Inside.
nside
iu
,
T
/-» u a i i f t l l l r o r
Reverend Henderson discusses changes in radio
NFL preview: Fentress picks his favorites
The inside story on rapper Ice-T
Should mothers giving birth to crack babies be
prosecuted as criminals?
Pioneer Courthouse Square
7:30 PM Friday, August 17th
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
PORTLANÖ
Volume X X, Number 31
< s ity o f O re g o n l
E u g e n e , O re g o n
97403
ERVER
"The Eyes and Ears o f The Community"
August 15,1990
B U S I
We Know These Are Prepared For Careers In Science/Engineering
25<P
N E S S
P R O F
ViAnce Easter
Have Party - Will Cater
BY ULLYSSES TUCKER, JR.
I
From left, Muhammed Najieb, Benson High School, Great Kids and You Make A Difference Awards,
Sophomore Class President; Janelle Warren, Benson High School, Honor student, KATU Great Kids
Award; Jason Thomas, Roosevelt High School, Civil Air Patrol Cadet, Search & Rescue Team. But what
about the others? Again, "How many of the district's African American graduates will qualify for the
science and engineering programs at Oregon Universities?"
“And The Band Played On”:
American Cultural
Symphony,
We All Contributed!
the article, I went on to say that ‘ ‘The
narration cannot be complete without in­
was delighted with the response
clusion of the magnificent literary works
to last week’s article, “ Is It to Be of the son and grandson of General Alex­
Cultural Literacy or European Liter­ ander Dumas.”
acy?” I don’t know about Prof E.D.
Hirsch, author of the best seller, “ Cul­
o the son, Alexander Dumas
tural Literacy.” Several readers say
I, we are indebted for many
they have forwarded copies of the ar­ famous novels and plays; 300 novels and
ticle to his publishers.
25 volumes of drama in all. That are still
The overall response - from within popular after almost two hundred years,
and without the state - was especially with motion pictures and movies-for-
gratifying in view of this newspaper’s television shown today. The world still
pursuit of an “ Education Advocacy.” enjoys his The Three Musketeers, The
Let the first order of business today be Count of Monte Cristo, The Man in the
to particularize a reference for that Iron Mask, The Corsican Brothers, and
group of Portland teachers who re­ The Black Tulip. This is the Black man
quested an expansion of the roles of who was voted the greatest gourmet the
the African “ Dumas family” in the world has ever seen, owned a yacht and
world’s literature and music. W eshare theatre, and told a pregnant mistress, “ I
agreement that “ there is no reason at doubt if this miracle is mine, but if it
all why Black contributions of this comes with a head of kinky hair I’ll be
universal stature cannot be used as convinced.”
classroom material for ‘all’ students,
O f no less importance are the works
both minority and white (unless, of of the grandson Alexander Dumas II
course, there is some pervasive racist (1824-1894). His classic novel, “ The
mindset in the administration of this Lady o f Camellias” made him famous
school district).
throughout France. His rewrite into a
It was in my 7/13/89 “ Perspec­ play made him famous throughout the
tives column on General Napoleon world. Two world famous operas are
Bonaparte, that I included a descrip­ adaptations of this work: “ LaTraviata”
tion of the contributions of the famed by Verdi, and “ Camille” by Forest. In
“ Dumas family.” Quite necessary 1874 this younger Dumas was made a
and germane, since the Tittle corpo­ member of the famous French Academy
ral’ would never have amounted to of Arts and Sciences and was later elected
much o f anything had it not been for its president. He next received the sec­
his Black Haitian-born Corp Command­ ond most prestigious honor of France,
ers, 12 generals who were key to his The Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor”
military successes all over Europe (a
fact usually omitted in American his­
Now how about that? The “ op­
tory books). But, particularly, Napo­ eras” indeed! It was on December 15,
leon’s fame and military successes 1988 that I wrote:
were due to the superb bravery and
competence of the Black General, “ AL­
ears ago I discovered a re
EXANDER DUMAS” - who reached
markable book. The History
that rank at age 35; while Napolean of Playing Cards. A new vista for re­
was only a major (Almanac National search opened before my eyes as I per­
An II, 1797). Napolean’s jealousy and ceived the figures, costumes and images
rancor was revealed in his actions and with which the thousand-year-old cards
his letters, even in the final exile. In were decorated to be African in origin;
BY PROFESSOR MCKINLEY BURT
I
this was affirmed in the text. I ordered
a number of related books by Euro­
pean authors. It all stood revealed:
Tarot Cards; the Gypsy with his for­
tune telling and metal working; the
Jongleurs (Jugglers and tumblers), those
peripatetic, talented actors who gave
plays on the street comers of Italian
cities (founders of the Commedia
dell’arte which evolved into the Opera
as we know it today) -- All of these
were among the immigrations and
imports from Africa that brought light
to the Dark Ages of Europe’ ’
But then, again, we may ask, “ How
did the genre develop in North Africa?
“ We have this from the Encyclopedia
Britannica, 1958 edition. Voi. 1, p.
131:
t was not until gods of Egypt
were accepted by the Greeks
that there appears to be any ceremony
which can truly be called dramatic.
The Greek drama arose through the
worship of the gods of vegetation, and
later developed into the forms of the
plays of the great dramatists. It is dif­
ficult, however, to think of the drama
of the Greeks without thinking o f its
close connection with the dance.”
Certainly, some of us already know
that, having read Anta Diop’s "The
African Origin of Civilization.” A lot
more became aware of the truth when
the “ Oregonian” published an exten­
sive review of “ Black Athena” (Mar­
tin Bernal, Rutger U. Press, 1990).
Forgive the ‘bits and pieces’ for now;
thanks to that “ Business/Education
Partnership” I will have 30 years of
research and notes available ‘on-line’
from a collated computerized data bank
by the end of the year - the largest and
most complete organized retrieval of
African and American contributions to
technology and culture available in the
United States.
f you are driving anywhere near the
Thriftway super market on 15th and
NE Brazee, chances are you will smell
some bar-b-que aroma in the air. On a
good day, that’s if the wind is cooperat­
ing and you do not have a cold, you can
smell it as far as Lloyd Center or clear up
to Fremont.
ViAnce Easter is the owner of ‘ ‘ Mr.
V’s Bar-b-que” on wheels. When Easter
is not working events like the Goodwill
Games, Wind Surfing Contests, State
Fairs, football games, or catering par­
ties, family reunions, or weddings, he
can be found on his comer. People have
been known to drive out of their way or
call him at home just to see if he’s going
to be around. Easter calls himself the
“ Crowned Prince of Bar-b-que,” self-
appointed and good at his craft. He serves
ribs, chicken, pop, and curly fries.
A native of Fresno, California, Easter
came to Vancouver, Washington in 1980, BBQ RIBS TO GO - ViAnce Easter of Mr. V’s Bar-b-que on wheels fills the
after working almost decade for the De­ air with the aroma of bar-b-que ribs and chicken, a family tradition Easter
partment of Education as an Educational has continued.
Counselor. He got tired of traveling all
about your credibility as a vendor?
over the U.S.A. and living out of a suit­ b-queing?
E aster-” I feel good aboutit. In fact.
case. To make matters worse, Easier was
E aster-’’There are quite a few ave­
also traveling the country with his first nues that mobile catering can get in­ I’ve had several people ask me about
cousin, George Benson, as his personal volved in, especially bar-b-queing. There opening up a permanent establishment
photographer. In addition to his seasonal are festivals, com pany picnics, to see, eat at, and enjoy good ribs. One of
bar-b-que business, Easter works at etc...mobile units are able to reach areas the great advantages of owning a mobile
unit is not having a great deal of over­
Wacker Siltronics Corporation as an where regular establishments can not
Operator/Slicing Technician. He still
Portland Observer-How success­ head. You don’t have to worry about
labor cost. My family helps out a lot, es­
works as a freelance photographer.
ful are you?
A graduate of California State Uni­
Easter-’T’m very successful. I travel pecially my son. It gives us a chance to
versity at Fresno in Education/Business, extensively on the west coast to many spend some quality time together also.
Still, I would like to own a restaurant and
Easter is the father of three children events and do well.”
(ViAnce, Jr., 10; Vanessa, 9; and Victo­
P ortland Observer-How difficult eventually franchise one day.”
Easter believes that there is plenty
ria, three monthsj.He and his wife Pat was it in the beginning establishing
of room for others who desire to estab­
have been married 13 years. They live in yourself?
Northeast Portland. The Easters are ac­
E aster-” It was difficult. People had lish the same type of business. As he
tive in their church and community. In to get use to my mane and concept. I suggested, “ I can’t be everywhere” and
between the customers, Easter took some started in Vancouver eight years ago and there is enough business for everyone,
time out to explain why he decided on people were not use to seeing a mobile except on his comer. 15th and Brazee
the bar-b-que business, which is very unit on established surroundings cook­ belongs to “ Mr. V’s Bar-b-que” . Look
competitive in the city of Portland.
ing. I was questioned about what I was for the white truck, people in line, and
“ Bar-b-queing has been around for doing and why I was doing it. Even two large smokers. So, the next time
generations, especially in the black family. people today ride by two or three time you’re cruising down the avenue, just
I felt like I wanted to contribute to the before they stop and see me. I’m sur­ drop by and pick up some bar-b-que to
next generation as far as keeping the prised that there hasn’t (smiling) been go. You can also pick up some food
tradition alive. My father was good at more accidents. Seriously though, I just items from Thriftway to complete your
bar-b-queing and it passed down through wanted to bring something different to meal. One stop shopping at its best. For
more catering information, call 288-1718.
the family.”
the Pací, iv Northwest.”
Portland Observer-Why mobile bar-
Portland Observer-How do you feel
Tri-Met
Effective September 2, Tri-Met
fares go up a nickel, brand new buses
hit the streets and nearly 200 weekly
hours of bus service are being added to
improve service. New schedules will
be available on buses next week.
Cash fares wil, be 90 cents for one-
or two-zone travel, $1.20 for all-zone
travel, monthly passes will be $29 for a
two-zone, $39 for an all-zone, $22 for
a youth pass and $8.25 for an Honored
Citizen pass. A book of ten discount
tickets will increase 50 cents.
The increase, which will yield an
additional $950,000 a year, was ap­
proved in June to help catch up with
inflation since the last general fare
increase. “ Tri-Met fares are going up a
nickel, but the price of diesel jumped
six cents a gallon last week,: said James
Cowen, Tri-Met General Manager. He
noted that a nickel increase in the price
of diesel costs $250,000 a year in Tri-
Met’s annual operating expenses.
Zebra Sticker Law Get Results
More than 2,700 vehicles received a special “ zebra” sticker in June as a
result of a law that took effect in January 1990.
This law requires police officers to confiscate vehicle registration cards
and place a black-and-white “ zebra” sticker over the registration tag on
license plates when citing or arresting drivers for certain traffic offenses.
These offenses include driving after your license has been suspended for a
felony or for driving uninsured, and driving without a license or with an
expired license.
Of the 2,706 citations in June, 333 were for driving while suspended for
a felony conviction; 1,496 were for driving while suspended for driving unin­
sured; and 23 were for driving with an expired license. O f these citations, 1,176
were to drivers who were not the owner of the vehicle they were operating.
During the six months this law has been in effect, 16,365 stickers have
been issued: 2,043 for driving while suspended due to a felony conviction;
8,906 for driving
OREGON MOTOR VEHICLES DIVISION while suspended for
being uninsured; and
356 for driving with
an expired license.
O f these citations,
10,065 were to driv­
ers
who were not the
A DIVISION OF THE OREGON
owner
of the vehicle
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
they were operating.