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EDITORIAL
T he P ortland O bserver • M arch 10, 1993
p e r s p e c t i
v e s
The History Of Black People In Britain, Concluded
One clai m that this book "Staying
Power” by Peter Fryer puts to the lie is
that black slaves and freemen both,
meekly supported their tyrannical
slavemasters in the Revolutionary
War We can well
understand why
l
establishment his­
torians would ad­
vance such a con­
temptuous assess­
ment of the intelli­
gence o f a sup­
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pressed humanity
(Crispus attacks to
the contrary).
In chapter 8, “Up From Slavery”,
the au th o r gives viv id detail to
the large contribution of the Africans
in the fight against the rebels. In 1775,
about 15 months before the Declara­
tion of Independence, Virginia’sRoyal
governor. Lord Dumore sent a chill of
h o rro r th ro u g h rebel c o lo n ists
when he offered freedom to all
black men who would bear arms.
300 blacks prom ptly jo in e d the
“ Royal E th io p ian R egim ent” as
runaw ay slaves
flocked to him with
“Liberty to Slaves”
stitc h e d a c ro ss
th e ir u n ifo rm s.
These freed Afri­
cans were used as
shock
tro o p s,
mounted calvary,
spies and support
units.
Many units of the “Black Pio­
neers” were form ed to w ork as
engineer and labor companies: drained
ditches, dug trenches, pilots of coastal
and river vessels, seamen, canoeists,
carpenters, miners, wood cutters,
blacksm iths, tailors, nurses etc.
Before he surrendered at Yorktown,
Lord Cornwallis deplored the lack
of more recruits among the slaves.
The British commanders knew they
could have won the war had they
been able to reach more freedom-
hungry blacks.
When the war ended tens of
thousands o f A frican A m ericans
w ith d rew w ith th em and w ere
evacuated from the ports of Savannah,
Charleston and New York Thousands
more escaped over land to Canada,
and many reached England from
all these places True to their promise
the British not only freed the black
freedom fighters but awarded them
their proper pensions This is to be
contrasted with the fate of the black
troops who saved General George
Washington at Valley Forge after thou­
sands of whites deserted that terrible
winter.
block(?) entertainment district from
1943 to 1953; P oliticians, city
and state officials, lovers, poets and
all.
In the first article of this three-
part series I described the frolics
and spectacular interactions of King
James IV with the black ladies who
were the rage among the British no­
bility. This was in 1507 and by 1564,
the year Shakespeare was bom, this
activity had been refined to new
heights of gaiety and social-inter­
course. The “Williams Avenue” of
that day was a certain “Turnbull
Street” in London and the “Swan”, a
Danish beer shop was the favorite
hangout for the landed gentry and
theirbrown-skinned ladies—and Wil­
liam Shakespeare!
A yearly sequence of balls was
held at this popular club,” The Gray’s
Inn Revels” and the key figure in
Now, it can be understood by
many African Americans, the real
reasons for what may be described as
a certain self-contempt, feeling as they
do that so many European and West
Indian Blacks seem to have a much
better self-image, and are more ag­
gressive in the commercial and social
arenas. Blacks in America have been
fed a steady diet of the most outra­
geous sy stem ofbrain wash and thought
control ever perpetrated upon a people
in the name of “history”. And, of
course, naive whites also have been
victi ms of the vicious farce. This latter
group includes most of the American
media who are as poorly educated as
the rest of the populace.
Now, for the education, nightlife
and other interracial activity of one
W illiam Shakespeare. The scene
sounds like nothing so much as the
activity in the North Williams Avenue
1599 was a beautiful black woman
named “Lucy Negro” It is she who
became Shakespeare’s "Dark Lady ”
in his Sonnets. Also said to have been
frequently seen here was Lady Ra­
leigh, the wife of history’s famous
nobleman. Sir Walter Raleigh It was
the habit of white females, like from
the court of Queen Elizabeth, “to
disguise themselves as black women
in masquerade” and was a favorite
pastime (pp.9,10).
On page 139 we find the author
(as have others) describing the broad
context of the African history, writ­
ings and social interaction of the
times; Especially as it makes under­
standable Shakespeare’s fascination
with the Moors (blacks) as seen in his
play “Othello” and in other writings.
“Leo A fncanus”, whose works were
a must in European Universities, was
a great influence upon the Bard
This Way for Black Empowerment
g
I just got back to my national
headquarters in New York from a
whirlwind visit to Los Angeles, w here
things were really hopping! I was
there, in part, to publicize my new
book. The Making of a Fringe Candi­
date 1992, published by Castillo Inter­
national. Elaine Brown, former head
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on everything from Jesse Jackson to
racial violence.
My appearance on KABC capped
a week-long visit during w hich I had
the opportunity to address the First
AME Church in Los Angeles, where
I told the congregation that we had to
seriously address the crossroads to
years ago. This is the moment, I told
the brothers and sisters in the church,
to develop new strategies which in­
clude building an independent party
through which the Black Agenda can
be leveraged. I shared with them the
growth of the New Alliance Party and
the opportunities for building a major
L.A. Stories
of the Black Panther Party, also the
author of a new book, Taste o f
Power,appeared with me on Los An­
geles’ most popular talk radio broad-
cast-KABC ’ s Michael Jackson Show
On the hour-long show, we dis­
cussed our political views and histo­
ries and our books, both o f which deal
extensively with sex and politics and
the difficulties women of color face in
gaining respect and support from
Black male leaders. We took calls
from listeners and fielded questions
which Black people had come. Fol­
lowing the strategy which emanated
from the National Black Political
Convention in Gary, Indiana in 1972,
many Black activists concentrated
their efforts in getting more Blacks
elected to office, largely through the
Democratic Party. W hile we have
achiev ed a much higher level of politi­
cal visibility-including high-level
cabinet appointm ents for African
Americans-our people face w orse pov­
erty and racial violence than we did 20
coalitional third party with a cross-
section of independent forces, to rep­
resent the 20% who voted indepen­
dent in 1992 and the 45% who were
still too disgusted to go to the polls.
During the course of my stay, I
also spoke out against the sexual ha­
rassment charges leveled at African
American mayoral candidate Nate
Holden. I underscored that the timing
of the allegations appeared politically
m otivated and th at C ouncilm an
Holden was the victim o f a racist
by Lenora Fulani
double standard in which white politi­
cians receive kid-glove treatment in
matters of sexual conduct while blacks
do not.
While I was in Los Angeles, the
chairwoman of the local National O r­
ganization for Women showed up at
Mr. Holden’s campaign headquarters-
with TV cameras and newspaper re­
porters in tow-and, oblivious to the
obvious racial overtones of the situa­
tion, called on Nate to drop out of the
race. The following day, Elizabeth
Munoz, an i ndependent Chicano leader
who w as my vice presidential running
mate in 1992, challenged NOW’s hy­
pocrisy. “If NOW is so concerned with
sexual harassment of women,” said
Munoz, “where does the organization
stand on Mobutu Sese Seko O f Zaire,
the brutal dictator who has raped and
abused countless women with impu­
nity? Mobutu has been supported by
the likes of outgoing LA Mayor Tom
Bradley, but NOW never criticized
him for Supporting one of the world's
most outrageous sex abusers!”
I was also the center of contro­
versy myself when, during the KABC
broadcast Irv Rubin, head of the ex­
tremist Jewish Defense League called
in to the show and denounced my
asso ciatio n w ith M inister Louis
Farrakhan. Rubin later appeared with
a handful of JDL thugs and a dog at the
B Dalton bookstore in Hollywood
where I was autographing books as the
featured guest author, and called me
an anti-Semite and a “Black bitch.”
While the JDL threatened and ha­
rassed me and patrons at the store, the
community responded by coming to
my defense, buying dozens of books
and acting as my security during the
booksigning. I condemned the racism
of the Jewish Defense League and
called on all Jews of conscience to
repudiate the racism and extremism of
the Jewish Defense League.
I also had the opportunity to spend
time with my friend an colleague
Emmett Cash, who was a leader old
the Perot campaign in California and
with whom NAP had launched a part­
nership to build a national coalitional
independent party. Emmett hosted
mayoral candidates forum at his popu­
lar dinner theatre-the Shark Club-
which I chaired. We had a lively dia­
logue among several of the city’s lead­
ing contenders
1 spent an evening in South Cen­
tral with members of the LA 4+ De­
fense Committee, who have been vi­
ciously threatened for their work on
behalf of racial justice.
I was also the guest of the Ath­
enaeum Committee at Claremont Col­
lege, where I gave a talk on how inde­
pendent politics is the best-kept secret
in America. The students did a great
job of organizing for the event and the
multi-racial audience had an intense
dialogue with me on issues of Blacks
and Jews, the Middle East and the
limits of nationalism.
I raced to catch a plane back to
New York in time to host my weekly
cable TV show (which I hope you all
are watching). As you can see, I’m
already gathering plenty of material for
my next book. Until that’s written,
though, make sure you get a copy of the
The Making of a Fringe Candidate
1992 now, so you can be up to date oh
the inside story of America’s Black
independent.
Riot Prevention: Stop Racism!
During the last several weeks there
have been numerous speculations
about w hether or not the spring
and summer of 1993 will witness a
repeat of urban riots in the United
States similar to the Los Angeles “up­
rising of 1992.” Lest we forget thus
year marks the 25th anniversary of
the Kem er Commission Report on
Civil Disorders Although the Kemer
C om m ission co n cluded in 1968
the “Our nation is moving toward
two societies, one black, one w h ite -
separate and unequal,” the persistence
o f civil disorders or riots in the
1990’s is symptomatic of the nation's
refusal to deal w ith one o f the
basic causative factors: racism.
On this occasion we are grateful
that the columnist, Anthony Lewis,
reminded readers ofTHE NEW YORK
TIM ES of a quote from Justice
Thurgood M arsh all's opinion in
the controversial Bakke case of 1978.
In that case M arshall concluded,
“In light of the sorry history of dis­
c rim in a tio n and its devastating
impact on the lives of Negroes, bring­
ing the Negro into the mainstream
o f A m e ric a n life sh o u ld be a
state interest of the highest order.
To fail to do so is to ensure that
America will remain forever a di­
vided society.”
In Washington D C.,the Milton
S. E ise n h o w e r F o u n d atio n has
just released another national study
on the urban situation
Similarly
the Eisenhower Foundation empha­
sized that the substance of the Kemer
C o m m issio n ’s e a rlie r fin d in g s
are “more relevant today than in
1968, and more complex, with the
emergence of multiracial disparities
CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
B y B enjam in F. Chavis, Jr.
and growing income segregation.”
D r. L ynn C u rtis e d ito r o f the
E isenhow er study said th at the
emphasis today should be on job train­
ing and various community' develop­
ment projects as a strategy to prevent
the recurrence of urban riots in the
nation.
The Eisenhower report outlined
the following recommendations to
the Government as remedies: focus
on inner-city unemployed youth, par­
tic u la rly those w ho have been
m a rg in a liz e d and d iscrim in ated
against because of race and socioeco­
nomic status, a focus on drug abuse
education, treatment and prevention;
priority spending for a ten year period
concentrating on improving the qual­
ity of life for inner-city residents; and
the focus on providing low-income
housing with the help of non-profit
organizations.
Today the reality is not limited to
a black and white situation. Insteadof
tw o societies separate and unequal, in
the United States as we move toward
a new century there are multiple soci­
eties, all separate and all unequal due
to racial and economic discrimination
and exploitation.
Racism is still the fundamental
problem! Much of the poverty that qualitatively.
Again the confession of Anthony
people of color encounter in the United
States is a consistent function and Lewis is noteworthy: “Few white
resultant of institutionalized racism. Americans want to think about reme­
It is worth pointing out that the dial measures for the black heirs of
recent studies on this critical national centuries of discrimination Reagan
problem have failed to go as far as the and Bush political strategy was to
1968 Kemer Commission w hich iden­ arouse racial fears, and then use them
tified racism as the major causative as a reason to do notliing. But a
factor. Until the nation comes to grips divided America, damaging to whites
with this serious social dysfunction as to blacks, will continue until we
riots and other forms of civil disorders face the issue of race
President Clinton has the fresh
will surely reoccur
We believe that President Clinton opportunity to begin to erect a bridge
should take the initiative to call upon across the nations’s racial divide. But
all Americans to place at the very top this bridge must lift all of those op­
of the national agenda the elimination pressed at the bottom and confront the
of racism in all of its hideous forms. sin of racism straight forwardly . Be­
As this society rapidly becomes a mul­ yond racial fear and polarization, we
tiracial society quantitatively, it is in­ must demand racial justice for all
creasingly urgent for this society to without reservation. Anything less
become multiracial and multicultural will be utterly insufficient.
Children And Violence: Weapons In The Classroom
It is not comfortable to admit, but we are failing our children terribly.
J 1__ •_____
First, we began to short change
them with poor quality education
Then we let them down when we
didn’t stop drugs from flooding onto
school grounds. Now its weapons of
violence that threaten the physical
safety of our young—not just in the
streets, but in school halls and class­
rooms.
According to the National Edu­
cation A ssociation, an estim ated
100,000 students tote guns to class
every day. And not just in high-schools,
but in elementary school as well. One
study found that 13 percent o f all
incidents involving guns in schools
took place in elementary and pre­
school.
Each and every day, 6,250 teach­
ers are threatened with injury and 260
are actually assaulted by students
Gettingtoughand clamping down
t *
to get these weapons out of our schools
is a desperate, after-the-fact measure
It must be done for the safety of both
students and teachers Yet we would
be foolish to believe this alone will
solve the problem.
Too often when dealing with so­
cial problems, we end up addressing
the symptom The underlying “dis­
ease” remains largely ignored In some
communities where classroom vio­
lence has already erupted, tendered
“solutions" to the problem of children
with weapons include the installation
of metal detectors in schools and
tougher penalties on parents whose
kids arc found with guns or knives
These are not necessarily bad ideas,
but they really address symptoms, not
causes.
It would be very shortsighted to
think that the entire scope of the prob-
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f
lem is simply the guns and knives
hidden away in school lockers or in
knapsacks Why, we must ask, do so
many children feel the need to arm
themselves? Why do so many kids
now get a kick out of having the power
to inflict harm upon fellow students
and teachers—whether they use that
power or not?
One could point a finger at many
different influences Gangs. Crime in
the streets. Drugs Violence on televi­
sion Families breaking up and turbu­
lent home lives. All these are un­
doubtedly factors.
Yet underneath these is perhaps
the most heartbreaking situation of
all. Our children are failing to learn
respect for the rights others. They are
failing to learn respect for decent and
honest behavior They are failing to
learn respect and compassion for other
'
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in
tk z » o n / 4
from school and become less mean
mgfiil in the liv es of more and more
children, inadvertently so has most
moral training been demolished
Today, many children are not ef­
fectively taught what is right and
wrong, or that there is even a clear
distinction between the two. They do
not learn th a t while sometimes hard
and even uncomfortable, choosing
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■ ” I*1, * * < ' *
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human beings. And this in the end
only leads to a lack of respect for
themselves
So weapons become a crutch to
feeling big and important. That con­
dition is a tragic state for any person to
be in, not matter his or her age
O f course, what we are really
talking about here is moral decay-for
m uiau are
me simply 6u.ut
....« for
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morals
guidelines
get-
ting along honestly and decently with
others. As religion has been removed
* *
rightoverwTongistheonlywaytoend
up with a life they will be proud of.
Putting metal detectors in schools
isn’t going to solve this. We need to
get moral training back into schools,
taught in such a way that will make
sense to children. Fortunately , there is
a published moral code based entirely
on common sense which children re-
spond to remarkably. Being non-reli-
gious, it doesn’t usually undermine or
conflict with any religious belief the
child may have. Yet it presents a set of
guidelines for living a decent, honest
and productive life.
What is this moral code? Well,
quite appropriately , it is called “The
Way To Happiness” and it was written
by American author L. Ron Hubbard
after he grew concerned about the
continuing moral decay in our society
The booklet has served as the
r i n h t r t v P T U T A f l O 1C t h p H T lI v W A V t i l P f l d
K
'lS
basis
for the yearly Set A Good Ex-
ample contest which now involves over
6,000 schools. And a number of schools
have started to go even further, includ-
ing the booklet in their actual curricu-
lums.
How effective is the booklet? In
one school I visited where such a course
exists, one frequently hears young stu-
dents, even seven or eight years of age,
pointing out inappropriate behavior to
other students. Thai s not the way to
happiness!” they will say These stu-
dents have a set of rules for living a
good life based on truth and honesty
So guns and knives aren’t the real
problem There is a terrible, empty
void of moral confusion that too many
of our children are falling into “The
Way To happiness" is a rope we can
throw them so they can begin to climb
out