nside
Local doctor named for national commission
Keeping up with form er N.B.A. player Steve Adams
Citizens respond to education and Nike
controversies in letters to the editor
Should we prosecute drug abusing mothers? Part I I
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Page 5
h o ra ry
Page 5
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PO RTL
Volume X X , Num ber 32
ERVER
"The Eyes and Ears o f The Community"
It is Not The "Persian Gulf", Folks:
It Was Called The Ethiopian Sea !
K yra Parker
Today’ s explosive situation in
the “ M iddle East” ( ‘ Near’ East?) is
h ighly by belligerencies among the na­
tions o f Iraq and Kuwait-and earlier,
Iran. In m y high school days the area
was referred to as Mesopotamia, but
more to the point, the “ Ethiopian Sea”
derived its name many thousands o f
years ago because o f the presence, cul­
ture, conquests and administrations o f
A frica n peoples. Stone inscriptions and
papyri tell it a ll, from treaties and ad­
m inistrative fiats to religious ceremo­
nies and shipping documents. See W .E B .
Dubois, “ The W orld And A fric a ,” and
see M ontet, “ Eternal Egypt” .
I like the way that M ontet puts
it (pp.220,221,” ...a people o f very high
antiquity, who lived before the Trojan
August 22, 1990
By Ullysses Tucker, Jr.
W ar, and long before the Bible stories
were put into w ritin g .” Dubois in a
chapter, “ The Land o f The Burnt Faces”
(pp. 128,129) documents the Middle East
conquests and administrations o f A f r i­
can Kings, and Queens o f Egypt and the
Sudan (Thothm ose 1, 11, 111)”
...Thothmose I, the conqueror o f Syria
and
the
V a lle y
of
the
Euphrates...Thothmose III...his granite
head w ith d istini Negro features is in
the B ritish Musei
..conquered Syria
in 17 campaign and crossed the
Euphrates...The Babylonians and S yri­
ans sent their daughters to him in mar­
riage, and the descendants o f Syrian
Rulers, conquered by his father and
educated in Egypt, ruled as slaves o f the
Pharaohs.”
Matthew Prophet, Superinten­
dent o f Portland Public Schools, did say
several weeks ago, “ The w orld contin­
ues to change rapidly and today’ s gen­
eration o f children is seeing, feeling and
facing things on a scale not even imag­
ined by most adults.” Oh, Sir, many o f
us adults ‘do’ imagine “ the scale o f
change.” But, we also know that some
very basic facts have not changed at all,
and they never w ill; the truth and reality
o f factual history is among them. In
order to function as educated and cu l­
tured citizens, fu lly able to participate
equitably in the political and economic
order, individuals and peoples must be
motivated, and must know who they arc,
where they have been and their true role
in the order o f things. An educational
process o f ‘E X C E L L E N C E ’ w ill do just
that!
This newspaper recently high­
lighted ceremonies o f a local “ African
Am erican Festival” which culminated
w ith a co lo rful parade o f comm unity
citizens, I was very impressed w ith the
spectacle-this has always been a tradi­
tion in A frican Am erican communities.
But, let us return to ancient times foran
account o f the origin o f the African
festival 5000 years ago-at a time when
A frica ruled the world. Just this b rief
description should alert you to the source
o fa ll th a t‘pomp and circumstance’ (and
finery) found among European Royalty
and the Establishment Church. Elisa­
beth Lam y w ill provide you w ith a dc-
alerie B. Currie is President/Owner
o f One on One Tax Service be­
cause she has worked hard, believed in
her dream to own a business, and had
something to o ffe r the general public. It
is one thing to desire your own business,
but a company must have a service the
people need or want. Death and taxes
are tw o elements that consumers cannot
avoid. Bo knows football; Currie knows
taxes and how to take fu ll advantage o f
federal regulations or law. For eight
years, Currie worked as a tax auditor/
Revenue agent fo r the Internal Revenue
Service before establishing her com ­
pany in October o f 1989. In this nation,
there is no better teacher than the IRS
when it comes to learning about taxes
and tax law.
A 1985 graduate o f Portland
Slate U. (business administration/account-
ing), Currie is married to Dan Currie, a
Data System Coordinator fo r the Port­
land Public Schools. They have one
child (Adrain, 13). She has a back­
ground in public relations, recruiting,
and computers. When questioned about
why she wanted her own business, the
soft-spoken Currie smiled and gave the
fo llo w in g answer.
“ A fter w orking for the IRS for
so long, I wanted to take my skills and
do something else w ith them. I started
my own business because it is a service
to the com m unity and I get the chandce
to do what I like, taxes.”
P ortland O bserver-H ow can you come
to love something that everyone hates?
C u rrie -” Taxes are very interesting. It
involves a lot o f people, it ’ s ever-chang­
ing, dynamic, a challenge, and i t ’ s
something that I like to do."
P ortland O bserver-H ow d iffic u lt is it
to stay on top o f ever-changing tax law?
C u rrie -’ T t’ s really not all that d iffic u lt
once you get the basic understanding o f
V
Rachelle Greenidge
tailed description in her book,’ ’Egyptian
M y s te rie s ” -and see ‘ ‘ T im e -L ife
Se:ies:Egypt.”
Hathor o f Dendera and Horus
o f Edfu; “ Horus the Elder was vener­
ated particularly as the d iv in ity o f light,
triumphant over Seth, entity o f dark­
ness......On the inner face o f the Temple
o f Edfu is a m inutely detailed descrip­
tion o f the A N N U A L F E S T IV A L OF
TH E R E U N IO N , in the course o f whiuk
Hathor o f Dendera was brought to meet
Horus at the new moon to celebrate the
day o f the conjunction. So rich in detail
are the Edfu Texts that they enable us to
reconstruct this happy festival in an evoca­
tive summary.”
“ Excitement pervaded Den­
dera, starting on the 4th o f the month o f
Epiphi and festivities follow ed one
another
p ra c tic a lly
w ith o u t
interruption...after several weeks the
‘ Beautiful Sailing o f Hathor’ , the great
annual voyage would take place [down
the N ile ], and the rite o f the first fruits o f
the fie ld would be celebrated...tens o f
thousands came to the river banks from
the cities and the desert oases.
Continued on page 5
25<P
Business Profile: Valerie B. Currie
President of One on One Tax Service
by Professor M cK inley Burt
And “ Ethiopia” to the ancients-
including B ib lica l Prophets as w ell as
the Greeks-was not only Egypt, ‘ ‘ The
Blackland,” but The Sudan, Libya,
Abyssinia, Punt and most o f Saudia Arabia
as well, You would not know these things
from reading most contemporary histo­
ries w ith their deliberate omissions o f
black contributions to culture and tech­
nology. It is fo r this reason I buy books
which reproduce ancient maps now found
almost exclusively in museums or the
Vatican Archives. The m anipulation o f
geography has been a principal ploy o f
racists.
Me*
’ + O reQ f
how it all works. What you are looking
for are the changes that take place w ithin
the different sections o f tax law."
Portland Observer-What simple tax
advantages do we commonly overlook?
C u rrie -” That would probably be inter­
est expense on your mortgage, contribu-
tions to charity, business expenses would
be a major one and that includes sup­
plies and educational seminars, etc... A ll
people do not have the same needs.
Each situation is totally different.”
P o rtla n d O bserver-W hat basic serv­
ices do you offer?
Í
what they have to pay. County, c ity, and
federal government all have certain taxes
that they charge. People sta rt ng new
businesses should come in and talk to
me first about the type o f business they
want to go into or start because they w ill
run into certain laws or problems associ­
ated w ith the business. Each business
has its advantages as to what you can or
can not w rite o ff as far as expenses are
concerned. People need to know this up
fro n t.”
Portland Observer-Do most people take
advantage o f the tax laws that exist?
C u rrie -” No, because they are bombarded
with so much tax information tliat people
are generally afraid o f the tax system as
it is today. So, they are m ainly talking to
other people in businesses like theirs or
others in business to fin d out what they
are doing. Laws change overnight. A
3?
lo t o f people don’ t have an accountant
or a tax person to help them out. When
they have questions during tax time,
they get the busy signal from the IRS
Valerie B. C urrie
and they are s till le ft w ith the problem o f
filin g on time. I t is especially d iffic u lt i f
C u rrie -’ ’ Bookkeeping, tax research,
you haven’ t kept adequate records.”
handle audit problems, tax returns, pay­
P o rtla n d O bserver-M ost people’ s per­
ro ll, employer quarterly taxes, or any­
ception is that they cannot afford a tax
thing that involves taxes w ith the state
consultant or accountant. Is is correct
or federal government.
for them to think this way?
P o rtlan d O bserver-W ere the risks o f
C u rrie -” I f you are looking for a CPA,
starting your own business worth it?
the cost w ill be high. As a licensed tax
C u rrie -” The biggest th rill to me has
consultant’like m yself, the cost is rea­
been the reception o f the community.
sonable priced. It all depends on whether
When you first start out, you have no
I ’ m representing you before or after the
idea who your clients are going to be or
IRS gets involved, or the state. I can
how you’re going to interact w ith them.
speak o f one case where I saved a person
Everyone has been so receptive to me.
$50,000 w ith some basic inform ation. I
Yes, it was worth the risk.”
can really help people save some money,
Portland Observer-What advice do you
believe m e.”
have for people wanting to start their
P o rtla n d O bserver-W hat do you see
own business?
for your business in the future?
C u rrie -” I would say, know what you
C u rrie -’ ’O f course I would like to grow.
want to do and know what you can do.
I would like more branch offices and
Make sure you have the necessary sup­
serve as a liaison between the IRS and
port system also. Startup cost and or­
the state. I want to protect people and
ganizational expense are looked over a
provide proper advice to them .”
great deal by new businesses. What I ’ ve
P o rtla n d O bserver-G ood luck!
found out is that the great m ajority o f
C u rrie -” Thanks a lo t.”
people who go into business know what
One on One Tax Service is located at
they want to do, but lack the awareness
o f the different taxes that are involved or
317 Northeast Killingsworth, (503) 289-
0851.
Nike Prez Says "Our Actions Speak for Themselves"...And They Do
by Angelique Sanders
In the last few days, the Black
community has collected its anger against
the Nike corporation’ s racially-negli-
gent business policies, and, touched o ff
by a series o f events including a PUSH-
supported rally, rallied against the Nike
corporation.
Monday started out calm ly:
members o f Black support groups from
Chicago met w ith the media and mem­
bers o f Bethel church to eat lunch and
share ideas on the Nike-PUSH contro­
versy. A demonstrator from PUSH car­
ried a sign proclaim ing the evils o f Nike.
Tee-shirts bearing the caption, "N ik e
said no to us...Say no to N ik e ” sold
tremendously. The next stop was Nike
headquarters in Beaverton, where D ar­
ry l Tukufu, Ronnie Herndon, and Robert
Philips attempted to mediate fo r Nike
and PUSH. No results were found at
this, and angered participants moved on
to ra lly at M t. O live t church.
The N ike Chairman, P hilip
K night, recently said, "T h is year, 21%
o f the new employees hired at N ike have
been m inorities. That should show you
how serious our com m itm ent is to af­
firm ative action.” Knight, that doesn’t
show a comm itment to affirm ative ac­
tion, it shows that yo u ’re fillin g your
quotas. What the Black com m unity
wants to know, K night, is where are the
A frican Americans at the top rungs o f
the ladder? D on’ty o u want them sitting B A C K . We are not afraid to take our only interested in advertising w ith lily -
next to you at the board meetings? Are money elsewhere until we can see Nike
white media: N ike w ill not touch Black
you saying Blacks can f ill the peon jobs, producing results! Perhaps the heads o f papers or Black radio. And w hy are you
but should not be in the vice presidency
at N ike, or the board o f directors? A t
N ike headquarters in Beaverton, there
used to be a qualification for w orking
there that said you needed to live w ithin
a certain distance from the plant. Is
there some stipulation fo r N ike board
members that says applicants must live
in Bensonhurst? As the head o f the local
chapter o f the N AA C P , Robert Philips,
says, any corporation that doesn’ t have
A frican Americans on every rung o f the
ladder “ has a serious problem ” .
In a recent speech Donahue,
the president o f Nike reminded the
audience-as i f to defend him self aeainst
Mediators at the Nike-PUSH confrontation at National Urban
racism -th at they have a $5 m illio n ad
campaign that features Bo Jackson, David
Robinson, and John Thompson, as well
as Spike Lee and Michael Jordan. I hope
N ike doesn’ t feel they can hide behind
that when people call them racist. Nike,
we aren’ t interested in your stats that tell
us you have no qualms w ith Blacks
being shoe salesmen, or that popular
Blacks can grace your advertising. When
we invest money in your corporation via
your overpriced merchandise, we ex­
pect some respect and some results. We’re
seeing neither. Your $5 m illio n dollar
ad campaign W IL L N O T W IN US
League are (from left) Robert Philips, D arryl Tukufu, and Ronnie
Herndon.
N ike are sitting on their hands, thinking,
“ oh, w ell. Blacks only account for 13%
o f our market” , but, sirs, Blacks aren’ t
the only ones who are angered. T k
N ike name is going down like Revlon
did; it w ill be correlated w ith racism,
and people: NIKES JUST A R E N ’T
“ C O O L" ANYMORE! TAKE AC­
T IO N !
The Observer has approached
N ike fo r advertising in the past. It w ill
come as no shock to readers, I ’ m sure,
hiring from South Africa?
When asked, at the press con­
ference, what would stop Nike from
refraining from ever negotiating, Robert
Philips said “ nothing” . And it’s true...thc
only action that would threaten Nike
enough to get them to the negotiation
table is kicking where it counts: the
money belt. Folks, we need to remem­
ber what Black Power is and converge
on this. We w ill not be kicked around by
N ik e ’s shoes and other merchandise. I f
that M ike has turned us down. They are
you own Nike merchandise already, just
tape over the name and the trademark
swoosh, or cut them off...otherwise you’re
advertising for N ike and against your
brothers and sisters.
I am completely shocked that
our Black support groups, such as the
National Urban League, do not agree on
this issue. The Observer says to you:
W e ’re w orking fo r the downtrodden
Blacks. W ho are you w orking for? We
have been stomped on by Nike, and we
don’ t need to take this. When you think
o f how hard you work for each dollar
you earn, imagine spending against your
race! Imagine your A frican Americans
in the Nike corporation being denied
promotions due to their color, because
you wanted to look good. This is com ­
pletely unacceptable.
I don’ t need to ask you which
side you think Martin Luther King would
have supported on this, because you
know in your hearts. Each and every
brother and sister out there truly knows
the right from the wrong in this issue,
and we need to get used to exerting our
power!
Nike, where are you? The Black
..im m u n ity is w aiting...O f course, we
a ll expect you to refrain from negotiat­
ing until you can “ pump up” your fig­
ures. to supposedly illustrate the high
hiring rate o f Blacks. A fter the negoti­
ating is done, w e’ ll expect to see these
people out o f work.
The N ike Chairman said re­
cently, “ Watch us. We can get even
better.” W e ll, you’ ve surely caught our
atention. But you’ ve got a long way to
go before A frican Americans are going
to trust their money w ith you...
Nike, where are
you? The Black
community is
waiting...
M v demands of Nike:
1) Blacks w ill have the potential to rise
above the lower levels o f the corpora­
tion, a ll the way to the top, based on ca­
p ab ility rather than color
2) N ike w ill discontinue to ignore the
Black media, investing in Black media
13% ofthe tim e, to match the 13% ofthe
market Blacks hold
3) You shall continue to invest in the
Black com m unity proportionately to the
white com m unity
4) You w ill rid the company o f any ra­
cially-biased parties that have caused
the situation the company is presently in
5) You w ill pull your funding o f any
sort-taxes or employee w ages-out o f
South A frica
U ntil you meet these demands,
I have no interest in backing up your
company w ith my money.