P age A 2
_________________ F ebruary 14, 199o » T hf P motland O bserver
Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
Reflect Or Represent The Views O f
The ^Jortktnb © bscrucr
id to Dependent Corpo-
rations costs U.S. tax­
payers at least $250 bil­
lion a year-yet has avoided the
scrutiny of the 104th Congress.
The Boston-based Share the
Wealth Project believes this is a
key time to talk about how the
sacred cow of “corporate wel­
fare” has gone completely un­
touched and that the wealthy are
sacrificing absolutely nothing in
Congress' proposals to balance
the budget. Billions upon billions
of taxpayer dollars go towards
increasing the net profits of big
business, while communities
across this land are forced to do
without even the most basic of
necessities.
A s economic insecurity and job
loss has crept up the economic lad­
der, citizens are demanding that state
and federal governments eliminate
handouts to corporations who pro­
pose to give nothing back to commu­
nities in return.
An exam ple o f this was last
Super B o w l Sunday in B o ston ,
Janu ary 28, 1996, where n early
\
//
R ainbo W
C O A L IT IO N
Share The Wealth
1000 p e o p le p a ck e d h is to r ic
Fanu eil H a ll for three hours to
te ll fiv e co n g re ssp e rso n s and
Sen ato rJo h n K e rry (D -M A ) their
concerns about the state o f w o rk­
ing A m e rica. T h is event deemed
a " P u b lic H e arin g on E co n o m ic
In se cu rity ” was a dram atic effort
from the grassroots to show that
1996 w ould not be the year o f
business as usual.
C itiz e n s demanded their elect­
ed o ffic ia ls break with the status
quo sa y in g enough is enough
when it com es to “corporate wel-
fa r e ” and g iv e a w a y s to the
w ealthy. T h e y urged them to sup­
port two pieces o f le gislatio n in­
clu d in g the Corporate R e sp o n si­
b ility A ct (H R 2 5 3 4 ), in tro ­
duced by the C o n g re ssio n a l P ro ­
g re ssive C au cu s, an om nibus b ill
takin g direct aim at over $800
b illio n in federal corporate w el­
fare give aw ays over the next se v­
en years. No more w ill com pa­
nies like M cD o n ald s and S u n kist
be given direct ch ecks from the
A g ricu ltu re Departm ent to ad­
vertise overseas or m illio n a ire
ranchers get su b sid ie s to raise
their cattle on federal land if this
b ill had its way.
Forum participants also advocat­
ed for the Income Equity Act (H R
620) introduced by Representative
Martin Sabo. The Income Equity act
corrects a major wrong by boldly
raising the federal minimum wage to
$6.50 an hour and while also linking
executive and workers’ pay by limit­
ing the tax deductibility o f executive
compensation to 25 times that o f the
lowest paid full-time workers at the
same organization.
These two le g isla tiv e efforts
w ill not by them selves stop the
tide o fco rp o rate greed that flow s
in our land, but they are a bold
start. For more inform ation on
these two b ills or to purchase an
O r g a n iz in g K it ($ 6 in c lu d in g
postage) te llin g how your o rga­
nization can jo in the fight against
W e a lt h -fa r e c o n ta c t : M arc
B ayard at Share the W ealth, 37
T em p le Place, 3rd F lo o r, B o s­
ton, Ma 021 I I, 6 1 7 -4 2 3 -2 1 4 8 ,
F a x 6 1 7 -6 9 5 -1 2 9 5 or E -M a il
s tw l9 @ n fi.c o m .
Along The Color Line
//
Black Liberation: Where Do We Go From Here?
Part One of a Three part Series
D r . M anning M arable
s we enter the 1996 pres-
Identlal election cam-
(
paign, African-Am eri­
cans are confronted with a series
of candidates who can not or will
not address our interests.
M ore than ever before, we need
to evaluate what happened to the
b la c k c o m m u n it y - p o lit ic a lly ,
e co n o m ica lly and s o c ia lly -o v e r
the past few years, and map a
strategy w hich w ill lead to g re at­
er em powerm ent. B la c k lib e ra ­
tion w ill not be ach ieved by some
p le a s a n t-s o u n d in g p h ra se s o f
w hite p o litic ia n s, either D em o­
crats or R e p u b lica n s. B la c k lib ­
eration must instead be based on
a c r itic a l a n a ly sis o f the so cia l
fo rces w hich have d ivid e d our
p eople, and what p o litic a l steps
can b rin g us together.
M any o f our current p o litica l
d ile m m as can be traced back to
the co lla p se o f Jesse Ja c k s o n 's
R a in b o w C o a litio n as a national,
mass p o litica l force after the 1988
p re sid e n tial election. A s extreme
co n se rvatives seized power in the
1994 electio n s, m illio n s o f A f r i­
ca n -A m e rica n s felt that their in ­
terests were unrepresented and
unheard. C o n d itio n s in U S ce n ­
tral citie s, and p a rticu la rly for
b la ck s and L a tin o s, reached a
c r itic a l state. A s co rp o ratio n s
relocated jo b s and cap ital in vest­
ment from urban centers, unem ­
bv
ploym ent becam e w idespread.
S o c ia l se rvice s, health d elive ry
system s, p u b lic h ou sing and pub­
lic transportation all experienced
sharp cu tb acks. T h e quality o f
urban e du catio n se rio u sly de­
cline d. In c re a sin g ly , the c rim i­
nal ju stice system and prisons
became the c h ie f means for w are­
housing unem ployed black and
La tin o young people. B y 1995,
thirty percent o f all b lack males
in theirtw en ties nationw ide were
eitfjpr in prison o tja il,, pn pr.oba;
tion, parole or aw aitin g trial. The
L o s A n ge le s so cia l u p risin g o f
A p r il- M a y 1992, s y m b o liz e d
b lack c o lle c tiv e outrage against
the b ru tality o f the p olice and
racism o f the legal system , with
the festering g rievan ces o f in fe ­
rio r scho o ls, poor h ou sing, se c­
ond cla ss health care, and w id e­
spread unem ploym ent. A s racial
p o la riz a tio n and rea ctio n in ­
creased throughout white p o liti­
cal so ciety, A fric a n -A m e ric a n s
were forced to reevaluate sharp­
ly their strategies for p o litica l
and so cial change. In 1993 the
p osition o f N A A C P national se c­
retary was n arro w ly won by B e n ­
ja m in C h a v is over Jesse Ja c k -
son. C h a v is pursued a com plex
agenda: ad vo ca tin g liberal and
p ro gressive p u b lic p o licie s and
so cial program s; b u ild in g strong
b lack in stitu tio n s and co a litio n s,
e s ta b lis h in g c o o p e ra tiv e d ia ­
logues between a ll representa­
tives o f the b lack com m unity,
in clu d in g L o u is Farrakhan and
the N ation o f Islam ; enco u raging
p ro d u c tiv e co n ta cts w ith the
alien ate d H ip -H o p gen eratio n
urban b la ck gan gs and yo u n g
people inside the crim in a l ju s ­
tice system . C h a v is ’s approach
b rie fly won the rem arkable sup­
port from a broad spectrum o f
b lack a ctivists, from n atio n alists
like M aulana K are n ga and H aki
M adhubuti, ,to b lack so c ia lists
such as A n g e la D a v is, C o rn e l
West and Charlen e M itch e ll.
But w ithin one year, a cam ­
paign to oust C h a v is was o rch e s­
trated in the m edia, supported
q uietly by more m oderate, o ld -
style C iv il R ig h ts leaders and
many "p o st-b la c k ” elected o ffi­
cia ls. The p o litic a l space w hich
remained was q u ic k ly seized by
Farrakhan and the N ation o f Is ­
lam, a d vo catin g a s o c ia lly co n ­
servative agenda m arked ly to the
right o f both Ja ckso n and C h a vis.
A s M artin Luthe r K in g , Jr.,
once asked, “ W here do we go
from here? We must reco gn ize
that there is an alternative to Far-
rakhan ’ s b lack nationalism . It is
the p o litics o f “ dem ocratic trans­
form ation” : ch a lle n g in g the real
structures o f in eq u ality and pow ­
er, restrictin g the power o f co r­
porate cap ital, expan ding so cial
program s to ensure greater op-
portunities for human d eve lo p ­
ment, and b u ild in g m u lticu ltu r­
al, m u lti-cla ss resistance m ove­
ments.
The p o litic s o f “ dem ocratic
transform ation” must be ground­
ed in the real stru ggles for em­
pow erm ent by A fr ic a n -A m e r i­
cans around d ay-to -day issues.
A p o litic a l culture o f re sis­
tance must be constructed around
p ractical concerns: health care,
the environm ent, rep ro du ctive
rights, housing, and education.
A s the practice o f co alitio n b u ild ­
ing o ccu rs in com m unities, d if ­
ferent groups o f people may learn
to overcom e their stereotypes and
fears o f each other.
Part o f this process must ce r­
ta in ly o ccu r w ithin electoral p o l­
itics, both through the support o f
p ro gressive Dem ocrats who are
com m itted to this agenda, and
more d e c isiv e ly , by the d eve lo p ­
ment o f independent p o litics rep­
resented by the New Party, L a ­
bor Party A d vo cates, the Green
parties, the Cam p aign for a New
Tom orrow led by a ctivist Ron
D an iels, and other organizations.
But the next d e cisiv e strug­
gles w ill be waged at the com m u­
nity le ve l, in thousands o f neigh ­
b o rh o o d s, th ro ugh e ffo rts to
transform the co n scio u sn ess and
p o litic a l practices o f those who
are most oppressed by the sy s­
tem.
Civil Rights Journal
A Call To Stand For Children
i» >
i B
i*r ernice
i5 n
b
P ow ell J ackson
his has been a tough year
for our nation's poorchil-
'dren. Their welfare has
been teetering like a seesaw on
the edge of Congressional rheto­
ric and political expediency. Mil­
lions have almost lost their health
care, their school lunches and
food stamps and the much-need­
ed dollars which their unemployed
or under-employed parents have
received.
A fte r several m onths o f p o lit­
ical gam es and stalled budget ne­
go tiatio n s, no one is quite sure
yet what the G o vern o rs' proposed
so lutio ns to the w elfare and M ed­
ic a id stalem ates w ill a c tu a lly
mean for the poorest o f the poor
or whether those p ro p o sals w ill
a ctu a lly be accepted by the C o n ­
gress and the President. W h ile
President C lin to n had seemed to
hold the line again st the harshest
w elfare and M e d ica id “ reform s,"
both the President and C o n g re ss
are under in cre a sin g pressure to
so lve the budget problem s and
get on w ith life as usual in W ash ­
ington.
M eanw hile, those who are co n ­
cerned about ch ild re n - about
poor ch ild re n and n ot-so -p o o r
ch ild re n — are ta kin g our c h il­
d ren ’s future into theirow n hands
and c a llin g for a N atio n al D ay o f
Co m m itm en t to C h ild re n . T h is
day, to be held on June 1st, w ill
be a day o f fa m ily and co m m un i­
ty renew al, celebration and co m ­
m itm ent to our n a tio n ’s ch ild ren
- a ll o f them. C a lle d Stand for
C h ild re n . It w ill be held in W ash­
ington, D C . at the L in c o ln M e­
m o rial, the site o f the h istoric
1963 m arch on W ashington
“This w ill not be a partisan or
political day, “said Marian Wright
Edelman, President oftheChildren’s
Defense Fund, in announcing the day.
Rather, it w ill be “a sense o f fairness,
a loving desire to raise moral, healthy,
and educated children; a belief that
in the richest and most powerful na­
tion on earth no child should be left
behind," she added.
T h is m assive day o f com m it­
ment for ch ild ren and with c h il­
dren is also designed to send a
m essage to C o n g re ss and the
President that the fundamental
m oral p rin cip le o f doing no harm
to child ren is a line w hich must
not be crossed. It is designed as a
day to hold ourselves and our
CSJditor
Send your letters to the Editor to:
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
Lawyers While visiting your city I
came across your newspaper. I just
wanted to commend you on an excel-
er s p e c tiv e s
Floods:
Black History Records Ancient
Triumphs - Accommodations
he devastating ram­
etal. The University o f Chicago
page of the Willamette
Press, 1976.
and Columbia rivers and
“On several flood plains o f the
their life-threatening tributaries
Old World, the development o f ir­
serves to remind us that man
rigation farming and urbanism ap­
has long sought to occupy the
pear to have gone hand in hand to
lush flood plains of the earth-
produce a number o f hydraulic
but with varying degrees of suc­
c iv iliz a t io n s .” (D a m s can als,
cess.
levees, other
Ju st a few
channeled w a­
years ago, this
ters, sophisticat­
fly
fact was most
ed bureaucracy).
Professor
fo r c ib ly
im ­
We learn from
M ck ln le y
pressed upon us
such authors as
Burt
by extensive me­
T o m p k in s ,
dia accounts o f
B re a ste d
the destructive rampaging o f the
Erman, etal—and from university
mighty M ississippi River. A full
research o f the last two decades-
century ofdam-building, levee con­
the contrary to earlier prejudiced
struction and other hydraulic enter­
scholars these structures were not
prises by the famed "U .S. Corp, o f
constructed by vast numbers o f
Engineers" was to no avail against
slaves. Recent excavations have
natures fury. Man's arrogance reaped
revealed that adjacent to all large
a bounty measurable in the loss of
public works (including the pyra­
scores o f human lives and scores o f
mids) were housing developments
billionsofdollars in farm lands, crops
for paid workers, foremen and su­
and other flood plain property.
pervisors. Records show that each
Yet again in modern, times, we
year the astronomers forecast the
may recount the experience o f the
date for the rising ofthe N i le, where
Bureau o f Reclamation (U .S. Dept.
upon the quite sensible people
o f the Interior) when its massive
moved to higherground where they
Teton Dam in southeastern Idaho
worked on other building projects
failed on June 5, 1976. A s a mem­
until the waters subsided (includ­
ber o f the City o f Portland, Water
ing livestock).
Quality Committee.in 1994 I was
Many left their graffiti, as well
able to obtain from the Water De­
as etchings in stone; grumbling
partment Library a copy o f the mas­
about the pay scale, challenges to
sive “ Final Report” on the disaster.
other shifts to meet their produc­
We will soon see how this relates to
tion goals and praises to the gods
ancient African History.
and to the “ Minister o f Public
Constructed in the same manner
W orks.” This was the usual title o f
as the Idaho dam, the oldest archae-
the Kings V izer or Architect. Espe­
1 ological remnant o f a massive rock
cially see accounts o f Egyptian
| and earth filled dam in the world is
Queen Hatshepsut’s C h ie f A rchi­
in Egypt, some 30 miles south o f
tect, Senmut, who is responsible
Cairo. The “Saddel-Karara" FAra-
for the queens magnificent temple,
bic for Dam o f the Pagans) is 4 1/
admired all over the world, yet
2 thousands years old, with a crest
today. And for the “modern urban
length o f 348 feet and rock base o f
design” ofher cities with their broad
348 feet, and height o f 37 feet.
boulevards, city squares, public
Between the walls was 30,000 cu­
buildings, municipal gardens and a
bic yards o f rubble masonry, 78 feet
zoo. N a p o le o n ’s e xp e d itio n
thick. This structure was then du­
brought back to Europe document­
plicated 118 feet away and the in­
ed evidence o f all these and many
tervening space was filled with
other brilliant accomplishments in
60,000 tons of grave I. See first c hap-
science, technology, etc.
ter o f“A H istory o f Dams”, Norman
Readers and students interested
Smith,Citadel Press, l9 71-72 (H is-
in illustrations and photographs o f
tory reveals the African dam held
how the Africans forecast and con­
intact for centuries.
trolled Hooding should see the
A s we shall see, this was not an
modern m aterial a v a ila b le :
extraordinary accomplishment for
“ Stevens Water Resources Hand­
Africans o f the time; not for a cul­
book” ; get latest edition; my 1978
ture that developed technical and
co p y show s how modern
administrative skills that surpass
Nilom eter’ evolved for ancient
those o f some modem’ European
E g y p tia n m odel (L e u p o ld &
countries. We are indebted to Dr.
Stevens Inc., Beaverton Oregon
Karl W Butzerofthe University o f
manufacturer o f water control de­
Chicago a magnificent piece o f re­
vices). See pp. 47848 o f “Secrets
search into the driving force in the
o f The Great Pyram id” , Peter
development o f early Africa in the
Thomkins, Harper & Row, 1978.
Nile Valley; “ Early Hydraulic C iv ­
See “Ancient Egyptian Architec­
ilization in Egypt: A study In C u l­
ture & Construction,” Clarke and
tural Ecology”, Karl W. Butzer,
Engelbach, Dover, 1990.
elected leaders responsible for
putting ch ild ren first.
T h is national day o f com m it­
ment w ill be a day for parents,
grandparents, aunts and uncles,
(USPS 959-680)
advocates and pro viders, educa­
OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION
tors and students to com e to
Established in 1970
W ashington and participate in
Joyce Washington—Publisher
this h istoric day. It is being spon
The
PORTLAND
OBSERVER is located at
sored by a number o f national,
4747
NF.
Martin
Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
state and lo cal groups who are
Portland,
Oregon 97211
hoping that thousands o f their
503-288-0033
*
Fax 503-288-0015
members w ill participate. I f you
care about our ch ild ren , then be
D eadline f o r a ll su b m itted m aterials:
prepared to take a stand for them
Articles:Friday. 5:00 pm Ads: M onday Noon
Be Prepared to come to W ash­
POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes to: Portland Observer,
ington on June Ist.
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tact Stand for C h ild re n , 1832
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The Portland O bserver-O regon’s Oldest African-Am erican Publica­
tion—is a member ofthe National Newspaper Association—Founded in
1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated
lent newspaper. Keep up the great
Jam es M. Finley
Publishers, Inc, New York, N Y , and The West Coast Black Publishers
job.
Vice President
Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver.
Sincerely,
National Bar Association
better 'Uo
Dear Ms. Washington:
I was recently in Portland attend­
ing an affair o f the Oregon Black
J v