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Page 2...The Portland Observer...December 16, 1992
Nathan Proby: Serious
As A Heart Attack
BY JAM ES L. POSEY
Nathan Proby’ s death was much
more than the passing o f a rowdy com
m unity activist. H is life and death tells
the story o f a typical B lack man in crisis
in a lifespan over the last several de
cades. Nathan Proby, unlike a lot o f us,
was unusual in that to the day he died,
was determined to make things better
for Black folks. His life and death, in
general, m irrors the pain, frustration,
agony, anger and yes, heartbreak most
Blacks feel after a life o f struggling to
throw o ff the yoke o f racism still cinched
tig htly around our necks.
Nate, as most o f called him , was
one o f the first to challenge the system
in the 60’ s, organizing Blacks to stand
up against overt and covert racism in
the Department o f Transportation and
other government agencies. He led boy
cotts and demonstrations; he picketed
and sought court orders to bring about
change in a system that was defiant in
its efforts to exclude Blacks and other
minorities. One would think that over
the years, this dismal picture would
have gotten better, and we w ou ldn ’t
have to struggle so hard. The sad truth
is, it has gotten worse. The opposition
has gotten far more sophisticated, de
vising strategies like p itting women
against minorities by ensuring that white
women get most o f the contracts; this
and compromising other Blacks to ei
ther placate progress or sabotage pro
grams altogether, promising to do much
but actually delivering little, and on and
on and on. I t ’ s just damn discouraging,
enough to break the strongest o f hearts.
The point is B lack people like Nate
Proby have fought the good fig h t at
great sacrifice to themselves. Just like
Nate, others before him, and I ’ m sure
others that fo llo w , w ill jeopardize their
health, fa m ily, finances, reputations and
lots more i f they insist on doing more
than just talking about racial justice.
This w ill be especially true i f their push
is fo r outright economic access and
equality. The perpetual assaults come
both from the private and public sector,
taking a tremendous psychological and
physiological to ll.
The accumulative stress o f a ll this
is just as devastating as a highway
collision between a Mack truck and a
Volkswagen bug. Blacks daily succumb
to the continuous impacts. It seems like
the lights never go out at Vancouver
Ave. Baptist, M t O livet and the rest o f
the churches, as w ell as the mortuaries,
as they administer to endless funerals.
It ain’ t just gang bangers; there are a
fa ir number o f the Nate Proby’ s o f the
w orld being laid to rest. No wonder
Black men are dying faster than any
segment o f the population, and their
life span is 10 years shorter than white
men.
I ’ m sure I am not the only one who
did n ’ t always agree w ith Nate Proby’ s
style, his approach and his way o f doing
things. But we stood together on one
th in g -lh e need to push to raise the
quality o f life for African-Am ericans
through self-reliance, self-help, hard
w ork and by challenging government
to do the right thing. Nate was serious
and uncompromising in pushing this
agenda 100-miles-an hour. The sad
irony is that as hard and as long as Nate
worked to gain economic prosperity for
others, there is little evidence to sug-
gest that he him self prospered from his
efforts. In other words, you can add
another statistical tid b it to the previous
reference-African-Am ericans over 60
years old are 10 times more like ly to die
in poverty than whites. One wonders i f
the figure is more like 20 times more fo r
Black men who have led a life like Nate
Proby!
A t Nate’ s funeral, as one saw the
sorrow in the faces o f his children, an
other aspect o f the story unfolded. It is
the story o f how Black people are leav
ing their children only a legacy o f pov
erty. Because o f this. Black children are
being stopped before they get started.
They are less lik e ly to have the opportu
nity to build on the economic founda
tion o f their parents; and in a ll probabil
ity, they w ill also not be in the position
to leave their children much o f an eco
nomic base.
What w ill it take to break this cycle?
W ill African-Am ericans ever get the
message that no other problem is more
important than gaining fu ll economic
capacity. By doing so, they establish an
economic future not only for themselves
but also fo r their children. Then and
only then w ill Blacks, by virtue o f an
improved quality o f life, begin to live as
good as white folks. This means they
can afford to go to the doctor, take a
vacation, send the kids to college and do
the rest o f what most Americans take fo r
granted. The question characterizes
Nate’ s life and death. W hat w ill it take?
I t ’ s a serious question, as serious as a
heart attack.
James Posey is a local, small busi
ness owner w ith a background in social
work and community activism.
Self-Determination For D.C. Makes Progress
BY BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS
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The fact that the D istrict o f C olum
bia remains a political colony is an
insult to democrac y in the United S tates.
There are many who believe that be
cause Washington, D.C. has a m ajority
A frican American population o f actual
voting residents, there is an unstated
fear by some in the U.S. Congress con
cerning any further increase in the po
litic a l representation and empowerment
o f people o f color in the legislative
branch o f the Government. In other
words there are racial overtones on why
the struggle fo r self-determination and
fu ll statehood fo r the D istrict o f C olum
bia has taken so long toward being
fu lfille d .
There is, however, some good news
about this im portant issue. In direct
response to the leadership o f Congress-
woman Eleanor Holjnes Norton (D-
D.C.). House Democrats have voted to
give Delegate Norton the rig ht to vote
on the House flo o r beginning in January
1993. House Democrats also voted to
give the rig ht to vote on the House flo or
to representatives o f Puerto Rico, Guam,
U.S. V irg in Islands, and Am erican Sa-
t . S. — «.
moa.
We congratulate Congresswoman
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Norton for her initiativesand the present
victory won on behalf o f the thousands
o f persons who have not been fu lly
represented, that is w ith voice and vote,
in the Congress. As the nation prepares
to go into 1993, there is indeed a national
atmosphere o f “ anticipation and yearn
ing for change.” The political forces that
were in control o f the Adm inistration in
Washington fo r the last twelve years are
on the way out o f office.
Yet, these are times that demand the
vigilance o f the c iv il rights com m unity
throughout the nation. Full voting rights
and statehood fo r the D istrict o f C olum
bia would be a positive step forward that
w ould help make our democracy m ore
inclusive. Surely one day soon, Sister
Norton may become Senator Norton
representing New Columbia as the 51st
state in the Union.
. Norton explained, “ This elevates
the stature o f the office o f delegate and
the respect it w ill receive in Congress.
W e need to get every inch o f respect we
can for the residents o f the D istrict o f
Columbia.” C ertainly every inch o f
progress made toward statehood for D.C.
w ill be a giant step forward fo r the entire
nation. A denial o f fu ll democratic rights
anywhere in this country is a threat to
■(Uijc ^Ìorilanò Oí) beer usi*
democracy everywhere.
,
To be sure there are s till some rig id
conservatives in Congress who intend to
oppose the granting o f the right to vote
on the flo or o f the House to congress-
woman Norton and the other representa
tives. Congressman Gerald Solomon (R-
N .Y .) complained,
“ This further diminishes the rights
o f our m in ority, and we consider it un
fair. We w ill fig ht it in every way we
can.”
We wonder who is the m inority that
Congressman Solomon is referring to
being treated unfairly? How can the
Republican Party that has been in power
in the W hite House fo r the last twelve
years and has stacked the Federal ju d i
ciary w ith conservative Republicans,
many o f whom w ith life-tim e appoint
ments to the bench, now claim to be an
“ injured m in o rity ’ ?
W hat is unfair is to continue to deny
the hundreds o f thousands o f residents
o f the D istrict o f Columbia their fu ll
voting rights. Statehood fo r D. C. is not
an unfair demand on anybody. Thecause
o f justice is served when all citizens are
treated equitably.
Let us keep the pressure on! State
hood and justice for D.C. should be now !
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/
try Professor McKinley Burt
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Last week I cited the efforts o f com m unity people
toward gaining a position on the Portland School
Board for a m inority person from the northeast
sector. There seems to be more structure to
the movement this week--and more op
lions offered.
Four o f the main options
involve “ Zone tw eaking” as
described by the Oregonian
newspaper. School Superin
tendent Jack B ie rw irth is
quoted in respect to a fifth
option, “ ..provide citizens o f
color w ith a greater opportu
nity to run for board positions”
this inform ation was in a letter
he sent w ith maps to interested
people. M ost people I talk with
agree that it is much too early
fo r any c ritic a l evaluation o f
our new school superintendent.
O bviously, it w ill take time to
assess his style and his com
mitment to current (acceptable)
interaction w ith m inorities in
an urban school setting.
I did have several ques
tio n s raised co n c e rn in g a
“ preselection prpeess” initiated
by an “ old boys netw ork” , as
opposed to an “ open process”
o f fu ll comm unity involvement
and a review o f issues that oth
ers m ight want a candidate to
raise. T o date we have a “ U nity
Forum” made up o f the C oa li
tion for Black Men, The Urban League o f Portland and the
Black United Front. W ho knows. I m ight decide to run myself.
Jordan-from an interview in “ N .E.A. Today” :
Several topics are causing a good deal o f
discussion among educators. Where do you
stand, forexample.on proposals that would
use public tax dollars for private school
tuition?
The public schools are
owned by the public, and
public tax dollars should be
used to s u p p o rt p u b lic
schools. I f we use those tax
dollars to also support p ri
vate schools, we have less
money available for the pub
lic schools.
A saproductof the pub
lic schools, I want m axi
mum resources available to
the public schools.
What about all-Black-
male schools?
I f you have the kind o f
resources in an all-Black-
male school that w ill make
a difference, I would not
denigrate such schools. The
big caveat is that we cannot
do this at the expense o f
others who need special at
tention.
Do you approve o f spe-
cial programs fo r the gifted
and talented?
I believe we should ap
ply as many resources, as
much talent, tim e, and at
tention to the gifted and talented as we do to those who are
highly at risk. The gifted and talented must be encouraged to
perform and made to understand that they have additional
responsibility to contribute back to those who have not been
ON TH E
SCHOOL
FRONT
How about you?
M y description o f the 1974 e ffo rt to mount support for a
Law Suit” against the Portland School Board certainly pro
voked some interesting comments. M ost agreed w ith me that
had there been this type o f determined intervention in a failed
educational process early on, we could have been saved al! the
traumatic consequences that have ensued. They spoke to the
losses o f our youth, m ainly—educational disabilities, lim ited
earnings fo r the entire life span o f many, tragic social conse
quences that make it impossible to develop stable fam ilies,
m isdirection in terms o f career guidance and generally the
instability we see in the com m unity today, including crim e and
gangs. Make no mistake about it, the schools were the focal
point at that tim e for developing today’ s young generation
(s till are).
In respect to all o f the aforesaid, I w ould like to pass on
the fo llo w in g comments from form er representive Barbara
as fortunate.
How do you view parental involvement in the schools?
It is crucial. It isn’ t fair to expect teachers to do all o f the
things we expect teachers to do-care, feed, and nurture the
body as w ell as the mind.
What about giving out condoms at school?
I ’ m for it. I absolutely am. W ith the A ID S epidemic,
condom use is at least one little thing that we can do to try to
combat this disease.
Do you favor dress codes?
I like the idea o f removing some o f the compeuuon. Kids
want to have the latest Reeboks, the designer jeans, the
signature piece on the sweaters. I f we could remove the
competition o f being the best-dressed person ever, that
would be a good development.
This Way For Black Empowerment
My Life Is Now An Open Book!
As someone who has been leading
the building o f independent politics fo r
a decade, this has been an exhausting,
exhilarating, absolutely incredible year
and a half!
Independent p o litic s has “ sud
denly” come o f age in the United States
o f Am erica. N oo ne - including those o f
us who have been w orking night and
day fo r so many years to make it happen
- could have predicted that virtua lly
overnight a Texas businessman w ith
not much going for him except two big
ears and four b illio n dollars would be
able to tap white Am erica’ s seething
dissatisfaction w ith busincss-as-usual
politics, nor that this pow erful senti
ment would come gushing forth on
Election Day in the form o f the largest
independent vote in U.S. history. Nor
could it be predicted that a whole slew
of, independent parties - Natural Law,
The 21st Century Party, and the Inde
pendence Party, among others - would
come into being and jo in the 13-year-
old New A lliance Party which I lead as
part o f a movement to b jiild a pow erful
alternative to the Democrats and Re
publicans. No wonder the professional
politicians o f both major parties, and
their loyal retainers in the corporate
media, were scared to death!
As 1992 draws to a close I have
been reflecting on all o f this and have
w ritten a book about it. In February o f
this year I began a series o f extended
conversations about this “ whole lot o f
shaking g o in ’ on” , personally and po
litic a lly speaking, w ith a good friend o f
mine who is also a journalist. Over the
last ten months we talked several times
a week - in person and on the phone, late
at night and early in the morning -
whenever and wherever I could grab an
hour o f two. W ith her help I shaped
those conversations into a book which
w ill be published in late January, 1993
by C astillo International. I t ’s called
The M aking O f a Fringe Candidate -
1992 and I am very pleased w ith how
i t ’ s turned out and eager to have it read.
mastermind o f a cult. (The chapter on
Fred is called “ H e’ s no guru, he’ s my
brother.” )
You w ill fin d out what really went /
on between me and Dennis Serrette, the
Black trade unionist who embarked on
a second career as a professional NAP-
trashcr shortly after his 1984 run as the
independent party’ s firs t presidential
candidate, w ith whom I had a stormy
th re e-ye ar re la tio n s h ip b efo re he
dropped me to being “ too p o litica l.”
You can learn about my involvem ent in
the struggles fo r democracy in H aiti and
Zaire, and get a b ird ’ s eye view o f
“ Perot politics” from my unique van
tage point as the independent who blazed
the trail that Ross Perot w ould follow .
In the chapter called “ Pro-Gay 365
Days A Year” I have expressed my deep
appreciation fo r the lesbian and gay
leaders who have helped to build the
New Alliance party and in doing so
have taught me - and allowed me to
teach them - who we are as makers o f
history w ith a mutual interest in trans
form ing a society founded on oppres
sion and exploitation. (The right wingers
want us to know each other as enemies,
w hile the liberals want us to know each
other as fellow victim s, incapable o f
changing anything.) F inally, in the final
chapter, called “ A in ’ t I a woman?” I
have w ritten a challenge - and a love
letter - to my sisters in the wom en’ s
movement. In all o f this, my intention
was not to be hurtful to anyone, but to
open up some o f the issues that I think
are o f real concern to the American
people in the interests o f furthering a
real dialogue.
As I put the finishing touches on
Fringe last week, I reflected on the fact
that coming out o f 1992 I - a Black
working class independent from Chester,
Pennsylvania - is acquainted w ith B ill
C linton, the next presidentof the United
States - and he hates my guts! I t ’ s im
portant that the Black comm unity know
that, and i t ’ s important that you know
why. Read my book to find out.
Fringe is the inside story o f my
successful mission to bring indepen
dent electoral politics into the main
stream o f American political life. It
documents the efforts by everyone -
from B ill C linton and Jesse Jackson to
members o f the Communist Party USA
and Black “ revolutionaries” such as the
New Y o rk 8, to the Nation magazine
and the F B I - to stop me from being
heard by the American people. I worked
hard to talk about Campaign ’92 like it
was. This book pulls no punches and is
going to shake up a lot o f people.
I wanted to tell the personal side o f
the story, for two reasons. One is that
who I am - my history and experiences
as an A frican American w orking class
woman who was groomed to :” make it”
in white Am ericabutchosean indepen
dent path so that I could take my people
with me -has obviously determined how
I see things. I think it is very important
for folks to know where I come from
(and where I ’ m coming from ). The
other is that so many people (both those
who support what I am doing, and the
ones who would like to convince every
one else that I ’m doing the d e v il’ s
w ork) take a particular interest in my
personal life because I am so very far
from everybody’s image o f a presiden
tial candidate. In w ritin g The Making o f
a Fringe Candidate - 1992 I took the
opportunity to make my life an open
book!
In my book you can read about
growing up in Chester in the ’ 50s. Y ou
w ill learn the truth about my relation
ships w ith such controversial figures as
the Reverend A l Sharpton, thiscountry’ s
most prominent heir to the tradition o f
c iv il disobedience established by Dr.
M artin Luther King, Jr., and the man 1
call my “ partner in liberation” ; M in is
ter Louis Farrakhan, the leader o f the
Nation o f Islam and someone I consider
to be a man o f principle; and Dr. Fred
Newman, the Jewish marxist who man
aged both o f my presidential campaigns
and who has been accused o f being the
T hank Y ou F or R eading
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