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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 1991)
Page 2...The Portland Observer...September 11,1991 Inventing The Wheel All Over Again Domestic Marshall Plan Needed To Cope With The State Of Emergency In Urban America There is a defacto State of Em er gency for poor and disadvantaged people locked in inner-city urban America; a State o f Em ergency which can only be am eliorated by a massive Domestic M arshall Plan; a State of Emergency w hich can only permanently be ended through what Dr. King called a “ radi cal revolution o f values,” the em pow erm ent o f the disadvantaged and fun dam ental changes in the political and econom ic system in the U.S. There are two Americas in the U.S., one which is m ostly white, rich, powerful and privi leged and the “ other A m erica” which is m ostly Black and p eopleof color, out o f pow er, and underdeveloped. It is increasingly evident that the rich and the powerful, the privileged few who run this nation have virtually no regard for the poor and the powerless. Urban inner-city areas are plagued by depression levels of unemployment, underem ploym ent, and grinding pov erty. Bryant Gum bel noted on a recent NBC Today Show report that the un em ploym ent rate for adult Black males in one Chicago neighborhood is 50%. In many cities unem ploym ent rates in inner-city neighborhoods of 50-70% is comm onplace. The public schools have become the preserve o f the inferior education. The housing inventory is dilapidated and strained by overcrow d ing due to acute housing shortages. Hospitals and com m unity health clin ics are closing down in the face of a growing drug crisis and an escalating AIDS epidemic. A firestorm o f crime, violence and m urder of unprecedented proportions has exploded in the inner- cities of the other America. The inner- cities have becom e like Third W orld countries where the Black poor, L ati nos and other people o f color are forced to subsist like “ the wretched of the earth.” W hat is the response o f the gov ernm ent to this State o f Emergency? Private investors are scrambling to rebuild war tom Kuwait with the active encouragement of the U.S. government. And leading Democrates like Les As- pin and Richard G ephardt are prom ot ing the idea of taking money out o f the defense budget to send $3-5 billion in aid to the Soviet Union to assist that country with it’s current “ emergency.” The incentive seems to be the smell of profits in what is potentially a vast new market for U.S. corporate interests. Leading Democrats also pressed to put the Republican sponsored Free Trade Agreement with Mexico on a “ fast track.” This agreem ent is bound to drive the wages o f U.S. workers down even more rapidly and further exacer bate the crisis of drugs, crime and vio lence in the inner-cities. In the mean time there is no substantial discussion of massive aid to respond to the crises in the other America. The National Urban League has reiterated it’s call for a m odest $50 billion a year over the next decade to stop the bleeding and dying, the death and destruction o f human minds, spirits and bodies in the inner-cities of this nation. Though a more radical sys temic solution is required in my judge ment, a Domestic Marshall Plan is a good focal point to initiate a major shift in national priorities. Massive resources are needed for com m unity economic development to generate decent jobs to alleviate poverty. Com m unities must be empowered to make the critical decisions about the types o f economic options which are com patible with their needs. Resources to insure a 21st cen tury quality education in the public schools must also be a top priority. Com m unity hospitals and health care centers must be re-opened. And there m ust be a major investment in housing rehabilitation and new housing con struction under the direction o f com munity enterprises controlled by com munity residents. Regrettably, neither George Bush and the Republicans or the National Democratic Party ate likely to adopt and campaign for a Domestic Marshall Plan. The Republicans do not see the poor and disadvantaged as a part of their economic or political constitu ency. The Democrats are so heavily mortgaged and indebted to big corpo rate interests for their campaign financ ing that they are incapable o f acting with and on behalf o f the poor and disadvantaged. There are two Ameri cas and both political parties cater to the America which is mostly white, rich, powerful and privileged. The fate and future of the poor and disadvantaged, therefore, is in the hands ofthepooranddisadvantagedand those who crave for a new A m erica where there is no poor and disadvantaged. If there is to be a D omestic M arshall Plan to rescue the inner-cities from the pres ent terrible State o f Emergency, the dispossessed m ust lead the charge for it’s enactment. Perhaps the site of throngs o f poor and disadvantaged people stand ing on the tops o f tanks in the streets of A merica will get the attention o f this nation and the world! Letter to the Editor D ear Editor: I am writing this letter o f concern, and at the same time, I would like to say that I’m very appauled that busi nessmen working in our Black com munity seem to assume that any black fem ale walking down Martin Luther K ing, Jr. Blvd is either a prostitute or dope fiend. I’ve lived in Oregon on and o ff all my life. I graduated from Cen tennial High School and from there, w ent on to college. I ’m a volunteer in the community for Project for Com munity Recovery, located at Fremont/ M artin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. I was walking from there to my home when the incident occured. A white male in his late 4 0 ’s fol low ed me, heckling at me, and turning com ers until I was about a block from the Portland Observer. He accosted me in his car as if I was working the streets. I told him I was not a w h o re-m y exact words. And he in turn, began to tell me how he found me so attractive and was only admiring me. There was an older couple that pulled up next to the inci dent in process, and heard my com ments to the man as I walked in front of them. The lady leaned out the car and said “ good for you honey, you told him .” I have learned at the age o f 38 years that suppressing negative feel ings on matters in our community that are a concern need to be addressed the proper way. The old way would be to bust out windows, cuss, holler, and nothing would be done. I know today I’m not the only woman this has hap PORTLAffttfeERVER (USPS 959-680) OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established in 1970 Alfred L. Henderson Publisher Joyce Washington Operations Manager Gary Ann Garnett Business Manager The PORTLAND OBSERVER is published weekly by Exie Publishing Company, Inc. 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97211 503-288-0033 • Fax 288-0015 Deadline for all submitted materials: Articles: Monday, 5:00 pm-Ads: Tuesday, noon POSTMASTER: Send A ddress Changes to : Portland O bserver, P.O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208. Second class postage paid at Portland Oregon. The Portland Observer welcomes treelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and can not be used in other publications or personal usage, without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 1991 PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. Subscriptions.$25.00 per year. pened to. I’m a w itness as well as a victim today to this type o f thing hap pening in my community. M any tim es there are those who choose to prostitute and sell drugs, I’m not one. I find that if you report in to the police they take their own sweet time to get to the scene or many times don’t com e at all. I know today by not ad dressing the problem it does not go away nor does it get better. I carry m yself as a lady, and I don’t like being targeted as a hooker when I choose to be walk down or up Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. I will address this issue everytime it happens. Sometimes it’s not likely to addressed but, I ’m writing to you. I read the Portland Observer, it’s my com m unity news and this is going on, on a daily basis. Being a black female, we are al ways suppressed in some type of man ner. W e keep things because we don’t feel anything will be done. Today I’m tired o f not making the necessary move to correct what is not working in my com m unity and allowing it to imm obi lize me. I’m a victim in many ways. I’ve been snatched off the street, and raped last year! Nothing was done about it, because the law felt it w asn’t worth addressing. Change is upsetting and people will go to extrem es to avoid being upset. W e will avoid thinking about or discussing a problem , until it becomes too big or too urgent to ignore, and that is the problem o f women. Attacked and made a victim. At some point in their lives. And today I’m not a victim, after today but a survivor. But w hat about your daughter, your mother, or my sis ter. W hat will she do? Suppose it would have been three instead of one woman. In every crisis there is a message. The message for me is it’s still not safe on the streets and I can never forget that. But today I’m going to make it better for women like m yself who know itexists. By telling them edia w e’re sick and tired and w e’re fighting back. Sincerely, Rhonda S. “ If I’ve told you once I’ve told you a thousand tim es!” No, that’s not me speaking in arrogant erudition from Mt. O lympus - or a neighborhood mother addressing her errant child. I put it as something an exasperated M other Nature might have said to those unheeding dinosaurs happily ignoring the conditions that forecasted their iminent extenction. W hile we have been basking in the im age-building warmth o f these ac counts o f our seminal contributions to world culture via the WORD, M ATHE MATICS and SCIENCE, it may occur to some that African Americans may be equally as guilty of a failure to understand the greatest truism of cxis- tance. Its been stated in many ways, from scholarly polemics to the meanest street vernacular. Il is not, o f course, that other races or cultures, including this nation, are not being brought up short in the same manner. “ W hat goes around comes around - there is nothing new under the sun - - the only thing that changes is change- - He who does not read history is doomed to repeat it, or dejavu!” Now, what is all that about? Certainly, black people are not the only folks caught up in the seemingly endless cycles of a ‘world wheel ’ that revolves through sequences o f hope, progress and, then, back to frustration and despair; as though noth ing is to be gained from experience or education (or Civil Rights or A ffirm a tive Action). No, I’m pursuing a thought here ju st a little more practical and pragmatic than that, so let me ‘descend from the m ountain’ and put it down fro n t At the beginning o f ‘m y’ writing cycle each fall, I review w hat it is 1 have said the past year(s), the letters received and the particular problems and solutions revealed or developed Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc., New York. NY. W ell, I know its that tim e o f year again. The readers are letting me know by phone and letter that some have m is placed the citations I’ve been giving for obtaining free catalogs from the pub lishers of very econom ical books on subjects o f history, education, race, sci ence and general interest. Try the fol lowing: ♦Edward R. Hamiton, Bookseller, Falls V illage, CT 06031-51XX) ♦Dover Publications Inc., 31 East 2nd Street, M ineola, NY 11501 ♦Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 126 Fifth Ave., NY, NY 10011 ♦A Com m on Reader, 141 Tom p kins Ave., Pleasantville, NY 10570 ♦The Scholar's Bookshelf, 51 Ever ett Drive, Princeton Jet., NJ 08550 ♦Daedalus Books, P.O. Box 9132, Hyattsville, MD 20781-0932 ♦Columbia University Press, 136 South Broadway, Irvington, NY 10533 ♦University of Pennsylvania Press, P.O. Box 4836, Hampden Station, Bal timore, MD 21211 Also, take notice that there is a very excellent new multicultural library in the community for students: “ Whitney M. Young, Jr. Education and Cultural C enter,” an after school hom ew ork/ tutorial assistance program for students in grade 6 through sophomore in co l lege. There will be an ‘Open H ouse’, Friday , Septem ber 27 from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m , if attending, call Judy Venable at 280-26U0, at the Urban League Round and about town do drop in at any Daltons Book Store, or Powells at 10th and W est Burnside, or Looking G lass at 318 S.W . Taylor, or the Federal Bookstore at 1305 S.W. First, or the Multnomah County Branch Library on N. Killingsworth across from Cascade Community College Cam pus. (Excel lent selection of African American His tory Material). Portland Observer encourages our readers to write letters to the editor in response to any articles ~ we publish. United Airlines 1 PORTLAdfrÒBSERVER Are • The • Proud • Sponsors • Of Reinvestments Community Proposed Relocation of Police Precinct Draws Mixed Reviews fact that they have been isolated from to put an occupying force in the middle BY DEAN CAMARDA die police and tire only time they deal of our community. There were several About 125 people attended a with the police is when they have a community forum at the King Neigh who agreed with Broderick's concern problem or a negative situation. They borhood Facility concerning the pro about what he called a “ cosmetic” don't have the opportunity because the approach to gathering community in posed relocation of the Portland Police police are not in the neighborhood to put. "T here needs to be a real grass Bureau’s North Precinct to a portion of have die positive interaction. W e’re roots community meeting,” said W al the old Fred Meyer building at NE ter Muhammed, adding, “ Martin Lu saying to die community, 'we don't Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and want to be outsiders, we want to move ther King Jr. Blvd. and Killingsworth is Killingsworth Street. The audience ini in and become a part of your neighbor the hub of the black community. What's tially sat quietly and listened. Then it hood.'” going to happen to the black folks that was time to hear the public. A stream of Responding to the idea that the citizen’s community group representa - live in the area around the police?” black community was not consulted at Whether people were for or against the tives stepped up to the microphone to the grassroots level. Assistant to the voice dieir support for tire move. They, relocation plan, not everyone had the Mayor, John Rodgers replied, “ The same reason. However, there was one along with several others, welcomed thing about grass is that it's all over die common theme that resurfaced through the police into their community, citing place. I think the city has done a good out the evening: the need for improved enhanced safety and economic renewal job of getting input from the entire police community relations. as the expected outcome. All signs community... black and white.” It is Those who opposed the police seemed to indicate that having the police Rodgers’ view that concerns about the precinct relocation expressed fears that department as our new neighbors would negative impact of having a police fa tensions between the police and blacks be a win-win situation for all. That is cility in the area will be dispelled. “ I are likely to increase. Portland Police until Waller Muhammcd took his turn have seen nothing but clear and con Officer, Larry Anderson, disagreed. As to speak. vincing evidence that the commitment a young black growing up in North- “ I think you need to stop,” said of Chief Potter is real,” said Rodgers. Northeast Portland, Anderson knows Muhammcd. “ The people who are mak “ He ’s committed to conimunity polic something about the apprehensions of ing decisions about this community ing . 1 think the combination of die loca some members of the black commu don’t live in it." Several people in the tion of diis facility and the genuine nity. “ I didn’t know the police at all audience voiced their agreement as he when I was growing up. I think it’s a commitment of die police bureau to continued. “ These coalitions don’t speak community policing empowering the crime that a precinct hasn't moved here to our concerns because wc don’t be community to solve their own prob before now ,” said Anderson, who also long to them. The bottom line is, they’re lems those diings together make this is the basketball program coordinator (the police) coming in not patrolling, the right move at die right tim e." for PAL [Police Action League), a but controlling.” From then on the Police Chief, Tom Potter, made program designed to enhance the rela forum gained momentum. his intentions clear. “ We are here to tionship between police and youth. “ I Woody Broderick stepped forward serve the community, build positive re don’t think it’s 'relationship' that is the to express reservations. Bnxlcrick went lationships, and be accountable to you.” problem. I think it’s the alienation - the so far as to accuse the police of wanting The Portland Observer-Oregoris Oldest African-American Publication-is a member of the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National through that interchange. You may have anticipated me here for what 1 am going to em phasize is that THE W EEHL IS STILL TURNING (right on by us) - it is as though “ w e’re not reading the script” as they say. As though we real ize belatedly, “ I’ve seen this movie before” and reach for the remote - when the opportunity to effect change has long since passed. The same assessment obtains on the macro-tim escale when 1 review the essays on the inspired and effective African American education (and edu cators) practices of last century and com pare the descriptions of those ex cellent m odels to the current responses and practices o f the contemporary proc esses. It’s like, “ hey, that sounds great, w e’re going to try it” ; and we do, momentarily! But, what happens is that the well m eaning and enthusiastic bre- them are quickly diverted or sidetracked (snowed) by the well-heeled and so phisticated forces of the major educa tional establishment. M ARKETING, MEDIA M A N AGEM ENT, ASSOCIATIONS, FED ERAL and CO RPORATE RELATION SPECIALISTS, and GRANTS CO N SULTANTS all combine to drive a machine whose rhetoric and metaphor iscapable of seducing and diverting the strongest from pursuing the real and effective models developed from an hard won indigenous experience. You’ll be hard put to find any among them who can point to a documented and successful classroom experience. So, on this cycle you will find me present ing some ‘new ’ (smiles) approaches that just may get us off this treadmill of cyclical experience. Since “ the wheel has been invented,” perhaps wc need an educational hexagon or octagon. A lter all, we are the “ Black Inven tors.” P j "Reinvestments in the Community" is a weekly column appearing in API publications through out the USA