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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 1996)
* • P age A? D ecember 11, 1996 • Tm P or h a n d O bserver pT '»«KA;- J M Z z ! i M U H I ■': J W j Z I JJo rtk tn b Of)bscruev i- i w Mitsubishi. Texaco. The military. Avis. Circuit City. R.R. Donnelley & Sons. Call the roll-the list grows dally. What is behind the sudden “surge" in incidents o f corporate racism and sexism? JaxFax suspects that the media is finally taking note o f long standing problems, due to the Texaco tapes. Rev. Joseph Lowery, head of ‘ the SCLC, says it’s “G od’s answer to Proposition 209"-just when the right wing had many Americans convinced that everyone was being treated equal ly, so there was no more need for affirmative action programs, along came Texaco to expose that myth. [Unfortunately, the Texaco scan dal came to light right after election day, j ust a few days too late to change the final outcome o f the prop. 209 vote. W eapplaudtheCalifomiajudge who blocked Prop. 209’s implemen tation, at least temporarily. And we should remember what we did ac complish during that struggle-w ith far less money, fighting a deliberate ly mis-labeled initiative which em phasized “civil rights” rather than “rolling back affirmative action,” Attention Readers! 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. P.O. Box 3137. Portland. O R 97208.________________________ W ife (¡O b s e rv e r (USPS 959-680) Established in 1970 Charles Washington Mark Washington Publisher & Editor Distribution Manager Gary Ann Taylor Sean Cruz Business Manager Consultant & Editor Portland Observador Danny Bell Advertising Sales Manager Paul Neufeldt Production <& Design Gary Washington Public Relations Rovonne Black Business Assistant Contributing Writers: Professor McKinley Burt, Lee Perlman, Ered Hembry 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, Oregon 97211 503-288-0033 • Fax 503-288-0015 Email: Pdxobserv@aol.com p Deadline for all submitted materials: Articles Friday, 5:00 pm Ads: Monday, 12:00pm POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes To: Portland Observer, P.O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208. Second Class postage p a id at Portland, Oregon Subscriptions: 550.00 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 o f the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition o f such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART W ITH OUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland O bserver-O regon’s Oldest Multicultural Publica tion—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. S ubscribe to $i{c jk r tia n b (Dhscmcr 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 BS( RIP I IONS T he P ortland O bserver ; PO B ox 3137 P ortland , O regon 97208 Name: Address: City, State: Zip-Code: T hank Y ou F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver ■d Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily Reflect Or Represent The Views Of / / better Ulte (Svitar On behalf o f the Portland Art Museum, I want to thank you for the privilege to include the Portland Observer as a member o f the Ore gon Committee o f Honor for the Discovering Ellis Ruley exhibition. There was a wonderful response to the recent opening celebration, and we were delighted that so many guests joined us for this tribute to Ruley’s artistic legacy. A special Museum Family Sun day, entitled “Discovering the Art ist in You”, will be held on January 19. A variety o f hands-on activities will help children and families ex plore the techniques that Ruley used to create his vivid images, and spe cial performances by storytellers and The Jefferson Dancers will cel ebrate Ruley’s African American heritage. We are pleased to offer free admission to the community for this afternoon event, and hope that you and your family will be able to join us. Thank you again for the Portland Observer’s thoughtful participation We appreciate your support o f Dis covering Ellis Ruley, and hope that you will have the opportunity to visit this important exhibition dur ing the holiday season. Touching the community C O A L IT IO N Corporate racism starting out 40-50% behind in the polls, with a media which had al ready decided that we were doomed to fail (and thus was not inclined to examine the issue fully), and with the other side receiving $3 million from the Republican Party, while our side received lukewarm verbal support from the D em ocrats-despite all that, we still built a coalition that cut across lines o f race and sex and class, bring ing together Rainbow & NOW & the feminist Majority & Hollywood & the unions & students & Bruce Springsteen, so we could cut the final margin o f defeat down to a mere 54- 46%. If the Democrats had ever tak en this issue as seriously as the GOP s Who Told You That You Were Naked? -G en esis 11:11 BY Pl by P rof , M c K inley B ert <^Ti ust as I said last week, “The M ore Things Change The More They Stay The Same." and as Carter G. Woodsor said in his magna opus, “The Mis-Education Of The Ne gro”, “When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions." O f the group that met at my office this past Friday, there was a consen sus on all three counts. I’m gradually cleaning up enough ‘floor flies’ (and getting the material computer ready) to transfer some important meetings from coffee houses to this more dis* Crete location. Besides, there is the advantage o f having such amenities at hand as a comprehensive library, fax machine, copier, and access to a nation-wide WATS line courtesy of a Beaverton electronics firm. The title o f this w eek’s article is in direct reference to a major conten tion o f the very learned and percep tive Dr. Woodson” “Those who have not learned to do for themselves and have to depend solely on others nev er obtain any more rights or privileg es in the end than they had in the beginning.” Friday, our discussion centered around paraphrasing this prescient 21 e did, we could have won. or if the Texaco mess had come out 2 weeks earlier, we would have won. We should not forget that.] There’s a new corporate outrage, at R.R. Donnelley&Sons, the world’s largest printing company ($6.5 bil lion in sales in 1994). Despite frigid temperatures in Chicago, Rev. Jesse Jackson met with a multi-racial group o f about 150 current and former Donnelley workers, and protested with them outside the plant. 600 African American workers have just filed a $500 million class action suit against the company, claiming that when Donnelley closed its Chicago plant in 1994, all but 7 o f c observation in terms that define an African American who today is far out on the periphery o f the techno logical tide that surges through our infrastructure and our education sys tems. One speaker did a caricature of Adam standing in the garden, trying to cover his private parts and rolling his eyes toward heaven, "Ise naked and helpless oh lawd please help this ole ‘you-know-what’.” “ I don’t know how I got in this mess. The woman did it, thats what. Whitey did it. The wel fare did it. The school sy ste m ’s responsible. These cheap shoes done wore out and 1 can’t march any more. Our leaders are calling for more walk-bys’, can’t you get Nike to turn out a spec ial series9 and another thing, sir, I've looked over Jordan and I don't see a damn thing coming for me but the heat. Also, the library disappeared.” W hen everyone had finished laughing and assigning a date to re fine this act into a skit for an upcom ing youth meeting, things got down to serious business. There were far- ranging questions and critical obser vations concerning local leadership ranging from “who appoints th e n i- t i v the African American workers were terminated, while more than 1/3 o f the white workers were transferred to other divisions or given full retire ment packages and benefits. The suit claims that the plant was referred to as the “black problem" by company executives. The corporation also fac- esallegationsof“ageism," from both white and Black workers who were downsized despite their seniority. Donnelley prints telephone direc tories, Sears & J.C. Penney cata logues, TV Guide, Time, the Nation al Enquirer, Reader’s Digest, Feder al documents and tax forms. The company employs an esti mated 36,000 workers worldwide on every continent but Africa and Ant arctica. Rev. Jackson announced he would call U.S. Secretary o f Labor Robert Reich, and demand a full investiga tion o f Donneliey’s labor practices. JaxFax congratulates the Circuit City workers who have fought so long and hard for vindication. Shame on Circuit City for threatening to appeal the ju ry ’s verdict, and stone- wallingjustice—their Christmas spirit seems to have short-circuited. e the establishment media?” to “are ‘they’ still giving away millions of dollars in real estate? What good is a university education?” This latter query came as the speak er drew back the drapes and pointed at the Umojah complex across the street (the S.W. corner o f N.E. 17th and Aberta). The speaker had been a student in my economics class at P.S.U. and had been p re se n t twenty two years earlier when I out lined my de sign o f the process that secured those valuable buildings and the former public li brary around on 17th for the “Black Educaiton Center" (the only build ing they still own). It was pointed out that several of the whites in the class followed the process and put it into practice, ob taining real property for their own projects, “which they not only still own but have expanded into both housing and commercial rentals. Our well-educated blacks never moved on step further, and the surrounding area is now worth millions. But this is not a phenomena that was confined to these four comers o f Port land; has nothing changed since Dr. Woodson wrote his book in 1933?” After citing, among others, the example o f the former Fred Meyer building at N.E. Killingsworth and MLK we noted the giant economic strides made by African Americans by the turn o f last century. I recently cited these here from a book by E. F. Richings, “Evidences o f Progress among the Colored People”, and at other times I have cited the docu mentation o f the U.S. Congressional Record; at the famed Atlanta Exposi tion almost a hundred years ago black inventors and engineers were dis playing their inventions for railroads, logging and agriculture. And in further preparation for a seminar for black youth we are hold ing in the facilities o f a Beaverton electronic plant, we selected key in ventors from my book “Black Inven tors o f America" which would dem onstrate that even without “mis-edu cation” which would demonstrate that even without "mis-education” blacks have been able to develop some o f the most sophisticated technology the world has seen. And you can be sure that a thorough understanding of the urban infrastructure and real estate will be incorporated in the series.” Vantage Point African America Students On The Frontline In Pittsburgh by R on D aniels ne of the most dramatic and significant protest actions of 1996 received virtually no attention in the na tional media. On November 22 in Pittsburgh, PA., at 10:00 AM sharp nearly 4,000 high school and middle school stu dents staged a Walk-Out to protest —John E. Buchanan, Jr. the acquittal o f one o f the police The Portland Art Museum officers involved in the infamous police murder o f Johnny Gammage. At 12:00 noon more than 2,000 of these students gathered at the Pitts burgh Civic Center for a March for Justice not only to protest the verdict, Dear Mr. Washington, Thank you for being interviewed on our radio program, K BOO 90.7 FM, but to promote “peace amongst the 7:30-9:00am. The innovative work that you are doing is exciting. I look youth” and “mark the beginning o f a forward to reading the Observer in coming months as it continues on this selective buying campaign." The leaf new direction. Often people speak o f diversity and coalition building, but let distributed to mobilize for the Walk few people do it Thank you for walking your talk Again, thank you for out and march made it clear that this was to be a disciplined and well exe being a guest on our show Best wishes for the future. cuted day o f action: "This will be a Sincerely yours, peaceful & orderly Demonstration by Cecil Charles Prescod the African Youth o f Today - No Weapons, No Drugs, Just Peace.” Though a number o f civil rights To the editor: nitely a noteworthy paper that is and community based organizations We are so grateful that your paper touching the community in a posi supported this dramatic day o f ac tion, the protest was conceived and has taken an interest in featuring His tive manner. panic children who are waiting to be We commend you on your ef executed by young people, (recently adopted! There are so many children forts and greatly appreciate all your had the privilege o f interviewing who are in desperate need o f loving help in the area o f adoption Many Daud Lane and knowledge Truth, families, and it is through the consis thanks from our organization and two youth who were involved in the tent efforts o f your paper that they Walk-Out and March, on a nation from the children we serve. may have a chance to find homes. —Deborah Barnhart, Boys wide hook-up on Bob Law’s Night The Portland Observer is defi- and Girls Society of Oregon. Talk on the American Urban Radio Innovative work at The Portland Observer H J R iubji W e r s p Send your letters to the Editor to: Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208 To the editor: N A T IO N A L Network. They were joined by veter an social and political activist Rick Adams, who is associated with a number o f community based organi zations in Pittsburgh. Rick had noth ing but praise the for seriousness o f purpose, dedication and discipline o f the students who planned and ex ecuted the bold action on November 22. On the line with the Night Talk audience, Brother Daud and Knowl edge Truth made a big impression with callers who joined the conver sation from around the country. Dur ing the conversation, these two broth ers were also careful to give credit to an African American sister, Aisha Taylor, for originally coming up with the idea o f the Walk-Out. What is most impressive about the November 22 day o f action, howev er, is that it was not just a one day event. The students envisioned the Walk-Out and March for Justice as the K ick-off o f designed to protest the general lack o f respect for Black people in the City o f Pittsburgh as reflected in a number o f incidents in the past few years. An end to the fratricidal violence between rival street organizations is also a key ob jective o f the overall mobilization for justice. Indeed, the street organi zations joined the November 22 day o f action and are supporting the fol low-up initiatives. The centerpiece o f the mobiliza tion is a youth and student spear headed selective buying campaign/ boycott o f downtown businesses in Pittsburgh. Clearly cognizant o f the power o f the $450 billion Black con sumer market the students have out lined how Black people can use their dollars to achieve justice in Pitts burgh. The youth are asking Black people not to spend any money in downtown Pittsburgh except with Black owned businesses and to take a brown bag lunch to work rather than buy lunch downtown. Consis tent with Dr. Claud Anderson’s con cept o f powemomics, the youth are also asking Black people to take “the money you don’t spend and invest in Black-owned Dwelling House Sav ings and Loan.” In short these African American youth and students have put together a thoughtful and workable plan for protesting against the injustices be ing heaped upon African people in Pittsburgh. When I talked to young Aisha Taylor by phone, she informed me that the Mobilization of African Students for Justice was planning to open an office and was busy refining the organizations short term and long term goals and objectives. At a time when so many people are lamenting the tragic state o f affairs among African youth in America, it is critically important to highlight and uphold examples o f youth en gaged in positive actions like the mobilization against injustice in Pitts burgh. Fora longtime I have asserted that African youth can and must come to the forefront to spearhead critical aspects o f the struggle for Black lib eration in this country; that our young people must be turned around; that rather than venting our anger and frustration as an oppressed people on each other, we must take down the racist-capitalist system o f exploita tion that is oppressing us. In the tradition o f the Student Non- Violent coordinating Com m ittee (SNCC), which was at the cutting edge o f the Black Freedom Struggle in the ‘60's, and the students who led the rebellion in Soweto in South Af rica, African youth in Pittsburgh have taken a major step towards creating thisgeneration’snew Freedom Fight ers. Along the way they may well make some mistakes. However, I would rather see our youth make mistakes trying to end injustice and oppression than to see them over come by alienation, apathy and inac tion. When young brothers and sis ters make the decision to become warriors in the Black Freedom Strug gle, it is imperative that the older generation embrace them, advise them, and give them as much support as possible. With African youth ac cepting the torch, the future o f the race is assured. To contact the Mobilization of A frican Students for Just ice cal 1:412- 361-3719
