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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 1996)
. J _____J 1-- ■ Z* O . /'j w d Ml 7 I <r «■ / «gì f / Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily Reflect Or Represent The Views O f The JJortlanh fflbscruer / Ì— m R n urN p J esse L. J ackson ’“’"‘t l know it’s unseemly to say it-but I told you so! v ' Patrick Buchanan, bag gage and all, is aloft, lifted to victory In New Hampshire by a potent message of economic nationalism, political populism and social reaction. The first Re publican primary has been won by the candidate that rails against “the betrayal of working Ameri cans who lost their jobs in trade deals made for multinational cor porations that care nothing about America or its people." For many Republican voters in N H —even in the midst o f a recovery that has reduced official unemploy ment figures to 3 % —Buchanan’s message made sense. He alone stood with working people against eco nomic violence—the merging o f cor porations and purging o f workers. He alone spoke against the radical economic polarization that angers and frightens people, an economy in which wealth and profits go upward, jobs outward, the middle class down ward and the working poor back ward Both companies and government brag about downsizing. Now the peo ple who are outsized are fighting back. Buchanan has captured their attention. They see him as a man o f convictions, stating what he believes, standing against the packaged politi cians with their fingers in the wind. The insider favorite, Bob Dole, reflected the establishment's shock. “ We didn't plan it this way," he said the day before the primary . “ I didn't realize that jobs and trade and what R ainbo W C O A L IT IO N Don’t Miss The Message makes America work would become a big issue in the last few days o f the campaign” (“ Where has he been?" asked Buchanan] Although D ole’s remark w ill be ridiculed, it perfectly describes the widespread establish ment consensus that things are about as good as they can be A little tink ering might be done around the edg es, deficits brought under control; but, the conventional wisdom holds, nothing need or can be done—even if people are hurting, insecurity spread ing, and wages falling People should just lower their expectations and ac cept their lot. Don’t underestimate the power o f Buchanan’s message. This was not an upset, a last minute. Hail Mary, touchdown pass. Buchanan beat Dole and Alexander straight up. He may have the wrong answers but he is asking the right questions-and peo ple have been demanding that these concerns be addressed for a long time. I raised these issues in 1988. Voters turned George Bush out o f the White House when he didn’t get it in 1992. When Democrats failed to act, they booted them from Congress in 1994. And people are still looking for a champion against the callous companies that treat them as dispos able goods, a corrupt government that sells them out, and a complacent establishment which does not have a clue. D on’t underestimate the anger at the economic violence people are suffering. Take one example. These days C E O salaries soar even as their com panies sour. A T & T has an nounced the firing o f48,500 workers in the last two years-largely due to bungled mergers and bad manage ment strategy. Yet Robert Allen, A T & T ’s Chairman, who helped lead the company into the mess, sees no reason to sacrifice any pay or perks as part o f a shared sacrifice. Indeed, he reaped a multi-million dollar bo nus when the company stock price rose after the firings were announced People are not going to go quietly into this foul night! Buchanan warned his followers that the full force o f the establish ment is about to descend on him He knows better than most the flailing he is about to receive from the media. They w ill assault him for protection ism, but that is just a label. C allin g for fair trade is not protectionist, it is just fair. Yo u can support free and fair trade, but oppose the unchecked corporate order enforced by this N A F T A and this G A T T . Buchanan’s real problem is that his answers are wrong and danger ous. He chooses a scapegoat politics of fear that leads nowhere Mexicans are fleeing for survival, not coming to take our jobs. Women and African Americans seek affirmative action to unlock closed doors, to level the field, not to gain an edge. Gay bashing is wrong and dangerous. Anti-semitism has no place in our politics. Ending all immigration or repealing civil rights laws offers no way out for the pain people feel. Instead, it simply divides them and feed their fears, leading to hate crimes, church bomb ings and gay stalking. The White House is said to be overjoyed a, the Republican disar ray. Whoever survives this alley fight will enter the general election badly wounded. But the White House would be well advised to stop listening to pundits and start listening to voters. The feel good, kinder, gentler mes sage that the White House is ped dling seems as out o f touch as George Bush was four years ago. And while Buchanan may go down, Ross Perot waits in the w ings-w ith a similar economic message and without the hate. I f the White House doesn’t aet the message soon, working people w ill keep looking elsewhere for help. Civil Rights Journal What Is Wrong With America? m B ernice P oweli J ackson t ’s been some month, this African American History Month of 1996. I’m not sure what has horrified me more. The report of the burn ing of 2 3 African American churches In Tennessee, Louisi ana. Mississippi and Alabama or the statement by the Justice Department official that we can’t assume that these are crimes of racial hatred. The dieoloeuro that Pat Buchanan's aide has ties to the militia movement and white supremacist groups or the fact that Buchanan hasn't been forced to fire him and his support of this “fired” has gone almost unques tioned. Indeed, after his win in New Hampshire, one must won der whether Buchanan hasn’t been rewarded for his extrem ism. What is wrong w ith a nation which bums black churches? Ho, one fire has been attributed to a disturbed 10 year-old, but that still leaves 22 fires which have burned black churches to the ground Twenty-two fires where the building has been destroyed, but the spirit ofthe people survives, along with their determination to re-build. The stories o f the burning o f these houses o f God recalls for many o f us the bombing o f the 16th Street Bap tist Church in Birmingham. A L in 1963. That wretched deed resulted in the deaths ofthe four I ittle girls whose deaths rocked the nation and made us face the evil that was among us. And while no one has died in these firs, these fires are clearly meant to terror ize African American people. For if their churches are not safe, what is? Four o f the fires have occurred in one town, Boligee. A L ., two on De cember 22 and two on January 11 . In Kno xville, TN , Inner C ity Com mu nity Church, w here Green Bay Pack er Reggie White is Associate Pastor, was burned on January 8. Indeed, it may only be because o f White's sports fame that U S A Today began its in vestigation and there began to be a recognition that something bigger than isolated church fires was going on. What is wrong with a country which burns houses o f God? And why hasn’t there been an outcry by churches across this nation? An out cry by government and political lead ers? An outcry by people o f good w ill and all faiths? Then there is the case o f Larry Pratt, the co-chair o f Buchanan’s campaign who is now on a leave o f absence. W hich means Larry Pratt can come back any time he wants. It amazes me sometime how short our collective memory really is. It was less than a year ago that the Oklahoma C ity bombing occurred. It was less than a year ago that little children and federal workers were killed, injured and shaken. We de cried the m ilitia movement then and reports o f the connections between the m ilitia movement and white su premacist groups came to light. Y et, we as a nation seem wi 11 ing to accept Buchanan’s acceptance o f a leave o f absence for Larry Pratt and his continued "support” for his friend. Even if Larry Pratt w as only tangen tially involved (and the evidence seems to be otherwise) in rallies by these hate groups, do we really be lieve that he didn’t know what they were advocating as he stood on the platform with them? Do we really want a supporter o f militias and the Aryan Brotherhood as a kitchen cab inet advisor to a Presidential hopeful or a Presidential nominee or a Pres ident? Many o f us who are African Amer icans in this land ofthe free and home o f the brave are forced once again to wonder when w ill it all end? When w ill the hatred end? When w ill we truly be at home in this our native land? How long, O Lord, how long? (Contributions to aid the churches destroyed by fire can be sent to Greene County Emergency Church Fund, Rt 2, Box 94. Utah, A L 35462 or Mr Nelson B Rivers HI, Southeast Re gional Office N A A C P , 970 Martin Luther K in g Jr. Drive SW , Suite 203, Atlanta, G A 30314.) V a n ta g e P o in t © richer even as the poor get poorer and poorer in Am erikkka. Africans in the Untied States have a B lack consumer dollar power in excess o f $420 billion and growing. We are major consumers o f every thing, but major producers o f very little. Hence, B lack Am erica with its hefty consumer dollar is the object o f Madison Ave. market analysts who calculate and scheme on how to im prove the bottom line, the profit mar gin for giant retail establishments nationwide. We are the objects o f scorn and ridicule, the pawns and scapegoats in a racist game o f divide and exploit orchestrated by govern ment policy makers for the benefit o f the rich and super-rich, the conglom erates and trans-nationals that rape us all - Black, Brown, Red. Yellow and White We are despised and dis respected. the victims o f government cut backs in social programs, the d o w n s iz in g o f governm ent, privatization, and criminalization o f a race - the prison/jaiI industrial com plex. There is no cut back, however, in the deluge o f advertising that will flood the airways, no downsizing of the massive effort to entice the de spised and disrespected to improve the bottom line, the profit margin o f the victim izer class during the X - M A S season. Tim e and time again, as teacher, leader, activist and organizer. I have called upon mv people. Black peo ple, Africans in Am erikkka to put a halt to this madness. Last year I chal lenged us to fantasize about what it would mean if Black America boy cotted "White Christmas “ The Black consumer dollar must be used as a weanon in the Black Freedom Strug P e r s p e c t 1 r e s Sugar Is Sweet (But Things Could Be Sweeter!) reached that conclu- sion a long time ago, but clearly the issue has been brought to the forefront In recent decades by my intensive research into the mind-boggling realm of black inventors and scientists. Always I have been especially entranced (that's the word for it) by the genius o f two ebony innovators in particular, un- “ connected in time but united in a creative exuberance that carried the I science o f“thermodynamics” to new 31 C heights. That term shouldn’t cause any fear or anxiety. It is a process that goes on all around us every day, invading every aspect o f our lives. I acquaint you with the definition cited to me by one o f the two African American geniuses we shall discuss here (David Crosthwait, 1891-1976). I immediately ordered the book writ ten by one o f the great European physicists o f the century: “Thermo dynamics”, Enrico Fermi, Dover, 1956 ed. On page I X ofthe introduc tion we are informed with a simplic ity and clarity uncommon to such scientific works; “Thermodynamics is mainly concerned with the trans formations o f heat into mechanical work and the opposite transforma tions o f mechanical work into heat.” Now, at this point we may bring the title o f this article into the discus sion, for it is our second black inven tor, Norbert Rillieux, who raised the science o f thermodynamics to new heights with his revolutionary indus trial processes. “Norman Rillieux ( 1806-1894) revolutionized the sug ar industry by inventing a refining process that reduced the time, cost and safety risk in producing good sugar from cane and beets.” In the June 27, 1990 edition o f “The Portland Observer” I wrote an article, "In a Tradition ofExcellence.” Here I paid tribute to a young African American role model, 14 | year-old T ara Lo u ise Johnson Stroud who had graduated from Beaumont Middle School with a 3.86 G .P.A . This young, budding scientist, just the previous Febru ary, had won the essay contest on American Histoty, sponsored by the Daughters o f the American Revo lution (D A R ). tLhc The title ofher presentation was, "A Black American's Invention o f | the 1840’s makes Life Sweet for Us A ll.” Tara went on to detail the seminal importance o f "The Sugar Refiner (Evaporating Pan), patent No. 4879, Dec. 10, 1846. The U.S. Department o f ] A g r ic u lt u r e called his inven sy tion the greatest Professor in the history o f Mcklnley c h e m ic a l Burt engineen ng.giving the U nited States’ sugar industry worldwide supremacy.” Our gi ft ed young lady makes my points so well, let us continue in the words ofher award winning essay. “ Because o f racism, R illieux has never been recognized for his in vention in any chemistry, physics or technical journals. The basic principle o f R illie u x ’s is used throughout the world today in the makingofsugar, gelatin, condensed m ilk, soup and glue, his methods are also used in recovering waste liquids in factories and distilleries” (not to mention the great German dye and other chemical industries as Mr. Crosthwait informed me). But let us continue with the es say: “Norman R illie ux also de signed a plan to get rid o f yellow- fever infested mosquitoes in the sewers o f New Orleans. H is plan involved draining the sewer. C ity authorities refused to approve the plan because it had been put to gether by a blackmail. Yellow fe ver was permitted to continue k ill ing the citizens o f the city until a sim ilar plan was submitted by whites” (see p. 97 o f the January 1995 National Geographic Maga zine for a schematic o f low-lying areas o f New Orleans). I was very pleased that the young lady cited my book, “ Black Inven tors o f America”, as the source o f some ofher information and docu mentation. A s we continue next week. I shall bring into fuller view the other black master o f thermo dynam ic processes, Mr. D avid Crosthwait, whose 90-odd patents cover most o f the inventions in heating, a ir co n d itio n in g and plumbing that make possible the modern sky skyscraper. I spent hours talking with, learning from this genius in 1974 and 1975. (Olisemvr (USPS 959-680) OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established in 1970 Joyce Washington-Publisher The PORTLAND OBSERVER is located at 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97211 503-288-0033 * Fax 503-288-0015 Deadline f o r all subm itted materials: uy Black For The Holidays nee again the X-MAS season is fully upon us. The season used to offi cially begin the day after Thanks giving. Now there's “Christmas in July” and hints of the coming of Jolly old St. Nick In the early Fall as Amerikkka's merchants prime our appetites to fall for the foolishness of sacrificial spend ing far above and beyond the call of necessity or reason. Black people, the sons and daugh ters o f Africa livin g in America, X - slaves, still slaves, slaves who have never been paid reparations for the holocaust o f enslavement, we are also slavishly caught up in this orgy o f capitalist consumerism - the com mercialization o f the birth o f the Christ whose birthday camouflages the real deal - spend that money so the rich, the oppressor class, can get / gle. I appealed to us, Africans in Am erikkka to prepare to enact eco nomic sanctions on these United States in the year 1999, on the eve o f the 21st century, if B lack America has not been paid the reparations we are due for the genocide inflicted on our ancestors during the long travail o f slavery. I know it w ill take time to kick the habit o f making other folks rich o ffo f our precious, hard earned dollars. It w ill take time to denegroize, to break the slave mentality o f a people who have been robbed o f their heritage, stripped oftheirculture and deprived o f their very names; a people who have been conditioned to believe that the “white man’s ice is always cold er.” It w ill take time to shed the slave mentality, but we have to get ready to make the change that w ill liberate our minds, our bodies and our spirits. better 'Uo {Uhe Send your letters to the Editor to: Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208 Articles:Friday: 5:00 pm Ads: M onday Noon POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes to: Portland Observer, P.O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208. Second C lass postage p a id at Portland, Oregon The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and w ill be returned. If accompanied by a self addressed envelope. 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