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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1997)
AMM »?•'_ w». (^«.7. HM VW W VW m wnm H . I I hi P ortland O bserver • A prii 23, 1997 P agi A3 Summit For America’s Future When Is Enough Not Enough? iu P rof . M c K inley B i rt The readers o f this colum n are quite aware by now how events at home or abroad im pact upon the econom ic and social condition o f urban blacks—local, regional, na tional, and, how, international. If subm arine w arfare W orld War I had not cut o ff European im m i gration in 1914, Blacks would had soon been displaced to reser v a tio n s rig h t a lo n g w ith the indians (has our vast d ru g -b e sieged and incarcerated under class fared any better?). It has made equally obvious that it is education and w o rk place that com prise the urban stage for scenarios that can match any Shakespearean tragedy. But it is all the fault o f that middle class which Black essay ist Shelby Steele says should get rid o f its victim -focused Black identity ... our real problem is lack o f ability to take resp o n sib il ity and seize opportunities” ? And, is that what Darin Scott meant when he told a standing-room only audience at the U niversity o f Southern C alifornia. “ We (Blacks) are the first group in modern history to see those who follow behind us have few er opportunities arid rockier road to travel than we did”? I w onder about the validity o f these state ments when I look back through my files which are 35 years com pendium o f activism and o bser vation. Beginning with my ten-year sojourn in Los A ngeles (1954- 1964), I find that, supported by an eq u a lly - c o m m itte d p eer group, there was an intensive in volvem ent in every aspect o f a history-m aking upw ardly m obile decade. T hese w ere precedent- shattering tim es and there were b reak th ro u g h s on m ajor fronts: Employ ment opportunity, housing and school desegregation and pub lic access. All o f us w ere heavily involved in the NAACP, Urban League and Black Press, and given our professional careers. It was also about how to utilize a 70 hour week effectively. If th e re w as any co n se n su s am ong us at all, it was that the rest o f the tribe would m ove right in behind us, clim bing the rounds o f the ladders we built; it had alw ays w orked that way before, had n ’t it? C ertainly, in Portland im m ediately after W orld W ar II this was the case. The m arching, picketing, strik ing, pushing and scream ing o f the new im m igrant Black population carried the city past the period when there w ere no Black retail c le rk s, b a n k te lle rs, b u sd riv ers, long shorem en, supervisors in in dustry or a public agency, and only a handful o f teachers or postal w orkers. The o pportunities for m inori ties burgeoned to a point. But, today, in the last decade o f the 20th century. Blacks rail at w hites; the establishm ent, and the w orld in general. “ We are still far behind in jobs and prom otions-and enrollm ent in higher education has dropped pre cipitously since 1980. And on top o f this we exclaim , we have devel oped a huge body o f individuals euphem istically described as the underclass or disadvantaged. Now, think about it, aren ’t these the very same people who would m ove right in behind us, clim bing the rungs o f the ladders we built?” • Oprah Winfrey, producer, phi lanthropist, businessw om an and child advocate, has been selected to participate in the Presidents’ Sum mit for America’s Future, as an nounced by General Colin Powell I he Summit will be held April IT- 29 Philadelphia Ms. W infrey jo in s C o-C hairs President Bill Clinton and former President George Bush in issuing the Summit’s call to serv ice for chil dren. General Colin Powell, the former Chairman o f the Joint Chiefs o f Staff serves as the S um m it’s G eneral Chairman. Former Secretary o f I lousing and U rban D e v e lo p m e n t, H enry Cisneros, serves as the Sum m it’s Vice Chairman, as does Lynda B. Robb, Daughter o f former President Lyndon Johnson and National Chair person for Reading is Fundamental. Commenting on Ms W infrey's involvement. General Powell said: “ I am delighted that Oprah will be joining our Summit team I, and the other Summit leaders, havethehigh- est regard for her and the efforts she has made on behalf o f A m erica’s children throughout her career. Hav ing Oprah on board will be invalu able to us in helping to focus the attention of the American people on the Summit, and on “ A m erica’s Promise—The Alliance for Youth— the national campaign that will fol low." Ms. Winfrey said, " I ’m so pleased to have been selected to participate in the Presidents' Summit. It has been my number one goal to make the world a safer place for our chil dren. I believe no idea is too big and no task is too great to save and serve a child." Ms. W infrey’s commitment to empowering children is reflected W ha’ happen? Is Shelby Steele right about a “ lack o f ability to take responsibility and seize op p o rtunities?” I could run through a vast litany o f “w hat happened” type re c ita tio n s. T hat B lack - up- w a rd ly - m o b ile m id d le c la s s m oved to suburbia taking with it the econom ic and political skills necessary to m aintain an urban infrastructure o f viable housing and school system s, or even re tail stores and shops. The neigh borhoods o f the rung clim bers rapidly degenerated and the ab sentee landlords and developers m oved in, utilizing every device from Urban Renewal (R em oval) and em inent dom ain to m ore so p h is tic a te d fo rm s of gentrification. Today, we look at television program s like “ Tony B row n’s Journal” and we see groups o f the black m iddle class m anagers and executives lam enting their difficulties and alienation. We have titles but we are on soft m oney in industry, we are on staff, not in line positions. We have no path to the top, and in these days o f reorganizations and frequent buy outs we are more insecure than ever. We try to spin out and set up businesses but the banks have no m oney for us (n everm ind the loudly heralded franchise p u r chases in sports —also 80% o f those auto fra n c h ise s failed). These television program s are a sad sight indeed, so many brains, so m any degrees, so m any silk suits, so many M ercedes in the parking lot and so much estrange ment from reality. Did we do this to our children and ourselves? AT&T wireless services replaces missing mannequins AT&T has purchased new man nequins to replace those which were swiped from the Southeast Portland location billboard promoting “The AT&T Giants o f the Gobi” exhibit at OMSI. Ty and Tera l ops, brother and sister o f the missing m anne quins, have volunteered to pose on the billboard after hopes o f finding Rex and Cera were extinguished. AT&T W ireless Services filed a missing mannequin report with lo cal authorities and has had several leads come over A T& T’s Missing Mannequin I lotline, but none o f them have panned out. AT&T would like to thank everyone who called in with information. While the case is offi cially closed, the Hotline will re main open another week. Anyone with information can call the Hotline at (503) 306-6002. The 3D billboard, located on the east side of the Hawthorne Bridge, features an advertisement paid for by AT&T that uses mannequins of chil dren to create awareness and empha size the mammoth proportion o f“ The AT&T Giants o f the Gobi" exhibit was essential in bringing this exhibit, which is one o f OM SI's key recovery strategies, to the Northwest. through her charitable and philan thropic contributions. In 1995, Ms. Winfrey devoted herself and her nationally syndi cated talk show to tackling the most critical issues facing children in a year-long series titled, “ O prah’s Child Alert.” This special series examined gun violence, poverty,domestic violence and abuse o f children. T he goal o f the series was to empower viewers with information and solutions to improve the lives o f children In 1991, Ms. Winfery initiated " I'he National Child Protection Act” and testified before the United States Judiciary Committee to establish a national database o f all convicted child abusers. 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