April 11, 1990 Portland Observer Page 5
NATIONAL FORUM
Rev. AI Sharpton, Pedro Espada Back New Alliance P arty’s
Dr. Fulani In Plan to Run Independent Race
for G overnor o f New York
The American public education sys­
tem is facing a crisis, and its primary
victims are A frican-A m ericans, as well
as millions o f Hispanics and low in­
come people. According to the statis­
tics of the U.S. D epartm ent o f Educa­
tion and the Educational Testing Serv­
ice, about tv'enty million American adults
are functionally illiterate. Each day,
3,800 A merican teenagers drop out of
school. O nly 71 percent o f all ninth
graders graduate within four years.
Thirteen percent of all 16- to 24-year
olds are not currently in school and
have not com pleted high school. O ne
half of all American 17-year olds can ­
not perform math problem s which are
usually taught in junior high school,
more than one quarter o f all thirteen
year olds, cannot successfully com plete
elem entary level arithm etic, and only
six percent o f 17 year olds can answ er
m ost algebra problems.
Perhaps the greatest deficiency of
students is their inability to write and
read clearly and with com prehension.
A ccording to the recent report o f the
National A ssessm ent of Educational
Progress (NAEP), less than tw o thirds
o f all 17-year olds are able to w rite an
adequate letter o f application f o r a jo b -
’’adequate” being defined as the ab il­
ity to write clearly enough to m erit the
author a jo b interview.
Students do even worse when they
are asked to w rite on a topic em ploying
evidence and an argum ent pro or con.
Only 27 percent o f the 17 year olds
could do an adequate job when asked to
write a letter to their Senator discussing
whether or not to cut the budget for the
space program . And as for the N A E P’s
highest category of w riting, “ elaborate
w riting’’- th a t is, w riting which does
an excellent job inform ing or persuad-
in g -o n ly a sm all minority o f 17 year
olds were in this category; only four
percent for the job letters, and only one
percent for letters to the Senator.
The crisis is greatest for Black youth.
A frican-A m ericans are disproportion­
ately represented among those who are
functionally illiterate and w ho drop out
o f school. Educators have know n that
one of the prim ary predictors o f what
sociologists call a p erson’s “ life
chances’’ is the level o f education one
receives. More than two thirds o f all
Black men currently in prison, for ex ­
am ple, have an eleventh grade educa­
tion or less. The U.S. C enter for Educa­
tion Statistics did a national longitudi­
nal survey of high school sophomore in
1980. The survey tracked the progress
o f three groups: high school graduates,
who graduated with a C + or better; “ at-
risk ” graduates, who had academic
averages below C+ but nevertheless
finished high school; and nongradu­
ates, students who dropped out. Five
years after their sophomore year in high
school, it was learned that nine percent
o f all Black female high school gradu­
ates were on welfare and w ere unwed
mothers. A m uch larger percentage of
this group were enrolled in colleges or
vocational schools. Nineteen percent
of the “ at-risk” high school Black female
graduates were receiving welfare by
1985. For Black female dropout, 44
percent were on welfare by 1985, and
54 percent were unmarried mothers.
There is a direct correlation betw een
poverty and inferior eduation. Keep in
mind that 57 percent of all Black fam i­
lies headed by 15- to 24-year olds live
in poverty, and the chief breadwinners
o f such fam ilies usually have no high
school diplom as. Seventy five percent
o f all Black poor fam ilies are headed by
single females.
In recent years, many American poli­
ticians and corporate leaders have tried
to find a scapegoat to explain away the
crisis in Am erican public education.
T here’s a long tradition of scapegoat­
ing in A m erican politics. When things
go wrong, find som eone to blame, re­
gardless o f the actual evidence. And
politicans and even some educators,
such as W illiam Bennett, Reagan’s for­
mer Secretary of Education, have some­
times tried to attribute the crisis to
teachers. This scapegoat thesis claim s
that the federal governm ent is spending
more than ever to improve schools, but
m oney isn ’t the answer. Theproductiv-
ity and perform ance o f teachers has to
be improved, which means various merit
pay proposals and efforts to mandate
more strict statew ide teachers' exams.
Like all half-truths, such rhetoric
sounds plausible enough to seem valid.
The “ blame the teachers” rhetoric plays
well w ith those who d o n ’t want to in­
crease taxes to pay for academ ic excel-
What’s Happening to
Individual Choice?
AT ISSUE
Grant Statehood to the District of Columbia?
The Re*. Jesse J jh 'L mwi is
ll.S . Rep. Ralph Regula
president of the National
Rainbow Coalition, Inc., a
(R-Ohio) was firs! elected to
human rights organization.
Congress in 1972. lie serves
on the House Appropria­
He is also national presi­
tions Committee as well as
dent of Operation PUSH
the House Select Com m it*
ll*to p k
lee on Aging.
Cnited
Io
Serve
Hum anity).
Should Congress grant statehood Io (he Dis­
trict o f Columbia?
Yes The American Revolution began when
people said “ taxation without representation is
tyranny." District residents pay more than $, b il­
lion annually in federal taxes— more than nine
states. O f 115 nations with elected national legis­
latures. only the United States denies represen­
tation to the citizens o f its capital. District state­
hood is morally right, rationally sound, legally
possible and constitutionally permitted. A ll that’s
needed is a simple m ajority vote in the U.S. House
and Senate anil the President’s signature. H istori­
cally. statehood has been granted when three c ri­
teria have been met 11) the people publicly have
expressed their desire to become a state. (2) the
people agree w ith the democratic form o f govern­
ment practiced in America; and (3) there are s u lli-
cient people and economic wealth to support a
stale government. The district meets all these
criteria
W hat elTevI would statehood have on the rest
of the country?
District o f Colum bia statehood is not for the dis
trict o n ly' Quite likely it would mean an integrated
Senate where tw o progressive senators and a con-
gressperson would light for a national health plan,
tor alfonlable housing, for increased funding lor
education, for strengthened laws that provide
equal protection under the law lo r all, lor a cleaner
and safer environment, for a more just and peace­
ful w orld through development ol the Third
W orld, lor the rights o f workers (e g . for raising
the m inim um wage and against so-called right
io -w o rk" laws), lo r fair farm prices and lor fairer
and more progressive tax laws.
How else could we provide district residents
with full representation?
We could grant partial representation thiough
various annexation schemes. But democracy de­
mands fu ll sell determination, not just some rep
resentation. The Soviets granted representation to
the Baltics, but they voted for sell determination
instead District residents deserve lu ll sell
determination In
lence. But let’s exam ine the evidence,
not the rhetoric.
Part of the crisis in public education
exists because since 1981 the Federal
governm ent has actually retreated from
its historic financial com m itm ents. A c­
cording to the U.S. D epartm ent o f
Education, federal spending on educa­
tion betw een 1980 to 1988, when ad­
justed for inflation, actually fell 12
percent, $49.3 billion to $43.3 billion.
O verall spending for elem entary and
secondary school program s declined by
19 percent, and federal expenditures
for postsecondary education plummeted
26 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars.
W hy are we losing the battle for
quality education? We want to give lip
service to excellence, but we are un­
willing to pay for it. Since 1980, ac­
cording to the Chronicle o f Higher E du­
cation: “ Child nutrition program s fell
10.2 percent, vocational and adult edu­
cation fell 23 percent, and Chapter I
grants for the disadvantaged fell 17.3
percent, now serving only about half o f
the eligible participants, down from 75
percent coverage in 1980. Head Start
funding grew 20 percent in constant
dollars, but still only serves about one-
quarter to one-third o f the eligible
population . . . ”
C ontrary to popular belief, ‘ ‘ the fed­
eral role in education spending has always
been relatively sm all. In 1990, o f the
$353 billion to be spent by the public
and private sectors on education, fed­
eral expenditures w ill account for only
6 percent o f the total, private spending
will account for 27 percent, and the bal­
ance will com e from state and local
governm ents.” M eanw hile, as G eorge
Bush parades and postures him self as
the so-called “ Education President,”
this winter he sent to Congress a federal
budget for 1991 which would cut aid
for 300,000 college students, and do
next to nothing innovative to address
the problems o f urban public schools.«-
W e will never achieve excellence in the
public schools for Black children so
long as the Federal G overnm ent re­
fused to do its fair share.
******
Dr. M anning M arable is Professor of
Political Science and Sociology at the
U niversity o f Colorado, Boulder.
“ Along the C olor L in e” appears in
over 170 new spapers internationally.
Should Congress grant statehood to the Dis-
rict of Columbia?
No. Numerous constitutional lawyers have ad
ised that Congress does not have the right to
‘ grant” statehood to the district. They believe a
constitutional amendment would have to be passed
by Congress and rati lied by the states. I do not sup­
port district statehood because the constitutional
questions are serious, the added bureaucracy
could be unmanageable for the district, and there
are other means for district residents to achieve lu ll
voting representation.
W hat effect would statehood have on the rest
of the country?
I do not think district statehood would have a
profound effect. Politically, some conservative
states are concerned that the traditionally liberal
district would vote for liberal representatives This
is no, such a big issue in the House w ith 435 mem
hers, but would have a greater impact in the
Senate I often hear a question like, “ Why should
that city be made a state when other cities, like
New York, have m illions ol citizens living in
them?" There are valid arguments against this
question, but it seems to represent some of the
country's sentiment
How else could we provide dis,riel residents
with full représenta,ion?
It is not necessary to create a whole new state to
give district residents voting representation in
Congress. The land now com prising the district
once belonged to Maryland, and it makes sense to
turn it back to that state minus a reduced enclave
o f federal buildings administered by Congress
jus, as the western portion ol the district was re
turned to V irginia in 1X46. Current district iesi
dents would become citizens o l Maryland, w ith
full voting representation And retrocession would
preserve M aryland’s in,en, that the land it gave be
the seat o f government The question of voter rep
resentation for dis,ne, residents is an involved,
serious one. but we do a disservice to the people ol
the dis,lie, if we lim it the debate to only om
option.
■ '990 I’M r .»loruM Se'vx
as
By Dr. Benjamin I.. Hunks
Over the past several months, in­
creased attention has been focused on
advertising by tobacco companies in
minority publications and on bill­
boards in minority neighborhoods.
Charges have been made that these
companies are specifically targeting
minority communities because they
offer a tempting target, and are more
likely to be persuaded by the adver­
tiser’s message than the majority
community.
Implicit in this is the premise that
blacks are so naive they will be per­
suaded to smoke by a billboard or an
ad. Buried in this line o f thinking,
and never really mentioned by these
critics, is the rationale that blacks are
not capable of making their own free
choices and need some guardian
angels to protect their best interests.
This is an insidious form of pater­
nalism. Blacks, like the rest of the
populace, can make the choice ol
whether to smoke or not.
Many of the critics of the bill­
boards are also critical o f tobacco
companies for sponsoring positive
activities in the black community.
A number of the major tobacco
companies, as well as many other
firms producing different products,
have been long-time supporters ol
worthwhile activities in the black
community without asking a single
thing in return
For example, one company annu­
ally sponsors an achievers award to
honor live black men and women
who have made major contributions
to their comm unities. Each is
awarded $10, (MX) to present to the
community-based organization ol his
or her choice.
Should these contributions cease,
and if other companies stopped sup
porting scholarships, skills training
programs, single parent programs,
anil a whole host ot gixxl initiatives.
The Reverend Al Sharpton, presi­
dent o f the United African M ovement,
and Pedro Espada, the executive direc­
tor of the Soundview Health Center in
the Bronx, have given their full backing
to New Alliance Party chairperson Dr.
Lenora Fulani in her plan to run as an
independent for governor o f New York
this year. Cheers, sustained applause
and standing ovations from a m ulti­
racial crow d o f several hundred people
greeted the two leaders and dozens of
others w ho made statem ents supporting
Dr. Fulani’s cam paign for youth and
dem ocracy at a cityw ide meeting of the
independent party in Manhattan on Friday
night where she announced her cam ­
paign for youth and democracy.
The extraordinary coalition repre­
sented by Reverend Sharpton, a civil
rights leader in the m ilitant civil dis­
obedience tradition o f Dr. Martin Lu­
ther King Jr., and Mr. Espada, an insur­
gent Dem ocrat who received a stunning
42% o f the vote in his run for City
Council from the predom inantly Black
and Puerto Rican eleventh Council-
manic D istrict in the South Bronx last
year on the independent N AP line, a
coalition which includes high school
and college students, helping profes­
sionals, rank and file labor and lesbian
and gays virtually guarantees that Dr.
Fulani would easily get the 50,000 votes
needed to put the Black-led, m ulti-ra­
cial and pro-gay independent party per­
manently on the ballot in New York.
In introducing Dr. Fulani, Rev.
Sharpton told the crow d, “ This m eet­
ing is launching a new trend in the po­
litical spectrum of New York State and
the entire country.” The “ new alli­
ance” for w hich her campaign is the
catalyst, he said, “ has raised new po­
litical prospects. W e who couldn’t
even talk together have learned to walk
together, to march together, and to fight
together. Dr. King died trying to make
a new alliance. Dr. King was holding
m eetings like this all across the coun­
try. He was bringing poor people of all
colors together. I vow that we are going
to finish Dr. K ing’s work and build that
new alliance.”
In expressing his support for Dr. Fu­
lani, Mr. Espada was equally jubilant.
“ W e’re celebrating the dawning o f a
new era, a new m ovem ent that will spill
from this m eeting and scream out for
social justice,” said the grassroots Puerto
Rican leader. Mr. Espada denounced
the vendetta orchestrated by New York’s
political and judicial estabishm ent
against Reverend Sharpton, who is cur-
To Be Equal
The very different role the U.S. is-
playing in eastern Europe and in Africa
makes it hard to void the impression of
a racial double standard in our foreign
policy.
As country after country in eastern
Europe freed itself from com m unist
dom ination, the U.S. took a highly vis­
ible, supportive role.
American businesses flocked to east­
ern European capitals to scout invest­
m ent opportunities and our governm ent
is prepared to pump large am ounts of
econom ic developm ent aid funds to
those countries, supplem enting even
larger sums prom ised by western na­
tions.
There is even talk about a new
M arshall Plan to help those countries
develop their econom ies and a new
international investm ent bank, funded
by the W est.
But Africa, the w orld’s poorest con­
tinent and an area which is also under­
going far-reaching reform, is virtually
ignored .although its needs are far greater.
This year, for exam ple, total U.S.
econom ic aid to Black A frica com es to
about $575 m illion, or only eleven per­
cent of total U.S. foreign economic as­
sistance. On a per capita basis, that
com es to only $1 for every African.
T he argum ent has been advanced
would these same critics step forward
to fill the gap? I doubt that very
much.
There is a great deal of cynicism
involved in outside forces criticizing
black groups for accepting help from
tobacco companies, while offering
no alternatives. Ironically, these
critics don’t apply the same degree
of heat to white groups that accept
funds from these companies. You
figure that one out.
Critics also have blasted the black
press knows it has to struggle to get
national advertising, a prime source
of revenue. If black publications did
drop tobacco advertising, they would
face a serious financial crunch, in
fact, might cease to exist. Would this
be a gixxl thing? No!
Many flagship black publications
have gone out of business in recent
years. Many were the only organs
that objectively reported positive
news from the black community
Some did not accept tobacco or alco­
hol ads. Where were the critics when
these publications could have used
their support?
Interestingly, the critics don’t zero
in on majority media—such as fime,
Newsweek, Playboy, etc.—and de­
mand that they yank their tobacco ad­
vertising, or impugn their motives in
accepting such ads
Let me make it clear that I am not
advixating that anyone smoke
However. I believe that African-
Americans have the right, just as
cverylxxly else, to make that choice
on their own lit
that a major goal of our foreign policy
ws freeing eastern European nations
from Soviet dom ination and therefore
we have to assure that they will become
self-sufficient now that our goal has
been reached.
T h at’s a good argum ent. It makes
sense, since our former advocacy en­
tailed responsibilities for the outcome
o f our policy. But that same argum ent
also holds for Africa.
For many years we expended diplo­
matic energy and resources to get South
A frica to end its illegal occupation of
Namibia. Now, Namibia is a free, inde­
pendent state.
But .while we therefore have an ob­
ligation to assist the new nation in its
transition to dem ocracy, our current aid
am ounts to an insignificant $500,000.
And despite N am ibia’s great needs
for developm ent assistance, next year’s
aid package is slated to com e to only
about $8 m illion, living at the knife-
edge o f survival.
On a purely humanitarian basis, it
should be getting a much larger share,
not only of U.S. aid, but also o f assis­
tance from other wealthy countries such
as Japan, G erm any, and the form er co­
lonial powers that once ruled large parts
o f the continent.
Aid is also in our self-interest. The
ntly being tried in the State Supreme
v,ourt on 67 counts o f fraud: die case is
widely view ed in the Black com m uni­
ties as an attem pt to punish the outspo­
ken African A m enan leader for his
uncom prom ising stand on behalf o f Ta-
wana Brawley. “ We have an attorney
genral who, w ithout our perm ission, is
spending m illion o f dollars to prosecute
and persecute the greatest defender of
our youth, the Reverend Al Sharpton,"
charged Mr. Espada. He urged that the
meeting constitute itself a public tribu­
nal to indict Mr. A bram s for the misuse
of public funds.
Directly addressing the m any young
people at the m eeting, he encouraged
them to “ take your spirit and talk to
your parents and to your grandparents,
to those who say ‘I’ve heard it all be­
fore. The last time this, the last time
that.’ Tell them that this time is Fulani
tim e!”
On March 31, Fulani will host a new
weekly cable televison show broadcast
M anhattan-wide on Channel J (23) at 6
pm.
On the show Fulani addressed the
persecution and prosecution o f Rev.
Sharpton by M ario Cuomo and Robert
Abrams, and will present a m ini-docu­
mentary that review s the Taw ana
Drawley case.
by John E. Jacob
more we help those countries develop,
the more they’ll buy from us, creating
jobs here at home and expanding our
trade.
Some point to past misuse o f aid
funds to justify present policies, and it
is true that many African nations suf­
fered from misrule and wasted scarce
resources.
But many nations have learned from
their mistakes. They have instituted
economic and political reforms, cut hack
noneconomic spending plans, reintro­
duced free markets for farmers, and
taken other responsible steps.
Such reforms should be rew arded by
international assistance to help develop
their econom ies, but that assistance has
not been forthcoming.
W e urgently need to frame aid po li­
cies that encourage econom ic develop­
ment and political dem ocracy in A f­
rica. Much o f that urgency stem s from
the coming negotiations to transform
South A frica from a m inority racial dic­
tatorship to a racially equal dem ocracy.
W e can influence those negotiations
by the prom ise o f aid and private in­
vestm ent to help a newly dem ocratic
South Africa. And we can m ake our
influence credible by im plem enting an
enlightened aid policy for Black Africa
today.
1. True or False: George Washington was our first president
2. Where was the northernmost battle of the Civil War fought’
a) West Virginia b) Kansas cl Vermont d) New York
3. What famous gangster had a brother who was a law enforcement
officer?
4 How did Daniel Boone die? al killed by Indians b) lost his way in
the wilderness cl attacked by a bear d) from indigestion.
5 What First Lady once told her husband that women were "determined
to foment a rebellion ” if denied their rights, including the right to vote9
6 Which member of Washington's cabinet was blackmailed over an
affair with a married woman?
7 True or False: A Civil War general lies in two graves, each with its
own headstone.
8. Why did John Harvey Kellogg invent breakfast cereal
9. Who acquired America’s first eight-figure fortune?
Answers
1 False. John Hanson, a congressman from Maryland, served a one-
vear term as president under the Articles of Confederation beginning in
1781. George Washington wasn’t elected president until 1789.
2. (cl A band of Confederate raiders turned up there as they came down
from Canada.
3. The gangster Al Capone, who made a fortune in bootleg whisky in
the 1920s. hail a brother, Jim, who was a federal prohibition agent.
4. id i In 1820. at the age of 85. he overindulged in one of his favorite
dishes- baked sweet potatoes—and died of indigestion.
5 Abigail Adams wrote about women's rights to her husband, John,
in 1776, while he was helping draft the Declaration of Independence
6 Alexander Hamilton, then secretary of the treasury and a married
father of eight, carried on an affair with a woman who appeared on his
doorstep one day begging for a loan. Her husband demanded cash satis­
faction for his wife’s favors Later arrested for fraud, he implicated Hamil­
ton in the scheme. To prove his innocence in the fraud scheme, Hamilton
produced the blackmail letters
7 True When Confederate officer and Civil War hero Stonewall
Jackson's arm was shattered by bullets, it was amputated and given its
own formal military burial. A week later Jackson died and was buried
more than 100 miles away from his arm
8 John Harvey Kellogg, a dietary crusader, developed a variety of
health foods His biggest breakthrough came as a result of an old lady's
false teeth She broke them on some zweiback he had prescribed and she
sued He set to work developing softer foods, resulting in breakfast cereal
9 John Jacob Astor, whose success in the 1830s hinged on transporting
illegal whiski y into Indian country to grease the wheels for his fur trading
venturis