F ebruary 8, 1995 « T he P ortland O bserver
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V a n t a g e P o i n h Reaffirming King's Vision
TJw
his year as the nation
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“c e le b ra te s "
the
birthday of the Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr., we are
living in some of the most
perilous times since the Great
Depression.
The rise to hegemony o f the
radical right through the Republican
capture o f Congress and the intro
duction o f Newt G ingrich’s contract
with America poses a real threat to
the well being o f millions ofpoor and
working people in this nation. The
Contract with America is a mean
spirited initiative which scapegoats
and blames people o f color and poor
and working people for the ills of
American society .
The Contract with America is
real ly a "contract on America" which
consciously feeds on the fears and
anxieties o f an insecure White mid
dle class to promote policies and
programs that will ultimately benefit
the rich and the super-rich in this
c o u n try .
R acism ,
se x ism ,
homophobia, anti-poor bias and anti-
immigrationisim are used to blind
the middle class to the real intentions
o f a wealthy and privileged class o f
people who will go to any extreme to
enrich themselves. At base the Con
tract on America is a reflection o f the
greed, materialism and corruption
that is inherent in America’s amoral
capitalist sy stem. If we ever needed
the vision and voice o f Martin Luther
King, it is in these perilous times.
In one o f his most profound
speeches King offered this prophetic
warning: “ 1 am convinced that we
as a nation must undergo a radical
revolution o f values We must rapid
ly begin the shift from a thing-ori-
ented society ’ to a person-oriented’
society When machines and com
puters, profit motives and property
rights are considered more important
than people, the giant triplets of rac
ism, materialism and militarism are
incapable o f being conquered." The
enactment o f the Contract on Amer
ica would place this nation in immi
nent danger o f becom ing mired in the
madness o f racism, materialism and
militarism. We need the vision and
voice o f King to show us a way out
Bey ond the pomp and circumstance
that has come to dominate the Martin
Luther King Holiday celebration, we
need to focus on King’s prescription
for correcting the ills o f American
society if this life and legacy is to
have meaning in this crucial moment
o f history.
“True compassion is more than
flinging a coin at a beggar; it comes
to understand that the edifice which
produces beggars needs restructur
ing.” What King was attempting to
tell America is that poor people are
not poor because they want to be
poor. Poverty in America is a func
tion o f failed policies and a flawed
system And, the misery and poverty
which results from "being neglect”
and Contracts on America can not be
overcome by occasional acts ofchar-
ity and kindness only. What is re
quired is a "radical revolution of
values,” a change in this nation’s
priorities and a change in the edifice/
sy stem that is breeding poverty, mis
ery, crime, violence and destruction.
Acting on this analysis, at the
end o f his life Martin Luther King
was pressing America to “undergo a
radical revolution o f values.” King
was eloquently and passionately es
pousing and Economic B illot Rights
to force this nation to live up to its
obligation and responsibility to guar
antee certain basic human rights to
every human being in the United
States. King was challenging Amer
ica to “ live up to its creed" that all
human beings are entitled to "life,
liberty and the pursuit o f happiness."
In concrete terms these "inalienable
rights” translate into the right to a
decent jo b or income, housing, health
care and education.
King was unwilling to let Amer
ica, more importantly the rich and the
super-rich, the powerful and the priv
ileged, get away with blaming the poor
for their condition o f impoverishment.
Nor was he content with accepting a
kind o f charitable "noblesse oblige"
as a substitute for a compassionate
government and humane policies.
Martin Luther King was demanding
radical, fundamental change in this
nation’s public policy and in this na
tion’s flawed challenged the victims
o f this nation’s failed polices and
flawed system to act. King challenged
B lack people, people o f color and poor
and working people to rise above the
limitations of their condition to liber
ate themselves and the nation from the
"giant triplets of racism, materialism,
and militarism.” At the time of his
death. King was planning a "Poor Peo
ple’s Campaign” to fight for an Eco
nomic Bill of rights or what might be
termed a New Contract with America.
In these perilous times, we must
not allow the vision o f King to be
blurred by meaningless ritual and
superfluous ceremony. The vision
and voice o f King must be our primer
and our guide as the dispossessed
and disadvantaged - Blacks, people
o f color and poor and working peo
ple engage the struggle to counter the
Contract on America. The celebra
tion o f the life and legacy o f the Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. must be
manifest in real deeds that express
our resolve to compel America to
shift from a "thing -oriented” society
to a “ person-oriented society. The
vision and voice o f King demands
that we engage the struggle to re
structure the "edifice which produc
es beggars.”
Economic Empowerment
J ames C lingman
by
I
arrakhan is right.
In August o f last year Minister
Louis Farrakhan spoke at my first
school ofhigher learning. North C aro-
lina Central University, formerly
North Carolina College at Durham.
His speech, made before a packed
gymnasium in unbearable heat, cen
tered on economic self-sufficiency.
The theme that filtered through the
entire message was, “we can do for
ourselves." The minister was right,
and he and the Nation o f Islam are
proving it daily.
In Chicago, the Nation is in
volved in economic development in
the African-American community on
an unprecedented scale. Nationwide,
the members o f this group do for
themselves, without getting into the
“begging mode” in which many o f us
find ourselves. Farrakhan cited the
reasons that A frican A m ericans,
owners of nearly $400 billion in an
nual income, are the beggars o f this
nation, the most important o f which
Civil Rights Journal:
b \
B ermce P owell J ackson
recently attended a play
entitled I Am a Man at
the Karamu Theater in
Cleveland.
It was the story o f the union
organizer who worked with the san
itation workers in Memphis during
their strike in 1968. This was the
strike which brought Martin Luther
King Jr. to M emphis and to the
Lorraine Motel, where he was assas
sinated.
Today the Lorraine Motel hous
es one o f the nation’s finest muse
ums, which chronicles the civil rights
movement, particularly the 1950’s
and 1960’s. Called the National Civ
il Rights Museum, it houses 10,000
square feet o f exhibitions, and audi
torium, a courtyard, a gallery, a mu
seum g i f t shop and administrative
offices.
The exhibits o f the National Civil
ownership and production and distri
bution and selling and buying. He
spoke o f all o f these things in the
context o f what they mean to Black
Americans. 1 might add that he did it
without malice toward white people
or Jewish people or any other group.
He did it with love toward Black
people, tempered with stem admon
ishments, as any caring parent would
for his or her children. In other words,
he came down on US.
I don’t know how much it’s go
ing to take for us to turn our rhetoric
into action.
is our reluctance to stick together.
The Minister noted the thousands
of people sitting in the sweltering heat
of a gymnasium that was not air condi
tioned. He asked why was that so, and
he alluded to the simple fact that if
those in attendance pooled their funds,
they could purchase air conditioning
for the gym. He brought forth the fact
that African Americans are so splin
tered and stratified that it is virtually
impossible for us to gain any conces
sions, economic, social, or political.
He talked about economic le
verage and the importance of land
Making Black History Come Alive
Rights Museum make African Amer
ican history come alive, including
the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the
Freedom Rides, the March on Wash
ington, student sit-ins and the Mem
phis sanitation workers strike. A ten
minute introductory audio-visual pro
gram focuses on the Constitutional
Rights we all have as U.S. citizens;
other audio-visuals place the viewer
in the Birmingham jail cell where Dr.
King wrote his famous letter and
allow the view er to hear the stories of
the Little Rock Nine, who integrated
schools in Arkansas.
Rooms 306 and 307, which Dr.
King occupied on that fateful day in
April, 1968, from an emotional focus
o f the museum and are the historical
climax o f the exhibits. These rooms
have been recreated as they were
when Dr King was there
A nother treasu re chest o f A f
rican A m erican h isto ry is the
N ational A fro-A m erican M use
audio-visual presentation on black
music and a collection o f manuscripts
and library materials.
For our children to really know
and appreciate African American
history, we must find all kinds o f
ways to make history come alive.
Plays like 1 Am a Man or museums
like the National Civil Rights Muse
um in Memphis and the National
Afro-American Museum and Cul
tural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio are
critical to telling our stories.
African American history is im
portant for all Americans all year
long. As you plan trips for your fam
ily, include these museums on your
itinerary . As you try to tell your chil
dren about African American heroes,
inc lude black theater productions and
black art exhibits in your plans. Let’s
make African American history come
alive for our children. It’s not for the
sake o f our past, but for the sake o f
our future.
um a n d C u ltu r a l C e n te r in
W ilb e rfo rc e, O hio. L ocated on
the cam pus o f W ilb erfo rce U n i
versity , a h isto ric a lly black u n i
versity , it includes a perm anent
e x h ib it w hich c h ro n ic le s the p e
riod in A m erican history from
1945 to 1965. T his ex h ib it has
cars, b a rb e r ch airs and stra ig h t
ening com bs and even a re p ro
duction o f a church from those
days. It looks at the m igration o f
m illions o f blacks from the south
to the N orth and at A frican A m er
ican fam ily, w ork, com m unity
and re lig io u s life.
In addition to this permanent
exhibit, the National Afro-American
Museum has changing art and pho
tography exhibits and special exhib
its o f black dolls and for the Martin
Luther King, Jr. holiday. Black His
tory Month and Kwanzaa. The 35,000
square foot building, which opened
in 1988. also includes a gift shop, an
(SLditcr
Send your letters to the Editor to:
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
Give Something Back To U. S. Troops
Not only are we paying for the
billions in direct military costs in
defending Kuwait, but we are paying
for all the illnesses that have stemmed
out o f the Persian G ulf W ar-illn ess
es that, scientific experts say. may be
attributable to uranium poisoning
and/or Iraqi chemical biological war
fare.
The G ulf War tab took another
toll on the families ofthe soldiers and
the unfortunate in this country, in the
form o f cutbacks on affordable hous
ing. food stamps, medical care and
education
About half o f the soldiers who
fought in the Persian G ulf were mi-
norities-m ostly African Americans
and Hispanics. Statistics show that
more U.S. soldiers from Watts and
East L A. served in that war than the
total contingent o f Kuwaiti troops.
All this is happening while Ku
waiti newlyweds are being given free
homes or free land and $225,000.
60-year, interest-free loans; free
medical care; free college education;
and freedom from taxation The coun
try. which is $200 billion in the black,
has not even entertained a request
made last fall by the Greenlining
Coalition for a total o f $2.6 billion in
community reinvestment funds to go
toward low-cost housing for the coun
try 's poorer populations
Instead, Kuwait's royal family
forgave all loans for items which
range from homes to luxury automo
biles, in order to "bolster morale”
among its citizens.
Kuwait makes $35 million a day
in oil revenues. Our poor are sleep
ing in cardboard boxes on our streets,
our veterans are suffering from a
myriad o f maladies directly stem
ming from their involvement in that
war, and our citizens are paying for
studies to determine the cause and
treatment o f these illnesses.
If nothing else, Kuwait should
invest some o f its revenues in the
soldiers who fought to ensure that
they could reap all the benefits of
having one o f the highest per capita
incomes in the world It is because
our soldiers battled on their fields
that their pumps are churning out oil
Kuwait should be paying for
these studies and treating the sol-
$
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p c r s p e' c t 1 v & s
Selected Readings In
Ebony: Classic And New
rjiT
djj
Cj I
irst, some sources of
good, solid image-
building materials that
will do much for self-esteem
and that will provoke much
discussion of an enlightening
nature. Since this is Black
H istory
Month
these
purveyors of classic ethnic
gems will have many special
additions to their expansive
catalogs.
“ A fric a n
A m erican Im ag
e s ” , 1 9 0 9 W.
9 5 th
S tr e e t,
D ept. FC C h ic a
g o , HI 6 0 6 4 3 ;
B ooks,
C as
s e tte s , P o s te rs ,
M ovies, G am es, T o y s, P uzzles;
C h ild r e n ’s T itle s , H is to rie s ,
T exts, B ib lio g ra p h ie s; In d iv id
uals - S chools - L ib ra rie s.
“ A&B B ooks” , 149 Law
ren ce S tre e t B ro o k ly n , N Y.
1 1201, (7 18) 5 9 6 -3 3 8 9 ; T his
m ail ord er, catalo g house will
be found to have the sam e ex
tensive coverage o f A frican and
A frican A m erican literatu re and
related m aterials.
“ EC A A s s o c ia te s ” , P O.
Box 15004, G reat B ridge S ta
tion, C h esapeake, V A, 23328-
0004, (804) 547-5542. The same
c o m p re h e n s iv e c o v e r a g e as
a b o v e - p lu s B lack E d u catio n
V ideo S eries, S tu d ies in R eli
gion, P hilosophy.
E dw ard R. H am ilton. B ook
seller, Falls V illage, CT 0603 1 -
5000. N ow , this c a ta lo g mail
order house is not an ethnic su p
p lier o f books but you w ill find
som e listed each m onth am ong
som e o f the m ajor categ o ries:
H istory, M usic, B ib lio g rap h y ,
S cience, S ociology, P sy c h o lo
gy, F ictio n , A d v en tu re, R eli
gion, E ntertainm ent, C ollecting,
L an g u ag e, A rc h ite c tu re , A rt,
L ite ra tu re ,
T e le v is io n ,
C h ild re n s B o o k s, M e d ic in e ,
C rafts, Etc. The huge free c a ta
log (p rin te d like a ta b lo id new s
p a p e r)
lis ts
y e s te rd a y ’s
b e stse lle rs at a fractio n o f the
price.
Let me also recom m end sev
eral good books th a t I co n sid e r
c la ssic s, not only for general
read in g but also to inspire and
m o tiv a te our y o u th in th e se
tim es w hen a good self-im age is
su fferin g a dram atic a ttritio n .
They present excellent role models
from today and yesteryear.
“ G ifte d H an d s: T he Ben
C a rso n S to ry ” , Z o n d e rv a n
B ooks, G rand R apids M ichigan,
1990. The life sto ry (au to b io g
raphy) o fth e still young A frican
A m erican neuro su rgeon w ho
has won w orld-w ide ho n o rs for
his p io n e e rin g p ro c e d u re s in
sep aratin g and sav in g the lives
o f Siam ese tw ins. R aised in in
ner-city D etroit and su fferin g
fro m e a rly e d u c a tio n a l and
pathological d isab ilities, he nev
erth eless su rm ounted all these
d iffic u ltie s w ith the aid o f a su
p e r - m o tiv a te d m o th e r - -from
failin g grades
to top o f class
and s c h o la r
ship to Y ale
At age 33 b e
cam e d ire c to r
o f p e d ia tric
neuro surgery
at Johns H opkins. T ruly inspi
rational.
"N orth Pole Legacy: B lack
W hite and E skim o;” S. A llen
C ounter. U niversity O t M assa
chusetts Press. 1991. T his stor;
c e n te r s a ro u n d th e A tr ic a i
A m erican e x p lo re r, M atthev
H ensen w ho, th o u g h usualE
d escribed as the "fa ith fu l assis
tant" to the acclaim ed w hite ex
plorer, C om dr. R obert E. Peary
actually was the first man t
reach the N orth Pole (the de
scription in qu o tatio n m arks i
an allusion that c la ssic Angl
Saxon put d o w n ’ im agery tech
nique ie. "R obinson C ru so e an
his man F riday."
Dr. C ounter, a b lack neur
science p ro fesso r at H arvard i
d irecto r o f the H arvard F ounda
tion for In tercu ltu ral and Race
R e la tio n s . As w as M atthew
H ensen, he is a m em ber o f the
w o r ld - r e n o w n e d " E x p lo r e r :
C lu b ” and trav eled extensively
in the frigid arctic lands, find
ing the Eskim o descendants fron
explorer H ensen (and P eary)
Dr. C ounter flew them to tfr
U nited S tates w here they m
th e ir A m erican re la tiv e s ar
there are many w onderful phi
tographs th ro u g h o u t the boo
Dr. C ounter arranged to h a ’
the body o f M atthew Hensi
reinterred in A rlington N atio
al C em etery with full m ilita
honors.
Does it also o ccu r to y
that we need a lot m ore o f o
w ealthy p ro fessio n al and ed
cational e lite to be about tl
type o f a c tiv ity -h o n o rin g a
thrusting into the w o rld ’s spi
lig h tth e A frican A m ericans w
paved the way for us to com e
far as we have. 1 say less o f t
posturing for te le v isio n . Jet a
E bony—m ore o f the sustenar
for esteem , soul and psyche.
(Tltv ^ o rtla ith (0bserucr
(USPS 959-680)
OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION
better
he Persian Gulf War
continues to take its toll
^¿Z on U.S. troops and U.S.
taxpayers.
•
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diers. It could invest in businesses
among veterans, or even commit $2.6
billion out o f its overflowing coffers
in just plain gratitude for their free
dom and their present ability to keep
their coffers growing.
Instead, th e re 's silen ce from
K uw ait on the req uest. It d o e s n ’t
take m uch to see w here K uw ait
w ould be now if it w e re n 't for
our so ld iers. We w onder w here
they w ill be if our so ld ie rs refuse
to fight the next tim e Saddam
H ussein d ecid es he w ould like to
attack K uw ait P erhaps a little
g ratitu d e w ould be in line here.
We think our so ld ie rs d e se rv e a
little m ore than jus, g e ttin g to
w atch a d ip lo m a tic thank you
from the K uw aiti A m b assad o r to
the P resident
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