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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1993)
P age D ecember 2 01,1993 • T he P ortland O bserver T" JÌorHanfr (©bseruer s r ? p e c t i Immigration vs African American II By Professor McKinley Burt It is quire apparent that the esca lating level o f new immigrants has hit a social economic nerve of Portland blacks as well as those in other parts ot the nation. The only surprising thing was the extent some had gone in evalu ating the phenomena; Far beyond a simple observation of numbers. And there was a variety of com m unica tions, phone, mail and FAX. W hen I first introduced this sub ject last week, it was with the know l edge that there is always a certain number of ‘us’ who will remain “po litically correct” no matter what the cost. That is there are those who no matter the presence and em inence ot the danger will never speak out, it the issu e in v o lv e s a n o th e r e th n ic groups(s). Not to worry'! In the last few days I have received everything from a “History of Korea” and a 1960s classic on European Im m igration “Going to America’’by Terry Coleman to a chart made up by a black college student who used Black History Month material from the February, 1990 Port land O bserver to draw a parallel be tween European and Asian immigra tion and the importation of Africans as slaves. A California reader of this paper faxed some interesting projections of the"Asian-American M anufacturers’ Association; accompanied by some rather acid commentary on people “ who do not understand that they are in competition for their very survival”: sounded like som eofiny comments on "people who do not learn from his tory". She also sent a May 14, 1987, Los Angeles Sentinel, “ Black Aliens Get Amnesty Aid Office” clipping. This black newspaper featured an in terview o f Roy Innis, national director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Stating that not enough was be ing done to help black illegal aliens obtain amnesty, the director opened a local immigration assistance office th e “ S im p s o n - M a z z o li, cu m rodino bill which w ould have made it as easy for black ille g a l aliens to obtain am nesty as for H ispanics. “ I fought for S im p son-M azzoli, but the black le a d e rsh ip holding som e kind o f sym pathetic position w ith H ispanics fo ught a g a in st it,” Innis said. Mr. Innis c o n tin u e d , “ U nlike H ispanic illeg al a lie n s w ho w alk across the U .S .-M ex ican border, over 90% o f black illeg al aliens a tta in th at statu s only a fte r first en terin g leg itim ately : As students w ho o v e rsta y th e ir v isa s a fte r graduating or as visitors who ov er stay their a llo tte d tim e. D om estic c o m p r is e a th ir d s i g n i f i c a n t g ro u p ,” He co n tin u ed his in d ic t m ent o f the black le a d e rsh ip and th eir failu re to a s s is t “ a m illion blacks “ in th is cou n try --H isp an - ics d o n ’t need an am nesty b ill” , he w ent on b itte rly , “ T hey have a m n e sty --C a lifo rn ia, T e x a s, A ri aimed primarily at serving those of African descent (5/87). Mr. Innis, him self a native of the Virgin Islands, said “The amnesty outreach efforts are concentrated exclusively of Hispanics o f Mexico and Central America and the legalization needs of a million undocumented black Aliens are not being met.” Several offices were immediately opened in Los Angels, Long Beach and San Jose. The organization had already developed;’Amnesty Assis tance Sues’ in Miami, New York and Chicago. According to Innis, most black, illegal aliens from the side of the A tlan tic are from Jam aica, Trinidad, Guyana, Belize, Costa Rica, St. Vincent, St. Ketts and Totala. He speaks very positively about their tal ents and industriousness-and charges black leadership with a weak advo cacy for their own. In n is w as at odds w ith the C o n g re ssio n a l B lack C aucus d u r ing the c o n g re ssio n a l deb ate o f S V zona—you kick them out o f any one o f these states and they com e back th ro u g h an o th e r o n e .” From another article in the same 5/14/87 issue of the Los Angeles Sen tinel, we have further indication that many elements of our leadership fail to anticipate events that are clearly seen to be presaged by earlier situa tions. Reference here is to the ethnic patterns of destruction wrecked by the L os A n g e le s rio te rs la st year. “Crenshaw Merchants Launch Asian Protest” screams a headline. Blacks began demonstrating against Asian m erchants operating stalls in the middle of Crenshaw Blvd, long the hub of a key, fashionable black owned business district. Protesting the fur ther “infiltration: of the district by “Asians benefitting from “Federal Loan Policy”, African American busi ness people are picketing thissocalled ‘Crenshaw Swap M eet’. A black Viet Nam war veteran who is leading the protests, rai Is against a conspiracy between the feds, real estate investors and Asian developers to take over prime African American areas and the traditional communi ties. This trend had started in 1963, the year I left Los Angeles to come back to Oregon. There is no way that blacks, no matter how progressive and determined, would stand up against that combine of forces plus the lever age o f Asian money coming in from overseas, including, Hong Kong. Some declared the entire debacle to be a repeat of what happened to African American communities in the first half of this century-w hen European immigration shut off black progress as I nave recently detailed here (And the leadership stood by). Next week; more revelations and do we have leadership here? (After all the Los Angeles Leadership refused to see the protesters 5 years ‘before’ the riots: Mayor Tom Bradley Assembly woman Maxine W aters, and City Councilwoman Pat Russell). T h e B o tto m L in e O n B o rro w in g L arry S chwartz , W est O ne B ank , O regon by Exceptionally low interest rates have prompted many people to bor row money for major purchases. If you are a first-time borrower, here is some basic information about getting a loan to work for you. LOAN CRITERIA When applying for a loan, the application is reviewed for three things: your character is judged by your record of financial responsibil ity. That is, how have you paid your XV bills and prior debts? Capital is mea sured by your financial resource, in cluding savings, investments, home equity, autos, insurance and house hold possessions. The lender may want you to pledge some of these assets as collateral for the loan. Capacity is determined by your earning power (now and in the future) and your present financial obligations. OTHER VARIABLES The amount you may be able to borrow also depends on other consid erations such as the source and amount T H IS W A Y B y D r . L enora F leani Reverend Jesse Jackson may know something about being a power broker, b u t-w ith all due resp ect-h e doesn’t know anything about educa tion. If he did, or if he wanted to learn he would have been in Brooklyn at P.S. 156 talking to the Black and Puerto Rican parents who took over their children’s dilapidated school a few weeks ago, and to me, instead of brainstorm ing the coun try ’s high schools telling inner city youth that it’s “honorable” for them to snitch on one another to the police. Reverend Jackson isn’t putting forward a new theory of learning. He has no analysis o f why the schools are failing to teach our children. W hat he’s saying has nothing to do with education. He s sim ply playing politics w ith our children’s minds, and with their fu ture. Reverend Jackson’s new “cru sade” against Black-on-Black vio- lence-w hich is to be chaired by the Single payment loans require re can be obtained by using spec ial checks payment on demand, or after a set provided by the card issuer. The time period, such as 30,60 or 90 days. amount of the check is added to your These types of loans usually require billing statement and incurs a finance charge. some collateral. Second mortgages, or home eq A line of credit allows you to uity loans, allow you to access the access a per-determined amount by equity in your home. There are sev writing an overdraft on your check eral types of home equity loans avail ing account. Funds are advanced from able, but all have one very attractive the line of credit into your checking feature: interest charges are tax de account in set amounts. O f course, ductible, in most cases. your are responsible for the amount F inding the rig h t loan for you overdrawn as well as an overdraft fee. Cash advances on a credit card can be co nfusing w ith so many of your income, length of residence, job stability, and types of accounts you have with the lender. The lender will also want to know the purpose of the loan, the collateral (if any) you can provide to secure the loan, and the type of loan you want. Your monthly consumer debt payments should be kept at around 3 5 to 38 percent of gross pay. Monthly consumer debt includes credit cards, school loans, car loans, other per sonal loans, and home equity loans or mortgages. £M PO W £R M £N T The Politics Gf Education actor Bill C osby-calls for inner city youth to sign apledge which reads, in part: “It is my moral obligation and I therefore pledge dial if I am aware of guns or drugs in my school, I will convey to the proper authorities where the weapon or drugs can be located.” The rabidly racist New York Post condescendingly applauded Reverend Jackson in an editorial: “There is m uch to be com m ended in this message..It is an implicitcall for Black youth to move beyond the politics of victim ization—that politics which encourages the inner-city poor to blame the ills in their com m unitieson white racism and other insidious out side forces, real and im aginary. Jack- son hasn’t become any sort o f conscr- v ativ e-h e makes that clear. But he is asking for a change in em phasis in Black American politics that can only be welcomed.” Reverend Jackson’s “change in em phasis”—a distinctly rightw ard lu m -is certainly opportune at a time when the resurgence of reaction is chilling the political climate in New York as it is in the rest of the country. (On November 2 David Dinkins, the c ity ’ s first B lack mayor, went do wn to defeat at the hands o f a right-wing Republican in a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans five to one.) But no person of good will could welcome the Jackson-Cosby “cru sade”: its anti-Black, anti-poor, anti youth strategy contains nothing new and nothingeducational. Theassump- tion that inner city kids are stupid and destructive pervades public policy on education; that political attitude fuels the failure of the public schools to reach our children, who are blamed, along with their parents, for the fail ure. Yes, all kinds of “solutions”- some of them explicitly reactionary, others “liberal” (but, from a scientific vantage point, equally >nvalid)--are put for ward from time to time. But none o ' 'h-. 'u address the consequences of that attitude, oi raises the question of how children need to leant in order OhserUxr S ubscribe (Hip (Thr l. ln i tla ttb (© b s c rfiv r • (USPS 959-C00) OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established in 1970 by Allrod L. Hcndurson Joyce Washington T he P ortland O bserver can be SENT DIRECTLY TO Publisher YOUR HOME FOR ONLY $30.00 T/is PORTLAND OBSERVER Is located nt 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97211 503-200-0033 ♦ Fax 200-0015 P lease PER YEAR. fill out , ENCLOSE CHECK OR MONEY ORDER, AND Deadline for all submitted materials: Articles: Monday, 5:00 pm—Ads: Tuesday, noon mail to : POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes to: Portland Observer, P.O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97200. Second class postage paid at PortL.au Oregon. 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Clearly, the tradi tional Euro-cen- tric educational model—which forces students to compete with one another to determine who is “smarter’ and who is “dumber” (based on who can reproduce '.hp most information on tests)-is entirely ¡melevantto the lives of inncr-city yourii (something which they understand very well). This is why the All Stars Talent Show Network, the Barbara Taylor School in Harlem, and Pregnant Pro ductions, a brand-new teen pregnancy prevention program in the South Bronx, are so significant. They are providing strong evidence that inner- city youngsters-including those who have been written off as “learning disabled” and “troublemakers”-c a n learn and develop. The All Stars, the Barbara Tay lor School and Pregnant Productions are examples of a whole new ap proach to education which is based on the discovery that when young people lead, they’re most likely to learn and develop. (It’s why they’re forced to be passive consumers of information in environments other people create for them that they tend to fail, and even tually rebel.) The new approach, which is popularly known as “Leading to Learn, “ is the product of some 20 years of work on the part of psychologists, philosophers and educators around the world, including tw oof my closest colleagues-D r. Fred Newman and Dr. Lois Holzman. This international community/ movement of scholars, teachers and clinicians has been inspired by the work ofLev Vygotsky, an early Soviet psychologist whose studies of how youngchildren acquire language pro duced extraordinary insights into how all human beings learn and develop. Vygotskians argue that learning is in fact not a private, individual behavior butasocialactivity;thatthe“naturar environment in which children learn is one they actively participate in creating together (rather than com peting against one another), and where they are encouraged to perform “in advance o f ’ their development. Imagine the impact such an ap proach would have if it were brought into public schools and communities around the country! But I don’t believe there can be genuine educational reform unless we have much more democracy at every level o f government. The exclu sion of the community from the deci sion-making process-a case in point being the situation at P.S. 156, where parents were forced to take matters into their own hands after the authori ties displayed gross insensitivity to their concerns for their children’s education-m akes it highly unlikely that new approaches, new ideas,and new methods will be made welcome. In the absence of parent and student involvement in re-tooling and run ning the decision -making process, politicians like Reverend Jackson will continue to play political football with our children’s lives. McKinley Burt’s “Perspectives” on “ Immigration Versus The Ameri can Black Family” sends an unfortu nate message, that the “increasing tide of Asian and Hispanic immigra tion constitutes a serious threat to the economic welfare of blacks.’ This message feeds on current anti-im m igrant hysteria and turns blacks against other people of color when by rights, they should be each others’ solid allies. A rainbow coali tion of the dispossessed and left-out is the only hope for for seizing political and economic power in this white racist society. True, blacks arc suffering some of the worst ever unemployment, pov erty , and c uts in soc ial serv ices, hous ing, education, and business loans. But who is responsible? Who caused the massive de-industrialization of our major cities, the “downsizing” of companiescm ployingblaeks.the loss of shipyard employment here in Port land, the disruption of black comntu- niticsand busincssesby freeway,coli seum and hospital expansion? W ho controls most of the property in black communities? Who is responsible for fueling the tax rcvolL devastating equal opportunity education and housing pro grams, and smashing minority set-asides? Big business, run by a few rich white folks, is behind all this misery. True, as the U.N. State of World population report estimates, there arc at least 100 million international migrants living outside their own countries, fleeing political violence and warfare; environmental destruc tion; or poverty and economic crisis. But again, who is responsible? The same big business-multi-national cor- porations with the aid of the U.S. m ilitary-is disrupting the lives of Third W orld peoples. D on’t we all have a common enemy? C ertain ly , as B urt explains, blacks were displaced from businesses and jobs a century ago by European immigrants, who were integrated in to the dominant society within a gen eration. However, Asian and Latino immigrants, by in large, were and continue to be segregated into farm work, domestic, restaurant and other low wage employment. The Rand Corporation, the Heri tage Foundation and the Urban Insti tute all report that immigrants do no take jobs from native workers or ad versely affect wages and employment opportunities. Serious analysts across the po litical spectrum have found that the average immigrant family uses fewer public services than the average na tive-born family and their tax contri butions exceed the cost of services they do use. No doubt some of the new arriv als are being doled out a few business loans and prime jobs, such as con struction, which have been histori cally closed to blacks. Divide and conquer is nothing new. But immi grants of color have historically fallen on the dark side of the Black/Whitc color line in this country. In America’s major population centers, wh itc conservative politicians arc benefiting from the tragic ten sions between blacks and immigrants. Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago all have lost their liberal black may ors. Major riots have erupted between black and immigrant communities. In Portland, the tensions arc not yet that extreme or violent. The alliance of Korean grocers and Gabi ’ s Lounge against the OLCC, the Hotel Workers Organizing Committee, and the Rain bow Coalition education committee aicallexam plcsof African American - immigrant unity to fight for power. There must be a way. * *' % Ç * * * * • t # f • « z *.•# » 4 6 Sincerely, Jamie Partridge SE Portland