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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 12, 1995)
* • • ' . . *A G E ■ ........... ' * * ' • . . • »J. . r . .- ■ ■ . , . /.•-•;» • - * ‘ - .<* <:< J f •• • . • 5, .*•*«. ALVI I , . , AB - « •> * ’ <v<A. -< ' - y , s' ^1 ' . v* * «.»> .♦ •. ‘ . ;p£cr* -«»< A2 J uly 12, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily Reflect Or Represent The Views Oj The Jlo rtla n h ffibserucr he progressive com munity is under attack, especially people of color. The wedge issue being used to drive a much broader rs g re s s iv e an re p res s iv e agenda is a affirmative action. The extreme right-w ing has had u ; under the gun before, yet we have s ill made progress and won. The P eagan and Bush Adm inistrations at- ti mpted to turn the clock back on civ il r ghts, and in some ways succeeded. > et, even under their administrations, v e passed 24 c iv il rights laws w ith the s ipport o f 85% o f the House and Sen- a e, including strengthening the V o t ing Rights A ct by: (1 ) adding the bilin - g ual dimension; (2) preserving the “ re- s jlts ” versus “ intent” standards o f proof; and ( 3 )extending it for 25 years. W hat RAW W C O A L IT IO N Action We can w in again i f we fig h t back W hat we need is affirm a tive action A c tio n ! here’ s what to look fo r and where to act: The President. The courts made a ffirm a tive action more d iffic u lt and more costly, but they did not close the door. Therefore, the outcome o f affirm ative action w ill be decided more in the p o litic a l arena (executive and legislative action o r inaction) than in the courts. President C lin to n must teach and lead, not ju s t referee and review. The House. Reps. Canady (R- FL-12)and F a w e ll(R -IL -13) w ill soon introduce legislation to outlaw all fed eral affirm ative action programs. The Senate. Jesse Helms (R - D k . M anning M arabi . e he difficulty in assess ing the political and ideological debate over * affirmative action” is that there i i no coherent definition within t i e public discourse on what t ie term actually means. Reforms w hich may be described b y liberals as “ goals and tim etables” f ir the achievem ent o f gender and r icia l d ive rsity are characterized by conservatives as “ quotas.” In gener al, most w h ite Am ericans s till want t i be perceived as being “ fa ir” to- v ard racial m in o ritie s and women on issues o f d iscrim in a tio n . A c c o rd in g , t i t h e M arch 17-19, 1995 U SA T o ri a y/C N N /G a llu p p o ll, when asked, “ Do you fa vo r o r oppose a ffirm a tive a ctio n p rogram s,” 53 percent o f v hites p o lle d expressed support, com pared to o n ly 36 percent op- p osed. N o t su rp ris in g ly , A fric a n - A m ericans expressed much stronger s jp p o rt, 72 percent fo r a ffirm a tive action program s to o n ly 21 percent against. Despite widespread rhetoric t <at the vast m a jo rity o f w hite males b ave supposedly lost jo b s and oppor- t u nties due to a ffirm a tiv e action f olicies, the p o ll indicated that o n ly 15 percent o f all w hite males believe t 'a t “ th e y ’ ve lost a jo b because o f a ffirm a tiv e action p o licie s.” action when one focuses more nar ro w ly on specific steps o r remedies addressing discrim in a tio n . For ex a m p le , th e U S A T o d a y /C N N / G A L L U P p o ll indicates that o n ly 30 percent o f whites fa vo r the establish ment o f gender and racial “ quotas” in businesses, w ith 68 percent opposed. women on this issue. W hite women num erically have been overw helm ingly the prim ary beneficiaries o f a ffirm a tive action. M illio n s o f w hite women have gained access to educa tional and em ploym ent o pportuni problem. Phil G ram m (R -T X ) has threatened to attach a n ti-a ffirm a tive action amendments to legislation. We should be especially w atchful o f such 1994. B e a u tifu lly written in a narra tive, yet sequen tia l fo r the “ C hronicle” pre amendments being attached to one or more o f the 13 appropriations bills. and w hite A m erican s till liv e in tw o d istin ct racial universes. It is not surprising that “ angry w hite men” form the core o f those w ho are against a ffirm a tiv e action. W hat is s trikin g , how ever, is the gen eral orientation o f w hite Am erican transform ing the status o f white w om The N o ve m b e r 8, 1994 election w lich propelled the radical right into pi iw er was view ed by G in g rich -D o le and th e ir conservative allies as a mandate to imposes the racist and rc actionary C ontract on A m erica. In re a lity , how ever the R epublicans h ive a very shallow mandate. O n ly 2 )% o f the e lig ib le voters actually p irticip a te d in that election. Nonc- tl cless, the election did in fact give tl e radical rig h t the reins o f power in tl e Congress o f the U nited States. T iis m in o rity regime now has the ci pacify to make laws, remake laws, u ido laws and press fo r the enact- rre n t o f the agenda o f the radical lig h t. R e grettably vast num bers o f v iters, most o f w hom w ill be affect- ci I by the C ontract on Am erica, sat on tl e sidelines in the last election. In m any respects what we really have in tl e U.S. is the illu sio n o f democracy. Some 65 m illio n A m ericans are not e 'en registered to vote, and the U.S has the low est level o f voter p a rtic i pation o f any western democracy. W idespread disaffection, alienation, apathy and a sense o f powerlessness permeates much o f the electorate. T h is feeling o f powerlessness is re enforced by the know ledge that big money controls both p o litic a l parties and the electoral p o litic a l process. Hence we have a kind o f “ democracy fo r the fe w ," a fake democracy w hich plays in to the hands o f the big m on eyed interests w ho use the electoral p o litic a l process to le g itim ize their position o f wealth and p rivile g e in this country. The pow er elite has a very sim ple creed: "the business o f governm ent is business.” For all o f the victo rie s we have educational structure that w ill only C N N /G a llu p p o ll, o n ly 8 percent o f all w hite women stated that their women held nearly 40 percent o f all m idd le management positions W h i le ago from the Looking Glass Book store at 3 18 S. W. Taylor, I have not “ colleagues at w ork or school p ri their median incomes lag behind those o f w hite males, over the past tw enty missed a single day o f marveling at its scope and seeking to establish years w hite women have gained far point-to-point correspondence (and verification) w ith my own decades- gressions o f a few “ welfare queens ment o r outlawed in the courts. For example, in the same U S A T oday/ vately questioned” their q u a lifica tions due to a ffirm a tive action, com pared to 19 percent o f black women and 28 percent o f black men. Less than one in five w nite women polled defined w orkplace discrim ination as a “ m ajor problem ,” compared to 41 percent o f blacks and 38 percent o f Latinos. Forty percent o f the w hite women polled described jo b d iscrim ination as “ not being a p ro b le m " at all. These survey results may help to explain why m iddle class-oriented, liberal fem inist leaders and constitu encies have been re la tive ly less vo greater ground in terms o f real earn levels in this land. The legions o f non-voters who are sitting on the sidelines, however, w ill not respond to politics/business as usual. They must feel that their participation w ill not be betrayed by tw o establishment parties dominated by the same moneyed interests; es tablishment parties w hich are both going in the same direction but argue over how far to go in that direction. The Dem ocratic party, the party o f F ranklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal is increasingly becoming what one liberal dem ocratic stalwart de have opted out o f the electoral p o lit choice between e v il and the “ lesser est and most effective anti-violence programs for inner-city youth in the Board o f Education o r C ity H a ll) country. For the last decade the A ll Stars youth, from the country’ s poor gets to p ic k the next chancellor. Sur p ris in g ly , an issue that is ignored in all this is how to transform N ew Y o rk est communities, have produced a high ly successful and cost-effective alter the safety o f our young people But, w hoever w ins the debate over school security o r w ho should be the new chancellor, the question to ask is, t al issue in the current debate among “ H o w do we support our young peo- 4 native to violence; they are the ticket sellers, the stage hands, the emcees, the security and, o f course, the per formers. In the 1994-95 season the A ll Stars involved 30,000 youth in New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Boston and M iam i in a developmental activity that supports them to be leaders and learners. And all this without a penny o f government money. altar o f truth. Recent media protesta tions o f “ essential revision” to o rig i nal material still harp on the “ sheer fantasy” o f Egyptian gliders. That’ s like the racists who harp on the trans photos and other data. taxpayers for hundreds o f billions. Jn this context, c iv il rights advo cates and tra d itio n a l defenders o f a ffirm a tive action must ask them selves whether the m a jo rity o f w hite 1 also wish to compare the mate rial w ith the “ Penguin Guide To A n cient Egypt", Dr. W illia m J. Mumane, 1983. That book, considered by many Am erican women actually perceive their material interests to be tied w ith the battles fo r income equity and as a sort o f “ bible” , is cited by the author. This chronicle ofan A frica n his have long since w orn thin. F ortu a ffirm a tive action w hich most blacks tory whose ancient contributors ante tations o f both A frica n and A frica n and Latinos, women and men alike, continue to fig h t for. dated all the rest o f the w orld in Am erican contributions to science structuring its language, mathemat ics, astronomy and architecture w ill prove invaluable not only to the gen and mathematics are being incorpo free the electoral p o litica l system from the dictatorship o f private m on ey. The struggle fo r real democracy must include a number o f pro-de mocracy reforms: p u b licly financed elections; equitable access to media fo r all candidates; fa ir m in im u m bal lot access requirements to a llo w in dependent parties and independent candidates to compete on a level playing fie ld ; and proportional rep resentation. U ltim a te ly, we need a fig h tin g new independent progressive party This book has no fear o f showing that the ancient Egyptians looked Iil^e the 1975 Jefferson High student body! N o mistake about it, racists are racists and their “ L ib e ra l” facades nately, m y o riginal research and c i rated into C D -R om and other elec tro n ic presentations by tw o o f the eral reader, but to the many students nation’ s largest software m anufac and practitioners o f both the Chris tian and Judaic religions. Many w ill turers. Y ou w ill be able to get the truth from industry i f not educa tors’ this w inter. Scientists ought to know ! be interested in correlating the so journs o f Joseph and his fam ily and tHije ^ o rtla n b (Obseruer (USPS 959-680) O R E G O N ’S O L D E S T A F R IC A N A M E R IC A N P U B L IC A T IO N Established in 1970 by Alfred L . H enderson Joyce W a s h in g to n -P u b lis h e r T h e P O R T L A N D O B S E R V E R is located at 4747 N E M a r tin L u th e r K in g , J r. B lvd . that w ill uncom prom isingly stand up fo r the rights o f people o f color, poor and w o rkin g people and the strug g lin g m iddle class. The new A m erica P o rtla n d , O re g o n 97211 503-288-0033 * Fax 503-288-0015 Deadline fo r all submitted materials: A r tic le s :F r id a y , 5 :0 0 p m Ads: M o n d a y N oon w hich must become w ill be fash ioned ou, o f the dreams and aspira P O S T M A S T E R : Send A d d re ss Changes to : P o rtla n d O b s e rv e r, P.O . Box 3137, P o rtla n d , O R 97208. Second Class postage p a id at P ortland, Oregon The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. M anuscripts The days o f the radical rig h t w ith their ideology o f w hite supremacy and w hite male dom ination are num bered. We w ill Break the C ontract on A m erica and a visionary indepen dent p o litica l movement w ill forge a new covenant fo r a new society. ple to become learners? H ow do we dragged kicking and screaming to the while corporate welfare bleeds the T o achieve this vision wc must create environments in w hich growth -- not safety - is the prim ary issue?” I have helped to found the A ll Stars Talent Show network, which is w idely recognized as one o f the larg district’ s “ Baseline Essay Process” . But it is d iffic u lt to deal w ith an o f mine had “ made the cut” when I was a contractor to the Portland School long assembly o f articles, quotes, fig h t fo r real democracy in the U.S. The illu sio n o f democracy or democ racy fo r the few must end. The elec toral p o litica l process must be opened up so that the A m erican electorate no longer has to choose between tw id dle dee and tw id d le dum. We must cans and the Democrats. o f greatness look down upon you. I wish that and sim ilar citations ings than black o r Hispanic males in the labor force. ticip a tio n to give the radical right the reins o f power by default. The u p surge o f active resistance w hich is sweeping the country must congeal in to a pow erful force to sweep the radical right and their conservative allies from positions o f pow er at all « cuntry, p a rticu la rly in our in n e rc it- i ;s, continues to decline N ow here is this m ore true than N e w Y o rk C ity. H ow ever, the ccn- before the Great Pyramid at Gizeh and told his tropps: “ Forty centuries admit that Egypt is in A fric a when tions and the energies o f those w ho have been most affected by oppres sion and exp lo itatio n in U.S. society. A s a developm ental psycholo gist, I am profoundly concerned about stand Napoleon’ s awe when he stood the book sells fo r $29.95 and is e v il,” a choice between the R epubli front, most experts agree that the « u a.ity o f p u b lic schooling in this there is a w ell-justified urge to make quite a fuss. Certainly, i f not con vinced before, one can now under well worth it. Since obtaining this book a week but we must also engage the forces o f reaction at the ballot box. W e cannot allow alienation and apathy/non-par- C ity 's schools into institutions where ch ild re n can learn and develop. sensationalism usually accorded A f rica and its rightful place in history, ever, women now constitute about 40 percent o f the total w o rkfo rce overall. A s o fth e 19 9 0 Census, w hite ical process w ill not be inspired by a ' von over the years on the education place o f so much o fth e tabloid-type the International Review o f Ancient A rt and Archaeology.” massive demonstrations, strikes, bo y cotts, c iv il disobedience, disruption, C ortines has resigned (e ffe ctive in O ctober), the latest p o litic a l fo o tb a ll is w hich adm inistrative body (the fied and respectful manner. When one is furnished such a scholarly and well-structured treat in all senior managerial positions at the rank o f vice president or above. H o w scribed as a "kin d e r, gentler version o f the Republicans.” The people who schools to ensure the safety o f the students. A n d no w th a t R am on e tc.: D jo s e r, A k h e n a te n , Tutankhamun, Ramesses the Great - - Hatshepsut, N e fe rtiti, Cleopatra. P eter A . C la y to n is an ligious and other cultural icons are treated in a d ig n i ment: w hile constituting o n ly 29 per cent o f the n a tio n ’ s total w orkforce, white males com prise 95 percent o f As we struggle to Break the C ontract on A m erica we must en gage the radical rig h t in the streets - M a yo r G iu lia n i, School C hancellor Ramon C ortines and the Board o f Education has been whether o r not to introduce p o lic e o ffice rs in to the this part o f ancient A frica. There are datafiies for each pharaoh listing key information such as royal titles, place o f burial, and fam ily relationships, that type o f sup port is needed. Re p o litic a l perspectives o f A fric a n - THIS WAY FOR BLACK EMPOWERMENT Development Is The Issue In .America’s Schools i i D r . L enora F vlani ince the United States Supreme Court's land- mark decision Brown ’ *• Board of Education more 1 ban forty years ago, America's t chool system has been a battle ground w here issues like «'segregation, funding, and • ommunity control have been I otly contested. sents biographical portraits o f each pharaoh built into a comprehensive and immensely readable history o f Professor Mckinley Burt the upper ranks o f senior manage en in the labor force. It is certainly Vantage Point: Independent Politics Needed To Defeat Radical Right B' R on D anii ls By o f geography and economics are tak en up w h e re ve r true that w hite males s till dominate sue, nor do they perceive their own p rin cip le interests to be at risk i f a ffirm a tive action programs were to be abandoned by the Federal govern m enting governm ent-supported in i tiatives fo r social equality, most black A quarter century o f a ffirm a tive action programs, goals and tim eta bles has been clearly e ffective in ings, stelae, sarcophagi, furniture jew elry and other artifacts. Also, there are useful maps, family trees and oth er charts indicating significant con sanguinity-important considerations most o f them clearly do not share the can-Americans expressed support for “ quotas” in business em ploym ent, w ith on ly 30 percent opposed. When asked w hether quotas should be cre ated “ that require schools to adm it a governm ent programs that included h irin g quotas.” On issues o f im ple cal in the m o b iliza tio n to defend af firm ative action. Dynasties o f Ancient Egypt,” Peter A. Clayton, Thames And Hudson, easily achieved. There is no want o f excellent color photographs o f the statues, bu i Id- ties through the im plem entation and enforcement o f such policies. But Americans and Hispanics on this is en and m in o ritie s i f there were not We have ju st that in “ Chronicle matching the times o f Moses and the Exodus w ith the reigns o f particular Pharaohs. B iblical cross-reference is Egyptologist, archaeologist and nu- m ism atistof international repute who has excavated at sites in both A frica and Egypt. He is a member o f a number o f related professional soci eties and is the editor o f “ minerva: C onversely, tw o -th ird s o f all A fr i certain num ber o f m in o ritie s and w om en,” 61 percent o f the whites were opposed, w ith 35 percent in favor. A m a jo rity o f w hites w ould also reject p olicies w hich “ require private businesses to set up specific goals and tim etables fo r h irin g w o m ell, how about a factual and non-racist book that accurately traces the timelines and dynasties of 170 E gyp tian P haraohs, African Kings and Queens? O f The Pharaohs: The Reign-By- Reign Record O f The Rulers And Action Really Means; Part two H ow ever there is a severe ero sion o f w hite support fo r affirm a tive How Good Can It Get? More Inspiring Reading NC) has already introduced legisla tion to elim inate a ll federal a ffirm a tive action programs. Robert D ole (R -K S ) is increasingly becom ing a “Alon£ ____________ The Color Line” --------O __ bv p e r s p e c li res I also helped found the Barbara T a ylo r School, a seven-year-old in dependent la b o ra to ry sch o o l in B ro o kly, N ew Y o rk for grades K -8, where the focus is e ntirely on the and photographs should be clearly labeled and w ill be returned. I f accompanied by a s e lf addressed envelope. A ll created design display ads become the sole property o f the newspaper and can not be used in other publications o r personal usage, w ithout the w ritten consent o fth e general manager, unless the clie n t has purchased the com position o f such ad. © 1994 T H E P O R T L A N D O B S E R V E R . A L L R IG H T S R E S E R V E D , R E P R O D U C T IO N IN W H O L E OR IN P A R T W IT H O U T P E R M IS S IO N IS P R O H IB IT E D . S ubscriptions $30.00 p e r year. The Portland O b se rve r-O re g o n ’ s Oldest A frica n -A m e rica n P ublica- tio n - is a mem ber o f the N ational Newspaper A sso cia tio n -F o u n d e d in 1885, and The N ational A d ve rtisin g Representative Am algam ated Publishers, Inc, N ew Y o rk, N Y , and The West Coast B lack Publishers A ssociation • Serving Portland and Vancouver continuous development o f children as learners -- rather than m erely as good question-answers, test-takers, report-w riters o r problem -solvers. it doesn’t heip our kids to sim p ly defend school adm inistrators who we th in k are ‘ p ro g re ssive ,’ like C ortines in N ew Y o rk, o r a n g rily denounce p o liticians who th in k edu cation should be the first line item on the c h o p p in g b lo ck, lik e M a y o r G iu lia n i. W c need to take every' op p o rtu n ity to have an open and far- ranging discussion on how to best invest our education budget in devel opmental teaching approaches and programs that work. S ubscribe ® bc ODbscruer The Portland Observer Can Be Sent Directly To Your Home For Only $30 Per Year. Please Fill Out, Enclose Check Or Money Order, And Mail To S ubscriptions T he P ortland O bserver ; PO B ox 3 1 3 7 P ortland , O regon 9 7 2 0 8 Name: Address: City, State:________ __ Zip-C ode: T hank You F or R eadino T he P ortland O bserver