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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 1996)
tv • ‘ ** 1 ■ •V, f y - ' A ■•■’'■•. r - ’ . H0WWPw#ï »■. N ovember 20, 1996 « T he P or lean » O bserver P age A2 Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily Reflect Or Represent The Views Of i ■. y Attention Readers! (C Please take a minute to send us your comments. W e’ re always trying to give you a better paper and we can’t do it without your help. Tell us what you like and what needs improvement... any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. We take criticism well! Get your powerful pens out N O W and address your letters to: Editor. Reader Response, The Reverend lesse L Jackson and a group o f civil rights leaders called for the boycott after a two- hour meeting with Texaco CEO Pe ter Bijur. Jackson announced an immediate boycott o f Texaco, Inc., its stock, and its subsidiaries: “ In the spirit o f three strikes and you’re out, Texaco has been given ample time to comply with Federal guidelines in hiring and promoting women and people ofcolor-and they have failed miserably.” The Equal Employment Opportu nity Commission (EEOC) has for the pas, three years investigated Texaco's hiring and promotion practices, and found them wanting. “Enough is enough. I hope when P.O. Box 3137, Portland. O R 9 7 2 0 8 . ________________________ (T in ' J jJ o r tla n i» ( © b s e r u e r (LISPS 959-680) Established in 1970 Charles Washington Publisher & Editor Mark Washington Distribution Manager Gary Ann Taylor Business M anager Sean Cruz Consultant & Editor Portland Observador Danny Bell Advertising Sales M anager Gary Washington Public Relations Paul Neufeldt Production & Design Rovonne Black Business Assistant 4747 NE M artin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, Oregon 97211 503-288-0033 • Fax 503-288-0015 Email: Pdxobserv@aol.com bi Second Class postage p a id at Portland. Oregon. Subscriptions: $30.00 per year The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manu scripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property o f the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent ot the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition ot such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PAR I W ITH OUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland O bserver-O regon’s Oldest Multicultural Publica- tio n -is a member o f the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver. P roe . M< K inlka B urt A most pertinent observation, and many are being brought to the same viewpoint in respect to being able to d istinguish education p rio rities through a blizzard o f fiscal emergen cies; the passage o f "Measure 47” not being the least of these traumas. But hold that for the m om ent-I am also reminded “not to drop the ball" on some issues considered very im portant to both parents and students. I would hope that teachers are as interested. First, yes, I did include in that 1980s television presentation an ac count o f the many patented techno logical contributions of the brilliant African American engineer from P o rtlan d , O regon, T.M . (D on) Rutherford, a Benson High School graduate. There was the special lock/ catch that made possible the sliding $ortlanb (Obscrucr The Portland Observer can be sent directly to your home for only $30.00 per year Please fill out. enclose check or money order, and mail to: Si'BscRirnoNs T he P ortland O bserv er ; PO B ox 3137 P ortland , O regon 97208 C O A L IT IO N Would You Trust Your Car To Mark Fuhrman? Boycott Texaco! you need gas and see a Texaco sign, you’ll just keep on driving." “They say they’re doing all they can. but this deplorable audio tape- -and the 1,500 employees who have tiled a suit which should have been settled by now—say otherwise.” r s p ZA PO STM A S TE R : Send Address Changes To: Portland Observer, P.O. Box 3137, Portland, O R 97208. The civil rights delegation de nounced the recorded remarks o f top Texaco executives referring to Afri can Americans as “niggers” and “black jelly beans” when they met with CEO Bijur. They also asked Bijur to: ♦ provide data on T exacos em ploy ment picture: • p r o v id e a b rea kd o w n o f s ta ff ing p a tte rn s, in c lu d in g the n u m ber o f A fric a n A m ericans, L a ti no H ispanics, A sia n A m erica n s, a n d w om en in m a n a g e ria l p o s i tions, a n d on the T exaco B o a rd o f d ire c to r: * release procurement data, ♦ reveal the number o f discrimina tion complaints the firm has logged in recent years. Texaco would provide none o f this information. Jackson concluded: “These Mark Fuhrm an's o f corporate America need to be exposed and weeded out. We will withdraw our consumer dol lars until we become respected trad ing partners, and Texaco’s 1,500 employees receive justice.” Boycott Texaco. 7) e doors on first the Volkswagen and later most American Vans. Before this Mr. Rutherford had patented the seemingly simple catch that secures the closing o f our kitchen cabinets, etc. Even more fasc inating to the v ¡ew ers was the revelation that this black engineer played a critical role in the design o f that fam ous Howard Hughes flying boat, “the Spruce Goose.” How many times have we seen that one momentous flight’ on television; Mr. Rutherford was on board as accounted by him in his March 24, 1995 letter to me. “...I was the Systems specialist on the I lughes Flying Boat project. Since I designed the Engine control sys tem. my duty on the flight was to fill in as a back up for the active flight- engineer.” ‘Don’ has since retired (Rugher- ford & Associates Engineers), but his accomplishments live on-right here in Portland! Many o f us fol lowed the accounts in local and na tional m edia when the “ Spruce Goose” was dismantled in California Several year ago. then transported to Hillsboro, Oregon for reassembly. I have been unsuccessful in an attempt to secure a date from the owner as to when this important exhibit might be on display (D on’s niece, Charlotte, is a Portland resident). There are a number o f African Americans with 'Portland ties who have made major contributions to the nation’s technology. In the past I have encountered the same degree of inertia at OMSI in respect to featur ing any motivating or inspiring dis plays o f any such contributions as was the case with Benson High School Staff. Many, many parents, both black and white deplored the situation, voicing their own negative experiences. This last observation brings us to an interesting experience, one that might be termed a cultural anomaly. When I mentioned that white parents were sending or bringing their kids by my office for help in developing profiles o f black inventors as the ultimate in role models, one wag suggested the message to the child was, “By God, if they’ could achieve against all those adds Junior, you’ve got no excuse at all! ” What ever, they call up and ask “what do you s charge an hour for tutoring?” Is our’ village listening? When I announced in the Portland Observer Newspaper a $25 award to the first Middle School student who could use the clues I furnished to track down the black inventor of a “within- the-engine cab” semaphore system for railroads, sixteen’ white kids leaped to the task-parents and teacher’s en couraging. Several opted, “that was sure a neat invention, it might have prevented that fatal freight train colli sion in a Washington State fog. 1 am not surprised at this turn of events, and on two counts. First, that th ere w ere no resp o n se s from ‘blacks’, includingparents and teach ers and, secondly, that so many peo ple from other cultures are reacting vigorously to the threat o f being left out of the “technological wave ofthe future.” I noticed a universal com prehension o f this fact during my ten years o f contracting with the U.S. Forest service to document the tech nical contributions o f African Amer icans all over Oregon, Washington, parts o f California, Alaska as part of cultural awareness programs. Cont’d next week Vantage Point: Fighting To Repair The Safety Net In the U.S. etrified by the fear of a Dole victory in the 1 9 9 6 presidential election, lib erals, progressives and advo cates for the poor swallowed Clin ton's signing of a terrible welfare reform bill with only mild protest. ÎÎ N am e:___ __ Address: City, S ta te :______ Zip-Code: T hank Y oe F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver i better 'ITd ’Che (SJifitor a e reader says this ‘NET’ and computer barrage { from the media reminds me of your quip that “often its hard to see the dance because so many dancers are in the way” ( ‘can’t see the forest for the trees In the way’). Deadline far all submitted materials: Articles:Friday, 5:00 pm Ads: Monday, 12:00pm N A T IO N A L r e c t The Village Needs Education As Well p Contributing Writers: Professor McKinley Burt, Lee Perlman, Pamela Jordan SUBSCRIBE TO ut up your c a r d -th e Texaco boycott it on. <Hl|e ^Jarthutb ffibserucr Send your letters to the Editor to: Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208 In addition, there was hardly awhim- per when Clinton failed to renew the patry commitment to build new public housing units for needy families in the face o f escalating demand (the com mitment was cut from 400,000 units per year to 40,000 by Ronald Reagan). Across the board the conservative clam or for leaner government and less so cial programs ishavingdisastrous con sequences on the quality of life for poor and working people and those locked into the ghettos, the barrios and reservations. The safety net which had become such an integral part o f life in the U.S. is in shambles. T he re -e le c tio n o f W illiam Jefferson Clinton will do little to repair the damage that has been done to the safety net. The Republicans have always unapologetically been the Party ofbig business and the rich. The Democratic Party, however, in its effort to gain and retain the White House, has abandoned its principles and reinvented itself as a moderate- centrist political institution con sciously coopting traditional aspects o f the Republican agenda. It is clear that poor and working people can no longer count on the Democratic Par ty tochampion theircause. It is equal ly clear that poor and working people cannot count on the electoral process alone to repair the safety net. It’s time to "agitate, educate and orga nize.” Civil Rights Journal: Criminal Justice And The Case Of Kwame Cannon by B ernice P ow ell J ackson n stitu tio n al racism is part of the daily life of most people of color in this country. jl O '7 The Texaco case and others I ike it point to racism in the workplace. But institutional racism in the crim inal justice system is perhaps the most devastating because it impacts the poorest o f our nation's citizens in life and death ways and seems to be the institution least likely to change. Take the case o f Kwame Cannon. Kwame has served ten years o f not one but two life sentences for un armed burglary in the state o f North Carolina. He has an outstanding pris on record, having assisted chaplains and counseled other inmates and guards He studied for his GED and now is studying college courses. He works in the kitchen. His life and his attitude shows that if our criminal justice system were really interested in rehabilitation, he would be a mod el. Why did he receive such a harsh sentence? There are some who be lieve that his sentence is related to the fact that his mother, Willena Cannon, was a labor leader in 1979, when five activists in the Greens boro area were shot by the Kian and Neo-Nazis in broad daylight, but never convicted. At age 10, Kwame was present at the massacre. As a result o f his m other’s part in a law suit against the city for its part in these killings, she was unable to work for a number o f years. As Kwame grew up, he became frus trated and angry with the extreme poverty and he began to break into houses. He never used a weapon or confronted residents. At age 17 he was caught and confessed to six bur glaries But he was accused o f many other unsolved burglaries by the police at the time. Several white men were later convicted of some o f these burglaries vaguely attributed to Kwame. They received much short er sentences. There are others who believe that Kwante’s long sentence was because he was a poor African American youth, who ended up being repre sented by an alcoholic attorney, who was later disbarred His attorney rec ommended that Kwame accept a plea bargain which resulted in the two life sentences. Indeed, recent re search shows that the length o f his sentence was unprecedented for this offense in North Carolina. Further more, since his conviction the laws have changed so that unarmed bur glary would not draw a life sentence. For the past five years a group of pastors in Greensboro have been seeking the release of this remark able young man who has already served ten years and has turned him self around Even his last victim, a college president, has joined the ef fort, as have business executives, most of the City Council, the mayor and a former chief justice o f the NorthCarolinaSupremeCourt. Each year they have petitioned Governor Jim Hunt to commute this young man’s sentence or at least release him to the clergy so that he can work with them to help keep others out of prison. But G overnor Hunt has turned a deaf ear to their cries. The G reensboro Pulpit Forum sees the case o f Kwame Cannon as both the most extreme example o f the inequities o f the criminal justice system and an instance o f wasted human potential Kwame Cannon, they believe, has been rehabilitated and can help others to stay away from a life o f crime. Here is an excerpt from an open letter written to young people from Kwame Cannon: “ ...Sure, life out there can seem unfair at times, here in prison noth- ingseem s fair... Does this sound like the way you would like to live your life? It’s so easy to make the same mistakes I did, but here area few tips on how to avoid fal ling into the same trap I did. Always remember this, ‘For ev ery action there is a reaction ’ Wha, I am saying is, learn to take respon sibilities for your actions... Trust me, It’s no, worth it! I’ve been living in here more than ten years and every night, I lay in my bed thinking about how my life could have been different. It hurts, but I can'tblam e anyone but myself. Your life doesn't have to be like this, set goals for yourselves and always, think before you act." (Note: I f you would like to write Governor Jim Hunt on beh alf o f Kwame Cannon, write State Capi tol, 116 H. Jones Street, Raleigh, NC 27603 or Fax (919) 715-3175. Concrete Jungle: “Shut Up...Or I’ll Shoot” by K imberly M c L aughlin ffA ZA Cj t the risk of sounding like an Andy Rooney wanna be, I'd like to know..."did you ever notice how Americans show dissatisfaction w ith leaders, politicians and oth er public figures?". In short, we try to extinguish their lives. Somehow or another some o f our fellow american brothers and sisters o f all colors have misinter preted the term “disagreem ent” . Americans have taken the lives of other Americans for reasons unknown for decades. Due to the unfortunate excess o f live lost. I'll refrain from making direct references My main objective here is to try to solicit the help o f Journal readers I ask you, why have we bought into this “death notice" form of disenchantment? Most recently, former Nation of Islam Minister Khalid Muhammed was attacked in Riverside, Califor nia A former member o fthe Nation of Islam has been fingered as the gun wielding culprit. For those who've forgotten. Dr. Khalid Muhammed is the now infamous former right hand man o f Min Louis Farrakhan A speech delivered at a small New Jer sey college by Dr. Muhammed con tained language that several white. Jewish, and other students found rep rehensible Sources say that Dr 4 Muhammed made ill reference to the Pope, and the entire Jewish commu nity There are many who have little to no compassion for the fallen Dr Khalid Muhammed. Those who have been targeted in this speeches across this country have every right to hold the Dr. in low regard What is not acceptable is the re cent attempt on this human being's life As Americans we are all entitled to our own opinions We are entitled to voice our opin ions. and to stand by them as best we know how It is people like this gun man who sot Dr Muhammed in the leg who are reprehensible! How dare the likes of,his gunman attack anoth er person on account o f a disagree ment in theory. I believe strongly that o f those who know o f Dr Muhammed and his flamboyant way of speaking, less than half are happy to see him sur vive his recent attack. These self righteous types are also guilty Though his message could be con sidered hate filled to some. Dr. Khalid Muhammed as an American citizen has every right to speak it Perhaps K halid's non-sympathizers should afford themselves a quick search into their souls As things stand now, if you pub licly take unpopular positionson cer tain issues you could be putting your life on the line. I’ve been thinking readers. I've come to the conclusion that with every Concrete Jungle I write, I may be taking seconds, min utes, and perhaps days off o f my own life. In thinking back over the past several months, I've done quite a bi, o f name calling, finger pointing, etc I’ve made ill reference to several groups, and individuals. I’ve basically commented on or verbally chastised more people than you can shake a stick at. My only saving brace is that The Journal is a small, weekly, community newspa per. After all, The Journal is only read by thousands o f people in the U.S. and abroad. Being the small town, cub reporter, little known jour nalist that I am, I shouldn’t even consider fearing repercussions from enraged readers... right? Okay, so may be I should, bu, I w on’t because telling the story the way my eyes see it is my style. As human beings we are promised only two things, life and death. If having the courage to inform people (especially my people) o f what they need to know makes someone un comfortable, so be it. Whether my train out,a this game called life is coming today or tomorrow, I will go with my truth in my heart and mind what about you?
