encounters are as bad as this one.
However, you eliminate these types of situ­
ations by just not dealing with women with
children at all. Some people a o n ’t have a
choice. I do.
Before closing, there's one more rea­
son why I choose not to date women with
children, it’s because of my father. You
see, my father was killed in a domestic
squabble. He was shot, six times, by his
girlfriend’s-boyfriend two blocks from our
house when I was thirteen years old.
I do not need the drama in my life. I
would much rather start a relationship from
scratch.
Union Station Task
Force to Hold Public
Hearing
The Union Station Task Force will hold
a public hearing to discuss the proposed
trackage modifications and improvements
at the Union Station property The hearing
will be held Friday, March 2, from 3:30-
5:30 p.m. in Room A, second floor of The
Portland Building, 1120 S.W. Fifth A ve­
nue.
The task force, appointed by Mayor
J.E. Clark, is chaired by Donald W. Mag-
nusen, Executive Vice President, U.S.
Bancorp.
The purpose of the meeting will be to
hear comments from interested organiza­
tions or individuals regarding the proposed
trackage changes and other planned uses of
the property. The public is inv ,ted to attend.
Newsroom 6 Wins
Award
KOIN-TV's Newsroom 6 has won an
Ohio State Achievement o f Merit Award
for its documentary Wildforest Wars. The
program, which aired in June o f 1989,
focused on the struggle between the timber
industry and environmentalists over old
growth timber in Oregon's forests. Wild-
forest Wars was produced and written by
Eric Mason and photographed by Gary
Kahne. Executive producer was Tauna Lange.
KOLN-TV is a division of Lee Enter­
prises, Inc. Lee publishes directly or through
its affiliate daily newspapers in 18 cities
and owns 5 television stations. The com ­
pany is also involved in graphic rrt systems
through its affiliate company, NAPP Sys­
tems (USA), Inc.
i
(From left to right), Dr. Lenora Fulani, chairperson of the independent New Alliance Party; civil rights attorney Alton
Maddox; Moses Stewart, father of Yusuf Hawkins, the young Black man who was brutally murdered in the Bensonhurst
section of Brooklyn last August; Yonkers activist Stonewall Odom; Rev. Al Sharpton of the United African Movement;
and Rev. Darryl George, pastor of Yonkers’ Messiah Baptist Church, led nearly 1,000 people at a march last Saturday
in the largest civil rights protest ever held in the city of Yonkers. Saturday’s protest was held to mobilize a grassroots
challenge to the long entrenched pattern of racial segregation in Yonkers. The civil rights demonstrators are demanding
that the mayor and city council act in good faith to carry out a housing desegregation order issued five years ago by the
U.S. Department of Justice.
PUBLIC NOTICE
The Portland Observer newspaper is owned
and operated solely by the Exie Publishing
Company of Portland, Oregon. Exie
Publishing Company has no affiliation with
any other publication in Oregon and the
public should be aware that any notices or
statements by parties or individuals claim­
ing such affiliation is unauthorized.
Questions pertaining to the aforementioned
should be directed to the business office of
the Observer at 4747 N.E. Martin Luther
King Jr. Blvd., Portland, Oregon, 97211.
Telephone (503) 288-0033 or
FAX (503) 288-0015.
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