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Chou tn-Lai was
once asked what the
impact of the American
Revolution had been upon histo
ry, he replied: “It's to early to
tell,"
We should keep tha' thought in
mind as we approach the publication
o f Marshall Frady’ s biography of
Jesse Jackson.
Jesse’s only 54. Alm ost a full
score years younger than Bob Dole,
the Republican nominee for Presi
dent A full four decades younger
than Strom Thurmond, again run
ning for the U.S. Senate. And still
younger than Ronald Reagan was
when he was first elected governor
o fC a lifo m ia back in 1966. The final
chapter o f this book has not yet been
written.
Neverthless, JaxFax would like
to congratulate Marshall Frady for
the spirit o f respect with which her
approached this complicated task.
JaxFax had our disagreements with
parts o f Frady’s Frontline television
show this w eek-w e found the pop
psychology ending weak and out-of
place (why not end the show with the
victory o f Jesse Jackson, Jr., to C o n
gress, the clearest possible public
validation o f the Jackson fam ily’s
years o f service?); we noticed a few
factual errors; and we disagreed with
some o f the interpretations voiced
on the show.
But Frady seems to have told a
story that needed to be told, and with
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C O A L IT IO N
Pilgrimage: Part I
a true sense that the life o f Jesse L.
Jackson is a real American story. He
has filled in some missing history for
the younger generation, and rem ind-
ed the rest o f us o f our own journey
these past 36 years.
Among other truths, Frady il
luminated:
• The fact that Jesse and Jackie Jack-
son were activists from college on
ward.
• That they have raised a wonderful
family, an intelligent and talented
next generation o f Jacksons that w ill
leave their own marks on American
culture and politics.
• That Jacqueline Jackson is a re
markable woman o f spirit and steel,
with her own fascinating story to
tell.
• That Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
was Reverend Jackson’s true men
tor.
• And that Jesse L. Jackson, virtual
ly alone among modern-day public
figures, has remained dedicated to
the original principles for which he
first joined the struggle, despite the
passage o f time.
Frady’s own words, from the 4/
29-5/6 New Yorker magazine, sum
up this later point I:
"Jackson is about the only figure
remaining from the classic days o f
thecivil rights movement who is still
actively working at it, and, in some
what the same way, he has become
one o f the few remaining voices o f
any force who are still unabashedly
campaigning, like the Last Believer,
for the old liberal conscience in
American pol itics-to the point where
he has come to be regarded by many
as a kind o f orotund anachronism.”
(Em phasis added.)
What we find strange is that most
pundits somehow regard this com
mitment as a failure o f Jesse’s, or as
some sort o f weird and inexplicable
behavior. Im agin e -a public figure
that for nearly 40 years has fought
for the same basic set o f r principles...
i.........
J
Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
Reflect Or Represent The Views O f
The ^ o rtla n b ffibseruer
What a concept! In this age o f poll-
driven leaders, would the media pun
dits approve o f Jackson if he were
more “ flexible" in his beliefs?
At the end o f an otherwise fasci
nating T V documentary, Frady ap
parently felt compelled to end with
one o f those pop psychology ques
tions that are constantly raised about
Jesse Jackso n -w h y can't he stop?
Our first reaction, o f course, is
that he is still young, by political
standards. He is younger, for in
stance, than both Colin Powell and
Louis Farrakhan, the two African
American children growing up in
poverty, this does not seem like the
right question.
Ina country with a higher percent
age o f African Americans in ja il than
under apartheid South Africa, this
does not seem like the right question.
In a world where the divide be
tween rich and poor is growing de
spite the end o f the cold War, this
does not seem like the right question.
Perhaps the real question should
be-Jesse Jackson has never stopped
marching; why has the rest o f Am er
ica?
How can we go on as a nation with
no urban policy? With our children
gunning each other down on their
own streets? With our public schools
in so much trouble?
The answer is painfully clear-w e
can’t And Jesse Louis Jackson w ill
continue to say so. God is not done
with
.............
him . yet
Civil Rights Journal: Tears For The Babies
m B ernice P owei . i . J ackson
hen I returned to New
York last week it seemed
that I was inundated with
stories of children.
I was inundated with stories o f
abused, neglected and murdered ch il
dren. I was inundated with stories o f
out-of-control parents and children
attempting to kill other children. So
many stories in so short a time. So
many tears for the children and for
our people.
First, there was the story o f the
whole family found in a South Bronx
housing project. The children were
found malnourished and covered in
feces. The youngest was found dead
in the trash bin behind the building.
Some neighbors said they heard cry
ing often. Others said they didn't
even know there was more than one
child
Then there was the story o f the
mother in Queens who killed her
infant with a small barbell weight
when the baby cried. And the story o f
the mother who threw the baby out a
window. And the story o f the father
who shook the infant so hard that the
baby suffered brain damage.
And then, a continent away, the
story in California of the six year old
and twin eight year olds who broke
into an apartment to steal a tricycle.
The thought o f little children bur
glarizing is bad enough. But then, to
learn that the six year old kicked and
beat the one-month-old infant they
found in the apartment makes you
want to cry for the infant and cry for
the child.
There's something wrong in this
nation, where children must fear their
parents and must fear other children.
There’s something wrong when the
most vulnerable are left unprotected.
There’s something wrong when fam
ilies don’t protect children, when
communities don’t protect children,
when our nation does not protect
children.
There’s something wrong with this
nation when we want to take federal
dollars designated for child protec
tion and turn them back to the states,
at the same time that nearly half o f
the states have had their child protec
tion systems taken over because they
aren’t working. There’s something
wrong when month after month ch il
dren are being killed by their parents
and killed by other children and cit
ies like New Y o rk seem to be incapa
ble o f stopping the killing.
We must make a better America.
We must make an Am erica where
every child is safe, every child is fed,
every child can thrive. We must make
an Am erica where child protection
systems work - where families and
neighbors and schools and churches
and social workers and public offi
cials protect children.
We must all become involved --
not as mere spectators or complain-
ers about bad parents or welfare or
"those people.” We must get involve^
in helping to teach parents how to be
parents.
We must get involved in helping
young, single overwhelmed mothers
by providing support systems, pa
renting education, job referrals and
child care opportunities.
We must get involved in helping
to stop the drug trafficking in our
communities which is tearing fami
lies apart. We must address the im
pact o f H I V / A ID S on families in our
communities. We must help young
fathers and grandparents raising chil
dren.
And then, we must march. On
June I the Children’s Defense Fund
and 2,300 other organizations are
sponsoring a national march in Wash
ington to enable all o f us to make a
stand for our children. Called Stand
for Children, this march’s hope is to
m obilize hundreds o f thousands o f
Americans at the Lincoln Memorial
to collectively pledge themselves to
work for our children -- all our ch il
dren -- and to say to our legislators
that we as a nation w ill not turn our
backs on Am erica’s future -- our
children.
And then, we must march. On
June I the Children’s Defense Fund
and 2,300 other organizations are
sponsoring a national march in Wash
ington to enable all o f us to make a
stand for our children.
Called Stand for Children, this
march’s hope is to mobilize hun
dreds o f thousands o f American at
the Lincoln Memorial to collectively
pledge themselves to work for our
children -- all our children -- and to
say to our legislators that we as a
nation w ill not turn our backs on
Am erica’s future -- our children.
Come to Washington on June 1.
make a Stand for Children in your
own life. And then get busy in your
own community helping thechildren.
Le t’s wipe our teas and roll up our
sleeves.
(For information call 1-800-233-
1200 or fax 202-234-0217 or e-mail:
standinfor@mailback.com)
p e r s p e c tiv e s
What Is History,: Part II
31
ban schools confrontations between |
was very surprised at
black parents and racist white teach
the number of readers
ers and superintendents.
<
of last weeks article
who were as equally surprised
Having reached New York, on my
by my closing statement - “the
nation-wide book tour “(Black In
ventors O f America”), I was immedi- j
true history of the darker races
on this planet was deliberately
ately caught up in the struggle be
rewritten and distorted by the
tween blacks who wanted black teach
real revisionists in the latter
ers, principals and authentic black
half of the 19th-century; In an
history in the 99% black schools... and
attempt to justify slavery and
the vested white teachers who came
I colonialism.”
in each day from the bedroom sub
A number (o f readers) said, "I
urbs like an occupying army. Tenure
or seniority was not to be achieved by I
never thought o f the racism and den
igration in this fashion; I just thought
any other race, for the managers o f
I that they’ were naturally racist and
these educational plantations had the [
cruel, or at best, a natural clash-of-
same iron grip on the schools and
curriculum as did the absentee land-1
cultures’ was at work. You have made
a logical connection that may call
lords on the real estate.
into question the bulk ofour efforts to
I soon discovered that in New
I demonize many o f our neighbors.”
York as elsewhere, it was the con
The
same
tem porary ver
I readers went on
sion o f colonial
to chastise both
ism and slavery
Sy
I educators and
that demanded a
Professor
m edia
( “ they
supporting pro-1
Mcklnley
have access”) for
cess o f justifica
Burt
failing to deliver
tion e.g. controll
on their most no
and administra-|
ble charge: "T o faithfully deliver
tion o f cultural history. And so ob
and disseminate facts and informa
vious were the economic factors I
tion in a truthful deliver and dis
that drove the whole racist machine.
seminate facts and information in a
Generations o f the same families o f
truthful and dispassionate manner.”
white teacher had succeeded each I
And I would say, that for so many
other in particular black districts—
who occupy the very highest places
many immigrant relatives from mid-
in their disciplines and professional
dle-Europe.
associations to play to the prejudic
And the same dynastical rela
es o f the vulgar crowd is a shameful
tionships held (still hold) for the I
I stain on a democracy.
ownership o f the real estate. So it is
Several readers pointed out that
to be understood that much o f the |
in my listing o f ‘Latter Day Saints
hysteria about "history standards”
O f Racism ’ as if it were, I omitted
is like Plato’s observation about I
the name o f the most recent recruit
"shadows on the surface ofthe pond”
to that repulsive tribe o f fearful (but
— the real action is somewhere else.
dangerous) clowns who wou Id rath
Ms Lefkownitz Suggest in her hys
er see a nuclear holocaust than
terical book that neither the Greeks I
multiculturalism (in a multicultural
nor the Romans knew what they |
world at that). We speak here o f
were talking about when they cred
Mary Lefkowitz, author o f "Not
ited blacks with important contri
Out O f Africa: How Affocentrism
butions to the world’s culture and)
Became An Excuse To Teach Myth
technology — “ it was m isunderstood
A s History.”
in both antiquity and modem times.”
It is the pseudo-educators o f this
It is unfortunate that Freud and |
ilk who, in the words o f one black
Jung are not still around to person
I columnist, would almost force one
ally attend to the warped and bruised I
psyches o f this psychotic tribe o f,
to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with
Newt Gingrich in denouncing “the
education writers. Any doubt that j
super-left wing hypocrites who have
their diatribes have other than an
infiltrated the education fraterni
economic basis fades away when |
ty.” It was twenty-five years ago
we realized that these same ‘used-
that I came face to face with the
to-be liberals’ now lead the fight)
insecurities and racist diatribes o f
against affirmative action and ‘set-1
her Ivy League-educated tribe dur
a-sides!
ing the O ceanville-Brow nsville ur-
Concluded next week.
i
I
Wife ^ o rtia ttb (©bserver
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OREGON'S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION
An Abusive Society Produces Abusive And Violent People
Charles Washington-Publisher
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espite statistics show-
1 ing a decrease In crime
over the past few years,
fear and anxiety over crime re
mains at the top of the agenda of
most Americans.
Predictably, within the American
body politic, politicians o f both po
litical parties continue to exploit these
fears an anxieties by offering up mind
less get tough on crime initiatives
and laws.
More prisons, tougher sentenc
ing, mandatory sentences (three
strikes and you’re out), no frill pris
ons the réintroduction o f chain gangs,
and the reinstitution o f the death pen
alty have become the order o f the
day. I he prison/jail industrial com
plex is now a fact o f life in the U.S. as
shallow, opportunistic politicians trip
over themselves trying to prove
whose toughest on crime
T
otersofCoos County have
a unique opportunity to
show support for your
public land.
Coos County Commissioners are
submitting an advisory measure for
guidance regarding the Co qu ille
Tribe's request for 92 square miles o f
prime forest land transferred from
Bureau o f Land Management over
sight to trust status under the Bureau of
Indian Affairs fortheiruse and benefit.
Tribal trust lands are exempt from
The great tragedy is that though
crime is down, the streets are still
largely unsafe, and the amount o f
violent crime is still at epidemic lev
els when compared to previous peri
ods in American history. For all o f
the hoopla and political demagogu
ery about crime, the U.S. is still the
most violent and unsafe society
among the world’s western, industri
alized nations. A ll o f the political
posturing and the huge allocation of
tax payer dollars expended on crime
and punishment have simply not pro
duced the promised result, a safe and
secure society. This is because the
diagnosis and prescription is mis
guided and wrong.
Within the field o f psychology
and psychiatry there is a theory that
people who are psychologically and
physically abused as children are
predisposed to grow up to be abusers
themselves as adults — abuse begets
abuse. I believe this theory can also
be applied to social systems within
nations, that an abusive society w ill
produce abusive and violent people.
Hence, in my cause o f the epidemic of
crime and violence plaguing the U.S.
For example, it is a well documented
fact that communities that have been
hit with large lay-offs and loss ofjobs
due to plant closings experience a
marked increase in domestic violence,
divorce and economic crimes - bur
glaries, robberies etc.
Am erica is an abusive society
which places a priority on the profit,
property and the privileges o f the
rich and the super-rich over the wel
fare o f the vast majority o f people o f
color and poor and working people
and the struggling middle class. Ne
glect, abuse and violence have virtu
ally become the norm in terms o f
public policy and the reckless behav
ior o f giant trans national corpora
b e tte r 'Cfo C7/c CfCditor
S en d y o u r letters to the E ditor to:
Editor, PO B o x 3 1 3 7 , Portland, O R 9 7 2 0 8
most civil law, including taxation, en
vironmental law, right o f appeal and
fair labor laws.
After fai ling to prevent the measure
from going to voters, the Tribe is spend
ing thousands of dollars to bait the
hook o f tribal trust control This does
not even consider what they are spend
ing to lobby Congress
Senator Hatfield, Representative
DeFazio, and Governor Kitzhaber
have cautioned them to enlist local
support, without which these offi
cials are not supporting a transfer,
even though each o f them has
complimented some features o f the
scientific study. Unless there is a
transfer, the proposal is moot.
Established in 1970
tions. In the interest o f further en
riching the privileged classes the
masses o f people are being forced to
suffer. And, this callous and blatant
neglect o f the health and well being
ofthe majority ofthe people is breed
ing crime, violence, fear and anxiety.
f he failure o f a nation to ensure
food, clothing and shelter or the
means to acquire them in a society
which glorifies consumerism and
material success is criminal. As Mar
tin Luther K in g put it, “a nation that
continues year after year to spend
more money on mi I itary defense than
on programs o f social uplift is ap
proaching spiritual death.” C iv il so
ciety is dying in the U.S. as a direct
consequence o f the demise o f the
culture o f rights and the destruction
o f the social safety net for human
beings that generations o f social ju s
tice advocates fought for and won in
this nation.
Informed voters realize the seri
ousness o f their choice, for they are
choosing on your behalf as well as
theirow n.know ingthatifthis timber
land does go into trust, other groups
w ill be swift to claim even more
public lands for their benefit.
Coos C ounty voters need to send a
clear message to their Comm iss ¡oners,
the Governor, and Congress, rejecting
transfer o f your public lands to a sov
ereign nation.
Jea n M cNam ar
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