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P age A 3
T he P ortland O bserver • S eptember 2 9 , 1993
Wh^Fx/x i Li V 6
sure to “ clean up” its p rim e -tim e pro­
gram m ing, netw orks m ig h t now take
a closer lo o k at content and see be­
yond the ratings before deciding the
fate o f T V shows. W ith the threat o f
Rev. Jesse Jackson, B ill C osby
and L o ya l T V Fans M o b iliz e to Save
R ealistic Television Portrayal o f Fam ­
ily L ife in H arlem .
Thanks to a co a litio n o f d e d i­
cancellation by the netw ork hovering
over, television viewers inciliesacross
cated in d ivid u a ls and organizations,
“ W here I L iv e ” w ill return fo r a sec­
ond season this F a ll on Saturdays
the country successfully m obilized to
keep “ W here I L iv e ” on the air.
From Los Angeles to P hiladel­
phia to N ew Y o rk , youth centers and
c o m m u n ity based o rg a n iz a tio n s
q u ic k ly to o k action, asking the te le v i­
(8 :3 0 P M E T /P T ) on A B C . A cam ­
paign conducted by television v ie w ­
ers, w orried that "W here I L iv e " w o u ld
not return fo r another season, ja m m e d
phone lines and fax machines at the
ne tw o rk. The o u tcry came fro m a
national grassroots e ffo rt to save fro m
sion audience to w rite , c a ll o r fax the
cancellation the o n ly p o sitive p o r­
tra ya l o f an A frica n -A m e ric a n fa m ily
on netw ork television.
A t a tim e when the te le visio n
fo r the show.
Even n a tio n a lly respected orga­
nizations, lik e the Urban League, the
B la ck F ilm m akers Foundation and
in d u stry faces increased p u b lic pres­
the N a tio n al B la c k M edia C o a litio n ,
A B C netw ork show ing their support
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: H e lp C o m e s To H a r le m
actor and entertainer B ill C osby, who
has spoken o u t against the sham eful;
added their voices by w ritin g letters
on behalf o f “ Where I L iv e .”
W h y all the fuss? V iew ers de­
manded that “ W here 1 L iv e ” was not
portrayal o l A lrica n -A m e rica n s on
television, said in a press in te rvie w ,
ju st any television show. It was a
positive, authentic re fle ctio n o f d a ily
life in the inner c ity . “ W here I L iv e ”
“ I love the show .”
C o m m u n ity leaders stated that it
was refreshing to see images o f an
portrayed realistic people-people who
w ork every day and spend tim e w ith
A frica n A m e rica n fa m ily and its as­
their fam ilies.
D r. James C om er, c h ild psychia­
tris t w ith the C h ild Study C enter at
Yale U n ive rsity, said, “ W e are very
pleased to view a television program
that presents positive images and v a l­
ues w h ich are im portant fo r a ll young
people...and because your characters
are A frica n -A m e rica n , youchallenge
and weaken negative stereotypes w ith -
outpreaching.” M u lti-a w a rd -w in n in g
sociates w h o embody the panorama
o f the Black experience. Others stated
that the series was a tru e -to -life re­
flection o f this co m m u n ity w hich is
rarely seen on te le visio n —a television
show about the B la ck co m m u n ity
w ith o u t drugs, sensationalized m u r­
ders o r gang fights.
In W ashington D C , where C on­
gress and legislative o ffic ia ls are vo ic­
ing concent about the h a rm fu l effects
o f some television program m ing, an
endorsement came from A m e rica ’ s
by getting the w ord o u t through sto­
Congressional B lack Caucus and the
D is tric t o f C o lu m b ia ’ s Shadow Sena­
ries in local Caribbean-based news­
to r Rev. Jesse Jackson.
O nce the w o rd was o u t that
“ Where I L iv e ” may not return, some
m e m b e rs o f the c a s t w e re
unexpectantly pressed in to service.
Veteran stage and television actor
S ullivan W alker, w ho portrays the
hard w o rkin g father, James St. M a r­
tin in “ Where I L iv e ,” was shooting a
feature fdm out o f the country. He
returned to receive invitations to speak
at churches, on urban radio stations
and national T V shows, in response
to the overw helm ing outcry by fans.
B om in Trinidad, W a lke r’s many
fans in New Y o rk ’ s large W est Indian
com m unity also jo in e d the campaign
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letters and m o n th ly magazines.
A ctor/C om edian D oug E. D oug,
w ho plays the q u irk y , o ff-b e a t son in
the series, was in great demand fo r
t* i
in te rvie w s on national radio shows
and in newspapers. H is teenage fans
stood on street com ers and parking
lots at sports events, and in a m atter of
a few days, handed o u t over 20,000
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k b i/ ” -
flye rs asking fo r support to save the
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series.
T o m a n y , te le v is io n is a fo r m
o f e n te rta in m e n t-a w a y to escape
and re la x a fte r a lo n g d a y . B u t to
th e fans o f “ W h e re I L iv e ,” i t w as
m u c h m o re , and th a n ks to th e ir
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o u tc ry , th e series is b a c k f o r a n ­
o th e r season.
I
The Middle East Peace Accord
n ize the P L O a n d o ffe r a t least
lim ite d s e lf-ru le as a means o f b o l­
A fte r decades o f intense co n fl ict,
there stood Y a s ir A rafat, C hairm an
o f the Palestinians. L ib e ra tio n O rga­
n iza tio n (P L O ), and Y itz h a k Rabin,
P rim e M in is te r o f Israel on the W hite
s te rin g and le g itim iz in g a fa lte rin g
A r a fa t and th e P L O .
In e ffe c t th e P L O has been p u t
on p ro b a tio n . N o w instead o f Is ­
ra e li s o ld ie rs fa c in g P a le s tin ia n
m ilita n ts in th e G aza S trip and in
J e n ch o , the P L O w ill be expected
House la w n fo r a ceremony to con­
summate the firs t peace accord be­
tween the Israelis and Palestinians.
A s the thousands o f guests assembled
on the W h ite House law n looked on
the b ig question was, w ould these tw o
leaders be able to manage a hand­
to p o lic e and d is c ip lin e these forces
th e re b y s p a rin g th e Is ra e lis fu rth e r
ca su a lties. G iv e n the deep id e o ­
lo g ic a l differences betw een the P L O
shake to seal the agreement. The sus­
pense was ended w hen ch a irm a n
A ra fa t extended his hand to Prim e
can p ro v e th a t it ca n c o n ta in the
P a lestinians m ilita n ts and persuade
th e m to behave in a m a n n e r w h ic h
is a cceptable, w ith “ g o o d b e h a v ­
io r ” lim ite d s e lf-ru le w ill be e x ­
tended to th e rest o f the W e s t B a n k
A n d perhaps some fo rm o f P ales­
tin ia n S tate in c o n fe d e ra tio n w ith
Jo rd a n w ill be p o s s ib le in the f u ­
tu re u n d e r the rig h t circu m sta n ce s.
T h e P L O is reduced to h o p in g
th a t the w e st w ill respond w ith the
m a ssive e co n o m ic and fin a n c ia l
aide th a t w ill be re q u ire d to induce
good b e h a v io r on the p a rt o f a
P a le stin ia n p o p u la tio n w h ic h has
been ra vish e d and im p o ve rish e d b y
years o f b ru ta l o ccu p a tio n . It re ­
m ains to be seen w h e th e r the P L O
w ill s u rv iv e th is p e rio d o f p ro b a ­
tio n and w h e th e r the ce rem ony the
I t J ust K eeps
O n H elping
w o rld witnessed on the W h ite H ouse
la w n w ill tra n sla te in to a ju s t and
la s tin g peace.
** •* I
United Way of the
Columbia-Willamette 228-9131
r.
M in is te r R abin and M r. R abin re­
sponded in kin d . O n th is histo ric day
the w o rld watched as tw o people w ho
have been at w ar w ith each other o f
regeneration seemed to be m oving
cautiouslv tow ard re conciliation. But
w ill th is agreement m ark the begin­
n in g o f a ju s t and lasting peace?
There was considerable senti­
m ent am ong the Israelis that the Pal­
estinian people could never be trusted
HowM
to co-exist w ith Israel in peace under
»
the leadership o f the PLO. A m o n g the
Palestinians and the A ra b w o rld in
general m any people expressed the
vie w that the agreement was a se ll­
out. The P LO was asked to recognize
Israel and renounce the use o f terro r-
ism in exchange fo r w h ic h Israel
agreed to recognize the P LO as the
le g itim a te representative o f the Pal­
e stinian people and g ra n t lim ite d
P alestinian autonom y/self rule over
the Gaza S trip and the West Bank
to w n o f Jericho. M ost observers feel
that Israel d id indeed get the best end
o f the deal. Thom as F riedm an in a
special to the N ew Y o rk T im es de­
scribed the P L O ’ s recognition o f Is­
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rael in the fo llo w in g terms: “ M r.
A ra fa t’ s le tte r to M r. R abin is not
sim p ly a statement o f recognition. It
is a letter o f surrender, a typew ritten
w h ite flag, in w h ic h the P.L.O . c h a ir­
m an renounces every poetical posi­
tio n that he held on Israel since the
P P O. ‘ s foundation in 1964.’
I n re a lity the agreement reflected
the pragm atism and self-interest o f
Y asir A ra fa t and the P LO and Y itz h a k
“ R abin and his Labor Government.
The PLO w h ich negotiated this agree
m ent is but a pale shadow o f the PLO
that the w o rld knew p rio r to the Is­
ra e li invasion o f Lebanon in 1982
Forced to w ith d ra w fro m Lebanon as
a p rin cip a l base o f operations and
scatter its forces th ro u g h o u t the
M id d le East, the P LO w ith the en­
couragement and sponsorship o f Syria
and Ira n has also taken its tool. As a
result, in the occupied territories, revo­
lu tio n a ry m u slim groups lik e Hamas
have emerged to seriously challenge
the hegemony o f the PLO p a rtic u la rly
7.- >.
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Govemment waste...a bad problem that just keeps getting worse. Every year we pay more in taxes and every year
more of our hard earned money goes down the drain. Instead of paying for better schools for our kids, it pays for
among the thousands o f young Pales­
tin ia n s w ho fo rm the backbone o f the
Palestinian u p risin g k n o w n as the
government perks. Instead of paying for safer, drug free streets, it pays for even more layers of government bureaucracy.
Now. the new federal budget raises some taxes retroactively, but delays most spending cuts until 1997. This is the final
Intifada. F in a lly , Y a s ir A ra fa t’ s em­
brace o f Saddam Hussien d u rin g the
G u lf W a r cost the support o f the o il
ric h conservative G u lf States w h ich
outrage. It’s time for the American people to put their collective feet down and demand that the wasteful spending stop...
before the government asks for one single dollar more in new taxes.
On September 22. the President introduced a plan requiring hundreds ot billions ot dollars in new spending and taxes
had provided m uch o f the fin a n cial
backing fo r the P LO over the years.
to reform the health care system. Some of the new taxes he has proposed are on everything from employees, small
O n the Is ra e li side, it w a s a
g r o w in g fe a r o f r e v o lu tio n a r y
m u s lim o rg a n iz a tio n s lik e H am as
and the increased casu a lties be in g
in flic te d o n the Is ra e li a rm y and
businesses and employee benefits, to consumer products such as alcohol and tobacco.
If you and your neighbors call your representatives and tell them to cut spending before raising taxes, we can stop it.
To find out how to contact your elected representatives, call toll free 1 - 800-576-9922 today.
c iv ilia n p o p u la tio n d u e to th e
In tifa d a a n d b o ld e r and b o ld e r
s trike s in to Is ra e li te r r ito r y th a t
d ro v e p rim e M in is te r R a b in and
Enough Is Enough.
his L a b o r G o ve rn m e n t to the nego­
tia tin g ta b le . F ro m R a b in ’ s p e r­
Call 1-800-576-9922
sp e ctive , a w eakened P L O w ith a
le a d ersh ip h u n g ry to salvage its e lf,
represented a p o te n tia l b u ffe r, an
a cce p ta b le a lte rn a tiv e to the m ore
ra d ic a l and m ilita n t forces g a in in g
A mericans F or T ax R eform
ascendancy a m o n g the P a le stin ia n
masses. T h e P L O w as the lesser
| 3OI Connecticut Avenue. N W Suite 444 Washington. D C . 20036
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