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T he P ortland O bserver • J anuary 20, 1993
p e r s p e c tiv e s
/
(The source?)
The most c ritic a l and m om en­
tous issues and actors on the stage o f
Am erican developm ent and expan­
sion turn about the events at the be­
ginning o f the 19th century in H a iti-
-raising our nation in to contention as
a w o rld power. W e are speaking o f the
Louisiana Purchase, Napoleon, T h o ­
mas Jefferson, the great black gener­
als w ho defeated N apoleon’ s best,
here in the W est Indies (T ousaint
Louverature, Dessalines, et at) and
John Wesley P ow ell, The noted ex­
plorer o f the A m erican West.
It a ll began on that Caribbean
isla n d fo rm e rly kn o w n as Santo
D o m in g o ; One h a lf colonized by
France (H a iti), and the other h a lf by
Spain (The D o m in ica n R epublic:
know n by m ost Americans as the
home o f a ll those top m ajor league
baseball players). There are several
im portant facts we need to under­
stand at this point. This land in the
early 1800s was the scene o f the most
vicious and depraved form o f slavery
ever practiced. The o rig in a l Indian
inhabitants, as in m ost o f the West
Indies had been exterminated by the
European powers in their genocidal
drive to develop the fabulous eco­
nom ic wealth o f the sugar and m olas­
ses trade. The unfortunate Indians
were replaced w ith the even more
unfortunate A frica n slaves. T h e ir ex­
ploiters, France, Spain and England-
-already “ ow ning “ most o f N orth,
Central and South A m e ric a -n o w set
their greedy eyes upon the upstart
United States w hich had demonstrated
that even more wealth could be devel­
oped by slaves; K in g Cotton!
By Benjamin F Chavis, Jr.
by Professor McKinley Burt
America’s Great Debt To
Haiti: The Shame
A s a m atter o f fact, what is it that
all Am ericans (and the w o rld ) w o u ld
know i f o n ly a tim id , racist m edia and
equally frightened school system s and
alleged historians had to ld us. The
noble history o f H a iti and its freedom-
lo vin g people w ho staged the firs t
successful slave revolts in the W est­
ern Hemisphere goes far beyond its
b rie f citation in the Rand M c N a lly
W o rld A tlas and m uch deeper than
the current, denigrating descriptions
as “ Boat People” and A ID S ridden”
CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
The second im portant fact to be
considered regarding the Key and p iv ­
otal role o f H a iti in a ll o f this is that the
am bitious Napoleon was the most
feared and competent general (and
ruler) in the w orld. A n d no less im p o r­
tantly, the key to Napoleon’ s m ilita ry
reputation was his e lite and fo rm i­
dable sta ff o f 12 A frican generals drawn
m ostly from the W est Indies. M ost
notable among them was the famed
General A lexander Dumas, the A f r i­
can m ilita ry genius whose son and
grandson became the most famous
novelists and playw rights in France an
on the European continent. T h e ir ca­
reers paralleled that o f Alexander
Puskin, Russia’ s greatest poet and
novelist w ho in the same A frica n tra­
d itio n , wrote and fought fo r the free­
dom and d ig n ity o f the repressed.
N ow we may w e ll understand the
incredibleand openly-voiced fears and
n ig h tm a res o f P re sid e nt Thom as
Jefferson and the other founding fa­
thers o f the vulnerable Am erican na­
tion. Just a few hundred miles away
from F lorida and N ew Orleans, the
great general Tousaint Louverature
had led a successful re vo lt to free
H aiti. W hen, subsequently, Napoleon
sent enough troops over to fin a lly de­
ie a i anu c x u c . . . . . . . ..c
______ _
feat and e xile him , he was succeeded
by the fierce black general, Dessalines.
This freedom fighter finished o ff the
French armies fo r good and put it on
N apoleon’ s m ind fo r good that he
could not both fig h t wars in H aiti and
Europe at the same tim e w ith any
degree o f success.
Thomas Jefferson was le ft facing
what was fo r him an absolute, black
A n g lo Saxon nightm are o f the firs t
magnitude. On his doorstep were su­
per com petent black generals and
armies w ho m ight ignite all o f the
West Indies into slave revolts. A nd,
worse y e t , rumors were reaching the
Am erican mainland, distressing fear­
fu l slave owners and often creating
vio le n t on rest among the slaves. As
we have seen here, blacks on both
sides o f the A tla n tic had not o n ly
excelled in the m ilita ry , but in the arts
and sciences. A w e ll read and studious
Thomas Jefferson knew w e ll o f these
African American Economic
Empowerment
things.
In the M anuscript D iv is io n , L i-
brary o f Congress, we fin d that the
K in g o f France, Louis X V I, issued a
royal passport to “ Jefferson and Com -
pany, in clu d in g his black mistress,
S ally H em ings” . Indeed, so w e ll
versed was he in A fric a n things that
One o f the highest priorities now
facing the A frica n A m erican co m ­
m unity is the necessity to define ex­
p lic itly long term econom ic em pow -
erment goals and to develop and
im plem ent a strategic plan to effec-
liv e ly reach those goals. One m atter
^ a t has caused great concern has
been the lack o f a conqerted national
e ffo rt to really deal responsively to
economic injustices o f Am erican
he incorporated into this design o f
the Great Seal o f the U nited States o f
A m erica the Great Pyram id and the
eye o f the A fric a n God O siris (see
y o u rd o lla rb ill).T h e p re s id e n t’ snext
move was predictable. He sent emis-
saries M onroe and L iv in g s to n to ne-
gotiate fo r French property in N orth
Am erica.
Jefferson knew he must move
fa s t N o t o n ly were the blacks in H a iti
se cu rin g th e irp o sitio n .b u tin F ra n ce ,
le a d in g in te lle c tu a ls , V o lt a r ie ,
M o n te sq u ie u and Rosseau w ere
speaking out against the slavery that
existed in the French colonies (but
racism.
There is no m agic form ula to
economic developm ent. D uring the
last th irty years there have been nu-
merous efforts by c iv il rights and
other organizations to launch various
economic developm ent projects and
programs at the local and regional
levels. B ut the truth is that most i f not
all ° f those effo rts have been too
lim ite d in scope and w ith too short o f
a tim e line. The re a lity is that there
has not been an e ffe ctive long term
economic developm ent strategy that
has involved massive numbers o f A f-
r’ can Am ericans since the rim e o f
not on the m ainland). W hen Napo-
Icon offered to sell the entire L o u is i-
ana T e rrito ry fo r 15 m illio n dollars,
Jefferson jum ped at the chance to
avert an A fric a n -d riv e n “ catastro-
phe” fo r the whites o f Am erica. A lso ,
this “ Louisiana Purchase” double the
sizeoftheU nitedS tates,adding lands
from the G u lf o f M e xico to Canada
Marcus Garvey.
A gain, this is not to b e little the
8 ° ° ^ w or*c
many organizations
that are presently attem pting to make
a contribution tow ard the economic
u p lift o f this A fric a n Am erican com -
m unity. The p o in t here is to sim p ly
state the obvious: “ AU o f the present
efforts w ith in the external to the A f-
and fro m the M ississippi R ive r to the
R o cky M ountains. Jefferson sent
P ow ell to see how much land he
really got.
rican Am erican com m unity to en-
hance overall econom ic empower-
m ent appear to be in su fficie n t to meet
the economic needs o f the A frica n
So we may quite rig h tly say that Am erican co m m u n ity”
the brave people o f H a iti are d irectly
W h ile there are increasing ex-
responsible fo r the preservation and amples o f tremendous in d ivid u a l eco-
development o f these U nited States-
-yet they are repressed, m aligned and
slandered by governm ent, media and
historians. N apoleon’ s correspon­
dence from his e xile in Elba p o in t­
edly makes the point “ M y fo lly was
the way 1 handled Toussaint...I lost
m y arm y and then I lost H a iti” .
M y thanks to my fo rm e r foreign
students at Portland State U n iversity
fo r their m any citations to texts and
archives that revealed the true his­
tory o f the U nited States, W est Indies,
France and N orth A fric a n in particu­
lar. M ore “ real” history next week
in clu d in g cita tio n s.”
nom ic success o r in some cases the
success o f A frica n A m erican owned
companies, there is s till a gro w in g
econom ic disparity between the ma­
jo rity o f A frica n Am ericans and other
Am ericans who have not had to en­
dure the vestiges o f abject racial dis­
crim in a tio n and econom ic e xp lo ita ­
tion. T o be sure, we are not advanc­
ing a ju s tific a tio n fo r “ hand-outs or
crumbs from the table o f the w ealthy.”
T o the c o n tra ry , we are emphasizing
what we believe w ill be a m ajor
responsibility fo r the future o f the
C iv il R ights M ovem ent.
E conom ic ju stice m ust be de­
manded, yet, we must do more than
ju s t make a rhetorical demand fo r
economic progress. Institutionalized
poverty is a m oral in su lt am idst a
society where econom ic opportunity
is m itigated by race and class. 1993
needs to be a year o f sober reflection
and strategic planning by all com m u­
nities seeking a greater sense o f eco­
nom ic justice. In particular, the A f r i­
can A m erican com m unity and a ll
those national and local organiza­
tions w o rkin g to enhance the co n d i­
tion o f the people most m arginalized
and exploited must ban together like
never before.
As more and more predictions
are being made concerning an early
upswing in the economy o f the United
Stales, w ill the econom ic lo t o f the
A frica n A m erican com m unity also
im prove? H isto ry has shown that the
socioeconom ic co n d ition s fo r the
A frica n A m erican com m unity have
not always im proved at the pace o f
Seattle
Physician
Reveals New
Treatment
For
Hypertension
The form ation o f the Institute o f
, Good Technologist in 1939 o ffic ia lly
confirm ed the opening o f a new branch
o f Industrial chem istry by that pio-
. neering A frica n Am erican food chem­
ist, D r. L lo y d A . H a ll. H is b rillia n t
career in the science o f food preserva­
tion brought fu ll round the technology
first developed by the A fricans over
5,000 years ago on the southeast coast
and island o f the great c o n tin e n t-a n d
by th e ir relatives across the Red Sea in
w hat is now called Saud. A rabia (the
“ spice islands, Yem en” ).
Whereas Dr. H all learned his basic
chem istry at N orthwestern and the
U niversity o f Chicago, the subjects o f
ancient black rulers lik e “ The Queen
o f Sheba” (Genesis X , 28) and “ Queen
Hatshepsut” (Smithsonian, Dec. 1986)
firs t learned their d ra ft on the jo b after
bringing back spices from lengthy
expeditions. Back at home in E thio-
gan hauling salt m ille n n iu m s ago.
W hat Dr. Hall did was perfect a method
o f com bining salt w ith nitrogen-con­
taining chemicals that not o n ly better
preserved meat, but have it that red
fresh look. The packing houses o f the
w o rld fe ll in love w ith this genius.
A nother area that occupied much
o f H a ll’ s research was the sterilization
o f foods and substances associated
w ith food. M any people are under the
impression that spices are used to
preserve foods. H all found, to the con-
trary, that many spices marketed car­
ried w ith them m illio n s o f germs in
the form o f bacteria, molds, and yeasts.
Natural spices, such as cloves, cinna­
mon, ginger, paprika, allspice, sage,
and others, are a type o f food ingredi­
ent used in small amounts, yet usually
pia/Som alia and E gypt they soon pro­
gressed to Ihe point o f establishing
infested w ith spores o f molds, yeasts,
and bacteria. Even dried vegetables
(onion powder and garlic powder)
weree g u ilty o f contam inating food.
M eat packers adding spices to their
meat products were actually contam i­
laboratories w hich were attached to
the temples. One o f these s till exists in
the Temple o f Edfu where the walls
are s till covered w ith inscriptions de­
scribing the recipes fo r preparing pre­
nating these products.
H a ll undertook long and exhaus­
tive research and experim entation in
this new area. H ow could he effec­
tiv e ly sterilize these foodstuffs and at
servatives and exotic incense o r per­
fume (see p.26, Sewell, “ E gypt Under
the same tim e preserve their appear­
ance, qu a lity, and fla v o r w ith no no­
ticeable change? Spices and fried veg­
etables became darkened by being
heated in air. They lost their fla vo r
The Pharaohs).
Fortunately fo r us, Dr. H a ll went
to w o rk fo r the G riffith Laboratories
in Chicago, so instead o f a temple and aroma when exposed to evapora­
W a ll from w hich to chart his pioneer­ tion or oxidation. S terilizing spices by
ing innovations that have made the dry or m oist heat above 240 *F ruined
w o rld ’ s food supply safe, we have a the co lo r and flavor o f the spices so as
wealth o f corporate records and pho- to make them unmarketable.
Once again our resident genius
tocopiesof patents. From 1925 to 1960,
he successfully took up a number o f solved the problem w hich had de­
tasks, including developing im proved feated the best minds in the w orld. It
salt compounds fo r preserving meats. was H all who invented the famed pro­
Before his invention o f "fla sh -d ry­ cess o f exposing foods-sluffs to the
in g ” , the process has hardly changed gas, ethylene oxide. It is a “ toss up” ,
since the A frica n camel caravans be- tryin g to determine w ho crated the
S h irle y C h is h o lm , firs t black
woman elected to Congress and firs t
black woman candidate fo r the U.S.
Presidency. L ife -lo n g fig h te r fo r ra­
cial equality.
The conference w ill start at 2:00
< A 4
most b illio n s fo r the citrus farmers o f
C a lifo rn ia and F lo rid a -O u r D r. H all
or the b rillia n t black gram m ar school
dropout, Frederick M . Jones invented
the “ Refrigerated B ox C ar” , thus per­
m ittin g the shipm ent o f fresh fru its
and vegetables across the country
(Patent No. 2,696,086, D e c .7 ,1954).
Dr. Grant Deger a Seattle p hysi­
The in troduction o f sterilized
cian
was in Portland recently to in te r­
spices to the meat-packing industry
v
ie
w
w ith the P O R T L A N D O B ­
did much to revolutionize that indus­
SERVER
to discuss a new “ break­
try. T his process was also applied to
through”
drug
treatment fo r hyper­
drugs, medicines, medical supplies,
tension
and
angina,
as w e ll as news-
cosmetic materials, dentifrices, and
w
orthy
fin
d
in
gs
that
can enable heart
so on. S terilization w ith ethylene o x ­
patients
to
lead
more,
heathy lives,
ide has become a very large business
including:
in the U nited States on hospital sup­
plies
The “ silent patient” syndrome: A
plies such
such as
as bandages,
bandages, dressings,
dressings,
and sutures. H a ll’ s method is in gen- checklist o f points fo r heart patients to
cral use throughout the country.
discuss w ith their physicians to fa c ili-
tate and accurate diagnosis and an
There was another big problem
in food chem istry that H a ll now at­ appropriate prescription regimen.
Dealing e ffectively w ith m u ltip le
tacked. Fats and oils often became
“ spoiled” o r ranc id and therefore un fit diseases.
Proper diet, exercise, and lifestyle
fo r human consumption. Some o f the
topics
fo r patients.
constituents o f fats and o ils are know n
Early recognition o f heart dis­
to possess the tendency to react w ith
the oxygen in the air. R ancidity de­ ease, its risk factors and warning signs.
D ifferentiating between m ild -to -
velops p rim a rily from the products
moderate,
severe and acute hyperten­
form ed during this oxidation. These
products im part an undesirable odor sion.
How to recognize and treat " s i­
and taste. Chem icals called a n tio x i­
lent”
pain, w hich is potentially as
dants retard o r prevent this oxidation
dangerous
as p ainful episodes.
and thereby the developm ent o f ran­
A
d
d
itio
n a l recent m edical ad
< i w
w
* » « ----------------
c id ity in fats and o ils and foods con­
vances
in
the
diagnosis and treatm ent
taining them. It was w ith these an­
o
f
heart
disease.
tioxidants that H a ll now w orked. It
d id not take him long to solve this
problem , g iv in g us such types o f lard
1993 Housing Fair C om m ittee
as “ C risco” !
meeting Friday, January 22nd at 3:00
In 1951, H all and an associate
P.M . in the Northeast C o a litio n o f
patented a process fo r curing bacon
Neighborhoods O ffice , 4815 N . E.
w hich reduced the lim e o f curing-
7th. A ll interested are invited.
usually six to fifteen days-to a matter
o f hours. The products were more
uniform and had better sta b ility and a
better appearance and on and on he
Announcement
w ent to a total o f 105 patents.
News Conference at L ew is & C lark C ollege, 7:30 p.m.,
FEBRUARY IS
BLACK HISTORY
M ONTH
p.m., Thursday, January 21, in the
Thayer Room 3, Templeton College
Center, at Lew is & C lark College
Jan 21, in Agnes Flanagan Chapel.
C hisholm w ill speak on “ U n ity and
CALL 2 8 8 -0 0 3 3 o r FAX 2 8 8 - 0 0 1 5 TO
locatcdat0615S W P alatincH illR oad.
This w ill give you achancc to talk
D iv e rs ity ” . The free p ublic lecture
honors M a rtin Luther K in g Jr.
ADVERTISE OR RESERVE YO UR SPACE
to Chisholm before her evening speech
» 4
t
i
«*
cans.
First, A fric a n Am ericans m ust
invest in the u p lift o f die co m m u n ity
not fo r the short term but fo r that long
term developm ent goals o f the entire
com m unity. The econom ic in fra ­
structure o f the A frica n A m erican
has to be lite ra lly reconstructed to
meet the new demands o f the present
historical moment.
Some o f those who are advising
President-elect C lin to n on econom ic
matters have ro u tin e ly referred to
investment as “ creating som ething
that w ill add to the econom y’ s a b ility
to produce later on.” T o o often the
A fric a n A m e rica n co m m u n ity is
viewed o n ly as “ taking fro m the
economy” rather than “ co n trib u tin g
to the econom y.” B u t w hat those
who w ould econom ically d is c rim i­
nate against the A frica n A m erican
com m unity do not fu lly understand
is that the spending o f the A frica n
Am erican com m unity is more than a
300 b illio n d o lla r a year economic
force in the nation’ s economy.
The problem is “ spending” is
not the same thing as “ investing.”
W e must invest not ju s t in banks and
other financial institutions. O u r h ig h ­
est p rio rity ought to be to invest all
that we can in our youth: fin a n c ia lly ,
educationally and sp iritu a lly.
W hat are our long term eco­
nomic goals and how are we going to
achieve those goals? These are the
questions that m ust be answered i f
we are to be serious about fu lfillin g
the dream o f true A frica n Am erican
economic empowerment.
Board To Consider
Recommendations On
Second Language
Requirement
The Oregon State Board o f Higher
Education is scheduled to consider
adopting a p o licy fo r Second Lan­
guage College A dm issions when it
meets on January 22, 1993, in Sm ith
M e m o ria l Center at Portland State
U niversity.
The proposed p o licy guidelines
are a result o f w ork undertaken by the
Joint Boards o f Education (Board o f
Education and the State Board o f
H igher Education) to assist Oregon
Spicing Up Food-And History
BY PROFESSOR MCKINLEY BURT
econom ic grow th fo r the nation as a
w hole. The trickle dow n theory has
not w orked to the benefit o f the m a­
jo rity o f th irty m illio n A frica n A m e ri­
leges.
In other action, the Board w ill
consider proposed Graduate Programs
at OSU in A pparel, Interiors, H ous­
ing, and M erchandising; and a B.S. in
Education, Specialty in American Sign
L a n g u a g e /E n g lish In te rp re tin g at
W OSC.
The Board is also expected to take
action on a routine item in v o lv in g the
S ummer Session Fee Book and amend­
ments to other fee policies related to
the Academic YearFee Book fo r 1992-
students attaining second Language
education and international under­ 93.
The Board w ill receive separate
standing. I f adopted, the C hancellor’ s
o ffice w ill continue w o rkin g w ith the reports on the 1992-93 headcount
Department o f Education on a state­ enrollm ent and the grow ing deferred
w ide fram ew ork leading to second maintenance backlog w ith in the State
language skills as a requirem ent fo r System.
Meetings o f the committees o f
admission to Oregon public higher
Academic
A ffa irs and Finance and
education institutions. OSSHE in s ti­
tutions currently do not have second A d m inistration are held p rio r to the
language requirements fo r admission. Board meeting beginning at 8:30a.m .
The eight colleges and universi­
The Board w ill also consider a
request by Oregon State U niversity to ties that make up the Oregon State
establish the Western Center fo r Com - System o f H igher Education are East­
m unity College Professional Devel- ern Oregon State C ollege, Oregon
opment. The proposed center w ould State U niversity, Oregon Institute o f
Sciences
j* . located on the OSU campus and Technology,
, wm.v..u6 j , ^ Oregon
. v . 6w.. Health ---------------
w ould involve the additional faculty U niversity, Portland State U niversity,
and resources o f Portland State U n i- Southern Oregon State C ollege, U n i-
Versity and the U niversity o f Oregon versity o f Oregon, and Western O r-
to meet the needs o f com m unity co l-
egon State College.
Celebrating Home Ownership
for Low Income Families
H abitat fo r H um anity (H FH).
Portland Project, invites you to the
d e d ica tio n o fo u r firs t house in 1993.
The form al dedication w ill take place
Saturday , January 30th ^at 2:45 pm at
735 N E. K illin g s w o rth . HFH w el­
comes m in o rity organizations, com ­
m unity residents, and churches to
U l L U dedication
L U lV U U U tl w
i v u i a i u i g home
n v i u v ow
v v i n-
i
the
celebrating
crsjl ip, prom oting awareness o f its
projects, and w elcom ing the Garcia
fa m ily to th e ir new neighborhood
H FH is com m itted to pro\ id in g
home ownership opportunity to low -
income fam ilies. Habitat renovates
and builds houses using volunteer
labor and donated m aterials where
possible H abitat sells these homes to
selected fa m ilie s at cost under an
interest-free m ortgage A fa m ily
w ish in g to qualify fo r an HFH home
invests 350 hours o f sweat equity
in to home construction and renova-
tio n
The Garcia F am ily - Jose and
M aria w ith their ch ild re n Jose Lusi
(12), Pablo Jesus (10), M a riz de
Rcsugio (9), Bernice (6 ) - moved to
P ortland in 1989 fro m C om ala,
M exico. W h ile liv in g in the base­
ment o f a relative's house, the Garcias
went to different agencies to look fo r
adequate housing. The housing au­
thority personnel explained the hous­
ing m in istry o f HFH. The Garcias
went to th e ir firs t H FH meeting and
were eventually selected as a fa m ily
and began their sweat equity.
W ork is done by volunteers in
construction, fam ily n u rtu rin g , ad­
m inistration and many other areas
HFH is looking fo r interested people,
especially b ilin g u a l, m in o rity v o lu n ­
teers I f you w ant to learn more,
please contact Jeffrey M e rkle y, D i­
rector at 287-9529.
Fw bejs/.' nwt//x
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