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Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
Reflect Or Represent The Views O f
The ‘P o rtlan d ffibsrrorr
BY J ohn L. Bt kkis _________ __
deliberation” o f the jury. For them,
he day after the verdict
three hours was not enough time to
was reached in the O.J.
really give a fair look at all o f the
Simpson trial, I had to
evidence in this case.
attend a court case in For them, all o f this added up to
Sacramento. As I drove back
one thing: The jury was predisposed
and forth from Oakland, I
to vote O.J. Simpson not guilty be­
listened to talk radio and what
cause o f racial reasons and justice
I heard disturbed me greatly, to
was not served. For many o f them,
say the least.
this was no different than complaints
®
Most o f the callers were white,
and most were very upset about the
verdict. As I listened. I found they
were focusing on three major areas
that caused them to believe the ac­
quittal of Mr. Simpson was not based
on facts and evidence, but was based
on race and emotion.
The first area they were con­
cerned with was defense attorney
Johnnie Cochran’s closing remarks,
which many o f them took to be bla­
tant appeal to the jury to vote race,
not evidence.
The next major source o f dis­
tress for these callers was the fren­
zied images o f groups o f blacks cel­
ebrating the acquittal.
And finally, many were very
upset by what they saw as the “non­
o f all white juries in the South who
automatically acquitted a white de­
fendant, in a crime against a black
victim like the Emmitt Till case, or
civil rights leader Medger Evers, no
matter what the evidence presented.
There are several very obvious
things wrong with this point o f view,
however. First, the jury was not all
black, but a mixed jury . To totally
discount the white and Hispanic
members o f the jury, is to suggest
that they had such fear o f the nine
members o f the jury, that they caved
in at the slightest pressure from them.
This is an insult to both the black and
other jurors, not to mention a pro­
foundly racist way o f viewing things
Second, and this is a major point
that is often overlooked, this was not
just Johnnie Cochran's jury, as it has
been often stated. This was also
M arcia C lark and C h risto p h e r
Darden’s jury. They agreed to this
jury'. And, we should not forget that.
Finally, there is the evidence.
The defense was able to dismantle
much o f the evidence that was put
forward by the prosecutors. If that
evidence had been sound, and prop­
erty presented, it could have with­
stood any amount of racial or gender
bias, or al legations ofpolice miscon­
duct regardless o f the ethnic compo­
sition o f the jury. However, this was
not the case in this trial.
Simply put, the defeated prose­
cution team, although well led by
Ms. Clark and Mr. Darden, both fine
lawyers, did not prove their case
beyond a reasonable doubt. All the
jurors agreed to that point, even the
two who thought that Mr. Simpson
was guilty.
This is what a trial is all about.
The burden of proof is on the prosecu­
tion. From the very beginning, this
case had problems; from the police
violating Mr. Sim pson’s Fourth
Amendment rights to the lying o f the
\f> c r s p c c S / p e s\
detectives, to them not collecting evi­
dence in the correct matter, to contam­
ination of the crime scene, to them
having a blatant racist as a key witness
- was a disaster Plain and simple. The
case did not rise and fall on race.
So to those people calling in on
the radio, I can understand the pain.
As a black man, living in a country
where I have only had full rights
since the passage o f the civil rights
act o f 1964, I have often fel, much
pain at what I considered unfair treat­
ment o f blacks under the law. How­
ever, I have always used that pain to
seek to reform the justice system, and
have used that pain to try to bring
about a system ofjustice in this coun­
try where everyone is treated fairly. I
recommend that those who disagreed
with the verdict use their pain in the
same manner.
Based on the evidence it is my
belief that the anger is misguided.
The law, not race, emotion, fame or
money dictated the acquittal o f O.J.
Simpson.
(Editor 's John L. Burris is an
Oakland civil rights attorney and
media analyst.)
Rewarding Wealthy At Poor’s Expense
b \
T he N ew Y ork T imes
ow touching it was for
House Speaker Newt
Gingrich to appeal for
brotherly love at the end of the
titanic debate over Medicare
last week. “We want no class
warfare,” he declared. “We
want no c o n flic t betw een
generations."
£
Even by G ingrich’s standards,
this was a remarkable statement. The
Republ ¡cans are rushing through
Congress the greatest attempt in mod­
em history to reward the wealthy at
the expense o f the poor. They are
also sacrificing the’ health needs o f
the elderly to pay for a tax cut for the
affluent.
Incredibly, Gingrich was accus­
ing the Democrats o f fomenting class
and generational resentm ents by
pointing this out. President Clinton
can do no less than veto the Republi­
can legislative package that is roar­
ing toward passage in Congress.
We have long argued that Medi­
care, the health insurance program
for elderly Americans, is in need o f
reform. Many Republican ideas for
introducing com petition into the
health care system and forcing pro­
viders to deliver care more efficient­
ly are sound. But the cuts being
pushed through Congress are so big
they threaten to devastate nursing
homes and drive hospitals and doc­
tors away from taking care o f Medi­
cans are insisting on scaling back the
care patients.
eamed-income tax credit, which goes
Right now, Medicare makes up
to low-income workers to keep them
less than 12 percent o f the federal
out o f poverty. 7 he Treasury' Depart­
budget. But Medicare cuts account
ment estimates that nearly half the
for more than twice that percentage
Senate’s$43 billion in tax cuts, mean­
o f the lower spending in the Repub­
while, will go to the 12 percent o f
lican-approved budgets over the next
A m ericans in fam ilies earn in g
seven years.
$100,000 or more.
Notwithstanding Gingrich’s ap­
On the spending side, it takes
peal, the facts clearly demonstrate
ideological blinders to argue that
that health programs for the elderly
R epublicans are not w aging th e ir
are bearing a disproportionate share
budget w ars on the poor. The
o f the austerity pushed by the Repub­
budget b ills racing through C o n ­
licans.
gress em body a gargantuan $1.1
The charge that Democrats have
trillio n in spending cuts o v er the
been playing on American resent­
next seven years, a c c o rd in g to
ments has also been sounded by Sen­
the n o n p a rtisa n C o n g re ssio n a l
ate majority leader Bob Dole, who
B udget O ffice.
recently accused Clinton o f encour­
O ut o f this sum, the C enter
aging “envy and class warfare.” He
on B udget and Policy P rio rities,
made it sound almost Marxist to dis­
a liberal gro u p , estim ates that
cuss which classes gain and which . w elfare, M edicaid, food stam ps,
lose in any legislation.
housing and o ther program s for
True, the Democrats are playing
the poor are being cut by 37 to 47
the politics ofwinners and losers, but
percent. T hat is far m ore than
their criticisms are rooted in a certain
seem s fair given that only 21
reality.
percent o f the federal budget is
It was the Republican-control led
spent on the poor.
Joint Taxation Committee that ac­
A n other way o f looking at
knowledged last week that families
the sam e thing is to see how the
making up to $30,000, about half of
R epublicans are a p p ro ach in g the
all taxpayers, would actually see their
tw o biggest health care program s
taxes go up under the tax package
in the country. M edicare is for
heading toward approval in the Sen­
everyone and M edicaid is for the
ate.
poor. Both have been grow ing
The reason is that the Republi­
out o f co n tro l and have to be
reined in.
But cost estimates o f the Con­
gressional Budget Office show that
Medicare is being kept by the Re­
publican legislation at a 6.4 percent
growth rate in the next several years
and Medicaid is being kept at a 4
percent growth rate.
There is no way to see this ex­
cept as a deliberate effort to inflict
greater hardship on those delivering
health care to the poor. The Republi­
can congressional handiwork o f the
last week provides a reminder o f a
grim truth. It is much easier to de­
stroy something than it is to create it.
Reform ofmany ofthese programs is
surely in order. But reform is certain
to be undermined if it is coupled with
a reactionary redistribution o f gov­
ernment resources.
In the c o m in g w eek s and
m onths, the H ouse and S enate
will be stru g g lin g to reco n cile
th eir d iffe re n c es and put them in
one m assive piece o f leg islatio n ,
possibly a tta c h in g it to a m ea­
sure keeping the U nited S tates
out o f default.
Clinton must not be rattled by
that threat. If he stands firm, the
Republicans will be forced to
scale back their assault and confront
the reality that a huge and regressive
tax cut is inappropriate as a matter o f
social equity and fiscal common
sense.
Ode To A White Bronco ll:|
The Out-Of-Control Media
hatwasaveryreward-
ing response to last
week’s article where I
put it that the “manipulative
establishment media" was the
real m essage of the O.J.
S im pson tria l; lots of
reassurance from readers that
we are not all naive dummies
and that most of us can fully
| understand Marshall McLuh-
I an’s warning, “The medium is
I the message!”
( J
Even better is
I the fact that several
teachers at both the
high school and col­
lege level, say that
they are going to
c o n stru c t lesson
plans around the concept that "When
Johnannes Gutenberg invented the
printing press, he created the read­
ing public’.’’Not only were we now
to have the “Gutenberg Bible,” but
centuries later, there has developed
a viewing public’as television cre­
ated the universal cultural interac­
tion known as the “global village.”
Contrary to the visual media’s
claim that they mirror the public’s
taste, I would submit my records o f
a spirited response from a number
o f women, white and black, to my
account o f the degradation o f the
female in order to boost television
I ratings and revenues.
Specifically, I cited two glar-
I ing instances o f culpable and
offensive vulgarity as products
o f the rating wars; trends that are
fueling increased view er resen t­
ment. First off, I cited what ap-
I pears to be an escalating dem and
on the part o f program m angers
"that fem ale new scasters expose
at least 14 inches o f gleam ing
w hite thighs’’ - (even on the busi­
ness channel.) This, w hile an
[increasing num ber o f w om en’s
o rg a n iz a tio n s are d e m a n d in g
more dignity and respect.
T he second issue I took up,
is one o fg ro w in g co ncern to the
A frican A m erican com m unity
w hich also dem ands m ore d ig ­
nity and respect: P ro tests over
the ev ening ’pubic h air fo llie s .’
F ollow ing the ev en in g new s, we
have a n atio n -w id e epidem ic o f
lo w - b u d g e t c r im e s p e c ia ls
film ed by telev isio n cam eram en
who accom pany p o lic e on raid s
Wijc
(SJcftdT
Send your letters to the Editor to:
^Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
Who Should Be Oregon’s Next U.S. Senator?
(Editor's note: The following
was submitted by the board of
directors of the Oregon
Assembly for Black Affairs.)
At i t ’s O cto b er b oard m eet­
ing, the O reg o n A ssem b ly for
B lack A ffairs asked th is q u e s­
tion: “ W ho should be O re g o n ’s
next U .S. S en ato r ."
The O A B A B oard o f D ire c ­
to rs fells that the next U .S. S en ­
a to r fro m O re g o n s h o u ld be
som eone w ho can re p re se n t the
in te re sts o f all c itiz e n s o f O re ­
gon. T hat in d iv id u al sh o u ld not
ju s t talk ab o u t re p re se n tin g all
the c itiz e n s, but sh o u ld d em o n ­
strate th is re p re se n ta tio n through
her or his a c tio n s and staff.
T h e is s u e s c o n f r o n t i n g
black s in O regon are no less im ­
p o rta n t to d a y than th ey w ere
w hen the O regon A ssenjbly for
B lack A ffa irs was fo u n d ed in
1977. R acism has not dim inished
and is the num ber one problem
c o n fro n tin g O reg o n ian s and the
USA to d ay . In ad d itio n to this
racism and feelin g o f d ise n fra n ­
c h ise m e n t, b lack s do not w ant to
adm it th at w hite elected o ffic ia ls
re p re se n t them . O re g o n ’s next
se n a to r sh o u ld be so m eone who
can re p re se n t the in te re st o f the
to rep resen t the in terests o f black
o f racial d iscrim in atio n in the
O reg o n black com m unity w ith ­
c itiz e n s? W hich can d id ate will
state w orkplace and academ ic e n ­
out reg ard to fear o f others.
hire blacks on th e ir s ta ff and
vironm ent. It w ould have m ade
E ig h te e n in d iv id u a ls a re
em pow er them to be productive
the executive o ffic ia l o f every
seek in g the D em ocratic and R e­
to the black co m m u n ity ? And
state agency or academ ic in stitu ­
p u b lic a n n o m in atio n s to the v a ­
w hich can d id ate is w illing to par­
tion acco u n tab le and resp o n sib le
can t O reg on U.S. S enate seat in
tic ip a te in a c tiv itie s w ithin the
for taking action to im plem ent
the D ec. 5 Prim ary E lectio n . Five
black com m unity?
the policy and for reso lv in g in ci­
o f th e se in d iv id u als are D em o­
W hen we exam ine the cu r­
den ts o f racial d iscrim in atio n .
c ra ts and 13 or R epublicans.
rent sta ff o f these candidates, how
Senate Bill 563 w ould have
T he m ajor D em ocratic c o n ­
m any have hired O regon blacks
given aggrieved p ersons a d irect
te n d e r s a re U .S . R ep . P e te r
in key p o sitio n s. O nly one, La­
way o f holding the ex ecutive o f­
D eF azio and Ron W yden. The
bor C o m m issio n er Jack R oberts
ficials resp o n sib le for w hat was
c h ie f c a n d id a te s for the R e p u b li­
has a black in a key role in his
happening to them by filing w rit­
can n o m in atio n are S tate School
ad m in istra tio n .
ten co m plaints w ith these o ffi­
S u p e rin te n d e n t N orm a P aulus,
W hen we look at how these
cials. A lso, it w ould have p ro ­
S tate L ab o r C o m m issio n er Jack
c a n d id a te s resp o n d ed to the in­
vided som e p ro tectio n for ag ­
R oberts, and O regon S enate P res­
te re sts o f the black com m unity in
grieved persons who w ere d e ­
id en t G ord on Sm ith. T he OABA
th e irc u rre n tly p o sitio n s, what do
nied em ploym ent o p p o rtu n itie s
b oard b eliev es that tw o o f th e s e
we find? W hen we look at how
and who becam e victim s o f os-
five in d iv id u als will get the D em ­
th ese c an d id ates p a rtic ip a te d in
lidcism a n d /o r re ta lia tio n ju s t
o c ra tic and R epublican n o m in a­
activ ities w ithin the O regon black
b ecause they had filed racial d is­
tio n s ra th e r than any o f the less-
com m unity, w hat do we find?
crim in atio n com plaints.
er-k n o w can d id ates.
A fter reco g n iz in g that rac­
The R e p u b lic a n -c o n tro lle d
It is am ong these five c a n d i­
ism was on the increase in the
O regon S enate, under the lead er­
d a te s th a t the q u e stio n , “ who
sta te w orkplace and the academ ­
ship o f State S enate P resident
sh o u ld be O re g o n ’s next S enator
ic env iro n m en t, the O regon As­
G ordon Sm ith, refused to allow
in the U.S. C o n g ress? - is being
sem bly for B lack A ffairs subm it­
SB 563 to be heard in com m ittee.
asked.
ted its Senate Bill 563 to tire
The O A BA board will p ro ­
F ro m th e p e r s p e c tiv e o f
1995 O regon L egislature.
vide m ore inform ation co n c e rn ­
b la c k s in O regon, the ad d itio n a l
S enate Bill 563 w ould have
ing the c a n d id a te s re la tiv e to
q u e stio n s becom e:
d ec la re d O regon p u blic policy to
th ese questions as the election
W hich can d id ate is not afraid
be zero tolerance tow ard all forms
approaches.
in low incom e n eig h b o rh o o d s.
T here has been a rising c re ­
scendo o f resen tm en t o f these
brazen c h a ra c ters w ho “ sp e c ia l­
ize in c ra sh in g into A fric a n
A m erican bed ro o m s along w ith
the cops, catch in g black w om en
in various states o f u ndress. O fl
course, this is n ev er done in
w hite n eig h b o rh o o d s - a w ell
f o u n d e d fe a r o f la w s u its !
W hose m edia are they. W hy do
we to le ra te
th e s e i n v a ­
sions o f pri-1
vacy and d e ­
cency?
So, natu­
rally, it should I
com e as “ no I
surprise” to the big corporate me­
dia, visual or print, that their year­
long saga o f tasteless exploitation
and merciless pandering in the O.J
Simpson trial should bring a viscer­
al reaction from the American pub­
lic; causing people to stand back
and take a closer look at some o f the I
more mercenary media that have
insinuated themselves into every)
aspect o f our lives - especially tele­
vision.
Q uickly com es to find the I
re p reh en siv e c o llu sio n betw een
the to b acco co m p a n ie s, the n e t­
w orks and the sp o rts fra n c h ise s)
in a d eterm in ed e ffo rt to s u b ­
vert the pro h ib itio n ag ain st te le ­
vision a d v e rtisin g o f to b a c c o
p ro d u cts. H uge b illb o a rd s are
stra te g ic a lly placed aro u n d the
stadium s, so that c a m e ra s are as
likely to pick up to b a c c o ads as
any sp orts actio n . O f co u rse,
this gets around any o f the w ell-
in ten tio n ed sa fe g u a rd s a g a in st
m arketing the c a n c e ro u s p ro d -)
ucts to ch ild ren .
E qually o n erous and as dan- )
gerous to public safety is the)
frig h ten in g e sc a la tio n o f v io ­
lence-saturated telev isio n show s
- and the in c re a sin g v io le n c e
in co rp o rated into “ c h ild re n ’s’
show s o r the v id eo gam es d i­
rected to this m arket. A gain I
say, “ W hat the m edia w ill not
be doing w ill be c o n fe ssin g to al
year o f d a n g e ro u s n e g le c t o f l
vital c o n cern s to the A m erican f
people: H ealthcare, jo b loss, and
a “could care less C o n g re ss.” )
G et on th e ir case.
(©bseruer
(USPS 959-680)
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