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
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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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