P age A2
EDITORIA
L. J a c k so n
'a rg e t 9 6" is the them e
of this year’s N R C /C E F
' annual policy and strate
gy conference to be held a t the
H yatt Regency In Chicago from
Thursday, February 2 9 to Satur
day, M arch 2.
Every day it is becom ing c le a r
er that the gains w orkers, c iv il
r ig h ts a c tiv is t s , w o m e n and
progressives have struggled fo r
and won over the past 60 years
are under attack by the G in g ric h -
led forces in Congress. T h e ir
agenda is to cut back on these
gains. Ours must be to fig h t back.
T h e ir agenda is to shut dow n the
Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
Reflect Or Represent The Views O f
The ^flartlanh ffihseruer
m t R
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B
t V E R t N O .Jt.S.SE
governm ent. O ur goal is to open
up the governm ent and A m e rica
to a ll A m ericans. They shut the
governm ent down to p ro te ct the
interests o f the few. We must
open up the governm ent so that it
w ill p ro tect the interests o f e v
eryone.
The E m a ncipa tion P ro cla m a
tio n o f 1863 was fo llo w e d by
le g is la tiv e acts o f c iv il and p o lit
ical rig h ts. A fric a n A m ericans
were elected to o ffic e , 22 in C on
gress at our height. The T ild e n -
Hayes C om prom ise o f 1877 was
a tu rn in g p o in t and conservative
ju s tic e s were appointed to the
Supreme C o u rt. The Plessy v.
Ferguson decision o f “ separate
but equ al” in 1896 (le g a lly ) end
ed the F irs t R econstruction and
by 1900 there were zero B la cks
in Congress.
In 1963, D r. M a rtin L u th e r
K in g , Jr. led the “ M a rch On
i NATIONAL
Thursday: Plenary w ith M arian
W rig h t Edlem an, C h ild re n ’ s D e
fense Fund; Jonathan K o z o l, au
th o r o f A m a zin g Grace and other
im p o rta n t education books; U.S.
Secretary o f E ducation, R ichard
R ile y ; C arol W illia m s , A d m in is
tra tio n on C h ild re n and F am ilies
(D H H S ); and K e ith G eiger, Pres
ident o f the N E A .
Sports agents and athletes w ill
C O A L IT IO N
Target ‘96
Reclaiming Democracy & Justice
W a sh in g to n ” and c iv il, v o tin g
and open housing acts fo llo w e d ,
in a d d itio n to a “ w ar on p o v e rty ”
and the quest fo r a G reat S ociety.
Blacks were elected to Congress
(a record 40 in 1992). W hites
reacted p o litic a lly and a series o f
presidents appointed co nserva
tives to the Supreme C ou rt.
Rep. C leo F ie ld ’ s d is tric t ( L A -
4) was 65% B la ck. It is now 27%
B lack. D avid Duke, who lives in
the 4th and won 55 percent o f the
W hite vote in a L ou isia na G o v
e rn o r’ s race, now has the inside
track on becom ing the new co n
gressman from Rep. F ields c u r
rent seat. The seats o f C ynthia
M c K in n e y ( G A - 1 I ) and Sanford
B ishop (G A -2 ) are threatened in
the same manner. E very m ajor
c iv il rig h ts gain is now under
attack. 1996 increa sing ly is lo o k
ing a m a zin g ly lik e 1896!
The p riva te sector, ta k in g its
lead from conse rva tive R e p u b li
cans and Dem ocrats in the p u b lic
s e c to r, are re tre a tin g b e h in d
closed boardroom doors. This
week R ainbow forces in C hicago
met w ith U ntied A irlin e o ffic ia ls .
U A has 12 board m em bers—a ll
W hite males. In v irtu a lly every
m ajor c ity there are tw o new fa-
c ilit ie s - a new fo o tb a ll or base
ball park and/or b asketball sta d i
um; and a new ja il.
We must come together in C h i
cago and plan to do som ething
about this.
The Rainbow w ill target several
private corporations fo r economic
resistance; and target 40-to-60 CDs
to deny Republicans control o f the
House and Senate. In Chicago a com
bination ofclergy, labor, youth, wom
en, c iv il rights and others w ill put
forth a plan that involves: (1) coali
tion; (2) voter registration; and (3)
direct action. We must pull out our
marching shoes and picket signs
again.
meet to expand the s e c u rity and
w e ll-b e in g o f our athletes and
conclude w ith a Sports Banquet
& A w ards Cerem ony.
Friday: Labor breakfast, John
Sweeney, new President o f the A FL-
CIO has been invited to be the key
note speaker, to be followed by a
plenary session on “ The State o f
A m e ric a n w o rk e rs ” - R icha rd
I rumka, A F L-C IO Secretary-Trea
surer has been invited to head this
session; a W om en’ s Luncheon
“ Women United: Honoring Excel
lence,” Dr Maya Angelou has been
invited to be the keynote speaker; to
be followed by a Women’ s Forum
and a Youth forum; concluding with
aG A LA Dinner/Entertainment, hon
oring my 35 years o f human rights
work.
Saturday: headed by Congress
men Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. and Cleo
Fields, mayors, other politicians,
political leaders and activists w ill
conduct a national political plenary
session; followed by a live national
television broadcast (B E T TEEN
S U M M IT ) on voter registration, vot
ing and organizing for change; and
the conference w ill conclude with
my keynote address.
Civil Rights Journal
A Farewell To Jean
By B ernice P owei . i . J ackson
omeone said It b etter
than I. Our values are
m is p la c e d . You h e a r
about the deaths of old sports
and entertainm ent figures who
have abused their bodies, but
those people who have devoted
th e ir lives to ju stice so th a t the
lives of others might be better
g e t no lines In the newspapers or
tim e on the television.
The world was a better place be
cause Dr. Jean Sindab was in it and
some 800 people came to Riverside
Church in New York in the middle o f
a snowstorm to testify to her life o f
commitment to poor people, to op
pressed people, to young people.
Young people came, native Am eri
cans came, environmental justice
advocates came, Southern Africans
came and many o f their friends and
colleagues came to pay tribute to this
gentle woman with an uncompro
mising spirit.
Dr. Jean Sindab was an Africanist,
whose love for Mother A frica was
central to her own identity. Through
her work at the W orld Council o f
Churches, she was able to work for
the lib e ra tio n o f b la c k people
throughout Southern A frica and for
the eradication o f racism the world
over.
Through her more recent work at
the National Council o f Churches,
Dr. Sindab became a leading voice in
the environmental justice movement.
She helped black churches to under
stand the impact o f environmental
racism on the livesoftheircom m uni-
ties and she clearly understood the
link between I iving in degraded phys
ical environments, mass alienation
and destructive violence.
Jean Sindab was also a vocal sup
porter o f our youth and one deeply
concerned about the violence which
threatens to e ngulf them. She put
together a program called “ Things
that make for Peace” and was an
active participant in the Kansas C ity
gang summit.
Jean Sindab died at 5 1 o f breast
cancer. Another w arrior for justice
felled during what should have been
the prime o f her life. Another front-
line casualty in the war against racial,
social and economic injustice.
We seldom talk about the price"
one pays for being on the frontlines
in the battles. We seldom talk about
the early deaths, the nervous break
downs, the health problems o f facing
into the winds o f injustice and power.
But they are clearly there and we as
a community need to acknowledge
them. And then we need to do some
thing about them.
W e need to take better care o f our
leaders. We need to embrace them,
to support them, to demand that they
take care o f themselves physically,
mentally and spiritually. We need to
encourage our leaders to stop smok
ing and to find time for exercise in the
madness o f the world. We need to
make sure that our men on the
frontlines watch their blood pressure
and their diets and have prostate can
cer tests. We need to make sure that
our women on the frontlines have
mammograms.
It seems that I ’ ve lost a lot o f folks
I respect and love to cancer. Indeed,
African Americans have the highest
overall age-adjusted cancer incidence
and mortal ity rate o f any group in the
U.S. Black women are more likely
than white women to die from breast
cancer and black men are more likely
to die from prostate cancer, for in
stance.
Cancer, I am told, is a relationship
between a host and an invader. There
are a number o f factors which impact
how your body reacts to that invader
and clearly heredity, environment,
social and nutritional factors all have
a part to play in cancer. So do racism
and stress.
Being a drum major for justice is
full o f stress. It means being sensitive
to the plight o f those who are op
pressed. It means speaking d ifficu lt
words to power. It means putting
your life on the line, sometimes in
not-so-obvious ways.
Tell someone you respect, some
one who is on the frontlines for ju s
tice that you care. Make sure they
take care o f themselves. We can not
a ffo rd to lose many more Jean
Sindabs. We can’t afford to lose many
more drum majors for justice.
Are Black Consumers Chumps?
- hen W hitney Huston and
Denzel Washington were
startin g th e ir film career
movie studios targ eted the Black
consumers.
These studios would purchase ad
space in Black-owned community
newspapers such as The Portland
Observer and the Seattle Facts.
H o w e ve r, w hen these B la ck
stars crossed o ve r and became
m ainstream stars the m ovie stu
d ios stopped p la c in g ads in the
B la ck c o m m u n ity press.
No matter how aggressively the
movie studios market “ W aiting to
Exhale" the issues, opinions and some
ofthe lifestyles relate disproportion
ately to Black women. I have never
seen a film where white females are
resentful o f Black women marrying
white men.
The fact that A ct 111 decided not to
advertise “ W aiting to Exhale” or any
other film in the
Portland Observer is
a slap in the face to
our community who
stand in line to buy
tickets to movies
from “ W a itin g to
Exhale” to “ Father
o f the Bride, pt2” .
Act III is not
alone in expect
ing The Portland
Observer to run
m ovie review s
w hile they and
other promotion
al com panies
refuse to advertise.
The question for the Black con
sumer and those who believe that
community newspapers should re
main in businesses; Are we going to
let these businesses treat us like
chumps?
As we approach the year 2000 and
after the M illio n Man March the an
swer is No!
S ubscribe TO JElje JJJortlanh ©baeruer
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, If you want to do
more 1 tl
than Just survive
v
in this > current culture
of chaotic economic experience
and uncertain futures. So, be
fore you go overboard on the
World Wide Net, or g et lost in
Cyberspace, first, get back to
basics. Some things will never
change; a need for facility with
language - and knowledge of
how to classify Information,
once It Is retrieved.
I have been
amazed (and
concerned) as
I ’ ve become
aware that sev
eral friends and
associates, who
previously were
“ on-top-of-it” as the saying goes,
are now pretty much out o f it --
their orderly minds and disciplined
approaches to the day’s affairs have
collapsed under an avalanche o f
data and information that they can’t
handle. Actually, I don’t believe
they could keep up i f they were
assistedby Manpower, KelleyGirls
and several other Temporary Ser
vices.
I should have appreciated the
problem e a rlie r - when firs t
n o tic in g a d e te rio ra tio n in re la
tionships that had been based
on tim e ly and fr u itfu l exchange
o fin fo rm a tio n w hich made pos
sible a num ber o f p ro fita b le en
terprises.. O r when I w ould en
counter these people in coffee
shops, o ffic e s , stores, lounges,
cars vans or on street corners,
lo o k in g lik e an over-equipped
te c h n ic ia n on the Star Ship
E nterprise — o r an astronaut on
a space-w alk to retrieve a sat
e llite .
Beepers, pagers, w ris t watch
ca lcu lato rs, 99-num ber alpha
n u m e ric m e m o rie s , c e llu la r
phones w ith auto answer and
auto re d ia l, s h irt pocket fits ,
p ro gram m ab le w ris t watches
that p ro v id e in fo rm a tio n on
weather, the stock m arket, lo t
tery num bers and ski reports
(te lls tim e, to o ). L eisure ly, p ro
d uctive lunches that fo rm e rly
produced useful refe rra ls and
valuable contacts develop into
nervous tw itc h in g and a lita n y
o f “ excuse me ... pardon me ...
back in a m om ent ... can we
fin is h th is up next week?”
And then you project that many
w ill rush back to the office or home
and try to down load all this stuff
into some form o f cohesive and
Wl|c
intelligible scheme ofthings,-w hile
answering more beeps and buzzes
and rings, and even retrieving E-
M ail and grocery lists. You may
think I ’ m given to hyperbole and
other exaggeration, w hich, o f
course, I am. But consider, yet
instead o f pausing to reflect that
yesterday’s classification structure
w ill not begin to support all the new
information glut -- even the baby
boomers contemplate a hurried sup
per, and, then, Internet news ser
vices, discussion
groups, o n lin e
mags ‘til dawn.
And
w hat
prompted a! I these
observations and
the learned dis
course? Why, one
o f those usual neighborhood dis
cussion groups, what else? Several
o f us had described “ the most pro
ductive course we’d ever taught”
and “ a student who stood out as a
skilful practitioner o f the subject
matter.” Immediately to my mind
came my PSU Urban Economics
class o f 1976 and the five members
o f the football team who took all
three quarters. “ Information Re
trieval” was presented as the “ Sine
qua non” for all successful endeav
ors in life - ordered and available
on demand! But, basics first.
As I learn yet today when
th e y ’ re in the N orthw est and
stop by to v is it, a ll consider
that class an im portant e x p e ri
ence in t h e ir liv e s . W h e n
Devereux D ixo n (te rro r o f the
1976 PSU b a c k fie ld ) calls fro m
A tla n ta where he is a success
fu l m ortg a g e b ro k e r he an
nounces h im s e lf, “ In fo rm a tio n
R etrieval baby, th a t’ s w here it
is.” R ecently retu rn in g from an
in te rn a tio n a l housing c o n fe r
ence in B ra z il, he emphasized
how in c re d ib ly im portant it was
to be able to transfer volum es
o f raw data to a m eaningful and
coherent structure from w here
it can be re trie ve d on demand
in an in te llig ib le form at.
Today, I ’ m lo o k in g at m y file
p h o to s and new s c lip p in g s
w here a ll fiv e p la y e rs had
form ed a “ Progressive M a in te
nance C o m p a n y ” as a class
p ro je ct fo r grades. We had ap
peared on Channel 8 a fte r they
had com pleted in s ta llin g a base
ment under an e x is tin g house.
A successful m a rk e tin g p ro
gram had been supported by
basic in fo rm a tio n re trie va l from
co nstructio n media.
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