J uly 16, 1997 • T he P ortland O bserver
Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
Reflect Or Represent The Views Of
(¡Ilje jjjortlauii © bseruer
(E h i' p o t t i a n i »
(© b s e r lie r
(USPS 959-680) Established in 1970
Charles Washington
Publisher & Editor
Mark Washington
Distsribution Manager
Gary Ann Taylor
Business Manager
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
Director o f Operation
Yvonne Lerch
Account Executive
Mike Leighton
Copy Editor
he flrat annual confer
en ce of th e new ly-
merged Rainbow/Push
Coalition will be held In Chicago,
from W ednesday. July 3 0 th
through Saturday, August 2nd.
Please join us-thls will be an
Important convention.
Contributing Writers:
Professor McKinley Burt,
Lee Perlman,
Neil Heilpern
4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.,
Portland, Oregon 97211
503-288-0033 • Fax 503-288-0015
Email: Pdxobserv@aol.com
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T hank Y ou F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver
Letter to the Editor
Attention Portland to Vancouver Commuters:
I have been intently watching the number of vehicles that travel to and
rom Portland/Vancouver with one person in the car tor quite some time.
Jnfortunately, I am one of these people, but not by choice. (Granted, tor
hose of you who may argue, I do not live and work in the same city),
¿owe ver, I have contacted Tri-Met carpool matching programs and they’ve
5een looking for a match for 8 months now. I am shocked and displeased
hat there is no match yet, but I understand that the number of requests they
•eceive is still low.
I am very surprised and somewhat irritated by this. I thought more people
living in the Northwest would be more involved when it comes to protecting
the environment. Even if you Don t care about the air we breathe or what
all the pollutants are doing to our health and the environment, do you not
care about how much money you spend on wear and tear on your car or on
gasoline? Ok, if that doesn’t bother you either, then how about the
headaches and hassles from driving back and forth to/from Vancouver
every day? Don’t tell me you Enjoy it! Everyone I know complains about
it I personally am tired of it for all the reasons above.
I am personally asking you to please consider carpool ing - even One day
each week will make a difference. It may seem like too small a thing to
bother doing, but really, if each ol us (look at the number ot cars) didn t
drive one Day, it would make a big difference. Perhaps we could even lessen
the traffic problems this way. Or, il you want you could alternate with
another person and carpool two days or more. Some people list that they
would prefer to be a driver only, a rider only or both. The options are
limitless.
How does it work? Actually it’s very simple. You call the carpool match
office, they ask you some questions, they add you to their list, and you wait
for a match. It is your choice as to what pick-up address you list. They will
not give out your home address or your last name, rhey will give out
whichever phone number you list. And you can decide it you d like to
commute with a person of the same gender if you like. So really, why not
at least give it a try?
Here are the phone numbers: If you live in Portland, Tri-Met, Von at 503
238 5833; if you live in Vancouver C-Tran, Lori at 360-696-2824.
I encourage you to consider it and at least give it a try. II more people
don’t join, the people who have already joined may not get a match (like
me). And then, the whole idea will never work
A concerned resident o f the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
The conference, which is entitled
“Equal Educational Opportunities:
Opening New Markets,’ will be held
at the Chicago Hilton & Towers
Hotel, 720 S. Michigan
After a morning Rainbow/Push
Board meeting, the conference reg
istration starts at 1 pm on Wednes
day, 7/30. The afternoon focus is on
“School Finance Reform,” examin
ing the unequal property-tax-based
funding systems that leave inner city
and rural public schools under
funded, crumbling, and without the
high-tech infrastructure necessary to
train our kids for tomorrow
*
■ r'
/M /A »O M <Py$H
C O A L IT IO N
Conference Time!
That night, Reverend Jackson will
host a major Town Hall Meeting on
"racism,” to help set the country's
agenda while we engage in the cur
rent national discussion on race.
The Thursday labor Breakfast fea
tures AFL-CIO president John
Sweeney as our featured keynote
speaker. Recognition will be given to
Linda Chavez-Thompson, the UFW
strawberry workers, and the mush
room workers, for their organizing on
behalf of working families.
The W om en’s Luncheon on
s
p
e
Thursday, 7/31, will feature Secre
tary of Labor Alexis Herman Edu
cation workshops will follow that
afternoon, with a Gospel Concert
that night.
On Friday, 8/1, Elaine Jones,
NAACP Legal Defense Fund, will
highlight the Education Breakfast,
while the Business Luncheon fea
tures Rev. Jackson’s keynote address
from noon to 2 pm.
Friday night. Rev. Joseph Lowery
will be honored for his lifelong ser
vice on behalf of peace andjustice, at
c
t
H ugh B . P rice ,
J ational U rban L eague
—
he first results of the ju
• ;
d icial and leg islative
*
bans against affirmative
iction at public universities in
iallfornia and Texas are In. They
Iramatlcally Illustrate the costs
if color-blindness-the fantasy
hat we can reduce the contlnu-
ng impact of racial and ethnic
ilgotry simply by saying they no
onger matter.
Enrollments of African-American
and Hispanic-American students in
the new Classes at the leading public-
university law schools in California
and Texas have fallen sharply.
At Boalt Hall, the law school of the
University of California at Beikeley,
it’s likely that just I black student and
18 Hispanic students will enter the
270-member class in the fall.
At the UCLA law school, 10 black
and 41 Hispanic students will enter
this year, compared with 19 blacks
and 45 Hispanics in the class of 1999
The numbers are as precipitous at
v
G
j?
How Do You ‘Conclude’ Science?
ell, the truth Is, ‘you
can't' and I might Just
I
-JU X* ’
as well have attempted
to put a closure on ‘time* last
week. Needless to say, I am grati
fied with a continuing response
of Observer readers to my four-
part series, “more Science - the
Right Kind” (June 16 thru July 9 ).
Equally delighted are the callers
whom I was happy to advise that they
had a lot of company among other
community parents committed to an
adequate preparation of their chil
dren for a world where science and
technology will play a key role. All
were enthusiastic about my reprise
of the “neighborhood concept" of
science clubs; named alter black sci
entists and inventors and engender
ing the same pride and motivation as
my peergroupexperienced-Charles
Drew & Granville Woods as well as
Edison.
Several parents quoted my com
ment on “an ongoing neighborhood
relationship among peers and school
mates,” citing advantages seen at
work in other areas: “kids can rein
force and support each other, you
have the extra socialization of chil-
dren-teaching-children’, and there is
proximity to parental support and
guidance when needed, more pro
ductive than ’ midnight basket ball ’. ”
At this point, let me correct a
recurring error. That magazine ar
ticle deploring the fact that several
major computing companies in fierce
competition to gain market share are
“dumping millions in computer hard
ware and software on overburdened
teac h ers” appears in Atlantic-
monthly’ magazine (not Forbes’).
And finally, I have for you the
address of the famed "Edmund
Scientifics” company that puts out
that eclectic “Annual
Science Catalog for
Educators, Students
and Inventors: As
tronom y, O ptics,
P hysics, M icro
scopes, Robots, Bi
ology, Chemistry,
Motors, Pumps, Magnets, Etc." 101
East Gloucester Pike, Barrington,
N.J. 08007-1380., call 1 (609)547-
8880, Fax 1 (609) 573-6295.
Sheer amazement is the only way
to describe the reactioh of three par
ents who came by for additional in
formation and direction on neigh
borhood sc ience c 1 ubs. What got the ir
attention as much as my extensive
science, math and language libraries
were pictures and descriptions of my
1969 S.E. 24th & Belmont St. opera-
tion--a full-scale replication of my
1966, The Dalles Oregon “Computer
Terminal-in-the-classroom” demon
stration that won a national Science
Foundation award. 28 and 31 years
ago, respectively.
When my visitors ceased marvel
ing at the fact that while on the main
floor of my Belmont Street operation
there was a model classroom with
several on-line terminals, teletypes,
closed circuit TV and an adjacent
curriculum print shop (equipped like
today’s “kinkos”, with press/binders
and cameras and plate-makers) - the
large, full base
ment housed a
1500 sq. ft.
workshop for as
sem bling sci
ence club-type
devices 1 had/
earned to build
after transferring to the instrument
repair shop at The Dallas aluminum
plant.
It was a case of “carpe diem”
(seize the day), for these committed
parents could readily appreciate that
any individual application or a com
bination could be selected for a club
project. An enthusiastic father said,
“say Mr. Burt, a club could do any
thing from the simplest beginner’s
project to something sophisticated
enough to enter in a national science
competition.”
A mother said she was starting
by taking neighborhood children
over the weekend (7/11 & 7/12) to
McMinnville for the unveiling of
Howard Hughes famed “Spruce
Goose” airplane Last year she saw
a Portland Observer article where
I revealed that the sophisticated
engine controls were designed by
engineer, Don Rutherford, an Af
rican American graduate of our
local Benson High School. Don’s
niece, C harlotte R utherford, a
former student of mine at PSU, is
an attorney and the Hearing O f
ficer for the Oregon State Liquor
Commission
A final comment by the group was
that “it is incredible that 30 years ago
you had representatives of the Port
land School District (among others)
at your Belmont St. open house, and
over the following years made many
follow-up presentations to the dis
trict of your “computer-in-the-class-
room” technique with proposals to
contract inslallation-and there was
even a picture of an actual school
demonstration in your book; Black
Inventors of America’ (1969). In
dustry took part in your operation.
Nothing happened”
There was a further comment that
“Portland could have been ahead of
the nation.” I replied, “well, as you
can see, I haven’t been asleep at the
switch. Once again, my designs and
concepts are years ahead of the game.
We will see what happens this time!”
An apology for slavery? contrition carries conditions
C ongressman J esse L . J ack -
son , J r .
by
am not opposed to a con
gressional apology for
■“> . > slavery, but contrition
carries conditions.
A government apology for sla
very is a valid collective symbolic
act, but it is appropriate only if it is
accompanied by substance that re
pairs the damage that is the basis
for the apology.
I do not question the intentions
of those who are sponsoring this
legislation, because I believe their
intentions are good and their con
cern is genuine. But just a simple
apology, without anything attached
to it, seems a little hollow to me.
My Bible tells me, “Where your
treasure is, there will your heart be
also.” It does not say, “Where your
heart is, there will your treasure be
also.” Jesus had an objective mea
surement for the ’human spirit.'
Therefore, it would be inconsis
tent for the Congress to say that
America s heart is with an apol
ogy, but we cannot do anything
about the unjust legacy of slavery,
segregation and discrim ination
because our treasure is consumed
with balancing the budget, not in
re s p o n sib ly
re in v e s tin g
in
Am erica’s future.
Obviously, it is appropriate for
the federal government to apolo
gize for slavery, since the federal
governm ent was intim ately in
volved in establishing and perpetu
ating slavery. It passed laws (e g.,
the Fugitive Slave Law and the
Missouri Compromise of 1850)
which furthered slavery. There
were also Supreme Court decisions
that bolstered slavery and estab
lished seg regation (e g., Dred
S c o tt, 1847, and P lessy v.
Ferguson, 1896).
But I am a little perplexed over
all of these apologies - apologies
for syphilis, apologies for slavery -
- because they always seem to come
when the country says it is broke
(we are not), that we must be fis
cally austere, that we must balance
the budget or reduce the budget
deficit. In other words, contrition
without content.
Roman Catholic theology ex
plains that you cannot just apolo
gize to God and be admitted into
the kingdom of Heaven. You must
first go to purgatory and pay a kind
of reparation for your sins before
you can enter the Kingdom of
Heaven. W ebster's Dictionary ex
plains it this way, “Purgatory is a
place or state of punishm ent
w herein, according to Roman
Catholic doctrine, the souls of those
who die in G od’s grace may make
satisfaction for past sins and so
become fit for heaven ”
It is not politically possible for
the country to apologize just for
slavery and grant reparations to
African Americans exclusively. So
I have a different recommenda
tion. We should provide a full
employment economy with jobs for
All Americans, create a health care
system that provides comprehen
sive and universal health care for
All A m erican, create a mixed
economy that provides affordable
housing for All Americans, invest
in a public school system that pro
vides a quality and multicultural
education for All Americans not
just something for African Ameri
cans.
In such a climate of Economic
TO BE EQUAL: THE COSTS OF “COLOR-BLINDNESS
y
ii
a banquet and concert.
Saturday morning, 8/2 from 7:30
to noon, will feature an open Town
Hall discussion on "Vision 2000,“ as
we hone our game plan and priorities
for the remaining few years of this
century. The regular Saturday morn
ing radio broadcast will feature Con
gresswomen Maxine Waters.
The noon luncheon will honor and
involve ministers from all across the
nation, and the conference will close
Saturday night after a "Next Leader
ship Generation" youth town hall
meeting.
Adult registration for the conven
tion is only $35, and even less for
students and semor-$20! (Meals and
concerts are charged separately.)
Please call Ms. Velma Wilson at
773-373-3366 for more information
Don't miss the first Rainbow/Push
annual conference!
the University of Texas law school:
There, 3 black and 20 Hispanic stu
dents are expected toenroll in the 500-
student Class, compared to 31 black
and 42 Hispanic students in the Class
above them.
Stark as the declines are, in fact,
quite a few people fully expected the
impact to be this severe.
But Ward Connerly, of all people,
the black regent of the University of
California system who led the cam
paign to ban affirmative action in the
state, expressed dismay at the figures
“It’s a bucket of cold water in the
face," he said. “I am obviously con
cerned. 1 am petrified at the fact that
we have as far to go as we do. You
cannot look at the situation and come
away with it than anything other than
dismay."
More credible was the shock and
disappointment expressed by others,
including some white students and
faculty.
"It’s so stunning, it’s almost unbe
lievable,” said Marjorie Schultz, a
Berkeley law professor “The leading
public university in the most diverse
state and the most diverse educational
system is going to just withdraw be
hind some siege wall and be a white
institution? It’s preposterous."
Saying that the enrollment figures
at Boalt Hall were “wotse than our
predicted worst-case scenario," its
dean, Herma Hill Kay, said that some
whites had also declined to attend the
school an had cited the reversal of
affirmative action as the reason.
What is happening at these institu
tions, which have worked assiduously
Security, the American people will
be better able to hear a message of
racial reconciliation, and will be more
amenable to understanding the need
for and be more open to supporting
affirmative action, majority/minor-
ity congressional districts, immigra
tion, economic set-asides and the
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
Like Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. I
too have a dream that we can make
such economic progress if we orga
nize and create the political will. I
have adream that if we make America
economically more secure for Ev
eryone, we can make tremendous
progress on the race question. I have
a dream that we can move from racial
battleground to economic common
ground and on to moral higher
ground. Yes, I too have a dream for
America that makes America better
and includes every American And
I'm going to spend the time I have in
Congress working on that dream.
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. is a sec
ond term congressman from the
Second Congressional District of
Illinois who serves on the House
Banking & Financial Services and
the Small Business Committees.
to overcome their own exclusionary
pasts, show that the costs of these bad
policies and bad judicial decisions are
going to be borne not just by the black
and Hispanic students whocould have
ably matriculated at them.
No, those costs will be shared by
the institutions themselves and the
larger society as well.
It is not just African Americans
and Hispanic Americans and Native
Americans who need policies that
promote inclusiveness and opportu
nity; its the entire society.