Page 8 The Portland Observer August 21, 1991
Martin Luther King, Jr. Choir
Was Columbus
A Hero?
Name Calling
continued from fro n t page
been that the issue evokes an entire
spectrum o f negative com m ents or,
e q u a lly o fte n , ju s t p la in in d iffe re n ce .
Except, o f course, when yo u are ta lk in g
w ith those w e ll up on th e ir B la ck H is ­
tory.
Here, you w ill be q u ickly reminded
that the A fric a n A m e rica n h isto ria n ,
Ivan Van Sertim a, has docum ented that
C olum bus was a late com er to the
A m ericas in his b o o k, “ T hey Cam e
B efore C o lu m b u s .” It is a fa ct that the
better-trained European historians have
alw ays know n that w hen C o lum bus
sent back to the Spanish assayers the
metal arrowheads used b y the n ative
peoples o f the Caribbean, they were
fou n d to be o f the exact same p ro p o r­
tions o f a llo y as those used by W E S T
C O A S T A F R IC A N S .
A n d in C entral A m e ric a are fo u n d
scores o f massive 20-ton heads carved
fro m granite w h ic h not o n ly have A f r i ­
can features, b u t the co iffu re s o r head-
ress are the exact same as those a d orn­
ing W est A fric a n scrulptures - and are
exact replicas o f East Indian sculptures
o f B uddha fou n d in the “ Ganges’ ’ w h o
conquered the area in pre-Biblical times.
(See books and photographs b y J. A .
Rogers, and in V an S ertim a’ s “ Journal
o f A fric a n C iv iliz a tio n s .” )
All 145 choir members of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Choir have a rehearsal
at King School on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 27 and 28, at 11:00 a m.
sharp There will be a concert and pizza party on August 29 at 6:00 p. m. Choir
members must be at the rehearsal in order to attend the pizza party.
Thank You, Portland Observer
D ear E d ito r:
O n b e h a lf o f the P a cific U n iv e rs ity
Cascade C am pus F a m ily V is io n C en­
ter I w o u ld lik e to thank the s ta ff o f the
P o rtla n d O bserver fo r th e ir e ffo rts in
p ro m o tin g the v is io n care services
a va ila b le at P a c ific ’ s Cascade V is io n
Center fo r residents o f North and N orth­
east P ortland.
T he O bserver has show n excep­
tio n a l c o m m u n ity support through the
p u b lis h in g o f news a rticles announcing
the a v a ila b ility o f free v is io n screen­
ings and lo w cost vis io n care at the
Cascade F a m ily V is io n C enter. In par-
tic u la r, O bserver s ta ff have made o u t­
standing efforts in prom oting the availa­
b ility o f free back-to-school v is io n
I w o u ld m ake one m ore com m ent
on the * ‘ discovery ” o f this c o n tin e n t by
C olum bus. T h o r H eyerdahl, the e m i­
nent N o rw egian e xp lo re r and archae­
ologist ( “ K o n -T ik i” ), has demonstrated
a num ber o f tim es w ith voyages o f his
o w n , that A fric a n navigators co u ld eas­
ily reach the A m ericas in the reed crafts
fo r w h ich they have been fam ous fo r
m illin e u m s — even in the B ib le . So w ho
are the “ heroes,” we ask.
screenings w h ic h are now a va ila b le at
the Cascade C enter fo r in n e r-c ity c h il­
Cascade
C am pus F a m ily V is io n C enter at 240-
then they get “ stu ck” w ith the w rong
k in d o f B la c k leaders. Leonard Jeffries,
no less than L o u is Farrakhan, A1
tural Festival in w h ich he said, among
other things, that Jews and Ita lia n s were
responsible fo r the racist sterotypes o f
Sharpton, and Lenora F u la n i, is not the
B la ck People in the m o vie s, and that
Jews had p a rtia lly financed the A fric a n
slave trade.
The H isto ry D epartm ent at C ity
C ollege - lik e most u n ive rsity history
departments — has been ta lk in g about
C hristopher C olum bus and the “ d is ­
c o v e ry ” o f A m e rica n fro m a E urocen­
tric p o in t o f vie w fo r decades, but the
w hite establishm ent has never co m ­
plained. The tru th is that w h ite suprem ­
acy is so deep-rooted that Eurocen­
trism is supposed to be the same as “ the
truth. ’ ’ The H is to ry D epartm ent should
re a lly be called the W hite H isto ry
makes things a w kw a rd fo r the Dem o­
crats - it is to th e ir advantage to push
fo r m ore openness, m ore in clu sio n . B u t
“ good B la c k ” they im agined w o u ld
come o nto the stage as o u r society
opened up. B u t w h o else d id they e x­
pect w o u ld be heading up an A fric a n
A m erican Studies D epartm ent in 1991
- the academic version o f B ill Cosby?
Those days are over!
D r Fred N ew m an, the Jewish man
w h o managed m y 1988 Presidential
cam paign and w h o is m y very dear
frie n d , is - o b vio u sly - stro n g ly op­
posed to a n ti-S e m itism . B u t w h o de­
fines it? H e says that “ Jews need to
learn som ething m ore about w h ite
suprem acy. W e should be supporting
the B la ck c o m m u n ity w hen i t ’ s under
attack, no m a tte r w h a t the c irc u m ­
the kindness o f their hearts, o r sudden
enlightenm ent, but in response to mass
action in the streets and on the ca m ­
puses and some lib e ra l foundations
‘ w illin g ’ to fund new programs. T h e y
conceded open adm issions and tid b its
lik e B la ck Studies departments. B ut
now there are A fric a n A m e rica n p ro ­
fessors w h o — instead o f going along
w ith the idea that these departm ents are
ju s t fo r show -- are te llin g the h yp o ­
c ritic a l lib e ra l racists: T m no token.
I ’ m go in g to te ll it lik e I th in k i t is,
w hether you lik e it o r n o t!” ’
The liberals d e fin ite ly do not lik e
it!
M e a n w h ile another C ity C ollege
professor, one M ich a e l L e v in — w ho
lik e D r. Newm an is Jewish but whose
“ so u l” is as w h ite suprem acist as that
o f any K lansm an (he ro u tin e ly throw s
up “ theories” o f B la ck in fe rio rity in
his classes) - has rushed to the defense
o f Professor Jeffries, presum ably hop­
ing to co ve r his ow n behind w ith the
cover o f academic freedom . B u t D r.
N ew m an refuses to buy i t
“ L e v in should be th ro w n o u t on
his ass!” he to ld a reporter b lu n tly .
The P sychology D epart­
be the W hite P sychology
-- because the w ay they
subjects and ju s t about
stances.,”
D r. N ew m an doesn’ t believe P ro­
fessor Jeffries is speaking as an a n ti-
Sem ite, b u t that he is saying w hat he is
course there is anti-S em itism and a
everything else is profoundly anti-people
saying because he believes it to be true.
A n d , he p o in ts out, i t ’ s n o t unreason­
against Jews. B u t L e v in is a racist and
Departm ent.
m ent should
D epartm ent
teach those
o f co lo r, not to m ention a n ti-w o m a n ,
anti-g a y, and a n ti-w o rk in g class.
T h is past Sunday m ore than 500
people m arched fro m the C ity C ollege
able to think that there are certain Jewish
campus up on 138th Street through the
tio n a lize d racism . T h a t doesn’ t mean
heart o f H a rle m to dem onstrate th e ir
support fo r P rofessor Jeffries. He has
the support o f the A fric a n A m erican
co m m u n ity - and rig h tly so. I t ’ s not
that we agree w ith o r support every­
th in g that Leonard Jeffries says. W h a t
A m erican c o m m u n ity is co n tra d icto ry.
5319.
Steven F letcher
D ire c to r o f C o m m u n ity R elations
P a cific U n iv e rs ity C o lle g e o f O p-
The attacks have focused on a ta lk
Professor Jeffries gave last m onth at
the E m pire State B la ck A rts and C u l­
w ith that.
A s w e approach the end o f this
century, the situ a tio n o f the A fric a n
screenings and lo w cost v is io n care to
U n iv e rs ity
O u r p o sitio n has c le a rly been strength­
ened by the success o f D a vid D in kin s,
Jesse Jackson, Reverend Sharpton,
M in is te r Farrakhan and m yse lf. T h is
ite, and the c o m m u n ity does n o t agree
Northeast Portland w ho desire free vision
F u la n i
Professor Leonard Jeffries, the chair­
man o f ihe A fric a n A m e rica n Studies
Departm ent at the C ity C o lle g e o f New
Y ork, is being targeted as an anti-Semite
by an u nholy alliance o f rig h t wingers
and co w a rd ly liberals, in c lu d in g the
governor o f N ew Y o rk , M a rio C uom o.
that everyone in the co m m u n ity neces­
sa rily agrees w ith him - t h e issue is that
he is being singled o u t as an a n ti-S e m ­
dren.
W e urge residents o f N o rth and
a ll the P a c ific
by D r. L e o n o r a
interests w h ic h co n tro l certain in s titu ­
tions that have p a rticip a te d in in s titu ­
we do support are any and a ll attempts
to transform and open up an educa­
tio n a l system that is ra cist through and
through, up and dow n, fro m kin d e rg a r­
ten to graduate school.
“ T w e n ty -fiv e years ago the lib ­
eral academic establishment began open­
ing up the un ive rsitie s to o ther p oints o f
v ie w ,” D r. N ew m an to ld a reporter
recently. “ T h e y w e re n ’ t a ctin g o u t o f
W hy? “ Because he is n 't B la c k ,” said
D r. N ew m an. “ I t ’ s not the same. O f
long, vicio u s history o f oppression
he has lousy logic. M a lc o lm taught us
that i f the slave happens to get h old o f
the w h ip fo r a m inute and takes a few
swipes at the master, it isn ’ t the same as
the re g u la r beating o f the slave by the
master. Yes, there is anti-S em itism .
A n d yes, there is racism . B u t m a in ly
there is w hite suprem acy. U n til th a t’ s
turned around I know w here I stand.
A ll o f us need to.
D r. Len o ra F u la n i is the ch a irp e r­
son o f the N ew A llia n c e P a rty a n d a
p ra c tic in g so cia l th e ra p ist in H arlem .
She can be contacted a t the New A l l i ­
ance P a rly , 2G32 F ifth Avenue, N ew
York, N Y 10035 and a t (212)996-4700.
A letter carrier service could
deliver added safety for the elderly
and homebound.
Two US. capitals preceded the District of Columbia: New York and Philadelphia.
V ision C enter
Offers Low-Cost Care/Free Screenings
Q uality vision care based on ability to pay is avail­
able at the Pacific University Cascade Campus Family
Vision Center, located at 600 N. Killingsworth, across
the street from the Portland
Community College Cascade
Campus.
S ervices include complete
HUD HAS
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NOW!
vision exams, specialty care,
patient dispensary, and free
vision screenings for all ages.
Patients pay for services ac­
cording to individual or fam­
ily income. The Center does
include a minimum pay level
fflIBI
and most patients receive
some fee adjustment due to
limited income.
>
T he C ascade Campus Fam­
ily Vision Center is open
Tuesday,
Wednesday
and
Thursday during regular business hours. The Center
will expand to a fourth day of service this fall. For more
information, scheduling, and free vision screenings,
please cal, 240-5319.
Pacific University
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For your information:
Details, conditions, program changes and
Express Bid information on the HUD
programs are included in the classified
section of your Sunday Oregonian.
Cascade Campus Family Vision Center
600 N. Killingsworth 240-5319
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING
AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
EQUAL HOUSING
O P P O R T U N IT Y