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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 1995)
Send your letters to the Editor To Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily Reflect Or Represent The Views O f The JJo rtlan b CDbserucr Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208 THIS WAY FOR SLACK EMPOWERMENT The Constitution Is A Black Issue m D r . L enora F ulani he C o n g ressio n al H earings on the government handling of the tragedy in Waco, Texas two years ago began. aware that they - as Democrats - were under serious pressure to con duct themselves in accordance with the overall Democratic Party game plan, I was nonetheless convinced that as African Americans they have Much has been written about the the special responsibility to ensure partisan nature o f these hearings O f that the hearing process reached be course, this isn’t news There is no yond the partisan horse trading to such thing as a Congressional hear discover whether and how Constitu ing nowadays that isn’t partisan. tional violations had occurred. Our Certainly the Republicans who have people have been the victims o f con (quite properly, in my opinion) initi stitutional violations since 1787. ated the investigation are hoping to Thirty percent o f the Branch do damage to the Clinton White Davidians at the Waco compound House and to Attorney General Janet were people o f color. Reno. For their part, the Democrats Together with Annetta Richards, are trying to demonize the Branch a devoutly religious 65-year-old-Ja- Davidian leader, David Koresh, in maican born follow er o f D avid order to justify whatever action fed Koresh who survived the A T F as eral law enforcement took in Waco sault (she left the compound during and thereby protect Clinton. In spite the negotiations when women and o f these various agendas, those o f us children were brought out) and suf who have been pressing for hearings fered in ja il for over three months, and a full investigation o f the con watched helpless as Koresh and her duct ofgovemment agenc ies in Waco friends were incinerated, and was (which, by the way, was initiated by then deported, I attempted to meet a Republican administration and car with members o f the C B C . I wanted ried out by a Democratic one) are the opportunity for Annetta Richards nonetheless gratified that there is at to tell her story. Her story, by the least the possibility o f a public ac way, includes the fact that at the counting for the government-spon moment o f the A T F entry, the com sored genocide. pound was fired upon from above by I was particularly concerned, as U.S. military helicopters. Ms Richards the hearings opened, to pursue mem shielded a five-month-old baby with bers ofthe Congressional Black Cau her body to protect it’ from the hail cus who sit on the two subcommit storm o f bullets. The government de tees conducting the hearings. While nies that the helicopters were armed. Ms. Richards and I had the op portunity to meet with Congressman Sanford Bishop o f Georgia, Con gresswoman Maxine Waters o f C al ifornia, Congressman Floyd Flake o f New Y ork, and C B C Chairman Donald Payne o f New Jersey. They were touched by the poignancy and horror o f Ms. Richards’ story. But since these Representatives were not on the hearings panel, they could not bring this viewpoint to the question ing o f witnesses. Unfortunately, however, the five Representatives on the two subcom mittees conducting the hearings were apparently too beholden to the Dem ocratic Party leadership to be open to such a meeting. A ll five refused my request. These were Congressman Mel Watt o f North Carolina, Con gressman John Conyers o f M ichi gan, Congressman Bobby Scott o f Virginia, Congresswoman Cardiss Collins o f Illinois and Congresswom an Sheila Jackson-LeeofTexas(who told me she would raise the constitu tional issues later, in the context o f the debate over the new counter terrorism legislation). Congressman Watt, I was told, also felt it was the wrong time to consider Ms. Richard’s account, giv en the extent to which the Republi cans had an upper hand; he did not want to give them any advantage. Congressman Watt’s comments and the comments o f other Black leaders and elected officials who have strangely insisted that Waco is a white issue and therefore o f no immediate concern to A ff ¡can Amer icans caused me to look more closely at the posture o f our Black elected officials with respect to these kinds o f issues. While some might say that the Black leadership in Congress has been in the forefront ofthe fight for civil liberties and in defense ofthe Bill ofRights, I would disagree. When police brutality, government intru sion, violations o f search and seizure are directed at Black victims, Black leadership sometimes responds by raising the issue o f racism. Certainly, these attacks are rac ist. But in my opinion, that is neither the fundamental problem nor the way to solve it. The fundamental problem is that the B ill o f Rights and the constitutional Amendments which followed were written and adopted expressly for the purpose o f protect ing the American people, ultimately including African Americans, from an intrusive, abusive, and authoritar ian government. The Congressional scrutiny o f government abuses in Waco, Texas would be an opportune moment io b»gin such a process. Is the C B C grabbing it, or are our elected Black leaders merely going along with the Democratic Party agenda? Unfortu nately, I think the latter is true. Vantage Point: From Patriarchy To Partnership by R on D ajmiels CTfr rom the moment that ijl Minister Louis Farrak- I han called for a Million Man March criticism erupted from some African American w om en c h alle n g in g the motives and objectives of the March. This criticism was fueled by the initial dec laration that the men shou Id march and the women should take o ff work and stay at home to teach the children on October 16th. The ratio nale was that Black women have suffered enough, that they have been forced to the forefront o f leadership in the Black community because o f the abdication o f responsibility by Black men. Therefore, the March will be an opportunity for Black men to stand up, assume responsibility and take their rightful place as head o f the household. While some Black women agree with this assessment and requisite prescription for corrective action, other Black women take offense at the assumption that a patriarchal model o f the Black family and the role o f Black women in community life should be fostered and perpetu ated by the M i 11 ion Man M arch. F rom the beginning there has been the po tential that the role o f women in the M illion Man March, or lack thereof, could become a divisive issue de tracting from the importance o f this event as a major mass action. Hence, the March leadership has grappled with the issue o f whether the march would promote patriarchy or part nership. There are legitimate reasons for organizing an all male march (or an all female march for that matter). There is no question that within a patriarchal system o f White suprem acy, much o f the effort to subdue the African community has been direct ed at breaking the Black male. The chronically high incarceration rates o f Black Men and persistent depres sion levels o f unemployment and underemployment are indicators o f the historical attack on the Black male. T h is b ru ta liza tio n and criminalization o f the Black male has contributed to the crises o f drug trafficking, crime, violence and frat ricide which now plague the Black community. Consequently, many Black men are unable or unwilling to shoulder their responsibi lity for shar ing in the leadership o f the family, community institutions and the Black Freedom Struggle. A M illion Man March as a mass action which seeks to address these circumstances is on the mark. How ever, as some Black women have correctly pointed out the Mi Ilion Man March should not convey the im pression that the crisis in the Black community is simply a crisis o f the Black male. The suppression o f Black women outside and inside the Black community is also a historical fact o f life. Contrary to the image o f the Black woman in leadership, for much o f our history, the Black church, major Black institutions, the civil rights organizations and the Black Freedom Struggle have largely been led by Black men. The reality was, and to a great degree still is, that B lack women do the trench work and Black men do the leading. Black women are also bearing the brunt o f the present assault on the Black community. More and more Black women comprise the statistics o f the prison/ ja il industrial complex as desperate conditions drive Black women to commit economic “crimes” to sub sist. The growing feminization o f poverty in the Black community is also well documented; a phenome non which is related to workplace inequality and the dramatic increase in single female headed households. A M illion Man March which seeks to address the crisis o f the Black Nation must take the issues and concerns o f the entire B lack com munity, women and men, into ac count and be structured and pro grammed accordingly. A number o f Black women have been making this point, and to their credit the march organizers have been listening and responding. For information about or input into the M illion Man March call: 202-726-5111. Civil Rights Journal Bottling Real Black Economic Power B ernice P owell J ackson here’s an old saying about finding some thing good and then bottling it. It’s a saying that J. Bruce Llewellyn must have taken to heart as a young man because he made it into a reality as an adult. by J. Bruce Llewellyn was bom in Harlem to parents who had immi grated from Jamaica. When he was only 16 years old, he joined the U.S. Army, where he was made company commander at 19 years old When he left the army two years ‘ later, he opened a retail store in Harlem while attending col lege at night. After earn ing a bachelor’s degree from the City University o f New York, Llewellyn earned a law degree from New York Law School, an M B A degree from Columbia and a degree in public administration at New York Univer sity. As a young black man in the 1960’s, Bruce Llewellyn turned to government and politics. W hile he served in significant positions in the city and federal government, some how he must have known that his real strength was in business. Bruce Llewellyn is an entrepreneur par ex cellence. In 1969, Llewellyn bought Fedco Foods Corporation, which was then a chain often food stores in the south Bronx with gross sales of$ 18 million annually. Other buyers had shied away from this potentially lucrative business because it was located in a poor and predominately black and Hispanic section ofthe city. But Bruce Llewellyn knew that poor people buy food too and by 1984, when he sold Fedco, it had become the nation’s largest minority-owned retail busi ness with 29 supermarkets, 900 em ployees and grossing $100 million annually. Today Bruce Llewellyn is the Chairman and a majority stockhold er o f the Philadelphia Coco-Cola Bottling Company, which he bought in 1983. Five years later he bought the Coca-Cola bottling operation in Wilmington, Delaware. The Phila delphia Coca-Cola Bottling compa ny has 1,000 employees with $290 million in sales annually. Bruce Llewellyn is living proof that African Americans can excel in business and, when given the chance, can become successful entrepreneurs. Now, if we can only bottle his expe rience, his gifts, his savvy and his ability to overcome discrimination and stereotypes, economic develop ment in the African American com munity could become a reality. Then we’d have real black pow er. Simpson Trial Shows Reform Needed In Jury System E ric H. K earney __ 8 another juror in the O.J. Simpson trial bites the dust, one wonders how fair is the jury system in the United States. by There are amazing swings in the system. In crim inal trials, for adefen- dant to go free, requires only one juro r to disagree with the majority. In civil cases, the ju ry is oftentimes given wide latitude in the amount o f monetary damages it can award. The B ill ofR ights in the United States Constitution guarantees the right to a trial by a ju ry o f one’s peers. It seems that those who have money or fame are rarely found guilty. Per haps it is because their peers do not serve on ju ries or peers for these individuals cannot be found. Further, many o f the results that juries reach seem implausible. Take for instance the Rodney King beat ing trial. The videotape seemed to indisputably convince most o f the country that the police officers used inappropriate and excessive force. But the ju ry saw things differently, finding the club-slinging police of ficers, who could only summon re spect for authority through a gang beating, innocent. With the O.J. Simpson case, we have seen a ju ry argue amongst them selves and even protest about the length o f the trial and the conditions by wearing black. Some jurors, it is reported, are passing notes and pre paring to write books This behavior certainly jeopardizes the likelihood that Simpson w ill receive a fair trial. It seems that the Simpson jurors are as much in prison as Simpson. They are sequestered; they have scheduled meetings with their loved ones; they cannot carry on normal conversations with friends, and they can only read edited materials or watch edited television. It’s a rough life. They have broken no law, but the way in which they are treated, it certainly seems that way. This is no incentive for people to participate in this form o f public service; it should be noted that 55% o f those asked to serve on a ju ry don’t bother to show up. In fact, what type o f person would want to serve under such conditions and for such a long time. The ju ry system must be re formed. Most people cannot afford to leave their jobs for such a long period o f time. Thus, juries are composed o f retirees and the unemployed. As well, jurors can be excluded for any reason through an attorney’s use o f peremp tory challenges. This method is used oftentimes to remove blacks from juries. The conflict amongst the jurors would have been avoided. Reform o f theciviljury system has already gone through congress - awards are limit ed to three times actual damages or $250.000 for punitive damages. Some reforms are needed for criminal trials as well. ‘Oregon Shakeup”, Feel Like You Are Watching A Bad Movie? , what can I say? If I hit a few hole cards last w eek's ‘Perspectives’ article, so be it. I do appreciate the phone calls and several ‘personal’ letters, but I do wish you would address those critical concerns “to the editor” of the Portland Observer for p u b lic a tio n . The entire community needs to be made aware of the urgencies felt by its members (Find address on page 2 of any edition). f One reader went so far as to submit her list o f class A and class B “gatekeepers” . The lady express es great concern that the thought- provoking (or fear inspiring) Ore gonian article, “ From Benefit To Burden” , might give birth to a num ber o f “Quislings” in our commu nity. “Quisling” was the term the Norwegians applied to their ver sions o f Uncle Tom, the traitors who betrayed their nation to the Nazi invaders during World War II. C lass A gatekeepers were d e scrib e d as the c la ssic no- h o lds-barred U n cle Tom s or Aunt Jem inas whose escapades and reactionary view points are w id e ly k n o w n . The re a d e r named the blo ckers who fought Ron H ern do n ’ s long effort to im prove the quality o f educa tion for black ch ild ren in the P o rtla n d S c h o o l D is t r ic t , among others — and those who aid and abet some large em plo yers o fm in o ritie s in th e ‘ out so u rc e ’ o f form erly good jo b s with benefits and pensions to the level o f “ tem porary w o rk e rs” with no future. Others fear the emergence o f ‘native sons’ who w ill emulate the ugly performances o f a number o f Uncle Toms making the national news. One reader so aptly captures the essence o f Clarence Thomas. “Our obsequious little darky” (Sic) on the Supreme Court. Another one, fearful o f repub lican wrath, pretending that A ffir mative Action didn’t get him were he is.” But, the most outrageous per formance o f all on the national scene is the vote o f the University o f California Board o f Regents to kill Affirmative Action. A black (?) businessman, Ward Connerly, spearheaded the attack. “ Leveling playing fields for all Americans somehow seems offensive to this Negro” , now that he has gotten his” , says one reader. W ard’s busi ness venture has received over $140,000 in government affirma tive action contracts. Not only is there a direct tragedy for minori ties, but there could be a loss o f billions in fed eral research contracts in the f in a n c ia lly - strapped state. To return to our co rre spondent with the “ C la ss A and C la ss B Gatekeepers” , the reader perceives the latter group as “just as danger ous, perhaps more so.” Included are the “haive” and both the “ in genuous” and “disingenuous” . In other words, the dumb as well as those who like to play’ dumb or crazv. I appreciate the reference to a point I have made several tim es in the past -- even to students in my U niversity c la ss es, years ago. The young, flush with am bition and busy with goal-setting (vu ln e rab le to the c le v e r blandishm ents o f the system ) are often used and e x plo ited by the establishm ent as ‘ co n tro l agents’ - placed in apparent control o f co m m un i ty program s or processes, there by enabling the powers - that be to avo id or ignore the input o f o ld e r, more e xp e rie n c e d m em bers o f the com m unity. A more gentle way than Urban R enew al (R em o val). Many times this is accom plished by manipulation o f jo b descriptions, or by ‘ im porting’ special minority talent whose v i tae promise that they w ill bring no agitation, anxiety or confusion to the plantation. As I ’ ve said here before, “ what else do you think a controlled ‘ board-of-directors’ is created for?” Can it be that blacks need new types oforganizations?... O f the people, by the people, and for the people? ®l)c ^ilortlanh (Observer (USPS 959-680) OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established in 1970 by Alfred L. Henderson Joyce Washington-Publisher The PORTLAND OBSERVER is located at 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97211 503-288-0033 * Fax 503-288-0015 Deadline for all submitted materials: Articles:Friday, 5:00 pm Ads: M onday Noon POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes to: Portland Observer, P.O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208. Second Class postage p a id at Portland, Oregon. The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. 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