Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 1995)
T he P ortland O bserver • A ugust 16, 1995 P age A 7 Jackson Cloud Hangs Over Clinton A s President C lin to n ’ s re- e le ctio n prospects brighten, a p o litical threat from the left hangs over his future - the prospect o f a presidential run by c iv il rights leader Jesse Jackson. N ow 54, Jackson is an in sp irin g but p o la riz in g figure who ran u n successfully fo r the W hite House in 1984 and 1988 as a Dem ocrat. T h is time, he says he is co n sid erin g running as an in dependent. Even if the charism atic black leader only took 5 percent o f the popular vote away from C lin to n , p o litic a l analysts and Dem ocrat ic strategists believe that could be fatal for the president in what is expected to be a close race against the R ep ublican nominee. In a w ide-ran g in g interview last w eek, Jackso n fre e ly e x pressed his frustrations with what he sees as a string o f broken prom ises by C lin to n . “ We were prom ised by M r. C lin to n an econom ic stim ulus, a plan to reinvest in the citie s - there’ s been no plan to reinvent or reinvest. The only plan for our youth is to lo ck them up in h is to rica l num bers,” he said. “ I supported B ill C lin to n for president in 1992,” Jackson said. “ He put forw ard some very strong prom ises for our cities. He prom ised not a c h ild (should go) to waste and yet, what do we see?” Jackso n rejects the notion James V. that he w ould be respo n sible for putting a R epublican in the W hite House i f he ran as an indepen dent. “ I f 1 were to run, I w ould run to w in ,” he said. He believes he w ould in sp ire large numbers o f disaffected c it izens to register to vote, w hich could help the Dem ocrats regain control o f C ongress even i f they lost the W hite House. M ost o f a ll, he b e lie ve s his can did acy w ould force C lin to n to address issues he is curren tly ignoring. “ I f my not running w ould help assure his victo ry and my running w ould assure his defeat, therefore we are part o fth is equa tion, are we not? And i f we are part o f the equation, we must be urks: at the table to d iscuss dire ctio n and p rio rities. That becomes c rit ic a l,” Jackson said. Ja ck so n w as p le a se d last month when C lin to n backed af firm ative action program s that seek to help m ino rities and wom en in w ork and education, but he is pressing for more. He knows that as long as his ca n d id a c y is a v ia b le threat, C lin to n cannot afford to ignore him. He is therefore lik e ly to pro long the suspense as long as pos sible. He could delay a d e cisio n to run as a Dem ocrat until next D e cember. I f he were to run as an independent, he could wait as long as M ay or June 1996 before m aking up his mind. Jackson believes he could have the same electrifying effect as he did in is previous campaigns, when he generated huge fervor on the cam paign trail, won several state prima ries and pushed the Democratic Par ty to the left - a factor that may have contributed to its defeat in 1984 and 1988. He also polarized opinion be tween blacks and whites and pro voked a backlash from Jew ish voters after describin g New Y o rk C ity as “ H ym ietow n.” Some black leaders who sup ported his p revio us cam paigns may not be eager to do so this time with a Democrat in the W hite House. Congratulates New President! Father Of The African Marketplace in America by F red B eauford ________ Pick up any black newspaper these day and you w ill almost always find something in there about an A f rican Marketplace. These outdoor markets have become extremely pop ular in the Black community in re cent years, and are springing up ev erywhere in the country. There is obviously something about shopping outdoors which ap peals to not only Black people, but people o f all races. But who was the first one to have the insight to uncov er this intriguing cultural fact and to make it work for the betterment o f the community? The leading candi date is a soft spoken man in Los Angeles named James V. Burks. He started the grandaddy o f all Ameri can African Marketplaces, the world famous Los Angeles African Mar ketplace and Cultural Faire in the back yard! Three hundred people showed up the first year. Last year, some nine years later, the back yard had long been history, and over half a million people passed through the three weekend affair at Los Angeles’ Rancho Cienega Park. “ It is really quite simple," Mr. Burks explained from his City o f Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department office. “ Africa and descendant A fri can cultures are warm, and have a long history o f doing business in outside environments." Mr. Burks smiled a quick sly smile. O f course it was “ as simple as that,” but we knew that there was much more to it. The African Marketplace and Cultural Faire is an interesting blend o f enter tainment, arts, crafts, food, merchan dise, and environmental design. What makes it work so well is that none o f the many ingredients overshadow the other. A ll o f this is no accident, ac cording to Burks. “This is an eco- nomic development project, first and foremost, and not simply an arts fes tival . What we proposed in the initial years and now, is a permanent year- round business, a real place o f desti nation for tourist from all over the world, ju st like a S ix Flags, a Disneyland, a Chinatown, or a Knotts Berry Farm. “ Tourism is the second largest industry in the world. Tourist bring money into communities, instill self James V. Burks: esteem, and revitalize cities. Black people in America and the world over need to get in on the action and actively promote cultural tourism’ . On a national scale prominent mag azines that trace tourism have noted recently that Black Americans have an aggregate impact o f 45 billion dollars on the domestic tourism in dustry. To take advantage of the thou sands o f black and non-black con ventions and conferences that visit Los Angeles I started this African Marketplace. It serves as a real life training ground to show members o f our community how to engage in entrepreneurship, how to create jobs, how to wed the arts with business, and just as important, how to teach the world the richness and beauty of African culture and the related cul tures ofthe African Diaspora,” Burks said. Burks is now well connected with many important business and government officials on both the African continent and in the Diaspora and, with the edition o f the concept on a November ballot measure, is only a few years away from estab- lishingthe Los Angeles Marketplace and Cultural Faire as a permanent year-round” point o f destination." “ The economy is global,” he said, “ and we are tapping into it. And on a local, but just as important level, we are making people in South Cen tral Los Angeles feel good about where they live. When people feel good abouttheircommunity.it draws others to them, and everyone pros pers.” Sterotypes of inner city commu nities have unfortunately caused oth ers to look elsewhere for enterprising business opportunities. The ideal approach is to refocus the enthusiasm internally and create a sense o f pride within the constitu ents o f these communities whereup on they can capitalize on the lucra tive tourism industry. Mr. Burks has served as a key note speaker for U N ESCO in Swe den, for the Canadian Department o f Heritage, and at the National Black Festival Producers Conference. His ideas are innovative and he is now offering his expertise to other people anywhere in the country to set up similar African Marketplaces. He has put together a carefully thought out presentation which he is offering to groups, government agencies and individuals. Those interested in obtaining more information about the African Marketplace should telephone (213) 237-1540. Packwood: ‘Welfare Should Be A Trampoline, Not A Hammock’ Oregon Senator Bob Packwood opened the historic debate on wel fare in the Senate by calling for an end to the traditional federal role in welfare and replacing it with state- administered programs that are re sponsive to the special needs and conditions o f individual states. Noting that welfare was origi nally conceived in 1935 as a program of “ emergency financial support for w idow s and o rphans," Senator Packwood said today’s welfare sys tem has grown into a tradition o f ‘»lifetime, even generational, support” for millions o f recipients. “ Welfare, as the federal govern ment hoped it would work, would be a trampoline—people would spring back to work. Instead o f a trampo line, it has become a hammock and it rs not working at a ll,” Senator Packwood said. Senator Packwood added that the current welfare debate could be summed up by the question: “ do you prefer the federal government to fund and administer the welfare programs and food stamp programs, or...do you say the federal government has failed to make the programs work?” Senator Packwood said he c lear- ly believes the latter. In constant dol lars, welfare spending in the U.S. has grown from the equivalent o f $10 billion in 1947 to $180 billion in 1991. “ In terms o f money, we have spent it in spades, and it has not so lved the p ro b le m .” Senator Packwood said. He added that a to tally new approach to welfare is need ed, not just changing a few things here or there. “ It’s like a hippopotamus. No matter how long you stretch its ears, or screw up its tail, you won’t get it to fly," Senator Packwood said. Senator Packwood outline the new approach he prefers, S. 1120, The W ork Opportunity Act o f 1995. The bill consolidates seven fed- erally-administered, cash-assistance programs(called Aid to Families with Dependent C h ild re n ) and block grants them directly to the states. The bill requires that welfare recipients go to work in two years, or earlier at a state’s option. Welfare recipients would only be eligible to be on welfare for a maximum o f five years. By the year 2000, 50 percent of a state’ s welfare recipients must be in jobs or jo b training programs. States also have the option to take their federal food stamps in a cash block grant. Eligibility for Supplemental Se curity Income (S S I) would also be modified under S. 1120. Drug ad dicts and alcoholics would no longer qualify for SSI cash payments, nor would non-citizens. The bill also tightens eligibility requirements for SSI payments for disabled children. child support enforcement would also be toughened under the bill, making it easier to track down and force deadbeat parents to pay child support. B ehind Ja c k so n ’ s w ords lies an abiding anger at the ever-w o rs ening p light o f the m ainly b lack un d erclass in A m e ric a ’ s d e cay ing inner c itie s as w e ll as a deep frustration at the co u n try ’ s p o lit ic a l sw ing to the right. Jackson, a Christian minister who began his career as a young lieutenant o f the Rev. Martin Luther King, has nothing but scom for the Christian Coalition, a powerful force for social conservatism in the Re publican Party. “ For 250 years when we were in slavery, the white Christian church backed slavery. It endorsed segrega tion after slavery. Now they don’t put forward any remedy to offset the lasting impact o f racism,” he said. ◄ Fred Canady, Director of Pepsi Cola Company's Minority Business Enterprise Development program, congratulates Dorothy R. Leavell, recently-elected President of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), during the NNPA’s convention in Oklahoma City, Okla. Ms. Leavell is Publisher and Editor of the Chicago Crusader and the Gary (Indiana) Crusader. Canady, who assumed responsibility for Pepsi’s MBED program in January, 1995, is currently visiting Pepsi’s minority vendors and other constituent groups around the country. Since the inception of the MBED program in 1982, Pepsi has spent more than $700 million with minority vendors. Three Indicted In Oklahoma City Bombing U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno announced Thursday that two people, includingTimothy McVeigh, have been indicted for the bombing ofthe federal office building in Okla homa City on April 19. In ve stig a to rs b e lie ve McVeigh, 27, drove the truckload o f explosives that devastated the Alfred Murrah building in Oklaho ma City, killing at least 1 6 7 people. The other person indicted for the bombing was M cVeigh’s former Army buddy TerryNichols, 40. Sep arately, Michael Fortier, 26, was indicted for knowing ofthe plan but concealing his knowledge from in vestigators. Reno told a news conference the indictment against M cVeigh and Nichols included 11 counts. The first three counts, she said, were for con spiring to “use a weapon o f mass destruction” to kill people and for mal ic ious destruction o f federal prop erty. The remain ing eight counts were for the killing o f the eight law enforcement officers who died in the blast, the worst such attack in U.S. history. The two men could be sentenced to death if convicted. Fortier, whose lawyer said his client had agreed to testify in return for being charged with lesser of fenses, was charged with four crimes, including several weapons offenses. He faces a maximum of23 years in prison The indictments were returned by a federal grand ju ry in Oklahoma City. Reno said charges previously lodged against N ich o ls’ brother James for possession o f “ i I legal de structive d e v ic e s” were being dropped. The attorney general said the investigation into the bombing would continue. Tightened Security Hits Airports U.S. airports and airlines were tightening security following an or der by federal authorities concerned about possible terror attacks against the United States. U.S. Transportation Secretary Federico Pena said in a statement that no specific threats have been made but “ it is prudent to ensure that these additional measures are in place to prevent or deter possible criminal or terrorist acts." Department o f Transportation officials declined to discuss the rea sons behind the heightened security alert but Pena said the increase in security was based on information provided by federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The Islamic Resistance Move ment Hamas has warned President Clinton o f“ grave consequences" for detaining one o f its leading figures pending a formal extradition request from Israel. Israel wants to try the man, detained in New York on July 25, for terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder. Other possible security threats could include spillover from the Bosnia war. Clinton has threatened to veto legislation being debated in Congress to lift unilaterally the arms embargo against the Bosnian Mus lims. The Washington Post listed Pope John Paul I l ’ s visit to the United States in October as another possible focus forthe security alert. AirTrans- port Association spokesman Chris Chiames said there was no reason for passengers to panic and expressed concern that the Federal Aviation Administration directive being dis tributed to airports, airlines and fed eral security forces might needlessly scare travelers. “No specific threat against U.S. airlines or U.S. airports has been commun icated to the industry through the FA A ,” Chiames told a news con ference. He said many o f the in creased security measures w ill not be noticed by travelers although the as sociation has asked passengers to cooperate to help prevent airport delays during the peak summer trav el season. The association suggested that air passengers arrive at airports ear lier, refuse to carry items for strang ers and keep close watch on their luggage. Chiames said the industry does not anticipate delays but is relying on travelers being prepared. In June, the F A A issued a secu rity alert for California airports fol lowing a threat from the so-called “ Unabomber” who has killed three people and injured 22 in 16 attacks since 1978. Other transportation industries are also being asked to review their security measures. Pena said.