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N ovember 6, 1996 • T he P oru and O bserver
Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
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p
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s
Beyond the net, there is cyberspace
he tone and tenor of re­
cent communications
from readers indicate
they thought things were getting
pretty “spacey” alright, and long
before I began this series.
“ That’s all we needed, a ‘ PC vs
Network computer’ controversy just
when reachingdecisions on what our
children needed at home—or at
school ”
Sorry about that but I am not re­
sponsible, and certainly am not to
blame for the big price hike on the
“ new economical architecture” pre­
viously touted as a "$300 to $500
consumer product.” I have a ten-year
collection o f “ PC Magazine” that
detail a decade o f claims, specula­
tions and projections by computer
companies and many more closely
resemble the pitches o f used car deal­
ers or roofing and siding salesmen
than the pledges o f a “ mature indus­
try manufacturing sophisticated hard­
ware.”
Be that as it may, I did say 1 would
address several items that have prov­
en o f interest to the readers. Quite a
number displayed interest in that
“cancellation o f the schedule presen­
tation o f my book to President Nixon
in the Rose Garden.” Let’s see if I can
assemble these letters and telegrams
in an intelligible sequence
First the book, “ Black Inventors
o f America” , Nov.
1969, was de­
signed to motivate
African American
youth by revealing
the p re v io u s ly
suppressed docu­
mentation (patent)
oftheirmany inspired inventions that
played a great role in the develop­
ment o f Am erica's industrial might.
Where hither to I had only heard
rumors o f these accomplishments, I
found the evidence at the Moreland
Library o f Howard University in
Washington, D C. then. Senator
Wayne Morse opened up the Patent
Office.
I have before me a letter from the
Office o f Senator Bob Packwood,
dated Jan. 23, 1970. He had been of
great assistance on my trips to Wash­
ington, opening doors to agencies
that might be helpful in advancing
my ‘computerized terminal-in-the-
classroom’ learning system Inside
the book cover was a picture of me
conductingajunior high school dem-
onstration Lhere had been no re­
sponse whatsoever from the Port­
land School System; no one had a
clue about the future.
“ ...I’ ve already
written the White
House to ask if it
fly
would be possible
Professor for you to make a
Mcklnley
personal presenta­
Burt
tion o f your book
to the President.
The time is certainly appropriate and
1 think this would be an excellent
opportunity for both you and the
President Just as soon as we can
confirm a date on this, I ’ ll let you
know. Cordially, Bob Packwood.”
That he did, and I went to Wash­
ington for pre-screening by a zillion
federal departments (and agents), got
a tour o f the White House, peeped at
the Rose Garden, and saw this Red
Room which Jackie Kennedy had
furnished in French Empire Style.
This is the mode o f furniture and
dress that Napoleon brought back to
Europe from his African expedition
to Egypt (the sophisticated haute
couture soon swept the entire world).
I returned nine to Portland to
await the great day when I would be
summoned to Washington to meet
the great white father’ and complete
the first step o f my well-planned
marketingplot. Instead, Igotaphone
call from an excited local Western
Union Office and agreed to have an
“ important telegram from the White
House' read to me over the phone.
The way this woman was stuttering
and spluttering I still had to wait for
a physical delivery before I could
fully understand the content.
I don't suppose too many blacks
in Albina got telegrams from the
President o f the United States. It was
an interesting forma,; first there is
wha, you might describe as an “alert.”
This telegram says "please clear all
wires immediately, a special mes­
sage from the President is coming
through!” That was the good news,
then came the bad news in the main
telegram. Seems that Israel and the
Arabs were about to go at it again,
and the president would be busy with
the emergency.
“ My dear Mr. Burt, it is with deep
regret. . blah,blah,blah” . They sure
know how to hurt a fellow; but, any­
way, next week I w ill detail the learn­
ing technology information that was
promised.
Civil Rights Journal: Victory In Pensacola
bv
B ernice P owell J ackson
hey were surrounded by
toxic wastes In two dif­
ferent abandoned sites.
More than three hundred African
American families, were fighting for
their lives and those o f their children
and grandchildren. The odds seemed
overwhelming a, times, but the peo­
ple o f Pensacola, FL held out-and
they won. T he Environmental Pro­
tection Agency ruled that they will
move 358 families to new housing, ’
the larges, environmental relocation
since Love Canal in New York and
Times Beach in Missouri.
The neighbors o f the abandoned
Escam bia Treatm ent Com pany,
which had treated the wood for tele­
phone poles, were living next to a 60-
foot-high mountain o f toxic wastes
created by a half-finished EPA clean­
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up. The dirt in that pile contained
dioxin, a potentially cancer-causing
agent. And the people were getting
sick—with cancer, inflammation o f
the eyes and lungs and they were
dying—stillborn babies and cancer
among other diseases.
A second abandoned plant, the
Agrico Chemical Company, was lo­
cated nearby. This plant manufac­
tured sulfuric acid and agriculral
chemicals. When itclosed in 1975, it
left behind its toxic wastes. Thecom-
munity, believing their health to be
so at risk, fought for relocation rather
than clean-up.
Four years ago the people o f these
Pensacola neighborhoods banded
together and began to organize.
Homeowners, tenants and former
workers a, the plants established Cit­
izens Against toxic exposure (C A T E )
and began to )b> local and federal
government i c alstodosomething
about their ( 4em.
Using Pic dent C linton’s execu-
tive order >
lvironmental justice
as their b . •iline, C A T E was
able to k
neighborhood’s
problem
overnment front
burner.
T h e(
er mandated that
federal
agencies pay at-
tention
.ntal justice and
requirec
.ofenvironnien-
tai racist
n a voice in the
cleanup c
¡r neighborhoods.
There are ai k ast 1,300 toxic waste
sites located in communities o f color
across the nation.
C A T E hired a scientist to monitor
the EPA testing o f the toxic waste
sites. It lobbied both local and feder­
al government elected officials. It
was able to get the EPA to hold a
hearing in Pensacola earlier this year.
And when earlier EPA recommenda­
tions seemed to be leaning toward
relocating some ofthe residents, leav­
ing others behind, C A T E was ada­
mant that unless everyone was
moved, no one would move. They
understood that sticking together was
one source o f their power.
Some have argued that i, was Pres­
idential year politics that are respon­
sible for this significant victory for
environmental justice. The citizens
o f Pensacola, whose neighborhood
has been destroyed by these toxic
waste dumps and whose health has
been jeopardized because o f them
would probably say the government
is just doing what was right.
I would say that justice has been
served.
The Lost American Dream
City, State:________
Zip-Code:____
T iiask Yot F or R eading T he P o ru
Letter To Editor
The All-Nite Grad party and Cel­
ebration was a success thanks to your
generous donation and contribution.
The Jefferson High Senior Class of
1996 had a wonderful time. The party
was held at the Griffith Park Athletic
Club in Beaverton, Oregon
The Class o f 1996 enjoyed them­
selves immensely. They had the
pleasure ofswimming. enjoying the
sauna, listening and dancing to the
music o f a live D.J., lots o f fun on
the velcro wall, lots o f other games
and activities, not to mention plenty
o f food, drink, gifts and prizes.
A ll o f this could not have been
accomplished withoutyourhelp. You
have aided the Class o f 1996 to bond
for the last time, for many will have
soon gone on to college and into the
job market in pursuit o f careers.
and
O bserver
s
bv
The Senior Class was faced with
many obstacles beyond their con­
trol in the planning o f senior activ­
ities, that the All-Nite Grad party
was the only senior activity for the
1996 school year.
We, the PTSA o f Jefferson High
School and the Senior Class would
like to take this time to express our
sincere gratitude and thanks. Your
generous donation and significant
contribution has shaped Grad-Nite
into a successful event.
We are yet hearing hearts o f
thanks and gratitude from the class
o f 1996 because you took the time
to care and the time to share.
We thank God, and we thank you.
Jefferson High School PTSA
(Parent Teacher Student Associa­
tion, Class o f 1996.)
Jacqueline Debnam, President
B ernice P owell J ackson
f you asked most Ameri­
cans what one image
most epitom izes the
American dream, most would say
owning a home of your own.
Butthatall-American image is no,
only impossible for millions o f Amer­
icans, but even renting one is becom­
ing less possible. Decent, affordable
housing is becoming the impossible
dream for millions o f Americans.
A recent New York Times Sunday
magazine article pointed out that hid­
den in the recent legislation signed by
President Clinton is an unknown sen­
tence which eliminates the possibility
o f new poor families receiving hous­
ing subsidies. Yet today five million
working families now pay more than
half o f their pretax income for hous­
ing. These families must then choose
between paying for utilities or paying
for food with their remaining funds.
“ Stable, affordable housing keeps
kids in school and adults on the jo b ...
(the el iminat ion o f housing subsidies
for new families) marks the demise
not just o f a budgetary line bu, also of
a hope that has transfixed reformers
for a century: that all Americans can
find safe, decent and affordable hous­
ing,” said the New York Times arti­
cle.
Indeed, only one third o f those
eligible for Federal housing assis­
tance actually get it, while the others,
including the disabled, elderly and
welfare recipients, pay 50, 60 or 70
percent o f their income for housing.
While the Federal government is
eliminating its support ofhousing for
poor Americans, it continues to sub­
sidize housing for middle and upper
income Americans through tax de­
ductions. According to the New York
Times, the $66 billion a year the
Federal government spends on mort­
gage-interest and property tax de­
ductions is about four times as much
as it spends on low-income housing.
Most o f it goes to families with in­
comes above $75,000. In addition,
both Candidate Dole and President
Clinton have proposed eliminating
capital gains taxes on the sale o f
expensive homes.
Meanwhile, the numbers ofthe na­
tion's homeless seems to be growing.
A National Public Radio story includ­
ed an interview with a social worker
working with the homeless in Wash­
ington, D.C. The social worker point­
ed out that the faces ofthe homeless are
changing. While there are still many
single men, there are increasing num­
bers o f families, many of whom are
finding it difficult even to find shelters
which will take them because o f the
complexities o f their needs.
Non-profit groups like Habitat for
Humanity and Manna cannot keep
up with the rising number o f people
who are homeless or in desperate
need o f decent and affordable hous­
ing. In 1995 Habitat, for example,
using volunteers in its 1,300 affili­
ates to build or rehab its buildings,
was able to complete 3,282 homes.
A child without stable housing
will likely fail in school. A family
without affordable housing w ill find
itself in perennial crisis.
As more landlords find it finan­
cially unfeasible to build or lease
low-income housing and as the Fed­
eral Government gets out o f the hous­
ing subsidy business, the question
becomes where will millions o f poor
Americans live. After a decade o f
visible hopelessness in this nation,
are we immune to the housing needs
o f the poor? Is decent, affordable
housing, a lost American dream for
millions o f Americans? Is owning a
home the impossible dream?
An Island of Hope for Returning Ex-Offenders
BY D ennis ${ hatzman
While on the reelection circuit,
Gil Garcettl, the embattled Los
Angeles County district attorney
of OJ. Simpson fame, promised a
powerful group of black minister
he would draft legislation that
would require offenders who are
high school dropouts to eam a
general equivalency diploma
(GED) before being released.
I f Garcetti make good on his
promise, he would be prudent to find
a community-based correctional care
facility with a proven success rate to
implement the program. One such
facility is Bridge Back, an inmate
outreach center right smack in the
middle o f South Central Los Ange­
les.
But I warn you, although the place
houses up to 77 non-violent offend­
ers serving the Iasi four months o f
their sentences prior to parole, you
have to look very hard to find it,
unless you know exactly where it is.
These inmate are rarely seen and
seldom heard.
Bridge Back is operated in a quiet
unassuming building that sits near
the busy corner o f Western and
Vernon Avenues. One doesn't see
young Black men standing around
ch illin ,' drinking 40 ounce beers,
shooting craps or engaging in any
other neer-do-well type activity. In­
stead there are dozens o f young men
inside working, studying, going out
on jobs, attending schools and the
like. As they carry out their daily
activities, you don't hear a peep out
o f them
A reporter who used to catch the
bus at the corner every day never
knew the place was there until he
heard the residents were about to be
moved back to county ja il by the
Department ofCorrections as “ a pre­
f
cautionary measure” during the final
days o f the federal trial o f the four
LA P D officers charged with beating
Black motorist Rodney King.
Celes King, III, state president of
the congress o f Racial Equality of
California and the members o f the
local businessm en’ s association
heard about the discriminatory move
(sim ilar centers located in white
neighborhoods were not forced to
relocate) and “ persuaded” the state
to put a stop to such action. They
argued successfully that the Bridge
Back residents were never involved
in the April 29, 1992 riots that fol­
lowed the officers’ Simi Valley ac­
quittals. So why the harsh treatment,
they asked?
King, a local bail bondsman and
prominent civil rights leader, has been
a long time friend of Roy Evans,
Bridge Back's founder, administra­
tor and proprietor. "I have known
Roy for nearly 30 years,” beams K ing,
whose office is walking distance from
the facility. “ We answered his call
for help on that matter mainly be­
cause Roy is the kind o f guy who
doesn’t cry wolf.’ When he says
let’s, we say go.' when he says
H al,’ we say, leluha.’ It’s as simple
as that. And C O R E makes no apolo­
gies about its support o f Bridge
Back.”
Evans, a W illie Wood (o f Green
Bay Packer fame) look-a-like found­
ed Bridge Back 14 years ago. He
operates the fac i I ity o ff o f a $950,000
yearly budget A staff o f 16 persons
provides 24 hour service (which in­
cludes jo b preparation, placement,
substance abuse assistance, stress
management, victim awareness train-
ing and computerized educational
services), seven days a week Two
parole agents are assigned to the
premises. Since its inception, over
5,000 people have passed through
its doors, receiving food lodging,
counseling and training before be­
ing reintroduced to their home com­
munities.
“ Bridge Back has come a long
way from its beginnings as an anti­
substance abuse program," Evans
explains. “ In the early days we took
advantage o f the opportunities pro­
vided by the War on Poverty and
Model Cities programs to create and
establish programs o f our own
through which attacked some o f the
problems overwhelming our com­
munity We networked, we opened
our organizations, staffed them, and
started to work on the needs among
our people.”
In a community where nearly one-
third o f all Black men are either in
ja ii, on parole or on probation, cor­
rectional services has unfortunately
become an unwelcome growth in­
dustry. Yet it is usually the court
system, the lawyers and the jai I hous­
es that reap the lion’s share o f the
benefits. Evans believes more Bridge
Back-type facilities are needed, es­
pecially in Black communities.
“California and other states must
take immediate steps to treat low
risk, non-violent offenders different­
ly than violent predatory offenders,”
Evans says. “ We must expand the
number and type o f community cor­
rections programs for these offend­
ers For every bed the state establish­
es in a community-based corrections
facility, it can save the cost o f build­
ing a new prison cell.”
I n a era where pol itic ians are prom­
ising to build more jails, they need to
look closely at the Bridge Back con­
cept. It works, and at a fraction ofthe
$400,000 per year it costs to house a
man who is convicted o f cashing a
bad check
?