Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 19, 1993)
P age A2 IV lu iiiv u iiu r c iu m ii. . . . » ----------------------------- p e r s p e c t i v e s Along The Color Line In The Beginning Was The Word:Spoken, W ritten And, Now, Electronic BY DR. MANNING MARBLE In recent years, a national debate has erupted among educators, politi cians and scholars over the controver sial concept of "m ultculturalism .” White conservatives such as William Bennett attack the term for undermin ing the centrality of traditional west ern culture and civilization within school textbooks Conservativesclaim that multiculturalism highlights the diverse ethnic contributions of vari ous cultures, fragmenting and divid ing American. Some of these con cerns arc now being v oiced by liberals n iiiiH i in n American librar» of color f found libraries today is still influenced by racism and assumptions of racial inferiority of nonwhite people. We need new text books and cultural events which re construct the racist assumptions and theories which pretend to pass for “objective scholarship.” Finally , a multicultural perspec tive in education should insist upon the empowerment of oppressed people and the transformation of society - to abolishdiscriminationandunequa lty Theories of cultural and social reality which stop short of addressing basic human problems experienced in the every day world for people of color in America are useless, A theory is only important in the amount of human “reality” it explains or defines. Criti cal ideas about culture, history, soci ety, and human development can truly “empower” a people who have experi enced discrimination and social injus tice. The task of educators here is to nurture and foster a critical conscious ness and constructive self-awareness, pride and the values of excellence among young people of color, helping indiv idual and groups to make posi- ------- — . live contributions to their comnui - r s * ______ t h n r v r - tlf»C a n d SOClCtV. of "nonwhite” peoples with the per ties and society. Multiculturalism also plays an spectives and experiences of the white majority. We need to explore any invaluable role for white Americans commonalities which make all of us at well, Because no genuine “dia logue” between ethnic groups can ever “Americans” and a any / y n i e n u a i i b <uiu n j critical points ------------ of difference and disagreement which occur unless there is the presumption ... . /• J nil continue to foster divisions and con of equality and respect on all sides. White Americans need to learn the flicts among groups. Third, multiculturalism should lessons of “nonwhite” contributions not seek the simplistic “merger” or to the nation’s culture, art, politics “inclusion” ofblacks, Latinos and oth and scientific fields, in order to over ers into a so-called “mainstream” but come the legacy of racism and pre instead, critique and challenge the sumptions of nonwhite inferiority. basic assumptions and ideas of that Multiculturalism permits all Ameri mainstream. The vast body of tradi cans to discov er our fundamental unity tional scholarship written about people through our diversity. __ -« • jectives A proper definition of multiculturalism begins with the van tage point of history, America s his tory is not just a product of the activi ties of people of European descent The values, cultural experiences and social patterns of people of color - American Indians, Asian-Americans, Lati nos and African-Americans—are also central in the construe lion of the complex American identity, African- lentity is in uus uiv.« American identity this w context historical consciousness our group s of itself, its collective suffering and experiences, through slavery, segre gation and urban ghettoization, and its attempts at self-dcfinitfon. Second, multiculturalism by defi nition should be “comparative” in its approach to the study of American life and culture, This means that a multicultural r perspective must ap- --------------------- , - proach each indiv idual cultural tradi- __ A rtvrsriz'an I n d i a n tion— for example, American Indian culture, Mexican-American culture, etc.—with an awareness of its integ rity and historical continuity, But it should also seek any parallels of expe rience, values and common traditions between various groups. It should u c iw ccu v<uivw> 5 iu u HJ, alsocom pareandcontrastthecultures Christianity throughout the land for Written language began w ith the Anglo Saxon tradition and language I 've the purpose of converting the pagan Afrieans of the northeast section of Anglo-Saxons This movement, be that great seminal continent W ritten read Take the following quotes for sides giv ing a strong impetus toward in stone and on papy rus, it antedated instance, an immense help in exami unification, introduced to the native nations for an Afncan presence in sim ilar efforts in Mesopotamia and vocabulary many new domestic and C h in a-b u t more on that later in this early Europe “The prehistoric inhabitants of ecclesiastical terms derivcd from Latin series. Todav. we will begin with a the B ritish Isles and Greek: alms, altar, balsam, beet, d isc u ssio n of probably left little belt, candle, clerk, creed, cross, dea m odes th a t fo l oftheir language to con, devil, fig, hymn, lentil, lily, mass, lowed on the Afri millet, minster, monk, myrrh, nun, E n g lish speech can foundation— as well. Their relics, which place, plant, pope, priest, psalm, relic, the bewildering, set In a recent Washington Post ar excite our wonder rose, saint, school, shrine, stole, fascin atin g , cre ticle, Harvard University sociologist land speculation, temple, turn, Christianization, how ations of the Greek Orlando Patterson warned that there consist chiefly of ever, did not uproot some long-estab a n d L a tin la n were serious problems in what he lished pagan customs, a few of which stone, clay, and guages with which termed was “the current glorification bronze implements, persist in modified form to this day. we are forced to diversity.” By emphasizing the 01 aiversu y. For example, the w inter solstice, fall of unique cultural heritage of African deal if we are going to make it in this kitchen m iddens burial m ounds ing or about December twenty-first, „ world It is surprising how relevant (cairns, barrows, tumuli), and mega being a turning in the astronomical A m erican people, for exam ple, lithic monuments comprising isolated “ety mologies” can be year, was the inspiration for the an Patterson believes that blacks might The Greeks are said to have had a stones (monoliths, menhirs), simple nual festival of Yule, in which the actually “divert attention from the dis- word for every thing and any thing 1 tombs (dolmens), and stone circles holly. Yule-log, and wassail-bowl proporuonate contributions” they have like that little things of theirs where, (cromlechs) such as Stonehenge, in play ed conspicuous parts Our Christ made to America’s "common culture. ” respectively, epos and logos denote Wiltshire, England, and the Ring of mas has inherited much of the spirit Troubled by what he terms the "sepa rqte but hut t truly m lv eaual ideology m a i an an the spoken and written word And Brogra, near Stromncss. in the Orkney equal ideology that and outward trappings of the Yule rate increasing number ofyoung, educated from the latter was derived the term Islands These aborigines were either celebration. The word jolly, said by ® . II “ logotechnes” m eaning a person absorbed or destroyed by who came some authorities to be from Yule, may African-Americans are embracing," from the Continent during the first skilled in the use of words, wordsmith/ Patterson insists that the genuine goal millennium B.C., and, seizing the be regarded a s-a reminder of that of the black freedom movement should wordcook cheerful season In the spring of the How about a "politician” . Now, ports, spread out over the good agri year, at the time of the vernal equinox, be "social inclusion” into the main study ing the ety mology or the origina- cultural lands The Celts, besides prac the goddess Eastre was worshipped. stream. tion/history of particular w ords can be ticing agriculture, are said to have Although Patterson is a black lib From those rites another Christian a fascinating, even revealing subject brewed beer, mined tin, and intro eral, indirectly he prov ides intellec festival has deriv ed much of its out Being a person ever vigilant for hints duced the use of iron To the English tual ammunition for reactionary con ward form and a name, Easter. Fi of African roots in any aspect of cul vocabulary, through contact with their servatives like Bennett By attacking nally, in the names of the days of the ture or tradition 1 have been well Roman and later contemporaries, they “multiculturalism” as divisive, both week, as Monday (mona, noon), Tues rew arded by my investigation of contributed bard, bin, crag, and many day (Tiw, god of war). Wednesday Patterson and Bennett for divergent geographic names, such a Comball, WORDS. (Woden, chief of the gods), Thursday reasons make it difficult to transform The following book has really Dover, Kent. London, Thames, York; (Thor, god of thunder), Friday (Frigg, the deep patterns of racism, sexism turned me on in this respect, though 1 avon. river, in Stratford-on-Avon, and classism which still exist within goddess of marriage), Saturday (Saeter purchased it for a different reason Avondale; bryn, hill, in Bry n Mawr; our educational process Part of the cumb. valley, in Duncombe; and dun, [L. Saturnus], Saturn), Sunday (sunne, problem here is the distorted defini “Composition sun), orthodox Christians, as well as of Scientific W ords,” Roland hill, town, in Dundee, Dumbarton, tion of “multiculturalism” and its ob- unbelievers, harmlessly perpetuate Wilbur Brown. Smithsonian Institu Doncaster Our May Day and Hallow religious traditions of Anglo-Saxon tion Press, 1956 revised edition I een rivalries are reminiscent of less heathenism purchased this 800 page text because re sp e c ta b le C e ltic c erem o n ies. The author informs us: “The al in my scientific research I discover a Like wise our custom of kissing most homogeneous Early English has number of new and original concepts under the mistletoe is said to date from now become heterogenous Modern (Black Inventors) which I will eventu those barbaric days when that plant English havingderived materials from was held sacred and druid priests ally publish, patent or copy right In Letter To Editor many diverse sources and adopted naming these, it will expedite accep “with voices sad and prophetic” of Recently I had an opportunity to them with or without change as illus tance if the nomenclature follows the fered up human sacrifices and chanted preview POSSE, the new Black West trated by the following examples; Af- tradition used by scholars in the par about the tran sm ig ratio n o f the ern by Mario Van Peebles. 1 had two rican-Chim panzce, goober, gorilla, ticular field However, for this discus soul One tribe of southern Celts was immediate reactions: (1) This is a guinea, gumbo, oasis, okra, simba, movie that all African Americans sion let’s just say it has been an eye c a lle d B ry th o n s or B rito n s, a voodoo, yam, zebra, zombie” . opener in the fashion previously de name perpetuated in the words Brit should see and (2) I hope we, as pub There arc many, many more of ain, British. Brittany, Briton, and lishers, can help it get a fair deal at the scribed course and next week we will examine box office by encouraging our readers The author of this book is so Breton.” “Near the close of the sixth cen some "borrowings” in that wonderful to check their tickets when they go to knowledgeable and thorough in his book by African author, CheikAnta investigations of sources that this writ tury (597 A D ) Augustine, the mis see it so that Van Peebles does not Diop, The African Origin of Civiliza sionary, arriv ed from Rome and, aided become a victim, like Spike Lee’s ex ings prove also to be one of the best tion short (and accurate) histories of the by native Celts from Ireland, preached perience with Malcolm X. You w ill re c a ll th a t w hen M alcolm X w as released. Home Alone II came out along with the ¿Setters to the (3LS/ter, ‘Dance Of Anger’ Author Harriet Goldhor Lerner, Ph.D. To Speak On ‘Dance Of Deception’ May 25 Dr. Harriet Godlhor Lerner, Best selling author of "The Dance of An ger” and “The Dance of Intimacy" will speak on her new book, “The dance of Deception: Pretending and Truth Telling in W omen's Lives. Tuesdav, May 25, 7:30 to 9:30pm. at the Northwest Serv ice Center, 1819 NW Everett. Portland. Tickets are $17 through May 20: $20 from May 20 until day of event Tickets arc available though all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone or credit card th ro u g h New R enaissance Oregon Lottery Results O regon M egabucks Wednesday Mav 12, 1993 • 2-9-13-26-27-31 Saturday May 15, 1993 «4-6-7-17-19-29 O regon Powerball Wednesday May 12. 1993 • 10-24-35-36-39 PB 13 Saturday May 15, 1993 • 15-27-32-40-41 PB 30 OREGON LOTTERY Bookshop at (503) 224-4929 (add $1 service fee), or mail order by check or money order to Park Productions. P .0. Box 55266, Portland, OR (Please pro vide return address to receive tickets by mail.) Dr. Lerner’s lecture is presented by Park Productions, and co-spon sored by Legacy Women’s Services A book signing will immediately follow. Legacy Health System includes Emanuel Hospital & Health Center, Good Samaritan Hospital & Medical Center, Holladay Park Medical Cen ter, Meridian Park Hospital. Mount Hood Medical Center, Legacy Visit ing Nurse Association and CareMark/ Managed Healthcare Northwest PPO ■ m Wlje ^ o rtla n b ©bscrucr (USPS 959-680) OREGON'S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established In 1970 by Alfred L. Henderson S ubscribe I <Hl]c JJu rtlaitb (DbserUcr I T he P ortland O bserver can be sent I DIRECTLY TO YOUR HOME Joyce Washington Publisher FOR ONLY $30.00 PER YEAR. Pl.EASE FILL OUT, The PORTLAND OBSERVER Is located at 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97211 503-288-0033 • Fax 288-0015 Deadline for all submitted materials: Articles: Monday, 5:00 pm—Ads: Tuesday, noon POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes to: P ortland Observer, P.O. Box 3137, P ortland, OR 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland ENCLOSE CHECK OR I The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned If accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and can not be used In other publications or personal usage, without the written eynsent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad © 1993 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS and M ail to : I S ubscriptions T ic P ortland O bserver j PO Box 3137 I Name Address PROHIBITED. Subscriptions.$30.00 pe r year. The Portland Observer -Oregon's Oldest African-American Publication- Is a member of the National N«,vspaper Association-Founded In 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc., New York, NY. and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • ' * / * * » < ¿f*FLY Vi • • „ »; • city, Slate up-code I T hank You F or R eading ¡ T he P ortland O bserver | Serving Portland and Vancouver Espy Calls Administration’s Anti-Hunger Legislation Comprehensive Reform volved w hen I saw the Bill and had my staff send copies to several business leaders in the community so as to receive their input. It has always been my practice to go to my community regarding legislation that would af fect the district, in this particular case, I believed adversely. When I sent a copy to Mr Posey it was to elicit a response regarding how we could stop or amend the Bill. The Bill is detri mental to small and minority owned businesses. Please feel free to call my office for any further information. My very hard working staff, Charlotte or movie is a good film experience that starts the process for giv ing the in volvement and experiences of Black people in the West. Yes, there is violence but it is not random nor glorified. 1 hope the Gramercy people place ads with all of us and that this kind of endorsement, which I don’t believe I have made before other than Mal colm X, will not be taken as an excuse not to spend advertising dollars with us. A Luta Continua! John E. Warren Publisher Bill will gladly assist you. Also, for those of you who can’t come to Salem. I have been holding monthly Town Hall Meetings at the King Neighbor hood Facility and my next one will be on Tuesday, May 25th at 7:00 PM. The one thing that Mr. Posey and I heartily agree on is that our commu nity definitely needs to be involved in the legislative process Respectfully Margaret Carter State Representative M argaret Carter District 18 earrakhan THE S P E C IA L S P O K E S M A N BY JA M E S X BESS C A B LE T.V. MONEY ORDER, P ortland , O regon 97208 j Oregon. Letter To The Editor I feel compelled to respond to the letter written by James Posey in the May 5th paper Mr Posey mixed up a couple of his facts regarding legisla tion I am sponsoring. The Bill he referred to that was initiated by the Northeast Economic Alliance is HB 3499 I am sponsoring this particular piece of legislation to improve the effectiveness of state enterprise zones, not Representative Gordlv. Although she has been very supportive. As for the Bill that Associated General Con tractors has proposed, I became in cartoon Aladdin Both appeared to do better than Malcolm X during the initial days which are critical to a film ’s success. We later found out as Spike complained to Warner B ros., th a t a num ber o f B lacks purchasing tickets to Malcolm X got ticket stubs to Home Alone II and A laddin. T his deceptive practice boosted the ratings for these two mov ies and robbed Malcolm X of what would have been a more significant showing. I have not been asked to write this letter by Van Peebles or Gramercy Pictures or the PR agency. I think the Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy told the House Agriculture Committee that the administration’s hunger prcvcntionbill, sub- mi tted to Congress represents a true commit ment to addressing hunger in America and to reforming government programs The bill called the Mickey Leland Hun ger Prevention Act. reforms the food stamp program in order to promote self sufficiency makes adequate food assistance more readily available to poor families with children and enhances program integrity and savings “Our comprehensive food stamp legis lation is an investment in the future of our nation," Espy said “And it is an investment that is long overdue. Today, we have a tragic situation due to poverty and hunger in our nation.” LECTURE SERIES / // ZZ«* Z«* " 1 1 i/e t m w PLAYBACKS SUNDAYS 8PM CH 33 MONDAYS HAM CKII FOB MORt INFO CALL 33S-O4O8 THURSDAYS 4:00PM BE PART OF AUDIENCE AT 2766 NE MIK BLVD OR VIEW ON CHANNEL 27