P age A 2
A ugust 23 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver
Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
Reflect Or Represent The Views O f
The ^lortlanb © bscruer
w:
ho says crime doesn’t
pay? the Cook County
prison system is a $200
million booming business.
It spends $169,000 every six
days on food it purchases and cleans
over 11,000 inmate uniforms, and
doctors and dentists provide prison
ers with medical and dental care. The
new ja il costs $130 m illion, includ
ing $1.3 m illion to the architect and
$13 m illion to the general contractor.
Furthermore, never in II history has a
person o f color been the general con
tractor for a prison building project.
The Cook County prison system
is part o f a national trend o f prison
expansion. The U S. prison popula
tion is at 1.4 m illion, firm ly securing
“ the land o f the free” as the industri
alized w orld ’s leader in incarcera
tions. Politicians have jumped on the
“ tough on crime” bandwagon, and
they have made crime-baiting the
red-baiting o f the 90s. This led to a
$ 14 b illion increase in annual expen
ditures for corrections between 1982
and 1992. Many believe that the pris
on industry’ s growth has as much to
do with local economics as a desire
R ainbo W
C O A L IT IO N
Crime Pays (For Some)
“Crying All The Way to The Bank”
Today reported that in 1992 more
than 523,000 full-tim e employees
worked in correct ions-m ore than in
any Fortune 500 company except
General M otors-up from 169,000 in
1972. This kind o f jo b growth en
sures that the prison system w ill con
tinue to grow—even i f the crime rate
does not. In fact, entire firms have
been established to broker prisoners
between systems that are faced with
over-crowding and those which have
empty cells.
to fight crime. As “ three strikes you ’re
out” legislation was established in
California and Washington, and pa
role was abolished in Virginia and
North Carolina, the $31 billion in
carceration business flourished.
Rural areas, which once fought
to keep prisons out o f their towns, are
now competing to bring them in,
often by offering the state free land.
Why? Because, in addition to bring
ing inmates, prisons bring hundreds
o f thousands o f jobs. In fact, USA
Furthermore, private companies
such as A T & T , American Express
and GE are also seeking to cash in by
investing in the prison industrial com
plex, and entire companies, such as
Corrections Corporation o f A m eri
ca, have sprung up to run prisons.
The demand is high partially
because o f government p olicies
which hold that selling one m arijua
na cigarette or a single gram o f co
caine—or just introducing a drug user
to a dealer-can result in a sentence
o f 10 years or longer, with no chance
o f parole.
Prisoners have become a valu
able commodity, and the government
is doing all it can to get more. It’ s our
urban policy!
Morris Thigpen, Director o f the
National Institute o f Corrections told
USA Today, “ People joke (that) we
seem to be heading toward the day
when you’ re either going to be in
prison or working in some sort o f
way with corrections.” This is noth
ing to joke about. Massive prison
growth, coupled with cuts in social
services and welfare, is a substantial
step toward fascism.
The Civil Rights Journal
Environmental
B ernice P owell J ackson
ne of the biggest
problems facing the
power industry in the
United States today is how to
dispose of the radioactive
waste generated by its nuclear
power plants.
BY
©
The solution to that problem
which many o f the industry giants
seem to be proposing is to place the
“ spent” fuel in low income commu
nities, many o f which are communi
ties o f color and many o f which are
native American tribal lands. Such
decisions are called environmental
racism and have devastating health
and economic impact on communi
ties o f color.
Oneofthe industry giants.North-
em States Power in M innesota, seems
to be leading the way in this environ
mental racism. Northern states is now
embroiled in a tribal dispute on the
Mescalero Apache territory in New
Mexico, where it leads the effort to
site a nuclear waste storage facility
which would receive used nuclear
fuel from power plants across the
nation. Many o f these plants are run
ning out o f space to store the spent
Business In The Black
C harles E. B elle
hidden contract is out
for
black
county
Cj
officials.
“ Assessor’ s Office Falters - S.F.
losing millions,” read the headline in
the San Francisco Chronicle, as soon
as the 11 th Annual National Econom
ic Development Conference o f the
National Organization o f Black Coun
ty Officials, Inc. (NOBCO) left town.
The major white daily took two
shots at former San Francisco Coun
ty Supervisor and current County
Assessor Doris Ward. Ward was a
co-host for the “ Vision and leader
ship forCom m um ty Empowerment”
group.
Greetings had been sent from
the California Republican governor
on down to the con ference attendees.
A marvelous and informative time
had been had by all including Doris
Ward and her co-hostess San Fran
cisco County Supervisor W illie B
Kennedy. Bu, no sooner had the del
egates turned their backs, than did
the white press begin its slanderous
and negative propaganda campaign
against the local black county o ffi
cial.
One example o f the need for sen
sitive county supervisors is at the En
gland Industrial Airport and Commu
nity Authority in Alexandria, LA.
Bridgett Brown, a local board member
tells how local officials turned a closed
AirForce base into a thriving business
park with a hospital and golf course,
increasing the number o f jobs and tax
revenue for the local area.
A positive attitude like that can
aid local citizens in counties like San
Francisco, as well as Louisiana “ [I]
hope this w ill serve as a wake up call,"
says Kennedy. O f course, some say
the shots at Ward were really meant to
which had signed on to the agree
listed by Northern States Power as
ment. Several o f these utilities later
participants in the Mescalero Apache
denied that they had signed an agree
waste plan: American Electric Pow
ment, although voicing support for
er Service, Baltimore Gas and Elec
the project. This announcement fo l
tric Co., Centerior Energy Corp.,
lowed a tumultuous week on the res
Commonwealth Edison Co., Con
ervation, in which the tribal ch ie f
sol idated Edison Co., Dairy land Pow
supposedly announced his resigna
er Cooperative, Florida Light and
tion and ten recanted it and an anti
Power Co., Florida Power Corp.,
nuclear rally o f 2,000 people was
GPU Nuclear Corp., Illinois Power
held nearby, in which actor Steven
Co., Niagara Mohawk Power Co.,
Seagal spok“ .
Northeast U tilities, Northern States
Interestingly, Northern States
Power Co., Pacific Gas and Electric
Power Company is already involved
Co., PECO Energy Co., Public Ser
in another dispute with native Amer
vice Electric and Gas Co., Southern
C alifornia Edison Co., Southern
ican people on Prairie Island, Minne
Nuclear Operating Co., Union Elec
sota, where it is storing used ..uclear
tric Co., Wisconsin Electric Power
fuel rods above ground, again op
native American land In that c«se - G o/W isconsin Public ServicedSlrp *
W olfCreek Nuclear OperatingCorp.
the company did not seek the permis
sion o f the people, but went directly
and Yankee Atom ic Electric Co,, I f
you see your u tility on this list, you
to the state legislature. In yet a third
can write or call them and ask i f they
environmental racism case, Louisi
are participating in the Mescalero
ana Energy Services (LES), a con
waste storage plan.
sortium o f three U S. power compa
nies including Northern States Pow
Then let them know you don’t
er, is trying to place a uranium en
support environmental racism and
richment plant in an area in rural
you don’t believe they should either.
Let us know how you make out. (700
Louisiana which is 98 percent A fri
Prospect A ve ., C leve la nd , O H
can American and mostly poor.
The follow ing companies were
44115)
fuel and don’t have anywhere to ship
it until the year 2 0 10, when a national
disposal for the waste may become
available.
Political intrigue and alleged
intim idation have characterized the
debate about the storage o f the used
nuclear fuel w ithin the Mescalero
Apache tribe. In January o f this year
the Mescalero apache tribe voted to
reject their Tribal C ouncil’ s negotia
tions with a consortium o f 33 utility
companies to receive their usednu-
clear fuel. Soon thereafter tribal o ffi
cials circulated a petition to have the
vote reconsidered and in March the
tribal members approved the negoti
ations. But opponents o f the plan
argued that the second election was
“ contaminated” and that people had
been promised $2,000 and housing
improvements i f they voted in favor
o f the contract. One vocal opponent
was informed in May that her day
care agency’s funding had been cut
o ff by the tribal administration.
A t the end o f June Northern
States Power and the Mescalero
Apache tribal council announced
plans to proceed with their project,
including a list o f 23 nuclear utilities
MVPA Special Feature
by
At Its Worst
hit another African American as he
considers entering the San Francisco
mayoralty race. Either way there is
some back-stabbing going on.
Since the N O B C O ’ s prime pur
pose is to “ provide project structure
for the black county officials to re
spond to issues affecting their con
stituencies and county government”
for 2,000 black county officials in 47
states, the white media is targeting
them as the p illar o f African-Am eri
can political power.
The NOBCO was formed in
1975 to provide an organizational
structure for addressing black issues.
During its conference in San Fran
cisco, members chose to give their
Chairman’s Award for Outstanding
County O fficia ls to Doris Ward,
Ph.D., because o f her “ commitment
to service and her determination to
get the jo b done.”
The attack on local black o ffi
cials like the attack on affirmative
action is a trial not unlike police
brutality. John L. Burris, associated
trial lawyer for Rodney King and
noted legal T V analyst for the O.J.
Simpson trial was a guest speaker at
the National Economic Development
Conference. The one thing that sticks
in his mind when he attends the fu
neral o f victims o f police killings, he
says, is the lack o f remorse by white
police officers who commit the crime.
To the white police officer, an A fri
can American or Hispanic American
is not a human being.
While the white press pretends
to be concerned about the problems
o f poverty and race, it is busy killin g
o ff their protectors, the local black
public official.
“ They smile in your face, but all
the while they want to take your
place.” one o fficial said.
■
a
Ben Chavis Leader Of Black Men
March - We Jest?-Surely?
C hester A. H iggins , S k .
t T 9 * hey are tou tin g a
| |
proposed‘Million Black
Man’ march in Wash
ington, D.C., Oct. 16.
by
For many o f us these are excit
ing times! There w ill be some who
resent it or even hate it—black and
white. And there are some whites
who feel that any assertion on the
part ofblack men demanding respect
or redress for some o f the countless
wrongs inflicted over the centuries,
should be met with a strong police
force and/or an increased number o f
ja il cells. But that is another subject.
For those o f us who are warmed by
the thought o fbla ck men getting o ff
their ‘ duffs’ and finally acting in
unison positively, on something, it is
a heartfelt thing.
However, I have one big prob
lem and that is with Benjamin Chavis
being one o f the principal leaders o f
this gathering. I say this with some
regret, for the Rev. Dr. Chavis had
long been one o f my revered figures,
dating back to the days when he was
thrust into the ‘ pokey’ on that phony
charge in North Carolina and forced
to spend I0 weary years before he
was cleared.
I ’m a long-time NAAPer, a life
member, in fact, and once proudly
served for several years as editor o f
its Crisis magazine. So when Chavis
was selected to succeed Benjamin
Lawson Hooks, for whom I had toiled
both at the N A ACP and at the Feder
al Communications Commission, I
felt we were getting a worthy succes
sor to Dr. Hooks. The latter served
for 15 years, often with distinction
and always with the h ighest degree o f
integrity, probity and honor, as exec
utive secretary o f that venerable or
ganization.
Chavis came in with a positive
thrust — he would reach out to the
unwashed, to the black Muslims! to
the gang-bangers, the socially w rit
ten-off, the unreachable, the stone
dead, empty little creeps, devoid o f
self-respect, caring for little and be
lieving in less other than offing one
another in fierce bloody gang battles
or drug programs - and bring them
all into the NAACP fold. Hallelujah!
I cried. He’s not superior to Hooks in
anyway, I cautioned, but he is ex
tending the N AACP reach into hith
erto overlooked places. New leader
ship demands new duties!
But then Chavis was caught right
o ff the bat w ith his hand in the
N AA C P cookie jar. He desperately
needed hush money, it was alleged,
to pay o ff a lady who was bringing
sexual harassment and jo b discrim i
nation charges against him. So w ith
out the N AACP say so, he helped
him self but swears (in a 60 Minutes
T V show segment) that the then
Chairman W illiam Gibson was privy
at all times to the hoist.
Now, this gentleman - this is the
same Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Jr.,
isn’t it? — wants to, no, has already
ensconced him self as one o f prime
leaders o f the ‘ M illio n Black M an’
march this fall.
Is this the kind o f black male
role model we want?
Forgive me, but shouldn’t we
demand a period o f respite, a pause
to reflect, and since his previous act
was so gross a violation o f the public
trust, request a measure o f public
contrition before extending redemp
tion?
For now, he should be back in
the pack, not out front.
p e r s p e c tiv e s
“The End Of Work!”
Serious Business Folks!
(T p f*
/ |
hat heading for this
week's article is taken
from the title of a new
best-seller by Jeremy Rifkin,
a keen o b s erv e r of the
American economic way of
life and who has excellent
credentials. And those of you
who may not have taken me
too seriously the past few
months listen now as an
‘expert’ systematically details
the traumatic changes we
face.
“ W o r ld -
wide unemploy
ment is now at
the highest level
since the great
depression ofthe
1930s. The num
ber o f people underemployed or
without work is rising sharply as
m illion o f new entrants into the
workforce find themselves victims
o f an extraordinary high-technolo
gy revolution. Sophisticated com
puters, robotics, telecommunica
tions, and other cutting-edge tech
nologies are fast replacing human
beings in virtually every sector and
industry—from manufacturing, re
tail, and financial services, to trans
portation, agriculture, and govern
ment”
“ M any jo b s are never co m
ing back. Blue c o lla r w orkers,
secretaries, rece ptio nists, c le r
ical w orkers sales c le rks, bank
te lle rs, telephone operators, l i
brarians, w holesalers, and m id
dle managers are ju s t a few o f
the many occupations destined
fo r v irtu a l e x tin c tio n . W h ile
some new jo b s are being crea t
ed, they are, fo r the most part,
low paying and g en erally tem
porary em ploym ent. M ore than
fifte e n percent o f the A m erican
people are c u rre n tly liv in g be
low the p o ve rty lin e .”
The president o f the Foun
dation on E conom ic Trends in
W ashington, D .C ., R ifk in says
the w o rld is fast p o la riz in g into
tw o irre c o n c ila b le forces: on
one side, an in fo rm a tio n e lite
the c o n tro ls and manages the
high-tech glo ba l econom y; and
on the other, the g ro w in g num
bers o f perm anently displaced
w orkers, who have few pro s
pects and little hope fo r m ean
ing fu ll em ploym ent in an in
crea sin g ly automated w o rld .
Since this advisory is a warn
ing addressed to ‘ a ll’ Americans
without exception, what particular
message may we infer to be intend
ed for those already at the bottom o f
the heap -- like,
say,
A fric a n
Americans? Cer
By
tainly, we consis
Professor tently have taken
Mckinley
to task that ele
Burt
ment o f our lead
ership which has
not had a new idea since the discov
ery o f fire; still maddening en
thralled with marches, seminars,
retreats, chicken wing galas and
thousand-dolla-a-plate dinners as
meaningful economic vehicles for
the year 2000.
A nd, speaking o f marches,
we see an increasing c o n tro v e r
sy s u rro u n d in g the “ M illio n
Man M a rc h ” on W ash in gton
p ro je c te d by M in is te r L o u is
Farrakhan and ex-N A AC P c h ie f
Ben C havis, I fin d the c ritic is m
irre le v a n t, always re tu rn in g to
my perennial observation: “ that
surely it w ould e v e n tu a lly oc
cur to in te llig e n t people to de
vise an e c o n o m ic s tru c tu re
w hich w ould finance basic man
u fa c tu rin g , m erchandising and
a g ric u ltu ra l enterprises, using
the hundreds o f m illio n s now
spent on marches, conventions
and o th e r c o n v e n tio n s ad
in fin itu m (B u y the a irlin e s and
inns we make rich ? ).
And if, indeed, “ the End o f
w o rk ” is at hand, w hy s h o u ld n ’ t
the p rin c ip a l a c tiv ity o f A fric a n
Am ericans be that o f crea ting
‘ new w o rk ’ and o p p o rtu n itie s ,
using the obvious — the tens o f
b illio n s o f purchasing pow er
they b rin g to the m arketplace
(som ebody elses).
WT)e JjJartlanii (©bseruer
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