A pril 19, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver
P age B ö
Affirmative Action An Endangered Species?
B i P rof . M l K inley B i rt
I f s o , we are yet to h ear th o se
c rie s o f sy m p a th e tic c o n c e rn or
c a lls for im m ed iate im p le m e n ta ­
tion o f " life -s u p p o rt” as w as the
case w ith the n a tio n 's old fo r­
e sts, Stream Salm on and S p o tted
O w ls.
P erh ap s it is early on yet,
but we have not seen in e ith e r
high p la c e s or in g ro u n d sw e lls o f
p u b lic o p in io n an e n th u s ia s tic
d e fe n se o f a v alu ab le so c io -e c o ­
nom ic tool that has at least m ade
's o m e ' in ro ad s into the c o u n tr y 's
ra c ist and sex ist h irin g p ra c tic e s.
W hat we do have early on is a
flurry of media interrogations of gov­
ernment. state and industry officials
that has produced a ‘G uiness Book
of R ecords' num ber of “off-the-
record” and "don't quote me” inter-
v iews. From the President and W hite
House to State Houses and Human
Resource Managers, we have people
whose commitments are wavering,
bending and bowing in the winds of
the right Wing attack on Affirmative
Action like reeds in a shallow sea-
vacillation is in style
And as we identify the most shrill
and active congressional opponents
of Equal Opportunity laws, the Right
W ing and Conservative Republicans
who told the American public that
"Term L im its' was about the most
important of the Ten Commandments
of their contract with America, we
note that "Term Limits” is the 'o n ly ’
element of the contract they have
reneged on. And what happened is
that many now-frightened little hypo-
crites (including some Democrats)
got the feedback from home that they
were gong to be called on the carpet
for their treachery. In the age-old
manner of politicians who wish to
remain feeding at the public trough,
they embraced the hottest card in
A m erica’s political deck, "RACE’.
"W illie Horton” won a presi­
dential election for George Bush
didn’t he, they reasoned; why not
jump on this Affirmative Action thing
to divert the voters from a close in­
spection of the smoke and m irrors’
of our attacks on social programs.
"The media is giving all possible
coverage (impetus) to manipulation
of white resentment to this 'reverse
discrim ination’”, they further reason
(much overstated by willing accom­
plices). "And look at the big erack in
the wall in the NAACP. now is a
good time for rolling back this ' racial
diversity’ thing!"
The more perceptive among us
have long anticipated a counter at­
tack on a system that was designed to
end the centuries-old patterns of ra­
cial dominance and ‘offered’ relief
and hope to tens a o f millions of
A m erica’s citizens who had long
since given up hope o f having an
equal opportunity in the land of their
birth (not that his goal has been
achieved yet).
If anyone should hold "resent­
ment.” it should be the African Ameri­
can who for over a century has
watched the newest European Immi­
grant enjoy a superior opportunity,
in the job mart, in the finance and
banking structures or in leasing, hous-
mg and contracting - all of which the
establishment unequivocally states
to be an absolute prerequisite for the
enjoyment of life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness.
Again, the "m ore perceptive
among us" began to appraise the
dangers of a ,'counter-insurgency’
long before publication of “the Bell
Curve” . For many years I have used
this column to warn that 'vigilance is
the price of liberty’.and sure enough,
they are now at the barricades in full
cry for liberal scalps.
As far back as 1974 I w as
e m p h a siz in g such d a n g e rs in an
" A ff ir m a tiv e A c tio n C la s s ” I
tau g h t for som e y e a rs at P o rtla n d
S tate U n iv e rsity (the first such
u n iv e rsity -a c c re d ite d c la ss in the
N o rth w est).
In my class was not only the
conventional student body but fed­
eral, state, county and city officials/
personnel managers, but the same
profile o f human resource people
from private industry-and a number
o f fo reig n stu d e n ts, e sp e c ia lly
women, who wanted to take the de­
tails of this American phenomenon
to their homelands with the idea of
implementation, Now, twenty years
later, Hugh B. Price, President of the
National Urban League puts the cri­
sis in these terms. "The black benefi­
ciaries of A ffirm ative Action are
being positioned as the wedge issue
of the 1996 election cam paign.”
Next week we will get into the
nitty gritty details of this uniquely
American monument to "Equal O p­
portunity.”
This Is One Time When Black Contractors Should Agree With A White Conservative
by
J ames P osey
ew African-Americans
j j
are aware that in the
C j i next few m onths the
Supreme Court w ill decide a
c o u rt challenge that could
p o s s ib ly do away w ith all
f e d e r a lly - m a n d a te d ,
disadvantage business set-a­
side programs on federally-
funded projects.
The case, known as “Adaran vs.
Pena,” involves Adaran Construc­
tion, a white-owned Colorado firm,
losing a bid to a com petitor because
o f a minority' preference program.
Upset because the com pany’s low
bid was denied in favor o f the other
company, which got points for using
a minority subcontractor, Adaran
filed suit against the Federal High­
way Administration.
This case has broad implica­
tions for African-Am ericans far be­
yond the seemingly narrow focus o f
Mark Mathabane who lived in South Africa under Apartheid will
speak Monday at Benson High School.
A Racial Division
The YW CA presents author
Mark Mathabane who will speak on
"Healing the Racial Divide," M on­
day at 7:30 p.m. at the Benson High
School Auditorium.
In the best sellin g book K affir
Boy, M ath ab an e te lls the h o rri­
fy in g true sto ry o f his c h ild h o o d
in S outh A frican u n d er A part-
h eid . H is o th e r books in clu d e
L ove in B lack and W hite and
A frican W om en. M ath ab an e will
an sw er q u e stio n s and sign books
a fte r his lecture.
Contributions will help support
the Y W CA ’s "Racial Equity W eek."
Tickets arc $10 at Fastixx, at the
YW CA and at the door.
Yes On 26-26 For
Our Community
The metro area's parks, trails, streams and open spaces are an
indispensable part of our quality of life.
But over 500.000 new residents are coming in the next 20 years.
Unless we protect some natural areas now. we will most certainly lose
them forever.
T hai’s why Measure 26-26 is so important to us: It is designed with
neighborhoods in mind, protecting and improving sites right here. It will
help insure that our neighborhood can keep a quality of life that is only a
memory in other cities.
Measure 26-26 will: Preserve and improve neighborhood open space
for walking, hiking, biking, jogging and other recreation. Help protect
water quality and improve access to livers, streams and creeks. Protect
vital salmon, trout, steelhead and wildlife habitat. Pass on a legacy to our
children and grandchildren.
Get Involved - Volunteer! Please call the campaign at 227-4878 or
drop by campaign headquarters at Room 426 Montgomery Park, 2701
N.W. Vaughn. W e’ll let you know how you can join your neighbors to
protect open space, parks and streams!
RIPE
OLIVES
disputing contractors. For example,
it is I ikely to be the quintessential test
case for new attacks against all races
based preferential programs. In fact,
it could be the biggest nail in the
coffin, adding to other efforts to kill
all affirm ative action as a matter o f
public policy.
I suppose there is a more tactful
way o f saying it, but this is all about
B lack p eo p le being co n tin u ally
kicked in the butt. Some will say that
I always try to make it a Black thing.
But this time, it ain’t just this angry
Black antagonist with a knack for
blaming white folks. This same mes­
sage also comes from none other
than arch conservative and national­
ly -k n o w n
c o lu m n is t
Ja m e s
Kilpatrick. In a recent article in the
Oregonian, he tells the story about
how these set-a-side programs were
originally designed and implement­
ed to address a specific condition o f
discrimination against Blacks in the
heyday o f the Civil Rights move-
ment. And, during this period, dis­
crimination and racism against Afri­
can-Americans was well established
and extensively documented.
But even before this case sur­
faced, it’s clear that everybody and
their brothers are benefiting form the
current programs except African-
Americans. For example, during the
93/94 construction season, African-
Americans did not receive one major
contract from the multi-million dol­
lars spent on federal aid projects in
Oregon. Moreover, the pattern is es­
sentially the same national ly, regard­
less o f the prominence o f Blacks in
urban population centers.
Conversely, as a result o f legis­
lative change in 1986 involving a
combining o f mandated goals, white
females have become the main ben­
eficiaries ofdisadvantaged programs.
But even before the advent o f white
female dominance. Blacks as an eth­
nic group were not benefiting in rela­
tion to their acknowledged econom-
Vkiban
Jum bo
P olio, M easles, D ip h th eria.
W hooping Cough. Ifyour kids aren’t
immunized for these childhood dis­
eases by age two, you're making a
big mistake. Talk to your doctor or
Health Department. Or call l -800-
SAFENET.
Oregon Preschool Immunization
Consortium including Medicaid is
sponsoring Immunization Day '95,
Saturday, April 22.
Free Immunization will be avail­
able at all of the following locations:
Neighborhood Health Clinics,
Inc. Northeast Health Center 5329
NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. 9
a.m. - noon
North Portland Nurse Practitio­
ner Clinic, 5 3 11 N. Vancouver, 10
a.m. - 2 p.m.
St. Johns Community Center and
McDonalds. 8427N.Central, 10a.m.
- 2 p.m.
M id C ounty H ealth C enter,
12710 S.E. Division St., I0 a.m. -
2:00 p.m.
E ast P o rtlan d F am ily C are
Clinic, 17214 S.E. Division, 10a.m.
- 2 p.m.
Oregon Nurses Association Im­
munization Clinic, Pilgrim Lutheran
Church, 4244 S.E. 91 st, 10 a.m. - 2.
p.m.
Neighborhood Health Clinics,
Inc.
Southeast Health Center, 3653
S.E. 34th Ave., 9 a.m. - noon.
Eastm oreland Hospital, 2900
S.E. Steele St., 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Portland Indian Health Clinic,
2901 E. Burnside. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Hillsdale Community Church.
6948 S.W .Capitol Highway, 10a.m.
5.75 oz.
- l& B V
Oregon Health Sciences University,
OldLibraiy, 10 a.m .-2 p.m.
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OBERTI
ic deprivation and historical discrim­
ination. Consequently, the case that
Kilpatrick convincingly makes, and
with which we must agree, is that
these federally-mandated programs
have been compromised.
Kilpatrick knows that from the
beginning these programs were de­
signed to fail. Affirmative action rep­
resented meager, half-heart attempts
at fairness by white liberals. On the
one hand, while conservative whites
were initially tolerant, they worked
tenaciously behind the scenes to sab­
otage the programs.
Therefore, as far as African-
Americans contractors are concerned,
the notion of affirmative action has
proven in many cases to be more harm­
ful than helpful. But contrary to the
opinion o f the white conservatives,
they are harmful for very different
reasons. Nevertheless, there’s no ques­
tion that these programs must be cor­
rected and re-directed, based on legit­
imate need, or scraped altogether.
stark
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