P age A 2
A prii 17, 1 9 9 6 • T he P oriland O bserver
Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
Reflect Or Represent The Mews O f
The JJortlanh © bseruer
Sunday. 4 /1 4 . Jeste
Jackson and the Natron-
Rainbow Coalition
joined Patricia Ireland and the
National Organization for Wom­
en. at NOW'S 'Fight The Right'
rally.
©Ï
T h is w ill be a m assive march, and
we w ill w alk with N O W as they fight
back against the current right w ing
tide
Jo in us, to send a message to New t
G in g ric h and his conservative c ro ­
nies that we w ill not stand idly by
w hile our freedoms are curtailed
w hile affirm ative action is cut back,
and w hile this nation s social fabric
is ripped to shreds The social justice
gains o f the 1930s and the 1960s
must be protected
When we jo in together, we can
launch a m assive movement that can
take back our Congress, our Senate,
and our state legislatures this S o -
vember. we started Sunday
The G ood. The Bad. The U gly
The G o o d -T h an ks to B E T for
R h w w
C O A L IT IO N
Fight The Right
broadcast in g" A Celebration o f L i f e ",
from the Metropolitan Baptist Church
m D C It was 5 hours o f sorrow, jo y ,
remembrance, and history, in honor
o f Ron Brow n W onderful, m oving
speeches, glo rio us singing, a b ril­
liant eulogy by Reverend Jackso n, to
wrap it all up. and a spirit in the
church that bonded 1.500 o f R o n 's
fam ily and friends together It was a
night we w ill never forget
The Bad-U nfortunately, it was a
night that Bob and Newt forgot! When
Lee Atwater lay dy ing m his hospital
bed. Ron Brown visited him Butwhen
Ron Brow n died in the serv ice o f his
nanon. G O P leaders Senator Dole and
Speaker G in grich were apparently to
busy w ith partisan politics to attend the
funeral M y. my, my Next time they
harp on character, or family values,
remember these serv ices
The U g ly --B o b Grant has done it
again—open mouth, spew ugly ha­
tred Now it's up to D isney to act
Disney Corporation owns W A B C ,
Bob G ra n t's talk show radio station,
but has so far refused to mov e against
G ran t's racism , w hich has been crit­
icized in earlier Ja x F a x colum ns
La st week, on A p ril 3rd, the day
Ron Brow n died. B o b Grant struck
again
R o n Brow n—a veteran, and a pub­
lic servant whose plane went down
w hile on a bipartisan trade m ission-
-was reported m issing on A p ril 3rd
That day. according to F A IR , and a
4 10 Ja ck N ew field N Y Post c o l­
umn, "before Ron B ro w n 's body was
found, and w hile there were reports
o f one su rvivor Grant told a regu­
lar c alle r
My hunch is that he [B row n] is
the one su rvivor I ju st have that
hunch M aybe it's because, at heart.
I ’m a pessim ist.’
The caller laughed and said: ‘ I
know what you're ge ning at ”
T h is ugliness is notM ickey Mouse
stuff It's senous W e call on the
D isney Corporation, W A B C , and
Bo b G rant to apologize to the Brow n
fam ily for this disgraceful comment-
-the latest in a long line
Civil Rights Justice
Lament For My Three Brothers: An Open Letter To Young Black Men
bv
B erm ci P owell J acksoa
7b my
my y o u n g beautiful brothers
that Nov ember day in 1967. B u tC a rl
Stokes' election was hard fought and
it was o nly the pow er o f his charis­
matic sm ile, q u ick wit and intelli­
gence that enabled his victory After
his po litical career, he went on to
become a m unicipal judge , a televi­
sion commentator and finally, a U nit­
ed States A m bassador C a rl Stokes
lived a life o f excellence
H ayw ood B u m s' name is not one
you may know, but his life was ded­
icated to supporting names we all
know
A brilliant lawyer, it was
H ayw ood B u m s who defended D r
Martin Luther K in g , Jr.. A ngela D avis
and the inmates at the A ttica prison
after their uprising. It was Hayw ood
B u m s who taught law students at
Queens C o lle ge and C ity C o lle g e in
New Y o r k and fervently believed
that the crim inal ju stice sy stem o f
this nation must w ork for all A m e ri­
cans. especially those who are op­
pressed H ayw ood B u m s dedicated
iu
he poet T.S. Eliot once
wrote that April is the
cruelest month. When it
comes to African American men,
Eliot was certainly right.
O n A p ril 4, twenty-eight years
after the assassination o f M artin
Luther K in g . Jr.. we lost three black
men o f excellence, three black men
who were pioneers and role m odels
and leaders not just for black A m e r­
ica, but for all A m erica. W ithin 24
hours we lost C a rl Stokes. H ayw ood
B u m s and Ron B ro w n Reverend
Jesse Jackson, at the funeral o f C a rl
Stokes said, “G o d was linin g up his
giants.”
C a rl Stokes w as the first A frica n
Am erican elected m ayor o f a m ajor
A m erican city W e have so many
A frica n Am erican elected o ffic ia ls
now that it is hard for you to know the
feeling o f pride and excitem ent on
his life to excellence
Ron Brow n also was a law yer by
training, his first jo b was w orking for
his people at the N ational Urban
League two decades ago A fierce
opponent o f injustice. Ron Brown
took the W ashington O ffic e o f the
National Urban League to unprece­
dented heights, even during R e p u b li­
can adm inistrations When he went
to the o ffice o f Senator Ted Kennedy,
Ron honed his p o litical acumen and
used all o f his prior experiences in
the 1988 cam paign o f Jesse Jackson
So. many o f us were not surprised
w hen Ron Brow n defied all the odds,
overcam e all the racism and become
chairm an o f the D em ocratic N ation­
al Com m ittee
N o r were we sur­
prised when he pulled o ff the impos­
sible and B ill C lin to n was elected
president N or were we surprised
when he did not take the expected
cabinet offices, but lobbied for and
won the jo b o f Secretary o f Com -
better
i
merce Ron Brow n was an uncom ­
mon man. who. w hile fighting against
this nation's injustices, also believed
we could be better in this nation and
that all people could be lifted up to
reach their highest potential
Be­
cause o f Ron Brow n, doors are open
for you that never were even cracked
before.
C arl Stokes. Hayw ood Bum s and
Ron Brown all came from humble
roots But they were men who did not
internalize their ghetto limitations and
the defined roles that society had placed
on them as black men "They turned
bitter into better.' said Reverend Jack-
son at the Stokes' funeral
Now it's up to you, our young
black brothers to p ick up the mantle,
to strive for excellence, to ignore the
stereotypes and to never forget the
dreams and aspirations o f y our peo­
ple Y o u have big shoes to fill. But
i f you do. then their liv in g w ill not
have been in vain.
rölie (3^tftór
Send your letters to the Editor to:
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
"any voters share Con­
gressm an P e te r De­
Fazios objections to the
undue influence of special Inter-
ests/b ig bucks in politics. (Reg­
ister Guard, 3 /3 1 ) So it’s gratify­
ing to know that Republican
votes, at least, can now choose
a candidate who refuses to play
the big money game.
h e a d lin e d “ W a n te d ! S 2 5 fro m
100.000 O regonians!''-to help him
d e fe a t’ G o rd o n Sm ith and L o n
M abon in the Republican primary
for U S Senate
Je ff is backed by volunteers w ork­
ing f u ll- time in appreciation o f his
view s supporting equal rights for A ll,
separation o f church and state, no gov­
ernmental intrusion in abortion access
and sound fiscal policies JefifLew is is
Je f f Le w is is distributing posters
a welcome choice for many main­
stream Republicansdism ayedoverthe
hurt done our communities and our
party by religious political extremists
intent on forcing their agenda on all.
The differences, if any, between G o r­
don Sm ith and Lo n Mabon are minus­
cule Their messages o f intolerance
and intrusion into the private lives and
choices o f citizens are the same
R eligio n performs a legitimate role
To everyone
at The
Portland
Observer,
Thinks
She’s The
One.
\ « ill » h in k
in so cie ty-b u t it's not meant to be a
controlling role O ur country was
founded as m uch on freedom from
religion as it was on freedom o f re li­
gion. Je ff Le w is supports both.
A p ril 30 is the deadline to register
Republican A vote for Je f f Lew is on
M ay 21 is a great first step to help
stop extremist agendas at the pass
L e t’s do it.
C a r o l B e rg
The news about M s. Jo yce W ash­
ington’s illness stunned me, as I am
sure it did everyone
It is a sm all thing to write and
express m y sorrow, but I hope that
you take com fort in the m any expres­
sions o f people like my s e lf who ad­
mired Joyce W ashington and her
work.
Y o u can be p ro u d o f y o u r a s ­
s o c ia tio n w ith M s. W a sh in g to n
and pro u d o f the w o rk yo u c o m ­
p leted to geth e r.
M av G o d bless you all.
i «
li- • .1. H ' l l » I ' . I
.. I - J l. -I. -1,1. t
Sincerely, Clarice M. White
T
p e r s f.d e c l i v e s
Which Road To Rome Lead To An
Effective Structure For School Funding?
a’ t week I submitted
the idea that the most
vexing and discourag­
ing problem facing our school
district (and others) Is the de­
sign and implementation of a
financial support system that
is “adequate, stable and af­
fordable.”
AC*
It w as o n ly
w ith a to ngue
p a r t ia lly
in
c h e e k th a t I
p o in t e d o u t
there had been
s u c c e s s fu l e n ­
d e a v o rs o f th is nature th ro u g h ­
out the re co rd e d h isto ry o f m an­
k in d : b e g in n in g w ith the te m ­
ple s c h o o ls o f E g y p t in N o rth
A f r ic a , to u c h in g upon the U n i­
v e rsity o f T im b u c to o . ju s t a l it ­
tle to the so uth on the sam e
c o n t in e n t (w h e re E u r o p e a n s
w ent fo r le a rn in g in the M id d le
A g e s ) -- and c o n c lu d e d by c it ­
in g the e d u c a tio n a l le g is la t io n
in tro d u c e d by b la c k c o n g r e s s ­
men d u rin g R e c o n s tru c tio n
it is p e r f e c t ly n a t u r a l, o f
c o u rse , that we are b e sie g e d by
a s e e m in g ly in e x h a u s tib le s u p ­
p ly o f p r o p o s a ls , a w is h fu l c o r ­
n u c o p ia o f s o lu t io n s w ith a
ra n ge o n ly e x c e e d e d b y the
n u m b er o f p ro m ise d d is a s te rs
i f each and e ve ry su ch s o lu tio n
is not ad o p ted fo rth w ith . S in c e
we can n o t v e ry w e ll in v o k e the
sw o rd an d c re sc e n t to im p o se a
ra tio n a l e d u c a tio n a l stru ctu re
upon the p o p u la c e - a s d id the
e b o n y M o o rs in th e ir in v a s io n s
o f E u r o p e —w e m ust ad op t m ore
b e n ig n s o lu tio n s . Q u ite n a tu ­
r a lly , as in any co h e re n t p la n ­
n in g p ro c e ss , it o c c u rs that we
b e gin by e s t a b lis h in g p r io r itie s
— e c o n o m ic o nes as w e ll as
e d u c a tio n a l need s T h is o b v i­
o u s ly w ill be q u ite d if f ic u lt in
the p resen t W ild . W ild W e st'
a tm o sp h e re p r e v a le n t in the
P a c if ic N o rth w e st. M a n y o f us
seem to 'w a n t it a ll: D a ily , the
m ed ia s o u n d in g bo ard re v e r­
berates fro m the c a c o p h o n y o f
b ig sp e n d e rs — w ith few i f any
d o lla r s , they w ant tens o f b i l ­
lio n s.
“ B a s e b a ll team s and s t a d i­
u m s, Ic e H o c k e y team s. N o rth
south lig h t r a il sy ste m s, M a s ­
s iv e new w ate r and se w e r s y s ­
te m s , E x t e n s iv e e s p la n a d e s
a lo n g the east b ank o f the riv e r,
new as w e ll as so p h istic a te d
e x p a n s io n s o f c iv ic and c u lt u r ­
al in s titu tio n s: theater, b a lle t,
art and sc ie n ce cen ters, O rc h e s ­
tra s, m useum s. A n d then, a su b ­
w a y has been p ro p o s e d fo r
do w n to w n .
N o w how do
I yo u suppose the
By
j a d v o c a t e s fo r
P r o fe s s o r
these b ig tic k e t
B u rt
ite m s p ro p o s e
I to pay for them ?
T h e se p o lit i­
c ia n s , these c iv ic le a d e rs, the
m e d ia -a n o in te d -a n d -a p p o in te d
“ m o v e rs and sh a k e rs , the fo cu s
g ro u p s, the th in k -ta n k e r s , the
e d ito ria l p u n d it s , even those
w ho striv e fro m the “ le tte rs-to -
t h e -fe e l th a t “ w e ju s t a i n ’ t
g e ttin ’ the o i l . ” S o w hat do we
do about the situ a tio n ..do we
form o u r o w n fo c u s g ro u p s and
th in k ta n k s, tho se o f us w ho
in d e e d t h in k that s tru c tu re d
fu n d in g is the p r io r ity ; to be
e sta b lish e d b e fo r e ’ e m b a rk in g
upon those d iv is iv e d is c u s s io n s
about w h a t’ is to be tau ght and
w h e n '.
A n u m b e r o f re ad ers h ave
s t r o n g ly su g g e ste d that is the
te a c h e r o r g a n iz a t io n s th e m ­
se lv e s w ho lo n g ago sh o u ld have
ta k in g the le ad in e s t a b lis h in g
the p r io r ity o f sta b le and s t r u c ­
tured fu n d in g in the e d u c a tio n ­
al p ro c e ss. O th e rs, re fle c t in g
on the m atte r, in s is t that th is
w as not the p r o v in c e o f te a ch e r
o r g a n iz a t io n s (e v e n if, p e rh a p s,
it sh o u ld b e ). T h e latter m a in ­
tain that the latte r g ro u p s are
p u rely and s im p ly la b o r u n io n s,
and a ll rh e to ric to the c o n tra ry ,
th e y are s im p ly a b o u t th e ir
m e m b e r's w e lfa re ; it is im p ly
that “ the p u b lic has m ista ke n
th e ir m is s io n .”
N ext w eek, we w i 11 examine par­
ticular rem edies, from the often-
dem onized sales tax to a “ State
Education T a x ” like the present
incom e tax, to an “ Investm ent
Structure” w hich incorporates the
proposition that education really
must be an investm ent’ in the sam e '
sense that the business and finan­
c ia l co m m u n itie s use the term
(w ith sto ckh old ers?). How far is
Rom e?
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