Portland observer., April 22, 1992, Page 2, Image 2

Page 2...The Portland Observer...April 22, 1992
CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
By Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
Punishment and Race in America
On the front page of one of North
Carolina’s leading newspapers, Ihe
News A. Observer, there were two head­
lines in the April 1, 1992 edition. One
read.’Boy’s sentence surprises Wentz."
The other headline read: “Teen in boul­
der death spared harsh sentence.” The
headlines were referring to two differ­
ent cases, one in Raleigh, NC involv­
ing an African American teenager, and
the other in Durham, NC involving an
Anglo American teenager.
In the Raleighcase, Willie Barnes,
an African American teenager was sen­
tenced to two years in prison for “shov­
ing three school administrators” at
Enloe High School last November. This
type of “simple assault” is a misde­
meanor charge. This was W illie’s first
offense with the law. We know that
discipline is a serious problem in pub­
lic schools and we believe students
who push or “shove” administrators
should be disciplined. The issue here is
that the punishment should be in re­
sponse to the offense. To sentence this
youngster to prison as a first olfendcr
for this type of charge seems too se­
vere. Yet, we know that there are count­
less numbers of young persons of color
who wind up inside of the nation’s
prison system unjusdy.
According to published accounts
Willie’s parents are appealing the sen­
tence and the charge. His parents say
that Willie became frightened when
“three Enloe assistant principles con­
fronted him and that he tried to rush
pass the three in a doorway. The ad­
ministrators said the act was an as­
sault.”
In the Durham case, a white teen­
ager who confessed that “he helped
“Only in America' is a nice sound­
ing refrain that is usually spoken at a
moment of national pride about a spe­
cial accomplishment or event. But for
millions of persons of color, there are
many instances of the negative that race
plays in the area of the justice system.
In both the civil and criminal justice
systems there is a prevailing recogni­
tion that the color of one’s skin can help
determine the degree to which justice is
done.
In addition, the color of ones skin
can also help to determine the judicial
decisions regarding punishment. We
have reported before the various statis­
tics that co n firm the racial
disproportionality of the incarceration
rate on a national basis. Too often
though, when statistics are referred to,
the social impact on the human condi­
tion is not always clearly transmitted.
For example, when we reported that the
National Sentencing Project in Wash­
ington, D.C. revealed in anational study
that one in every four African Ameri­
can males between the ages of 22 and 28
are either in prison or facing some type
of imprisonment, there was no national
outcry for equal or racial justice.
The fact is that while males in the
United States are viewed differently
from non-white males by the courts.
Yet, this fact is something very difficult
for some to understand or believe. One
of the reasons why racism in this nation
persists is because ol the denial of its
existence in the everyday affairs of the
society. We lift up the following cir­
cumstances that occurred in the state of
North Carolina as only one example of
how race makes a difference concern­
ing judicial punishment.
African-American firm, HolefieldCon­
struction, the opportunity to negotiate a
contract and gave additional work, in­
cluding work items in Holefield’s bid,
to out of town firms who did not bid on
the job initially.
Now as a tradeoff, Slayden is offer­
ing two laborer positions to Portland
residents as part of the City First Source
Hiring Requirements. Slayden has a
work force of 52 people, none of which
are African-Americans. As tax paying,
law abiding citizens, we are demanding
that at least ten African-Americans are
placed on this project by Slayden and
his subcontractors within the next 30
days and that these positions be repre­
sentative of all the construction crafts
utilized for the successful completion
of the project.
We also are requesting support from
all concerned citizens who arc against
institutionalized racism and public of­
ficials who aid and support the Slayden’s
of the world. We ask that you join us in
our protest against economic and racial
drop a boulder that lalally crushed a
woman as she drove on the Durham
Freeway,” received a one year “sus­
pended sentence” and was released into
the custody of his parents. First, the
youngster’s name was not reported in
the press under court order. Yet, there
was no court order or hesitancy to print
Willie Barnes’ name on the front page
of the newspaper. Second, although a
person was killed in the Durham case,
the fact that the white teenager was a
first offender and had the backing ol
persons from the community that spoke
in his behalf, the court showed “com­
passion” and released the youth to the
e”custody” of his parents.
Certainly, we arc in lavor of com ­
passion and for diverting as many young
people from the criminal justice system
as possible. But, we take strong excep­
tion to judicial decisions concerning
persons who are brought before the
courts of the nation to be primarily
determined by racial factors. Another
youth drops a 60 pound rock from a
highway overpass down into a car of a
passing motorist, which results in the
death of the driver, and receives only a
one year suspended sentence. Another
youth pushes three persons and gets two
years in prison. Is this justice? No, it is
not justice.
Unfortunately, these two cases in
North Carolina are only typical of the
normative behavior ol the judicial sys­
tem in the nation. Until there is equal
justice for all, there will be no real
justice for anyone. We must go to the
courtrooms and demand that tairness
and racial justice be done or we all stand
to one day become a victim of this type
of injustice.
discriminatory policies and practices in
the local construction industry .
For additional information call:
282-1190 or 282-8472.
’’Memory And
Aging:
Breakthroughs”
"M em ory and Aging: B reak­
throughs" will be presented at Good
Samaritan Hospital & Medical Center
by ken Erickson and Kate thompson in
Peterson A uditorium , 2255 N.W.
Northrup, April 30, at 7 p m. Dr.
Erickson will share the latest research
findings that reveal some startling rela­
tionships between normal aging and
Alzheimer’s disease and implications
for effective strategies to improve
memory .reduce stress, and promote
wellness in the elderly.
The presentation is free and open
to the public. Pre-registration is re­
quired by calling 335-3500.
|3arilanh (©bsTrtier S S ubscribe
(USPS 959-680)
OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION
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Jennifer Johnson
Joyce Washington
Accounting Manager
Gary Ann Garnett
Public Relations
Chuck Washington
Sales & Promotions
Tony Washington
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by Professor M cK inley B urt
Teaching Children to Get Smart; Part II
Stop Economic and Racial
Discrimination!
A vote by Pordand City Council to
award a $5 million contract for im­
provements to Holladay Streetin North­
east Portland, has been met w ith charges
of racial discrimination by a group of
local African-American contractors and
workers.
Mayor Bud Clark, together with
Com missioners Dick Bogle, Mike
Lindberg, and Earl Blumenauer, lis­
tened to testimony from several con­
tractors, unem ployed construction
workers, and representatives from the
National Association of Minority Con­
tractors of Oregon, before voting unani­
mously to award the contract to Slayden
Construction, Inc. of Stayton, Oregon.
Opponents of the award charged
that the City had violated the integrity
of the competitive bidding process and
damaged the credibility of the purchas­
ing Bureau’s Minority Business Enter­
prise program. Slayden was given an
additional week to increase MBE par­
ticipation on the project from 2.5 to
10.6 percent. In doing so he denied an
w e r s v e c tiv e s
¡ zip-code
¡T hank Y ou F or R eading
¡T he P ortland O bserver
BY PROFESSOR MCKINLEY BURT
I left off last week with a brief
comment on the “Lesson Plan” models
1 had designed for use by teachers in
their classroom dynamic. Such student-
learning paradigms designed by “local
consultants” in their respective areas of
expertise IDEALLY would be posi­
tioned as the end product o f the
Multicultural Educational Scheme. The
time was almost ten years ago (Phase
III1.
That is, the logical sequence of
events would be that pattern I have
adopted myself in 25 years of research
into African and African-American
mathematicson technology. In the case
at hand my perception is probably cor­
rect, that first came the “Orange Book”
described last w eek-the master com­
pendium and 6000 year TIME LINE of
technical achievements of a selected
SIX RACIAL GROUPS. The formal
title of this massive document (contain­
ing little of the really significant cita­
tions I submitted under contract) was
“ Mathematics Scope and Sequence and
Science Scope and Sequence, K-12”
(Phase I(.
It would be assumed that the local
consultants, working in the area of the
“Humanities,” were provided with a
similar ac/iieveweni-specific document.
And following along with the conven­
tional concept o f system structure, it
w’ould seem that the logical next step
would be for the “African Baseline
Essay” authors to use this vast and
encyclopedic collection of facts as the
documented base for composing their
literary efforts. These national consult­
ants had a rather uncertain and unspeci­
fied relationship with most of the local
consultants [Phase II |.
Those three “phases” represent a
traditional procedure used by most of
us who are researchers/authors-years
oí research and documentation followed
on by a text structure built upon that
firm foundation; in my particular case,
the book, Black Inventors o f America
which is used throughout the nation.
But, whether for fortuitous or deliber­
ate reasons, the built-in confusions and
discontinuities outlined here are respon­
sible for the vulnerability o f this
multicultural process in the face of
many nationwide media attacks.
Though 1 am indelibly identified
with the math and science phases of the
process (via the “consultants/contribu-
tors” page of that Scope and Sequence
document), it was only with the author
of the “ Mathematics” essay that 1 had
access and a communications mode.
On the other hand, access to the author
of “Science Essay” was restricted (ab­
sent) to the extent that one would sup­
pose him to be private property and that
a hidden agenda was afoot. This, of
course, was the case as I am informed
by several corespondents in the admin­
istration of two eastern school districts.
This makes understandable the fact
that an otherw ise factual and commend­
able presentation of African and Afri­
can American contributions was ren­
dered suspect and controversial by the
introduction of a number of esoteric
and untenable propositions ranging from
“African Experimental Aeronautics” to
identifying other 4000 year old African
icon or rituals with the “extremely en­
ergetically intense radiation sources in
our galaxy center.” Not likely to appeal
to classroom teachers.
And there are the other “factual”
pronouncements and personal conclu­
sions that the/Yew YorkTimes and other
papers have had a field day with--the
type of comments conventionally ex­
pressed by recognized experts in the
fields of Astrophysics, Paleontology,
A n th ro p o lo g y ,
A rch aeo lo g y ,
Paleobiology, Psychiatry and Psychol­
ogy, but not by lab assistants. There is
a way to challenge the deliberate mis­
statements and falsification of history’s
Euro-centric historians, but not by fall­
ing into the same trap of misinforma­
tion and invention.
For instance, this science essayist
justifies many of his conclusions by
self-reference to his own publications:
“ A spects o f A n cien t E gyptian
Lifeways; Quantum Theory and Egyp­
tian C onsciousness; N ile Valley
Astrosciences (highly recommended
resource materials).” The result has
been that not only the racists but many
liberal teachers and educators have
rebelled against the document as is and
have “thrown out the baby with the
wash.” They have enough classroom
duties already without sorting through
the collection and separating fact from
fancy.
I feel that given the contracted
task here in Portland of designing model
lesson plans in the math/science field,
then a logical sequence of events would
have demanded a mutual accessibility
and dialogue with the principal essay­
ist in the science field. This was not to
be since, as stated, there was another
“agenda” in process and the prerequi­
site was the isolation of those not di-
reedy involved-not involved in the
formation of national organization of
those investigators of African history
with a particular viewpoint (intellec­
tual or cultish?).
So I have had to assure two eastern
school districts for whom I am devel­
oping both a mathematics and science
essay and RELATED lesson plans that
I had no opportunity to intervene in the
process and hopefully head off several
of the more destructive components. It
is well for some folks to remember that
not only is it all of o u r tax monies that
are involve din these educational
schcmas-but it is the case that in the
end, these programs are directed at
motivating and intellectually enhanc­
ing the young minds out there with
factual and documentable accounts of
the minority heritage. Not about self-
aggrandizement and praise.
NextWcek: Particular lesson plans
and curriculum ihathave been working
wonders-submitted, but not incorpo­
rated into the process. These copy­
righted learning systems relate the his­
toric technology to that of today in
direct fashion.
“ What Kids Want to Know About Sex and Growing Up”
Examines Puberty on a 3-2-1 Contact “ Extra”
From MTV to magazine ads, from
sitcoms to soap operas, preteens and
children are bombarded with messages
about sex. What do preteens really un­
derstand about puberty and sex? What
do they need to know? What questions
do they have about their own sexual
development and how comfortable do
they feel asking them?
In an effort to provide youngsters
and their parents with information and
to help open the door for a continuing
dialogue about sex. Children’s Televi­
sion Workshop (CTW) presents “W hat
Kids W ant to Know About Sex and
Growing uP,” A 3-2-1 Contact “ex­
tra.”
Designed for children 8 to 12 and
their parents, the program -and “Extra”
edition of CTW’s award-winning sci­
ence series-premiers Wednesday, May
13th, from 8-9 p.m. on OPB-TV.
“This show is driven by what we
found out about parents’ and kids’
needs,” explains executive producer
Anne MacLeod. “Parents want to be the
primary sex educators for their children
and kids want to understand what’s
happening to them but it can be hard to
get the conversations started. W e’ve
produced a show we hope will help to
break the ice.”
Parents waiting to have that “one
big talk” may discover that by the time
they get around to that conversation,
it’s already too late. Recent govern­
ment studies report that by the 12th
grade, more than hall of all teenagers
say they have engaged in sexual inter­
course. Since the 1970’s, unintended
pregnancies and sexually transmitted
diseases, including AIDS, have been on
the rise among adolescents.
“W hat Kids W ant to Know About
Sex and («row ing Up” offers straight­
forward, understandable information
about puberty, sexuality and reproduc­
tion, including Q and A sessions be­
tween kids and sex educators Dr. Rob­
ert Selvcrstonc and Rhonda Wise.
Sclvcrslonc and Wise describe the
maturilion process with visual help from
animation. T he one-hour program ad­
dresses such concerns as physical and
emotional development, masturbation,
menstruation, intercourse, conception,
peer pressure, responsibility, parenting,
AIDS and homosexuality.
Teenage hosts Stephanie Yu and Z
Wright reflect on the bodily and mood
changes children may be experiencing
and emphasize the importance of asking
questions to clear up confusion. In a
segmentaboutresponsibility, they learn
a little about what caring for a baby
entails and discover how hard it is to
look after even a “pretend” b ab y -a sack
of llour-for a week.
Parents get their turn in a brief
sessions with sex educators, who em­
phasize the need for adults to be clear
about what messages concerning sexual
behavior and attitudes they want to con­
vey to their children. To help facilitate
thatcommunicationand provide an over­
view of the program’scontcnt.aParcnt’s
Guide will be available via a 900 tele­
phone number and by mail while sup­
plies last. After the program airs on
PBS, a home video version of “W hat
Kids W ant to Know About Sex and
Growing Up” including the Parent’s
Guide, will be available from Pacific
Arts Home Video.
“The word that was guiding us all
the way down the road was ‘straightfor­
ward’,” said MacLeod. “Any young
person who’s gong through puberty-or
is about to -is likely to be confused
about it. They get so much information
that’s misleading or downright false. It
wasn’t appropriate for us to do anyth ing
bin be very open and honest in answer­
ing the real questions that these kids
posed in the sessions with sex educators.
You could tell they were just dying to
open up about this and have access to
someone who would answer their ques­
tions.”
While the youngsters wanted to
know about getting one’s period, penis
size, how someone gcLs pregnant and
how to say “no” to peer pressure, the
underlying quest was for reassurance
that what they were experiencing was
natural and normal.
As a trusted and innovative pro­
ducer ol children’s programming, CTW
conducted extensive research to find out
what was on kids’ minds and ensure
parental acceptance of “ W hat Kids
W ant to Know About Sex and G row ­
ing Up.” More than 700 parents and
children from a variety o f religious,
socioeconomic and geographic back­
grounds participated in various phases
of the year-long development process.
“This is a fact-based foundation for
parents to build on and express their
personal beliefs and values,” MacLeod
adds. “We’re simply laying the ground­
work. “What Kids Want to Know...” is
a program that calls out for discussion
afterwards.”
3-2-1 Contact, CTW ’s science se­
ries for eight to twelve year-old, airs on
PBS stations across the country. The “3-
2-1 Extras,” which present topical sci­
ence issues, have covered such subjects
as genetics research, teenager Ryan
White’s battle with AIDS, population
growth and the environment, the gar­
bage crisis and rain forest preservation.
Previous “Extras” have won numerous
awards, including a prime-time Emmy
and the Japan Prize for outstanding
achievement on an international level.
To obtain the free Parent’s Guide
for “What Kids Want to Know About
Sex and Growing Up” send a post card
with your name and address to:
Parent’s Guide - What Kids Want
to Know
OPB Communications Dcpt.
7140 S.W. Macadam Avenue
Portland, OR 97219
PLEASE DO NOT CALL
Supplies of the guide arc limited
and will be distributed on a first come,
first served basis. The guide is also
available by calling 900-407-2000 at
S2.25 per call.
Immediately following “W hat Kids
W ant To Know About Sex and (»row­
ing Up" is a special companion program
featuring Magic Johnson in an unscripted
conversation with a group of kids and
teens about AIDS-rclaled issues of con­
cern to them. “A Conversation With
Magic,” produced by Nickelodeon and
Linda Ellcrbec, airs on OPB-Tclcvision
Wednesday, May 13, at 9:00 p.m.
I Portland Observer encourages our readers to write
letters, to the editor in response to any articles
we publish.
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