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African American Festival 1990
PORTI.
Volume X X , Number 20
ERVER
"The E yes a n d E ars o f The Com m unity"
Science! Are Blacks Still Driving Miss Daisy?
by Professor McKinley Burt
Many years ago in the ghetto of urban
cities African Americans frequently ex
changed a cynical greeting passing, “ Hi
man, still drivin’ Miss Ann?” Ann
Daisy - W hat’s in a name? What the
short, cursory query signified was that
all of the populace of color thoroughly
understood a basic American truism
that was equally as often voiced, “ Yeah!
White folks still in the lead.” The
allusion to Blacks doing the chauffer-
ing while others leaned back, relaxed in
relative comfort and status, had the
literal meaning of supporting a large
sector of the infrastructure with ones
labor, commitment or genius without
ever receiving just due, compensation
or recognition.
It is just such a denigrating role that
conceals the true and massive contribu
tion of African Americans to the “ sci
ence and technology” that created the
nations industrial might-as well as its
strides in the health sciences, transpor
tation, space exploration and other fields
that are deemed to require the highest
level of cognitive abilities. And it is not
just that lack of a fair compensation,
but the denial of ‘ ‘just due and recogni
tion” that has made it so difficult to
find minority role models. This is ter
ribly important as we come upon the
year 2000 and what we are told will be
an age where only the scientifically
literate or the technically proficient will
be able to “ make it.”
While an immediate consideration is
our youth and developing/demanding
an educational structure that will equip
them to compete (even smile) in such a
“ brave new world” - Blacks can no
longer avoid confrontation with the threat
to their economic welfare posed by the
conversion of relatively unskilled jobs
to “ automation.” This point can best
be made by referring to historical model-
not too long ago. For many, many
decades the nation’s railroads were close
to being the largest employers of Afri
can Americans in the nation; In the sup
porting structures of track maintenance
and in locomotive and car repair; In the
service ranks where Blacks almost ex
clusively were the pullman porters, dining
car waiters and cooks; In some parts of
the country they were the fireman on
the locomotives (until the backbreak
ing job of shoveling coal to the boilers
was eliminated by the new technology
of the diesel).
The same can be said for the meat
packing industry, for the vegetable oil
refining industry and for the vast river
barge transportation networks of the
mid-south and delta. New techniques
of welding, the introduction of “ con
tainer shipping,” new materials were
developed through advances in metal
lurgy and ceramics, scientific program
ming and production control-all of this
worked to displace fairly unskilled
members of America’s workforce. Some
how African Americans * ‘appeared” to
have survived the massive dislocations
and have made a credible transition
within the framework of economic sur
vival. But, given the present economic
situation of the majority of their chil
dren and grandchildren-what we euphem
istically refer to as that vast “ under
class” living at or below the “ poverty
line” -can we really say that there was a
successful transition, or are we looking
at the inevitable consequence?
Obviously, it is absolutely necessary
that we immediately assess the current
situation in terms of this recent past. As
more and more of the “ smoke stack
industries” close down (where large
numbers of Blacks are employed in
automotive and steel production), and
increasingly consumer goods manufac
turing is transferred overseas, and the
domestic workforce is assailed from
every quarter as “ educationally unpre-
Drugs , Deaths and Oregonians
The report Deaths Due to Drugs and
Alcohol. 1988 has been published by
the Oregon Health Division and is now
available. While the report represents
just one small facet of alcohol and other
drug abuse in Oregon, the report quan
tifies the most serious consequence of
substance abuse-death.
During 1988, 495 Oregonians were
reported to have died as a direct result
of the immediate or long term physical
effects of alcohol or other drugs. While
the number o f deaths and death rate
(18.1 per 100,000 population) are rec
ord highs, these values are only margin
ally above those recorded for the previ
ous high in 1981. One in 50 Oregonians
who died in 1988, died directly as a
consequence of alcohol or other drug
use. (Abuse of these substances also
contributed to many unintentional and
intentional injury deaths.)
While the rates of alcohol and other
drug deaths were little changed during
1980-1988, two important counter-trends
have continued to evolve. Deaths due
to alcohol have declined while those
due to other drugs have increased. In
1980,65.3 percent of all drug and alco
hol-caused deaths were attributed to al
coholic liver disease or cirrhosis but by
1988 the percentage declined to 46.9;
the death rate fell from 11.2 to 8.5 per
100,000 population. At the same time
the non-alcohol drug death rate increased
two-fold.
The 37 page report lists individual
deaths by cause, age, sex, and county of
residence. To obtain a copy of the
report, write to the Oregon Health
Division’s Center for Health Statistics,
POBox 116, Portland, Oregon 97207.
Hearings on Welfare Reform Scheduled
The public will have an opportunity
to voice its opinion about the state’s
new welfare reform plan during a series
of public hearings scheduled for four
cities.
“ These hearings will provide a fo
rum for the public and advocate groups
to get a full explanation of how welfare
reform will be implemented,” stated
Sandie Hoback, welfare reform man
ager, Adult & Family Services Divi
sion. “ This is a complex program that
will make a number of important changes
in how the welfare system functions.
We urge the public to attend the meet
ings, and provide us with feedback on
our plan for the program’s operation
and its budget.”
The hearings will be held in the fol
lowing cities, beginning at 7 p.m.:
Salem May 29 Room 116 Bldg. 3
Chemeketa Community College
Bend May 31 Hitcock Auditorium
Central Orc. Community College
M edford June 4 Courthouse Audito
rium 10 S. Oakdale
P ortland June 5 Terrell Hall, Cascade
Campus, Portland Community Col
lege
One hearing has already been held in
Eugene. According to Hoback, people
attending that meeting expressed con
cerns over budget constraints for the
program and presented alternative
methods for handling budgetary deci
sions.
Welfare reform is required by a fed
eral law passed in 1988. Oregon’s
welfare reform program, dubbed “ JOBS
For Oregon’s Future,” will be imple
mented in October 1990. It provides
education and training for welfare re
cipients, to prepare them for jobs which
lead to financial independence. The
program will be tailored to communi
ties across the state, with local planning
boards making many decisions about
the local program content.
The state’s welfare system is admini
stered by the Adult & Family Services
Division of the Department of Human
Resources.
pared” to compete in this brave new
world of science and technology-can
African Americans once again “ play it
by ear’ ’ and assume that somehow they
will muddle through, and that a be
nevolent government will design and
implement all of the economic and social
structures upon which survival will
depend? Or is it more likely that they
will be driven (at last) to develop their
own educational, scientific and tech
nology structures in order to compete
with others in America's pluralistic
society; that "melting pot" never did
materialize, did it? At least not for
people of color.
If we accept that such "self-direc
tion" is the only meaningful objective
for a people serious at last about their
survival, then, early on, the mission has
to be about education, training, and
motivation. Earlier here we have said
that the disparaging role of “ driving
Miss Daisy” served to conceal “ the
true and massive contribution of Afri
can Americans to the science and tech
nology that created the nation’s indus
trial might.” So, where I described the
many key areas of industry where Afri
can Americans had a substantial role,
keep in mind that it is from these ranks
(and frequently unlettered) that the Black
Inventors of America Sprang-the men
and women of color whose innovative
contributions to the world’s science and
technology changed the industrial and
human landscape for all time to come!
But Blacks did not develop any parallel
structure to exploit these accomplish
ments. We may suppose that they thought
they had been “ integrated,” and that
the benefits would trickle down in equal
proportion.
Next week we will examine institu
tions needed to combine these histori
cal lessons into a mode of education,
economics and motivation that could
ensure African American survival. No
more “ Miss Daisy.”
TH-Met Seeks
Fare Increase
Tri-Met fares will go up a nickel next
September, if the Tri-Met Board of Di
rectors approves an ordinance due to be
introduced at its meeting next week.
Action on the proposal is scheduled for
June 27.
Tri-Met General Manager James E.
Cowen said the proposed increase, which
would yield an additional $950,000 per
year, would reflect inflation since the
last Tri-Met price increase.
Most discount tickets and cash fares
would increase a nickel, with monthly
passes increasing $2, except the Hon
ored Citizen monthly pass for seniors,
which would increase $1 from $7.50 to
$8.50.
“ There has not been an across-the-
board fare increase in five years,” Cowen
said. “ It’s impractical to raise transit
fares a penny at a time; we’re pretty
much limited to increases o f at least a
nickel.” He said the proposal would
help catch up with inflation over the
last five years.
Cash fares were last increased in
September 1985. Tri-Met raised the
price of discount tickets and passes in
September 1987. A new simplified fare
system, introduced in September 1988,
left most fares unchanged, but extended
senior citizen discounts, lowered fares
for some long-distance travelers and
levied a nickel increase for 20 percent
of Tri-Met’s passengers.
“ We need to get to a program of pe
riodic fare increases,” Cowen said. “ It
shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone
that transit operating costs increase,
justas the costof everything else docs. ’ ’
Tri-Met’s Citizen Advisory Committee
on the Budget recommended to the
board last month that Tri-Met adopt a
fare policy that included periodic ad
justments. Cowen said he would rec
ommend a fare policy study to the board
in July.
25<P
May 30, 1990
r-The Vanport Flood: A Special Focus
See Pages J & 4
Author of “How to Survive When You’re the
Only Black in the Office” to appear in Portland
Earl McClenney, Jr. author of How to
Survive When You're the Only Black in
the Office will appear in Portland on
June 2nd, at the Inn at the Coliseum, 10
N £ . Weidler.
The Author’s visit is being sponsored
by Donnie’s Accessories Plus and Afri
can American Books.
An Autograph session has been sched
uled for promotion of the book at Don
nie’s Accessories Plus 925 N.E. Broad
way, Portland, 2:30 P.M.-4:30 P.M.
Cost of the event is $25.00 which
includes the dinner banquet, scheduled
for 7:30 P.M., and a social hour at 6:30
P.M.
‘What they don’t teach’
In language he normally uses behind
closed doors, Earl H. McClenney says
he' s written a book fo r young black men
so they can learn 'how to stay alive in a
hostile environment.’ The white, male-
dominated office is a tough place for
black males to succeed, the VSU dean
asserts, especially when self-discipline
is missing.
by Martha Wild
Special correspondent
His book is directed at black men
stranded in an office full of white people.
The language is jolting with its use of
four-letter words. Yet, with help of
quotations from the Bible and Koran,
Earl H. McClenney Jr.’s message is
clear: self-discipline is the key to a
black m an’s survival, no matter what
the company of business or business is.
“ You can’t be successful just by being
a good accountant,” McClenney said.
“ You need to be a good person.”
In How to Survive When You' re the
Only Black in the Office - What They
Can’t Teach You at White Business
Schools,’ ’ McClenney says he has writ
ten up the advice he’s been offering to
his government students at Virginia State
University, where he is an assistant
professor. Separate chapters deal with
parents, children, religion, politics,
racism, civic activities, how to handle
bosses, hunting and physical fitness.
“ Y oucan’tb eco m p eten to n th ejo b
8 to 5 and not be competent after 5,” he
said. “ You can’t allow yourself to
think you can have lower standards off
the job than on the job.”
McClenney, 47, said he hopes the
212-page book will instill in young
black men the need to have the one dis
tinguishing characteristic between people
who succeed and people sho don’t suc
ceed.
Self-discipline, he said, includes stay
ing away from affairs with women,
either black or white, at the office and
staying away from alcohol at the office
party. On-the-job romance is distract
ing at best, he said, and can be destruc
tive to the young black man’s career.
McClenney recalled that as the per
sonnel interviewer for the city of
Richmond in the mid-1960s, he was
tested. A white woman whom he did
not know called his home repeatedly
and expressed an interest in getting
involved with him. By politely asking
her to leave him alone, he believes he
passed the te st
Black managers and employees alike
need to foster a “ killer instinct” and
maintain the safe distance of a working
relationship, he said. That safe dis
tance will allow a person the freedom to
confront a difficult situation later and
to fire someone if the need arises.
Initial reaction to McClenney’s book
has focused on the language, which he
said is the same he uses in counseling
sessions with his studentss.
“ You first of all have to cstblish a
basis of communication,” he said. “ It
was a conscious decision on my part to
write the way I talk privately” to stu
dents.
What surprises McClenney is that
people often comment on the four-let
ter words without mentioning the large
number of quotes from the Bible and
the Koran throughout the book, McClen
ney encourages his readers to study and
practice the teachings of their religion
and to live by strict codes of moral
conduct.
“ In with the recent mail that contains
a lot of nasty stuff are letters from
blacks who also want to get books
published,” McClenney said. “ They
want to know if I can help.”
Even though his book is directed at
young black males, McClenney insists
the content applies to anyone in the
working world. In addition to teaching
others the basic principles of survival,
he would like to see white managers use
the book as ‘‘a sensitivity training tool.”
Still, McClenney believes young black
men need to hear his message more
than their white and female counter
parts because they are having a harder
time surviving in the office.
He believes that white men, who are
usually in control of the office, are
intim idated by their belief that the black
man is physically stronger. This fear is
the basis for racism in the office and
means the black man has to try even
harder than the white man if he is going
to succeed.
“ White men don’t have to have as
much on the ball to succeed,” McClen
ney said.
The disadvantage for black men begins
early in their lives, McClenney said.
He cites the small number of black
male teachers as a problem for young
black males, particularly for those who
are being raised by young, single black
mothers. ________________________
Reprinted with Permission o f the Author
Local Educators and Engineer to Conduct Workshop
on African American Baseline Essays in Minneapolis
Three African-Americans from Port
land have been selected by the Minnea
polis School District to conduct a work
shop in that city on June 8-9, 1990.
Halim Rahsaan, Counselor, Portland
Community College (Cascade), Joyce
Harris, Principal, Black Education
Center, and Kamau Anderson, Engi
neer with U.S. Corps of Engineers, were
invited by members of the school dis
trict after giving presentations at the
National Black Educators Conference
which was held in Portland last Novem
ber.
The three presenters w i l l conduct
workshops on an explanation of the
“ Portland Model” and Restructuring
Cumculum/Content and Process.
Also scheduled is a workshop at the
African American Zion Church in Min
neapolis before church members and
community activists.
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