Im y 14. 1993 • T he
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P age A 2
P o r t la n d O bserver
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Walking Around And Talking Around The Neighborhood
Now that interaction with the
money-toting tiny tots (3yrs and up)
happens at "Otis' Candy Store & Con
fectionery" at the corner of N E . 16th
and Alberta Sometimes 1 break up my
dav by sitting around this tiny mer
chandising mart for a hour or so.
conversing with the owner and tun
ing in' to the pressure-driven affairs
of modern life Whether it is the chat
ter of happy, somewhat greedy chil
dren. the task-oriented talk of mothers
after milk and bread ( or cigarettes) or
the indignant observations ol your
own age group, you get a realistic
overview of what goes on in all those
houses up and down those feeder av
enues into Alberta Street.
I don't think that things have
really changed that much since 1 was
a kid. only the terms, rhetoric and
slang, and the acrony ms for the social
agencies Moving a block east from
these alcohol-free environs to ‘my
corner' at 17th. we find the "Texas 11
B y P r o f M c K in le y Hurl
1 ’ve got to do more of this, cheek
ing out the env irons o f N E 17th and
Alberta at a more leisurely pace A
few years ago I would pedal my bi
cycle around here, but that got a little
scary for a while. The scenario has
improved somewhat in the last year -
- unless y ou go too far North or South
of Alberta and run into the young
'businessm en" with the beepers or
portable phones
W ithin a hundred yards of 'my
co m er’, one may interact with abroad
spectrum of age and socioeconomic
groups, from tiny tots (carry mg S 10.00
bills) to seniors-diggtng in their pock
ets for enough silver to get that second
beer In between you get the conversa
tions and v iewpoints one might nor
mally expect — and quite a few that
might blow your mind Right around
the neighborhood both black and w lute
America is living, breathing, strug
gling, hoping and persevering.
Lounge" and neighboring restaurant
Again, there is what you might call
one of my 'observation posts . and
besides. 1 am able to enhance my
'attitude adjustment' (and perceptions)
with a brew Social intercourse here
can range from the dow nstairs bar and
restaurant to the upstairs facility w here
adjacent to that bar is a popular ball
room - and across the street is an
equally popular annex that scrvcsclub
affairs and organization meetings.
Credit Jeff Parks
What 1 am say ing her - for those
who have been under the mistaken
impression that retirement'(alleged)
means that 1 have been disassociated
from the mainstream of urban life -- is
that I have never had it so good in
terms of daily interaction with folks
from ev ery w alk (and subway ) of life,
the professionals, administrators, par
ents. teachers, w orkers and non-work
ers. church-goers and others’ Actu-
allv 1 think I may have an ev en broader
window into the'real Portland than 1
had during those years on the faculty
of Portland State Umv ersity - in these
env irons, people are more relaxed and
at themselves'
Mov ing up Io N.E 18th and Al
berta. we have in the 17<M) block on the
northside of the street, the "Good Sa
maritan Church of God This re
cently refurbished house of worship
brings a sprightly upscaling to the
neighborhood, not only on Sunday ,
but throughout the week whenever
church activ itics bring many friendly
and dedicated parishioners to the
neighborhood The ov erall beneficial
effect upon the neighborhood cannot
be overestimated The general de
meanor and conduct of an area is
upscaled by such events, even the
conversations of the populace.
At the corner of northeast 18th.
we have "Joe's Place" that very popu
lar (and peaceful) neighborhood tav
ern that 1 described last winter as the
northeast center for the dart game
circuit A truly busy hub for the type of
social interaction we'v e been describ
ing -- like the other places, a good mix
of people, v ocat ions, politics and view -
points It is difficult for me to project
a better neighborhood for staying on
top of things Thank Joe Benjamin
1 would also comment on the
“House of Umoja" which is the resi
dence youth facility across the street
from me In particular 1 have noticed
these past months what might be
termeda "positiveattitudeadjustment'
in the demeanor and temperament of
the youth here and in the neighbor
hood. The young people seem to be
speaking to their elders again, and not
necessarily because their greeting has
been solicited Man. that makes you
feel good -- quite often it is the little
things that are the real indication of
major events in progress. Our con
gratulations to D irector W illiam
Jennings.
BY MAC SPEARS
For more than a week, a group of
young girls, whose ages range from
twelve to fifteen years, stood outside
the entry way of the Safeway Store on
N ortheast A insw orth and M artin
Luther King. Jr Boulev ard harassing
customers as they entered and exited
They would shout obscenities or pull
at the customers packages or pick
fights
They appeared as though they
deliberately dressed for the occasion.
Their clothing and hair was in such
disarray.
Thev w ere so brash, bold and out-
of-control.
They did all these things w ithout
any provocation
At the time of this coverage, no
one had established the motive for
their discontentment Two elderly
customers had sustained injury as a
result of their pulling, tugging, and
pushing
One customer, who shall remain
nameless, stated that she stood in awe.
a 11 he check-out counter, as these young
girls hurled obscene words at one
cu sto m er a fte r a n o th e r At one
The Zairian People Need Our Support!
by Dr. Lenora Fulani
In the past month 1 have had the
honor of meeting with two distin
guished African leaders w ho came to
the United States on an urgent mis
sion; they seek the support of the
American people in the desperate
struggle for democracy in their coun
try. Zaire On May 14 I interviewed
Lambert Mende. the minister of com
munication and press in the demo
cratic tran sitio n al governm ent of
Prime M inister Etienne Tshisckedi.
on the “Fulani!” cable TV show. And
on June 13 I met in New York with
Kibassa Maliba, the co-president of
Zai re s main opposition political party.
the Union for Democracy and Social
Progress. Both of these brothers em
phasized how important it was that
the American people, and in particu
lar. African Americans, keep up the
pressure on President Clinton to make
good his promise of supporting Afri
can democracy struggles like the one
being waged in Zaire.
Since 1965 Democratic and Re
publican presidents have supported -
economically, politically and militar
ily - the corrupt and bloody dictator
ship of Mobutu Sese Seko Today,
after almost 30 years under his rule,
the Zairian people are among the poor
est in the world. Congressional testi
mony has revealed how Mobutu and
his corrupt officials stole the food out
of children's mouths by diverting
"Food for Peace" foreign assistance to
their ow n use. M obutu's “presidential
allowance has swallowed up such a
huge portion of Z aire's national bud
get over the years that today no
schools are open, the hospitals
have no beds or medicine, prison
inmates are not fed. and the tropical
forest is grow ing back over the
national roads system There is no
official economy. Only an under
g ro u n d econom y e x ists, and
Mobutu is the biggest racketeer of all
- ille g a lly sm u g g lin g Z a ir e 's
diam onds, cobalt and copper to
get the money with which he must
pav his elite Presidential G uard
to repress the hungry and increas
ingly rebellious Zairian people
In testimony before the Senate
Subcommittee on Africa on June
9. George Moose, the assistant secre
tary of state for Africa, said. "The
United States supported Mobutu for
more than 25 years, percciv ing him as
a bulwark against pro-Moscow senti
ment in central Africa, but such Cold
War balancing considerations no
longer apply "
Indeed they don't Since 1990,
w hen the communist world collapsed,
our Zairian sisters and brothers hav e
been slowly and painfully organizing
a transition to democracy. A remark
able national assembly. the Sovereign
National Conference, met over the
course of 17 months and elected a
tran sitio n al governm ent, headed
bv Prime M inister Tshisckedi. to
lead the country to elections. But
u n d er p re ssu re from the B ush
administration, the National Confer
ence had to agree to share power with
Mobutu
Not su rp risin g ly , M obutu
refused to "share" power w ith the op
position. He has used his wealth and
his private army to destroy Zairians
dream of democracy
T shisckedi and his C abinet
are un d er v irtu a l house arrest.
T anks su rro u n d the parliam ent
building. The offices of the opposi
tion press are firebombed. and y oung
boys selling the newspapers are at
tacked by Mobutu's soldiers. Opposi
tion leaders arc under constant threat:
Minister Mende had to escape Zaire in
a canoe, hidden under fishnets.
Kibassa M aliba's home was attacked
twice by Mobutu's soldiers: in the
second attack, one of his sons was
killed and two other children seri
ously wounded.
W hen Bill C linton defeated
George Bush last Nov ember. Zairians
went out into the streets to celebrate.
Bush had been a personal friend
of M obutu's, with the Democrats
in pow er, they th o u g h t, surely
Mobutu's days were numbered! The
opposition press in Zaire reported
every word Clinton uttered during
his cam paign about “ support for
dem ocracy in A frica " But the
Z airians, like many others who
Jistcncd to Clinton's promises, have
reason to be disappointed: Assis
ta n t S ecretary of S tate M oose
(appointed by C linton to be the
first African American to hold the top
Africa post at the State D epart
ment) testified to the Senate last
week that "Mobutu is clearly to
Hatfield Looks At Community Policing
In an effort to gain further insight
into community policing activities.
Senator Mark Hatfield met with a
variety of organizations on Friday .
July 9, that ranged from a youth
services outreach center for at-nsk
teens, to Portland’s new C hief of
Police.
As crime, gang and drug statis
tics are on the rise throughout the
n atio n , the S en ato r focused on
working programs in the Portland
metropolitan area and how they can
be integrated on a national level to
combat this trend. Senator Hatfield
began the day with Portland Police
Chef, C harles M oose They spent
some time in Chief Mosses office
discussing inner city problems like
PA L, w hose o bjective is crim e
and met with representatives of a
number of organizations that cater to
youth in areas from gang outreach
services to job training and education.
He is interested in input and feedback
from the young people who are
benefitting from the services housed
in this center.
To round out his day, and to gain
a community perspectiv e, the Senator
visited Columbia Villa Apartments
whose residents have gained national
attention for their efforts to thwart the
effects of crime in Portland s largest
apartment complex. He shares their
pride in activating a community force
that created a unique local and re
gional partnership with the Sheriff s
office and Housing Authority of Port
land (HAP).
prevention for youth through educa
tion, recreation and athletics, serve
a primary function in the battle
against crime The purpose of the
program is to have police officers
work with at-risk young people in a
non-threatening env ironment and in
form them about the problems of
crime, drugs and gangs.
Just as in larger communities,
smaller cities like Troutdale are fac
ing new obstacles in city policing.
Senator Hatfield talked with Chief
Brent Collier of the Troutdale Police
Department and discussed "TPD's
concerns for the city They will use
this discourse to help develop possible
solutions for smaller-staffed agencies
in the state and nationally.
He also visited the King Facility
I awl
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1993 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED,
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Meanwhile. Mobutu’s provoca
tions threaten to plunge Zaire into a
civil war, reproducing, on a much
larger scale, the tragic situations in
Somalia and Liberia. IfZ aire’sdcmo-
cratic ti nsition is to be saved. it must,
as Minister Mende insisted, be “ac
companied by the international com
munity.’' Prime Minister Tshisekedis
government must be officially recog
nized and assisted, and Mobutu must
be isolated and repudiated. African
Americans and their representatives
in the congressional Black Caucus
have a key role to play in making sure
the Zairian people get that support
from the United States. Without us,
Clinton would not have been elected
Without the 40 v otes of the Congres
sional Black Caucus. Clinton cannot
get lus legislation passed.
There are some signs that the
CBS might be getting ready to use its
political muscle They have to. Afri
can lives depend on it.
Alternate Routes To
The Oregon State Fair
New Front Door
Due to heavy construction near
the Market Street Exit, the Oregon
State Fair is adv ising fairgoers to avoid
using the Market Street Exit off 1-5 as
they enter Salem to attend the 1993
Fair Scheduled for August 26-Sep-
tember 6.
Fairgoers com ing on the 1-i
southbound should take Exit #258.
North Salem Exit/State Fairgrounds
Continue on Portland Road then turn
left on Lana and head straight to the
Fairgrounds
Fairgoers traveling northbound
on the 1-5 should take Exit #253.
Mission Street/Sanitam Exit, turn left
on Highw ay 22 (Mission St.) and con
tinue to 17th St. Turn right on 17,h
and follow the signstothe Fairgrounds
Signs will also be posted to direct
traffic.
river, and a parcel located in the site's
southwest corner. Another exciting
prospect for future growth exists in
front of and over the parking garages
planned along NE Broadway. The
garages are designed to allow for
future expansion in the form of retail
and office space.
Ideally, the vision is to extend the
growth seen on NE Broadway all the
way to thewaterfiront.” says G1 ickman
“Throughout the design phase we
have maintained view and pedestrian
corridorsall the way to the Willamette
River, creating a new and exciting
focal point for the city.”
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Send your letters to the Editor to:
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 972108
I am writing in response to the
letter to the editor that was published
in your June 30 issue front W Gary
G rim m er, E xecutive D irector of
FOVA Assuming that Mr Grimmer
is w h ite, h is s ta tis tic s are no,
impressive at all Everyone in the
P a c ific N o rth w e st know s why
POVA is on the hot sea, He uses
the term minority but docs no, tell
exactly how many Blacks arc really
in v o lv ed H is le tte r sta te s th at
42% of PO VA's Convention Sales
D epartment is minority Ask Mr
Grimmer how many arc Black, which
is the real issue White people arc
quick to point out how they have
reached or exceeded their goals Big
Deal' they are only doing it because
they arc required to. no, necessary
because thev want to If POVA wants
• r MAM *
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(continued from page 1)
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Correction!!!!
“Third Annual Picnic For Preg
nant Women"
Fridav. June 16. 1993, Noon to
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There are a large number of
people who do not study the Holy
Quran but arc students of the Bible.
I offer this writing hoping to moti
vate the Bible readers to become
familiar with the Holy Quran. The
Muslims are taught that the Holy
Quran was revealed to correct the
adding in and taking out of Bible by
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good.--
moment, as a man and his wife emerged
from the store, the girls started-in on
them Words were exchanged. The
man balled-up his fists; and then—he
quickly shielded his w ife and whisked
her off to their v ehicle.
"I wish that they would have tried
something with me..”, the customer
said, “...they would have been very
sorry.”
The cashier said that they had
been doing this for at least a week. It
had been reported to the police but no
charges had been filed. The cashier
said that the girls live right behind the
store.
Several persons had attempted
to reason with the girls and estab
lish some kind o f truce. People
actually felt sorry for these young
terrors
On Wednesday. July 7. 1993. a
Restraining Order was enforced and
the girls w ere phy sically remov ed from
the property by police officers
The cashier shared that the girls
were from broken homes and that she
had. personally, attempted to help
them; but. "This has gone too far", she
shared
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Nation Of Islam
blam e for Z a ire 's collapse.” But
in response to the obvious question
of what to do. he replied: “It is not
our p o sitio n th at M obutu m ust
* t¡ i
* •
to boast, show us your BLACK
statistics not your minority ones
Since I do not know about their
minority intern program, I cannot
comment, however my friend had
an opportunity to visit the POVA
office, recently. and she tells me that
it was nearly all while females
Let’s tell the truth about the
m atter It appears that when it
comes to conventions and tourism,
everyone is getting the opportunities
except B lack s I ap p la u d The
Portland Observer for following up
on matters such as this that may
not have ever been known to many
of us in the Black community The
only time these hotels and visitors
groups arc in te re ste d in B lack
is when it means green to them'
Dan Mitchell. Portland