’ aRC >"• I he Portland Observer**-November 14, 1990
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By Professor McKinley Burt ¡
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BY PROFESSOR MCKINLEY BURT
Good Faith
Effort: One
More Once
There has been a reassuring
response to this “ Good Faith” series;
evidently we hit some nerves. Thank
you! Interestingly, reader interest has
centered as much upon my office-at-
home approach to enterprise as ac­
knowledgement that I am right on the
point that large or small, national or
local, most of our organizations could
do a much better job of communications
and recodkeeping.
Let me close out this series
with several more observations. For the
present, my at-home activity is carried
on from a spareroom and an over-sized
closet. Keep in mind that the thrust of
my activities is toward the best delivery
system in that nation for a special genre
of educational products: the legends on
the new stationery of “ McKinley Burt
Associates” read “ African American
Curriculum; Lesson Plans, Workshops,
Video, Tele-conferences, History-Con­
tributions in Mathematics, Science &
Technology (Pyramid to Space Age).”
We shall see (and I hope others
in the community will) that there is
nothing so extraordinary in being able to
do these things (initially) from such a
small base—after all, we are in an elec­
tronic age. It is true that in order to
support this process, 1 have to maintain
an elaborate information storage and
retrieval capacity-a steadily growing
library of over a thousand texts, manuals
and binders of research, but it is not
really that big o f a deal.
Until I get a computer of my
own again al ter the first of the year, 1 use
that of a neighbor (she’s in the “ Mail
Order Business From Your Kitchen"
mode” to access the mainframe com­
puter of a former student at his plant in
Beaverton. Having much more capacity
than he needs at present, his staff de­
signed a program that performs the tsks
I will later be able to do for myself: act­
ing as a “ file server” , accessing librar­
ies around the country including the
Library of Congress and major universi­
ties, and storing the information for a
convenient time of transmittal.
I grind my teeth when I reflect
that 21 years ago 1 had almost this same
capacity-albeit slow er-at my Belmont
office but could not interest the Portland
School District (or large social programs)
in contracting with me to either deliver
educational products or to allow me to
install the system for their in-house
operation. Too far ahead of my time?
Perhaps then, but certainly not now when
to compete means being right at the age
of technology. But, this is also good,
because “ little people” are embarking
on successful operations every dar, right
from their kitchens, basements and ga­
rages. The media cites them continu­
ously.
I’ll take one more swipe at
several of our big-time national black
organizations whom I (and others) cited
in the first article of this series for failing
to effectively interface with their con­
stituency-given the readily available
technology, mid the state-of-the-art media,
seminars and curriculum which their
executives and staff could quite easily
access. Keep in mind that after over
thirty years of accounting and adminis­
trative experience in “ establishment”
industries and agencies, I am not en­
gaged in idle carping and complaint. I
can look at a detailed “ Annual Report”
and determine from budgets fund appli­
cations and line items just what monies
could have been belter utilized to achieve
a more effective interface.
Let us look at another informa­
tion storage, retrieval and delivery sys­
tem. If one is dealing with as many
papers and documents as I am, and
contemplating a tenfold increase in such
activity—how in the world, you may ask,
do I think I can afford the space and files
to handle what may involve scores of
file cabinets and the personnel to handle
the sytem? No such bother, the system
and equipment for handling such tasks
has a price beginning at $18,500, almost
the exact amount I paid for my Itek
W esfcoast ^Blart
Communication Philip Moms U S A ., second from right, presents a check for $30.000 to the
st coast Black Publishers Association Scholarship Fund. Receiving the check is Cloves Campbell
camera and Chief Printing Press back in
WCBPA President, on le ft and Joe Coley, WCBPA Treasure. Looking on is George J. Powell, Consultant for Philip Morris.
1969 for printing curriculum and lesson
plans.
So, if I act just like some of the
other ethnic minorities I know person­
ally, and don’t buy a Cadillac or Mer­
cedes for the next couple of years, I can
afford that quite well. Thank you. Last
year I flew down to San Francisco for
two days and took a look at a “ Kodak
Automated Disk Library” in operation
at a major insurance company: “ stores
4,000 two-drawer file cabinets of infor­
mation IN THE S PACE OF ONE” . The
unit would fit very well in the comer of
my spare room. Several peripherals and
I could not only press a key on my
computer to bring up a document for
viewing in seconds-but a second stroke
would print it for internal use, faxing or
Two weeks ago George Walker a concerted drive to pack the federal dent, cautioned the Black leaders and
mailing.
Bush,
who pledged to make the United judiciary with conservative judges, set constituents who overwhelmingly sup­
In the final analysis I command
States
a “ kinder and gentler” nation, the stage for a series of civil rights rever­ ported him that they should cool their
thee! Get down to that free Public Li­
vetoed
the Civil Rights Act of 1990. sals. In recent years a more conservative demands. In effect Jimmy Carter told
brary!
The President showed his true colors as Supreme Court has delivered damaging Black people to accept whatever incre­
he caved in to the pressure of white blows to affirmative action particularly mental progress on the Black agenda he
business interests and played to the in the area of employment. The Civil
was willing to tolerate or he would
latent and overt racist sentiments of far Rights Act of 1990 was designed to re­
abandon the Black agenda completely.
right constituencies in American soci­ pair and overcome the damage of these
know this is not true. Also, the value o f a
The Bush veto, to reiterate, is not
ety. The Bush veto climaxed a compre­ recent Supreme Court decisions.
person’s education is measured by how
surprising. It is part and parcel of a
hensive assault on civil rights, affirma­
much one knows about white America.
The civil rights veto comes within a strategy to contain Black aspirations
tive
action and Black progress which climate of increased racial hostility and
The failure of education as a solu­
and force acceptance of the status-quo;
began with Richard Nixon and was antagonism which Nixon, Reagan and
tion to racism lies in the places people
a status-quo which leaves African Ameri­
drastically intensified by Ronald Re­ Bush helped to foster. All of them played
are looking for answers. College stu­
cans without equity and parity in the
agan.
dents are looking to the black commu­
to the politics of racism by feeding and economic structures and systems of
Richard Nixon openly sought to catering to the fears and latent racism in
nity for the solution to this problem. The
American society. A status-quo in which
stall
civil rights progress by minimiz­ much of white America. Subtly and not
black community cannot solve a prob­
the vast majority of Blacks are forced to
ing civil rights enforcement. It was so subtly the “ illusion” Black progress
lem that it did not create.
accept, defacto, the symbolic progress
Ronald Reagan, however, who embarked has come to be defined as taking away
The black community can only
for a few within the African American
on
the most radical campaign to over­ white rights. Hence terms like “ reverse
provide insight into the magnitude of the
community while the Black poor suffer
turn the civil rights advances of the discrimination” and “ Black racism” have
problem and open avenues of communi­
enormous devastation and depravity.
60’s.
Under Reagan the Justice Depart­ come into vogue. Pandering to the con­
cation about racism. The black commu­
What surprise me is the lack of out­
ment actually attacked civil rights and servative right has provided moral/offi-
nity cannot, however, solve the problem.
rage in the African American commu­
affirmative action. The Justice Depart­ cial sanction for a neo-racist trend ema­
Individual white students must assume
nity. George Bush is doing his job. The
ment, with considerable success, began nating from the highest levels of govern­
responsibility for finding the solution in
President is perpetuating the old habit
to shift the burden of proof of discrimi­ ment.
their own communities. White students
of retaining political power by scape­
nation
and segregation to the victims of
David Duke and his constituenLs may goating Black people and minorities.
must take Stokely Carmichael’s advice
racism. The existence of patterns of be dangerous, but they arc no more dan­
and search for the answers within their
The real question is are we as African
segregation and exclusion, the Justice gerous or destructive than a President
community, while maintaining open
Americans on our job? Now that George
Department argued, was not a suffi­ who came to office on the back of Willie
communication with the black commu-
Bush has slapped us in the face (again),
cient basis for demanding or granting Horton and a President who politely turns
nity.
how will we respond? Will it be with
remedies. Instead, the victim must prove back the clock on black progress by
All of these actions, however, will
wolf tickets, resolutions and rhetoric
that somewhere, at sometime, someone vetoing a major civil rights bill.
not eradicate racism. For unlike the
or are we really ready to fight back?
consciously adopted policies with clear
For more than a decade it has been What are we prepared to do to override
physical problems that result from ra­
INTENT to discriminate based on race, clear that civil rights, affirmative action
cism, racism in itself is a psychology.
the George Bush/U.S.A. veto of Black
color or sex.
and African American progress has been America?
One that cannot be changed by systems.
The anti-civil rights posture adopted under serious siege in the U.S. Even
One that can only be changed by the
by
the
Justice Department, coupled with Jimmy Carter, the last Democratic Presi­
individual. The eradication of racism in
this country will not take place until
everyone takes responsibility for ending
It.
By Ron Da niels
The Bush veto climaxes a long
assault on Civil Rights
Why education is not the solution to racism
BY: SEANA MURPHY
(Seana is a black senior majoring in
sociology at DePauw University, Green­
castle, Indiana. )
Race relations is a topic on every
college campus these days. I find this
ironically interesting.
It is interesting because by the year
2000 whites will no longer be the major­
ity in the United States. This is a very
threatening idea for whites. The white
community now feels a need to under­
stand black and Hispanic people. It is in
this context that I struggle with questions
about racism.
The first question is whether we can
understand and eventually eradicate
racism from our society. Can we accom­
plish either of the two when this desire is
borne out of the fear of no longer being
the majority? We cannot, because the
».
psychology of this need stems from a
desire to protect the status quo. I base
this feeling on the question “ Would there
be this desire to know if the majority did
not feel this threat?”
Another problem that I struggle with
about racism is the idea that education is
a solution to racism. Education has not
yet proven to be the solution to racism.
There are several reasons: the most basic
is that the problem of racism is too large
to be addressed by one institution.
Another reason for the failure of
education to end racism is that most
histories of other people are contorted to
fit the established stereotypes of white
America. This is clearly demonstrated in
the way that textbooks describe American
slave trade. Slaves are portrayed as sub­
servient people who quietly accepted
their fares, but anyone who has read
Vincent Harding’s There Is A River will
CREED OF THE BLACK PRESS
1 he Black Press believes that America can best lead the world away from social und
national antagonisms when It accords to every person, regardless of race, color, or
creed, full human and legal rights. Hating no person, fearing no person, the Black
Press strives to help every person in the firm belief that all arc hurl as long as anyone
la held back.
f
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f h e
The Civil Rights Veto:
Domino's Pizza
delivers lunch to
the homeless
Mayor Bud Clark is among the vol­
unteers scheduled to help serve pizza io
an expected 1,000 homeless men, women,
and children at Union Gospel mission
this week. Un Tuesday, November 13,
from 11:30am to 1:30pm, Domino’s Pizza
wi., oe providing a hot, nutritious meal
in conjunction with Union Gospel Min­
istries for the second year.
Volunteers from Union gospel
Ministries and Domino’s Pizza staff along
with local celebrity volunteers will be
serving the 2,400 slices of pizza and an
estimated 100 gallons of Coca-Cola
d o . , J by Domino’s Pizza Team Port­
land. The pizzas will be made at he 2280
NW Glisan Dominos’ Pizza store loca­
tion.
“ Feeding Portland’s homeless each
year is Domino’s Pizza’s Kick-Off to the
season’s efforts to help those in need” ,
Muiiuel Kauth, local Domino’s Pizza
Franchisee explained, “ Each year, in
addition to the lunch, all Domino’s Pizza
stores in the Portland area collect canned
food for the Portland Police Bureau’s
Sunshine division food drive.
Union Gospel Mission is located at
15 Northwest Third Avenue in down­
town Portland.
America's Intolerable Acts Can No Longer Be Tolerated
Dick Gregory stood alone out­
side of the White House with a sign that
called on President Bush to remember
all the African American troops that
are facing Saddam Hussein in the des­
ert sands of Saudi Arabia. Dick Gre­
gory’s point was/is that there is an un­
acceptable injustice being played out
when the President of the United States
can veto the Civil Rights Act of 1990
while Black troops in disproportionate
numbers arc overseas defending ‘ ‘our
American way of life” ; a way of life
where African Americans are still the
last hired and the first to be fired; a way
of life where racism on the job market
still places a ceiling on the aspirations
of young African Americans seeking
to pursue the “ American Dream” ; a
way of life where racial discrimination
and the historical preferential treat­
ment aflorded whiles permanently locks
huge numbers of Black people into a
status of economic peonage - unem­
ployed, underemployed, confined to a
dead end, subsistence jobs. Once again
African American soldiers has yet to
eradicate the enemies to Black prog­
ress within this nation.
The Civil Rights Act of 1990
was about economic justice in the
workplace. It was about the issue of
economic equity and parity for the long
deprived sons and daughtersof African
in American. The Civil Rights Act of
1990 was designed to ensure that those
who have been and continue to be vic-
'
’
i-
'
ress” loo long. The meager and inade­
quate gains of the ’60s arc being re­
versed and beaten back with the open
endorsement and assistance of the White
House.
There is no real difference be­
tween Reagan and Bush. Some of our
Black leaders have confused access to
President with power. All veto, John E.
Jacobs and Benjamin J. Hooks, two of
our most prominent Civil Rights lead­
ers, were left standing in the driveway of
the White House appealing for yet an­
other meeting.
Mr. Hooks and Mr. Jacobs, its
time out for access without power, photo
opportunities for “ Mr. kinder and gen­
tler” and meetings without meaning.
It’s time for massive CIVIL DISOBE
DIENCE if necessary to let Bush, the
U.S. and the world knows that the host
of intolerable acts which have been
heaped upon Black people in this coun
try over the last decade will no longer
be tolerated. Black leaders went to jail
in the freedom in South Africa. Black
leaders must now, in the spirit of Mar­
tin Luther King, fill up the jails of this
nation until America has agreed to face
itself and own up to the persistence of
racism, economic exploitation and
economic injustice in this society.
Joseph Lowery, will you step
forward to lead us? Eleanor Holmes
Norton, are you down with this propo­
sition ? Mary Frances Berry will you
to take to the street with us? Coretta
Scott King, will you lead us in a living
lesson in non-violent social change by
spearheading some serious street ac­
tion of January 15 and April 4? Jesse L.
Jackson, can we count on you to lead a
crusade to regain our dignity and self-
respect as we fight back?
Either our leaders will lead us or
the people will have to lead the leaders.
It s time for the Black nation to rise up
and assert itself. “ Power concedes
nothing without a demand, it never has
and it never will.” As Malcolm X pul
it, America must face the fact that it
will be freedom for everbody or free­
dom for nobody.”
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:
timized by racism in the pursuit of
employment would have the means to
redress their grievances. The cosmetics
of freedom arc irrelevant if African Ameri­
cans remain second class citizens in the
vital life sustaining arena of employemnt
and economic development. The Bush
veto of the Civil Rights Ac t of 1990 is an
INTOLERABLE ACT which African
Americans cannot and must not accept.
African American leaders from
across the U.S. should call for and lead
massive demonstrations to mobilize
support to override the Bush veto in the
next session of Congress. There must be
no retreat and no compromise on the
substance, content and intent of the Civil
Rights Act of 1990. African Americans
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