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P age A 2
T he P ortland O bserver
D ecember 6,
Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
Reflect Or Represent The Views O f
^ o rtla n h ©bseruer
U—J
\r e
Civil Rights Journal
A Renaissance For Northeast, II:
Women Begin To Define Their Role
Not In Our Town
ns B ehnice P oweli J ackson
premacist and paramilitary groups,
hile some Americans
but we have not seen much which
have tried to say that
links such groups with hate crimes
we have settled our na­
against people o f color, gay and les­
tion's racial justice problems,
bian persons and Jewish persons.
events of the past few months
Yet, these supremacist groups, and
have proven once again the
their sy mpathizers, are often the per­
deep chasm between the way
petrators o f hate crimes.
people of color and w hite
The good news is that while hate
Americans perceive the world.
crimes are escalating in communities
One thing for sure, hard num­
across the country, there are Ameri­
bers show that hate crimes and intol­
cans who are taking a stand against
erance are still a regular occurrence
them and finding solutions to stop
in America. Indeed, during 1994,
hate crimes in their own neighbor­
5,853 hate crimes were reported and
hoods. Using the theme Not in Our
probably thousands o f others went
Town, which is based on a PBS doc­
unreported
umentary ofthe same name, a nation­
While we often read about vio­
wide campaign to stop hate crimes
lent crimes in the inner cities, we
has been launched
read less often o f the violent hate
The documentary, scheduled to
crimes which signal the growing
be aired on December 17, focusses on
threat o f intolerance in many smaller
Billings, Montana and how its people
communities across the nation. In the
joined together to support their neigh­
aftermath o f the Oklahoma City
bors who were under attack by white
bombing, we have learned o f the
supremacists. Ku Klux Kian fliers had
growth o f well-organized white su-
been distributed throughout theircom-
W
munity, the Jewish cemetery had been
desecrated, the home of a native Amer­
ican family had been vandalized, A f­
rican American church-goers had been
intimidates and bricks had been throw n
through windows with Hanukkah
menorahs
At the urging o f the Billings
police chief, however, the people of
Billings took a stand. The Painters
Union volunteered to paint over rac­
ist graffiti, religious groups o f every
denomination sponsored marches and
candlelight vigils and ten thousand
citizens put the full-page menorahs
printed by the local newspaper in
their windows.
Similar hate crime stories are
unfolding across the nation. In
Kenosha, Withe schools were forced
to confront “ slave-tagging,” a prac­
tice by skinheads whereby African
American high school students were
“tagged" and targeted for hate crime
activity. In Putnam County, New
York, a predominantly white com-
munity created a diversity commit­
tee after a cross burning on an A fri­
can American neighbor’s lawn In
Baseman, MT, an anti-gay rally of 28
was met with an overwhelming com­
munity response of600 counter-dem­
onstrators. In Boise, Idaho, coali­
tions are working to oppose a white
supremacist movement which has
declared Idaho and four other states
as their “ homeland.”
Not in Our Town events will be
held in cities and towns across the
country during the week o f Decem­
ber 10-17, to encourage ordinary cit­
izens to work to counter hate crimes.
Every American can take action
against the spread o f hate crimes in
their own community. Participating
in this campaign is one way to begin.
(For more information on Not in
Our Town, contact the Institute for
Alternative Journalism (415) 284-
1420 or fax (415) 284-1414 or the
California Working Group at (510)
547-8484 or fax (510) 547-8844 )
V a n ta g e W in t
Fidel Returns To Harlem Standing Firm On Principle
Bv
R on D aniels
i October 2 2 ,1 had the
^privilege of witnessing
<©?;
the return to Harlem of
President Fidel Castro, thirty
fives years after his first visit to
Harlem in 1960.
Fresh on the heals ofthe triumph
o f overturning the U.S. back Batista
dictatorship, the young revolution­
ary created an international stir in
I960 when he elected to leave his
downtown hotel to take up residence
at the Hotel Theresa in the heart o f
Harlem. Now, as the aging but vi-
b ratf ¿^olutionary stood at the po-
diurt) o f the historic Abyssinian Bap­
tist (?hurch, he recounted how he was
imminently aware o f racial discrim­
ination and oppression in U.S. soci­
ety when he made the decision to stay
at the Hotel Theresa President Castro
was the object o f scorn and ridicule
in the U.S. press, but he was wel­
comed as a hero in Harlem. In the
Capital o f Black America the young
F idel received some o f the great lead­
ers o f the world including Nehru,
Nasser, Khrushchev and Nkrumah.
Before the conclusion o f his visit
Fide! also met another young m ili­
tant, the shining Black prince o f the
African masses, Malcolm X.
In I960 when Fidel came to the
U.S., it was on the occasion o f the
convening o f the General Assembly
o f the United Nations. He took the
occasion to de I i ver a four hour speech
articulating the principles of the Cu­
ban Revolution and denouncing the
sins and transgressions o f the United
States and other capitalist/imperial-
ist powers. Now thirty five years
later, on the occasion o f the Fiftieth
Anniversary of the Untied Nations,
President Castro was once again treat­
ed like a pariah by the President of
the United States and the mayor of
New York City. Once again, Fidel
spoke to the General Assembly o f the
United Nations, only this time he like
all o f the other world leaders was
confined to five minutes. Time con-
M ea ly, Sam A n d erso n , V io la
Plummer and Rev. Lucius Walker,
had been busy for weeks preparing
for the return o f Fidel to Harlem.
And, when the veteran revolutionary
arrived, he once again received a
tumultuous heroe’ s welcome. In
Harlem and among the masses o f
African people and the oppressed,
the name o f Fidel Castro his synony­
mous with a man o f principle who
stands firmly on the side ofthe op-
u
It was quite clear that Fidel believes that the
greatest triumph of the revolution is that Cuba
has stood firm on its principles in defiance of
the U.S. and other world powers...
straints not withstanding, the words
o f President o f the island nation o f
Cuba were greeted with thunderous
ovations as he championed the cause
o f the developing nations and chal­
lenged the United States and the in­
dustrial nations to adopt more just
and humane policies towards the
Third World. Indeed, President
Castro was more warmly received
than his would be detractor. Presi­
dent William Jefferson Clinton
No matter the apparent coldness
and hostility o f U.S. officialdom,
Fidel knew that he had a home in
Harlem. The Africans in the Ameri­
cas Committee to Welcome Fidel
Castro, which included such stal­
warts as Elombe Brath, Rosemari
pressed.
Clad in his familiar military fa­
tigues, when Fidel spoke he did not
disappoint. He quickly catalogued
the achievements o f a small nation
that had broken the back o f U.S.
imperialism/neo-colonialism to make
life more liveable for the masses o f
Cuban people. Universal free educa­
tion and universal free health care
has wiped out illiteracy, developed a
highly educated population and pro­
duced a standard ofhealth care which
is among the best in the world. These
accomplishments have been made in
the face ofa hostile U.S. government
which has maintained an embargo
against Cuba and attempted to desta­
bilize the Castro regime since the
inception o f the revolution.
It was quite clear that Fidel be­
lieves that the greatest triumph o f the
revolution is that Cuba has stood
firm on its principles in defiance o f
the U.S. and other world powers who
have sought to force Cuba to aban­
don its socialist path and its militant
internationalism. Basking in the
warmth o f a multitude who were de­
monstrably appreciative ofthe hero­
ic stance o f Cuba over the years,
Fidel showed no sign o f retreat or
compromise on basic principle. He
proudly recounted how this small
nation had sent thousands o f volun­
teer doctors, teachers, engineers and
technicians to Nicaragua and other
nations in the third world, and how
earthquake relief supplies had been
sent to Peru, Iran and other nations
suffering natural disasters. Last but
not least, Fidel took great pride in the
fact that Cuba played a decisive role
in aiding Angola to defeat the racist
apartheid regime o f South Africa.
Certainly the Cuban revolution
is not without its flaws and imperfec­
tions, but Fidel Castro and Cuba have
stood firm on the principles o f so­
cialism and internationalism. A f r i­
cans in A m erica must stand firm ­
ly against the im m oral U .S. em­
bargo against Cuba. We must
support the right o f the Cuban
people to chart and work out their
own revo lutio n ary path to d e v e l­
opment free o f interference by
outside forces. Long live F id e l
Castro. Long liv e the Cuban re v ­
olution!
THIS WAY FOR BLACK EMPOWERMENT
by
D r . L enora F ulani
'jjf *
7 / J
We in Black America is
a life of c o n s ta n t
degradation.
Erom Death Row to the court­
houses to the streets o f our inner
cities, Black people are singled out
for abuse. It is also true that there is
a special kind o f abuse that is re­
served for African American leaders
who are radicals and independents -
who have not cast their lot particular­
ly with the political establishment,
including the Black establishment.
There is no question that the abuses
heaped upon radicals like the Pan­
thers and Malcolm X, upon indepen­
dents like Minister Louis Farrrakhan
are not just because they are Black,
but because they were or are outsid­
ers. And, in my mind, there is also no
question that the Governmental at­
tempts now underway to destroy me
and the political movement I lead
came about not simply because I am
Black, but because I, too, am a radi­
cal and an independent.
Just over a year ago, the Federal
Election Commission staffhad com­
pleted an extensive audit o f my 1992
presidential campaign. When you
receive matching funds in a presi­
dential campaign such an audit is
standard. In 1992, as you may recall,
I received $2 million in matching
funds. The audit called for a repay­
ment o f S1,3 0 0 ,1 am told the lowest
in F E C history. But days before the
audit was to become official, a Wash­
ington, D.C. weekly notorious for its
racist bias - the City Paper - pub­
lished an article alleging that my
campaign, and the New Alliance
Party which I chair and which spon­
sored my two campaigns for the pres­
idency, did not exist. According to
the article my entire campaign was
actually a scam designed to defraud
money from the federal government.
The three sources for the article - all
former political colleagues o f mine -
each alleged that my campaign paid
publicists, attorneys, clerical work­
ers and organizers for work they did
not do They alleged that I was, in
effect, the political puppet - the Black
female dupe - o f my campaign man­
age', Dr. Fred Newman, who was
really the guru o f a cult; that the New
Alliance Party was a front group for
the cult;’ that the vendors hired to do
the campaign's work were paper or­
ganizations that did no work, and
that the entire campaign was a fraud­
ulent scheme. The article carrying
these outlandish claims was circulat­
ed to the Commission, which sud­
denly rejected the results o f its own
audit and ordered a new inquiry. The
results o f that second audit were re­
leased in August. That’s when the
FEC determined that my campaign
spent more than SI million on non­
qualified expenses and that I should
repaytheU.S. Treasury $612,557.32.
In other words, the federal govern­
ment picked up, nearly verbatim, the
fraud accusations made by the former
political associates of mine who have
sworn to destroy me.
Who were these detractors? The
first is William Pleasant, an African
American journalist, formerly em­
ployed by the National Alliance
Newspaper (a weekly publication of
my political movement which exten­
sively covered the New Alliance
Party, independent politics and Black
politics).
Pleasant had split from me after
political disagreements emerged be­
tween us. He began publicly attack­
ing our political movement and de­
riding my alleged “ puppet” role in it
when the National Alliance stopped
paying him a weekly salary at the end
o f 1992 because he had done no work
for over nine months. The second
attacker was Kellie Gasink, a 27-
year-old white woman who is cur­
rently a law student and Pleasant’s
self-described fiancee (although
Pleasant is still married to his first
w ife). The third was Elizabeth
Gilchrist, a white attorney who had a
long-term sexual affair with Pleasant
(while he was married) and who was
disbarred by the M isissippi State Bar
r s p e c tiv e s
in 1993 for unprofessional and un­
ethical conduct.
But while a white woman, Kellie
Gasink is the official complainant to
the FEC, the ultimate source o f the
attacks on me is W illiam Pleasant, an
African American, who has never
issued a sworn statement nor been
deposed, though he is mentioned as
the source o f information no less
than 77 times in Gasink’s deposition.
In my opinion, this is because for
Pleasant himself to attack me would
be too risky in Black political circles.
There is no doubt why he set the
attack up as a proxy fight - his white
girlfriend against my white campaign
manager. But make no mistake about
this, whoever Pleasant’s target sup­
posedly is, I am the victim. I am
liable for the repayment. I take full
responsibility for each and every
decision made in the campaign. I
intend to make sure that the complete
account of Pleasant’s role - and those
who have assisted him - is put before
the African American community.
Now the F E C review process
is underway. I have been in touch
with members o f the C o n g res­
sional B lack C aucus, as w ell as
other B lack activists, attorneys,
church and c iv il rights leaders,
many o f whom are subm itting
letters to the F E C urging that the
investigation be depoliticized .
P
as ig P n rof
o r . M< K i s i f i B i k i
he ‘March’ is hardly
over and already there
are many clarion calls
for “Action” in our Northeast
I community: “Political, eco­
nomic, social/cultural, educa-
! tion, health.” The Portland
Oregonian cited that spectrum
I of th em es at a S atu rd ay,
November 25 meeting spons­
ored by the “Million Man March
Local Organizing Committee
I at the Lutheran Inner; City Min­
istries on N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd.
But, first.
let me clear up a
misprint in the
last paragraph of
last week’s Per­
spectives arti­
cle. The very last
lineshouldhave
read, “ The last time I was in Wash­
ington, D C. (1991, twenty years
later), the property had long since
been bought (at bargain prices) and
converted to sophisticated apart­
ments for high-level bureaucrats at
one thousand dollars per room per
month.” [Try $110,000 as year for
3 rooms today].
This was given in reference to
the fact that in 19 7 1. the black com­
munity activists were "talking-that-
talk about a Renaissance o f com­
munity development", but failed to
pool their money and revitalize the
cheap, dilapidated ghetto proper­
ties so near fabled Pennsylvania
Avenue, and not all that far from the
White House. These economic ge­
niuses wailed that if they developed
these properties, only high-salaried
white bureaucrats could afford the
rents high enough to amortize the
investment-” So forget it.”
I think that at this point, it will
have occurred to even a w el l-round-
ed-idiot, that the many millions
raked in on the properties over the
years could, in turn, have financed
acres o f housing in other areas for
low er incom e blacks, whites,
hispanicsorwhoever. Several read­
ers did get the point and ventured as
I did; Will some of the Portland ac­
tivists continue to wail “absentee
landlords-gentrification" as many of
the Washington, D C. activist are
doing yet today. Or will they bring
their check books to the next meeting
and start those' in vestment trust' their
grandfathers did, right there, decades
ago? Can miracles happen?
Speaking o f investments, the
lis
‘-«R
fe ’À
response from the women in thé
community has been good, very
good. Apparently, many have seen
their role with clarity . Several call
ers wished to know if I had seen the
episode on Cable News Business
Channel where a group o f African
American nurses ( 10) had formed a
stock Market InvestmentClub. They
have been very successful the past
few years, and emphasized that the
prime prerequisites are a w illing­
ness to read and research, dedica­
tion and consistency. I did; it takes
that for a Renaissance.
Others asked
co uld I recom
mend a current and
By
proven guide. Il
Professor
certainly can; get
Mckinley
the “ Beardstown!
Burt
Ladies Common-
Sense Investment
Guide: With a portfolio worth more
than $90.000 and an average return I
o f 23 percent, they beat the Wall
Street experts." This group o f 16
women, average age 63 1/2, reveals
its secrets for success in the stock
market, and you will learn how to
devise a personal finance plan (The
plan could be for real estate or what-1
ever works).
“ The Beardstow n L a d ie s 'I
Common Sense Investment Guide,’
#44166, $19.95. Wireless, M inne-I
sota Public Radio. P.O. Box 64422,1
St. Paul. MN 55 164-0422 shipping |
and handling charges are $3.50;
Over the years I have found ihis|
firm to be reliable. Periodical?/ p u >
lishes interesting catalogs that cc v-1
er a wide selection o f items. Credit |
Card, 1-800-669-9999
Also, there are excellent class-1
es (many evening) in personal fi­
nance and investments at the Com-1
munity Colleges and area universi­
ties. But in all cases, keep it in mind I
that a capacity for research, reading
and investigation is required, right |
along with your personal commit­
ment and dedication. The economic I
pressure is growing folks and ‘real’
income is dropping each year. Peo­
ple are going to have to increase!
their “take home" pay by whatever!
means necessary.
As layoffs continue to escalate I
workers must determine how to safe­
ly invest that severance pay which
only seemslikea lotofmoney. Next |
I
week, we will examine the real mes­
sage o f the best sellers. “ The End o f I
Work (Rifkin) and Pensions In Cri-1
sis (Ferguson-Blackwell).”
^ortlanit (©hseruer
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