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November 21,1990•••The Portland Observer • Page 5
Crisis In Education
BY PROFESSOR MCKINLEY BURT
he recent election in Ore­
gon held the possibility that
a double whammy might
bcinflicted upon the edu­
cation process in this state.
This is not an exaggeration. Specific ref­
erence is to two extremely volatile propo­
sitions: Measure 5 (Property Tax L im i­
tation), and Measure 11 (School Choice).
There should be no sighs o f re lie f
among education activists because only
one o f these volatile measures passed.
That says more about the convulsive
nature o f participatory government and
the (In itia tive ) process than it reflects
some conciliatory compromise reached
by the citizenry, the (double) crunch
w ould have seen on the one hand a mas­
sive reduction in school funds by tax
lim itation and on the other, school choice
w ould have brought about a logistical
nightmare for the financilly drained school
systems, and 5, the tax lim ita tio n did
pass.
So where does that leave us? W ell,
for one thing, over the years the Oregon
State Legislature has consistently refused
to come forth w ith any structured pro­
gram to address the problem o f under
financed school systems in this state -
nor has it tackled the situation o f geo­
graphical inequities in educational re­
sources available. There have been, o f
course, sporadic forays in the area o f the
T
taxpayer'sand consurmer’s pocketbook,
vizaviz sales taxes — but these have been
consistently defeated by the voters.
Now, the defeat o f these “ revenue
enhacing” measures may stem from the
fact that disillusioned voters have only
past performance upon which to evalu­
ate the 'good intentions’ their represen­
tatives in the legislature or administra­
tive bodies, they know from experience
it is the case that funds designated fo r an
announced purpose more often than not
are diverted for “ emergcncys” , or used
fo r hidden agendas, but more te llin gly,
the voters have demanded, in a ‘ read-
m y-lip s' style, an 'a d u lt’ approach to the
solution o f a problem that can further
devastate this p rim arily lumber-based
economy.
This state o f affairs does not bode
w ell fo r the host o f public servants who
are dashing about heller skelter in a
media frenzy to see who can come up the
fastest w ith New Tax Measures to plug
the dike, again, based upon previous
evalvations o f the voters, these produc­
tions may not getto’ Broadway ’ either, so
what is the answer? can we, the citizens
o f this state interact any more effectively
with our representatives in the state house
than we have been able to do w ith our
congressional delegation - given the
economic and social debucles we have at
the national level?
It was in the Oregonian fo r Septem­
ber 20, that w rite r B ill Graves furnished
the fo llo w in g quote: “ Oregon public
schools h it by a new round o f levy fa il­
ures Tuesday and facing a court chal­
lenge and initiatives to lim it property
taxes andexpand school choice, are S lip­
ping Toward Chaos,” state leaders say.
I f tw o thirds o f this dire forecast has
come true - and it has - the creek has
indeed risen over its banks, and the pro­
verbial alligators are right among us.
Now where does a ll o f this leave the
A frican Am erican parent and ch ild --
and the innercity school system, it is a
situation fraught w ith even more dan­
gers than this newspaper has outlined in
its years-long examination o f the Port­
land School System. How many o f the
‘disadvantaged’ and remedial programs
in mathematics and reading w ill be can­
celed? What w ill be the im pact upon
special programs like MESA? How much
clandestine diversions and m anipulation
w ill occur as bureaucrats scurry to save
the ship?
This is a time when more than ever
A frican American parents must be ‘on
top o f things ‘ (all parents o f course)’ and
certainly they are going to need the spe­
cial im put that A frican Am erican teach­
ers, principals and administrators can
provide, and we have got to expect/
demand the support o f our com m unity
organizations - lest the educational level
o f the m ajority o f the kids goes down­
ward rather than upward. It can be done.
It ‘ has’ to be done!
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Downtown
Nike Branch
Opens
Nike Tow n is N ik e ’s prototype
for the sporting goods store o f the fu ­
ture: part Disneyland, claims N ike, and
part sports and fitness center.
The oft-changing downtown
store opens today, Wednesday, at 11
a.m., after a prelim inary lour offered to
the press, held Tuesday and conducted
by the architect o f the building, Gordon
Thompson, as w ell as N ik e ’ s VP/M ar-
keter Tom Clarke and VP/Salesman Nick
Kartalis.
The new branch o f N ike, which
for months has been attracting attention
w ith its somewhat hidden television
screens and taped athletic noises, re­
cently swapped the intriguing look for a
more updated, industrial look in tim e fo r
the opening. The branch is located on
the comer o f Sixth and Salmon in down­
town Portland, across the street from the
slop for bus #6, M artin Luther K ing, Jr.
Boulevard, w ith parking available at the
C ity Center garage next door. Parking
passes for this garage are available through
Nike.
Further questions may be an­
swered at N ike town, 930 S.W. Sixth
(telephone number 503-221-6453; F A X
number 503-223-8577) or by calling (503)
671-3507 (N ik e ’ s public relations num­
ber) and asking fo r L iz Dolan or Barb
Audiss.
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from front page
But I do not wish to see the pain and the
he charged the Honorable Elijah Muham­
hatred continued. M a lc o lm ’ s children
mad, charged him . And a vicious en­
have lost their father. M alcolm ’ s w idow
emy, sitting back watching this, w ith
has lost her husband. There is nothing
agents on both sides feeding the fire
anybody can say or do to bring M alcolm
w ith fuel, culm inating in M alcolm 's as­
back, to ease the pain and the g rie f o f
sassination. AS a M uslim -th ere were
that fam ily. There is nothing we can do
many M u s lim ’s who that didn’ t bother.
to bring back M artin Luther K in g to his
B u lfo r m e - it bothered me[pause]. And
it bothers me to this day.
fa m ily and to his people. B ut the least
we can do is not pass on the generations
Farrakhan removed his glasses
the hatred, the pettiness, the things that
and placed them on the table. He wiped
a second round o f tears fro m his eyes.
we did in our im m aturity that helped to
He would later reveal that this was the
create the climate in w hich he could be
fir s t time he had ever cried in fro n t o f a
assassinated, that hopefully we w ill leant
reporter.
a lesson from his life and his death. God
Em erge: O bviously, this is s till a source
is allow ing it, and M a lc o lm 's name is
o f deep pain. Has it been w ith you the
being heard again, and people are going
whole w hile, a ll this time?
back and studying M a lc o lm ’ s words and
F a rra k h a n : I t ’s not just that. In the
waking up all over again. It speeds up
history o f religion, religious disputes
the general rise in the consciousness o f
have caused people to shed each other’ s
our people. I hope that you w ill forg ive
blood, k illin g one another over religion.
me [for crying], but I feel this pain, not
Some o f those disputes created d iv i­
only fo r the dead but also fo r the liv in g
sions that are a thousand years old and
and the unborn generations that have to
hatreds that are a thousand years old.
read the history and w ill be affected by
And people are s till k illin g because o f
the history. And so whatever wrongs
the lack o f respect fo r life and our w ill­
have been done, the wrongs have to be
ingness to settle our differences by tak­
corrected so that we give our children a
ing the lives o f other human beings. So
better legacy to build on than the legacy
I ’ m looking a M alcolm ’ s assassination,
o f hatred and hypocrisy and injustice
and I see the pain in not ju s t those who
that we perpetuate one against the other.
love M alcolm but the painthat continues
Em erge: I did n ’ t realize u ntil this m o­
from generation to generation, fueled by
ment that they had tried to use M alcolm
the enemy. The enemy sees Louis Far­
in that way. I knew there was a resur­
rakhan m ounting up on wings today,
gence o f interest in M alcolm , but I didn *t
rebuilding the Nation. There is no livin g
realize that they were trying to p it you
person they can bring against Louis
against him.
Farrakhan.
F a rra k h a n : N ot only is it now, but
So they say there is a resur­
M alcolm ’ s autobiography was made re­
gence o f m alcolm. But there is not a
quired reading in colleges throughout
resurgence. Somebody from the dead
the United States because the last chap­
doesn’ tg e tu p fro m the dead; somebody
ter o f his book denounces the Honorable
liv in g has to raise somebody from the
Elijah Muhammad. And anybody that
dead. Kennedy is dead. There’s no re­
becomes aware o f M alcolm through his
surgence o f Kennedy unless somebody
book falls in love w ith M alcolm , and
liv in g creates the resurgence. So there
then when they close the book they
are smart, wicked enemies who are trying
dislike the Honorable E lijah M uham ­
their best to bring M alcolm back to
mad and the Black M uslim s because
public attention, not because they want
they feel that the Black M uslim s de­
people to honor M alcolm but [because]
prived the w orld o f this giant. So when
they want to bring M alcolm back to say
you make that required reading, get
subtly now things that they never said in
everybody to read it, what are doing that
’65 when M alcolm was assassinated.
for? You never made the w ritings o f
M y name was never brought up
[Marcus] Garvey required, the w ritings
as a conspirator o r as one who may have
o f [W .E .B .] D uBois required, the w rit­
kille d or hurt M alcolm X. But because
ings o f any o f our great scholare re­
o f the crest o f p op u la rity--I’m riding
quired. W hy Malcolm, when white folks
this great wave o f popular support-now
said he was a hater, he was this, he was
the enemy wants to make Louis Farra­
that, he was a demogogue? That and all
khan the jealous, wicked heir o f M a l­
the names that Playthell Benjamin at­
colm , since I took over the mosue. I
tributed to me are the same names
d id n ’ t lake over the mosque from M a l­
members o f the press attributed to M a l­
colm ; I was ordered there by Elijah
colm , even at the time o f bis death.
Muhammad. I didn’ t scheme against
Em erge: The Playthell Benjamin ar­
my brother to get that position; I was
ticle, which one are you referring to?
given that position. N or did I scheme
The one...
aainsl W arilh Deen [Muhammad] to get
F a rra k h a n : ...in Emerge [February
where I am. I ’ m not that kind o f human
1990].
being. But here I am in this position, and
Em erge: Let me ask you something.
so the w ickedly wise devils want to
This...
bring M alcolm back, to use the growing
F a rra k h a n : Man, I didn’ t expect m y
popularity o f M alcolm against the rise
emotions to be that strong. B ut I just
o f Farrakhan. But no weapon formed
want, in honesty-A s I said to Brother
against the righteous w ill prosper. The
Akbar, there are certain painful epi­
more they elevate M alcolm , they cannot
sodes in my life that time doesn’ t heal,
help but elevate the teachings o f the
and every time I think that I ’ ve gotten
Honorable Elijah Muhammad, which
away from it, something w ill bring me
were and are the base o f M alcolm X .
back to it and let me know that the
So we are a winner, regardless, " x a w l
ih^r^
NOW'
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