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I hi P ortland O bserver • A prii 23, 1997
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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. On December 20,
1993, President Clinton signed the
national “Oprah Bill" into law.
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