M arch
15, 1995 •I'm
P ortland O bserver
P age A2
(^?JY wo congressional dist
i l ricts in Chicago are
VLz' being challenged in
federal court by a lawsuit that
charges they resulted from
‘racial gerrymandering.’
The lawsuit states, the bound
aries o f the mostly Black 1st District
on the South Side and the largely
Latino 4th District on the West Side
were drawn to guarantee a seat in
Congress to members of those mi
nority groups L et's rev iew the argu
m e n ts.
Have the rights of whites been
v iolated by the creation o f these dis
tricts? No. White voters are not de
nied their share o f political power.
However, even with the enforcement
o f the VRA. Black (and other minor
ities) continue to be barred from a
fair share o f political power nation
wide. For example, there are slightly
over 8.000 Black elected officials.
We are 12% o f 500,000 is roughly
60,000 political offices that should
riahtfullv he held bv Blacks. Eiuht
»
ÍATI ON AI
1 III IB 11 iW
C O A L IT IO N
Voting Rights Act
Lawsuits Hit 2 Districts
Gutierrez And Rush Jeopardized
thousand (8,000) is a mere 1.6% of
the offices that should be held by
Blacks if elected on a fair basis.
L atin o s are 10% o f the p o p
ulation. In p ro p o rtio n a l term s,
5 0 ,0 0 0 o f the 500,000 elected
o ffices should be held by L atinos.
The p re se n t 4 ,0 0 0 o ffic ia ls is a
m ere l/1 2 th o f the o ffic e s that
sh o u ld be held by L a tin o s, if
elected on a fair basis.
Does the Shaw decision advo
cate the appropriate remedy? No,
advocating a color-blind remedy in a
race-conscious society (l.e.. a dem
onstrated history of whites not vot
ing for racial minorities) is divisive.
Our opponents argue “any race-con
scious" remedy is unlaw ful and there
fore must be avoided They argue for
laws that are “neutral". But to argue
“neutrality " is to argue for the status
quo, which confirms that race is a
primary factor in voting!
Racial gerry mandering or equal
opportunity ? The VRA does not ad
vocate “racial gerrymandering” or
“political apartheid”.
What it says is that race may be
A factor—along with income, party
affiliation, geographic compactness,
e tc .-in drawing boundaries, so that
those who have been excluded his
torically from an Equal Opportunity
o f being elected to office will have a
fair chance. Historically, incumben
cy has also been a major factor. Court
rulings that do not use the language
o f "equal opportunity ”, but instead
use language like “racial gerryman
dering" to interpret and affirm the
voting rights o f minorities, jeopar
dize the Voting Rights Act.
Civil Rights Journal
Pulling The Plug On Public Broadcasting
BV
B ernice P ow ell J ackson
f you were to believe
'll everything you heard
in Washington these
days, all teen mothers are bad,
everyone on welfare is lazy and
public broadcasting is only for
the elite. All of us outside the
beltway and in the real world
know th a t all of th o se
caricatures are untrue, unfair
and misleading.
Yet Speaker o f the House Newt
Gingrich and Sen Larry Pressler,
among others, continue their attacks
on public broadcasting, threatening
to take away federal funding and
make public radio and television just
one more commercial network. Just
what we need in this country, another
television network filled with vio
lence, buffoonery and O.J. Simpson
stories.
The C ongressional attackers
claim that public broadcasting is only
for the elites o f the country. How
condescending - to think only the
rich and well-educated enjoy watch
ing nature shows or documentaries
or Sesame Street or listeningto opera
or jazz concerts. How condescend
ing and how untrue.
The reality is that most viewers
o f public broadcasting come from
households earning less than $40,000.
By one poll 80 percent o f all Amer
icans watch public television at least
once a month - that makes public
television used more by Americans
than any other federal service other
than highways.
For people of color and poor peo
ple, public broadcasting has provided
a unique service. Every day tens of
thousands of Americans learn to read
or earn their high school equivafency
through public broadcasting. Every
day a million children in rural Georgia
actually go to school via public televi
sion. Every' day tens of thousands of
poor chifdren. who often have few
educational opportunities in the home,
watch Sesame Street or “Where in the
World is Carmen San Diego?” and
learn something.
For many African Americans,
public broadcasting is the network
which has tried to tell our stories to
the broader American society'. For
L
example, the award-winning series
“Eyes on the Prize,” produced by
Blackside. Inc. told the story o f the
civil rights movement to America,
through the eyes o f the participants.
More recently , “The War on Pover
ty " told the story o f that era o f mod
ern history from the perspective of
those who were a part o f those ef
forts.
Henry Hampton, founder and
president o f Blackside states “ in our
many documentaries we have re
vealed, in a thoughtful and we be
lieve compel ling way, A m erica's his
tory through the eyes o f its diverse
communities. We could not have
presented this complex history so
successfully without the strong sup
port o f public broadcasting.”
W hat is becoming increasingly
clear is that the attacks on public
broadcasting are not really about fis
cal concerns. Clearly, public broad
casting must tighten its belt and in
crease its productivity, as must all
public services. But at S 1.09 per cit
izen, public broadcasting is one of
the most cost effective federal ly-sub-
sidized programs. And the attacks
are not about a desire o f the elector
ate to cut public broadcasting dollars
since there was no public outcry for
such as the polls last fall.
Rather, the attacks on public
broadcasting are about limiting the
public debate and world view to the
positions and perspective o f the con
servatives leading the attack. In the
past these same attackers have ar
gued that public broadcasting is un
der the influence o f those liberal es
tablishment types, even though they
could cite only a dozen hours o f “too
liberal" programming among 6,000
hours o f programs each year.
Rather, the attacks on public
broadcasting are about a belief that
everything in this country should be
commercial. I guess public libraries
will be next and public schools w on't
be far behind.
The attempt to pull the plug on
public broadcasting is really an at
tempt to pull the plug on the diversity
o f attitudes and opinions and per
spectives which make this country
strong. It's an idea which makes
“ Dumb and Dumber” look pretty
smart to me.
better 'Zso {Uhe <3L?itor
Send your letters to the Editor to:
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
One Observation
bv
M ichael A veritt
t ’s hard to imagine the
American dreams” , or
better yet a humanitar
ian dream where you are living
in the m idst of a constant
nightm are” .
jl
Every generation has pledged to
end this nightmare, and “make it
better for those to come". After sev
eral non-progressive generation and
no closer to any form o f realization
o f that dream", the youth o f today
want results now. no longer do they
feel content with living o ff what the
white comfortable majority feel is
significant progress for quote "Black
African American".
The African American has no
economical base, like all other ethnic
groups, his entire earned monies has
to be invested into all white organi
zations and corporations who deter
mine whether they will allow suc
cess, or not. With out a economical
base there can be no economical leg
acy for future generation.
Because o f these conditions the
African American see the piece o f
American pie as a figment o f his
imagination.
Many youth o f today have been
deemed mil itant because of their form
o f expressions to combat racism and
oppression.
They are constantly being told
and shown that in America revolu
tion like communism, will not be
tolerated
The white man has been suc
cessful in continuously dividing the
black man and has increased his abil
ity to do so by engaging the black
mans help against himself
ft
There ’ s a youth war be ing waged
right here in America, and as long as
it can be confined to black on black
and d o esn't spill out onto white
A m erica’s turf it has their blessing.
After the so called stop page of
slavery the white man has seemed to
convince the intelligent blacks that
colonization is as foreign as Ameri
can propaganda.
Every state has institutional divi
sions that are in fact ran as colonies.
The main one being the penal
institution In these institution rac
ism is alive and not only well, it's
being introduced and practiced.
Since black have been convict
ed and sentenced to penitentiaries at
alarming rates, and in most cases
only because they are poor improp
erly represented, and black.
Because o f the num ber's it have
created a problem for staff member
in these institutions.
As we have seen in South Afri
ca. the white man w ill never concede
to a black majority rule environment.
Being the oppressive genius the
white man is. he has resolved that
dilemma by sacrificing that minority
o f w h ites in a majority black peniten
tiary. There he invokes rules and
laws that gives all more time and
unfavorable conditions. Now it's the
reverse, when the majority is white,
he reverts back to a Democratic sys
tem where one man one vote comes
into play.
This means that most privileges
are put to a vote and the majority
rules.
So you can see the disadvantage
it put the blacks at There is no doubt
who is at the bottom of the heap and
who directs all of the traffic in insti
tution like these. When you find an
institution located, geographically in
the North and away from the Mason
Dixie line, it's one o f pure punish
ment for the blacks. In the surround
ing cities or areas a lot o f black's
have been lured into a false sense
concerning black white relationship.
For some reason they seem to
think that they have progressed to a
level o f acceptance when in reality
it's tolerance at it’s lowest level.
Because o f this, black on white crime
have been dealt with as harshness
equivalent to slavery day. To top it
off, the descendants o f past planta
tion owners are the administrators of
this swift unjust punishment perpe
trated on them.
These institution are broken
down into cliques and clubs that have
everything but the for whites only
signs. Blacks are sprinkled through
out the institution to give the indica
tion, to outside observers, that jus
tice and equal opportunity are equal.
But in reality the scattering of
blacks is to discourage black unity
and to totally prevent any black group
situation from ever being formed with
out white control. All inmate jobs of
substance are controlled by whites
alone and passed down with the care
o f a legal inheritance.
The kitchen, vocational train
ing, activities, living quarters, edu
cation clerks, and department, job
placements etc. are all white ran and
white inmate controlled Here the
black mans dignity has and will suf
fer He has had to constantly fight
against overt racism and the degrad
ing with all types o f indignities in
cluding being called boy regardless
o f age
The white man now has a new
additiontotheboy game. H enow has
a tool called (gang related). Every
thing culturally black has been de
fined as gang related black, dress,
walk, talk, colors, music, sty le, and
association is at risk o f punishment.
In this also, age has no relevancy. Out
side of these main institution are a
number of so called "camps”. These
camps are fully furnished with and
dominated by the unholy of all racists.
It's staffed by red neck's who
still hold current klan cards. Most o f
these camps are located in areas where
the skin heads or klans have strong
holds. There too the blacks are vic
timized by staff and inmates under
the majority rule play. At these plac
es there are two hundred or better
inmates but the black population will
never exceed twenty for obvious con
trol factors. With all these disadvan
tage the black man is still his worse
enemy.
Surrounded by all this adversity
it would seem that it would draw the
black men closer together. His con
stant lack o f support for his fellow
brothers and his exploitive nature
has further divided the black rank
and files.
Everyone seems to be pulling in
opposite directions with a strong
sense o f the I. me syndrome. Com pe
tition amongst black is fierce and has
become very unhealthy because o f
the lack o f true competitive spirit.
It's turned into an arena o f showman
ship not sp o rtsm a n sh ip . W ith
acknowledgement ofthese conditions
m our penal institutions, such as they
are. we need not continuously ex
plore the problem and work toward a
solution no matter how
p e r s p e c tiv e s
And, Now, Back On The
Education Ranch
b \
P rof . M í K ini . es B i
hi
r t r r * ast week we revisited
'jl l the Oregon political
i
sector (“ State Of The
State” ), and this week we will
see what has been going on in
e d u ca tio n . We did close,
however, by addressing an
important issue: To remain in
the econom ic mainstream,
Oregon must be able to offer
convenient, affordable and
quality education that today’s
industry demands (But are
th e y
sure
w hat
they
demanded?). And I stated
further that in order to keep
that stream of brain power
online, it would have to be
paid fo r, g e n e ro u sly and
consistently. It was given that
th is m ight re q u ire lo tte ry
funds, special legislative acts
and taxation, consolidation of
institutions, whatever -- “ It has
to be done, even if it takes a
SALES TAX!”
B e fo re
lo o k in g
at
m ore o f the
critical issues
confronting the
education pro
cess in Oregon,
le t’s have a
briefoverview atthe national level.
True to the November forecasts the
Republican - led congress has led
attacks on student loans, student
grants, provisions for children with
physical and mental disabilities,
school lunches, and English-as-a-
second language. Conversely they
are pushing for vouchers and school
prayer.
In respect to O regon’s new ed
ucational frontier, school reform,
which is formally known as the
“The Educational Act for the 21st
Century", the critics o f the plan
seem to have finally caught up to
the level o f disapproval that 1 voiced
here last spring. Before citing any
o f these criticisms it might be well
to acquaint readers with the source
o f this “Oregon” School Reform
Plan. It is based on recom m enda
tions from the “National Center on
Education and the Economy”, em
phasizing certain “Certificates of
Mastery” .
The title focus o f this industry-
oriented and supported organiza
tion is what you might expect, bet
ter preparing our youth for the work
place. So, how can it be surprising
to anyone that the certificate stan
dards are geared toward training
and skills-not knowledge. Many
Portland parents are terrified that
they will have the often-quoted ex
perience of a very dissatisfied moth
er: "The district's idea o f minimum
basic skills required for graduation
is a frightening concept-m y daugh
ter passed them in the fourth grade
A lot o f other people around
the state are equally as concerned.
The school Reform Act has been
described in some quarters as “the
Workforce Act for the 21st Centu
ry.” It is good to know that revisions
are in process. For instance there is
an on-going rewrite o f the law by a
group o f House and Senate educa
tion committee leaders. Rep. Den
nis Luke, R-Bend, chairman o f the
House Human Resources and Edu
cation Committee says, “ I don’t
know whether I’m for the “Certifi
cate o f Advanced Mastery” require
ment or not—I Don’t Know What It
Is!" And they are still dealing with
the q u e stio n I
brought up a year
ago:” What exactly
By
will O regon high
Professor
school d ip lo m a s
Mckinley
mean to other states
Burt
in the future". To
----------------- date, the structure
still seems shaky to many.
As 1 mentioned last winter, I’ve
been tutoring the chi ldren and grand-
children o f some o f my fellow mem
bers o f the "Associated Oregon In
dustries". I C an't help teasing some
o f them about their loud demand
several years ago "that the school
system get down to basics, throw
out the frills and give us a
workforce' ready to perform.”
Now, m any are h aving se c
ond th o u g h ts about ju s t how the
e d u catio n al p ro cess should d e
velop. In terestin g my m ath /sci-
ence tu to rin g approach is based
upon cu rriculum te c h n iq u e s I
developed for The D alles school
system th irty years ago — and
subsequently rejected or ignored
by several P o rtland school su
p erin te n d e n ts.
Also, out in the Washington
County area I showed the Portland
Observer articles on the scholastic
achievements oftw o African Amer
ican girls, Tara and Tova Johnson.
The request for copies has reached
the hundreds.
Coni'il next week
i&he ^ o rtla u h (©bscruer
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