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Tm P ori land O bserver • M ay 22, 1996
P age
The Theory Of A Black
Middle-Class: Concluded
in P ro f . Me K im i s B i hi
A young woman had this com
ment to make about the whole affair:
'My grandfather used to go around
the house singing a song from his
youth. Is you is or is you aint, my
baby’. I don’t know quite how to put
it, but it seems that we (blacks) have
a split-personality as a group; going
in two directions at the same time, a
dichotomy."
Well, that’s been said before, and
by some heavyweights, black and
white. But first, let me correct some
misconceptions that might arise from
last week’s article (next to last para
graph). The university course I de
signed and taught at PSU, “ Black
Economic Experience” was not in
tended to present the exploitive
“ Black Market Men" in a good light,
or as role models.
Rather, I was. A), pointing out that
the very same techniques of analytic
demographics could have been used
by African Americans themselves to
harness the tremendous buy ing power
of the group (trillions). Instead, the
Black Market Men packaged an entire
race and sold them to the ’Fortune
500’. There was a structure here to
finance and entire economy o f black-
owned markets, shops, factories, etc.
And B). And at the same time
these hucksters forged and shaped a
new “black middle-class", elevating
One Strike And
Your’re Out
M / probation,
no parole,
no early releas, Ballot
Measure II, voted in by
Oregon voters went into
affect last year on April
F o o l’s Day. It m eans
m a n da to ry nt in ini u nt
sentences fo r teens, 15 to
21 years o f age, wh o com
mit crimes such as rob
bery, a ssa u lt, se x u a l
abuse and manslaughter.
brand-name conscious consumers to
the level o f super-consumers—with
all the desires and tastes of a “ leisure
class” but hardly any o f the necessary
commercial substructure. Ebony, Jet
and similar magazines lit up the “con
spicuous consumption” stage with
the most beautifully designed and
effective advertising campaigns ever
created by psychologists.
Mainly, they were about liquor,
tobacco, automobiles and an expen
sive haute couture. Look back at
some o f the 1950 and 1960 issues o f
‘black’ publications: “the very popu
lar Mr. and Mrs Jones dining on the
patio o f their $250,000 home, enter
tain in g frie n d s” (B e e fe a ter and
Schenley labels are prominently dis
played, though a fog o f cigarette
sm o k e a lm o st o b s c u re s the
E ldorados, Jags and M ercedes).
“Conspicuous is graphically defined.
This leads one to consider, “what
forces are shaping the black middle-
class today? Are we victims or are we
in control? Are we still suffering
from that earlier failure to seize-the-
day’? Is it the case that we must
completely rebuild a structure which
seems to have real meaning only to
market men? Perhaps, like James
Cham py’s “Re-engineering the Cor
poration,” we need to "Re-engineer
the black middle-class.
As I said at the beginning o f this
The American Jewish Committee
in New York City and Howard Uni
versity in Washington, D.C. have
joined together to publish "Common
Quest: the Magazine o f Black-Jew-
ish Relations.” The magazine was
launched officially on May 7 at a
reception at Howard.
The magazine seeks to provide a
place where the differences and com
monalities between blacks and Jews
can be explored in a tough-minded
and civil fashion. It will also examine
broader issues such as the impact o f
poverty on race relations, the present
political landscape, and the chang
ing nature o f ethnic, religious, and
racial relations in the United States.
“ In recent decades honest, some-
«wo
times painful disagreem ents over
public issues have divided African
Americans and Jews o f good will.”
said Robert Rifkind, president o f the
American Jewish Committee. Asks
Rifkind, does not Common Quest
“constitute an affirmation ofour faith
in our shared humanity?”
II. Patrick Swygert, President o f
Howard University, expects the mag
azine to energize the dialogue be
tween the black and Jewish commu
nities. “ We have the potential here to
reaffirm and stregthen one o f the
more effective progressive partner
ships in our country’s history. Our
interests aren’t identical, but where
they overlap we should struggle to
gether," he said.
Paying re sp e c ts: The actor O ssie Davis re c e iv e s an award from Gen. Colin Powell followir
IWemona/ Day C oncert in 1 9 9 2 . Davis w as recognized for honoring World War II V eterans
cerem ony.
Actor Ossie Davis was extreme
ly "depressed" by the pronounced
racism he experienced among fel
low American soldiers when he
served in World War II and swore
never to participate in Memorial
Day celebrations.
"I did not w ant to get involved
in anything that g lo rifie d w ar."
D avis said in an in terv iew w ith
this S u n d a y ’s P arade m agazine,
in w hich he e x p la in e d why he is
hosting th ird y e a r ’s N a tio n a l
M em orial Day C o n cert in W ash
ington, D.C.
D avis, now 78, who served as
a su rg ical tech n ician in N orth
A frica, recalled w atching a w hite
so ld ie r cho o se to die rath er than
accep t care from black m edics,
lie also w itn essed G erm an p ris
on ers o f w ar being tre a te d with
m ore d ignity than the A frican-
A m erican troops.
“ I felt betrayed,” he recalled. “ I
had come to feel that I had been not
only a patriot bu, a fool. I left the
Army very depressed.”
Asked why, then, he agreed to
host the concert, he said, “ I real ized
that no matter what I thought o f
war, we should pay tribute to those
both living and dead who sacri
ficed.”
“The military has also made sig-1
nificant strides,” he added. "Colin
Powell was no accident. He was
affirmation of what has changed.
One o f the things I’m proudest of
about America is that once she got
into it, she came up with a c o lo r-
blind Army.”
1
Rogers Heads Albina Bank's
Residential Loan Team
Lynn Rogers has joined Albina
Community Bank as Vice President.
Residential Lending. She comes from
Keybank, where she served for several
years as the Community'Reinvestment
Officer.
Lynn Rogers brings a strong back
ground in community reinvestment,
especially in the North/Northeastcom
munities o f Portland. As a member of
the Advisory Counci I for Project Down
Payment, Lynn was instrumental in
promoting a program o f assistance for
MfoW-
first-time home buyers.
Lynn has fond memories o f her
childhood in Detroit and would like all
families to enjoy “good old days” of
their own.
Albina Community Bank is a new
community development bank dedi
cated to assisting low-to-moderate-in-
come residents take advantage ofeco-
nomic opportunities in North and
Northeast Portland. The bank will
move this summer to a new location at
2202 NE MI K Jr. Blvd.
Lynn R ogers
W
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A3
Davis Recalls WW II Racism
series, there is not the time nor space
to fully develop, analyze and place
closure on this subject But I would
draw attention to several more sig
nificant factors that have shaped (or
limited) the development o f full
blown, self-sustaining black middle-
class. Shouldn't ‘upward mobility’
have reality?
In answer to one young woman’s
query, I certainly do believe that the
black woman’s role is critical to such
developm ent. The econom ic and
political dynamics o f their contribu
tion is, and always has been a critical
factor (not to mention ‘nurturing’.
To trace this role from slavery to
1984, see “ Labor o f Love, Labor o f
Sorrow: Black Women, Work and
the Family” Jacqueline Jones, Vin
tage books pb. 1986. Very excellent
notes on the literature.
I have emphasized in these pages,
at other times and places, the trau
matic stresses that all Americans are
undergoing today. The harsh reali
ties o f economic uncertainty—from
layoffs to pension-doubts-give rise
to despair and social frictions. It is
rather obvious that we could have
better prepared for this day. In a
recent edition o f the “Los Angeles
Sentinel,” a black newspaper a glow
ing tribute was paid to a Black Mar
ket Family; the clan who would fi
nance every race but their own.
Black Jewish Relations
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