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Page 2...The Portland Observer...Deeember 30, 1992
p e r s p e c tiv e s
CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
By Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
J
More Truth Revealed in South Africa
strikes” as part of an overall strategy of
regional destabilization. We note, as
we have tn the past, that U.S. foreign
policy toward South Africa during the
last twelve years actually served to
prolong South A frica’s viability as a
strong “strategic ally” both in political
and military terms. The sad result is that
millions of Africans have been killed
with not even a hint from W ashington,
that the lives of the people who live in
the region of southern Africa should
have been protected a long time ago
from this atrocity against humanity.
W ithout naming the accused offic­
ers, Mr. de Klerk announced that 23
military officers are being “suspended
or dism issed” because o f their involve­
ment with covert terrorist military op­
erations in South Africa. Six o f the 23
were ranked as full generals. Although
President de Klerk asserted that he was
“shocked and disappointed,” it is not
exactly clear whether his disappoint­
ment was because o f what the accused
had done or the tact that what they had
done has now become public.
For the first time the President of
South Africa was forced to adm it, “The
findings will lead to the conclusion that
some of the activities have led to the
death of people.... Collaborators o f the
South African Defense Forces have been
involved, and I some cases are still
involved, in illegal and/or unauthorized
activities, and m alpractice.” W ill those
guilty o f these crim es be prosecuted?
Or belter, the question is will the gov­
ernm ent of South Africa prosecute it­
self for violently violating the human
rights of the peoples of southern Af-
rtca.'
During the remaining rounds of
Everyday inside the racist regime
o f South Africa, more and more evi­
dence em erges about the systematic
death-choke that apartheid maintains
against the people of South Africa.
Now, F.W . de Klerk has been forced to
adm it and confirm that South A frica’s
m ilitary has an ongoing “covert third
force” that has engaged in political
assassination and terrorism against the
African National Congress and other
anti-apartheid supporters.
In fact, both black and white South
Africans have been murdered by this
“governm ent apparatus” o f apartheid.
We believe that President de Klerk
knew about these illegal and barbaric
actions o f the “ third force” long before
the public disclosures o f the past few
days. The old saying, “The truth buried
always eventually comes to light,” is
quite applicable to this last difficult
stage o f the historic struggle to dis­
m antle the brutal institutionalized sys­
tem o f racism known as apartheid.
As we have previously argued,
much o f the dramatic increase in the
fratricidal warfare between the African
national Congress and Chief Buthelezi’s
Inkatha group has been orchestrated by
forces within the military and govern­
ment. These latest revelations o f the
extent to which repressive forces in
South Africa have gone to destabilize
the situation inside the nation, are also
indicative of how the m ilitary-intelli­
gence sector o f the government sought
to “destabilize” other nations in south­
ern Africa.
Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and
Zam bia in particular, have all felt the
terror o f South A frica’s efforts to stay in
power by acts o f “ low intensity military
negotiations to establish a transitional
governm ent, we believe the current
command structure of the south A fri­
can Defense Forces needs to be com ­
pletely reorganized by placing repre­
sentatives of the ANC and other civil­
ians in charge o f the armed forces dur­
ing this critical transitional stage. A
failure to dislodge and purge the right-
wing elements from the military will
result in the escalation o f political vio­
lence in South Africa.
The African national Congress is­
sued a statem ent in response to the
disclosures by de Klerk. The ANC
stated, “The steps announced by presi­
dent de Klerk are a step in the right
direction, but are not nearly enough.
The current revelations are clearly only
the tip of the iceberg.” We agree with
the ANC and we further call for a full
disclosure o f all joint intelligence op­
erations conducted by the South Africa
Defense Intelligence with the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the
last twelve years.
The people o f South Africa and the
people of the United States have a right
to know what were the joint agreements
on intelligence gathering betw een the
United States and South Africa. “
Constructive engagem ent” strate­
gies o f the Reagan-Bush era have been
very destructive to southern Africa.
The issue o f changing U.S. foreign
policy initiatives toward Africa in gen­
eral and southern Africa in particular
will present a significant challenge to
the incoming Clinton Administration.
The time for a progressive policy change
is long overdue. As more of the truth
creeps out o f South Africa, the end of
apartheid is at least in sight.
The Portland Observer encourages our readers to write
tetters to the editor in response to any articles we publish
</.
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To The Editor,
W e the undersigned read w ith in­
terest an Oregonian (12/27/92) article
that described Oregon Heath Sciences
University (OHSU) medical students
training in rural areas to encourage
them to settle in areas that lack doctors.
It is puzzling that the apparent concern
of OH SU m anagement doesn’t extend
to the staff that makes possible the
healthcare and training discussed in
your article.
Presently AFSCM E 328, the union
for all clerical, patient support services,
m aintenance and tradeworkers on “the
Hill” are in a battle for a decent co n ­
tract, and for the existence o f our union.
OH SU m anagement, backed by
G overnor Roberts, is dying to shove a
contract on us with almost no raises,
with healthcare that does not cover
families, and that breaks the union. The
state can afford to provide full paid
healthcare for managers, apparently,
but not for lower paid unionized staff.
Paying 1000’s o f Oregonians poorly
and reducing medical coverage so fam­
ily members are not covered hurts all
Oregonians.
This is part o f a move to privatize
OHSU. OHSU will thus have no re­
quirem ent to serve those who c a n ’t pay
for care. This hurts many Oregonians
who have no coverage. As part o f this
plan OHSU is also introducing a prac­
tice plan for faculty, which will pay
them on the basis o f how many paying
“consum ers” they treat. This pressures
clinicians to turn away those in need
and treat only those who can pay.
The OHSU is cutting the School of
nursing from 100 to 24 slots for under­
graduates. They are decim ating the
chance for many women and men to
choose this career and undermining
nursing care.
OHSU has money for perpetual
construction, an “eternal flame,” a sports
center with an indoor swimming pool,
and an gazebo but is a skinflint when it
□Ilyc ]^ortíanh (¡Mrserlier
(USPS 959-680)
OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION
Established in 1970 by Alfred L. Henderson
comes to the women and men who do
the work. The state can pay Governor
Roberts $80,000.00, but pays a single
mother office worker so poorly that she
has to work 2 to 3 jobs, and then pay for
m edical care.
This is bad m anagement and inhu­
mane, unhealthy treatment. Barbara
Roberts plays both ends against the
middle. She plays on the popular mis­
conception that stateworkers are over­
paid by pretending to cut the fat in
government. In reality she hurts poor
and working people with her unfair
policies, and the fat remains.
W e want decent raises, fully paid
medical benefits for all employees, a
guarantee o f our union’s continuation
and no privatization of OHSU. All O r­
egonians need paid healthcare. Stop
shutting the door on the poor and the
working poor, and on those who pro­
vide social services and healthcare.
Sincerely
AFSCM E 328
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The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver
è-l
“ Everybody Talkn’ About Heaven
AintGoin’There”
How many o f the readers rem em ­
ber that warning from an old African
American spiritual ? For many of us, the
stem , no-nonsense advisories incorpo­
rated in those rousing, foot-stomping,
choir-shouting, congregation-respond­
ing choruses ranked right up there with
the ten Com m andm ents as acceptable
guides for entering the Kingdom of
Heaven. Times are changing folks.
Though today’s article is one o f
those lighter, som ew hat hum orous
pieces I usually write at the end o f the
year, it does provide an opportunity to
develop some new perspectives on both
black history and our contemporary
culture. Now, some o f my friends are
aware that on Sunday morning I m oni­
tor the inspired exhortations o f several
television ministries. And in particular,
they know that I watch the 7 a.m. “Show”
o f the African-American minister, Dr.
Frederick K. Price (cablechanncl5,out
o f Los Angeles).
The man is great! Make no mistake
about it—he not only knows his Bible,
but history, ancient geography and cul­
tures of the Holy land, comparative
religion (not only branches and sects of
Christianity but the doctrines of Juda­
ism and Islam). To the unknowing,
much of this erudition may be masked
by a mostly easy-going presentation
that is a work o f art as the good Rever­
end intersperses parables, homilies, vi­
gnettes and quotations from the greats
(without boastful attribution). However,
if you evaluate that superbly dressed
black middle class audience—here and
there a while co uple-you would be
aware from the expressions and the
body language that everyone knows
what is happening on the way to
A braham ’s bosom.
The Sunday morning drama in this
theater-pardon me, “church”- i s pre­
sented in a “Theater-in-the round” for­
mat, which, o f course, places Dr. Price
in the center o f things. You realize that
the man knows exactly what he is
doing as he effortlessly moves (floats)
around the ring, interacting with se­
lected individuals, hammering home a
doctrinal point, eliciting a smile or
sometimes a constrained guffaw, avoid­
ing dogma but extracting vigorous nods
of assent. Y ou begin to wonder if it was
thus in the Shakespearean theaters of
Stratford-upon-Avon where the “T he­
ater-in-the round” format originated or
in the Greek Ampitheatre where the
format is also said to have begun.
However, what this past Sunday
shall remain notable for in the annals of
television ministries was a shocking
addition to a marvelous elem ent of the
presentations. No, not to the interior
architecture or the appurtenances of
what has got to be one o f the most
beautiful churches in A m erica-and,
no, there was no m odification of the
tone and tenor o f the sermon. No, what
happened was much more basic than
th a t-a n d I tell you it was a low down,
dirty shame, and you know how B.B.
King can mouth that phrase.
Remember that this is a “Theater-
in-lhe-round” andofcourse the televi­
sion cameras are usually focusing on
that first circular row o f parishioners-
-mostly long-legged, beautiful, fash­
ion plate ladies whose skirts would be
six inches above the knee (if they were
standing up; only if). Good Lord! I
couldn’t wait for Sunday morning, lay
back and check out that big strong line
as the cameraman did his thing. But
not this last S unday-and along with
my friends who called in shocked
indignation, I felt that somehow the
ministers wife had gotten into the act
(or the network censor).
All o f a sudden there were no
gleaming thighs, no inadvertently and
carelessly crossed legs ju stas thecam -
era panned by a b e a u ty -n o “indig­
nant” frowns when nether parts could
have been “accidently’ exposed to a
leering audience of millions. No Sir!
Every woman in the long circular
front row had been provided with a
blue panel o f the same cloth o f the
choir robes. These 4x3 “ m odesty
drapes” lay across each lap and ex­
tended to the floor. Any other woman
wore a granny skirt that barely ex­
posed an ankle. Obviously, there had
been ushers at the door to direct or
equip the women as their fashions
dictated. Dear Lord, is there nothing
sacred anymore?
Cellular Phone Users Watching For Drinking Drivers
An estim ated 4 0 ,0 0 0 c e llu la r
phone users throughout Oregon are
being asked to watch for and report
drinking drivers this holiday season.
“G TE and the Oregon Department
of Transportation have joined forces to
ask cellular phone customers to report
suspected drinking drivers,” said June
Ross, an O D O TTraffic Safety official.
“ Anyone in Oregon can report a
drunk driver by dialing either 1-800-
24-DRUNK, or 911. W e’re asking cel­
lular phone users to be especially watch­
ful during the holidays.” In coopera­
tion with ODOT, GTE recently mailed
a guide for spotting and reporting sus­
pected drunk drivers to its 40,000 cel­
lular phone custom ers stateside.
“Since a cellular phone is a popular
car accessory, using it to report a
suspected drunk driver at the time and
place you see one is a great way to
make our highways safer for all,”
Ross said.
The ODOT-GTE brochure says
guidelines developed by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administra­
tion can help identify someone too
drunk to drive. Drunk drivers may:
• Turn abruptly, illegally or use
a wide radius.
• Drive out o f their own lane.
• Almost hit another object or
vehicle.
• Weave, swerve or drift.
• Drive too slow.
• Stoporstarterratically.orw ith-
out cause.
• Follow too closely.
"If you spot someone driving er­
ratically, get an accurate description
of the car, license plate number, loca­
tion and direction o f travel. Then call
1 -800-24-DRUNK or 911 to make your
report,” Ross said.
“With the popularity o f cellular
phones, the addition o f thousands of
eyes watching for and reporting drunk
drivers really can help make our holi­
day driving safer this year,” Ross said.
Non-Paying Parents Featured On Posters
Some of the state’s worst child
support offenders will find their pic­
tures on “ most wanted” posters begin­
ning next month.
The Child Support Program of
Adult and Family Services is distribut­
ing sets o f 14 posters, each showing a
parent who owes a large amount o f back
child support and cannot be located by
state officials.
“We arc hoping the public will
recognize these parents and provide us
with information so we can find them
and take further legal action,” stated
Phil Yarnell, manager of the program.
“This approach has been very success­
ful in other areas and we are hoping for
similar success in our first year of
issuing the posters.”
The 14 parents owe a total of
$208,427 to their children in Oregon.
The largest am ount ow ed is over
$37,000. None of the parents has made
a payment in the past six months and all
have resisted past enforcement actions
such as wage withholding and liens
filed against their property.
The posters are being sent to dis­
trict attorneys and Support Enforce­
ment Division offices across the state,
which provide child support enforce­
ment services to Oregon families under
contracts with AFS. The services in­
clude establishing paternity through
genetic testing, locating absent parents
and taking necessary legal actions to set
up child support obligations.
In the 1991-93 biennium, Recov­
ery Services will collect and distribute
$240 m i 11 ion in child support payments.
The Oregon Child Support Program
provides services to 201,000 families.
To the Editor:
The source of the plight of Black
A merica and other parts o f this hem i­
sphere can be traced to Capitol Hill.
Centuries o f exploitation of Black
A merica has enriched the nation. It was
not divine blessings; it was injustice.
U.S. domination has caused m il­
lions throughout this hemisphere great
sufferance.
Federal legislators purposely write
laws to make Black folks suffer.
Caucasia A m erica had seized the
land from the Indian race, and it was not
done through preaching Christianity nor
civilization.
Black folks are being annihilated
gradually; it took the CaucAsians less
time to destroy an estim ate 10 million
Native Americans.
Cauc Asian America (enslaves) in­
carcerates thousands of Black youth in
order to elim inate the obligation of
providing job training and opportuni­
ties to them.
Racism, police brutality. Black on
Black violence, teen pregnancy., ille­
gal drugs in Black com m unities, inse-
curc/ncglccted housing projccLs, aban­
doned homes, widespread poverty in
Black com m unities, hopelessness in
Black com m unities, high rate of unem ­
ploym ent in Black com m unities have
their source in Congress.
Self hate has taken the place of
love for self in many Black neighbor­
hoods due to poverty.
Black America basically has little
or no real Black leaders; the govern­
ment either frame, intimidate, assassi­
nate or use them as scapegoat for the
people’s misery.
Ku Klux Kian members, racist/
nepotic jurists, racist/deceiving jo u r­
nalists, racist congress members, rac-
ist/brutal police officers, racistreligious
ministers; etc. are enforcers o f this op­
pressive government.
A notable Philadelphia journalist,
Mumia Abu Jamal, is on death row. He
worked around radio stations and new s­
papers in Philadelphia. His listeners
called him “The voice of the V oice­
less”.
He was framed, because he was
outspoken.
Within six m onths, Pennsylvania
governor Robert Casey, may order his
execution. A mobilization of Black
Journalists and people across the nation
is absolutely necessary.
W e freed Nelson M andela; we
sh o u ld save M um ia, T he Ju stic e
Departm ent’s Bureau of Justice Statis­
tics reported that as o f December 31.
1990, Blacks comprised 40 percent o f
prisoners on death row. The 1990 cen­
sus found the U.S. Black population is
just 12.1 percent.
Gas chambers, poisonous injec­
tions, electric chairs and instant execu­
tion of Black law breakers on the street
have replaced lynchings. Racist police
officers do not exercise the same pa­
tience they use with caucA sian law
breakers with Black law breakers.
Street executions are becom ing
common in Philadelphia.
The mainstream media have hid­
den pertinent information on the gov­
ernment covert operations against Black
folks here in America and other parts o f
the hemisphere.
Dictators in this hem isphere rob,
torture, assassinate, and exile political
activists and people they rule with the
help o f the Central intelligence agency.
As the saying goes: “Only the strong
survives”
T here’s a silent cry for help by poor
people in the hemisphere; I guess no
one hears it. The governm ent spends
more money on weapons than on the
people because it stands on injustice
and its military might.
The rulers in W ashington are m on­
sters in disguise.
Unless God Almighty intervenes;
most people in this hemisphere will
continue to suffer greatly.
Fraternally Yours,
Em st Ford, wrilcr/Notary
PS Please ask G overnor Casey
clemency in behalf
o f Mumia, write:
G overnor Robert Casey
Main Capitol Building / Room 225
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Q Itje ^ o r i l a n b © b s v r u e r
T he P ortland O bserver
Joyce Washington
Publisher
b y Professor M cK inley B urt
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