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D ecember 08, i W
P age 2
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Im m ig r a t io n v s A f r ic a n A m e r ic a n s
B y P rof . M c K inley B urt
W e ll, last week we saw it was not
a new phenomenon among blacks that
they should be disturbed by the eco
nom ic inroads upon their w elfare o c
casioned by im m ig ra tio n on a h e ig h t
ened scale, Though there were e a rlie r,
q u ite determined responses, I thought
m y description o f the e fforts o f R oy
Irin is, D irector o f C O R E , were the
h ig h lig h t o f a m id 1980s re co g n itio n
o f a problem.
It is understandable that M r. In n is
w o u ld perceive Hispanic im m ig ra tio n
as the greatest threat to A fric a n A m e ri
can em ploym ent and sm all business
developm ent opportunities. Palpable
and h ig h ly visib le fric tio n had been
developing fo r decades in fa s t-g ro w
ing Standard M e tro p o litan S ta tistica l
Areas like Los Angeles (“ Urban C e n
ters” to you). There was fierce co m p e
titio n among ethnic groups fo r a d e
c lin in g number o f jo b s, and as noted
b lack sociologist, A ndrew B illin g s le y
described it, “ technological changes
in the 1950s and 1960s, then autom a-
tion and an inevitable dec line in manu
facturing jobs made dramatic changes
in the w ork force in central cities.”
T h is w h ile im m ig ra tio n m ounted
daily.
The unfortunate result o f such
developments is that they always seem
to place m in o rity groups in com peti
tion w ith each other fo r s u rv iv a l-
whether in today’ s central cities or in
so-called ‘ T h ird W orld C ountries’ ,
many o f w hich are s till colonies ex
cept in name. It is a matter o f long
debate whether the establishment (fo r
mal governm ent or ru lin g class) de
liberately develops such antagonisms
in order to control and cheapen labor.
Is there a N A F T A in your future?
Since the days o f “ The Monroe
Doctrine, 1823” (Europe, you keep
your greedy hands o f f our L a tin o
friends to the S o u th -w e “ ow n” them),
there has been little but unrest, revo
lu tio n , exploitation, coups and other
Am erican m anipulation o f M exico,
C entral A m erica and South Am erica.
Then, there arc the boasts and confes-
sions o f the Marine general, Smedley
Butter, who terrorized and controlled
many o f these regions and the C a rib
bean fo r the benefit o f Am erican in
dustry andagricultural interests: N ica
ragua, Panama, H onduras, C uba,
H a iti, Etc. Describing him se lf as little
more than a gangster o r racketeer, the
General detailed “ 33 years and 4
months” o f m aking these areas “ Safe
for democracy and o il” (1902 - 1935).
We shouldn’ t o m it the ’ U nited F ruit
Company” .
Shall we w onder then that L a tin
Am erica furnishes the m illio n s o f ex
ploited souls that assail our borders
each year? Does it matter whether
they are called asylum seekers, p o liti
cal refugees, w et backs o r ‘ pardner’ ?
A nd those o f us registering apprehen
sion should rem em ber, too, the obser
vation o f M r. Innis: “ The legalization
n eedsofam illion undocumented black
aliens are not being m et” .
W h ile it is true that several years
ago I presented here a rather detailed
and w ell documented research on early
European im m ig ra tio n as it affected
A frica n Am ericans, I believe I o m it-
led a 1972 Portland experience that
once again has relevance to blacks in
crafts and in education. A t the tim e I
was not o n ly c h ie f accountant but
adm inistrator o f the Dept. o f Labor
C ra ft T ra in in g Program s in operation
at a local “ m in o rity ’ m anufacturing
plant. There were perhaps a half-dozen
black machine to o l’ trainees.
A t first, m any o f us were naive
enough to suppose that this sm all but
evidently good fa ith e ffo rt on the part
o f governm ent and union to train
blacks in the operation o f machine
tools was ju s t that; accompanied as it
was by much rhetoric on the part o f
both black and w h ite social engineers
to the e ffect that this program was an
im portant m ilestone in A m erican In
dustry. Im agine m y consternation
when I ran across that 1966 study,
“ T h e A n n a ls o f the A m e ric a n
A ca d e m y o f P o litic a l and S o c ia l
S c ie n c e : I m m i g r a t i o n ” . O u r
fr ie n d ly U .S . D e p t. o f L a b o r had
d e ve lo p e d a m assive overseas p ro
g ra m to r e c r u it and g ra n t U .S.
c itiz e n s h ip to th o u sa n d s o f w h ite
m a c h in e to o l o p e ra to rs and tr a in
ees fro m G e rm a n y , A u s tria , S w it
diers” fared no better than have black
machine tool operators today.
So i t is th a t w o rk in g p e o p le in
th is c o u n try and in o th e r lands
z e rla n d and S c a n d in a v ia .
I was im m ediately reminded o f
fe e l th a t th e y have in m any cases
been p la ce d in d e lib e ra te (a n d
U n n e ce ssa ry) c o m p e titio n w ith
the travesty I reported the other week,
when I to ld how the ninth and Tenth
B lack C alvary was promised title to
many fe rtile acres o f land along the
each o th e r fo r o b v io u s reasons.
A c ro s s the sea we see e th n ic G e r
m a n s p r o t e s t in g a n d r i o t i n g
a g a in st the presence o f fo re ig n
new U nion P acific Railroad L ine - an
achievement their indom itable cover
age made possible, It was the very
w o rk e rs and refugees se e kin g p o
l i t i c a l a s y lu m , P o le s , C z e c h s ,
T u rk s , N o rth A fric a n s , etc. S te ffe n
same in those earlier days lastcentury, H e itm a n n , C h a n c e lo r H e lm u t
the U.S. governm ent ran ads in the K o h l’ s n o m in e e fo r P re sid e n t o f
Port C ity newspapers o f northern Eu G e rm a n y , w ith d re w fro m c o n s id
rope in v itin g farmers to emigrate to e ra tio n u n der pressure fro m The
A m erica and gain free title to these W o rld Je w ish C ongress, W o m e n ’ s
very lands. They also put up huge R ig h ts g ro u p s , and s im ila r o rg a
colored posters in public places. As n iz a tio n s . H e itm a n n w as q u o te d ,
late as 1974 there was a 4' by 3' copy “ m ore a tte n tio n sh o u ld be p a id to
on the w a ll o f the lobby o f the Pittock G erm ans w h o fe e l o ve rru n by re fu
B lo ck B u ild in g at S.W .Tenth and g e e s a n d o th e r f o r e ig n e r s - -
W ashington (The b u ild in g was the w o m e n ’ s p ro p e r ro le is m o th e r” .
Do these things go together? More
local o ffic e fo r the U nion Pacific and
next
week.
other railroads). The “ B u ffa lo Sol
THIS WAY FOR BLACK EMPOWERMENT
Is Development Possible?
B y D r . L enora F ulani
O n November 5 1 had the honor o f
introducing Dr. Fred N ewm an, m y
colleague and dear friend, to some 600
social service workers, educators, stu
dents, co m m u n ity organizers and ju s t
p la in fo lks who had come to hear his
annual lecture, w hich is sponsored by
the East Side Institute fo r Short Term
Psychotherapy. D r. Newman is the
d ire cto r o f tra in in g at the Institu te , the
national center fo r tra in in g in the non-
E urocentric, anti-psychological thera
p e u tic and e d u c a tio n a l a p p roach
know n as social therapy w h ich he
began developing m ore than 20 years
ago.
The topic o f D r. N ew m an’ s ta lk
was “ Creating O ur L iv e s .” I w a n t to
te ll you about it because I believe that
his discovery o f an approach that can
reinitiate developm ent in ch ild re n and
adults is o f crucial im portance to o u r
people at a mom ent in history when
psychologists and educators are echo
ing the economists w ho say that devel
opm ent has reached a dead end.
The underlying racist message o f
that statement, Dr. Newman pointed
out, is the reason developm ent is over
is that w ho w e ’ re tryin g to educate
now are children o f color. M uch o f the
educational and academic elite in this
country believe that these children,
our ch ild re n , are not as educablc as
w hite children. But D r. Newman and
his c o lle a g u e s -I am very proud to be
one o f them -don’ t believe that racist
m yth and d o n ’ t believe that our c h il
dren can’ t grow . I t ’ s precisely that
self-serving and profoundly racist as
sum ption w hich we are challenging.
Social therapy takes its inspira
tion from the w o rk o f Le v Vygotsky, a
Russian Jew w ho in the years ju s t after
the re vo lu tio n fo r 1917 challenged all
the assumptions that have been the
basis o f the Western “ science” o f Psy
culture: rich w hite men.) B u t leaving
aside the moral and p o litic a l objec
tions to this assumption, there is a
huge scientific problem w ith the no
tio n o f in d ivid u a l development: that’ s
not how it happens, V yg o tsky said.
Interpretation, analysis and ex
planation are all expressions o f the
compctiveness that structures “ nor
m al” ad u lt conversation , regardless
o f what we are saying to one another;
typ ica lly, how we ta lk to one another
For evidence, he looked at how very
young children develop, and in par
ticu la r how they learn to speak in a
“ c o n jo in t a c tiv ity ” w ith other people.
I t ’ s the same in a ll societies: babies
babble,and “ experienced” speakers-
older children and adults—ta lk back to
them, relating to these “ inexperienced ’
speakers members o f the speaking
isn’ t developm ental because we are
n o tb u ild in g -c o m p lc tin g -s o m e th in g
chology since the 19th century.
A central assumption o f the Psy
chology is that human development is
som ething that happens to, and in,
in d iv id u a ls . (N o t su rp risin g ly, the
“ norm al” “ m odel” in d ivid u a l in this
scheme represents those w ho dom i
com m unity. W e do this by encourag
ing the little ones to do som ething “ in
advance o f ’ themselves (to ta lk w ith -
out “ know ing how” ); they are included
in the com m unity o f speakers in such
a way that they are able to im itate
those who already know w hat to do.
A s adults we d o n ’ t interpret, analyze
o r explain w hat babies “ say” to us
when they babble. W e “ complete” their
thought fo r them. (W hen a baby says
“ Ba-ba,:” we say: “ Y ou w ant your
nate Western economy, society and
b o ttle !”
socially, but com peting in d ivid u a lis
tical ly ; we 1 isten j ust u n til we can take
“ our turn, to be able to say w hat we
have to say.
The point is that human beings de
velop socially, with other people, or we
don’t develop. That’ s why there can’t
years o f w o rk by many dedicated
people, is an approach to children and
adults w h ich has the capacity to
reinitiate d e velopm ent I f human be
ings cannot continue to grow , i f hu
man beings cannot continue to de
velop, they cannot get better.”
O n the fo llo w in g afternoon, 250
people practiced learning to talk the
way babies learn to do i t - b y “ com plet
in g ” rather than com peting w ith each
o th e r-a n d doing so caught a glimpse
o f w hat Dr. Newm an and his c o l
leagues mean by re in itia tin g develop
be a “ science” o f human development,
a psychology, unless it rests on the soc
ial nature o f our specialties; a “ psy
chology” based on the assumption o f
ment.
For i f we don’ t fin d a way to
reinitiate developm ent, D r. Newman
said, “ W e are doomed. A t this m o
ment in history, the very question o f
individual development is a myth.
“ So we sought to find a way o f
continued development is being raised.
Can we create a global environm ent in
creating a learning approach, a thera
peutic approach, w hich was funda
w hich human developm ent can con
m entally com m itted to developm ent
and, therefore, fundam entally dedi
cated to the socialness o f human be
ings,” Dr. Newman told his audience.
“ W hat we have discovered, after many
tinue?”
It takes a lo t o f guts to ask that
question these d a ys-a n d even more to
devote every w aking hour, as Dr.
Newman has d o n e -to come up w ith
an approach that makes it possible to
say YES in response to it. W h ich is
exactly what makes the Federal B u
reau o f Investigation and others who
have attacked him so hostile.
I t ’ s no coincidence that our en
emies call us a “ cu lt.” (T h a t’ s why
they call any group o f people who
don’ t go along w ith their psychology
and who have managed to a vo id being
destroyed or drugged into obedience,
as a punishm ent.) The “ cu lt label is
meant to scare people away from any
challenge to the psychology o f in d i
vidualism , w hich is fa ilin g to reach
m illio n s o f our children and d rivin g
m illio n s o f people to d rin k and to
drugs (o f the legal and ille g a l variety).
Y o u see, i f we aren’ t a “ c u lt,” and
i f D r. Newman isn’ t a “ guru” who
forces people into “ blind obedience,”
then something else must be going on.
That something else is the trouble
some (to the powers-that-be) possibil
ity that m illio n s o f people in thiscoun-
try (and around the w o rld ) m ig h t be
h ig h ly responsive to the new psychol
ogy that D r. Newman, I and o u r col
leagues are creating.
MHCCD Foundation Seeks Items For Annual
Auction And Dinner
V o lu n te e r so licita tio n teams are
hard at w o rk try in g to gather a record
12 at the Portland H ilto n ,
OverS25,(XX) w orth ol items have
$175,000 in merchandise, vacations been donated since the auction s o lic i-
tation k ic k -o ff O ct. 18. Items include
and services to put on the auction
blo ck at the 22nd Annual M t. H ood an autom obile donated by Jim Weston
C o m m u n ity C ollege D is tric t Founda- Pontiac, cu sto m -b u ilt g o lf clubs from
non A u c tio n and D inner. The event - Jack B eaudoin’ s G o lf C lub, a m icro-
- the F o u n d a tio n ’ s single largest fund wave oven and V C R from First In te r
raiser o f the y e a r - w i ll be held M a rch state B ank, and A laskan fish in g trip
from Gary N ichols and a wingback
chair from L a n g ’ s Rose C ity U phol
stery.
ing to donate auction items should call
Karen Hosea, Foundation coordina
tor, at 667-7206.
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I am w ritin g you concerning an
“ Y o u th In itia tiv e ” event sponsored
by Oregon G overnors’ School fo r
C itiz e n Leadership that happened
Saturday, D e ce m b cr4 ,1993. Between
2 5 -30 hig h school students from
around the Portland area w ill be w o rk
ing along w ith 10-15 Reed college
students to construe t a playground fo r
ch ild re n w ho arc learning disabled
because they were born addicted to
drugs.
These students w ill be w o rkin g
from 9:30 A M to 4:00 PM on Satur
day the 4th at the Im ani W o m e n ’ s
Support Project at 5037 N E 16lh Ave
(corner o f 16th and NE A lberta), I f
necessary you can call Shalia Monroe
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Support Project.
Oregon G overnors’ School is a
private n o n -p ro fit organization aimed
at developing leadership and c itize n
ship in the stale’ s young people. The
high school participants represent a
cross-section o f the state in terms o f
geographic, demographic, socioeco
nom ic and ethnic characteristics. One
o f our projects is to sponsor “ Y outh
In itia tive s” w hich arc regional groups
that meet m onthly to receive more
leadership tra in in g , to participate in
groupcom m unity service, and to share
w ith each other how the in d ivid u a l
com m unity service projects that they
better
have started arc going. The students
w ould love fo r more people to be
involved in these Y o u th In itia tive s
and, thus, w ould tru ly appreciate any
media attention you can give them.
Y outh In itia tive s are part o f a na
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ership, please help us to in vo lve more
people form Oregon.
If you would like to know more
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Thank you in advance for your support.
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Oregon Governors’ School
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Thanks fo r the great scries on
Legal A id . H crca re a fe w cxp cricn ccs
on garnishm ent.
As you say you get a notice about
your creditors action. B ut unless you
have money fo r a la w ye r or tim e and
talent to figure out how to “ file a legal
makes the slightest m istake in send
ing the garnishm ent to your cre d ito r
response” . They W o n ’ tE v c n T c ll You
A T im e O f The C o u rt A ctio n . Y o u r
cre d ito r chooses anytim e he wants.
The other advantage the creditor
is given is against your boss. I f he
H ow can you prove he’ s really
firin g you ille g a lly?
every week, He Is Responsible For
Y o u r W hole Debt. So he wants to fire
you as soon as he gets the notice from
court. H e’ s going to say there’ s no
w ork for you.
Run; get some credit counselling
help!
JIM ANDERSON
UNDERWOOD
I like tke way
it makes m&l
American Red Cross
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ossr
at P roject at 284-3965 fo r more in fo r
m ation regarding the Im ani W omen ’ s
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