•f. • * X* • " *• ' $.' J * H ö r« SÄfe&Ss; ,i„ l> U > w A •-, P age A2 T he P ortland O bserver ,. A •A ! i I r- r \ — J major step on the lad- der to becoming a Re­ publican powerhouse and eventually speaker of the House was Newt Gingrich’s kicking the ladder out from under then Democratic Speaker Jim W eight of Texas. He accused Speaker Wright of exp lo itin g his o ffice for financial gain over a book deal. The House Ethics Committee announced that it had unanimously, meamngboth Republicans and Dem­ ocrats on the committee, found Speaker Newt Gingrich guilty of eth­ ical violations on three counts. The committee said it would seek an out­ side counsel to investigate the ques­ tionable financing o f a col lege course that Speaker Gingrich taught on tele­ vision. It also said the teaching o f the college course had ties to other ¡lie- R à I bo W C O A L IT IO N Newt’s Chicken’s Coming Home To Roost? gal G O P A C activities. G O P A C is the financial vehicle which Speaker Gingrich has used to rise to power. House M inority Whip David Bonior (D -M I) responded immedi­ ately and said: “ We have always said that Newt G ingrich ’s path to power was paved with a corrupt m ix o f secret contributions, hidden cam­ paign spending and political payoffs to m ultimillion-dollar donors who had a direct interest in federal legis­ Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily Reflect Or Represent The Views O f The JJnrtlanb ORbscruvr lation. The Ethics Committee deci­ sion confirms the fact that the Speak­ er is in deep ethical trouble In this investigation, all roads lead to G O P A C . N o cutside counsel worth his or her salt would take this case without the ability to follow the trail wherever it leads.” While Speaker Gingrich slipped through a loophole in his $4.5 million book deal with Rupert Murdoch, the Ethics Committee was clear in what they thought o f it: “At a minimum, this creates the impression o f exploiting one’s office for personal gain. Such a perception isespecially troubling when it pertains to the office o f the Speaker of the House, a Constitutional office requiring the highest standards o f eth­ ical behavior.” Back to Jim Wright. Could it be that New t’s chickens are coming home to roost? V a n ta g e P o i n t The Million Man March: The Challenges Ahead bv f R ojm D a n ie ls \ t about 5:00 PM Sunday October 15, on the eve of the M illion Man M arch (M MM), Dr. Conrad Worrill and I decided to go by the Capital Mall to look at the site of the MMM, T o our amazement, when we arrived at the Mall, thousands o f brothers were already on the scene engaging in a kind o f spontaneous pre-m arch fe llo w sh ip . The comraderie was reminiscent o f the kind o f feeling o f connectedness that B lack people had at the height o f the ‘6 0 ’s. A s we observed the techni­ cians putting the final touches on the preparations for the M M M and watched the big m icrowaves and pro­ duction trucks o f local, national and international media roll ontothe Mall, we knew that we were on the verge o f making history. When I returned to the M all at 5:45 AM Monday October 16, at least 250,000 brothers were already on the Mall patiently and jubilantly waiting for the days events to com ­ mence. I could see the shadows o f thousands o f more brothers near and far pouring into the Mall to jo in the growing multitude of,he Million Man March. A s the sun began to rise in,he East, the shrill but melodious voice o f Sheik Ahmed Tigani Ben Omar o f Accra Ghana pieced the cold morn­ ing's air with the Adan, the magnif­ icent Muslim call to prayer Rev. Tyrone Crider o f Chicago followed with the reading o f the scripture. dered a spirit and feeling o f exuber­ Rev. C .V . Smith o f St. Louis deliv­ ance and exhilaration for those who ered an inspiring Christian prayer attended the March and the millions laced with liberation theology. Then, o f Black men, women and children Melvin Deal and the African Heri­ who watched the March on televi­ tage Dancers and Drummers o f Wash­ sion. The MMM had an enormous ington D .C . conducted the libation p sych o -cu ltu ral-sp iritu al impact ceremony to invite the ancestors to whose effects may well be felt by join us on this glorious day. Thus Africans in America and the world Muslim, Christian and traditional far into the future. T o ensure that the African religious and spiritual lead­ MMM has an enduring impact, how­ ers stood together in a splendid ecu­ ever, the good feeling o f the moment menical commencement o f the Holy must be translated into good and Day, the M illion Man March, a Day powerful deeds which can perma­ of Atonement, Reconciliation and nently transform the oppressed con­ Responsibility. dition o f the race. Person to person, At 10:00 AM , Dr. Benjamin F. family to family, neighborhood to Chavis, Directorofthe M MM strode neighborhood, the challenge is to to the podium to proudly proclaim to press forward with a transformative the world that one million B lack men agenda o f moral, spiritual, cultural, were now on the Capital Mall. It was economic and political renewal. an awe inspiring spectacle to stand In concrete terms this means that on the steps o f the Capital and see a we must heed the call o f Minist^ solid phalanx o f African men stretch­ Farrakhan and numerous other speak­ ing beyond the Washington Monu­ ers o f the day who laid out a series o f ment, fillin g the adjacent streets and proposals which collectively consid­ surrounding the Capital itself. The ered comprise an impressive action troubled and aspiring masses o f the agenda. It is imperative that Black African community in the U .S. had men honor the pledge to cease the heard the call o f God through M inis­ violence, drug trafficking and fratri­ ter Louis Farrakhan and responded cide in our communities. The verbal, with the miracle o f the M illion Man physical and psychological abuse o f March. B y the time Minister Farra­ Black women and children must also khan mounted the stage to the thun­ stop. And, Black men and women derous ovation o f the assembled must act on the urgent need to give multitude at 4:30 PM, it was clear time, energy, talent and resources to that the M illion Man March was the organize our communities. We must largest demonstration in the history jo in an organization o f our choice o f this nation. and become a part o f a spiritual or The M illion Man March engen- religious institution which is espous­ ing the liberation o f African people. T h e N atio n al A fric a n A m e r­ ican L e a d e rsh ip S u m m it must assume resp o n sib ility for advanc­ ing the so cia l, econom ic and po­ litica l agenda w hich was outlined at the M M M : adopting the 25,000 B la c k ch ild ren who are now or­ phans to provide wholesom e fam ­ ilie s for them w ithin our com m u­ nity; the registe rin g o f m illio n s o f B la c k voters to create and in ­ dependent third force in A m e ri­ can p o litic s; the developm ent o f a Black Agenda which reflects the interests and aspirations o f Black people; the creation o f an African Am erican Development Fund to mobilize m illions o f dollars for busi­ ness and economic development; uti­ lizing economic sanctions (boycotts) to compel corporations to reinvest in the B lack community; and, pressing the demand for reparations. Beyond the jubilation o f the moment, the real lasting legacy o f the M illion Man March rests on our w ill­ ingness and capacity to change our attitudes about ourselves, change our behavior towards each other and take responsibility for the rescue and res­ toration o f the race; to confront our­ selves as well as the U.S. govern­ ment and corporate America; to be absolutely determined, in the name and memory o f our ancestors, to en­ ter the 2 1 st century a people, nation and race decisively on the rise again. Long live the spirit o f the M illion Man March. God is great! p e r s p e c tiv e s A Renaissance For Northeast V: Is It Possible Without Jobs? Q IT ndoubtedly, some reaclers w D r . L enora Ft i can create jo b s; so cial engineers and p o liticia n s must learn to w ork with them, for there ca n ­ not be a fundamental difference. R ifk in puts it this way. “ We are ente rin g a new phase in h isto ry—one ch a ra c­ terized by the steady and in e v ­ itable decline o f jo b s. W o rld ­ w ide unem ploym ent is now at the highest level since the great depression o f | the 1930s. The number o f un­ 0y d e re m p lo y e d Professor or w ith o u t Mckinley w ork is risin g Burt sharp ly as m il­ lio n s o f new entrants into the w o rkforce find them selves victim s o f an e x ­ tr a o rd in a ry h ig h -t e c h n o lo g y re v o lu tio n .” “ So ph isticated com puters, ro b o tics, te le co m m u n icatio n s and other cutting-edge te ch n o l­ o gie s are fast re p la cin g human beings in v irtu a lly every sector and industry—from m anufactur­ ing, retail and fin a n cia l s e r v ic ­ es to transportation, agriculture, and governm ent.” The last cat­ ego ry o f course is that " P u b lic S e cto r” where, as we and the other media have detailed, lies the greatest v u ln e ra b ility o f the m in o rity wage earner. So w hat’s it g o in g to be? A re we g o in g to demand le ad ­ ership ofthe rare type furnished by people like the famed R ev. Leo n S u lliv a n who developed the “ O p po rtu nities In d u stria l­ iza tio n C e n te rs” w hich created tens o f thousands o f jo b s, and like the pioneer A fric a n A m e r­ icans who developed so much h ou sing and co m m ercial enter- j p rise right here in Portland O r ­ egon? N e x t we w ill ta lk about b usiness and jo b developm ent, as we often have done here be­ fore. But R ifk in says the tim es are urgent: “ M any jo b s are n ev­ er co m in g back. B lu e C o lla r w orkers, secretaries, reception­ is ts, c le r ic a l w o rk e rs, sa le s c le rk s, bank te lle rs, telephone operators, lib ra ria n s, w h o le sa l­ ers and m iddle m anagers are ju st a few of the many o ccu p a­ tio ns destined to sh rin k and sh rin k and sh rin k ” (U S P S 959-680) am big w ild card. Everyone wants them. pects for pull ing the Black vote to the that were funding massive programs fuch is being written Bu, what do they wan,? How does G O P are scant, even with a Powell that did little to develop the nation. l^these days about the that new independent bloc most in­ endorsement o f the eventual Repub­ Among African-Americans, Latinos, new constituency in fluence American politics? How do lican nominee. But Powell is quite gays, and other traditionally pro-big American politics-the white the white independents, the moder­ correct in identifying that it would be government constituencies, and ap independent. ate middle, the radical center, go in the interests o f B lack people and proach which replaces the 30-year Some call this constituency the beyond being merely the swing vote o f the country for us to have more pattern ofblatantly politicized spend­ "moderate m id dle." Others call it the between the corrupt and discredited options. ing (the Democratic Party used the “radical center.” S till others identify Republican and Democratic Parties B lack sentiment in favor o f a War on Poverty to install a highly a split in which wealthier whites are to having the numbers to become a third party has been visible for over controlled patronage infrastructure, the moderate middle and more blue bona fide m ajoritarian force for a decade. After Jesse Jackson's first not to end poverty) with direct citi­ collar whites are the radical center. grassroots democracy, for taking run for the presidency in 1984, a poll zens' democracy has considerable But, whichever it is, the white inde­ control o f a government that is sup­ conducted by the Institute for Social appeal. pendent voter-now numbered at 25% posed to belong to the American Research at the University o f Mich­ You may have seen the C -S P A N and 35% o f the electorate—is the people, but doesn’t? How can white igan showed that 57% o f Blacks who broadcast ofthe independent Patriot most sough, after voter in America. independent voters create a coalition had voted for Rev. Jackson would Party convention in Minneapolis last The Republicans tried to coopt them to empower themselves? B y hooking have voted for him ifhe had run as an spring, at which I told the B lack in 1994 with a pro-term limits, pro­ up with us. independent. Ten years later, those delegates gathered that I would not political and fiscal reform program, Whateveryou may have thought statistics matured into the 1994 polls return to the African-Am erican com­ much o f which has been abandoned about General Colin Powell and his which showed that 57% O f African- munity with the traditional promises by the Contract with Am erica in fa­ now-defunct presidential candidacy, Americans favored the creation of a ofgovemment-funded jobs and teen- vor o f traditional G O P budget cuts. he made a most perceptive observa­ third party. pregnancy programs, but with a plan The Democrats though, their control tion when he said o f B lack Am eri­ Add to those statistics Minister to restructure the political process to o f Congress was so strong, that they ca’s relationship to the Democrats, Louis Farrakhan’s enthusiastic call empower them and all Americans. In never bothered to figure out how to "I think i, is in the interest o f the to the M illion Man March and all return, I said, I needed a clear state­ appeal ,o the independent, and so the country , and in the interest o f A fri­ B lack Americans to create an inde­ ment from the white delegates that Republicans pulled the rug right out can-Am ericans, to have that hold pendent “third force,” and we have a the Black community would not only from under them. That is why a na­ sh a k e n lo o se, so ihai African-Am er­ situation where B lack voters are ready be welcome, but would be sought tional panic has now seized the Dem­ icans have a greater choice and can to establish ourselves in a new polit­ after by the Party. Both Blacks and ocratic Party, and 11 Democratic pick from more than one option to ical alliance. whites were enormously supportive members o f the House and 8 Demo­ satisfy their political needs, and to But can Black voters and white o f what I had to say. cratic members o f the Senate have make sure their needs are taken care independents become real partners? The bottom line is this. The in­ announced their retirement this year, of." General Powell was undoubted­ Many o f those radical centrists who dependent white center needs Blacks more than twice as many retirements ly thinking that the Republican Party supported Ross Pero, in 1992 did so in order to go somewhere. Blacks as the Republicans. wou Id be that option O f course, with­ as a way to attack the relentless growth need the independent white center in Independent white voters are the out him as the candidate, the pros­ o f big government and big deficits order to have somewhere to go. 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