M arch 23, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver
P age A?
THIS WAY FOR BLACK EMPOWERMENT
<3ivil R ig h ts ¿Journal
Mr. President, Put Democracy First!
Stop The Violence!
B ernice P owell J ackson
Last week I went with a friend to
help select a casket for her husband. We
were in W ashington, D.C., at an old and
established African American funeral
home. As we looked at the various cof­
fins, 1 stopped in front of a black one
w hich had a Rente cloth trimm ed liner
and pillow. 1 knew this coffin had not
been there four years ago, when 1 was last
there. Then I realized that this coffin had
been designed for their fastest-growing
market -- young African American men.
It must be difficult to be an under­
taker in black America these days. It
m ust be difficult to see week after week
young men mourned by their mothers
and sisters and brothers, loudl y mourned
by their friends, who themselves soon
may become one of the mourned. It must
be difficult to em balm young children
who are innocent victims o f drive-by
shootings or who are killed w ith guns
accidentally, often by other children who
are either their relatives or playmates.
It m ust be difficult to be a pastor in
black America these days. It must be
difficult to find ways to console incon­
solable mothers who have lost their sons
because of jackets or shoes or jew elry. It
m ust be difficult to support the other
children, locked in a world of retribution
and violence and knowing no way to end
this spiral which can only end in the self-
annihilation o f a generation.
It must be difficult to be a police
officer in black America these days. It
must be difficult to know that young
people have access to weapons more
powerful than the ones you carry and
that for many o f them human life has no
value and little reality. It must be espe­
cially difficult if you arc an African
American officer, constantly faced with
the fact that these are your children and
the children of your sisters and brothers
and neighbors.
It m ust be difficult to work in a
hospital em erg en cy room in black
America these says. It must be difficult to
see young people thirteen, fourteen, six­
teen years old wheeled in with gunshot
wounds night after night. Some o f them
have been shot two or three times before.
Some are able to walk out, some face a
lifetime in a wheelchair, others are taken
out in a hearse. It m ust be difficult to hear
their cries in the em ergency room late at
night, after all, they are only children.
It must be difficult to be a teacher in
black America these days. It m ust be
difficult to help young people deal with
the loss of their classmates who have
been killed. It m ust be difficult to find
ways out o f the violence for those who
are trying desperately to stay out of the
violence. It m ust be difficult to get stu­
dents to concentrate on geography or
chemistry or algebra when the violence
whirls around them, like a great w hirl­
wind threatening to pull in all those
nearby.
It must be difficult to be a parent in
black America these days. It m ust be
p e r s p
horrible to worry about your children,
about whether they will com e hom e from
school alive each and everyday. It must
be horrible to worry about whether you
will be called to that hospital emergency
room, or worse, that you will be visited
by that police officer or pastor or teacher
with the word that your child is no more.
It m ust be horrible to live with a knot o f
anxiety in your stomach day in and day
out.
It m ust be difficult to be a young
African American these days. It must be
difficult trying to stay out of the violence
when your peers ridicule you for making
good grades in school or for going at all.
It must be difficult if you arc a gang
member, always looking over your shoul­
der, always having to prove how tough
you are, even when deep down inside
you’re ju st a frightened sixteen year old
who doesn’t know a way out. It m ust be
difficult to worry about your younger
sisters and brothers, about whether they
too, will get home from school alive.
E very d ay four A frican A m eri­
can m ale children u n d er ag e 19 are
k illed by guns. A cc o rd in g to th e
C h ild re n ’s D efense F u n d , h o m icid e
is the th ird leading cau se o f d eath fo r
ch ild ren ages 5-14. W h at w ill it take
to m ak e us - each o f us - ta k e o n e step
to stop the violence? T h ere are 30
m illio n A fric an A m e ric a n s. T h a t
w ould be 30 m illion steps. C an w e
even im agine how far 30 m illio n steps
w ould take us? L e t’s g et started.
e c t i v e s
C h e c k in g B a s e s A r o u n d T h e M e d ic a l P la n t a t io n
by
P rop . M c K inley B lrt
Perhaps we have been placing too
much emphasis on The “Clinton Health
Plan” and neglecting many peripheral,
yet important health issues.
W hat indeed should invoke more of
our concern than a recent report by the
L.A. Timcs-W ashington Post News Ser­
vice; “Racial characteristics can affect
potency of prescription drugs” . The re­
port goes on to make a very significant
point, “Now that pharmaceutical com pa­
nies are including more minorities in
their clinical trials of new drugs, one risk
factor has becom e even more apparent:
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Ethnicity!”
Most immediately it occurs to m e -
- and perhaps to you -- that here and
there, but in no coordinated fashion, we
have all read of, or heard of, certain
adverse reactions to medicines by Afri­
can Americans; Responses that ‘ seem ed’
race specific but where, o f course, there
was no reference work or body to which
one could turn for verification. I am
deeply disturbed, even contacting a num ­
ber o f local phsycians and medical cen­
ters - nothing so far, but I am proceeding
further. More on that in a moment.
It is also staled in this report that
som e medications can be toxic to black
patients with the Sickle Cell Trait.
Also, it is said that Asians metabo-
lize tranquilizers differently than C au­
casians, and might require a smaller dose.
Hispanics may need a smaller dose of
pain medication to avoid unpleasant side
effects. Even hair color can pose prob­
lems. Red-haired children are often al­
lergic to antibiotics. Note, too, that these
preliminary findings concern only “pre­
scription” drugs - w hat about “over-the-
counter’ medications?
Looking at health care from a differ-
entvantagepoint(ordisadvantagcpoint),
we see that western Indian leaders are
greatly disturbedabouttheeffectofhealth
care reform on American Indians. It is
not ju st that they fear that proposed
changes in their relationships with the
federal government will undermine their
culture, but that an already fragile health
situation will degenerate. In 1987 the
death rate for American Indians in O r­
egon, age 15 to 44, was 88% higher than
for all Oregonians. Playing a role in this
depressing scenario was lack of prenatal
care, alcoholism, accidents and homi­
cides.
Though an administration official
says that under the Clinton Plan A m eri­
can Indians would be free to choose their
own health care providers, the vice chair­
woman o f the Nez Perce Tribe and the
N orthwest and National Indian Health
boards said “All I can see is trouble with
this health care reform.” Now, w e w on­
der why the Indians would mistrust the
“great white father”, ju st no faith. Jo ­
seph B.. D elacruz, chairm an o f the
Quinalt nation suggests a very good rea­
son during a meeting with national health
officials in Vancouver, W ash.
“T he Quinalts gave up 6 million
acres that are now the O lympic National
park and national forest...like other
Am erican Indians, the Quinatls signed
treaties promising them benefits, includ­
ing health care and education, in ex­
change for their land” D elaeruz w ent on
to say, “the Indians have paid for their
education and health care... if you w on’t
do it, you can give us our land back.”
Amen! There are a lot o f caveats abound­
ing. There is fear that if too many Indians
left the Indian Heal th Service that agency
would have its federal support c u t-le a v ­
ing those who remained with greatly
impaired service. “So m uch fine print in
the document, and so m any unanswered
questions.”
And we all need to be the very
epitome o f vigilance as we ourselves
take a look at that “fine print”; Espe­
cially all those new investigators and
contract enforcement people who already
are being referred to as the “health po­
lice”. Letting one’s guard down could be
dangerous to your health’.
I
D r . L enor ,\ F ulani
ast m onth, nearly a year a f
ter B ill C lin to n b ecam e presi
.
dent o f the U nited S tates, the
W ashington P o st becam e the first (and
so far, the o n ly ) m em b er o f the m a in ­
stream m ed ia to p o in t o ut the C lin to n
a d m in istra tio n ’s b etray al o f A frican
dem ocracy m ovem ents in general, and
the Z airian d em o cracy m o v em en t in
p articu la r. In an ed ito rial that w en t
beyond the now co m m o n co n d e m n a­
tion o f the 2 7 -y car-o ld C IA -in stalled
dictato rsh ip o f M obutu S csc S cko, the
Post u n d ersco red the ro le the a d m in ­
istration is p lay in g in k eep in g the
d ictator in p o w er in A fric a ’s second
larg est nation.
“Last m onth American, French and
Belgian d ip lo m ats ap p ro ach ed Mr.
Mobutu and Prime M inister [Etienne]
Tshisckedi and asked the two men to set
aside their differences and form a new
coalition governm ent,” read the Post
editorial. “ Mr Tshisckedi, who wants
Mr. Mobutu out, denounced the trilat­
eral proposal as capitulation to a corrupt
d ic ta to r... Mr. Tshisckedi is right to be
disappointed, especially with an adm in­
istration that promised better.”
Having robbed his country blind for
the past three decades while making
him self into the fifth richest man in the
world, Mobutu seems ready and willing
to drag the Zairian people dow n into
endless horrors rather than concede power
to the transitional dem ocratic govern­
ment headed by Tshisckedi, who was
elected with 71% o f the vote by the
S o v e re ig n N a tio n a l C o n fe re n c e .
M o b u tu ’s o n g o in g s a b o ta g e o f
Tshisckedi’s efforts to dem ocratize the
country have produced truly apocalyptic
conditions in Zaire.
Bubonic plague, long since eradi­
cated from the country, has reappeared
in northeastern Zaire. Hospitals and clin­
ics, repeatedly looted by the Mobutu
regim e’s soldiers, have no medicine to
fight the plague, nor the epidemics of
measles, cholera and tuberculosis which
threaten millions more. To make matters
worse, the disease has broken out in an
Joyce W ashington
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h v ä l?
W
on Capitol Hill to make congress - par­
ticularly the Congressional Black C au­
cus - aware o f what was going on in Zaire
and the need to do something about it.
Representative Donald Payne (D-
NJ), the senior CBC member on the
Africa Subcommittee, has taken the lead
in this session of Congress, introducing
house Resolution 128 w hich “urges
President Clinton to pressure Mobutu to
leave Zaire” and recommends a variety
o f severe sanctions to press this point.
I t’s im p o rtan t to n o te th at H .R .
128, w hich has the su p p o rt o f alm o st
all the m em b ers o f the C B C , is d i­
rected n ot tow ard the likes o f G eo rg e
Bush - w hose personal friendship w ith
M obutu goes back to his days as C IA
d irec to r - b ut to B ill C lin to n , a D em o ­
crat w h o o w es his narro w p resid e n ­
tial v icto ry to the A frican A m erican
electo rate and w ho p ro m ised us a new
era o f su p p o rt for dem o cracy in A f­
2nd Anniversary Sale Continues
O n F ebruary 8 ,1 9 9 4 , m y teen ­
ag ed d au g h ter, w h ile retu rn in g m e r­
ch a n d ise , w as attack ed , throw n to the
floor, and h andcuffed by M eier &
Frank security o fficers a t the L loyd
C e n ter M all. She w as held by security
for ap p ro x im ately tw o h ours an d w as
then taken to D onald E. L ong ju v e ­
nile S ervices, w h ere she w as held
approx im atcly for an o th er tw o hours.
T o d a te , m y d a u g h te r h a s n o t
b e e n c h a r g e d w ith a n y c r im e . W e
a r e a w a re o f n u m e r o u s in c id e n ts
o f th is n a tu r e a t th e L lo y d C e n te r
M a ll, a n d a rc lo o k in g fo r o th e r
c o m m u n ity m e m b e r s to jo in u s in
f in d in g a s o lu tio n to th e a b u s iv e
a n d d is r e s p e c tf u l tr e a tm e n t o f o u r
c h i l d r e n a n d c o m m u n ity a s a
w h o le .
I f y o u a r c a c o n c e r n e d c itiz e n a n d
in te r e s te d in a d d r e s s in g th e s e v io ­
le n t a tta c k s o n o u r c h ild r e n ,
p le a s e c a ll 2 9 3 - 3 3 7 3 fo r m o re
in f o r m a tio n . W e n e e d y o u r s u p ­
p o r t.
T hank you
C o n c e r n e d C itiz e n s
Publisher
leader until he can find so m eo n e m ore
to his liking.
Though hardly a radical, Tshisekedi
is the m ost popular political leader in
Zaire. C linton’s disregard for the hard-
won democratic institutions of the Zairian
people - their constitution, their parlia­
ment and their popular prime minster -
reveals an extraordinarily (and extraor­
dinarily racist) bias against politics and
political activity by the Zairian people.
Clinton wants a technocratic “solution”
brokered by supposedly non-polideal out­
side players (like the U.S. State D epart­
ment!) which are not accountable to the
Zairian people. Politics and democracy
are, apparently, good enough for white
against his government.
Countering these Clinton-supported
moves against African democracy are
the Zairian people and their allies here in
th e U n ite d S ta te s. B ack in 1987
Tshisckedi reached out for support to
independent Black leaders in the United
States. I’ve been organizing hum anitar­
ian aid, and a pcople-to-peoplc connec­
tion between the Zairian people and the
American people ever since. I ’ ve worked
with the Rainbow Lobby and later the
democracy lobbying firm of Ross & Green
MARCH 15 THROUGH MARCH 28,1994
Letter
To The
Editor
(LISPS 959-680)
OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN
PUBLICATION
Established in 1970 by Alfred L. Henderson
Zairians arc reduced to bartering: an egg
for an aspirin.
Instead o f supporting Z aire’s un­
armed democratic leadership in its stand­
off with Mobutu, the Clinton A dminis­
tration has insisted, as the W ashington
Post noted, that the democratic opposi­
tion sit dow n and try to “resolve their
d ifferen ces” w ith the d ictato r. For
Clinton, M obutu continues to have a
“role” to play in Zaire.
W h at “ ro le ” is M obutu play in g ?
H e has b lo ck ed the tran sitio n al g o v ­
ern m e n t from fu n ctio n in g by su r­
ro u n d in g g o v ern m e n t b u ild in g w ith
tanks an d ev en h o ld in g m em b ers o f
the p arliam en t h o stag e w ith o u t food,
w ater o r m ed icin e fo r three days. T he
p o litical im p asse cau sed by his clin g ­
ing to p o w er serves C lin to n ’s goal o f
b lo ck in g an in d e p en d e n t an d p o p u la r
people but not for Africans.
W hat has been the result o f these
forced “negotiations” between Mobutu
and the democracy forces? T o appease
Mobutu, the transitional parliament was
enlarged to include the deputies from
M obutu’s defunct, one-party National
Asscmbly-a change that gives M obutu’s
clique a slim majority and puts them in a
position to try to “legally’’oustTshisekodi
by pulling off a vote o f “no confidence"
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area already devastated by ethnic vio­
lence deliberately provokedby M obutu’s
local allies and directed against people
from T shisckedi’s ethnic group. 9,000
people have lost their lives and 500,000
have been driven from their homes as a
result o f this violence.
M eanwhile, the economy contin­
ues its rapid decline. Most Zairians are
unemployed (schools were shut down
years ago_ as Mobutu has left mines,
mills and factories to rot while he contin­
ues to finance his lavish lifestyle and his
private army through the clandestine sale
of Z aire’s mineral wealth. Million o f
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