CENSUS '90
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Volume XX, No. 17
"The Eyes and Ears o f The Community"
Africa The Zoo: Hollywood Stars Light Up
The Dark Continent
My personal opinion is that there is
not that degree o f distinction between
one trendy European foray upon the
culture o f people o f color, and another,
as can be readily determ ined by the
rhetoric, or by the specific locale o f the
prey--but, rather, a good and sufficient
criterion is the “ size” o f the contem
plated acquisition.
In the case at hand we sim ply may
assume that the adm onition o f Canadian
author, Marshall M cLuan, has been en
thusiastically a ccep ted -th e world has
in d e e d b e c o m e a “ global village.” S o il
is no surprise at all that late night televi
sion hours are heavily interspersed with
Hollywood stars beating the drum for
support of their particaular program to
save African wildlife. C om petition is
heavy, for the electronic evangelists are
there also, pitching for their millions to
save African souls. Never have there
been so many platinum blonde om buds
men for m aurauding elephants, mangy
lions, and “ placid, peace-loving goril
las” , who, like the late Greta G arbo, ju st
w ant to “ be left alone.” It is unfortu
nate that these latter beasts were unable
to com m unicate this preference o t Dian
Fossey in time (“ Gorillas In The M ist’ ’).
Now, I am not such a fool as not to
suppose that there is considerable merit
in proposals to preserve some endan
gered species, or to m aintain the integ
rity o f th biosphere/ecosphere at a time
when there are serious concerns about
the ozone layer, rain forests, and the
dum ping o f toxic waste by European na
tions. But, I have had a lifetim e o f expe
rience with these would-be saviors of
Africa, and I stand with the American
In d ian -th eir motives are always sus
pect. And, even where the acquisition o f
huge acreages, obstensibly for game
preserves, does not mask an ultimate in
tent to acquire a future site for a toxic
waste dump, we need look no further
than the spotted owl gambit here in Oregon
for economic catastrophes in the works.
This situation, replicated on the A fri
can continent (albeit quietly), exem pli
fies the dam age that apocalypse-now
environm entalists can wreak upon the
economic infrastructure of a people. Only
now is the full financial impact o f em o
tionally-driven efforts to lock up huge
tracts o f old-growth tim ber being fully
revealed. The new figures on the result
ing unemployment, loss o f tax base, and
the drastic curtailm ent o f funds avail
able for education indicate that, w hile
the naive were being charmed to tears
over the plight o f a few dozen ow ls, the
messianic fringe o f a bored middle class
pursued the real objective o f their m e
dia-enhanced crusade-nothing like it
since their forefathers hit the popular
"abolitionist" circuit. Can A frica be far
behind?
Let us look at two African nations in
particular where the stage is set for sim i
lar social dram as (read “ tragedies” ).
A s a m atter o f fact, the curtain w ent up
som e time ago, and the critics’ reviews
are coming in fast. We know that these
assessm ents are highly controversial and
we w elcome letters and comments
throughout this series. I had many A fri
cans among my students during the years
at Portland State University, and I cer
tainly expect to hear from th c m -a n d
from both sides o f the “ developmental
fence” .
Tanzania: “ W ithin an expansive East
African ecosystem o f savannas and
woodlands, are 5,700 square miles of
parkland with rare significance.
Long ago, the Masai people named
this region sirin g e t-a name that means
an extended place. W e know it now as
S eren g eti-a land that remains as it might
have looked in the Pleistocene epoch.
It lies atop a broad plateau, 150 miles
south of the equator and 5,000 feet in
elevation.
Here, in an area roughly the size of
the state o f Connecticut, roam more than
two million large plains anim als.”
This descriptive prose is from a Chev
ron Oil Company institutional ad in the
M arch 1989 issue o f “ National G eo
graphic” magazine. The reader is asked
in a large bold-face heading, “ Will There
Be Room For All In E den?” W e w on
der. I am rem inded of my recent query
concerning the availability o f jobs for
African Americans under the pressure of
the “ new im m igration” . In that article
I asked, “ W ill there be room at the
inn?” - th is was a take-off on the situ
ation o f Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem.
O ther parts o f the Chevron ad state the
establishm ent position quite clearly.
“ W ildlife or People? In Africa, as else
where, a grow ing, developing human
population com petes with anim als for
the basic needs o f existence. The chal
lenge bacom es one of striking the proper
balance--to respect and protect nature
while responding to the imperatives of
m odem , human life.”
W ait a minute now, whose Africa is
it? I suppose we should understand the
proprietary tone, considering that is was
over a hundred years ago that a New
York new spaper editor put into words
that classic clem ent of the European
ethos, “ The M anifest Destiny o f the
W hite R ace” . Just as few people are
fam iliar with the latter half of the title to
Charles D arw in’s classic on evolution,
* ‘The Origin of the Species By Means of
Natural Selection-And the Preservation
o f the Favoured R aces.”
In another place we find, “ Crow d
ing the Serengeti National Park borders
are setdem ents o f im poverished villag
ers. The only humans allowed inside
are tourists, Africans who work in and
police the park, and a few dedicated en
vironmentalists and scientists.
Around the northern and eastern edges
of the park live seminomadic Masai
herdsmen and their livestock. They
move from place to place seeking good
grazing and water. But, as their popu
lation increases, the Masai are w ander
ing less, increasing problems o f over-
grazing and water shortage.
Because o f the conflict betw een do
mestic demands for agriculture and the
needs o f w ildlife, Tanzania established
a large multi-use-land area where some
farming and grazing by local inhabi
tants were allowed. But the central
plain was reserved exclusively for the
wild animals.
That was thirty years ago. Today,
the growing population has pushed to
the very edges of the reserved area.”
As we further explore this theme, we
will take an unorthodox approach to an
evaluation o f poaching, the Safari and
the post-m odern G reat White Hunter,
and other issues. Again, we want to
hear from you.
Police Bureau Begins Community Policing Test Run
in N/NE Portland
Shown above is Police Lt. Mike Garvey (left) and members of the Portland Police Bureau's Community Policing Unit as they begin a test run
o f the Community Policing Concept.
The unit will operate out of the Northeast and Central Precinct and will concentrate on drugs and parks ecurity during the summer.
The project in northeast Portland is currently comprised o f 4 seargents and 12 officers but according to some police officers and community
residents, is seriously understaffed.
(
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May 9,1990
PCC and Fire Bureau Cooperate
in Affirmative Action Training
By September, 185 women and m i
nority students are expected to com
plete a special affirm ative action learn
ing experience co-sponsored by the Port
land Fire Bureau and Pordand Com m u
nity College.
The PCC Fire Science Department
is presenting the six-month course to
teach basic fire-fighting techniques and
to provide the students with an under
standing of job requirements and stan
dards for professional fire fighters.
The students will complete the train
ing in time to take the Portland Fire
B ureau’s civil service examination
September 7. Those who pass the exam
will be placed on a list from which new
employees will bedraw nf or the next
few years, said Leo Krick, a PFB fire
fighter and coordiantor of the bureau’s
Affirmative Action Training program.
Most o f the students are residents of
the Portland Metropolitan area, but some
com e from much farther afield, becaue
the PFB-PCC venture is the only one of
its type in the Northwest, Krick said.
The students range in age from 18 to
40. About half are women of various
races, 30 percent are Black males and
fem ales and 30 percent are Hispanic.
“ Quite a few Asian students are en
rolled, too,” said Krick.
The PCC Fire Science Department
is offering 14 sections o f classes de-
signed to meet the needs o f women and
minority students who are interested in
careers as fire figh ters, said Ed L ind
sey, the departm ent’s instructional co
ordinator.
An additional 16 sections will be of-
ferd this sum m er so that students taking
the training for college credit can earn
a total o f 25 credit hours toward an as
sociate degree in Fire Protection Tech
nology by the time they finish the spe
cial training.
Courses include physical fitness,
building construction and blueprint read
ing, fire apparatus, pump construction,
hydraulics and introduction to fire pro
tection.
The classes are being taught by 30
Portland Fire bureau employees who
have been hired by PCC as adjunct, or
part-time, faculty members. Training
is tak ing place at Marshall High school,
the PCC Southeast Center and at two
fire bureau training centers.
The program’s $112,000 cost is being
shared by the fire bureau and PCC.
Some of the cost will be offset by tui
tion payments from about one third of
the students who are taking the course
for college credit. Lindsey said those
who have chosen to take the training
without receiving college credit will
earn certificates o f completion.
“800” Telephone Num
ber To Report Hate
Violence And Racial
Harassment Started
Northeast Training
Center Filling Void As
Job Training/ Placement
Agency
The Community Relations Service
(CRS) o f the Department o f Justice
today announced its new “ 800” tele
phone service for reporting complaints
o f racial violence and harassment that
led to racial disputes in communities.
The telephone number, which begins
operation April 30 will be 1-800-347-
HATE. This is the hodine service that
President Bush announced at the W hite
House Ceremony during the signing of
the H ate Statistics Crime A c t “ The
establishm ent o f this hotline by CRS
for the reporting o f racial incidents and
disputes compliments the other DOJ
functions in this area such as the collec
tion o f hate crim e statistics by the FBI
and the enforcem ent o f Civil Rights
laws by the Civil Rights D ivision,”
said CRS Director Grace Flores Hughes.
“ Increasing racial violence and har
assm ent from sm all hate groups in vir
tually every corner of the country re
quires a better mechanism for reporting
racial disputes for our conciliation and
m edication services,” said CRS D irec
tor Hughes.
“ No com m unity should suffer from
the fallout o f racial disputes arising out
o f hate violent acts at home, school,
work, or in their neighborhood. These
incidents can now be reported to CRS
for resolution of conflict,” Director
Hughes said.
Calls received by the Community
Relations Service’s “ 800” number will
be referred to one o f the agency’s 10 re
gional offices for possible resolution.
Those ten offices are located in Boston,
New York C ity, Philadelphia, Atlanta,
Kansas City, Chicago, Dallas, Denver,
San Francisco, or Seattle.
The Com m unity Relations Service
handles conciliation and mediation of
disputes resulting from discrimination
based on race, color or national origin.
CRS w / ’ nrov;de referral information
or refer com plaints regarding non-ra-
cially motivated incidents based solely
on age, gender, handicap, sexual orien
tation, or religious discrimination to
other appropriate agencies.
After less than one year in operation
in the area considered as the core area
for unemployment, the Private Industry
C ouncil’s N ortheast Training Center is
showing signs o f dramatically im pact
ing the job placem ent market in North/
Northeast Portland.
The Center proudly boasts success
fully placing 120 formerly unemployed
applicants on jobs with an average be
ginning salary o f 56.14. And according
to center m anager W illiams Jennings,
“ W e find that many o f our trainees are
from single parent families (mostly fe
male heads o f households) and once
training and placem ent is successfully
com pleted, the additional income is
welcomed.
Recruiting primarily from Colum
bia Villa, M aywood Park, North/North-
east Portland, the northeast training center
offers classes in GED, basic skills and
building trades, preparing students for
both long and short term employment.
Successful placements have been with
the Portland Urban League, Blue Bell
Products, The W acker Company and
Empire Security.
O f the 120 applicants places so far,
111 have been minorities.
The center is currently developing
curriculum for W orkforce 2000.
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I
;
Odappy
Mother's (Day . . .
:
from the
Z Tortband Observer
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