• ••
J anuary 11, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver
P age A2
t is bad th at Newt
Gingrich's “Contract
With America” and the
Republicans have an agenda
to set the country back. It is
even worse that their agenda is
going largely uncontested. The
Rainbow is going to fight back.
NATIONAL'
This JaxFax will explore and
clarify some o f w hat the Republican
agenda is really all about, and who it
is intended to benefit. Despite its
rhetorical tlounshes, skillfully framed
to identify its major "enemies” as the
undeserv ing poor or some ill-defined
political class, any serious review of
the GOP Contract discloses that it
conceals an array of special benefits
for the rich and irresponsible corpo
rate interests which will impact neg
atively on millions of ordinary Amer
ican families.
New “ anti-regulation" provi
sions outlined in the Contract will
make it easier for corporate outlaws
to pollute the water and air that mil
lions o f Americans drink and breath.
New “tort reform" will make it more
difficult and costly for consumers to
protect themselves, and make it more
cost-efficient for irresponsible cor
porations to take risks with the safety
and health o f ordinary Americans.
Massive new tax breaks in the area of
capital gains will inordinately favor
those earning over $200,000 per year-
-and result in a further shift in the tax
burden from the rich onto the backs
C O A L IT IO N
31
Nuked By Newt
o f working and middle-income Amer
ican families.
This is what the big corporate
lobbyists, who poured millions o f
dollars into Newt Gingrich’s politi
cal action committee, are really in
terested in. Newt Gingrich wants to
shield these wealthy contributors and
corporations. Without campaign fi
nance reform, which opens the books
on the money o f lobby ists, Mr.
G ingrich cannot earn the publ ic trust.
The GOP contract is also an
assault on every working person,
every senior citizen every consumer,
every parent, every middle-income
person, every family farmer, and any
American concerned about a decent
future for themselves and their fam
ilies.
The Rainbow’s commitment to
justice will resist the mean-spirited
approach o f scapegoating the poor
est, weakest, least powerful, most
vulnerable and defenseless groups in
o u r so c ie ty . W e re je c t the
unAmerican, immoral targeting o f
immigrants as exemplified by Prop
osition 187 in California. To use
children as pawns in a political game
is beneath the character and dignity
o f the American promise. Gov. Pete
Wilson and the California Republi
can Party have joined the initiative in
California to make affirmative ac
tion illegal. That initiative will be
aggressively challenged and resisted
by progressives.
The Contract focuses on AFDC,
Aid to Families Dependent Children,
which costs $17 billion a year to
serve 14 million people, including 9
million children, but it is not the
cause o f a two-decade long decline in
our standard o f living. The Rainbow
will focus on the real AFDC (i.e., aid
for dependent corporations), which
costs $224 billion.
The Contract is focusing on the
size o f government The issue is not
size, but need. Government should
be whatever size it takes to meet the
need. The biggest and most central
ized government program, social se
curity, is the most popular. And the
largest federal bureaucracy o f them
all, the Pentagon, consumes l o f ev
ery 5 federal dollars, makes 2/3rds o f
all government purchases o f goods
and services, and issues 7 out o f 10
government paychecks. The current
downsizing o f government is not pri
marily to make it more efficient, but
to reduce government’s enforcement
o f laws resisted by business -- i.e.,
environmental laws, worker health
and safety laws, affirmative action,
etc.
We are neither fooled nor mis
lead by the elections o f 1994. Two-
thirds o f 54 seats Republicans picked
up in the November 8 election were
won with fewer votes than the losing
GOP candidates got in those same
districts two years ago.
Unfortunately, the GOP Con
tract, by scapegoating unpopular
groups in our society, displaces at
tention from many o f the real con
cerns that affect million o f Ameri
cans. The Rainbow must and will
address them!
V a n ta g e P o in t
Facing A New Year Determined To Make History
C?
• ,
V1
*
.J
N s
Summit (NAALS) which was
held in Chicago recently, Dr.
Benjamin F. Chavis, Convener
of the Summit, proclaimed that
1995 should be Make Black
History Year.
•
' ■
"
—■ •
s
* » • • ’
- s
<
r
- - I
V
< • *
• . A-
¿'•A
x »4,
■ y
■
\ z
".«.'.A ?
f
t the third meeting of
the National African
American Leadership
'it
• » «
t 5
»n-V-vri""- - Í
Against the backdrop o f the rise
to power o f the radical right with its
reactionary “Contract with Ameri
ca,” Dr. Chavis challenged Black
America to go on the offensive with
renewed vigor to fight with its reac
tionary “Contract with America,” Dr.
Chavis challenged Black America to
go on the offensive with renewed
vigor to fight for social justice and
social change. Toward that end the
NAALS adopted an ambitious Ac
tion Agenda as a part o f its Make
Black History Year offensive.
The Action Agenda includes a
national Day o f Action on February
1, the beginning o f Black History
Month, to stop the defamation of
Black people; a campaign to defeat
the crime bill and an all out effort to
sto p th e c rim in a liz a tio n and
demonization o f Black people; an
African America Youth Leadership
Summit and a youth and student Lib
eration Summer Project; the creation
o f an African American Develop
ment Fund; launching a boycott
against a major U.S. corporation that
is not reinvesting Black dollars in the
Black community; and, assisting
Minister Louis Farrakhan and the
Naiton o f Islam to mobilize a March
o f One Million Black Men in W ash
ington D.C. By adopting this ambi
tious Action Agenda the NAALS is
boldly asserting that the way for Black
people to make history is to rekindle
the Black freedom struggle. There
must be a renewed will to resist rac
ism and oppression and a renewed
commitment to fight for fundamen
tal change.
But movements are comprised
o f people and hence the challenge to
make history must be met at the level
o f individual people. It is people who
make history. There can be no seri
ous m ovem ent for fundam ental
change without active and commit
ted people. Black people (you) can
not simply be passive spectators in a
society, nation and world where Af
rican interests and African people
are being decimated by racism, eco
nomic exploitation and political re
pression. B lack people (you) must be
a part o f the process o f saving and
reconstructing the Black communi
ty. Each individual Black person,
family, and neighborhood/commu-
nity must take up the challenge to
make history be acting to restore the
race. The movement to restore the
race is not somewhere else. It must
begin in your household, in your
family, and it must extend to encom
pass your block and your neighbor-
hood.
Making history need not be some
grand project or massive movement
to begin with. What is required to
advance the race at this crucial mo
m ent in our h isto ry is a m ultitu d e
o f sm all g estu res, sm all p ro je c ts
and sm all c o n trib u tio n s that you
can m ake rig h t w here you live.
U ltim ately a m ass m ovem ent is
m ade up o f the sm all c o n trib u
tio n s, both hum an and m aterial
o f th o u san d s, even m illion o f in
d iv id u a l p eo p le like you. So be
re so lv e d and have the confidence
th a t you can m ake history.
You can begin the process by
simply reaffirming w'ho we are as an
African people, learning about our
history and culture and making a
decision that our history and culture
will be a guide as we struggle to
reclaim our destiny. Pass on the
knowledge o f self and kind to your
children. That know ledge dhd affir
mation may be the most important
ingredient in saving ouryouth. Make
history by heeding Malcolm’s call to
control the education, economics,
politics and social life in our commu
nities. We must save ourselves house
hold by household, block by block
and neighborhood by neighborhood.
We need to organize or be in
volved in associations to improve the
quality o f education in^he public
schools. We need to organize after
school programs, Saturday schools
and independent learning academies.
We need to be involved in or orga
nize economic development projects
like buying clubs, credit unions and
cooperatives, community develop
ment corporations and encourage
righteous Black entrepreneurship.
We need to be involved in or orga
nize independent political associa
tions that can maximize Black polit
ical participation and empowerment.
We need to get in the habit o f
joining with family, neighbors and
friends to initiate projects and partic
ipate in and/or create relevant asso
ciations and organizations. We need
to become conscious o f and confi
dent that the power to make history,
the possibility o f building a new
movement for social justice and fun
damental change is in our hands - is
in your hands. With that conscious
ness and confidence all things are
possible. Stopping the defamation o f
Black people is possible. Defeating/
repealing the Crime Bill is possible.
Saving African American youth is
possible. Bringing a major U.S. cor
poration to its knees is possible.
Mobilizing a March o f One Million
Black Men in Washington D.C. is
possible.
“All things are possible if we
only believe.” If we believe it, we can
achieve it. As we prepare to face the
new year, let us resolve to meet the
challenge that 1995 can and will be
Make Black History Year
Blacks Reported On Way
Out In Los Angeles;
Could It Happen Here?
T hose who
have re a d and
paid attention to
my ‘early warn
ing’signals in this
new spaper
should not have
been surprised at
relevant articles appearing in Sun
day’s Oregonian Newspaper, and
in the New York Times and news
magazines: "But in the past decade,
fed up with high housing costs,
drugs and crime, blacks have been
fleeing Los Angeles, not only to
outlying areas but also to other
states, particularly in the south.”
(And that even if they don’t have
roots in the area).
Dr. James H. Johnson, a geog
rapher at the University o f North
Carolina who has written exten
sively on scope o f black migration
says, “We are seeing a total restruc
turing o f southern C alifornians
black community. In a co m m u n i
ty w here you have o th e r ethnic
gro u p s grow ing ra p id ly , th ese
changes have en o rm o u s p o liti
cal and e le c to ria l sig n ific a n c e ” .
T ell me about it ! But e q u ally
im p o rtan t is the e co n o m ic im
pact o f lite ra lly a b a n d o n e d real
e sta te e q u itie s, re lo c a tio n costs
and in te rru p te d c a re e r and e d u
catio n paths.
that 1 began my series, “Urban Re
newal: People, Politics and Plan
ning", just one o f many revealing
studies o f a pervasive trend toward
further economic attrition o f the
African American position in Amer
ica. I described in detail my person
al experiences both as a taxpayer
and as a professional in dealing
with a racist and circumscribing
infrastructure. In particular, I call
your attention to a subsequent se
ries on the “ Los Angeles Experi
ence where it was seen just how
frail and vulnerable is black leader-
ship and e c o
nomic structure.
S e v e ra l
p a ra g ra p h s
e a rlie r 1 cited
“ C en tral A ve
n u e ” as f o r
m erly the c e n
ter o f b lack life in Los A ngeles
but now hom e to “ H isp an ic-ru n
app lian ce and fu rn itu re sto re s”
- the la tte r e n te rp rise s re p la c
ing black m ovie th e a tre s, dance
halls clu b s, barb er shops and
r e s t a u r a n t s . T h e v a n is h in g
blacks are being rep laced at a
rate that prom pts the d e m o g ra
phers to pred ict that H ispanic
peo p le w ill o u tnum ber blacks
in both th at neig h b o rh o o d and
the county. You w ill note that
the blacks d id n ’t have a p p li
ance and fu rniture sto res. As I
have said in these pages a num
ber o f tim es, the banks d o n ’t
play it th at way. R em em ber that
netw ork show w here “ Fam ous
A m os” d e ta ile d how the banks
tu rn ed him dow n for a loan, but
the fin an ce com pany let him
have it at 20% in terest?
And in P o rtlan d , there w ere
no b lack-ow ned ap p lian ce or
furn itu re sto res (o r any other
except for one reco rd sto re and
a haberd ash ery w ith about $500
N ot only in Los A ngeles but
in a n um ber o f o th e r cities, those
e sta b lish m e n t a d m o n itio n s to
“get th at e d u c a tio n , tra in in g and
e x p e rie n c e ” seem not to have
th e ir p re v io u s v a lu e — at least
not for the p a rtic u la r m e tro p o l
itan a re a s(S .M .S .A .). A 45 year-
old te le p h o n e c o m p an y m a n a g
er w ho m oved to A tla n ta last
y e a r said , “the d o o rs o f o p p o r
tu n ity seem ed op en for H isp a n
ic and A sian re sid e n ts but shut
for b la c k s in C a lifo rn ia ” . O th
ers say, “ C en tral A venue, once
the c e n te r o f b lack life in Los
A n g eles, now is the hom e to
H isp an ic-ru n a p p lia n c e and fu r
nitu re s to re s .” R em em ber “ W il
liam s A v e .” Y ou m ight w ell
have re a so n to.
It was on August 31 o f last year
w orth o f stock). And there was
no A frican A m erican leadership
in an e ffo rt to secure the o u t
lets, fra n c h ise s and fin an cin g
for the m ost basic goods and
m erch an d ise w ith w hich a co m
m unity is serviced. A fter “ M od
el C itie s ” and o th e r “ U rban
R enew al” program s dev astated
P o rtla n d ’s black com m unity d e
cades later, the P o rtland ghetto
seem s ev ery bit as ven erab le as
Los A ngeles. U nder intense fed
eral p ressu re the banks are fe
v erish ly o fferin g hom e loans —
if you q u a lify ’. How far are we
from becom ing a Los A ngeles?
do we have a lead ersh ip th at is
about “ o w n in g ” basic and v ia
ble econom ic units? O r should
we head south? co n tin u ed next
w eek
j i
fj|
n the h a u n tin g ly
d e so la te , v o lcan o -
created Rift Valley of
eastern Africa, we find the
gloriously beautiful “fire bird”,
the flam in g re d -fle c k e d
Lesser F la m in g o ’. When
millions of the huge graceful
birds take flight, seemingly at
once from bubbling volcano
lakes, it is easily seen how the
indigenous people were to
create a new -- a metaphor
that has endured throughout
the languages of the world.
Civil Rights Journal
(The ^ o rtia n h (Ohscmer
A Call To Honor Martin Luther King Day
OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION
By Bem ice Powell Jackson
It was one o f my worst night
mares. When I received an envelope
with a Las Vegas casino return ad
dress I thought it strange since I’ve
never been there and have desire to
go. It was an invitation to a special
Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.
What a way to trivialize the legacy of
Martin Luther King Jr. - by gambling
in Las Vegas.
This time last year I was in South
Africa, where a whole nation was
focused on rebirth and rebuilding a
just and peaceful society despite a
terrible history o f war and brutality,
racism and a governmental system of
separation, incredible poverty and
unbridled greed And despite all that.
South Africans ofal 1 races and class
es were proclaiming a year o f jubilee
and calling for “Peace in our Land "
As we pause this year to cele
brate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth
day, why can ’t we do like our South
African brothers and sisters and call
for Peace in our Land, Peace in our
Communities, Peace in our Homes?
On that one day, why can't the broth
ers and sisters put down the guns to
honor one o f the greatest African
Americans, one o f the greatest spiri
tual and moral leaders o f all time?
Why can't the drug dealers, the bul
lies, the neighborhood terrorists drop
the AK-47’s and uzis for just 24
hours?
And on that one day. as we hon
or the life o f Martin Luther King Jr.
in our churches and mosques, why
can't we open their doors and go get
these young people and bring them in
and really talk with them about their
lives and about Dr King and non
violence? Why can’t we listen to
their pleas for help and caring in a
world that too often is deaf to their
needs'1 Why can’t we start recre
ational and tutoring and after-school
programs for our children"1 Why can't
we make the world Dr Kingdreamed
o f for his children a reality for all our
children? Whey can't we adopt par
ents who need help in learning how
to be parents?
And on that day, as we honor the
life o f Martin Luther King Jr. in our
schools across the country, why can't
we do more than the minimum, but
do the maximum for each child? Why
can t educators and administrators
recommit themselves to save every
child, not just a precious few? Why
can’t parents become involved in
their chi Idren 's education? Why can't
the rest o f us do something to make
our schools centers o f learning and
excellence?
Young black men were almost
14 times more likely than any other
group in this nation to be murdered
during 1992. Martin Luther King
spent his entire career and ultimately
lost his life so that our children might
be free to reach their God-given po
tential He could no, have imagined
a world where an 11 year old would
k i 11 a 14 year old and then be ki I led by
two other teenagers. He could no,
have imagined a world where a 5
year old gets pushed out of a window
(USPS 959-680)
Established in 1970 by Alfred L. Henderson
by two teens when he refused to steal.
He could not have imagined a world
w here children plan their own funer
als because they do not expect even
to live.
Martin Luther King Jr. did not
die for us to celebrate his birthday
gambling in Las Vegas. He legacy
calls for us all - children, teenagers,
“yuppies,” baby boomers, senior cit
izens, Christians, Muslims, Jews, sis
ters and brothers, rich and middle
class and poor, and African Ameri
cans, white Americans, Hispanic
Americans, Asian Americans. Na
tive Americans - to make his dream
more than a beautiful speech, bu, a
beautiful reality.
G am b lin g on o u r future by
not g e ttin g in volved p e rso n ally
is no b e tte r than gam b lin g in Las
V egas on M artin L u th er K ing
J r .’s birth d ay . We know that old
A frican pro v erb ab o u t it tak in g
an e n tire v illag e to raise a child.
L e t’s sta rt living it on M artin
L uther K in g ’s b irthday.
*£> * fi»
• r
■‘• a «í
p e r s p e c ti v e s
Joyce W ashington-P ublisher
The PORTLAND OBSERVER is located at
4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
Portland, Oregon 97211
503-288-0033 * Fax 503-288-0015
Deadline for all submitted materials:
Articles:Friday, 5:00 pm Ads: Monday Noon
POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes to: Portland Observer,
P.O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208.
Second Class postage p a id at Portland, Oregon.
The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts
and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned. If
accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display
ads become the sole property o f the new spaper and can not be used in
other publications or personal usage, without the written consent o f the
general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of
such ad. O 1994 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITH
OUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED
Subscriptions $30 00 per year
The Portland O bserver-O regon's Oldest African-American Publica-
tio n -is a member o f the National Newspaper A ssociation-Founded in
1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated
Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers
Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver