D ecember 7, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver
P age A2
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IJ I
I
ed up with the status
quo, the N atio n al
Rainbow Coalition has
lau n ch ed an in itia tiv e to
ad d ress the sh o rta g e of
m inority representation in
a th le tic s
a d m in is tra tiv e
positions at NCAA institutions.
The campaign could include
boycotts, pickets and possible law­
suits against colleges that don’t hire
adequate numbers of black coaches
and do a poor job o f graduating black
athletes.
“It is time for a change,” said
Reverend Jesse L. Jackson. “Affir­
mative action must be put into play at
NCAA institutions. Blacks must be
able to develop and prosper beyond
the playing field.” He noted that half
ofthe athletes in football and basket­
ball at NCAA Division I institutions
are black, but only 6.2 percent of
athletics administrators, including
coaches, are black (excluding histor­
ically black institutions).
The Rainbow Commission for
Fairness in Athletics (RCFA) has
begun the process of rating NCAA
Division I institutions according to a
variety of factors, including number
o f black athletes, graduation rates,
number of blacks in coaching and
athletics administration positions,
number ofblacks in the student body,
number of black faculty and admin­
istrators, and black population in a
RflINBoW
C O A L IT IO N
RCFA Targets NCAA
campus community.
“This fairness index’ will give
our black children and our communi­
ty a basis on which to judge how
individual institutions are treating
us,” Jackson said. “ We rtbed to stay
clear of those institutions that are
bastions of racism.”
The RCFA has also drafted a
proposed affirmative action plan for
NCAA institutions that addresses the
inclusion of minorities and women at
all levels o f college athletics includ­
ing, but not limited to, coaches, ath­
letics administrators, sports informa­
tion and radio/TV announcers. The
plan also calls for the inclusion of
women and minorities in the pur­
chase.of goods and services and in
merchandising.
Charles S. Farrell, national di­
rector of the RCFA, said meetings
are planned with NCAA institutions
to get them to voluntarily adopt affir­
mative action plans. But realizing
that NCAA institutions have been
slow in the area of equal opportunity
employment, Farrell said he and Rev­
erend Jackson plan to meet with top
NCAA officials to press for a manda­
tory affirmative action policy. “If the
NCAA and its membership can dic­
tate academic standards for college
sports,” he said. “It can dictate affir­
mative action.”
The RCFA will target select in­
stitutions that have the worst records
on affirmative action and begin di­
rect action against them if they don’t
strive to improve. That action could
be in the form of law suits, censure or
picketing. The RCFA also plans to
meet with blue-chip recruits nation­
wide to assist them in making choic-
es on which colleges are in their best
interest.
“ We sim ply have to take ac­
tion to force the hands o f some o f
those schools who are co m fo rt­
able with exploiting u s,” R ever­
end Jackson said. “ It is not fair.
On the court there is equal o p ­
portunity. O ff the court there is
racism and sexism. These schools
receive federal dollars, yet the
laws against discrim ination are
not being enforced. A ffirm ative
Action is not being adm inistered
fairly at these schools and these
records o f discrim ination are in
the m ost public aspect o f the
sch o o l’s activities. What m ust
they be like in their more private
areas?”
The RCFA college initiative is a
continuation of efforts originated at
the professional level. The RCFA is
currently assisting the Detroit Tigers
and the Dallas Cowboys with devel­
oping affirmative action plans that it
will encourage all professional teams
to adopt.
RCFA Note: NBC, the subject
of criticism by the Rainbow Coali­
tion because of the lack ofblacks in
management positions and program­
ming, is to be commended for con­
tinuing to televise the Bayou Classic,
the only nationally televised college
football game featuring teams from
historically black colleges.
State Of The Race ’94:
A Report To The Black Nation
by
R on D aniels
’ he National State of the
Race
C o n fere n c e
'(S O R C ) convened in
Baltimore, November 17-20 was
an e x tra o rd in a ry success
which could well marka turning
point in the Black Liberation
Movement in the U.S.
It was a success, however, that
was not without its difficulties. The
SORC was organized on guts and
faith. The organizers literally began
with no money and no staff, just an
idea that they felt was so essential
that it had to come to fruition. Many
o f the organizers put up $100 as
“Major Patrons" to pull together some
initial seed money. An appeal was
also made to friends and concerned
people from around the country to
invest in the idea by becoming Major
Patrons. The National Black United
Fund provided timely and crucial
support by making a grant to the
SORC and by making staff available
for specific tasks critical to the plan-
ning'organizing process. The Black
United Funds o f New York, New
Jersey and Pennsylvania stepped for­
ward to provide grants and other
forms of in-kind assistance. And at
crucial points committed individuals
made loans to ensure that the orga­
nizing would not stall. It would ap­
pear that the ancestors also added to
the determination that the SORC was
an idea whose time had come
The organizers of the SORC
began mobilizing/organizingwith the
view that the crises fac ing the masses
■i
of Black people is nothing short o f a
State o f emergency. In spite o f these
crises the organizers moved forth
with the conviction that Black peo­
ple are fighting back at the grassroots
level all across this country, mount­
ing serious campaigns of resistance
and creating innovative projects and
programs for the survival and devel­
opment of the race. The problem is
that these range of struggles, projects
and programs are not the survival
and development of the race. The
problem is that these range o f strug­
gles, projects and programs are not
in conversation with each other and
not connected. Hence, from the out­
set, a principal goal ofthe SORC was
to provide an opportunity for
grassroots organizations and leaders
to connect up and share with each
other with the objective of strength­
ening the Black Liberation Move­
ment. This goal was articulated as a
part o f the call for the SORC.
The response to the call was
absolutely amazing. More than 1,000
people registered for the SORC and
overall more than 2,500 people par­
ticipated in some part of the confer­
ence (the Town Hall meeting, the
Celebration of Pan-African World
Culture, the Spiritual Celebration).
The turn-out o f youth and students
was incredible with representatives
of more than forty colleges and uni­
versities in attendance as well as a
number o f high schools. About half
the participants at the SORC were
youth and students under the age of
25.
From the very beginning it was
clear that the participants had come
to take care of business. There were
a number o f logistical problems and
foul ups that ordinarily would have
wrecked a conference. The partici­
pants at the SORC simply forgave or
played past the difficulties and went
to work with a passion and enthusi­
asm that was utterly inspiring. The
participants were very committed to
acting on the conference theme -
Taking Responsibility for the Re­
construction of the Black Communi­
ty. The Organizers Institute and the
Women’s Caucus were packed and
very productive. The National Town
Hall Meeting, which was broadcast
live on Morgan State University’s
radio station and was also a sympo­
sium on Malcolm X, a special ses­
sion on Kwanzaa and an early morn­
ing breakfast meeting on Repara­
tions (the room was packed at 7:30
A M.) the plenary sessions on inter­
national and Domestic Issues were
analytical and informative and set
the stage for the 17 issue area Work
Sessions.
The Work Sessions were the
heart o f the SORC. In every session
people from various organizations,
struggles and projects means to con­
nect up an assist each other. Each
session developed a series of recom­
mendations and reported ou, the top
three priorities to the entire confer­
ence. Each session also selected two
persons, one female and one male to
serve on the advisory committee of
the African American Institute for
R esearch and Em pow erm ent
(AAIFRE) which was charged with
More Little Victories
Over Violence
better ‘Co 'Che (SChtor
Send your letters to the Editor to:
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
bx
pponents now have
the unbridled freedom
to
d e s tro y
any
measure by publishing lies. If
the people let this pass, all
fu tu re in itia tiv e s are in
jeopardy.
The “N O ” voters believed
at least one o f these lies about
the Equal Tax (ET); 2% to cash/
deposit checks, every one must
file, ET is m ore o f a tax-on-tax
than our currant system , indus­
tries will v ertically-integrate to
avoid taxes, kills Oregon busi­
ness with tax on exports and
out-of-state sales, destroys O r­
e g o n ’s cred it rating, elim inates
local control, districts have no
special projects funding, reve­
nue shortfall, it is 4% (2% state,
1% city, 1% county), and you
must keep all receipts
We should recall Secretary of
State Phil Keisling for “malfeasance
of office “ for his deliberate neglect
of his duties. Ask your county clerk
for a free copy o f “Oregon Election
Laws” See Chapter 250. 125. Read
subsection (2). As ET impacts ev­
ery city, county, district, his depart­
ment is obligated to write a finan­
cial impact statement for EACH.
To add insult to injury, to
much o f the inform ation his peo­
ple did supply was erroneous.
The V oters' Pam phlet says that
ET w ould raise only 6.86 b il­
lion We have new evidence that
it will raise 10 billion or 125%
o f the replaced taxes. The bu­
reaucracy ET discharges saves
another billion per year. The
second paragraph mentions a 1%
local ET deserves a special elec­
tion with the State o f O regon,
and other liars, footing the bill.
Failing that, it is time to RE­
FOUND O regon. See “Oregon
C onstitution. A rticle One S ec­
tion O ne” .
A/r. Edwin Christie
the responsibility for implementing
the follow-up to the SORC.
In terms of outcome, the partic­
ipants affirmed by acclamation the
Baltimore Declaration which put
forth the following board resolutions:
To foster unity between women and
men in the Black community, to fight
for women’s equality and encourage
and respect the leadership of African
women; to support the initiatives of
African youth to provide vision and
energy to the Black Liberation Move­
ment; intensify our efforts to support
Black institutions; support the grow­
ing African centered education move­
ment; support the National African
American Leadership Summit as an
inclusive vehicle for achieving oper­
ational unity; build/support the Afri­
can American Institute for Research
and Empowerment to implement the
follow-up to the SORC. The SORC
also went on record demanding rep­
arations, the release of all political
prisoners and prisoners o f war and to
urged the creation of a visionary new
political party led by African people.
The B altim ore D eclaration
closed on the following note: “We
leave Baltimore informed by the
wealth o f information that we have
shared with each other, committed to
forging lasting bonds o f unity and
community and inspired to take the
destiny o f Africa and African people
into our own hands. We rededicate
ourselves to: Taking Responsibility
for the Reconstruction o f the Black
Community. The SORC was a re­
sounding success!
B ernice P owell J ackson
“ /T V y ercy, mercy me, things
1 T il ain’t what they used to
Cl
be,” was the first line of
a song by the poet and singer
Marvin Gaye. When it comes to
our c o m m u n ities and the
escalating levels of violence
surrounding us, those words
couldn't be more true.
Y et, am idst the drive-by
shootings, the illegal handguns, the
continuing presence of assault weap­
ons, and always, the killings, there is
hope There are stories of people
who don’t get paralyzed by a crisis,
they just get organized.
In O akland, C a lif two o f the
n a t i o n s ’ d e a d lie s t h o u s in g
projects are now beginning to
blossom . U nder the auspices o f
the East Bay Com munity R ecov­
er Project, the residents o f these
com m unities are finding once
again their sense o f self-esteem
and pride They have drastically
cut the drug culture which once
was responsible for drug traffick­
ing, violence and even m urders
in their m idst. Based on beliefs
that everyone is born with innate
resilien ce and a healthy inner
being and that poor people have
considerable survival skills, this
approach trains residents to heal
them selves and then heal their
own com m unities. In addition,
as m ore Asian A m ericans have
moved into these com m unities,
the pro ject has also worked on
b rin g in g to g eth er the A frican
A m erican and Asian Am erican
residents.
Sometimes all it takes is one
person to be that sign of hope
In Boise, Idaho it is Raheem
O.E. Shahbazz Boise does not have
a large African American communi­
ty, yet problems of violence exist.
Keep sending me signs o f hope
against the violence in your commu­
nity. Write to me at 700 Prospect
Ave., Cleveland, OH 44115.
p e r s p e c tir e s
All Roads Did Lead
To Rome
o says a dedicated
re ad e r
of
long
standing. “The wife
and I were really wondering,
until you broughttogether all
those revelations of the past
few weeks in that last vital
paragraph of last w eek’s
a rtic le “ P ortlan d B lacks
Defend Their I.Q .’s." The
attacks of the conservative
establishment have been so
diverse and devious that it
has been d iffic u lt to
recognize a pattern other
than just racial prejudice.
Thanks.”
That is the
r e a c tio n
I
hoped to bring
o ff when I said
“ . ..l e t us be
aw are o f what
is driving the
most recent round o f attacks
on A frican A m erican in telli­
gence.” I paraphrased the con­
serv ativ e’s latest and most vi­
cious battle cry, designed to
underw rite a bold and naked
grab for pow er in the election;
“ B lacks on w elfare and too
dumb to get o ff.” But under­
stand the heading, “white w el­
fare” (at the top), I showed
how this ugly caper would be
paid for through cruel cutbacks
in many urban program s. At a
time o f increasing layoffs and
an explosion o f the num ber of
poor and their children o f all
races. What French queen was
that who said, “ Let ’em eat
cake?”
O ther readers have asked
about the big list o f ag ricu ltu r­
al corporations I subm itted as
exam ples o f “white w elfare,”
and prom ptly subm itted their
own lists o f other industry free­
loaders. The reason was that so
many o f us today are so d isas­
sociated from the farm that
standard theft and chicanery
escapes our notice. O f course,
some jo u rn alists with the es­
tablishm ent press will o cca­
sionally acquaint us with the
really, really big scam s like
the Iran-C ontra deals pulled off
th ro u g h the D e p artm en t o f
A griculture - tens o f billions.
But the c o n se rv a tiv e s whip
up the public rage with prom ­
ises that th eir new “co n tract”
with the A m erican people will
get the “w elfare dum m ies” o ff
their backs (“ wasted m illions,
yet”).
Take another look at those
com panies I cited as having
ripped o ff the taxpayers for b il­
lions. T h ey ’re not going to no­
tice because the “ I.Q. cu rtain ”
has been drawn over their eyes
- H itler gave his naive co u n try ­
men the Jews (who, incidently,
were described by the first l.Q.
enthusiasts as m entally inferi­
or, Gould, the “ M ism easure o f
M an,” p.228). I could have add­
ed that those grain com panies
are co m in g to siphon o ffte n s o f
billions a year from both the
m iddle class and the poor, but
not for corn flakes. The U.S.
governm ent has m andated that
for an increasing num ber o f key
cities gasoline must be m odi­
fied by a m ixture o f one fourth
___________ ethanol, an ex­
pensive ad d i­
tiv e d e r iv e d
By_______ from grain.
Professor
N ow
I
M ckinley
have dealt be-
B urt
fo re in th is
co lu m n w ith
tobacco subsidies and milk sub­
sidies, those m ulti-billion d o l­
lar, perm an en tly en tren ch ed
rip-offs being frequently a t­
tacked by Senator Proxm ire, to
no avail. I did not have room
for them last week as with sev ­
eral others the conservatives
hope the Am erican public will
be blinded to by the “ I.Q. cu r­
tain" and attendant furor. 1 am
thinking o f the huge rice and
sugar plantation operators who
are perm itted to generate huge
profits by ignoring the federal
laws affecting w ages, hours,
working and health conditions
and im m igration; especially re ­
lating to black laborers from
the West Indies. These com pa­
nies are prim e supporters o f
both political parties.
It was announced today,
Friday, Dec. 2, that in addition
to the cutbacks in food stam ps,
school lunches and W IC, the
“special food for fam ilies” bud­
get will be cut from $125 to
$25 million. That will not pay
for ONE HOUR OF ETH A ­
NOL. It was in 1981 the Re
p u b lic a n s
d e c la r e d
th a t
KETCHUP counted as a v ege­
ta b le in g u id e lin e s fo r th e
school lunch program , the idea
was to cut down on the variety
o ffo o d sth e children would get
This was the same year the bud
g e t s u b m itte d by S e n a to r
Gramm o f Texas (sponsor o f
the $15 billion su p ercollider
hole-in-the-ground) threatened
to fire all blind vendors in the
lobbies o f federal buildings and
asked that college loans be se­
verely curtailed. All the roads
w e’ve seen seem to be those
that lead to power - and w ealth
for the chosen. I.Q .’s are ju s t
one o f them.
(Hlje UJortlarth (Obscrucr
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