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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
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