P age A?
F ebruary 15, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver
o b s F o r AH is a
c o m p re h e n s iv e pro-
gram to ensure suitable
jo b s an d good w ag es fo r
everyone who wants to work.
Full em ploym ent is both an
ethical imperative and the key
to e c o n o m ic ju s tic e and
prosperity... We reject the idea
th at u nem ploym ent is ever
desirable and we reject the use
of u n e m p lo y m e n t to fig h t
inflation. Real full employment
is feasible and achievable in
the modern global economy.
The key barriers are political
an d id e o lo g ic a l, n o t ju s t
technical or economic.
‘i n itself, full employment will
not deal completely with the prob
lems facing different groups, but we
believe it is the necessary precondi
tion for reducing the barriers to their
resolution... There is no reason in
herent in the real resources available
to us why we cannot move - and
rapidly - within two or three years to
a situation o f genuine full employ
ment, estimated... to be about 1.5
percent unemployment.
“ We have developed a plan and
policies which are oriented around
11 principles. In brief, these are the
principles: jobs for all; adequate in
come for all; rights for workers; com-
5
R àinbo W
C O A L IT IO N
Full Employment
munity investment, preservation and
support; military conversion; envi
ro n m e n ta l
p re se rv a tio n
and
sustainability ; fair trade and econom
ically viable local production for lo
cal consumption; democratical plan
ning and industrial policy; rebuild
ing the nation’s cities; sound govern
ment finance: and lifelong learning.
“The start o f a silent depres
sion' began in 1973, when the rate of
growth o f two key indicators o f eco
nomic well-being, the real income of
the average worker and the real me
dian family income, began to de
cline. By 1 990, the real income o f the
average worker was 19.1 percent
below the level o f 1973.
In a study o f employment policy
since World War II, one reason cited
for the lack ofconstituent support for
full employ ment is the governm ent’s
orientation toward providing pro
grams for the relief o f the temporari
ly unemploy ed rather than a compre
hensive commitment to meeting the
economic needs o f the entire na
tion... The lack ofa full employment
policy, robbed other proposals for a
coherence and overarching purpose.
By demonstrating that full employ
ment is tied to the solutions o f other
problems such as the budget deficit,
poverty, homelessness, crime, fami
ly stress, decay ing infrastructure and
environmental degradation - that is,
by making it do more than just give
jobs to the jobless, we increase its
potential constituency.
“ It is important to prioritize... a
legislative strategy that would move
us toward full employment: the in
troduction o f an omnibus Full Em
ploym ent and E conom ic Justice
bill... which would lend credibility
to the ideas articulated in Jobs For
All, as well as give new visibility to
the goal o f full employment; seek
support for a permanent, standby job
creation program; appoint a high-
level governm ent com m ission to
study and propose solutions to the
problem o f unemployment and un
deremployment; to increase public
awareness o f the true magnitude o f
joblessness... support a new, expand
ed measure o f unemployment; and
recognizing that in a globally inter
dependent economy it would be dif
ficult, if not impossible to create full
employment in one nation and that a
global New D eal’ is needed, a final,
albeit long-range, initiative would be
to call for a global employment sum
mit, perhaps under the auspices o f
the United N ations.”
These are excerpts from a new
book by Sheila D. Collins, Helen
L acks G in sb u rg and G e rtru d e
SchaffherGoldbert entitled Jobs For
all, published by Apex Press. They
are seeking signatures on a “New
Initiatives For Full Employment”
response form. We encourage you to
buy the book and support this effort.
THIS WAY FOR BLACK EMPOWERMENT
Clinton And Newt Are In The Same Boat
Bv L enora F vlani
/jl
C
n his hour-and-a-half-
long State of the Union
address, Bill Clinton
didn’t once mention us.
Since it was the black vote that
gave the Democrats their margin of
victory in the few races they man
aged to salvage in 1994 - like Senator
Charles Robb's win overOliverNorth
in V irg in ia and Sen ato r D iane
Fejpstgin’s reelection in California -
you would think that he’d be a little
moreresponsive. But the Democrats
are still counting on our loyalty, no
matter how often they insult us. abuse
us or exclude us.
By contrast, the president did
take pains to make his pitch to Inde
pendents. The first half o f his speech
sounded like it had been written by
Ross Perot. Why? In 1992, 20 mil-
lion people broke with both the Dem
ocrats and Republicans and voted for
Perot because he talked about open
ing up the political process and tak
ing America back from the corrupt
politicians.
So far. R e p u b lic a n N ew t
Gingrich has managed to capitalize
somewhat better than “New Demo
crat” Bill Clinton on the anger of
voters. But Clinton and Gingrich are
ultimately committed to preserving
the two-party arrangement and may
end up in the same boat - the one the
American people want to turn over.
With the Cold War ended, we
find ourselves face to face with a new
set o f social and economic problems.
The U.S. is not sufficiently compet
itive in the global economy. We con
front a staggering national debt. Our
education system is failing. Domes
tic, street, and racial violence haunt
urban, suburban and rural areas alike.
Drug use has reached epidemic pro
portions. Social and moral decadence
are found everywhere. Can the Bill
Clintons and Newt Gingriches come
up with workable solutions? Maybe?
But the real question is: can their
proposed solutions - contracts with
America, or new covenants, or what
ever - be realized? Only if the Amer
ican people - o f all races and eco
nomic backgrounds - are building
the popular consensus and the w ill to
realize these solutions.
Do the c o n d itio n s e x ist for
this type o f activ ism ? N o. A m er
ican dem ocracy is far too re stric t
ed, c o n tro lle d by big m oney, cen
tra liz e d and to p -d o w n . T h a t’s
exactly w hat the A m erican p e o
ple are so angry about.
How do we address this? With a
th o ro u g h g o in g re stru c tu rin g o f
American dem oo acy - inc luding term
limits; full rights to initiative, refer
endum and recall; automatic voter
registration; m andatory televised
campaign debates; and ballot access
reform. Most importantly, we need
to go well beyond the conservatizing
two-party system o f professional
politicians, to a participatory multi
party democracy o f ordinary Ameri
cans.
During the civil rights move
ment. black people raised the issue o f
fairness and inclusion and changed
democracy for all Americans. In the
1990s we must once again make the
issue o f democratic process the burn
ing issue o f America, this time with a
total political restructuring that al
lows African Americans - as mem
bers o f the total American communi
ty - to determine a new direction for
our country.
CIVIL RIQHTS JOURNAL
An Open Letter To Our Children
During Black History Month
by
B ernice P owell J ackson
ear Young Sisters and
Brothers,
All o f you are our future and our
survival as a people and this world
depends on your survival and your
hope. Many o f you understand that
and go to school every day, learn
something every day, do something
positive for the universe every day.
We don’t read about you in the news
papers or see you on television, but
you are there and you are our hope
and we salute you.
Some o f you, though, are al
ready lost to the streets, caught up in
a downward spiral o f violence and
pain, headed toward prison or a
wheelchair or death. We see your
pictures on television every day and
we weep for you and for ourselves.
All o f you need to know that you
come from a proud people, a deter
mined people, a creative people, a
prayerful people with a history rich
with accomplishment and a love and
respect for each other. All of you
need to know that history because in
that history there is hope for you, in
that history there is meaning for you,
in that history there is love for you.
The outside world would have
you believe negative things about
y ourselves. The outside world would
have you believe that the place for
black men is prison, when black men
have been doctors and lawyers and
teachers and inventors and architects
and w riters and composers and may
ors and astronauts and women of
God.
The outside world would have
you believe that you have inferior
minds, when a black man took a
peanut and invented dozens o f ways
to use it. The outside world would
have you believe you cannot learn
math, when black people in Egypt
invented math. The outside world
would have you believe that you can
not speak English properly, when
you came from a people who spoke
many languages when they were
snatched from their land and then
learned English while shackled to
their brothers and sisters. The out
side world would have you believe
that college is no place foryou, when
a black woman started a college for
her people with only a few dollars in
her pocket and a determination that
we would have the opportunity to
learn.
You are young, gifted and black.
Despite those images, despite those
negative messages, you are young,
gifted and black. Despite the pover
ty, despite the pain, you are young,
gifted and black. Despite the guns,
despite the drugs, you are young,
gifted and black.
We who are adults have failed
you. We have not put up those pro
tective shields that our parents and
their parents built around us. We
have allowed those negative images
to get past a wall o f protection and
love and into your psyches and your
souls. We have allowed the outside
w orld's message that what is impor
tant in life is money and cars and
jewelry and possessions to invade
our community’s being when we
know that what is important in life is
truth and love and respect, none of
which can be bought and all o f which
are the essence o f our humanity.
We who are adults have failed
you. We have abandoned you all too
often. We have left you to the vul
tures, to the drug dealers, the con
artists, the thieves and the carriers of
death. We have not taken you by the
hand and led you through the valley
o f darkness to help you see that you
can achieve, you can learn, you can
find aplace foryourself in this world,
as difficult a place as it may be.
But during this Black History
Month, the lingering spirit o f our
ancestors call us to rise up and tell
you the stories - the stories o f our
past, the stories o f our hope, the
storiesofourlove. And intellingyou
these stories, we can reclaim all of
our children and ensure our future.
My young sisters and brothers,
you are young, gifted and black. The
future is yours -- may we help you
reach it?
OPEN LETTER
M r . W illie B rown , P ersonnel
C ommittee C hair
Dear Willie:
I am writing to you because o f
information I received yesterday from
Mr Pete Kelly. Bureau o f Personnel
Services. It appears that a city com
puter is going to be the controlling
segment in the selection process for
the next Executive Director o f the
Northeast Coalition o f N eighbor
hoods Mr Kelly informed me that
Marsha Palmer, the current Interim
Director had received a very high
score by computer and was being
added to the list o f persons being
interviewed for Executive Director
Enclosed is a complete copy ofchoic-
es made by Personnel Committee
members, which screened resumes
o f 75 applicants minus o f one who
had withdrawn.
After reviewing the draft o f Let
ter of Agreement between the city o f
Portland and the Northeast Coalition
o f Neighborhoods for hiring and su
pervising o f N E C N 's Executive Di
rector. which had been sent by Diane
Linn. Director. Office o f Neighbor
hood Associations to the
Board o f Directors o f N.E. Co
alition o f Neighborhoods, nothing
specifies anything about a computer
involvement (copy enclosed). How
ever, after the top 4 applicant choices
were 3 Black males and 1 Jewish
W'hite female, a lower scoring 5 can
didates were added to the interview
list. Afterwhich. Ms. Palmer, the In
terim Director was added do to a
computer score.
Being an active participant. I
realized what is taking place in the
Northeast Coalition office, which
caused me to write a letter to the
editor o f the Portland Observer in
agreement with Prof Mckinley Burt's
P e rs p e c tiv e s co lu m n s e n title d
“Blacks On The Way Out° Could It
Happen Here?, as a Northeast com
munity activist. Hopefully, as the
Personnel Committee Chair, you will
not allow the Northeast Coalition of
Neighborhoods to become a victim of
the City's game playing processes.
Thank you for your time and
consideration.
Charles Hake, Personnel Com
m ittee; N ortheast Coalition o f
Neighborhoods
p e r s p e c tiv e s
Selected Readings
In Ebony II (Classics)
ore of the solid image-
building materials to
fu rth e r s e lf-e s te e m
and hope for the future; the
sort of histories and accounts
of superb achievem ents that
are needed to sustain and
inspire a race of people. And
to assure the significant others
of this world that there is plenty
of d o c u m e n ta tio n fo r our
claims.
“ B lack P i
on eers o f S c i
e n c e A nd In
v e n tio n ” , L o u
is
H a b e r,
O dssey B ooks
(H a rc o u rt
B race Jo v a n o v ic h ) 1970. T his
is an excellent c o llectio n o f w ell-
w ritten acco u n ts o f m ajo r in
v e n tio n s an d m e d ic a l b re a k
th roughs by A frican A m erican
innovators.
"B lack In v e n to rs O f A m er
ic a ’, M cK inley B urt, N a tio n a l
B ook C o., P o rtla n d , O re g o n ,
1 9 6 9 -1 9 8 9 . T h e p io n e e r in g
book on B lack In v e n to rs w hich
began the en tire genre o f in v e s
tig a tio n s o f the in v en tiv e gen iu s
o f blacks.
“ S ecrets O f T he G reat P y r
a m id ’, P eter T o m p k in s, H arp er
& Row , 1971, 1978 and later.
E asily the best w ritte n , d o c u
m ented and illu stra te d o f the
books w ritten a b o u t the G reat
Pyram id o f A frica. The m a th e
m a tic s, te c h n o lo g y , E u r o p e ’s
d ep endency.
“ M athem atics In T he T im e
O f T he P h a ra o h s” , R ichard J.
G illin g s , D o v e r P u b lic a tio n s
Inc., 1982. T his book is the m ost
inform ative review I ’ve seen o f
the so p h istic a te d m ath d e v e l
oped by the A frican s d u rin g this
p erio d . C o vers th e ir te c h n iq u e s
o f nu m erals and n u m e ra tio n , a l
geb ra and g e o m e try (a re a and
volum e), fractions, m ensuration,
a r i t h m e t i c a n d g e o m e tr ic
p ro g re ssio n s,e tc . E sp ecially , we
find here a co m p le te d e s c rip
tion o f the m ethod o f m u ltip ly
ing by d o u bling. I d e m o n stra te d
th a t th is “ b in a ry ” m ethod o f
co m p u tatio n w as the ex act sam e
m ethod used by m odern c o m
p u ters, th ereb y w inning a N a
tio n a l S cience F o u n d atio n p rize
for T he D a lle s’, O regon school
D istrict (1 9 6 6 ).
“ A fric a C o u n ts : N u m b e r
And P attern in A frican C u ltu re ” ,
C la u d ia Z a s la v s k y ; P r in d le ,
W e b e r& S c h m id t, B oston 1973.
T his is a b ro a d -ra n g in g c o v e r
age o f the A frican c o n tin e n t as a
w hole; E gypt, D ogon, Y o ru b a,
N ig eria, E ast A fric a —O rig in al
and A rabic c o u n tin g system s,
m e n su ra tio n , re c o rd -k e e p in g .
fo re c a stin g , g am b lin g , c a le n
d ar, cu rrency etc.
“N um ber W ords A nd N um
ber Sym bols: A C u ltu ra l H isto
ry
Of
N u m b e rs”
K a rl
M enninger, The M .l.T . P ress.
1977. As the title im plies, looks
at the co n cep t o f num bers as
d ev elo p ed by peo p le all over
the w orld; E gyptians, G reeks,
R om ans, B ab ylonians, E ast In
dians, C h in ese,
M a y a n s, J a p a
nese, A m erican
I n d ia n s , E tc .
470 pages.
“ I s a a c
N ew ton, h is to
ria n ,” Frank E.
M anuel, The B elknap P ress o f
H arvard U niversity Press, 1963.
T his is a p ric e le ss re fe re n c e
w ork for both t.he g en eral p u b
lic and the serio u s stu d e n t o f
ancient A frican h isto ry , N ew
ton w as a p ro d ig io u s h isto ria n
w hose accuracy (and ho n esty )
in re p o rtin g the a c c o m p lis h
m ents o f A fricans in m a th e m a t
ics, astronom y, letters and c u l
ture is m atched only by P lato,
the G reek h istorian and p h ilo s
opher. It is for this reaso n , o f
course, that A m erican sc h o la rs
p re fe r not to reveal to o m uch
about the p ro lific c u ltu ra l in
v e stig a tio n s o f the great m a th e
m atician who gave us “ The T h e
ory o f U niversal G ra v ita tio n ” .
And C alculus.
In p e rfe c tin g this th e o ry ,
N ew ton held up its p u b lic a tio n
for several years w aiting for v e r
ification o fc e le stia l co ordinates
by tw o E uropean sc ie n tists who
w ere using the G reat pyram id at
G izeh, A frica for th e ir g e o d e
sics (see T h o m p k in ’s Pyram id
book).
H ere, in M a n u e l’s b o o k ,
N ew ton is seen to trace dow n
various m yths and show that this
is the m ethod an cien t p e o p le s
used to honor and m em o rialize
people o f great accom plishm ent
( “ E u h e m e rism ” ): the a n c ie n t
hero o f Libya, A frica, “ A tla s” ,
an e x c e lle n t a stro n o m e r w ho
D is c o v e r e d
The
S p h e re ,
A tlantis, an E gyptian c o lo n y in
L ibya, U ranus (A m m on) w ho
f ir s t e s ta b lis h e d c itie s a n d
tow ns.
-Is a a c N e w to n w as a ls o
deep into relig io u s stu dies. His
in v e s tig a tio n s r e v e a le d th a t
m uch o f Isra e l’s p h ilo so p h ic a l
dev elo p m en t was due to A fri
can c o lo n iz a tio n (as was the
ca se w ith G re e c e ). T h e re is
m uch, m uch m ore as N ew ton
correlates the pantheons o f these
c o u n trie s w ith th e ir A frican o r
igins in Egypt. Serm ons at C am
bridge.
(Tlte JJJartlarth (©baeruer
(USPS 959-680)
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