P age
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A t la n t a - - M a y 2 4 -2 7 , the
R ainbow w ill hold its annual p o l­
icy and o rg an izin g conference in
A tla n ta at the H y a tt Regency
H o te l, 265 Peachtree Street, NE,
A tla n ta , G A 30303, 4 0 4 -5 7 7 -
1234. The theme o f the co n fe r­
ence is: “ The R ainbow Covenant:
Redeeming The Soul O f A m e ri­
ca.” Pre-C onference there is a...
M arch, M ay 2 1 -2 3 , F rom
N e w t’ s “ N ig h tm a re ”
To Dr. K in g ’ s “ D ream ”
M a rie tta —Join us in a three-
• ■ I
• \ »*\
H
Rainbow Policy And Organizing Conference
day 3 0-m ile “ M arch For Justice”
from Newt G in g iic h ’ s 6th C on­
gressional D is tric t in M arietta to
D r. M a rtin L u th e r K in g , J r ’ s
gravesite in A tlanta N ew t is t r y ­
ing to replace Dr. K in g ’ s dream
w ith N e w t’ s N ig h tm a r e - - h is
“ C ontract ON A m e ric a .” N ew t is
try in g to turn A m e rica backw ard.
Dr K in g ’ s dream is ( s till) try in g
to p u ll A m e rica fo rw a rd .
Join us! Help steer America away
from the nightmare and back toward
the dream. Assemble on Sunday, May
2 1,2 PM in the town square. Church
Street & South Park in Marietta. The
closing rally w ill be Tuesday, May
23, 6 PM at the Ebenezer Baptist
Church, 407 Auburn Avenue, NE, in
Atlanta.
THIS WAY FOR BLACK EMPOWERMENT
»i >
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•k ••
Editorial Articles Do Not Neccassarily
Reflect Or Represent The Views O f
The Jfiortlanh ffibseruer Staff
I
What Is Oklahoma City’s Legacy?
by
D r . L enora F ijlani
Congress (including Mr. Gingrich),
and the intransigent and arrogant bi­
T j ' t resident Clinton, that partisan political establishment are
j L l most partisan of politic- block ing the urgent attempts o f Amer­
ians. has lost no time in
icans to refonn the way we do poli­
Finding a way to use the
tics in America. In his speech to the
Oklahoma City tragedy to his
National Press Club on Tuesday, no
advantage. By assailing the
less a populist than Ross Perot rein­
country's popular and populist
forced the extent to which the two
talk shows as “purveyors of
parties have failed to respond to this
hatred and division,” he has
agenda. He pointed out how popular
s im u lta n e o u s ly re ta lia te d
sentiment in favor o f radical cam­
against his most vociferous
paign finance reform, against the in­
critics, and all but accused
fluence ofcorporate lobbyists, against
them of being the authors of
N AFTA andG ATT, and for the Bal­
the worst terrorist act ever
anced Budget Amendment, has been
committed on American soil.
manipulated and disregarded by both
These expressions o f American
parties. This kind o f flagrant disre­
disaffection and anger at our govern­
gard for democratic approaches to
ment - as vociferous as they might
opening up the policy-m aking pro­
get - are not the source o f the degen­
cess creates a climate for fanaticism
eration o f c iv il society. The blame
and terrorism. Bipartisan governmen­
for that degeneration must be laid
tal arrogance and abandonment are
squarely on the shoulders of our Pres­
more reckless, and more dangerous
ident and the bipartisan government,
to our democracy than the “ loud and
whose incendiary disregard for the
angry voices” condemned by Mr.
American people has lit the tele­
Clinton.
phone lines on every talk show in the
Not content with using the Okla­
country and the fuse on the bomb
homa Citv tragedy to try to censor the
outside the Federal O ffice Building
dialogue o f the American people,
in Oklahoma City.
President Clinton is also using these
Mr. Clinton, together with our
frightening events to drum up sup-
fe r s fT T t i V e s
The New Wave Of Immigrants, II
’ hile the popularity of
the book th at has
' sparked so much cur­
rent co n tro v ers y on the
subject of immigration has
driven it even closer to the top
of the best seller list. I note
that last week I gave you all
the facts in the citation --
except The Name Of The Book;
| Sorry about that.
“ A lie n N ation:
I C om m on
Sense
About America’s Im ­
migration Disaster” ,
Peter Brimelow, Ran­
dom House, 1995.
I This new darling o f
port for his ill-considered “ Omnibus
al investigation o f me and my inde­
Counterterriorism B ill” . And he is
pendent presidential campaign con
not alone. Republican leadership -
ducted by the F B I’s counter terror­
including Senators Bob Dole and
ism division in 1988 and again in
the right-wing was imported from
Tom D aschle, Speaker N ew t
1991 falsely branded me “ armed and
England, so he goes to work right in
G ingrich, and Rep. Henry Hyde, who
dangerous,” a statement the FBI was
the dustjacketofhis book, cloaking
is chairman o f the House Judiciary
later forced to retract Presumably
him self in the American flag and the
Committee - are tripping over each
this b ill could make terrorists out o f
aura o f the “ Founding Fathers.”
other to line up in support o f the
the more than 100,000 Americans
These people are a drain on
Administration’s bill.
who have contributed to my political
our social infrastructure and the en­
The bill creates a new crime -
efforts.
vironment. Conventional wisdom
“ international terrorism” — which
The b ill suspends posse
dictates that it is un-American to be
actually doesn’t cover anything that
comitatus -- that time-honored dem
against immigration, but we’ have
isn’t already a crime. The sole pur­
ocratic principle which forbids the
repeatedly restricted immigration
pose ofthis bill appears to be to allow
m ilitary to get into the business o f
throughout our history. George
law enforcement agencies to avoid
civilian law enforcement. It loosens
Washington, Alexander Hamilton
certain constitutional protections that
the rules for wiretaps, and reverses
and thomas Jefferson were all wary
currently apply to American exercis­
the presumption o f innocence - ac­
o f letting in too many newcomers.”
ing their right to speak out and freely
cused persons are considered ineli­
Well, one thing for sure, they
associate. For instance, the b ill al­
gible for bail.
were not wary at all o f letting in
lows for “ guilt by association.” I f an
The Oklahoma C ity bombing is
several m illion African slaves. When
American supports the lawful, hu­
being used in the crudest and most
reading this immigrants book one
manitarian activities o f an organiza­
despicable kind o f political games­
soon discovers that his knowledge
tion the President has declared to be
manship by our President and other
o f American history is quite limited
a “ terrorist” organization, that Amer­
politicians o f both parties. The men,
- even distorted. It is always good
ican can go to ja il for up to ten years.
women and children who died in the
to be suspicious o f authors who
Ifth is b ill had been in effect when the
blast deserve more than cynical elec­
depend on phrases like “ conven­
African National Congress was des­
tioneering. Hopefully, their legacy
tional wisdom” to support their al­
ignated terrorist” , then an Aitier i-
w iii oe a more fervent and indepen­
leged facts, or who proceed directly
can who contributed to freeing Pres­
dent coming together o f al I the Amer­
to flag-draped icons even before
ident Nelson Mandela could end up
ican people to take our government
you can open their book (if, indeed
in ja il. An illegal and unconstitution-
and our country back.
you want to). In this particular case,
you should “ open the book” , be­
cause it reveals a core thesis o f those
groups now in fevered dissent
against any legislation or program
that even hints at favoring the ad­
Civil Rights Journal
Regrets: Too Little, Too Late
BY
B ernice P owell J ackson
'w e n ty
years
ago
Saigon fell. Twenty
' years ago this nation
was torn apart after nearly a
decade of war In Viet Nam and
the deaths of 58,000 young
American men and women.
Now Robert McNamara, former
S ecretary of Defense has
written a book admitting that
he knew the Viet Nam War was
unwinable.
Twenty years ago my cousin
Charles died before his 30th birth­
day I don’t know what the death
certificate listed as his cause o f death,
but it should have read Viet Nam
War. Because although he didn’t die
in combat, Charles was surely a casu­
alty o f that war and his name should
be on that wall at the Viet Nam War
Memorial in Washington.
And five years later, almost to
the day, Charles’ mother died. And
while I am sure her death was attrib­
uted to pneumonia, I am just as sure
that her death was caused by a heart
broken because o f the death o f her
only child. Her name should be on a
wall too, as should be the tens o f
thousands o f V iet Nam veterans who
are the walking dead - some still
addicted to the drugs they came to
depend on while in Viet Nam, some
addicted to alcohol, others so trou­
bled by what they saw during the
insanity o f war that they have never
recovered mentally, emotionally or
spiritually.
Robert McNamara and the other
leaders o f this nation who sacrificed
these young people for an unwinable
war have a lot to be sorry for. I t ’s too
bad more o f them don’t admit that.
It’s too bad they don’t admit that
the Viet Nam War was a war fought
by children o f color and the children
o f working class white Americans.
Not too many middle class or rich
children fought in the Viet Nam War
- somehow they were exempted from
combat.
The Viet Nam War devastated
the African American community, as
Send your letters to the Editor to:
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
Open Letter To The
Community
Re: I Need Your Help
By: Sam Pierce
My Dear Friends,
I preface this letter by express­
ing my sincere thanks for the many
years you embraced and supported
me. I am an outsider, but you have
never allowed me to feel that way.
You have allowed me to serve you
these many years and I am truly proud
o f the good work we have accom­
plished together.
M y reason for w riting this letter
is to ask your permission and support
to do more! That more is idealized in
a new venture called the Community
Wellness Center. The Wellness Cen­
ter is designed to provide alcohol and
drug and mental health services to
youth and young adu Its in inner North/
Northeast Portland between the ages
o f 14-24. The Center has three unique
features: it is residential; it is cultur­
ally specific and it w ill target young
people who are violent or have a
propensity toward violence.
Violence has literally held our
communities hostage for many years
now. And what has been most dis­
turbing has been the extent o f its
impart on and its perpetration by our
youth. While there has been a great
deal o f speculation as to the reasons
why, two things we know for a fact:
whenever violence is committed by
one o f these young people, w ithin a
24-hour period they were high on
alcohol or drugs, and/or they were
suffering some form o f clinically
defined psychological stress disor­
der-such as post traumatic stress
disorder, grief, loss, anger, depres­
sion, etc.
But what has concerned me the
most is the lack o f social and political
w ill to provide the appropriate level
o f treatment for these young people.
This lack o f w ill cannot be attributed
to the absence o f research data that
chronicles this problem. For exam­
ple, the Center for Disease Control,
the American Psychological Assoc i-
thousands o f my contemporaries were
called into service, never to return or
to return never the same. As young
women, we talked about how the war
had cut drastically the pool o f mar­
riageable black men. As a commun i-
ty, we saw for the first time large
numbers o f black men walking the
streets on drugs when they returned
from the war.
McNamara’s book has opened
old wounds — wounds which were
never properly healed and suddenly
feel raw again. He seems somewhat
surprised by the controversy sur­
rounding his book, by the negative
newspaper editorials and the prob-
ingquestions. When asked why didn’t
he say back then that the war was
unwinable, when he might have been
able to save thousands o f lives, he
tries to say that he did say it - to his
colleagues.
I can ’ t get past my cousin Charles,
who went to Viet Nam in the infantry
in 1967, at the height o f the war. When
he returned, he was never the same
again. For months afterward he slept
ation and the U.S. Department o f
health have all made the case o f
substance abuse and mental stress
disorders among minorities and their
correlation to violence. In fact, the
Health Department’s study owed
much o f its findings to Oregon’s own
State Alcohol and Drug Director,
Je ff Kushner. Nevertheless, little had
been done to remedy this problem-
particularly in the African American
community.
Well, i f the problem is well
known and well documented, then
why hasn’t more been done to ad­
dress it? I have reluctantly come to
one conclusion. Because there are
those who do not view substance
abuse and mental health treatment o f
minorities, and in particularly A fri­
can Americans, as a priority. In fact,
many feel that it is a waste oftim e and
money. As one person remarked, “ It
is money down a rat hole!”
What these individuals are say­
ing is that, black children are “ inher­
ently evil and destructive" and “ ge­
netically bad.” In other words, they
are innately violent and therefore to
spend money to treat them is a waste
ofprecious resources. Ofcoursesuch
notions are preposterous and surely
our children deser.e better. But I am
sitting up and despite the injury he had
sustained over there to his liver, he
was constantly drinking. He wasn’t
able to keep a job and his marriage
crumbled. Too soon we were sitting in
that Baptist Church in Warrenton,
Virginia listening to his eulogy.
I f only Robert McNamara had
the courage to say then what he is
saying now - strongly and publicly.
Maybe my cousin Charles would have
been celebrating his 50th birthday
this year. Maybe that memorial wall
in Washington would have been only
a few hundred names.
McNamara says he wrote this
book to keep us from making the
same mistakes again. He points out
that 160 m illion people have died in
wars in this century alone. 160 m il­
lion people. That’s probably what
historians w ill remember about the
20th century -- the war - caused
deaths. That s probably what histori­
ans w ill remember about Robert
McNamara - the war - caused deaths
during the Viet Nam War. I just
remember my cousin Charles.
here to remind you, and history is my
witness, that our children w ill not
through mere osmosis get what they
deserve but only what we as their
guardians “ demand” for them.
They C ommun ity Wei Iness Cen­
ter is a proactive step in that demand.
And I am going to need your help and
voice to make sure that state, county,
city and community leaders and the
various municipalities are aware o f
that demand.
Let me close by saying that
we are e xtre m ely g ra teful fo r the
many in d iv id u a ls and agencies
that have p ro vid e d strong sup­
vancement o f minorities. This from
education, to health, to jobs.
Last week I spoke briefly o f the
references and pejorative comments
addressed to African Americans in
“ Alien Nation” ; not that any group
is spared i f the members have at­
tributes that remotely suggest they
do not fit a beautiful Anglo Saxon
model o f wholeness’ - free from
any physical or mental handicap
caused by one o f Darwins miscreant
genes. A little su btitle o f M r.
Brim elow ’s many mini-chapters is
stance abuse and m ental health
addressed in our com m unity. And
that our c h ild re n do indeed de­
serve to receive treatment in these
areas.
Thank you for always being
there. And please don’t simply read
this and put it in the trash, pick up the
telephone and call someone-now-
please!
are try in g to subvert decent pub- |
lie o p in io n bv tu r n in g the*
a c c u ltu riz a tio n process u pside
down by accusing hate victim s;
o f racial p re ju d ice as being re­
sponsible fo r the d ivisiven ess
in our so ciety (P. 103). Even,
stating that program s fo r the
handicapped and aid fo r low-,
income women and c h ild re n and
the “ im m ig ra tio n disa ste r” are-
wounds in flic te d upon A m e rica
“ by a re fle x action to the C iv il-
rig hts m ovem ent.”
But isn’t it the case that the-
“ New Immigration” , as it is termed-
in Alien Nation’, is also causing-
some degree o f concern among the
nation s minorities, more distressed
than most by the downturn in the
economy and corporate layoffs? I-
gather that from the phone calls-
I ’ve already received in respect to-
last week’s article. Is the “ Rainbow
Coalition threatened?
(USPS 959-680)
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p ort to our e ffo rts —and the lis t is
long and im pressive; neverthe­
less, I am asking you to make
some telephone calls and w rite
letters to co m m un ity, c ity , co un ­
ty and state leaders and o ffic ia ls
that we w ant the issues o f sub­
a case in point.
Immigration Policy As C iv il
Rights Reflex: “ Another factor that
explains the flawed immigration de­
bate; Because o f the prolonged
national trauma over C iv il Rights
legislation — and the resulting gen­
eralized revulsion against anything
thought to smack o f discrimina­
tion.’ The C iv il Rights A ct was
passed the
year before
the Immigra­
tion Act, in
1964. The
related V ot­
ing R ights
Act passed in
1965....culmination o f a long and
bitter fight over the treatment o f
American blacks.”
M r. B rim e lo w co ntin ue s:
“ Eliminating the national-origins
immigration quota system was part
ofthat battle’s aftermath-like shoot­
ing the wounded...The C iv il Rights
battle has left deep and permanent
scars on America. It has imbued
important sections o f the political
elite, and o f public opinion, with a
powerful conditioned reflex: that
discrimination’ is the primary man­
ifestation o f evil in society, to be
rooted out wherever it is detected.’
Oh, no, M r. B rim e lo w ! We
w o u ld n ’ t want that to happen,
w ould we? Perish the th o u g h t
that decency, m o ra lity and hu­
man understanding and compas­
sion should p re v a il. N o t when;
those o f yo u r persuasion ( ilk / ) I
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