Civil Rights
Journal
R sihbo W
The Learning Point
C O A L IT IO N
by
An EEOC Chief, At Last?
resident Bill Clinton
has had a shaky start
in the area of civil
rights enforcem ent. First,
there was the controversial
turndown of Lani Guinier to
become Assistant Attorney
General for Civil Rights. In
the end he made a good
appointment in the person of
Deval Patrick - but after year's
delay.
For the first seventeen months
o f his adm inistration the chief
an tid iscrim in atio n ag en cy , the
Equal Em ploym ent Opportunity
Com m ission (EEOC), has gone
w ithout a Chair. It has been lead
erless and rudderless. In fact, it
hasn’t had a Chair since Clarence
Thom as. The President has yet to
give a m ajor civil rights speech to
set forth his thinking and policies
on the subject.
W hile he has yet to nominate
anyone, on Tuesday the President
announced his intention to nominate
a prom inent H ispanic, G ilbert F.
Casellas, 41, currently general coun
sel o f the Air Force, to becom e the
new C hair of the EEOC. The hurried
announcem ent o f intent cam e just
hours after the W ashington Post wrote
a scathing editorial in which it called
the delay in nom inating som eone to
the post inexcusable and indicative of
“ incom petence in the appointm ents
process.”
If and when he is finally nom i
nated, JaxFax will profile Mr. Casellas
in greater depth. In brief, however,
Mr. Casellas, a native o f Tam pa,
Florida, is a form er president o f the
Hispanic National Bar Association.
He is also a 1974 graduate o f Yale
University and received his law de
gree from the University o f Pennsyl
vania in 1977.
The EEOC enforces federal laws
prohibiting job discrim ination on the
basis o f age, race, color, religion, sex,
national origin and, more recently,
disability. M ore im portant than the
Chair of the EEOC are its Policies,
and its ability to do an effective job.
The General Accounting Office, the
investigative arm o f C ongress, noted
recen tly that w hile the E E O C ’s
caseload was ballooning in recent
years, Congress was holding its bud
get relatively flat, forcing the agency
to trim its staff 6% between 1989-93.
The EEOC was cutting resources,
while between 1989 and 1993 the
total num ber o f newly filed discrim i
nation charges clim bed 57% , to
88,000.
E ven m ore im p o rta n tly , the
Clinton adm inistration has done little
to reverse EEOC policies instituted
under President Reagan and Bush
that w orked against w orkers al
leging discrim ination and in fa
vor of their employers. O ne such
policy, instituted under Clarence
Thomas, was to use limited EEOC
resources to investigate Indi
vidual Cases rather than conduct
broad “System ic” inquiries that
would impact on a large group of
e m p lo y e e s. T he R ain b o w an d
o th e rs m u st in s is t o n a new
E E O C p o lic y in v o lv in g an
e ffe c tiv e sc re e n in g p ro c e s s
th at fo cu ses reso u rces on cases
th a t h av e m e rit and c a n h av e
im p a c t fo r m an y p e o p le on
th e ro o t c a u se s o f d is c rim in a
tio n !
F o r th ir te e n - a n d - a - h a lf
years, under both Republ ¡can and
D em ocratic adm inistrations, no
one has been on watch against
discrim ination. It is tim e for a
change!
THIS WAY FOR BLACK EMPOWERMENT
A New Agenda For New Democracies
by
D r . L enora F ulani
n th e e v e n in g of
Saturday, June 5, I
w as
h o n o re d
to
deliver the keynote address to
the National Council of Black
Studies, whose annual meeting
- attended by 250 people - took
place this year in Georgetown,
G uyana (the only E n g lish -
sp eaking country in South
Africa). President Cheddi Jagan
welcomed the participants in
an opening session. On the day
of my presentation, President
Jagan graciously received me
in a face-to-face meeting at his
office.
I very much welcomed the op
portunity afforded me by the Council
to speak with so many distinguished
in te lle c tu a ls and educato rs from
G uyana, the rest o f the Caribbean and
the U nited States about “ A New
A genda for New Democracies” and
its im plications for the em pow erm ent
o f people o f African descent every
w here in the world.
I told the sisters and brothers in
G eorgetow n that, given the pow erful
and historically anti-dem ocratic role
of the United States in international
affairs, there can be no consolidation
o f democracy and economic develop
m ent in Africa, in Latin A m erica, in
the Caribbean, in Asia and through
out the developing world w ithout a
dem ocratic revolution in the United
Stales that puts political pow er more
directly into the hands o f the A m eri
can people, and redirects U .S. dom es
tic and foreign policy for the benefit of
all.
The great Pan-Africanist, W .E.B.
D uBois, speaking half a century ago,
taught us about the close connection
betw een the state o f American de dem ocratic, our governm ent must
m ocracy and the liberation of Africa. become fully accountable to the de
W riting after W orld W ar II, DuBois cent and humane instincts o f all o f the
recognized that the U.S. had stepped American people, before we will see
into the shoes o f the E u ropean a progressive change for A frican
colonialists in terms o f playing a de A mericans, for all people of African
termining role in the future destiny of descent, and for Africa itself. That
Africa. DuBois argued that it was in “release” o f America is just now be
A m erica’s own self-interest to “re ginning, led by the independent dem o
lease” Black Africa, and “by that act cratic political m ovem ent that crys
tallized in founding o f the Patriot
release ourselves.”
He wrote: “Just as far as any part Party in A rlington, V irginia tw o
o f a nation or o f the world is excluded months ago.
There are signs that the changed
form a share in democratic pow er and
self-expression, just so far the world political environm ent - the rise o f the
will alw ays be in danger of war and new democracy movement, and an
collapse. If this nation could not exist unprecedented level of unity among
half slave and half free, then the Black leaders - is already producing
world in which this nation plays a positive dividends for African de
larger and larger part also cannot be mocratization.
The existence o f the independent
half slave and half free, but must
political movement is proving that it
recognize world democracy.”
W e know now that A merica did can be a source of strength to more
not “release” Black Africa. On the traditional political players who want
contrary, European colonialism gave to challenge the status quo -- for
way to Cold W ar neocolonialism. The instance, the Congressional Black
anti-com m unist imperatives o f the Caucus, several of whose members
Cold W ar distorted U.S. relations with have shown that they are w illing to
the developing world and undermined use that leverage to force concessions
the socialist experim ents in A frica in on foreign policy issues affecting A f
ways that are difficult to overcome ricans.
E arlier this year, as the political
even now. The corruption and op
crisis in Zaire threatened to under
pression, the proliferation of arms -
this legacy rem ains to undermine and mine the gains o f the National Sover
complicate the future o f African coun eign Conference and the role of the
tries in the post-Cold W ar era as they pro-dem ocracy transitional govern
attem pt to move toward democracy ment, I strongly lobbied key members
o f the Congressional Black Caucus to
and a “ second independence.”
But as this century o f colonial apply direct pressure on President
ism, neocolonialism , capitalist de Bill Clinton. The CBC had an obliga
cline, socialist revolution and its col tion, I told them, to insist that Clinton
lapse comes to a close, a scenario that use his considerable influence over
Brother DuBois could not have envi Mobutu to force him to abide by the
sioned has presented itself: as it turns new constitution and transfer power
out, Am erica cannot “release A frica” to the transitional governm ent I in
unless and until A m erica itself is formed key members of the CBC that
released. The U.S. must become fully I would report directly to the African
American community w hatever ac
tions they decided to take.
Congressm an Donald Payne, a
good friend and colleague o f mine
and a member o f the A frica Subcom
mittee o f the House Foreign Affairs
Com m ittee, together with other CBC
members, sent a strongly w orded let
ter to President Clinton articulating
that demand.
In M arch P re s id e n t C lin to n
se n t a p e rso n a l le tte r to C o n g re s s
m an P a y n e a ssu rin g him th a t the
W h ite H ouse sh a re d h is c o n c e rn s
an d a ffirm in g his s u p p o rt fo r a
tra n s fe r o f p ow er. T h e w o rd on
C a p ita l H ill and in A fric a lobby
c irc le s w as th a t th is w as th e first
tim e th a t the W h ite H o u se had
re sp o n d e d d ire c tly to th e C B C on
an A fric a issu e .
Yet it is necessary, in my opin
ion, to go even further. W e m ust
convince m ore and m ore African
American leaders that the interests of
the Black community do not lie with
the white-controlled D em ocratic and
Republican parties. W hy? Because
those parties are tied to financial in
terests and advocate economic poli
cies which not only do not serve the
people o f Africa; they do not serve the
people o f America. Challenging the
political control of these two parties
m eans challenging the economic liai
sons and priorities which make up the
current world order. The current his
toric m om ent urgently dem ands a
new progressive global econom ic
policy that sim ultaneously and inter-
dependently develops the interna
tional and domestic U.S. economies.
The im plementation o f such a
policy depends in large part upon the
new democracy movement gaining
g re a te r and greater in fluence in
A m erican politics.
Send your letters to the Editor to:
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
Oregon Health Sciences U niver
sity has one week to make a difference
and we would like to offer you that
week to give a very positive story to
our com m unity. From June 20-24,
O H SU ’s medical school will run a
unique new summer camp for 45 at-
risk, inner-city youth in Portland (spe
cifically, Hispanic, A frican-A m eri
can, Puerto-Rican, Native American
aiid cconom ically disadvantaged kids)
called the School o f medicine Sum
m er Science program.
During this week, OHSU faculty
members will help them battle prob
lems they have a greater chance than
other children o f facing, such as smok
ing and AIDS. They will give them
interesting science projects that may
spark an interest in pursuing their
education. Medical students will step
in as m entors and friends, leading the
children around cam pus, encourag
ing them to set higher goals and set
ting up a realistic career path. The
program is funded solely with a Stu
dent Community Outreach G rant pro
vided by the O regon Com m unity
Foundation.
**On Friday, June 24, the stu
dents wil 1 present their sc ience projects
to the group. I would be happy to
arrange interviews and photo oppor
tunities prior to or during that time.
O th e r sum m er cam psdesigned
to help p atien ts a t D oernbecher
C h ild re n ’s H ospital an d the Child
D evelopm ent an d R ehabilitation
C e n te r enjoy o u td o o r activities like
healthy ch ild ren :
• J u n e 19-25, Cam p Tapawingo-for
children with hemophilia, FallsCity
• Ju ly 24-A ug. 5, Camp Christm as
Seal - children with asthm a and
respiratory illnesses. Cam p Yam
hill, Yam hill County
• Aug. 14-20,CampUkando-forchil-
dren with cancer, Cam p Yamhill,
Yamhill County
• Sept. 17-18, Camp Docmbecher-
forall Doernbecher patients,C am p
W estwind, Lincoln City
Sincerely,
Valerie Ebner, University Com
munications.
Call (503) 494-8231
B ernice P owell J ackson
A few weeks ago I wrote
a column which was a
le tte r
to
A fric a n
American men asking them to
get involved with our young
men who desperately need role
models.
I said that we needed to find all
different kinds o f ways to help save
our youth. H ere’s the story o f one
m an’s contribution.
Bob M oses has been on the front
lines in the struggle for freedom for
his people for thirty years. During the
1960’s he was a field secretary for the
Student N on-violent Coordinating
Com m ittee (SNCC) and one o f the
organizers o f the M ississippi Free
dom D em ocratic Party and the 1964
Mississippi Freedom Summer Project.
The letter brought hundreds o f white
college students to M ississippi in a
massive voter registration project. In
his effort to register black people in
M ississippi to vote, he was deter
mined to break open M ississippi as a
closed society. It was a directconfron-
tation with the system and the system
resp o n d ed w ith nu m ero u s death
threats.
L u c k ily , this w a rrio r in the
struggle for hum an rights survived
the battle and today his efforts focus
on a different aspect o f the system -
the educational system which often
denies young African A m ericans an
equal chance o f success in our society.
This is the contem porary version of
civil rights organizing - organizing
around literacy and in particular,
m athem atics literacy for A frican
A m erican children.
He calls it simply The Algebra
Project and it’s founded on a few basic
understandings. It’s based on the
understanding that this country is
undergoing a m assive change in its
requirements for effective citizenship.
In earlier tim es, good citizenship was
tied to literacy and particularly the
ability to read and write. But citizen
ship in the 21st century will require
heretofore unknow n technical skills
and m athem atics literacy is the key to
these skills, w ithout them , African
Am erican children are doom ed to
failure since they will be unable to
gain access to college and the math
and science careers, where there is
projected job growth.
The A lgebra Project is also based
on the understanding that African
A m erican children can learn m ath
em atics despite the fact that often
they are not expected to be able to do
well in math by their teachers and by
the educational system , w hich guar
antees their failure. Indeed, the per
vading cultural m essage is that m ath
em atics requires some kind o f innate
ability which people o f color don’t
have.
F in a lly , T he A lg e b ra P ro je c t
is b a se d on the u n d e rsta n d in g th at
the A fric a n A m e ric a n c o m m u n ity
can ra lly to sav e its c h ild r e n a n d
th a t an o rg a n iz e d c o m m u n ity is
key to c re a tin g the e n v iro n m e n t
th a t a llo w s o u r c h ild re n to be e d u
c a te d . P a re n ts , te a c h e r s , o th e r
e d u c a tio n a l in s titu tio n s m u st b e
co m e p a rt o f the so lu tio n in o rd e r
fo r th is to w ork.
In his work with urban children,
Bob Moses found that there was d if
ficulty in connecting the different
concepts o f numbers which is re
quired to successfully m aster algebra.
So he began to look for ways to help
the children associate real life experi
ences to symbolic representations. His
non-traditional process o f teaching
algebraic concepts includes five steps,
usually beginning with a subway or
bus ride to help them understand the
m eaning o f positive and negative
numbers. A project in making lem on
ade helps children understand p ro
portion and ratios. His use o f African
drum m ing traditions help teach frac
tions, average rates and ratios.
Just as im portant as the math
skills The Algebra Project teaches are
the critical thinking skills that the
students learn as they work coopera
tively in the construction o f m ath
em atics from the program ’s real ex
periences. They learn how to ch al
lenge each other
‘s assum ption while respecting
and listening to other students’ pre
sentations. They learn how to w ork as
a team and to take intellectual risks as
they learn. They learn there is more
than one way o f looking at a problem
and that everyone has a contribution
to make.
Despite its twelve years o f exist
ence and its successful teaching of
algebra to 10,000 inner city youth,
T h e A lg e b ra P ro je c t is o n e o f
A m erica’s best kept secrets. It is just
one more piece o f evidence that me
dia too often only chooses to portray
the violent, troubled side of African
A merican youth.
Algebra Project students, many
o f whom had 1 ittle hope of success in
school before, have found new m oti
vation and self-esteem. They have
been engaged in the serious study of
algebra in the sixth, seventh and eighth
grades and thousands have entered
college preparatory m athem atics in
high school, with many m oving into
honors algebra or geometry courses.
These young people will be the
scientists, the teachers, the techni
cians in the w orld o f the 21 st century.
Thanks, Bob Moses. Thanks for con
tinuing to be a drum major for justice
and for lighting the torch for our
youth.
To contact The Algebra Project,
write: 99 B ishop Richard Allen Drive,
Cam bridge, M A 02139.
(U SPS 959-680)
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