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^îortlanb Ofrbseruer
(USPS 959-680) Established in 1970
Charles W ashington
P u b lis h e r A E d ito r
M ark W ashington
D is ts rib u tio n M a n a g e r
Gary A nn T a y lo r
Business M a n a g e r
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
D ire c to r o f O peration
Y vonne Lerch
A cco u n t Executives
M ike Leighton
Copy E d ito r
C o n trib u tin g W rite rs:
Professor M c K in le y B urt,
Lee Perlman,
N e il Eleilpern
Deadline for all submitted materials:
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1996 T H E P O R T L A N D O B S E R V E R
O U T P E R M IS S IO N IS P R O H IB IT E D .
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rClie <3Ldit0r
Send your letters to the Editor to:
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
Skip the apology!
H arry C. A lford , P resi -
N ational B lack
C hamber of C ommerce
by
dent /C E O ,
h the rhetoric! How
sweet the sound of em
pathy and compassion
which can act as an opiate to
disarm those that have been
maimed by a society which re
garded them as less than hu
man.
O ur president has form ed an
ther (o f the endless) com m ission to
discuss race issues and to suggest
what path we should go dow n next.
There is talk form some o f our
legislators to give a form al apology
fo r the slavery o f the past. L e t’ s
look a this issue fo r a short m o
ment.
How is an apology gong to heal
the damages done and the su ffe r
ing currently experienced by us as
a people via econom ic deprava
tion We are the poorest, unhealthi-
est and least achieving group o f
people in this country. It ju s t d id n 't
happen, it is the result o f the c r u d
est form o f slavery ever practiced,
and nearly a century o f apartheid
and econom ic oppression. We are
h u rriedly try in g to play “ catch up"
but still a system o f d iscrim in a tio n
resolved to do one thing: D ocu
ment the horrors our ancestors have
experienced and prove the impact
it currently has on us and our c h il
dren.
F in a lly , attach a “ b ill" to this
and file suite against the United
States fo r reparations. We hope to
make a “ m odel” fo r other Black
clans to fo llo w and be made whole.
T h is apology verbiage is laugh
able. We want to be made w hole!
They w o n ’ t ever vo lu n ta rily so this
so we must prove the damage w ith
irrefutable facts and make demands
through federal courts.
The plantation master. James
W A lfo rd , sexually abused our
great great grandm other. Nancy,
and impregnated her w ith 7 sons.
W hen he died in I8 6 0 and his
estate was d ivided up amongst his
c h ild re n , our great grandfathers
were not included. A system that
discrim inates amongst o ff spring
based on race is im m oral and should
pay fo r damages caused by such.
We can prove this lineage from our
n e w ly fou n d w h ite great great
grandfather through D N A and we
aim to do it! Y ou should sec the
court records when they divided up
his estate and no mention o f "u s”
plays a role in suppressing what
progress we may achieve. For what
I know and the rage w ith in me (that
I suppress). 1 d o n ’ t w a n t ‘‘ M r
C h a rlie " to apologize fo r his great
grandfather. I want the damages
done to m y great grandfather paid
fo r via reparations to me. they did
was made.
W hat makes me even more en
it fo r the Japanese interred during
possession to nearly 2,(XX) acres. B it
W o rld W ar II they have form al
treaties w ith Indian tribes thro u g h
by bit and piece by piece they lost it.
Today, my fam ily has no more than
out the nation and aggressively
assisted Am erican Jews w ho were
do reparations fo r the atrocities o f
70 acres left o f this massive amount
o f gtxxl Louisiana farm land. M y
brother and I have read "trumped
Nazi Germany.
Each and every one o f you should
up" b ill o f sales, suspect auction
documents, etc. that gave this land,
figure out the names o f your ances
tors between the period o f 18(X) -
for very little money, to developers
1920. then start tra c k in g them
through the N ational A rchives and
applicable court houses I have been
doing this for over a year and the
further I investigate the more en
raged I become. I have id entified
...!
RAINBOW PU$H
*’"• *** very once in a while, it is
> useful to put current
events in a global con
text. Reverend Jackson did so in
a recent speech to the Global
Labor Summit in Denmark, to an
audience of 6 0 0 progressive
trade union leaders from more
than 1 00 nations.
C O A L IT IO N
Winds of Change
E la b o ratin g on an analysis by
A m erican p o litic a l theorist K evin
P hillips, Jesse rem inded the inter
national union leaders o f how much
we have won by w o rk in g together,
and then declared that “ the right
w ing tide has ebbed, and our issues
the w inds o f change beginning to
blow across the w orld.
Consider the U.S., where P hillips
e
raged is to see conveyance docu
ments in the Bossier Parish (L o u isi
ana) Courthouse concerning my tw o
paternal great grandfathers and pa
ternal grandfather. Between 8172
and 1922 (50 years) these men had
and opportunists W e have seen
through public records exploitation
o f our ancestors w hich currently af
fects our net worth and inheritance
to be passed on to our children.
G randfather Thomas A lfo rd re
the master o f one o f m y great grand
ceived a 162 acre land grant from
President W ilso n in 1916. By 1920,
fathers and have started tracking
he was dow n to 42 acres, it appears
him also. A lo n g this journey I have
discovered “ lost cousins" whose
ancestors were siblings to m y great
that the application fo r (he grant
was prepared by the w hite guys
w h o e ven tu a lly ended up w ith most
grandfather. I ’ ve found them in
F lorida, G eorgia, C a lifo rn ia and
o f it. Y ou sec, “ fro n tin g " w ith m i
n o rity programs was going on back
Louisiana. C o lle c tiv e ly , we have
then also.
C anadian voters retained the L ib
p o litic s -b u i the Reagan Era is d e fi
largest party.
The recent elections in France
ries have ju st suffered a smashing
defeat, w in n in g a mere 31% o f the
vote-the lowest in over 150 years!
The Tories retained only 165 seats,
their smallest num ber in almost a
century. T h a tch e rism has fin a lly
been consigned to h is to ry ’ s dustbin.
L o o k at C anada, where in 1993
the C onservative Party carried only
2 seats to ta l! A n d ju s t last m onth.
wane. A nd w hile i t ’ s true that our
side is not yet in charge, you can feel
p
has pointed out that the Republican
Party won less than 38% o f the vote
in 1992, and less than 42% in 1996,
their w orst back-to-back show ing
since F D R ’ s tim e Progressives may
not yet be in charge o f Am erican
nitely over.
O r take England, where the T o
the w o rld .”
Rev. Jackson noted that the con
servatives are on a dow nw ard slope
now, w h ile progressive forces are on
the rise. Recent elections in the G-7
industrialized nations have made it
clear that the right w ing era is on the
r s p
e
erals in pow er, increased the N ew
D e m o cra tic P a rty 's share o f the
vote to 11%, and le ft the C o n se r
va tive s w ith ju s t 20 seats out o l
301, m aking them o n ly the 5th-
dealt a body b lo w to the interna
tional right
French voters rejected the right
w in g ’ s attack on the social safety
net. D o n 't pay any attention to the
m ainstream m edia com m entators
w ho keep p ra ttlin g on about the
French mistake; these voters knew
exactly what they were doing. They
were protecting a social safety net
that it took centuries o f struggle to
c
create.
Next year, Germany...
The point Rev. Jackson keep m ak
ing is that the right w ing across the
industrialized w o rld took on the so
cial safety net, but fo r the most part
we held them o ff. The right tried to
decrease taxes on the rich and p o w
erfu l-ju st as the GOP in the U S.
Congress is even now attem pting to
low er the capital gains and estate
taxes for the w ealthy-but the voters
have had enough o f special interest
favors.
The conservative, g re e d -d o m i
nated era o f the 1980s is over. O ur
issues are com ing back onto the pub
lic policy agenda: the huge and g ro w
ing gap between rich and poor; trade
and investment p o licy; the g lo b a l
ization o f corporate capital, and the
need for a coordinated trade union
response; the corporate attack on
workers, pensions, and liv in g stan
dards everywhere in the w orld.
The voters are on our side on
these issues. The wheel is turning.
The first ones now, shall later be
last
t i v
e
s
More science - the right kind IV
A L L R IG H T S
R ES E R V E D , R E P R O D U C T IO N IN W H O L E OR IN P A R T W IT H
better
.......................
are about to take center stage across
4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.,
Portland, Oregon 97211
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Email: Pdxobserv(6)aol.com
Articles:Friday, 5 :0 0 p m
Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
Reflect Or Represent The Views O f
(Tin- llo
rtla n h ODhsrrucr
_____________ _________ __________________ —
, ! J ! '
I
9. 1997 • T ul P or i la n d O bserver
teachers o f my acquaintance have re
flected much o f the national senti
And by all means be sure to shop
around Powells Bookstore at Tenth
and West Burnside. The best selec
tions in the country and im portantly,
copies o f those “ by-subscription-only”
In clarification o f just what it was
ment. Education administrators don’ t
magazines you may wish to sample.
“ Forbes Magazine was saying about
realize what people in industry know;
right along w ith hardware and soft
dents on a broad range o f exams over
four years; The ‘gender gap in the
his is the concluding ar
tid e of a four-part series
designed to provide a
relevant and effective support
ing structure for the learning
experience in technology. Al
ready, the response indicates
that, indeed, motivated parents
(and community) can make good
use of such material.
sciences is narrowing. The greatest
difference noted is low English scores
for boys - not low math for girls
the resentment o f some educators at
what they regarded as a misguided
"dum ping" o f com
puters and software
on overburdened
A t the end o f this article I have
appended an expanded citation ot last
week’s "relevant periodicals." (Some
readers expressed a d iffic u lty in se
that is, i f the system
the Ed-Op page o f
the O re g o n ia n does ve ry w e ll;
the thing."
Please note that the Educational
Testing Service recently tracked the
scores o f more than 15 m illio n stu
is to work.
Because ofthe constraints o f space,
W hile there look for a used copy o f
“ B io lo g y: The N etw ork o f L ife ". M ix ,
Farber & King, Harper C ollins, 1992.
This is the most comprehensive and
best structured biology book I ’ veseen.
• N a tu ra l H istory M agazine: A m eri-
can Museum o f N a tu ra l H istory,
M e m b e rsh ip Services, P.O . B o x
3030, H a rla n L A 51593-2091, $22 a
year.
• P o p u la r S cie n ce M a g a z in e ):
P o p u la r Science, PO B ox 51282,
Boulder, Co 80323-1282 $17.94 a
Putting
1 w ill have assign the reader some
computers in every classroom w on’ t
guarantee better educated children,
but it w ill cost a lot o f money.”
School districts wanting to be seen
as “ on the cutting edge o f the new
technologies" (and gearing up for
tasks; for-the full address. 8(X) num
ber, etc. o f the "Edm und Scientific
C o.” call dow ntow n library inform a
tion service, 248-5234 This firm has
bigger budgets). Are dropping music
youth: electronics, optics, astronomy,
El. 32142-9143 $24.00 a year.
A ll w ill begin subscriptions im m e
and art p rogram s, d is c o n tin u in g
communications, biology, etc.
diately and b ill later.
“ C lin to n ’ s Shaky Bridge
ence clubs. O M S I is so much at pop
science' (and a w fu lly expensive),
whereas an ongoing neighborhood
relationship among peers and school
mates such as you had w ould be just
ware there necessarily must come the
expensive p ro fe s
sional expertise and
tra in in g tim e , and
the related cu rricu
lum development -
teachers still trying
to instill the basics
- A July 2 article on
curing the addresses for subscriptions).
Others said, "thanks for that inform a
tion about k id 's ’ neighborhood' sci
needed vocational classes (the latter
were recommended by the C linton's
own Advisory Council ). Several local
the widest selection in the nation when
it comes to scientific apparatus for
year
• Sm ithsonian M agazine: M em ber
ship Data Center, S m ithsonian In
stitution, PO B ox 42039, P alm Coast,
Confronting the myth of deadbeat dads
by
L ayne B arlow
onday June 23, 1997
the Oregonian's front
page carried an article
about House Bill 2 3 24, recently
heard by Senator Miller’s Rules
& Elections Committee.
In fact, Republicans and D em o
crats alike count on increased ch ild
abled, m entally incapacitated, un
employed, o r otherwise unable to
support co lle ctio n s as a cornerstone
o f their w elfare reform plans. Y ou
pay pre-set ch ild support amounts.
d o n ’ t have to be a member o f the
w o rld cham pion U.S. M ath O ly m
piad team to see that there is some
The article was also in error on
several key points, including the ever
popular fiction o f "noncustodial par
ents owe more than $34 b illio n na
tio n w id e in back c h ild support."
Nancy, you know better, because you
asked us fo r the facts and figures to
refute that and we provided it.
Oregon M e n ’ s A ssociation op
thing w rong w ith those calculations.
Even under the rosiest projections ot
the g o v e rn m e n t’ s A n n u a l C h ild
Support Report, in 1992 (the last
year fo r w hich data is available),
there was about $20.9 b illio n in court-
ordered ch ild support owed by all
Am ericans and, o f that, a little more
than $6 b illio n was paid. T h is leaves
$4.9 b illio n in unpaid ch ild support
But the largest num ber o f all d e lin
quents are those w ho sim p ly d o n ’ t
exist.
Recently, the F lo rid a Department
o f Revenue, the agency responsible
fo r ch ild support enforcem ent in that
state, sent out 700,000 notices o f
allegedly delin q u e n t fathers. The
summonses demanded im m ediate
payment or the recipient w ould be
incarcerated.
Subsequently, o ffic ia ls a ckn o w l
than 90%.
Joint Custody is the cure to the
ch ild support problem and is the
closest thing to a tw o-parent fa m ily
that we can give a child. U n fo rtu
nately, more than 90%, o f litigated
divorces result in an award o f sole
custody to the mother.
Even when fathers do receive
court-ordered access to their c h il
dren, their visita tio n attempts are
often met w ith interference by the
mothers.
Joan B erlin K e lle y and Judith
W allerstein, in "S u rvivin g th e Break-
U p ” (Basic Books, 1990), found that
almost h a lf o f all mothers see no
value in the father’ s continued con
tact w ith hischildren fo llo w in g sepa
ration o r divorce.
to co lle ct the sm aller amount o f ch ild
edged that probably 6(X),(XX)of those
notice were sent to in d ivid u a ls who
actually did not owe ch ild support.
One o f those re c ip ie n ts , D a n ie l
W ells, died eight years ago in a
tra ffic accident, but the state s till
posed law in the future.
For now we w ill orient you to the
support o b lig a tio n s. W e ’ ve tried
wanted him to cough up $ 160.IXX) in
Sanford Braver, a U n ive rsity o f
A riz o n a p sych o log ist, c o n firm e d
m any times over the past 10 years,
problem , courtesy o f Stuart M ille r
and the M arch 2. 1995, W a ll Street
Journal entitled “ The M y th o f Dead
yet no e ffo rt has increased the per
past due support!
N o r is this an isolated case.
The General Accounting O ffice
these figures and found that up to
40%, o f mothers interfere w ith the
dad’ s relationship w ith his kids.
found in 1992 that as many as 15% o f
beat Dads” ...
C hild-support co lle ctio n has re
cently become a big issue in Wash
ington. President C lin to n issued an
executive order this week requiring
all federal agencies to fa cilita te the
more than 1%.
This is due to a number o f factors.
First, o f the 30%, o f child support
payments not collected, a significant
number are owed by fathers who are
imprisoned. A high percentage o f
G iven this documented connec
tion between a father’ s access to his
children and the payment o f ch ild
support,
• W hy does W ashington [and Sa
paym ent o f fa th e r’ s debts. A nd
Health and Human Services Secre
tary Donna Shalala te stifie d that if
we co lle ct all o f the c h ild support
owned by Am ericans, we w ould re
duce the $2(X) b illio n w elfare cost by
prisoners have child support obliga
tions, and as many as one-third ofth e
inmates in many county ja ils are there
in the first place because o f child
support noncompliance.
M any o f the other delinquent fa
25%
thers are addicts, alcoholics, d is
poses H B 2324. It is very long, very
w rong, and makes O r w e ll’ s B ig
Brother seem like a frie n d ly uncle in
comparison. We w ill get in to the
many, many problems w ith this pro
S ubscribe
to
in 1992-far short o fth e $50 b illio n
Ms. Shalala hopes to raise.
B ut i t ’ s v irtu a lly impossible even
centage o f collections fo r welfare
m other (the biggest target group) by
® i| e $ o r t i a « h o D b a e r u c r
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fathers who owe child support are
dead. The report further stated that
66%, o f fathers w ho owe support “ can
not afford to pay the amount ordered."
The easiest w ay, then, to increase
the figures on ch ild-support co lle c
tions is sim p ly fo r the governm ent to
lem /) seem intent on punishing the
make an accurate ta lly , U n til this
happens, i t ’ s im possible to discuss
remedies fo r the ch ild-support prob
creates a clim ate encouraging non-
com pliance?
One way around this problem may
be to make ch ild support obligations
lem.
Once a serious discussion gets
under way, one o f the first items on
the agenda should be the inherent
unfairness in taking som ething away
from people and then m aking them
pay fo r it. M ost fathers are deeply
com m itted to th e ir children, yet a
1991 Census Bureau study found
that about h a lf o f fathers receive no
court-ordered visita tio n . W hen fa
father?
• What about the m other w ho
more equitable. A t the moment, ch ild
support is almost e xclu sive ly the
burden o f fathers. The federal O ffice
o f Income Security P olicy found in
1991 that less than 30% o f custodial
lathers receive a ch ild support award,
whereas almost 80%, o f custodial
mothers do.
Yet, about 47% o f those mothers
who are ordered to pay support totally
----------------- -------------------------------------------
thers do receive visita tio n , almost
80% pay all o f their ch ild support on
tim e and in fu ll. W hen fathers re
default on their obligation. In the
interest o f fairness, i f nothing else,
policy makers should make an effort
________________________
ceive jo in t custody, the ch ild sup
to collect child support from both
delinquent fathers and mothers.
T hank Y ou F or R eading T he P ortiand O bserver
port com pliance rate jumps to more