April 18, 1990, Page 2
E ditorial I O pinion
Civil Rights journal
Soon and very soon, Anglo or white
Americans numerically will become a
minority group in the United States of
America. This prediction is based on
current domestic patterns and rates of
birth and immigration. Time magazine
in a cover story entitled “ America's
Changing C olors" stated, “ In the 21st
Century--and that’s not far off--racial
and ethnic groups in the U.S. will out­
number whites for the first time. The
browning of America will alter every­
thing in society, from politics and edu­
cation to industry, values and culture.”
While it is not clear how the struc­
tures and values of American society
will be changed in the future as the
result o f the United States becoming a
non white majority nation, it is clear
that change will occur. A change in the
percentage or the proportion of the racial
and ethnic population of this nation
does not automatically mean an in­
crease in the degree of political and
economic empowerment of racial and
ethnic communities in the nation.
For Time magazine to do such an
extensive cover story on this subject, it
6
indicates the increasing concern and in
some comers, increasing anxiety about
these dramatic demographic changes in
every section of the country. There are
those who are fearful and there are
those who are hopeful. Our point is to
emphasize the opportunities that these
inevitable changes will provide. This
nation will have a greater opportunity
to become more multi-racial and multi­
cultural. This should be seen as a
blessing rather than a curse.
Another opportunity is that the move­
ment and struggle for racial justice for
all people should have a higher national
priority. Thus, at a time now when
overt racism and racial violence is still
increasing across the nation, there must
be a greater attention given now to
challenging all forms of racism and
racial discrimination. If not, then this
society is in for the most difficult pe­
riod in its history.
Today, already one out of every four
persons in the U.S. defines himself or
herself as being non white. Soon more
than half of all persons in the nation will
be non white. For example, by the year
I?
2020, the non white population of the
U.S. will have doubled to more than
115 million persons.
We would issue a caution, however,
concerning the possibility of deliberate
efforts of the power forces of this soci­
ety orchestrating racial and ethnic con­
flicts in order to insure that those in
power stay in power in the future. Will
the United States be faced with a situ­
ation similar to what is now happening
in the Soviet Union in regard to inter­
ethnic conflict? Will the U.S. institute
or legislate apartheid-like measures to
insure white minority economic con­
trol? Or will ihi
I ion provide leader­
ship before the global community in its
redistribution of power and wealth to
serve the ends of justice and human
dignity? We all should be involved in
answering these questions.
In the final analyses the “ browning
of America' ’ is more than a question of
numbers and percentages. It is rather
an ultimate question of justice, fair­
ness, freedom and morality. We see the
“ browning of America" as a blessing
in a colorful disguise.
To Be Eq u al
*
by John E. Jacob
Putting Black Youth On the College Track
Finally, some long overdue good
news about African American college
attendance rates.
The U.S. Department of Education
says that Black enrollment in independ­
ent colleges and universities rose seven
percent between 1986 and 1988. that
follows a 5 1/2 percent drop between
1982 and 1986.
Whether the rise represents a new,
upward trend in African American col­
lege enrollment, or just a blip on the
longer-term downward trend line re­
mains to be seen.
And it remains to be seen whether
institutions reporting higher African
American enrollments will ensure that
those young people do well in college
and graduate. Too often institutions
work harder to recruit entering fresh­
men than to making sure they graduate.
But I’m optimistic for a number of
reasons, especially the fact that the rise
in enrollments has been most striking in
the historically black colleges and uni-
versities-institutions known for com­
bining quality education with a nurtur­
ing environment that helps students reach
their full potential.
If I’m right, then we can finally
reverse the decline in African Ameri­
can college attendance that’s occured
despite the big jump in the numbers of
Blacks graduating from high school.
Heavy federal budget cuts in student
aid and work-study programs helped
account for that troubling decline. Those
cuts, and the federal policy shift from
aid to loans, have not been reversed, but
the numbers are getting better.
Why? My guess is that the African
American comm unity ’ s concerns about
education and the tremendous efforts
made by individuals and community-
based groups are beginning to pay off.
The word has reached our young
people that they can’t get very far with­
out staying in school to get the skills
they’ll need in a very competitive job
m arket
Community institutions are provid­
ing after-school study centers, counsel­
ing that raises aspirations, and other as­
sistance to help young people stay on
the right track.
While the highly-vaunted school
reform movement has largely bypassed
inner city schools, such community in­
volvement has begun to payoff in posi­
tive changes.
Some programs implemented as part
of the National Urban Legue’s Educa­
tion Initiative, for example, have re­
duced dropout rates, while others have
helped local colleges to guarantee fresh­
man places for local high school gradu­
ates.
Another example of grass-roots in­
volvement is the growth of mentoring.
Last month, The Commonwealth
Fund released the results of a nation­
wide survey of high school students and
their mentors that indicated the great
impact the practice has had.
Students said that their mentor’s
advice was important to them in mak­
ing career choices, in staying off drugs,
and in improving their grades.
Their mentors inspired them to try
harder, to raise their goals, and to de­
velop the self-confidence they need for
success.
That survey tells us what we already
know from experience-that one-on-one
mentoring bringing students together
with adults is a valuable way to help
keep young people on the right track.
The spread of mentoring in inner
city schools and the increasing involve­
ment of African American adults and
professionals is probably an important
factor in the reported boost in college
attendance.
Individual involvement-whether
through mentoring or other m eans-
will be crucial to raising our kids’ aspi­
rations.
So will a change in federal educa­
tion policies that improve the schools
and provide young people with the
assistance they need to get post-secon­
dary training, whether in college or in
technical schools.
USDA Identified 560
Jobs For Students
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of 1890 Institutions
W ashington-The U.S. Department of
Agriculture has identified 560 positions
to be filled by students of the 17 histori­
cally Black 1980 institutions in its sec­
ond annual USDA/1980 summer intern
program.
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Jack
C. Parnell said the program provides
minority students with an excellent
chance to sample the many careers op-
portunititesatUSDA. “ These summer
jobs can help make minority students
aware of the many rewarding and ful­
filling careers available with USDA,”
Parnell said. “ We hope they will then
decide to pursue careers in agriculture
when they graduate."
The summer jobs are with 22 USDA
agencies at locations throughout the
country. Parnell said a wide variety of
jobs are available, including laboratory
aides, bio-technicians, fire crewmem­
bers, computer assistants, and civil en­
gineers.
Last year, 330 minority students were
employed in the USDA/1890 summer
intern program. Comments from stu­
dents in the 1989 program indicated the
summer employment with USDA pro­
vided them with valuable training and
experience, and successfully commu­
nicated USDA’s interest in recruiting
minority students for permanent em ­
ployment.
Education IV: What Are We Testing For?
by Professor McKinley Burt
Never end a sentence with a preposi­
tion (as above) even if it seems to really
make the point (never split an infinitive
as I just did). In either case someone
may condlude that you are not “ intelli­
gent.” And never fail to identify a
three-legged stool as the odd-ball con­
cept in a set of otherwise conventional
artifacts; the fact that some of the chairs
in your ghetto home are short one leg is
no excuse if you SAT is being graded.
Never score low on this or any other
“ I.Q.” test, for that fact may haunt you
through life. These three types of cog­
nitive non sequitors have loomed high
in the baggage of the assessment frater­
nity that monitors the scholastic behav­
ior of American youth.
There is one thing for sure, one thing
only. Any test tests your ability to
perform well on that particular test. A
consideration o f whether that fact is
important or not is where the fun be­
gins. As we examine these concepts,
please read as a companion piece my
“ Immigration” article on the front page
of this newspaper (preferably do that
first). There, I use the respective test
performances of Blacks and of several
generations of white immigrants to refute
the “ spurious” nature of U.S. Army
conclusions based upon statistics from
the testing of recruits in 1980: “ A genetic
disability was responsible for the shock­
ingly low scores of Blacks and Hispan­
ics when compared to those of whites. ’ ’
In the operative sense it docsn ’t mat­
ter what the heck it is that a SAT meas-
ures-the point is that in the real world
it is a fact that most (not all) students
who score high do very well in their
college careers, and further, where they
have been tracked, earn much more
over their working years. Under pres­
sure from minority and women’s or­
ganizations (NAACP, Urban League,
The Center for Women Policy Studies
in Washington, D.C.) many major col­
leges and Universities have at least
stated that they are no longer looking at
SAT scores as a sole criteria for admis­
sion, but now evaluate on the basis of a
mix. “ These days we place more
emphasis on straight forward achieve­
ment tests which measure what a pupil
has learned in such core courses as his­
tory, physics, or foreign languages. We
find these test (SAT) very reliable in
predicting future performance. W ealso
evaluate a student’s participation in ex­
tra-curricular activities whether a club
related to a subject matter, or some­
thing that indicates above average suc­
cess at socialization.”
We cannot know to what extent col­
lege administrators are doing this-and
we note that the “ socialization proc­
esses” may mitigate against many Black
students (and whites) who must work.
The February/March edition of Dollars
and Sense magazine has an excellent
article describing a computer program
that trains Black students to perform
better on SAT tests. The article begins
with the usual depreciation of the valid­
ity of such test-an approach almost
universal in relevant literature originat­
ing with Blacks. I agree the “ inherent
fallibility” of the tests (loaded against
minorities, and they may or may not
measure “ intelligence” in any particu­
C ommunity C alendar
North/Northeast Business
Boosters to Host Candidates
Forum
C andidates for the Portland
City Council and the Multnomah
County Commission have been
invited to a tte n d a 12:00 p.m.
luncheon meeting Tuesday, May
8, sponsored by the North/North­
east Business Boosters at the Best
Western Aladdin Inn a t the Coli­
seum, 10N. Weidler St. The public
is invited to a tte n d and take
part in th e m eeting. Luncheon
cost is $10.00. For m ore inform a­
tion or reservations please call
the Booster office, 284-3093. This
is one of several events provided
by the Boosters to increase
awareness of significant issues in
the Northeast com munity.
Volunteers Aid United Way
Funding Requests
Three members of th e Black
community are working with oth­
ers in the com m unity todeter-
mine United Way funding re­
quests from m em ber agencies
for the 1990-1991 fiscal year.
Included in this group are:
Raymond Barber Jr., h e a lth/a id
to h a n d ica p p e d track co m m it­
tee;
Albert Gaines, multi-service/
em ergency track com m ittee
DeniseS. Walker, fam ily/m en-
tal health/children's service track
com m ittee
These volunteers have been
m eeting for the last few months
to hear reports on approximately
400 programs under considera­
tion for United W ay funding.
These programs focus on such
items as child care, hunger, high-
risk pregnancy and delinquency,
and provide services for youth,
families and the elderly.
gon are e xp e cte d to pa rticip a te
in the fourth annual “ Reach for
Success” visitation day for middle
school students of color and their
parents,Saturday, April 21 ,a tth e
University of Oregon.
The free program is designed
to e n co urage Native Am erican,
African A m erican, C h ica n o /
Latino and Asian/Pacific Ameri­
c a n students to consider higher
e d cu a tio n as an o p tio n , a c c o rd ­
ing to Dianna Kale,intergroup re­
lations coordinator in the UO O f­
fice of Multicultural Affairs.
For m ore inform ation on this
"h a n d s-o n ” introduction to uni­
versity life, call Dianna Kale, 314
O regon Hall, University of Ore­
gon, Eugene, OR 97403 or call
246-3479 ortoll free (in O regon) 1-
800-BE-A-DUCK.
Portland Starts "RoundUp” of
Kindergarten Students
Portland School District has
begun "ro u n d in g u p ” next Sep­
tem ber's kindergarten students.
The a n n u a l K in d e rg a rte n
Roundup involves 61 elem entary
schools in early registrations of an
estim ated 4,200 students for half­
d a y a nd all-day programs.
Designed to aid enrollment pro­
jections a n d planning for th e
com ing year, the tw o-w eek
roundup runs through April 27.
Parents actually m ay enroll kin­
dergartners a t any tim e from next
M onday through th e start of
school on Sept. 4.
Kindergarten students must be
five years old on or before Sept.
1 and have proper immuniza­
tions.
"Reach for Success" Visitation
Day Set April 21
Nearly 300 p eo ple across Ore-
Tri-Met Will Offers Free Rides
All rides on Tri-Met will b e free
on Friday. April 20. Tri-Met has
de cla re d th e free-fare Friday
"C le a n Air D ay”
to kick-off
O regon's Earth Day celebration
a n d to thank loyal transit passen-
The 1990 summer intern program is
part of USDA’s continuing commit­
ment to strengthen ties with the 1890
historically Black land grant institu­
tions and Tuskegee University, Parnell
said. USDA’s FY 1991 budget, an­
nounced January 29, proposes a major
initiative to support the 1890 institu-
tions, including a S 11 million matching
grant program to bild institutional ca­
pacity.
1890 Institution students who want
to apply for the USDA summer intern
program should contact their college or
university placement office or USDA
liaison office immediately.
lar case).
However, I already have pointed out
a fact of the real world: A low score on
a SAT or any other test purported to
measure intelligence/rcasoning may
haunt one throughout life-from col­
lege (if you get in), to the economics of
your career earnings and retirement.
The College Board, the research arm of
the Educational Testing Service kept
track of test scores by seven ethnic
groups. In 1988 the group scoring
highest on the combined Math and Verbal
SAT was white males, followed in order
by Asian males, white females, Latin
American males. Native American
males, Mexican males. Native Ameri­
can females, Latin American females,
Puerto Rican males, Mexican females,
Black males, Puerto Rican females and
Black females.
That is what they're telling the world.
Read my front page article again and
then think about it. Think long and
hard then see if you can come up with
a better answer. Is this genocide or isn’t
it?
Continued next week.
gers for the role they play In
keeping the air clean.
"Tri-met's success in more than
doubling its ridership over th e
last 20 years sets an exam ple for
th e rest of the country th a t a
clean environment and a healthy
econom y can go hand in hand,”
Congressman Les AuCoin said.
AuCoin suggested the fare-free
Friday.
Portland's Summer School
Registration Started)
Students began registering for
"Sum m ester” summer-school
programs offering enrichm ent,
academ ic and remedial courses.
Elementary programs, for
those now enrolled in kindergar­
ten through grade eight: June
25-July 20 at eight sites.
S econdary program s, fo r
those now enrolled in grades 9-
12: June25toA ug.3atfoursites.
Students residing in th e Port­
land School District pay $70 per
elem entary, $90 for secondary
tuition. Non residents p a y $120
for elem entary, $140 for secon­
dary tuition. Tuition is free per
certain econ om ic a n d a c a ­
dem ic guidelines. Inform ation is
a v a ila b le a t n e ig h b o rh o o d
schools.
Mental Health Center to Hold
Annual Board Meeting
The Center for Com m unity
M ental Health will be holding
their Annual Meeting of the Board
of Directors on April 24 at Bethel
A.M.E. Church (5828 NE 8th) at
6:45 pm.
The evening's highlights in­
clude a speech by Gladys
M cC oy, Chair of th e Board of
commissioners and an aw ard
presentation to Jeanne Hartzog
for outstanding contributions in
m ental health and the co m m u ­
nity. The public is w elcom e.
Call The Portland Observer
at 288-0033 or come by to drop
off a short release on your up­
coming event in the N/NE Com ­
munity.