Pag* 2 I he Portland Observer "November 21,1990 Budget Fight Had Some Positives By Professor McKinley Burt tio n o f urgency and need fo r m ore stru c­ tured co m m itm e n t on the part o f black males, the m ore w om en we can m o ti­ vate, inspire and assist, the better. Little People Can Casfa Big Shadow I cannot help bu t re fle c t upon the early careers and m a g n ific e n t accom ­ plishm ents o f black w om en s ix ty years a g o - ’ ’ M adam e C.J. W a lk e r” and “ M adam M a lo n e ” . These wom en b u ilt m u lti-m illio n d o lla r, n a tio n w id e b u si­ W e ’ ll get into the “ shadow " thing to w a rd the end o f th is a rtic le when 1 ta lk about e xp a n d in g the com prehension o f y o u r c h ild at an e a rly age. In the m ean­ tim e le t us see i f this little person can cast a b ig g e r shadow. F o r now I seem to have been program m ed by readers in to sort o f a co m m u n ic a ­ tio n and yo u -ca n -do - itm o d e . I l ’ s a ll about e d u ca tio n , r a l l y . T h e m ost in ­ teresting phone ca ll ■ received in connec­ tio n w ith the “ G ood F a ith ’ ’ series was fro m a w o m a n in W a s h in g to n , D .C . w hose d aughter in P o rtla n d Faxed her copies. A “ C h ristia n F u n d a m e n ta list” on the s ta ff o f a m a jo r national black organi­ za tio n , she has been “ on the case o f the m edia and personal appearances, estab­ lish in g so lid bases o f real estate to house m anu fa ctu rin g , tra in in g and service ta in in g contacts was very d iffic u lt, but o ver the years at least a th ird have ac­ quired personal com puters and have e v­ T h is prom pts m e to a com m en­ tary on ‘ ‘ siste rs” as I see more and more A fric a n A m e rica n w om en m oving in to successful interfaces ith the -------------- w o rld o f - - - - - w ----------- com m erce. I was m ild ly castigated d u r- in g m y “ M in o ritie s in B usiness” series fo r n o t c itin g m ore black fem ales. M y excuse is that at the ve ry same tim e the P ortland O bserver newspaper was h ig h ­ lig h tin g the successes o f a num ber o f bla ck fem ale enterprises in Oregon. Jackie W in te rs and her chain o f pro sp e rin g restaurants; V iance Easter, o w n e r o f “ M r. V ’ s B ar-B -que On W h e e ls” ; V a le rie B. C u rrie , operator o f Jeanne H artzog, d irccto r/o w n cr “ Sylvan Learn­ ing Center” ; Veronica and Clarice Banks, “ W aves H a ir S alon” ; Peggy C. Ross, o w n e r o f “ Express G raphics P rin tin g ” (w in n e r o f 1990 S .B .A aw ard). Z’ I w elcom e the o p p o rtu n ity to cite these accom plishm ents because I, lik e m any, realize how m uch o u r race w ill need the p a rticip a tio n o f the A fric a n A m e rica n w om an il we are to survive th is tra u m a tic period (g ive n that she a l­ ready has a heavy burden in m a in ta in in g a re e lin g fa m ily structure). Pending som e unforeseen change in the percep- fa c ilitie s in the 20 m a jo r urban centers o f b lack pop u la tio n in the U n ite d States. One such center was the “ Poro Beauty C o lle g e C o m p le x ” , a square blo ck fa c ility in m y hom e tow n o f St. L o u is , M o . Here, you fou n d beauty tant positives. O ne was the sim ple fa ct o f fin a lly premises, and a great deal o f pride and m uch respect fro m the c itiz e n ry . S urely, we black males w ith a ll the modern advantages in marketing, from electronic advertising and com m unications to auto­ lesson plans I have d c v e lo p e d -a n d the mated m a ilin g s, from electronic adver­ tising and com m unications to automated m a ilin g s, can do a m uch better jo b than we are doing in econom ic developm ent. I thought that "R e v e re n d S u lliv a n ” pointed the w ay w ith his O p p o rtu n itie s In dustrial programs. N o w , the accom plishm ents o f these black wom en emphasizes the k in d o f interaction I had in m in d when w r it­ ing the series, “ F am ily Reunions” (what they need to b c/co u ld be). N o t to fear, we have o f v com energetic — ---- * « a lo t vrx u m petent, p v iv ill, VliUIgCUC and co m m itte d young people com ing to the fore (the ones w ho d o n ’ t get the pub- lic ity and m edia coverage” . F o r in ­ stance at a 1980 fa m ily reunion o f m y clan in St. L o u is o f o ve r 300 adults alone, I met scores o f teachers and people in technology am ong the “ s h irt-ta il” relations. A t firs t, n e tw o rkin g and m ain- CREED OF THE BLACK PRESS The Block 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 hurt as long as anyone Is held back. ÍRVER (U S P S 959-680) OREGON'S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established in 1970 Alfred L. Henderson Publisher Joyce Washington Operations Manager Gary Ann Garnett Business Manager Leon Harris Editorial Manager The PORTLAND OBSERVER is published weekly by Exie Publishing Company, Inc. 4747 N.E. M.L.K., Jr. Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97211 P.O. Box 3137 Portland, Oregon 97208 (503) 288-0033 (Office) FAX#: (503) 288-0015 Deadlines for all submitted materials: Articles: Monday, 5 p.m. - Ads: Tuesday, 5 p m mented statistics that e a rly on black youngsters dem onstrate an e xtrem ely high in te llig e n ce and re ce p tivity...a n d , then, m any lose this before getting past the e a rly grades. T hough we w ill have to exam ine this phenomenon m ore fu lly at a later date, please, fo r c h ild ’s fu tu re , w o rk at d e veloping a love fo r the fa sci­ nating w o rld o f story and verse as early as you can. D eve lo p in g a person literate enough to su rvive in the in fo rm a tio n age m ay depend upon it. I f not ava ila b le at your favorite bookstore, order from D avid R. G odine, Publishers Inc. 300 Massa­ chusetts A ve ., Boston, Mass. 02115, $14.95 plus $3.00 U.P.S. states to d istrib u te to parents and day­ care providers. W h ile considerably short o f the broader federal program needed to en­ sure that a ll ch ild re n have adequate care in these days o f w o rk in g parents, the program does lay the g ro u n d w o rk fo r fu tu re im provem ents in c h ild care p o l­ ic y . cause they kn o w that the nation has to invest in its future. W e ’ ve neglected the education and health o f o u r young people, and the sm all steps taken by Congress in its clo sin g days should be seen as a barely adequate dow n paym ent on the future. F unding fo r the c h ild care program , I fo r exam ple, w ill a llo w o n ly a sm all 1 fra ctio n o f A m e ric a ’s 12 m illio n w o rk - 1 ing w om en w ith preschool-age ch ild re n I to be served. So more m ust be done, and it can be ’ done w ith o u t busting a budget that s till contains lots o f w asteful expenditures and s till leaves the m ilita ry budget at astronom ical levels. I t ’ s tim e to stop fin a n cin g m u lti­ b illio n d o lla r C o ld W a r program s that have long o u tliv e d th e ir usefulness and to compete in a m odem econom y T h a t’s thc key 10 national prosper- ity , and its the route the next Congress _Care' should travel w ith the next budget. , and balance; reward or punishment based on perform ance. T h is means to me that everyone w ho comes in to c o n flic t w ith o u r courts should receive a fa ir and suitable punishm ent fo r the w ro n g d o in g they have co m m itte d (I shall soon e x­ p la in w h y I d o n ’ t see this happening, although I im agine several o f y o u r o w n ideas have already popped in to m in d ). A d d itio n a lly , “ system ” seems to in fe r that som ething is regulated in a consis­ tent manner. H ow ever, lik e e ve ryth in g else in o u r society, o u r “ ju stice system ” is apparently greatly affected by one’s rank w ith in society, w h ich in tu m u n fa irly alters the o b je ctive vie w judges and ju ro rs should have. The firs t th in g that comes to m in d is, o f course, the m atter o f race. I d o n ’ t suspect I need to elabo­ rate; w e ’re a ll aware o f the warped lik e ­ lih o o d o f an A fric a n A m e rica n o r H is ­ panic g o in g to ja il o ve r a w h ite , even i f each com m itted the same crime. ( “ Y o u r H o n o r, I fin d the defendant qu ite g u ilty , on the basis that his skin p igm ent annoys m e .” ) S econdly, I th in k that the m at­ te r o f race appears to be w eighed heav­ ily w ith societal rank. Take, fo r in ­ stance, the exam ple o f M a rio n B arry. Charge: taking ille g a l drugs. P unish­ m ent for average hum an being: B ig Bad P unishm ent. W e w a n t to set an exam ple fo r others doing drugs. Punishm ent fo r hum an being in p u b lic o ffic e , w ith B ig Im portant Friends in Big Important Places: A h , w e ’ ll take i t easy on h im , even though m illio n s o f ch ild re n (as w e ll as adults) w ill hear about it via the m e d ia ...w e ll, shoot there’ s no reason w h y he ca n ’ t s till h old his p u b lic o ffic e , rig h t? D rugs o n ly a ffe ct a person’ s B R A IN and apparently a clear head is taken to co u rt on thc charge o f persuad­ in g A m e ric a ’ s youth to run over and k ill thousands o f people because th e ir leader “ sto le ” some o il that w asn’ t yours in the firs t place, w h ile you id ly s it around fish in g . E unishm ent fo r average human being; som ething m uch m ore heinous than life im prisonm ent, perhaps som e­ th in g cruel and unusual. P unishm ent fo r person w ho designates salaries o f people in ju s tic e system: charges dropped. * * * * * M y heart goes o u t to any p a r­ ents or friends o f someone in fig h tin g in the M id d le East, as w e ll as the soldiers themselves: I ’ m sure this w ar N E V E R leaves y o u r thoughts, and I ’ m sure it w o n ’ t leave yo u r head fo r years a fte r­ w ard (w ith thc exception o f those w ho die fo r this). T h is is m ore compassion than I see co m in g from m any so-called “ u n in v o lv e d ” persons: some ca n ’ t w a it fo r the m edia hype to go aw ay, fo r fear not a stip u la tio n o f h o ld in g o ffic e . it m ig h t puncture th e ir bubble o f o b liv ­ ion w ith g u ilt o r remorse. * * * * * M y th ird exam ple is, p u t y o u r­ se lf in Bush’s position and imagine being A n o th e r thought: I'd rather pay the high price o f o il than the high price o f w ar and death. W. W. Freeman & Friends The 2nd Annual disproportionate am ount o f a lo w -in ­ Take some time out for "Yourself' and join us for a Gala Evening o f Entertainment and Fun!!! Booths with Gifts for Everyone "Inchuding Yourself! " m ent o f Energy institutes the L E A P Program every year. F o ra large num ber o f the 2,000-plus people B P I serves Men (Sc Women Apparel Perfumes Lingerie Cosmetics Holiday Baskets Jewelry Art through the program , the energy assis­ y ending up at the shelter. pays th e ir u tility b ills d ire c tly . F o r o th ­ ers, it reim burses them a certain p o rtio n o f the u tility costs. B y the co m p le tio n o f the program , B P I w ill have distributed alm ost $400,000, helping to guarantee o f v irtu a lly a ll e lig ib le ch ild re n by 1994. Even in a tim e o f d e fic it re d u ctio n - inspired austerity, lawm akers decided t o in itia te o r expand those program s be­ acuon to gradually extend M edicaid health 1 hSUra,nf e ^ ° lhat a11 P0 0 ' Children W in uJumately be covered by subsidized health come fa m ily ’s liv in g expenses, and could, u ltim a te ly , cause homelessness due to the added burden, the Federal D epart­ F o r some lo w -in co m e clients in the B u m s id c /D o w n to w n area, B P I ch ild re n w ill be able to attend Head Start classes next year, and Congress author- ized future increases to a llo w e n ro llm e n t use those resources i fo an u Urban Marshall u i r on iu a ii iviarsnail Plan that prepares disadvantaged people . open once again on D ecem ber first. R ecognizing that u tility b ills eat up a tance represents the d iffe re n ce between them staying w arm and d ry and facing u tility sh u t-o ffs, possible e victio n s and J a c o b A n o th e rste p fo rw a rd w a sC o n g re ss’ Burnside Project’s Low -Incom e Energy Assistnace Program (L E A P ) w ill T- Photography Information that P o rtla n d ’s very p o o r w ill not risk th e ir health and w e ll-b e in g and w ill be able to liv e independently. R ecogniz­ ing that the firs t w ay to solve homeless­ ness is to prevent it, and that assistance w ith u tility costs w ill a vo id the trauma o f being forced on the streets, B P I stays envelope All sea ted design display ads become the sole property of this newspaper and can no be used .n other publications or personal usage, w i ^ o u t k w r i t t e n ^ X f « £ co m m itte d to ensuring the a v a ila b ility o f these services. H ow ever, the agency & O OO per year in the Tri-County area $25 00 all other areas. . Observer - Oregon's Oldest African-American Publication - is a member of The National Newspaper Association - Founded in 1885, and The National Advertis mg Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc , New York, NY strong c h ild care b ill through the C o n ­ gress, i t passed a blo ck grant program fo r Energy Assistance Program Resurfaces ^ ™ * SJ ER: S* nd Addr* M Chang«» «<»: P ortland Observer. p .o Box 3137 0*Th2