F ebruary 8, 1995 • I he P ori land O bsfrs t r
P age B ö
BLACK HISTORY
^ o rtla u b (©baertiei
Oregon Racism
A t Statehood
T h e C o n s titu tio n o f the S tate o f O re g o n : P e rtin e n t Sections
A rtic le 1 Section 31. - W hite foreigners who are. o r may hereafter
become residents o f this State shall enjoy the same rights in respect to the
possession, enjoy ment, and decent o f property as native bom citizens.
And the Legislative Assem bly shall have pow er to restrain, and regulate
the im m igration to this State o f persons not q u a lifie d to become C itizens
o f the U nited States.
A rtic le 1 Section 34. - There shall be neither slavery , nor in vo lu n ­
tary servitude in the State, otherwise than as a punishment fo r crime,
w h e re o f the party shall have been duly convicted.
A r t ic le 1 S e c tio n 3 5 . - N o fre e n e g ro , o r m u la tto , not
re s id in g in th is S tate at th e tim e o f the a d o p tio n o f th is C o n s ti­
tu tio n , s h a ll com e, re s id e , o r be w ith in th is S tate, o r h o ld any real
estate, o r m ake any c o n tra c ts , o r m a in ta in any s u it th e re in ; and
the L e g is la tiv e A s s e m b ly s h a ll p ro v id e by pe n a l law s, to r the
re m o v a l, by p u b lic o ffic e r s , o f such n egroes, and m u la tto s , and
fo r th e ir e ffe c tu a l e x c lu s io n fro m the S tate, and to r the p u n is h ­
m e n t o f p ersons w h o s h a ll b rin g th e m in to the sta te , o r e m p lo y ,
o r h a rb o r th e m , (re p e a le d N o v e m b e r 1926)
A rtic le I I Section 6. - N o Negro, Chinaman, or M u la tto shall have
the rig h t o f suffrage, (repealed June 28, 1927)
A rtic le X V S ection 8. - N o Chairman, not a resident o f the State at
the adoption o f this C onstitution, shall ever hold any real estate, or
m in in g claim , or w o rk any m in in g claim therein. The Legislative
Assem bly shall provide by law in the most effectual manner fo r carry ing
out the above provisions.
The Reinvention O f Black History: It W on't Happen Here
by
ventional school texts o r the media.
The pursuit o f ve rifia b le in fo r­
P rof . M c K inley B i rt
N o t in the pages o f this Portland
Observer newspaper w ill you find
mation resting "sa fe ly” in the un ive r­
sities. museums and archives o f Eu­
these half-truths, oxym oronic m is­
rope, A frica , Asia and A rabia (and
carefully guarded w hite coffers in
statements o f fact o r flagrant exam ­
ples o f “ p o litic a l correctness" that
often are passed o f f today as authen­
tic black history. As my tenth-grade
encouragement o f teachers lik e Dr.
history teacher, M r. P E Davenport
used to say, “ L o rd knows, we did
enough awesome and w o n d e rfu l
cated in an age when gaining a doc­
Davenport. They were superbly edu­
things w ithout having to add any
em broidery.”
This huge, ebony-hued man was
a b rillia n t and consummate scholar,
every b it as big as a davenport, and
fo r some cruel reason his parents had
reached into Greek history fo r his
given name. “ Patroculous" Eugene
D avenport was a man determined
that his beloved charges w ould take
far more know ledge and self-esteem
into life than the w atchful establish­
equipped w ith a few homemade a rti­
facts and icons o f the age on w hich he
served. H ow could we brats have
known the value and importance o f
o f the gory details o f the Norman
Conquest and the Battle o f Hastings,
1066, when A fricans on both sides
generations in a mode that makes
palpable and m eaningful the intense
interaction throughout the ages o f
Africans and A frica n Am ericans w ith
ments w hich never appear in the con-
wom en...” at w hich point on one
unforgettable day. the desk collapsed
u n der his p o n d e ro u s, anim a te d
deep w aving fields and pastui es green
w ith gentle slopes and groves be­
ing Power: This H istory o f B lack
tween. F a rto th e south and east where
weight. H ardly missing a beat, he
lay in succession grey...”
F o r m ore on h ig h -a c h ie v in g
m anities Press. 1984 (o r try Barnes
&
N o b le , M a il O rder D iv is io n .)
W o rth ju s t notes and b ib lio g ra p h y.
finished this revelation and began a
mented book and excellent b ib lio g ­
People in B rita in ," Peter Fryer. H u ­
"P.E. Davenport, looking over my
shoulder and nodding his head (along
many o f them could have gone to
Canada, Europe or Asia and enjoyed
the d ig n ity and recognition they de­
that as a result. 1 (and some o f my
peers) am able to instruct succeeding
ment ever intended. That is the rea­
son I am often able to cite and docu­
ment to you those startling and satis­
fy in g accounts o f “ o u r" accom plish­
raphy from w hich 1 often quote; “ Stay­
characters on the European stage,
em bellishing and advancing the arts
w ith J. A. Rogers, o f course).
Determ ined to inoculate us w ith
upon us?
T e rrib ly im portant is the fact
mark thee send w ith delighted eye,
cultures. When I w rite or reflect on
black Romans in Britain or laterdusky
torate was tru ly an awesome accom ­
plishment. These savants taught in
segregated A m erican schools at Jim
Crow salaries and under the ugliest
o f racist conditions when, in fact,
the gifts that were being bestowed
fields, slew the men and raped the
“ They (the saxons) swooped
and sciences from literature, poetry,
music and painting to m ilita ry strat­
egy and swordsmanship - there is
A m erica) is born o f techniques and
blacks in B rita in see a w e ll-d o c u ­
down upon the town, burned the
poem we were to comm it to mem ory,
“ Saxon from yon m ountain high, I
other o f the w o rld 's c iv iliz a tio n s and
indelible impressions (w hich he did).
Dr. Davenport w ould often confront
this class suitably costumed and
A t First Interstate Bank
was expounding. No one ever forgot
we know how hard
W e WANT
fell on the fie ld o f battle. T w o o f my
it can be to establish
local peers also remembers “ Eugene"
at his finest: W aving a wooden sword
credit.That's why when
TO GIVE
and bearing the lid o f a huge copper
clothes b o ile r as a “ shield," he leaped
upon his desk (a ll 350 pounds o f
we look at applications
him ) and began a m agnificent po­
lemic.
CREDIT
for our home loans, car
loans and, credit cards,
WHERE
we keep in mind that
everyone’s financial
CREDIT IS
situation is different.
DUE.
W e will w ork w ith you
to determine which of
pur wide variety of loan
and credit products
best meet your needs
So stop by and we II
Black Business Expo Set A t PCC Cascade
1 he Cascade Campus o f P ort­
to be held in the gymnasium at the
land Com m unity College w ill host
c a m p u s,
the annual Black Business Expo on
Saturday and Sunday. Feb 25 and
K illin g s w o rth St
A wide selection o f clothing,
26. as part o f the 1995 Black History
crafts, an and je w e lry w ill be dis­
played and may be purchased V a ri­
M onth celebration
A variety o f local business com ­
panies. artists and craftspersons w ill
participate in the com m unity event.
lo c a te d
at
705
N
ous hot and cold foods w ill be a va il­
able
The Black Business Expo will
help you get the
be open from 10 a m. to 6 p.m. on
Saturday, Feb. 25. and from noon to
YOU
6 p.m. on Sunday. Feb 26. The expo
is free and open to the public.
It is s till possible to rent a stall at
the expo, but only a few openings
remain. Interested business persons
tan call Soma Key-Fender at 295-
2944
¿7
O
credit you deserve
First Interstate Bank
Sub|ect to credit approval Other conditions may apply
©1995 first Interstate Bancorp (very First Interstate Bank is a Member I I in ________
I
i
*
•
(wdi
-T » •
If * • * .*
i* * - '" * . '
* •
«
•) r
• . w' ■. '
• .»21'«
m » dt
■ s’ 9 ■