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Volume XX, No. 18
"The Eyes and Ears o f The Community"
Africa The Zoo, Conclusion:
Tarzan Was Kinder
by Prof. M cKinley Burt
Com ing o u to f the movie, the woman
said to her com panion, “ D on’t you just
love Stew art G ranger, honey? . . . so
m asterful.’’ W hat she m eant was that
the aging movie idol had played to the
hilt his role in another H ollyw ood ver
sion o f the “ African M ystique.” Strid
ing through the jungle, slapping cow er
ing ebony giants possessed o f phys-
icques like the ancient North African
King for whom the ‘ ‘Atlas M ountians”
were named, this m odem day successor
to a “ kindler, gentler” Tarzan gave a
stirring performance in the Charles Dar
win “ Favored R aces” repertory the
atre. The movie w as, “ The L ast Sa
fari.” W e wish!
Last week I cited the Chevron Oil
C om pany’s query o f Tanzania, “ W ill
there be room for all in E den?” But as
we expand our exam ination o f the gar
den to the “ Safari H eaven” o f Kenya,
the Africans themselves may have cause
to wonder. My latest catalog from Saga
Tours advises that for a $3259 one
could have left here today on a 19-day
excursion to a land “ steeped in cultural
traditions as old as the seasons, o f ex
traordinary primeval beauty and sweep
ing savannahs, guarded by the serene
snow-tipped peaks o f Mount Kilimanjaro
. . . home to a fantastic variety o f
wildlife where herds o f wildebeest,
antelope, or zebra thunder across the
trackless plains in an unforgettable spec
tacle. Burly lion or lithe cheetah prow ,
through the scrub in an age-old stalking
ritual, and elephant and rhino bask in or
near precious watering holes.”
Y ’all hush yo mouth! M akes me
w onder why 1 ever left the hom eland—
to see those “ porkchop trees” or those
“ golden slippers” the missionaries de
scribed. But, then I turned to the N a
tional Geographic Special and concluded
that I must have been channeling to the
future. Here, before your eyes was the
destructive depredation of rampaging
elephants as they destroyed the pre
cious crops and farm buildings of vil
lagers, rendering the land to gully-riven
m orasses, useless for years to come. In
a rather m atter-of-fact manner, the
com m entor cited the dire consequence
to Africans already in a borderline
economic situation-and pointed out the
slowness and inadequacy of the com
pensation process (where it existed at
all).
Two facts immediately come to mind.
First, there is the confusion engendered
by the proprietary (and misleading) rheto
ric o f American intervenors in the afairs
of the African continent. Last w eek’s
classic quote was o f just such a suspect
message. “ W ildlife or people? The
challenge becomes . . . to respect and
protect nature w hile responding to the
imperatives o f m odem , human life.” I
wonder which corporate division handles
the hundred-m iliion dollar, four-wheel
drive African Safari operation? And
there are many such corporate sponsors
for the annual “ East African Safari
R ally” , an annual 3000 mile m otor car
race, “ the w orld’s most punishing for
man and m achine,” zig-zagging across
brutal terrain in Kenya, Uganda and
Tanzania. European sportsm en take a
break from the pursuit o f big game.
Secondly, the very same night of
that m aurauding elephant scenario, we
had only to turn one channel to have
Richard, the son o f famed anthropolo
gist, Louis S.B. Leakey, proudly d is
play the shot-dead body o f a young A f
rican brother, flies attacking the fixed,
staring eyes o f the indecently-uncov
ered face: ” . . . despicable crim inal, the
African p o a c h e r-o f that gentle, noble,
endangered beast, the elephant. As in
the case o f “ Alice Through The L ook
ing G lass’ ’, I suppose the establishm ent
believes that we have brought into the
adm onition, “ Things are what I say
they a re ,” and “ W ords mean ju st what
I say they m ean.”
After throwing up, I sat back and
mused; now , the A merican Indian got
blam ed for the extinction o f the buf
falo, but turned out the U.S. Calvary did
it to im plem ent the N ative A merican
genocide. He is blamed for the deple
tion o f salm on runs, but he built no
d a m s-th e re were oodles o f fish when
the white man arrived (and old growth
timber). Now, why would I (or an in
digenous African) seriously consider
the view point or philosophy o f an inter
loper who has also clear cut the forests.
(Beginning with E ngland’s Industrial
Revolution), aborted the O zone Layer,
depleted or oil-slicked the resources of
the ocean, drenched entire continents
with acid rain, and has ruined the soil
and ground w ater with nuclear wastes
and toxic dumps. To quote Shakespeare’s
famous line, “ M e thinks the lady doth
protest too m uch.”
I feel that the preservation, com fort
and advancem ent of hum ankind should
take precedence. W e can always go to
real zoos, and besides, I hardly miss the
dinosaurs at all. Many o f us are, with
good cause, increasingly suspicous of
the shrill, m essianic outbursts calling
for yeoman efforts to “ preserve the
pristine Eden bequeathed to our forefa
thers.” Run that by me again? Perhaps
the impetus for those crusades spring
from depths deeper than we think.
It is not ju st that the elder Leakey in-
disputably estalbished the African con
tinent as the original home o f m a n -b u t,
that each week there em erges new or
previously hidden docum entation sup
porting the sem inality o f A friculture
and technology. At a time when the
Greeks in their animal furs were only
able to marvel, or have their oral histo
rians to com m ent (like the illiterate
Homer). Is it that the “ M anifest D es
tiny” gam bit o f the “ favored races” is
beginning to look shaky? W hat gives?
L et’s hear from you readers, w e ’ll print
May 16,1990
Lee Brown to Give Commencement
Address At PSU
Lee P. Brown, who is commissioner
o f the nation’s largest police force in
New York City, a form er Multnomah
County sheriff and a former Portland
State U niversity faculty member, is the
scheduled com m encem ent speaker
during PSU Spring Quarter Commence
ment Day cerem onies Friday, June 8 at
7:00 p.m. in Portland’s M emorial coli
seum (1401 N. W heeler Avenue).
Brown, a nationally-recognized pro
ponent o f com m unity policing who first
came to Portland in 1968 to direct PSU’s
new ly-form ed law enforcem ent certifi
cate program , will receive the univer
sity’s Doctor o f Humane Letters (hono
ris causa) during the com m encem ent
Scheduled to preside while degrees
and awards are conferred upon an esti
mated 1,400 students crossing the Coli
seum stage is Interim University Presi
dent Roger N. Edgington. Edgington
has served in that capacity since Janu
ary 1989, and will be succeeded August
1 when Dr. Judith A. Ramaley becomes
the sixth perm anent president of Port
land State University. She currently is
executive vicechancellor at the Univer-
isty o f K ansas in Law rence, Kansas.
Police Commissioner Brown, 52, took
office January 22, heading a depart
m ent with som e 26,000 officers and
7,200 civilian em ployees in the na
tion’s largest city. This fall, he also
becom es president o f the International
A ssociation o f Chiefs o f Police. He is
the form er chief of police in Houston,
Texas (1982-1989) and served as pub
lic safety adm inistrator in Atlanta,
Police Com m issioner Lee P. Brown
G eorgia beginning in 1978. Before
assuming his post in Houston, Brown
served as a consultant to the Portland
Police Bureau. He served as Multnomah
County Sheriff from 1975 to 1978.
Brown earned a bachelor’s degree in
criminology from Freshno State U ni
versity while serving as a patrol officer
in San Jose, California. He later earned
m aster’s degrees from San Jose State
University and the University o f C ali
fornia at Berkeley .w here he also earned
his doctorate in criminology. Follow
ing his instructional work in PSU ’s
criminal justice program, he served as
associate director of the Institute for
Urban Affairs and Research at Howard
University.
Lynn Earl Smith:
it
"Room 227" Star Visits Portland
Minority Students
To Be Recognized May 18
Hal W illiams, star o f the NBC hit
comedy "Room 227", paid a visit to
Portland recently to look at possible
business investm ents and to visit with
local businessm an and cousin Harold
W illiams.
The comedy star indicated he was
impressed with the business opportuni
ties in Portland and would discuss them
with his business associates upon his
return to Los Angeles.
E U G E N E -T h e U niversity o f
O regon O ffice o f M ulticultural
Affairs will present its Jew ell
H airston Bell Award to Callan
Colem an and Gretchen Freed-Row
land on Friday, May 18, during the
third annual Recognition Awards
Reception in the Alum ni Lounge at
G erlinger H all, 1468 University SL
on the UO campus.
Colem an, an A frican-A m erican
senior majoring in psychology, and
Freed-Row land, a N ative A m eri
can doctoral student in the College
o f Education, are both Eugene resi
dents. Each will receive a cash
aw ard o f $500 at the 7 p.m. recep
tion honoring students o f color who
have made outstanding contribu
tions to the university and com m u
nity through academ ic excellence
and leadership.
The Bell aw ard honors an out
standing student of color whose pres-
ence and performance has furthered
the cause o f diversity at the U niver
sity o f Oregon, according to Di
anna Kale of the Multicultural Affairs
staff. R ecipients o f this aw ard are
selected from UO faculty nom ina
tions by a com m ittee o f faculty and
com m unity participants.
Bell, in whose honor the award
was established, headed the M ul
ticultural Affairs office, then known
as the Council for M inority E duca
tion, from 1983 to 1986.
Nearly 120 other students will
be cited for outstanding service and
scholarship during the event, which
is co-sponsored by the UO Office
o f Student D evelopm ent
O f those students who will re
ceive A cadem ic Excellence and
G reat Start aw ards, 19 earned
straight-A (4.0 grade point) aver
ages.
International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters
Hold Regional Conference This Weekend In Portland
The International Association of
Black Professional Fire Fighters will
be holding their regional conference
in Portland on May 18 and 19. This
year’s theme is “ W e Need Each
O ther.”
The purpose and aim s are to create
a liaison between African-Americans
across the nation, to collect and evalu
ate data on all deleterious conditions
incumbent in all areas where minorities
exist, and to com pile information con
cerning the injustices that exist in the
working conditions in the Fire Service,
and im plem ent action to correct them.
To also promote interracial progress
throughout the Fire Service and to see
thatcom pctcntB lacksarc recruited and
employed as fire fighters, wherever they
reside, and to aid in m otivating our
Black Brothers and Sisters to seek ad
vancem ent to elevated ranks through
out the Fire Service.
A luncheon will be held Saturday,
May 19, 1990, 12:00 noon at the Red
Lion Coliseum The Keynote Speaker
will be Seattle's Fire Chief Claude Harris.
C hief Harris is a 30-year veteran o f the
Seattle Fire Departm ent and the first
A fricar-A m erican to hold the position
in the City o f Seattle. The cost o f the
luncheon is $15.00. Reservations must
be made by May 15,1990. R cm itcheck
and reservation to W illiam Kendrix,
IABPFF, P.O. Box 13654, Portland,
OR 97213.
Dr. Smith points to x-ray of cavity damage of patients
wisdom tooth.
The call from the Oregon State Bar
A ssociation was newsworthy in every
sense o f the word. The caller stated that
on Friday, April 27, 1990, the Bar As
sociation would be swearing in an Afri
can A merican, who, inaddition to hold
ing a law degree, was also a dentist.
They wanted to know if we were inter
ested inan interview. O ur response was
a resounding “ Y es.” The interview
was even more newsworthy.
In 1968, Grant High School was
State Football Champions. The quar
terback on that championship team was
Lynn Earl Smith who was also the first
Black to quarterback a G rant football
team. Leading his teammates to a
cham pionship and being the first Black
to do so was the beginning of a cham pi
onship career for Smith.
A fter graduation from high school,
he entered the Marine Corps (following
in the footsteps of his father). After
serving a tour o f duty in Vietnam .Smith
returned to Portland and ‘ ‘became dead
serious about finishing my education,
as he puts it. Portland State University
was his choice for college and after
graduation, he entered the Oregon Health
Sciences Institute, School of Dentistry.
G raduating from O.H.S.I. in 1979,
Dr. Smith entered his general prac-
tioncr residency in Los Angeles, Cali
fornia at the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hospital. “ Serving my residency at
M .L.K., Jr. Hospital was one o f the
m ost rewarding experience in my life,’ ’
claim s the doctor. Upon graduation in
1980, Dr. Smith moved to Phoenix,
Arizona, setting his general practice in
1981.
Even though he had a successful
practice as a dentist, the lure of being an
attorney was always a strong desire and
in 1985, he enrolled in law school at
Arizona State University in 1985, gradu
ating in 1987. Afterwards came finish
ing course work at Santa Clara U niver
sity in California. His return to Port
land in m id-1989, was for one purpose:
to concentrate on passing the Oregon
Bar, which the doctor claim s ‘ ‘is one o f
the toughest in the nation.”
When asked which profession takes
priority. Dr. Smith indicates that while
he will continue both, his priority will
be in the legal area, hopefully with a
large law firm but if it doesn’t happen,
" n o big deal,” he says.
He plans to specialize in sports medi
cine law or corporate law, and also will
devote time to dental cosm etics and
oral surgery. Dr. Smith is the only
known dentist/attom ey in the state.
Now that he has established his pri-
oritities, the doctor states he iuteneds to
become active in com m unity involve
ment. He also now has tim e for social
activities Dr. Smith resides in N.W .
Portland, and for the inform ation o f
those interested ladies, he is single, 40
years old, and drives a beautiful co n
vertible sports car.