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.