Page 2, The Portland Observer, May 9, 1990
E ditorial / O pinion
V antage P oint
Articles and Essays by Ron Daniels
Adventures In Learning
Saving The Environment Is Not A White Issue
The Twentieth Anniversary of Earth
Day was an event which received
widepsread publicity in virtually every
aspect of the media. Informative edu­
cational features aired on radio and
television and in depth articles ran in
magazines and new spapers nationwide.
The issue of saving planet earth appro­
priately received senous focus as the
evidence mounts that the environment
is in senous and dangerous disrepair.
That the public paid attenuon at all was
a tnumph for the environmental move­
ment. With dogged determination the
environmental movement has blossomed
to the point that “ green” is now near
the top of the Amencan Agenda and
world agenda.
What I found striking and alarming
about Earth Day, however, was the no­
ticeable absence of a significant Afri­
can American presence at the various
forums, debates and events associated
with the Earth Day activities. Over­
whelmingly the complexion of the green
movement in Amencan is white. It is as
if Black people feel that the green is­
sues are not pertinent our survival and
evelopment as a people.
Some of this lack of an active pres­
ence by African Amencasn in the green
movement can be traced to the 60’s and
70’s. With the advent of the Black
Power movement large numbers of white
activists no longer felt that there was
ameaningful forle for them in the civil-
rights movement Many white activists
turned their creative energy to organiz­
ing around nuclear disarmament, peace
and the environment There was a
tendency to isolate these issues from
the immediacy of the civil-rights agenda
and the interest of Black people. Be­
cause the initiative around these issues
was principally earned forth under white
leadership, African Americans increas­
ingly came to perceive peace, disarma­
ment and the environment as ‘‘white
issues."
It occurs to me that it is time to
correct what is obviously a mispercep-
In fact African Ameri­
cans and Third World
people have an urgent
stake in saving and pre­
serving the environment.
tion. Saving the environment is a Black
issue too. African Americans must be
clear that global warming, ozone de­
pletion, acid rain and toxic waste in the
land and rivers are not phenomena which
will spare African Americans simply
because of our skin color. Environ­
mental destruction means human de­
struction, including Black people in
America and the world.
In fact African Americans and Third
World people have an urgent stake in
saving and preserving the enviroment.
Within the United States, African Ameri­
can and poor communities seem to be
disproportionately targeted for toxic
waste dumps and Africa and the Third
World are increasingly seen by the west
as a dumping grounds for toxic waste.
Similiarly it is the land, resources and
forests in the Third World which are
also being disproportionately ravished
in the interest of profit for national and
multination corporations and giant de­
velopers. The madness of materialism
from capitalist exploitation in the west
and mechanical Marxism in the east
must be stopped if the human race is to
survive.
African people need not take a back
seat to anyone as it relates to an appre­
ciation for nature and the environment
Within traditional African society there
was a definite value placed on the need
to be in harmony with nature and the
importance of maintaining the delicate
balance in the chemistry between human
beings and the environment It is pre­
cisely this harmony and balance which
is beng jeopardized by greed and mate­
rialism. The unfolding of the modem
commercial and industrial revolution
and the qcquisitive drive for “ prog­
ress” has lead to the sacrifice of anture
and the environment in the interest of
achieving the “ good life” . The vic­
tims of this progress cannot allow this
insane trend towards universal self-
destruction to continue.
Green is Black and Black is Green.
African people are once again chal­
lenged to afro-centrically search our
own past to discover the basis for the
solution to a problem which threatens
the very survival of humankind. The
spiritual and ethical values which lead
our ancestors to have a wholesome and
heaithy respect for nature and the envi­
ronment must be our guide as we join in
and indeed assume a leading role in
perserving the planet. Saving the envi­
ronment is not a white issue. African
Americans and Third World people have
too much at stake to lay back and let
others lead on this issue. The future
belongs to the developing peoples of
Africa and Third World. But there will
be no future if all we inherit is an over­
heated, toxic waste-infested and disas­
trously polluted planet
Well, enough now for SAT, semiot-
ics, signs, meaning and so forth; there
are other modes of learning. I often
think that the most enduring and effec­
tive learning experiences of all can be
those unplanned or loosely-structured
situations thai frequently occur as one
is growing up. It is true, of course, that
sometimes a wise adult is intervening
from an unperceived vantage point And
it is equally true that a favorable (moti­
vating) learning environment will help
the whole process along; not necessar­
ily a “ law-and-order” school system,
but son of a child’s “ mini-society”
where education and gaining knowl­
edge is considered the “ in thing” -th e
best of all possible worlds.
Several such happy experiences stand
out from my childhood. At the John
Marshall Elementary School in S t Louis,
there were three floors, fifteen class­
rooms, and about nineteen teachers. 1
can still remember that awesome view
down the stairwell, from the top floor
down to the mystical basem ent This
basement not only contained the heat­
ing plan t but the most fascinating
machine a small child could ever hope
to see-the “ eraser cleaner” . Also, it
was rumored that somewhere down in
these catacombs was hidden a merci­
less “ spanking machine” towhose un­
feeling metal arms an errant pupil might
be consigned.
One of my fondest memories of this
institution centers around the “ book­
mobile” that traversed the halls on two
afternoons each week. Students who
excelled in their lessons on a given
m om ing-or who turned in outstanding
hom ework-were allowed to leave their
classroom immediately after lunch, at
which time they would select prized
books from the rolling shelves and take
them off to a quiet place provided for
reading (after the usual fight over choice
items). I still remember my first read­
ing of many classics: Jules Verne’s
"Twenty-Thousand Leagues Beneath
the Sea” , and his “ Journey to the Cen­
ter of the Earth"; ‘‘Moby Dick” ; Wash­
ington Irving’s, “ The Headless Horse­
man of Sleepy Hollow” ; All of Edgar
Rice Burrough’s “ Tarzan” stories;
‘’Aesop’s Fables"; “ Grimm s Fairy
Tales” , and many, many others (we
could have skipped Rudyard Kipling’s
"Jungle Tales” and “ Little Black
Sambo” ).
A kid’s appetite for vicarious adven­
ture and knowledge of the world was
raised to a voracious level. Every pupil
had a library card, but often all the
“ good s tu f f ’ was out. Fortunately,
there was in those days another source,
right in the neighborhood. Almost every
drugstore had a “ Book Loan Com er’’
where, for three cents a day, you could
“ rent” any of a fabulous selection of
books or magazines. There was every
genre imaginable, from sea adventures
to science fiction, from westerns to
romantic novels. And then, there were
the pulps: ‘‘Doc Savage, The Shadow,
Daredevil Aces, Flying Aces” --all the
early precursors to “ Superman, Bat­
man, Etc.” And if you had a much
older sibling to front for you, you could
get something like “ Spicy Western Sto­
ries” whose “ big bust females” would
keep a small boy bug-eyed for hours.
Now, in this totally segregated city
of S l Louis, there, nevertheless, were a
few isolated islands of interracial rela-
tions-m ost particularly where children
were concerned. My house was at the
fringe of the ghetto, the next residential
blocks in two directions were occupied
by second and third generation immi­
grants, Italians, Jews, and Germ ans-all
very poor. Until the age of twelve I was
the only Black youngster in the neigh­
borhood and for some reason I had un­
contested access to the local hangout
for kids--” Lipshitz’s Delicatessen &
by Professor McKinley Burt
Soda Fountain” (this may have been
because my grandfather had a formi­
dable repututation for maintaining law
and order in the neighborhood with the
help of a 12-guage shotgun-he was
head of a local Rod and Gun Club).
Here, at the “ D eli", another inter­
esting learning process went on.
“ Hymie” , the 12 year-old handicapped
son of the Jewish proprietor, would
“ hold court” from his wheelchair almost
every evening after school. It seemed
to us that the kid must have read every
book ever w ritten-a great number of
them, it appeared, were on the shelves
of the
family living quarters at the rear of the
delicatessen (though his parents later
could afford a special school for the
handicapped, mostly he was educated
at home). Many evenings after school,
we would drop by for ice cream sodas
and bubble gum, and then, if the weather
permitted, wheel Hymie to close-by
Fountain Park. Hymie would expound
for hours on the cultural and racial
backgrounds of the immigrant families
in the neighborhood. We learned more
about European history and literature
from our little friend than most college
students do today.
Next week we will examine another
learning experience, this one coming
about after the death of my grandfather.
I had to leave high school to go to work,
finding the most lucrative remunera­
tion to be with the railroad work gangs
(gaudy dancers) in various parts of the
country. The drive and motivation for
education among untutored Blacks in
those days was absolutely incredible.
Black Mayors Elect First Woman President
(Atlanta - April 25,1990)-- In a history
making move. Mayor Unita Blackwell
of Mayersville, Mississippi was elected
to serve as the National Conference of
Black Mayors, Inc.’s (NCBM) first
woman president at the organization’s
16th Annual Convention in New Or­
leans. Prior to being elected to NCBM’s
top post. Mayor Blackwell served as
2nd Vice President under outgoing
president. Mayor James L. Usry of At­
lantic City, New Jersey.
Long known as a civil and human
rights activist. Mayor Blackwell was an
associate and friend of the late Fannie
Lou Hamer of Ruleville, MS who was
credit with founding the Mississippi
Freedom Democratic Party, and suc­
cessfully challenging irregular voting
practices in the state.
She helped organize and develop the
first homeownership opportunity proj­
ect for low-income families in Gulfport,
MS.
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Is held back.
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I
To Be Equal
by John E. Jacob
Law Encourages Bias
It’s four years since Congress passed
an immigration control law that in­
cluded penalties against employers found
to have hired undocumented aliens.
At the time the law was being de­
bated, civil rights groups warned that
such a provision would be an open invi­
tation to employers to practice discrimi­
nation.
It seemed obvious that, rather than
take the risk of hiring Hispanics, Canb-
beans, Asians, or other workers who
might turn out to be illegal immigrants,
many employers would simply stick to
hiring native-born whites.
The law was supposed to prevent
such discrimination-its supporters
argued that all employers had to do was
to get proof of legal residence.
But many employers didn’t want to
get involved with such paperwork or
decided the risk of being hit with penal­
ties if some undocumented worker
slipped through their efforts was too
great
As a result, the government has found
widespread discrimination.
A study of the effects of the law was
released by the General Accounting
Office, a federal agency, in late March.
It found that about one out of five
employers surveyed discriminated in
hiring.
Many refused to hire any job appli­
cants who had a “ foreign apearance or
accenL” Others wouldn’t hire anyone
who was not a U.S. citizen.
To supplement the survey, the GAO
sent out pairs of “ testers" to 360 em­
ployers selected at random. One was
Hispanic-looking; the other, Anglo.
The report found that Hispanic test­
ers were three times as likely to be
treated unfavorably, while the Anglo
testers got 52 percent more job offers.
It is clear that in attempting to con­
trol illegal immigration, the govern­
ment is encouraging illegal discrimina­
tion.
The policy that requires employers,
in effect, to act as agents for the Immi­
gration and Naturalization service, has
resulted in gross violations of civil rights.
Arid while the primary effects ap­
pear to be heaviest among Hispanics,
Black immigrants from Haiti and other
Caribbean lands, as well as Asians and
other foreign-bom persons are also prime
targets of employment discrimination.
The law includes a “ sunset” provi­
sion that requires Congress to consider
repeal if, after three years, there is evi­
dence that it is causing widespread job
The policy that re­
quires employers, in
effect, to act as agents
for the Immigration
and Naturalization
service, has resulted in
gross violations of civil
rights.
discrimination.
The GAO study has certainly proved
that it has, but there’s considerable
political resistance to reopening an is­
sue the Congress though it finally solved
by passing the law.
Instead, some urge adoption of a
universal worker-identification system,
probably in the form of a national iden­
tity card everyone would have to carry.
That’s an idea that won’t fly-Ameri­
cans have always resisted that kind of
bureaucratic mandate. And in a com­
puterized age that makes people more
determined than ever to preserve their
privacy rights, such a proposal is doomed
to fail.
The problem of constructing a sound
immigration policy is urgent because
of its effects on our own poor, who must
compete against undocumented work­
ers in the job markeL
Congress has to go back to the draw­
ing board and come up w ith a sound im­
migration policy that includes provi­
sions to discourage illegal discrimina­
tion against minorities who may, in
fact, be legal residents.
T his W ay F or B lack E mpowerment
by Hr. I cuora ! ulani
No Justice, No Peace.. .
Last Augusta 16-year old Black boy
and two of his friends saw a newspaper
ad for a used car and went to take a look.
He never came back.
His name was Yusuf Hawkins, and
he was shot to death—murdered in cold
blood when a mob of thirty young white
men armed with baseball bats and ra­
cial hatred, and at least one loaded gun,
came after him. The story is that the
killers mistakenly thought Yusuf was
going to be a guest at the birthday party
of a young woman in the lily-white
neighborhood of Bensonhurst in
Brooklyn. The implication is that the
lynching was “ an honest mistake.”
The first trials are now underway.
Keith Mondello, 20 years old, is charged
with being the ringleader of the mob.
Joseph Fama, 19, is accused of pulling
the trigger. Only six others have been
indicted. From the beginning the dis­
trict attorney has looked like he was
trying his best to lose these cases, to let
the killers get away with murder. It
wouldn’t be the first time.
In the weeks between the murder
and the Democratic Party p imary in
September, tens of thousands of Black
youth poured into the streets, raising
the battle cry of “ No Justice, No Peace! ”
The Reverend A1 Sharpton was there
with them. In fact he was out in front,
leading the demonstrations, organizing
the Days of Outrage, David Dinkins,
New York’s first African American
mayor, profited from the murder of
Yusurf Hawkins and the tremendous
boiling up of righteous anger that it
brought in its wake. When the time
came to vote, hundreds of thousands of
Black people took that anger into the
polling booths and pulled the lever-not
so much for David as against the ram­
pantly racist Ed Koch, who had been
mayor for 12 very long years.
Today Reverend Sharpton is stand­
ing trial. He is charged with 67 counts
of fraud in a trumped-up case brought
by the attorney general of New Y ork-
the state’s chief cop. But Reverend
Sharpton's real crime in the eyes of the
Democratic Party establishment that
runs New York City and New Yorl
State is that by refusing to keep hi
mouth shut he has forced the world-
Black folks as well as white--to recog
nize that Black people cannot get jus
tice . . . even when liberal Democrat
are running the show.
Those who have stood up to defent
the honor of Bensonhurst insist that it i
a community of decent people. Rever
end Sharpton is demanding to know
Where are they?
When he and I and attorney Altot
Maddox and Y usufs parents Mosei
Stewart and Diane Hawkins and hun
dreds of others marched through the
streets of Bensonhurst arm in arm, h<
recently reminded readersof his weekl)
column “ The People’s Preacher” , w<
were shouted at and called "n igger’
and spat upon. What we were told b)
the liberals was, “ Don’t condemn all
Bensonhurst. There are good people
out here.” Maybe. Where are they?
They weren’t marching with us in
leaneck, New Jersey—where an un­
armed 15 year old Black boy, Phillip
Pannell, Jr., was recently murdered,
shot in the back by a local cop after
begging for mercy. The “ good people”
stood on the sidelines watching us, the
outside agitators.” They were not
with us when we came out 10,000 strong
to demand justice for Michael Stewart,
the young Black man murdered by a
Howard Beach lynch mob four years
ago. They have been absent from every
move tor justice, from Howard Beach
to Tawana Brawley to Bensonhurst to
Teaneck.
The failure ot the Bensonhurst case,
says Reverend Sharpton, is the failure
of the City of New York to come to
grips with racism. “ The fact of the
matter is that a kx of Bensonhurst people
saw these 30 kids do this vicious act,
but none ol those decent people will
come torward and testify. So wc say, if
there is no justice, there will be no
peace. We mean that from the inner­
most parts of our souls."
Amen.
t