I*age 2-"The Portland Observer— May 8, 1991
CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
“African American Males Are Not The Problem”
BY BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS, JR.
D uring the last several years there
has been a grow ing emphasis on the
plight an d co n d itio n so f African A m eri
can m ales in the United Stales. To be
sure there are serious and life threaten
ing circum stances confronting African
A m erican m ales and the situation ap
pears to be getting worse.The incar
ceration and homicide rates of African
A m erican m ales continue to escalate.
In som e urban areas the drop-out rate of
A frican A m erican males from high
school is now over fifty percent. Yes,
these realities and others being revealed
point to a critical situation.
In response there have been na
tional conferences, seminars, workshops
and prayer services;all which we sup
p o rt Virginia Governor, Douglas Wilder,
and other A frican American leaders are
now participating in a federal com m is
sion concerning the plight o f African
A m erican males. We support all efforts
to respond to the deteriorating social
condition o f African American males.
US A TO D AY issued a special new
report entitled “ Young Black Males
Increasingly Are At Risk.” The report
concluded that “ With econom ic o p
portunities dwindling, family life dis
integrating and slayings reaching an all
high, the American dream o f opportu
nity has become a nightmare for many
young black m en.”
There is a growing debate about
the developm ent o f special schools for
young African American males. But,
while this debate occurs, the reality is
that more than 25% o f all African
American males continue to be incar
cerated between the ages o f 18 and 29.
We support the efforts o f the Rev.
W intley Phipps o f W ashington, D.C. to
convince political and corporate lead
ers to take concrete steps to provide re
sources and programs designed to pro
vide African American males “ vision,
values, and vehicles of opportunity.”
Dr. Ida Mukenge, the executive
director o f the M orehouse Research
Institute in Atlanta, G eorgia asserted,
“ This problem will not be solved in a
single generation...It is a national crisis
not ju st limited to African American
males. They are not men in isolation;
they are men in society.” We believe
that Dr. M ukenge has put her finger on
the essential point and place where
more attention needs to be focused. In
other words, any attem pt to resolve or
solve the problems associated with the
plight o f African American males does
not deal with the systemic social and
racial inequities of the society at large
is an attem pt in futility.
We caution against the oversim
plification o f the difficulties that be
siege African A merican males and
fem ales in this society.
African American males are not
the problem. The problem is a racist
and exploitative society that seeks to
blame the victims for their victim iza
tion.
Y es, we must provide “ social serv
ices ’ ’ and programs for African A m eri
cans and all others who are in need of
help, but a failure to recognize the
necessity for demanding ‘ ‘social change
an transform ation” o f fundamental
structure o f this society perpetuates the
real problem.
Letter To The Editor;
The real crime against the people?
All o f us here in N.E. Portland are
gravely concerned about the brutality
and senselessness of gang violence and
the ever growing drug problem. O f
course even more aware, are those o f us
with children. I m yself have three teen
agers o f my own.
M ore and more o f us m edical pro
fessionals have bought property here,
either in the past or recently to be close
to our work places; such as Emanuel
Hospital, The American Red Cross and
K aiser Perm ante, and others. W e are
here to enjoy the big older homes, be
close to our jobs, and m ake a com fort
able, place for our fam ilies to live and
grow.
M oving here, with more of us to
com e, has brought property values up,
pushed neighbors to clean up their blocks,
and begin again to have pride in their
hom es, as well as begin to spirit stand
ing up for themsevles against gangs
and drugs in the neighborhood.
The crim e I w ant to address is on a
bigger scale! W orking long hours, and
even on regular days off, all o f us want
to feel able to shop in our close neigh
borhood markets. The threat o f vio
lence is not the issue today, the crime
I’m more concerned with is that against
the many helpless people who are locked
in this area. W hether because o f lack of
transportation, low income, minority
discrimination, as well as lack of knowl
edge, they are forced to shop at Safeway
on M artin Luther King Blvd., and Fred
M eyers on Interstate, to point to the
m ost guilty.
Like clock work, during the weeks
of the 1st and 15th ofeach month, these
neighborhood markets prey on the low
income, food stamp receipiants, as well
as those on other fixed incomes. Prices
are raised on most common sold items,
double, even triple the prices sold dur
ing the o ff weeks. All consum ers are
valuable, but the ones who are already
under hardship, are forced to pay even
more. This kind o f discrim ination has
got to stop if we expect a change to
begin at all, they’ve suffered enough.
The rich continue to get fatter, and the
poor remain down. Is that A m erica’s
motto? Keep them in one area. Many
people have begun to believe so.
All o f us who live here and are
able, refuse to spend our hard earned
money in our own neighborhood, until
this injustice has been resolved. We all
go on to outer lying supermarkets where
prices are much lower.
If Safeway market on M.L.K. Blvd.
is in danger o f closing due to violent
crim e, the real crim e should be UN
FAIR HIGH PRICES, pushed on the
victims, the neighborhood consumers.
The step to take is making people
aware that they do n ’t have to tolerate
paying high price, anym ore than to tol
erate gangs and drugs in their streets.
Discrimination o f all forms has
gone on in Portland long enough. If it
takes a few citizens to help a group,
maybe to help themselves, then so be it.
L et’s all try a little harder. W e
aren’t leaving: Gangs will be pushed
out, drug houses will be shut down,
trash, and yards cleaned up, high prices
and harrassment of honest citizens will
not be tolerated.
We are here to stay!
Signed concerned citizen,
Kristine J. Smith
Additional note:
Believe me the recent news media
coverage at the Safeway m arket on
M .L.K. Blvd. in no way represented
the average neighborhood shopper.
M aybe they should have shown the
truth, as hard as it may be for them to
admit. The visit from our local politi
cians will not guarantee our future votes.
More On Those
Dropouts: Diamonds In
The Rough?
This week we honor another of
those com passion inspired African
American innovators whose contribu
tions so significantly furthered the
welfare, com fort and safety o f all m an
kind. Today, w eeite Vivien T.Thomas,
pioneer in the developm ent o f cardio
vascular surgery and educator o f young
surgeons (1910-)
Thomas, one of four children, was
raised in Nashville, Tennessee. This
capital city had an excellent, though,
segregated school system. There were
also several very famous ‘black col
leges, including Fisk University and
Meharry Medical College. However,
our medical pioneer was destined for
the ‘dropout track, never to earn a single
college credit over an illustrious ca
reer. A little more fortunate than our
last w eek’s inventor, G arrett A. M or
gan, Mr. Thomas finally was able to
finish Pearl High School in 1929 (Ear
lier, I have cited the 10th and 12th
grades as the FAVORITE DROPOUT
STATIONS in the new “ tracking pro
grams designed for our urban ‘predomi
nantly black’ school districts).
It is only fortuitous circumstance
that America-and the world-did not lose
this DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH very
early on. That m etaphor occurs to me
His company specializes in epoxy
pow der coatings, a dry process that
bonds material to metals and provides a
more durable coating than paint. A p
plication for the product range from
insulating com puter parts to coating
miles o f fencing along state highways.
A fter the 1989 San Francisco
earthquake, all bridges and buildings
needed to be rebuilt with spiral rebar
steel. Because no shops were set up to
Should m inority children be
placed with a white family? This is
the question that was addressed at a
com m unity forum on May 3. C hil
dren’s Services Divisioin is develop
ing apolicy on transracial placements
and is seeking public input.
If you have strong feelings on
this issue, you are not alone. On one
side of the issue are people who think
that no child should be adopted out of
their racial or cultural group; that
non-m inority parents cannot help the
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SB 39, the Family Medical Leave
Bill, won Senate approval in a 21 - 9
floor vole. The Family Medical Leave
Bill, sponsored by the Oregon Bureau
o f Labor and Industries, the Oregon
School Em ployees Association and the
Oregon Public Employees Union, would
allow workers to take up to 12 weeks
unpaid leave during a tw o year time
frame to care for a critically ill or
injured parent, parent-in-law , child or
spouse. With this legislation, a worker
could take time off to attend to a family
em ergency without fear o f losing a job.
The law would cover Oregon com pa
nies em ploying 25 or more full or part-
time employees.
“ I ’m delighted the bill passed the
Senate,” comm ented Labor and Indus
tries’ Com m issioner Mary Wendy
Roberts. “ This pro-fam ily legislation
acknowledges the changing demograph
ics of the work force, it acknowledges
the im portance o f the fam ily, and it ac
know ledges the conflicts workers face
trying to reconcile the dem ands of the
work placed with the dem ands o f the
family. Citizen groups, employee groups
and a major Oregon em ployer testified
in support o f this bill. This is the time to
put our legislation where our hearts are
- with families in today’s w orld.”
SB 39 will receive a House hear
ing, which has not yet been scheduled.
“ It is my hope that this issue will be
allowed to go to a floor debated and a
floor vole in the House,” added Roberts.
“ I believe that were it put to the vote of
the people today, it would win handily.
I hope the House vote will reflect the
public support the bill has already re
ceived.”
child understand his or her culture. On
the other side are people who say there
is no evidence to suggest children are
harmed or at a disadvantage if placed
outside their ethnic group, and that
placem ent with a loving family is bet
ter than making a child w ait for a
sam e-race family.
Differing views were presented
by a panel o f speakers including Joan
Shireman and Terry Cross, Portland
State University School of Social Work;
Dr. Virginia Phillips, One Church, One
Child; Louise Calder, foster parent;
and Julie M cFarlane, Juvenile Rights
ProjecL
The public was invited to share
their ideas and concerns. C SD staff
was available to answ er questions.
The forum was Friday, M ay 3,
1991 from 1:15 to 5:00 p.m. at the
second floor auditorium o f The Port
land Building, 1120 SW Fifth, Port
land.
AMALGAMATED PUBLISHERS, INC.
PORTlAMftt^ERVER
coat spiral rebar, fish seized the oppor
tunity and redesigned his coating proc
ess to handle the job. As a result, N orth
west Industrial Coatings was able to
pow der coat all the rebar for the Bay
Area.
Family Medical
Leave Bill Wins
Senate Approval
o f a speech given by Dr. C. Rollins
Hanlon, Director, A m erican College of
Surgeons. The date was February, 1971,
and the occasion was the presentation
of his(Thoinas) portrait to the great genius
(Dr. Hanlon was this trainee m any years
earlier).
“ ...A university or any great enter
prise is a collection o f men and women.
It is their collective deeds that bring
greatness and fame to an institution, a
departm ent or a nation. Behind one man
who walks on the moon are thousands
o f technicians (dedicated) whose hearts
and souls ride in the rocket...”
“ It is my hope...that this portrait
will inspire many other technicians with
a sense o f the opportunity for true great
ness in working within these walls. As
an erstwhile mem ber o f this faculty and
on behalf o f the past and present m em
bers o f this great D epartm ent o f Sur
gery, I am honored to present to the
Johns Hopkins University and Hospital,
th is
p o rtra it
of
OUR
COLLEAGUE,Vivien T hom as.”
Surely we all realize that we cannot
rely upon similar fortuitous circumstance
to rescue our youth from the ‘inspired’
tracking o f urban youth that is planned.
There has to be both an intervention in
new experim ents in “ The M iseduca
tion o f The N egro” , and innovative
new approaches to ‘Continuing Educa
tion’ for those who drop out in any case
(There is a very expensive book about
Thomas which is said to be on sale at
only $(9.95. I ’ll have that for you next
week).
Should Minority Children Be
Placed With White Families?
SBA Gives Annual Award
Chris Fish, ow ner o f Northwest
Industrial Coatings in W hite City, has
been selected as O regon’s Small B usi
ness Person o f the Year by the U.S.
Small Business Administration. This
honor also places him in consideration
for the National Small Business Person
o f the Y ear award. He will join 49 other
state honorees in W ashington D.C. in
May to participate in a week o f Small
Business A dm inistration events.
for coincident with this writing, the
media is giving glowing accounts of a
230 carat perfect South African dia
mond which is rivaled only by the treas
ures of the British royal family. I am
sure that the irony is not lost upon you as
we consider the parallel of a cruel loot
ing o f African land and genius through
ill-disguised slavery. We cannot afford
to lose any of our “ diam onds” to any
economic or educational scheme.
The ‘medical career’ o f Vivien
Thomas began in February of 1930 when,
unable to afford college, he was taken
by a friend to the Vanderbilt Medical
school for a possible job ($12.00 a week).
The famous cardiac surgeon Alfred
Blalock, interviewed him for a position
as laboratory assistant and hired him on
the spot. Thus began a fifty year career
that leaves one incredulous, except that
it, is so well documented. Thomas rap
idly advanced to become Blalock’s chief
technician and laboratory chief. He
quickly learned to do chemical deter
m inations and to carry out physiologi
cal studies. Eventually, he learned to
operate, performing com plicated ex
perim ental cardiac operations totally
unassisted-and devising new procedures
(Pioneered the ‘Blue Baby’ operation).
Thom as later m oved to the Johns
Hopkins Medical School where he earned
international acclaim in the same ca
pacities. He helped to train the greats of
the American surgical community; Henry
Bahnson, Denton Cooley, Rolio Hanlon,
Mark Ravich, David Sabiston, et al. I
particularly like the following segment
Are • The • Proud • Sponsors • Of
Reinvestments
Community
Choosing the "Right”
Breakfast for Children
by Angelique Sanders
In these days o f the ‘ ‘do-it-al 1 ”
wom an, it is d iffic u lt to fin d enough
tim e, m oney, and patience to feed one’s
children properly.
A dd to this the additional w o r
ries o f nutrition and fla v o r-a s w ell as
misleading, often confusing advertising-
and it becomes nearly impossible. Black
w o rkin g women (and m en!) today try
hard to provide a n u tritio n a lly complete
breakfast for the little o n es-o ften at the
expense o f their ow n h e a lth -b u t some
times the ease o f je lly rolls conquers the
“ Superwoman Syndrom e” . In an effort
to provide you w ith any help I can,
here’ s what I learned from comparing
n u tritio n labels and talking to doctors
and nurses (since 1 do n ’t have any c h il
dren, and have tim e to m ill around in
stores and call hospitals!).
F irstly, something that really
surprised me was that most o f the doc
tors and nurses I talked to fo llo w the age-
old tradition o f feeding their children
eggs fo r breakfast I ’ ve been reading
lately that cholestrol is not as bad as
everyone seems once to have thought.
This m ig h t account for eggs' slow ly
rising popularity in the last year or so.
They do make a good meat substitute,
w ith sim ilar protein content yet less fat;
but, somehow, any advertisement for
food that sim ply says it ’ s “ incredible,
A
1 I
edib le" is ju s t not encouraging.
A ll the doctors/nurses also told
me they include a bread/grain food group
item ; nam ely, one o f the fo llo w in g :
A ) T oast. It's fast and easy.
Go lig h t on the " to p p in g s " , and choose
a whole gTain bread rather than w hite
(w hite has many vitam ins bleached out)
i f the kids w ill eat i t
B ) Pancakes. These are okay
i f you fo llo w the above rules: few top
pings (try trading blueberries or straw
berries fo r syrup; cream cheese for
butter), and whole grain flo u r/m ix over
white.
C ) C e rea l. C o ld cereal seems
to be preferred over hot; also, children
tend to lik e it better. Cereals thatcontain
fiber or oat-bran is a plus (even though
the extent o f the positive affects o f oat
bran has not yet been proven). Steering
clear o f sugar is ideal, but most youths
need a m id-w ay com prom ise: instead o f
their frosted flakes, instead o f your shred
ded wheat, how about Cheerios? One
pediatrics hospital said that is what they
feed their patients, and the kids don’ t
com plain.
O f course, all doctors recom
mended fru it, and some preferred y o
g u rt-h ig h fat, but rich in c a lciu m -a s a
good breakfast item .
As for bacon o r sausage, it is
acceptable in m in o r quantities.
Tobacco Co.
Launches New
Initiatives
to discourage
Smoking Among
Youth
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and its
fe llo w members o f the Tobacco Institute
today announced new in itiative s to dis
courage young people from sm oking.
‘ ‘W e d o n ‘t wan l young people to smoke,
and we do n ’ t market ou r products to
young people,” said James W . Johnston,
chairman and ch ie f executive o ffic e r o f
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. “ The T o
bacco Institute’ s new program w ill make
it more d iffic u lt fo r children to have
access to cigarettes, and we support it
w holeheartedly,” he said.
The new in itia tive s expand the sys
tem o f voluntary restraints the tobacco
industry has adhered to fo r nearly 20
years.
"T im e and again, studies have shown
that young people cite the influence o f
friends and fa m ily as the reason they
began sm oking,” Johnston said. “ The
Tobacco Institute’ s new programs w ill
help parents counter those influences,
and w ill make it more d iffic u lt fo r c h il
dren to buy cigarettes.
“ They w ill also demonstrate what
we as an industry have said fo r years:
that we d o n ’ t m arket to children, we
d o n ’ t advertise to children and w e're
w illin g to.pu t into place volun ta ry pro*
grams that w ill help keep children from'
s m o k in g ," Johnston said.
Reinvestments in the Community" is a weekly column appearing
in API publications throughout the USA.