Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 1991)
'» « * * * • * * * Page 2...The Portland Observer...October 2,1991 U of O Brings Roy Jay Back By Popular Demand LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor: M y name is L avontE . Baker. I am a B lack inmate at Eastern Oregon C or rectional Institution and 1 have been subjected to intense racial discrim ina tion. Please, I ’ ll explain. On March 25th, 1991 at 3:00 p.m. as I took a shower in my housing unit. Correctional O ffice r; D w ight M itch e ll, looked at me for several minutes w hile I bathed and then so boldly took out a pencil and pad and drew a picture o f a * ‘ m onkey” taking a shower, with my name, “ Baker,” w ritten at the bottom o f the drawing. This officer then showed the picture around to other inmates including m yself before he threw it in the trash can, from where 1 later retrieved it and made copies. This matter has been investigated by the Inspector General office and the State Police and my alligation was substantiated and turned over to the In stitutional Branch o f action. Claims Investigator for the Stale, Michael Baker, has informed me that the State does not provide coverage for what an o fficer does outside the scope o f his duties. M y UIUUIVI/OIOIV«, Brother/Sister, does 1VIJ wwv., this mean Portland business entrepreneur, Roy Jay has been asked to return to the campus o f University o f Oregon on October 4 to be the keynote speaker at the Lindquist Business Center. Jay, who was a guest speaker at the college last February, attracted the larg est crowd o f staff and students ot any o f previous business speakers, according to A lice Carnes, program administor. * ‘This is the first time in the history o f our program that students and staff asked to have a speaker return again,” said Carnes. The college has already planned to move the presentation to a larger fa c ility for Jay’ s upcoming pres that a State employee can intentionally in flic t emotional distress upon me and practice racial discrim ination while swom in under the “ Color o f Stale L aw .” 1 have been hum iliated, de graded, and outright punished because o f the color o f my skin, by the Color o f State Law and its representatives. That is also cruel and unusual punishment. The State has basically told me that my pain and sufferings aren’t worthy o f its compensation. I have constantly tried to contact several attorneys, but my communica tion has been lim ited and my efforts have been fruitless. Please, i f there is anything you can do to give me some outside support or advice on how I can seek help, I would be most apprecia tive. I don’ t want to let this insane matter go unchallenged and because the State refuses to acknowledge my situation I feel the public should know how Eastern Oregon Correctional In stitution and Corrections Director, Fred Pearce are letting this sort o f discrim i nation be overlooked as unim portant Please respond. T ru ly, Lavont Baker entation. The African-Am erican business owner who was raised in Portland’ s Columbia V illa Housing project has also been asked by the Dean o f the Business College to serve on one o f the colleges business advisory boards. Jay, at 44, is involved in several business operations in Portland and is involved in various comm unity and business organizations throughout the state. For further inform ation, contact Trade-Mark Corporation, 244-2689, Ext. 42, or A lice Carnes, U niversity o f Oregon/Lindquist College o f Business, Eugene. ----- o CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL By Benjamin F Chavis, Jr. Celebrating Contributions of African American From The Aquarian Bookstore on Western Avenue in Los Angeles to the Liberation Bookstore on M alcolm X Boulevard in Harlem, m illion s o f per sons have benefited from the unique and important contributions o f African American bookstores established across the nation. In particular, the African American community has been well served by the presence o f community- based bookstores that have made avail able books and printed material on the African and African American experi ence. Very often the books that these bookstores offer can not be found any where else because o f the existance o f racial discrimination in both the pub lishing and book distribution indus tries. This is a “ good news” story. On Saturday, October 5, 1991, African American authors, storytellers, and I ’. A« • J leaders from throughout the country w ill gather at The Aquarian Bookstore located at 3995 So. Western Avenue in Los Angeles, C alifornia. The occasion is the 50th Anniversary Celebration o f The Aquarian Bookstore, the nation’ s oldest continuously running African S ••; American bookstore. Under the theme, “ 50 years: A Legacy o f Knowledge,” a Nationl >r < \ ‘ Aquarian Bookstore Jubilee Coordi nating Committee has been organized. We jo in w ith the National Coordinat ing Committee in paying tribute to the historic efforts o f Dr. A lfre d M . and Mrs. Bernice Ligon, the proprietors o f The Aquarian Bookstore, fo r their out standing vigilance and commitment to the African American community. Since 1941, A lfred and Bernice Ligon have worked together and struggled to keep the doors o f the book store opened. They have witnessed first hand the constructive role o f African American literature in the various “ movements” fo r freedom, liberation and justice during the last five decades. They are also aware o f the need to keep the A frican American literary tradition alive fo r future generations. A t a time when there is a need to strengthen instiutions serving the inter est o f the A frican American and other racial and ethnic communities, it is important to draw lessons from the successful experience o f Alfred and Bemice Ligon and The Aquarian Book store. For example, back in 1941, the Ligons not only had “ a dream,” but also they understood the necessity to work consistently to make their dream a reality, despite the hardships and d if- ficulties thrown by society in their path. Dr. Haki Madhubuti, President o f the A frican American Publishers and Booksellers Association and owner o f the Chicago-based Third W orld Press confirm s that there has been a steady increase in the number o f A frican American bookstores during the last 30 years. Some o f us s till remember the pro found positive im p actof The Drum and Spear Bookstore on the A frican A m eri can com m unity in Washington, D.C. 20 years ago. Today, Hodan A li’ s Pyramid Bookstores provide the na tio n ’s capital city w ith w ritings o f the <» , '/ • , * »7 ‘QUtje Ç o rtla n h (©bseriier (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 >r z< -.-<*• -V *. ?>' • fe d ’ ’• * . he P ortland O bserver CAN BE SENT DIRECTLY TO fill out , M ail to : S ubscriptions T he P ortland O bserver PO Box 3137 P ortland , O regon 97208 photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a Name 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 '■' ‘A U purchased the composrtion of such ad. © 1991 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER. •'¿••■A ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT > À Î5 i-«-. - 1 Subscriptions:$25.00 per year. • » Address city, State PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. innovation.? I f you were watching the Town H all program on K A T U Sunday eve ning, you would know that this 1 inn has made a technical contribution that cannot help but affect the education o f our children on a nationwide basis. The electronic wizards on their staff have m odified the Nintendo games such that you (or your child) M A Y PLAY LOTTO F R O M Y O U R L IV IN G R O O M C OUCH. The possibility that students w ould become involved in this gam bling was heatedly denied by the head o f the Oregon State Lottery. He made a very strange (naive?) statement; “ Kids w ill not be able to play because parents w ill be given a code and besides, they H A V E CONTROL OVER THE TELE VISIO N S IN T H E H O M E .” N ow , is this man a fo ol or a charla tan - or both? The w orld knows that kids from nine years o f age up are breaking into the computer files o f industry and the data banks o f the m ili tary and the space programs. So, why would codes divised by persons o f the just demonstrated smarts o f the Lottery Commission be impregnable to preco cious children? Other participants stared at our lottery guru in incredulity as he glib y spun o ff the answer above and a number o f other patronizing statements. Note that the School D istrict has just issued a new advice on homework. African American state senator Jim H ill won the respect and support o f a large number o f the partricipanls when he roundly condemned this caper. He was joined in this position by a number o f concerned citizens like the honor able Rodney Page; they pointed out that aside from the expected diversion from prim e study and homework time, this was a dangerous escalation o f the gam bling syndrone to the level o f INTERACTIVE CASINO W AGERING IN T H E O N C E S A C R O S A N C T HOMES OF OREG ON C ITIZEN S. (Casino gambling is specifically fo r bidden under the Oregon Constitution - b u t the Lottery Commission is on a ro ll - out o f control). How many budg ets and fam ilies w ill suffer? I hope that many o f you readers w ill w rite Senator H ill in support o f his interest and dedication in issues vital to us all; Jim H ill, 4584 12th Place S „ Salem, OR 97302, (1-378-8071). This was not my original agenda fo r this week, but I believe that critica l issues like this should always have priority. As often said in these columns, “ Eter nal vigilance is the price o f liberty - and a decent education fo r y our child. ” By the way, you cannot reach those bureaucrats at the Lottery Commission by asking Inform ation in Salem, but their number is 1-373-0267 (State phone directory). The 1991-92 “ Oregon Blue B ook” provides the fo llo w in g entré into the m ystical domains; James J. Davey, Lottery Director, 2767 22nd SL, S. E. Salem 97310, 1-373-0202. Good luck! Do not underestimate the necesssity for citizens o f this stale to m onitor and interact w ith their state commissions and other institutions. W hat often goes on in Oregon is often a microcosm o f Washington, D.C. -- and you know how that is. In closing I w ill cite an example, events o f a decade ago which could not help but arouse suspicions ot circumstances beyond just an inept bu reaucracy. This was in earlier days o f the “ Oregon Economic Development Corporation. “ I had been distressed by complaints o f m inorities that were not getting their (or any) share o f the pie. It required several all day rounds o f being passed from phone to phone and desk to desk and bureaucrat to bureaucrat before getting even a h a lf way intelligent or coherent answer to the query, “ How does one go about getting an application form fo r request ing a share o f the highly touted larg esse? What, you don’t have o ne ? -w e ll how about a brochure or pamphlet describing your program?’ ’ W e ll, there was none o f the above to be had by a small fry Oregon taxpayer, but tw o weeks later I did get an o ffic ia l looking piece o f m ail from them. Inside was a single, sloppy PH O TO STAT O F A PAGE FROM T H E OREGON BLU E BO O K. I got their name, address, and phone numbers which I already had (A n y better now?) So heavy on the vigilance folks, and i t ’ s back to the more fa m ilia r as pect o f the educational ranch in the com ing weeks. P o rtlan d O bserver Salutes c B lack E lectricians n UNION LOCAL 48 United Airlines WFje Ç o r t l a n ù ( B s e r u e r Reinvestment^ Community What Is a "Good Faith Effort"? Wc often hear that phrase, a black television commentator and pub “ good faith effort” as having been made lisher o f “ Tony Brown’s Journal” . Here, by someone or another—or by a particu he took to task some o f the most hal lowed and respected echelons o f the lar organization. But, just what, ex actly, docs it mean? Under sonic c ir black leadership hierarchy. Specifically, he furnished the follow ing quotes o f cumstances we feel that we know very well the extent o f the implied commit- W illiam Reed, a columnist for the Black- m en t-to deliver, to expedite, to dis owned Washington, D.C. newspaper, charge a debt, or whatever. For in Capital Spotlight. “ The Congressional Black stance, wc often have it from the United Caucus weekend is the most glaring States Government, “ backed by the full- evidence o f a two-decade-old saga o f faith and credit o f [the government].” ineptness, mismanagement, lack o f ac But, today, I would lead us injo countability and vision o f our so-called another area for assessment of this ubiqui “ After 20 years o f CBC week tous term. W hile I ’ ve been w riting this current scries on "M in o rity Business” ends, the most obvious evidence o f Black (concluded this week on Business Page), leadership having been on Capitol H ill I find myself reluming to frequent are thousands o f Scotch bottles, a’ slcw thoughts concerning the level o f com- o f chicken bones and a host o f white m itm ent-and, indeed, the s in c c rily -o f merchants rushing to the bank to deposit many o f the African Americans who the one-half b illion dollars they receive make such a noisy and highly-publi each year from CBC hotel rentals and the sale of Scotch and hot buffalo wings.” cized case for an immediate and mas “ This is one o f those 150 an sive escalation o f the m inority business nual gct-logclhcrs where middle-class effort (seldom accompanied by action, Blacks are spending 3 billion dollars let alone a structured plan for implem with while people while discussing how entation). In the immediate case, my re bad o ff wc arc and blaming racism for it. flections arc prompted by a recent col I, o f course, have proposed that all Black umn o f Tony Brown, the well-known groups cancel their 1992 meetings and use the $3 b illion as a capital formation fund to rebuild our community.” “ I think this position is well taken, a rather succinct assessment, right to the “ inept” point-and every b it as caustic a presentation as I would have made (smiles). Further, I think it is a logic thatcould be applied to this micro cosm, Portland, Oregon. We know that 1 have made th is case a number o f times, not only in articles and in spccchcd- but, going so far as to design and imple ment university calsses incorporating both the standard business and legal structures o f enterprise, but also the real time experiences o f successful enterpre- ncurs. So what is that can be d on e- that isn‘t being donc-lhat must be done? Never in history has the racc3 had so many college graduates, so many blacks in experience-gaining positions in man agement, technology and the Financial interface. But it would seem that it was the lesser educated and exposed blacks o f yesteryear who had the drive, ambi tion and motivation to successfully launch many viable business enterprises. What do you think is the answer? W rite us here at the paper; we’d like to hear from you! zip-code The Portland Observer-Oregon’s Oldest African-American Publication-is a member .. W c should not be surprised at a ll i f the C ontrol Data Corporation should win the next "M a lco lm Forbes Award” for excellence in the American busi ness com m unity. And just what has this majoy player in the w o rld ’ s computer industry contributed to a lagging indus trial sector that it should deserve the highest o f honors for Technology and Stye ^ o rila n h (Observer and self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property Nintendo To The Rescue S ubscribe MONEY ORDER, The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and B urt Are • The • Proud » Sponsors • Of ENCLOSE CHECK OR 3137, Portland, OR 97208. Second class postage paid at Portland Oregon. t b y by P Professor M cK inley ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ "K e e p in g the fa ith.” P lease POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes to: Portland O bserver, P.O. Box * ■ * sv ▼ ▼ mass consumerism. Thank you Alfred and Bemice Ligon for the 50 years o f service at The A q uarian Bookstore. Thank you for PER YEAR. Deadline for all submitted materials: Articles: Monday, 5:00 pm-Ads: Tuesday, noon * w V « city o f Los Angeles. The youth o f our comm unities especially need to receive the wealth o f knowledge that can be found in these bookstores. When this year’ s holiday season begins, let us give more gifts o f books and kn ow l edge rather than fa ll into the traps o f your home only $ 2 5 .0 0 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 w er ! struggle o f African Americans. Thus, the contributions o f A lfre d and Bemice Ligon go far beyond the Portland Observer encourages our readers to write letters to the editor in response to any articles we publish. _______ ;•? t of the Nat.onal Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885. and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc . New York, NY. T hank Y ou F or R eading T he P ortland O bserve A P j "Reinvestments in the Community" is a weekly column appearing in API publications through out the USA U - N ■‘ V - • *\ • > V '‘ ■V»; ” > 'A * » * * r e «* * 1 « •» « A ******** • - • - • < • * < » « . # /• ' • » * * » f f * * F/f F * M » * T - * r- h • • A •. A t • f - ■* « » » A * • ■ • «* t * • t B M kÉfll