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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 1996)
P age A ? O ctober 2, 1996 • T he P ortland O bserver Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily Reflect Or Represent The Views O f ^flortlanb ffibseruer bs J anice M athis , G eneral C ovnsel N A T IO N A L The 2 5th Annual Operation PU SH Convention was such a smashing success, it w ill be the last one. The next time the loyal supporters o f P U SH and Rainbow meet in conven tion, it w ill be as the Rainbow/PUSH Action Network. The merger o f these two “Jackson Action" organizations was formally approved last week The Board o f D irectors o f Operation P U S H — which for 25 years has used boycotts, pickets, negotiations and covenants to fight for economic empowerment and a fair share, by opening up this nation’s corporate economy to all Am ericans-said yes to the merger. So did the Board o f Directors o f the National Rainbow Coalition, this country’s cutting edge social change organization, which for more than a decade has emphasized voter regis tration, voter mobilization, “ street heat,”, and marching to secure polit ical empowerment for the historical ly locked out. Now these two are one-the Rain bow/PUSH Action Network. Our headquarters w ill be in Chicago, with a bureau in Washington D C In ad dition, PU SH /Excel and Rainbow Reclaim Our Youth are merging, to g i f R iu im W C O A L IT IO N Rainbow/PUSH Action Network combine their educational advocacy activity on behalf o f our youth. The media has asked if this is a downsizing, and the answer is no The two organ izat ions are being com bined and strengthened, not reduced. The merger was done to build one stronger organ ization out o f two com plementary bodies. It w ill improve coordination, reduce duplication, and increase efficiency. A s Reverend Jackson phrased it at a press confer ence in Chicago: “since there’s such a connection between political em powerment and coalition-building, and economic empowerment and expansion, we’re pulling these two organizations together to be more efficient and more effective.” None o f these, however, are the main reason P U S H and Rainbow were merged The point is, America must have a strong, active, tough, nationwide political and economic empowerment organization as we approach the 21st century. Our goal is to make Rainbow/PUSH Action Network that group. We know what we have to d o - make social change once again a crusade across this land: • buildchapters inevery state and city, on every high school and co l lege campus, • rebu ild our network o f minis ters, to strengthen our defenses against the inroads o f the religious p olitica l extremists who seek to split our forces, • forge serious coalitions across lines o f race, gender, religion, and class Work together with our allies— labor, women, African Americans ft Latinos <t Native Americas, students, environmentalists, gays and lesbians, and ministers—we can win Working together, we w ill deserve to win We w ill use the boycott and the ballot to fulfill Dr. K in g ’s dreams, to complete the unfinished business of Lincoln and Roosevelt, to attain the full measure o f liberty and equality that is the promise o f America. We have learned the lessons o f recent American economic history: multi-national corporations open up their doors to the locked out only when we demand that they do so. From the U A W ’s sitdown strikes, to the picket lines that built the union movement, to the economic cove nants enforced by the boycotts o f Operation Breadbasket, economic doors have opened only when a mo bilized people have pushed on them. We have learned the lessons o f recent American political history, progress comes through an enlight ened President, in coalition with an energized populace. Civil Rights Journal:The Prison Industrial Complex ernice P owell J ackson P bv l B yr-WA wice within a few days I heard a new term which sent chills down my spine. The term was "prison industrial com plex.” It signaled the recogni tion o f the fact that our economy has gone through one more dramatic change-from the post-World War II m ilitary industrial complex referred to by President Eisenhower to the present day when prisons are the growth industry. W e’ve gone from a nation which builds m issiles to one which builds prisons. The first time I heard the term was in a National Public Radio story about Dannemora, New Y o rk which hous es a large prison. The prison is the town’s largest employer and it is the only place many o f the guards have ever encountered black or Hispanic menandtheirracism is evident Many o f the businesses in the town are dependent on the guards and prison employees and the wives and moth ers who come to visit the prisoners. Without the prison, many people in Dannemora would be out o f work. Prison business is big business in Am erica and not just in Dannemora. M illions o f dollars are spent each year in building more prisons. M il lions o f dollars are spent in purchas ing uniforms, linens, beds, paper and other products. Tens o f m illions are spent on salaries o f guards, counse lors, doctors and nurses and prison administrators. The prison industry is a growth industry, so much so that private corporations have entered the business. One o f the most frightening as pects o f the prison industry is that the majority o f those incarcerated are people o f color. The majority o f those working in the industry are not. And then there is death row. A s o f fall, 1995 there were 3,045 inmates sitting on death rows in the United States. Over h alf o f them are people o f color. Just about all o f them are poor. Most death row inmates are repre sented by court-appointed attorney. In many jurisdictions there are no requirements o f proficiency and ex perience for such attorneys even though capital cases are extremely complex. The court-appointed attorey must ask for funds from the court each time experts in pathology, ballistics, substance abuse and mental health are used. There are very limited funds available for private investigation. A recent study by the American Friends Service Committee on N a tive American on death row found that in over 70 percent o f the cases, native Am ericans on death row had been substance abusers and that this substance abuse was a controlling part o f the inmates life before he committed the crime. Too often such factors are not taken into account by prosecutors or juries. What does it mean that we have chosen to invest in prisons rather than in education and prevention for tens o f thousands o f our young peo ple? What does it mean for a democ racy that one o f its fastest growing industries is one which imprisons over a m illion citizens? What does it mean that people o f color are over represented in the prison population and especially, on death row? What does it mean for us all when we have coined a new phrase—the prison in dustrial complex? “ON NOV. 5™, I’M VOTING FOR MY KIDS.” p e r s p e c tiv e s Should the village return to the hat question Increas ingly comes to the fore during discussions on public education among some residents of the Northeast vil lage; especially since the acer bic exchange between a face less editorial page of the Ore gonian new spaper and Ron Herndon, veteran education ac tivist. In a surpris in gly petulant e d it o r ia l, “ Stand And Deliver” (9-15- 96), the news paper tore into Herndon with an over-italicized po lemic that could only be described as a contentious admonition, “how dare you—you sassy brat” . This loss- of-cool was provoked by comments Herndon had made to reporters the previous week, “things in the school district are worse than ever” . Taking umbrage at this journal istic banishment to the terra incog nito o f “character schools”, Hern don, consistent throughout 25 years o f critical concern for the educa tion o f minorities in Portland, gave a measured response in the * Read er Feedback’ section, (9-23-96). H is detailed piece, “ Education Serves Adults, Not Our Children” again described Portland Public Schools as a “ fatally-flawed sys tem” . So what’s to contest? A neigh bor informs me that both black and white parents at the neighborhood meeting rose to comment on the eight very negative “Oregonian” headlines I had culled in just thirty d a y s-a ll citing a school district in very serious trouble, “ to tally flawed” if you w ill (m y ‘ Perspec tives’ column, 9-25-96). Another speaker said, “ T e ll me that the establishment is not say ing, ‘it isn’tju stacase o fw h o se o x is being gored but more important ly, who iscom plaining?’ The sheer weight o f the district problems proves overwhelming to both pro fessionals and roving pundits alike (includingeditorial writers). I find that many people, within and with- t out the system have become in creasingly frustrated and short-tern pered. That terse command o f the ed torial page to “stand and deliver” is the phrase used by highway rob bers in the days o f Robin Hood they wou Id demand that stage coach passengers get out and hand over their valuables. However, it has become a more difficult proposi By tion for school dis Professor trict criticsoutside Mcklnley the more formal Burt structure; villager who would return to the barricades find that they still lack the forums and delivery sys tems afforded the establishment. And that strident polemics still fail to move the beast. When I am queried, “where do we go from here?”, I find it neces sary to remind some that “ I never left the barricades” . It proves quite informative in many cases to back up several decades, especial ly when talking to members o f a younger generation too often susceptible to those “strident polemics” . I usually begin with account o f my tutelage under D r. Ju liu s Hobson, the A frican -A m e rican economist who in the early 1970’s took the gigantic, mercenary and mendacious bureaucracy mislab eled,"The Washington, D C . Board o f Education”—and won a land mark legal victory (Hobson vs Board o f Education). Perhaps his most important con tribution was to establish the in controvertible fact that it takes a well-structured machine with in- depth support to go up against and opponent o f sim ilar stature. In past years I have detailed here my return to the local educa tion bureaucracy in a sim ilar fash ion; co lo ssal failure-frightened troops. This was during my 1974 tenure as head o f the “ Minority Teachers Association” . Next week: What works at the barricades and what doesn’t-B u r t’s solutions. better 'Uo rChe (3editor Send your letters to the Editor to: Editor, PO B o x 3137, Portland, O R 97208 (Tbi' ^ o rtía n b (©bsertier (USPS 959-680) Established in 1970 Charles Washington Publisher & Editor Mark Washington Distribution Manager G ary Ann Taylor Business Manager Sabrina Sakata News/Copy Editor Daniel Bell Advertising Sales Manager Sean Cruz Consultant & Editor Portland Observador G ary Washington Public Relations Tim othy C o llin s Photography Paul Neufeldt lesha W illiam s Production & Design Rovonne Black C lerica l Assistant Contributing Writers: Professor M cK inley Burt, Lee Perlman, Pamela Jordan 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, Oregon 97211 503-288-0033 • Fax 503-288-0015 Email; Pdxobserv@aol.com Deadline for all submitted materials: Articles:F riday, 5:00 pm POSTMASTER; Send Address Changes To: Portland Observer, P.O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208. Every day o f your child's life depends on whether or not you vote. And, whether or not you vote for Clinton/G ore. If you don't, the D o le-G ingrich Republicans may get the chance to continue cutting, slashing and eliminating the things that are important to you and your family. T h e y’ve already voted to cut school lunches. Lim it child immunization programs and Head Start. You 've got the power to stop them President ( -linton is meeting the challenges of raising a family, protecting our values. H e pumped nearly $800 m illion into Head Start • Expanded C h ild Im m unization and access to quality Health Care • Supported School Lunches • Is fighting crime in public housing • W orking to prevent teen pregnancy • Reduced violence and drug abuse in school • Passed the toughest Crim e B ill ever. President Clinton is dealing with the hard issues. But he can't continue to do it without your vote. O n Nov. 5,M vote for the people you care about. 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