Pane A4
OCT. 1, 1997
<Thc |Jo r t lattò Wíto'Btrrumnr
Editorial articles do not necessarily
reflect or represent the views o f
(Tlje |Jn rtlan h © bsrrncr
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 appreci
ated. We take criticism well! Get your powerful pens out NOW and address
your letters to: Editor, Reader Response, P.O, Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208,
(Elje ■)lJ ortlanì» (©bseruer
(USPS 959-689) Established in 1970
Charles Washington
Publisher & Editar
Mark Washington
D istribution Manager
Gary Ann Taylor
Business Manager
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
Director o f Operation
Gregory Benton
Graphic Design
Mike Leighton
Copy Editor
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: lMxobserv@aol.com
Deadline fo r all submitted materials:
Articles:Friday, 5 :0 0 pm Ads: Monday, 12:00pm
POS I MAST ER: Send Address Changes To: Portland Observer,
P.O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208.
Periodicals postage paid at Portland, Oregon.
Subscriptions: $30.00 per year
The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manu
scripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned
it accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display
ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in
other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the
general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of
such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITH
OUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED.
The Portland Observer-Oregon’s Oldesi Multicultural Publica-
tion— is a member of 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.
SUBSCKIBE ID
^Jo rtlan b (lf)bacrtier
The Portland Observer can be sent directly to your home for only $30.00
per year. Please till out, enclose check or money order, and mail to:
S ubscriptions
T he P ortland O bserver ; P O B ox 3 1 3 7
P ortland , O regon 9 7 2 0 8
Name:
Address:
City, Slate
Zip-Code:
T hank Y ou F or R eading T he P or i land O bserver
City’s Contract Program Designed To Fail
J ames P osey owns W orkhorse C onstruction of P ortland
A regional study o f public con
tracting discrimination and the city o f
Portland’s resulting Fair Contracting
and Employment Strategy began as a
courageous process that held so
much promise and hope for minority
contractors, but now the city has
blown it.
As much as I tried to avoid this
conclusion, the city’s attempt to drive
a stake into the heart o f the problem
o f public contracting discrimination
has missed the mark
This is sad because I ’m convinced
some folks at the city really do want
to do the right thing. Now I ’m faced
with the dilemma o f criticizing the one
government body that has honestly
tried more than any other to seriously
tackle the problem.
But someone must continue to say
that most black contractors would do
just fine, given equal access and
simple fairness. Government action
beyond this is often more harmful
than helpful.
Those o f us who have been down
this road before recognized distinct
and troubling patterns: Die hiring o f
key personnel whose skills and expe
rience have little relationship to the
technical duties expected to be per
formed in civil rights-related issues;
allowing staff and departments re
sponsible for past failures to con
tinue to formulate and control the
new initiatives; loading the develop
m ent advisory com m ittees with
known opponents o f minority con
tractor programs; ensuring that the
hassle o f the process and price o f
involvement outweighs the tangible
benefits; shifting most o f the re
sources from the central cause o f the
problem to symptomatic ailments; and
building a bureaucracy that is self
justifying, self-serving and self-per
petuating.
In spite o f the City Council’s good
intentions, it continues to err by at
tempting to sidestep the issue of race
in term s o f proposing solutions.
Groups that have been historically
denied economic access because of
race will not be well-served by the
broad application o f all the groups
included in the strategy.
The city has unsuccessfully tried
the race-neutral theme prescribed by
the U.S. Supreme C ourt's 1989 and
1995 decisions that struck down m i
nority contracting set-aside. On the
other hand, it ignores the Supreme
C ourt’s strict-scrutiny theme to nar
rowly focus programs where racial
disparity is found.
The city’s program is broad and
unfocused. It is determined to cover
everybody.
Other structural flaws in the city’s
strategy occur because it is unwilling
to address the realities o f how racism
has hurt the competitive capacity o f
minority contractors in the past. For
example, the program tries to force
participants into a competitive mar
ket process without considering the
limited capac ity of many minority firms
having to make a profit under the
current low-bid system.
Closely related to the issue is the
fact that the same public contracting
prevailing wage factor works to ex
clude many minority workers, further
diluting the minority contractor’s
ability to employ highly skilled, profit-
producing workers from minority
communities. No matter how many
times these critical issues are pre
sented, the city chooses to look the
other way.
W hat’s devastating is how these
factors work effectively to discour
age future generations o f black con
tractors from seriously considering
this business.
Eye With A View
I Dream A Time...Will You Dream With Me??!!
Z dream a time when our children will not die in the streets like dogs...and we will return them to their families
their communities, to their world-safe and of sound mind-will you dream with me?l
ast summer as this writer pletely
pletely pass
pass by.
by. Now
Now as as most
most o o f f our
our
moved south along Mar
M ar children
children return
return to to school
school and
and the
the
'tin Luther King Boulevard
Oregon
rams
remind
us
that
fall
tin Luther Kine Boulevard Oreeon rams remind <» »ha» fall is
in Northeast Portland, the traffic all
here and winter is nearby, just maybe,
o f a sudden began to pile up as we
(we say as we breathe a sigh o f hope
approached the cross street ofNorth-
ful relief) the killing will sto p -a t least
east Broadway. As the traffic slowed
until next summer!
to a crawl, o ff to my left flank, it
But the question that I ask is why
became painfully clear why the traf
do we allow it to occur? We live in the
fic jam had occurred. It was due to a
wealthiest country in the world; we
T ri-M e t bus th at had sto p p ed
have the highest GNP o f any other
abruptly in the street.
Country; we have put many a man on
However, by the time I reached
the moon; we can send a laser beam
the scene, it was surrounded by
to Jupiter, and spell America on its
familiar yellow tape that signaled the
surface; but we can’t stop our chil
presence o f danger or an area quar
dren from killing each other?
antine for the purpose o f investigat
Personally, 1 cannot accept the
ing a homicide. I quickly learned that
thesis that we can’t stop these kill
on the bus a young black man lie
ings, what I do accept is that we do
dead on the floor from a gun shot
not—and the reason we do not is
wound to the head. Two weeks be
because we lack resolve! thus, we
fore, on a back street in Northeast
lack vision, commitment, consistent
Portland, two other young black men
effort, m onetary and hum an re
were killed as they sat in their car.
sources to stop it. We would rather
And while we commend the collec
throw a few dollars here and there for
tive efforts o f our city’s social ser
suppression and guilt alleviation, but
vices machines (i.e. police, fire, com
we knowingly and consistently fall
munity programs, medical teams,
short o f doing what it takes. When
ect.), this summer the front pages o f
will we get serious about this task?
th e O b se rv e r, O re g o n ia n and
When will we be willing to roll up our
Skanner have informed us o f similar
sleeves and invest the time, energy,
reports.
effort, brain-thrust, prayer, and
The occurrence has become so
money that it’s going to take to get
familiarthatweholdourbreath, won
the job done.
dering when the next mother ’ s child
I was most pleased to see the ar
will fall prey to still one more fatal
ticle that appeared in the Observer
b u llet-yet praying for some rel ief or
entitled Violence Outdoes Resolve. I
miracle that the death angel will com-
was even more pleased that it was
L
r
s
p
e
written by the Editor o f the Observer,
Such concern voiced by persons o f
that caliber and with the means to get
the message out, is the kind o f mod
eling we need from our leaders. When
was the last time there was a summit
to discuss this issue in earnest? When
was the last time we felt that efforts
were being put into real solutions and
not merely the appearance o f things
looking better.
Though I am only one voice, but
just in case no one else has, I will
officially be the first person to stand
up and take on the O bserver’s Edito
rial Challenge, and declare that I have
the resolve. And my resolve is stron
ger than the violence that seems to
engulf our children; it is stronger
than their willingness to die-w hich is
really fear hidden behind a facade o f
indifference; further, it is stronger
than the statistics that say they will
not live pass twenty one. And stron
ger still than those who have grown
comfortable with a certain number o f
average deaths, as long as the num
ber does not exceed it. I resolve that
no child has to die in gang violence in
Portland; that no mother, whether
rich or poor has to look forward to
getting that call in the early a.m. that
her child is dead.
If there are others who feel the
same as Mr. W ashington o f the Ob
server, myself, then let voice be heard.
Write the Portland Observer, and tell
them that you are person number
c
t
three, four, fiv e --n th . and say
th at you have the resolve! A nd
you a re c o m m itte d to d o in g
so m eth in g a b o u t it!
As fo r my part, I reso lv e to
w rite ab o u t th is p e rs o n ’s life
A ll th at h e /sh e w as, w anted to
be, and co u ld have been. I w ill
refu se to let them be m ere statis
tics, b u t real hum an b eings w ho
had dream s and a m b itio n s ju s t
like you and I. In a w ord, 1 w ill
refu se to let them die q u ie tly , as
dogs in the stre e t, in hum ane
and su m m arily d isre g a rd e d as
m ere garb ag e.
I w ill also c o n tin u e the w ork
th at G od has ca ll me to in this
co m m u n ity re g a rd le ss o f n a y
say ers and d e tra c to rs. A nd we
w ill establish a m ental stress and
p sy c h o lo g ic a l traum a tre a tm e n t
clinic th at sp ecializes in helping
th ese young p e o p le cope w ith
the p a in and d isa p p o in tm e n t o f
liv in g in a v io le n t cu ltu re. I w ill
by faith s and sa c rific ia l e ffo rt
b e g an today to c o u n t dow n to
the day w hen no m o th e r’s ch ild
w ill die in gang violence in P o rt
land! T h a t is m y p ray er, th a t is
m y faith, th at is m y h ope, th a t is
m y reso lv e!
Sam P ie rc e is a fre e la n c e
w rite r, his colum n Eye W ith A
V iew , ap p ears in the O b serv er
p e rio d ic a lly . He can be reach ed
by phone a t (5 0 3 )2 8 2 -4 9 7 9 .
r e s
O pportunity Knocks: Are The Knuckles Raw?
rather snide comment that it was sim
ply amazing that these black geniuses
could display as their renowned A f
" I in P u o i :
rican ancestors. That is, exhibit the
! \I< K im i \
same organizational, technical and
Bi HI
scholastic talent as those who built
the pyramids and subtending infra
his column closed last
structure or the African Universities
week with the caustic
like Timbuktu where Europeans came
comment o f a black
to study in the middle ages — but
teenager that a mil
today must depend upon Asian im
lion African Ameri
migrants to operate their corner gro
cans on a ‘M arch’ for anywhere
ceries. else]
could have acted in the manner of
This man had been a student in my
black people o f yesteryear and real
“Small Business Operations” class at
ized that just small individual assess
Portland State University during the
ments would provide the means for
1970’s and he understood full well
large scale economic projects.
the implications o f this situation. He
Actually, he had paid rapt atten
said, “it may mean that we [African
tion to a family discussion several
Americans] may not have sufficient
weeks ago when they were voicing
social (spiritual?) resources to re
pros and cons in respect to the article
cover from that last destructive as
in which I cited the complex and so
sault on our infrastructure - “Urban
phisticated management positions
Renewal/Removal.”
occupied by African Americans—
The question was pursued last
these in the establishment infrastruc
week when a group o f us escalated
ture, o f course; nothing owned by
the dialogue in a meeting room at
black people.
Community College. “Is it still the
It seems that a grandfather made a
case that ' Small Is Beautiful’ ? Or does
l!
91
T
The
Landscape
T
the mega-corporation’ ensure that
only a giant grouping can compete in
any field - and that the masses must
be peasants, with no ameliorating
middle class to which the ambitious
might aspire?”
It was rather obvious that several
o f those present who had attended
the march certainly had not pursued
this type o f analysis. “Man, it was
more like my identity’ was threat
ened to the extent that I had to do
something - right now, and this was
a convenient avenue. Especially
given that it had all the cultural and
spiritual trappings. I just had to find
m yself for a moment, get away from
th is w h ite , le ft c ru sa d e o f
multiculturism’; as author Richard
Rodriguez puts it, ' the odd parade’.”
And so it has gone, both locally
and in communication with other cit
ies. Few, if any, gave thought to any
thing like an economic purpose or
looked beyond an immediate need for
a “spiritual revitalization”, a time out
from a wrenching angst - “An abso
lute must.”
There also was comment to the
effect that African Americans have
become a society as celebrity - ob
sessed as white, viz a viz “ Elvis, Prin
cess Diana, et al.” A case in point was
made by citing the failure o f the A fri-
can American “Pepsi Cola venture in
Africa.” Tens o f millions were lost
when adequate research and market
studies were not performed.
The prospectus (invitation to in
vest) was celebrity-enhanced with
the names ofblack notables from the
entertainm ent community (Oprah
Winfrey), the political arenas and, o f
course, the church. William Reed, the
publisher o f “W ho’s Who in Black
Corporate America says that “New
opportunities will come along again.”
From conversation like these and
reading the African American Press,
including other parts o f the country,
it becomes clear that an increasing
number o f blacks are determined to
“get real”, as it is often put. This time
there seems a determination to un
derstand the process and not to miss
again the opportunities briefly pre
sented by a fast-m oving world.
Cont’d.
4M/MB0IPPU$H
COA
he New YorkCity mayor’s Census Bureau, by way o f the Alma
race reminds us that an nac o f American Politics 1998.)
other election cycle is be
(1) T hePopulation:
ginning.
* 2 65,284,000 p eople live in
This fall there will be two guber America
natorial elections, in New Jersey &
*75.6% o f Americans are white
Virginia. The 1998primaries will start
*11.7% are African Americans
soon after, with 1/3 o f the U.S. Sen
*9.0% a re H ispanics/L atinos
ate at stake; the entire House o f
*2.8% are Asian Americans
R ep resen tativ es (in clu d in g the
*0.8% are Native Americans
G in g ric h /G e p h a rd t b a ttle fo r
•M edian per capita incom e =
Speaker, w hich m ay determ ine $14,420
w hether or not Dick Gephardt runs
*12.6% o f Americans are 65+
fo r P re sid e n t in 2 0 0 0 ); m ost
*The voting age population is
governor’s seats; most state legis 196,511,000
lative seats; and hundreds o f other
•Registered voters» 146,211,960
key mayor, city council, county com
(2) The U.S. Senate:
mission, and judicial races all around
•T he republicans have firm con
the country.
trol, but still lack at least 5 seats to be
This week in the Rainbow/Push able to prevent filibusters.
fax, we help set “the landscape” for
•T here are 34 Senate seats up in
these elections, with some key de 1998-16republicans & 18 Democrats.
mographic and electoral facts for
(3) The U.S. House o f Representa
your use. (The data is taken from the tives:
1996 census estimate o f the U.S.
•T h e republicans control the
House by a small margin, with 228
seats. The Democrats have 206, and
Socialist Bemie Sanders ofV T holds
the remaining seat. Rep. Sanders
would break the tie if the Democrats
manage to win back 11 more seats in
1998.
•The 1996 house vote was 49.0%
for the GOP, 48.5% for the D em o
crats.
• I f the D em ocrats won back
control o f the H ouse, the “pre
sum ptive” chairm en o f several
co m m itte e s w ould be A frican
A m e ric a n s-C h a rle s R a n g e l at
W ays & M eans; John C onyers at
Judiciary; Bill Clay at Education &
Labor; and Ron D ellum s at N a
tional Security.
•A quote from The Almanac:
“O ne o f the striking features o f the
1996 election results is how voters
in D em ocratic regions have b e
com e more Democratic, while vot
ers in R epublican regions have
becom e m ore R epublican.”
(4) The G overnors:
•R e p u b lic a n s do m in ate the
go v ern o rs’ m ansions around the
country, holding 32, with only 17
D em ocrats, and 1 Independent in
M aine.
*If the republicans hold their
c u r r e n t s ta te lin e -u p , th ey
w ould have m ajor ad van tages
d u rin g the next round o f reap
portionm ent and redistricting.
•T h e r e are 36 sta tes w ith
gubernatorial races in 1998 (23
G O P, 12 D em ocrats, 1 Indepen
dent)
(5 ) S tate L eg islatu res:
•B e c a u se term lim its in m any
sta te s have c re a te d vast n u m
b ers o f op en seats next year,
and b ecau se re a p p o rtio n m e n t
and re d istric tin g loom on the
h o rizo n , the 1998 sta te le g isla
tive races are even m ore im p o r
tan t then usual.