Page 2 The Portland Observer April 24, 1991
The Mourning Of Men In Blue Falls
To Stir Public Sympathy For Gates
P E R S P E C T IV E S
I by Professor McKinley Burt
L.A.’s Police Chief Awakens to a New And Colder Morning
Conclusion of a three part series by A. Lee Henderson
I r a
Glosser, ex
ecutive di
rector o f the
A m e r ic a n
Civil Liber
ties Union
has warned
us to be
wary o f po
lice controls
exacted in
Dr. A. Lee Henderson the name o f
d r u g
search. Often used as a cover-up fo r al
lowing drug Enforcement an invasion
o f privacy, Glasser released some star
tling statistics. He noted, “ The Drug
Entorcement Administration was caught
not long ago maintaining computer files
on more than 1.5 million persons, in
cluding congressmen, entertainers,
clergy, industry leaders and foreign
dignitaries. By the DEA’s own admis
sion, many of these files were created
on the basis of 'unsubstantiated allega
tions,’ with only five percent of those
people actually under investigation as
suspected narcotics traffickers.”
I am not fearful...except for the
unseen, the future that lurks in the shad
ows of the abrogation of civil rights.
I am determined, fearlessly, to trans
form the unseen to the seen future on
the basis of what we do, and we will do
it now.
I would not like to dwell on the
haunting memories of the past, but it s
appropriate to turn for reference to the
slaughter of Attica... a prison mass as
sault in 1971 in response to the uprising
at the Attica Correctional Facility...which
will go to retrial this summer, 1991.
The federal courts have, at long
last, allowed the class-action suit
“ brought on behalf of some one thou
sand two hundred inmates involved in
the 1971 uprising...to go to trial.”
The three defendants were not suc
cessful in their struggle to avoid trial.
William M. Kunstler, vice presi
dent and volunteer staff attorney at the
Center for Constitutional Rights re
ports:
“ 1 was one of the observers re
quested by the inmates who watched
state troopers, correctional officers, and
sheriff s deputies stream into the prison
that morning, some shouting, “ Save
me a nigger!” and who heard the crackle
of gunfire over the noise o f the rotors of
the hovering helicopters, which had
already dropped their load of Mace
like gas. I will never forget the anguish
and bitterness that I, and my colleagues,
felt. For four days, our hastily assembled
and disparate group had tried to pre
vent just such a denouncement. Our
failure was horribly illustrated by the
corpses of twenty-nine prisoners and
ten hostages, all killed by state-issued
double-0 buckshot and dumdum bul-
Black Law Firm Wins One
Of The Largest
Medical Malpractice
Settlements In The Nation:
$22.8 Million For Botched Circumcision
One of the nation’s largest black
law firms celebrated its 20th anniver
sary recently by settling a S20 million
plus medical malpractice suit. Thomas,
Kennedy, Sampson Edwards & Patter
son has just settled a $22.8 million law
suit against Atlanta’s foremost obstetric
facility, Northside Hospital on behalf of
a black 5 year old boy whose penis was
severely and permanently damaged
during a routine circumcision proce
dure on the day of his birth. Thomas G.
Sampson, co-counsel for the boy and his
parents alleged that the hospital used
improper equipment to perform the
circumcision.The child will require
extensive surgery over the next ten years
as well as psychological counseling.
Sampson says the boy lost a significant
portion of his penis due to the hospital’s
negligence and that he will never to able
to function sexually as a normal male.
Sampson, in conjunction with Wil
lie F. Gary of Stuart, Florida engineered
the massive structured settlement against
the hospital, one of the largest medical
malpractice settlements in Georgia’s
history.
Sampson and his 20 year old firm
are familiar with large settlements. They
orchestrated a 52 million settlement
against the State of Georgia in 1988 on
behalf of two black deaf girls who were
allegedly molested on a school bus trip.
The firm set a record at the time for the
highest settlement against the State.
The firm handles cases involving
most areas of the la w, running the gam ut
from products liability, to sports and
entertainment, to domestic relations. The
firm has also been involved in civil
rights litigation, particularly through
out the 1960’s and 1970’s. Sampson
and the firm have a strong background
in defense litigation, representing such
clients as General Motors, Coca Cola,
Ford Motor Co., State Farm Insurance,
Monsanto, K-Mart and Atlanta’s mass
transit authority (MARTA). With five
partners and thirteen attorneys, it is one
of the three largest minority-owned firms
in the southeast United States.
CREED OF THE BLACK PRESS
1 lie Black Press bdletcs that America can best lead Uic world away from social and
naUonal antagonisms when It accord« to every person, regardless of race, color, or
creed, full human and legal rights, llallng no person, fearing no person, the Black
Press strives to help e> cry person In the firm better that all arc hurt as long as anyone
Is held back.
portla N dobserver
(USPS 959-680)
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lets.
“ We had no way of knowing that
the authorities who planned the assault
had failed to provide adequate medical
resources for the inevitable wounded
after the shooting stopped. ...Now for
the first time it will be possible to lift
the curtain drawn over Attica for too
many years and expose how easy it was
for men to shed the veneer o f civiliza
tion and step back into the primor
dial...”
Kunstler says he wants these les
sons to “ extend far beyond Attica’s
walls and watchtowers.”
The pages of history are already
charred with its American version of a
police-tolerable Black Holocaust.
The crime against Rodney King
has reminded us that unless we stop
“ It” now, it absolutely can, from the
horror pages of Sinclair Lewis’ novel
translate to a police state reality... “ IT
CAN HAPPEN HERE.”
Heed the writing on the wall be
fore it’s too bloody late.
We deserve the finest men and
women in blue...trained even as they
were trained during the Persian Gulf
War...to survive against a hostile ad
versary, together, color notwithstand
ing.
If we can do it in wartime we
should be able to do it in peacetime.
Let history repeat itself as we cre
ate a homefront worthy of ourselves.
Clinic Offers Free
Health Check-Ups
For Kids
Western States Chiropractic Col
lege is sponsoring a free health check
up for children from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.,
Saturday, May 4,1991 at its Outpatient
Clinic, 2900 NE 132nd Avenue in
Portland. The screening will include a
spinal examination and scoliosis evalu
ation for children to the age of 16.
The comprehensive exam also
includes screening of the eyes, ears,
and throat by interns at the clinic. Par
ticipants will receive a written report
and referrals to other health care spe
cialists if necessary. Appointments are
required and may be made by calling
255-6771.
African Americans
Treated Unfairly By
Kuwaiti Government
The Kuwaiti Government offers
African Americans an equal opportu
nity to fight and die but not to partici
pate in the economic development dollars
being spent to rebuild their country.
With the Liberation of Kuwait
achieved, Big Business and Japanese
Corporations are letting minority firms
know that now its back to business as
usual. While a disproportionate num
ber of of African American and other
minority Americans risked their lives
to win freedom for Kuwait, major
amcrican corporations positioned them
selves to swallow whole the develop
ment dollars that are presently being
spent to reconstruct kuwaits’s infra
structure and economy. The reconstruc
tion effort does not involve any African
American companies. So its back to
business as usual or “ no business as
usual” for minority owned companies.
To date only large major corpora
tions have been announced as awardees
of these contracts to rebuild Kuwiat.
To add insult to injury, Japanese
corporations are also placing themselves
to carve out a large hole in rebuilding a
country they did not spill one drop of
blood or sweat to liberate. In addition,
we have learned that there is some
hesitation on the part of the Japanese
Government to honor their financial
commitment made to the Kuwait ef
fort. To the contrary, during the seven
month period that the war was raging,
we believe the Japanese were prepar
ing the next generation of computers
and automobiles for the Kuwaitis to
purchase. How long must we pay?
Concerned Americans need to write
to the
Embassy of Kuwait
2940 Tilden St.N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
or call 202-966-0702
Kuwait has announced plans to
award contracts for reconstruction in
proportion to each country’s effort in
the war. The United States will therfore
receive the lion’s share. We believe
that same standard should be carried
over to ensure that minority Ameri
cans, who proportionally served in
greater numbers among military serv
ice personnel, will receive the same
consideration.
Thank you for taking time to sup
port our efforts
Will A DropOut
Lose Out?
We had better get ready to answer
this question, and in a hurry. It is not
just from our state legislature (Vera
Katz) and newly-energized regional task
forces that we have cries for sweeping
educational reform; but from the white
House, Congress and industry-both
liberal and conservative establishments.
There seems to be one pervasive con
cept integral to all their projections and
it could prove devastating for the future
of minorities in this country.
For the first time in this century
(since America became primarily ur
ban), very important and influential
elements of our society are renouncing
the hallowed, egalitarian principle
underlying American education and
economics. And this is the belief that
all have been endowed with intrinsic
abilities to achievc-as well as with
“ certain inalienable rights.” But now,
the aforementioned establishment has
built into its European and Japanese-
inspired projections the most rigid and
structured TRACKING system ever con
templated.
Our specific concern is that all of
these “ Year 2000” programs mandate
that there will be convenient DROP
OUT STATIONS at the 10th and 12th
grades. In light of the existing situation
in respect to the education of African
American children it is not difficult to
project who will be put off the learning
train at what station. The ‘defacto* drop
out has been with us all the time so why
should we suppose that the establish
ment will suddenly move from rhetoric
to structured ’upscale basics’.
Today’s ‘front page’ article ad
dresses other issuers raised by this “ Year
2000” bandwagon. But, here, I would
have you note that in the last month or
so I have consistently cited modes of
‘parental involvement’ that have been
proven to equip them to enhance their
childrens’ performance in school. The
last two weeks in particular I have re
lumed to my ‘motivational’ theme, em
phasizing the early African contribu
tions to the world’s culture and technol
ogy; “ Issac Newton; Black History
Student & The ancient African Public
Library.
This technique and the “ Role
M odel” approach are going to be ever
so critical as a driving force to establish
the ‘IDENTITY’ mindset that will al
low black youth to engage in the learn
ing process. It is strange that we have so
many blacks (among others) who can
not understand this, and bewail the fact
that their programs are being over
whelmed by escalating losses-dropouts,
gang activities. They don’t seem to com
prehend that if the schools are not doing
it-and if there is not a coherent family
structure present to build self-esteem-
then their programs must incorporate
th s thrust as an essential feature. You
can’t must ‘say’ this is family.
I note that when I was moved from
the building which became the site of
the UMOJA Gang rehabilitation Pro
gram, eight or nine black and white
teenagers were assigned to pack up an
carry the many scores o f crates contain
ing my library. Carrying on the usual
conversation and exchange I .ilwavs
inspire with kids, it did not take long la
identify their interests (or lack of them).
While their motivational
profile was typical for ‘dropouts’, I
was able to get three interested in the
role models in my book, Black Inven
tors of America. They had not the vagu
est idea that men and women of color
had invented so many of the technical
wonders around them or that many of
them were “ DROPOUTS” .
One, who abandoned school be
cause he just couldn’t understand math” ,
as amazed at the revelation that ‘ ‘Afri
cans developed the binary math used by
todays’ computer” I showed him in
twenty minutes and he is back in school.
Another of that trio will be a freshman
at the University of Oregon this fall. I
told this incredulous young man that I
had entered law school after passing the
entrance exam as a “ high school drop
out” .
This was followed up by showing
him the black history models of early
African American educational system-
in the books on my shelves. He soon
realized that he had no excuses.
Next week I will cite several exem
plary models o f African American Sci
entists who never saw the inside of a
university but who became world-re
nown in their field. Perhaps you can use
them to motivate some black youth
who has not learned who he is or to
dream. Or who has been “ tracked” by
the “ Year 2000” enthusicists
Commission Approves $36 Million Reduction In US West Rates
The Oregon Public Utility Com
mission decided today that US WEST
Communications should reduce its
Oregon rates by about $36 million
annually, with an additional $8 million
one-year temporary reduction. The
commission is expected to issue and
order on the PUC staff-recommended
reduction within a week, even though
there will be no immediate changes in
customer rates.
The new rates will be effective
within 15 days after the commission
decides one way or another on a US
WEST request for an alternative form
of regulation, which is expected later
this year.
The Alternative Form of Regula
tion (AFOR) plan, proposed by US
WEST to the commission in 1988, would
change the way many of the company’s
telephone services are regulated. Among
the changes the company proposed are
the price listing of non-essential serv
ices, such as call forwarding, call wait
ing and various line connections used
mainly by business customers.
These changes, which US WEST
says it needs to provide these services
competitively, would allow the com
pany to vary prices within a range with
a maximum limit set by the PUC.
Legislation approved in 1987 al
lows the PUC to be more flexible in
regulating telecommunications services
if it determines that customers will
benefit
The PUC staff has been analyzing
US WEST rates in this case for the past
three months. The staff concluded that
rates should be reduced because exist
ing rates are based on earlier years,
when the company’s Oregon revenues
and expenses were different. A more
appropriate rate schedule is possible by
using 1990 data as a base to set future
rates.
AMALGAMATED PUBLISHERS, INC.
PORTUWOBSERVER
Are • The • Proud • Sponsors • Of
Reinvestments
Community
Spike Lee's Mo' Better Than Ever
With Latest Film and Book
By Angelique Sanders
Slumped on the front porch,
gentle jazz-cntcrtainingly, not dis-
tractingly, loud-spilling from the house,
ignored burning cigarette in the
ashtray...that is the way to approach
Spike Lee’s latest book, Mo' Better Blues.
Though the book is not solely
written by S p ik c -it is co-authored by
Lisa Jones, and contains many personal
accounts as perceived by co-w orkcrs-
cvcry page breathes “ Spike Lee” , from
movie clip photos, to actors' recounts o f
on-set relations. The pictures—all 150
o f thcm-similarly arc of die Spike mood:
self-contained, coolv reflective, sym
bolic. Each conveys an intense human
emotion, and in the Spike tradition, that
mood is generally not oblivious happi
ness. For example, a photograph o f
Denzel Washington and Cynda Williams
(two members o f a four-way love rela
tionship: Washington, W illiam s, Joic
Lee, and Washington's trumpet) em
bracing, shows Washington holding his
tmmpct symbolically between them. An-
otlier, o f Washington-” Blcck Gilliam” -
onstage, is not taken from the traditional
vantage o f directly in front o f the band,
but from among audience members, to
heighten mood.
Do not confuse the book as an
attempt to re-cap the movie and put it
into perspective; rather it enhances your
understanding o f how the actors tried to
personify the script, their relations with
one another, and how and why the crew
went about effects in the ways that they
did. It also, and most importantly, gives
I
you a feel o f who Spike really is. The
book is no substitute fo r 'he movie (a
viewer understands Spike two minutes
into his first scene); it is simply a good
supplement. I f you have the opportunity
to read it, wait until after you ’ vc seen the
movie so the outcome is a surprise:
otherwise, it ’ s as frustrating as sitting
next to a vocal person who’ s seen it. The
book w ill be released August 12.
The movie w ill be a flashback
to Spike’ s past three successes only in
the sense o f characters and the crew:
everything else about this innovative
film breaks the Spike mold o f films
about racial injustice. This film is not as
powerful in plot as it is in characteriza
tion: it ’ s moving in that Spike has cap
tured a true slice o f Black life, some
thing so rare to find, d ie is unafraid to
use non-Blacks, but he realizes the need
for a film that African Americans can
relate to.
The movie was slow to “ get
going” but this time was needed to build
the emotion. Characterization was prac
tically automatic, due to the skill o f
Spike and his understanding o f Black
life. W ith help o f flawless costuming
and Spike’ s trademark, liberal ad lib
bing, the actors had no problems illus
trating the characters. Everyone could
laugh at and relate to the stereotypical
managcr/bcst fricnd/crook Giant (Spike
Lee); the crooked owners o f the club
(which was symbolically named “ Be
neath the Underdog” ) which were hu
man echos, neither ever saying anything
o f substance. Shadow (Wesley Snipes)
was the saxophonist trying to steal the
show, hogging anything from solo time
to money to female attention. The pian
ist, Left-Hand Laccy (Giancarlo Espos
ito, whom you might remember from
Do the Right Thing) was a wh'incy
homcslicc with a ditzy French girlfriend.
A lot o f "fre e tim e” was
splashed into the flick, scenes that didn’ t
build the plotorcharactcrization,bullet
the audience sit back and laugh; unnec
essary subplots such as a quick listen to
Bullcrbcan’ s comedy or Spike Lee te ll
ing a ridiculous story about childhood
loosened the overly taught mood. The
photography was extremely experimen
tal, but amazing: an argument scene
found the camera whizzing between the
arguers, rather than being shut o ff and
on; a bicycle-riding scene found the
camera bumping along as i f on a bike;
the confusion o f a fight scene was cap
tured by a staggering cameraman. The
sound effects were sim ilarly effective:
Clarke’ s voice in one scene fades out to
nothing in relation to music, as i f repre
sentative from within Bieck’s mind; cha
otic, tense jazz enhanced a fight scene.
The movie might not have
measured up to 1989’ s D o the Right
Thing in intensity or in its effect upon
society, but the methodology and qual
ity still was terrific. It is a powerful
Black film in a white market, but it w ill
succeed because o f its strength. The
mostly white audience that made up my
fellow viewers were all moved, demon
strating once again that quality is qual
ity, regardless o f race.
"Reinvestments in the Community" is a weekly column appearing
in API publications throughout the USA.
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