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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 1997)
•(f sisä ÄSSÄ $ , ' ** J s t P age A4 ■s O ctober 15, 1997 • T he P ortland O bserver Editorial articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f (The JJnrtlaxth © bseruer 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 improvem ent., 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, tLlic |J.îortlanô (©becruer (LISPS 959-68«) Established in 197« C harles W ashington P ublish er & E ditor M ark W ashington D istribution M an ager G ary A nn T aylor B usiness M an ager Larry J. Jackson, Sr. D irecto r o f O peration Iesha W illiam s G raphic D esign M ichael J. L eighton C opy E ditor C on tribu tin g W riters: P rofessor M cK inley Burt, Lee Perlman, N eilH eilpem 4747 NE M artin L u ther K ing, Jr. B lvd., P ortland, O regon 97211 503-288-0033 • Fax 503-288-0015 Em ail: P d xob serv@ aol.com Deadline fo r all submitted materials: Articles:Friday, 5:00 pm Ads: Monday, 12:00pm P O ST M A ST E R : Send A dd ress C hanges To: P ortland O bserver, P.O . Box 3137, P ortland, OR 97208. P eriodicals postage p a id a t Portland, Oregon. Subscriptions: $30.00 p e r yea r The Portland O bserver w elcom es freelance subm issions. M anu scripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accom panied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads becom e the sole property o f the new spaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage w ithout the w ritten consent o f the general m anager, unless the client has purchased the com position of such ad © 1996 TH E P O R T L A N D O B SE R V E R . A L L R IG H TS R ESER V ED , R E P R O D U C T IO N IN W H O L E O R IN P A R T W IT H O U T PER M ISSIO N IS P R O H IB IT E D . The Portland O bserver—O re g o n ’s O ldest M ulticultural P ublica tion—is a m em ber o f the N ational N ew spaper A sso ciatio n —F ounded in 1885, and The N ational A dvertising R epresentative A m algam ated Publishers, Inc, N ew Y ork, N Y , and The W est C oast Black Publishers A ssociation • S erving Portland and V ancouver. S ubscribe to Portland (©bsrrurr The Portland Observer can be sent directly to your home for only $30.00 per year. Please fill out, enclose check or money order, and mail to: S ubscriptions T he P ortland O bserver ; PO Box 3137 P ortland , O regon 97208 Name: I A ddress:____________________________________________________________ C ity, S ta te :_________________________________________________________ Z ip - C o d e :_____________________________________________ T hank Y ou F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver This Way For Black Empowerment B y 1) r . L eonora F ui . ani D em ocracy G ets A nother C hance As readers o f this colum n know , over years I'v e aggressively lobbied C ongress for legislation that w ould open up our political process to new parties, new voices and new ideas. F airelectionsm ust b ea ce n tral part o f any Black agenda and over the years m em bers o f the C ongressional Black C aucus have been in the forefront o f supporting this type o f legislative reform. Last w eek. Congressm an Ron Paul (R -TX ), re-introduces tw o fair e lec tion bills into C ongress that I have a long history o f supporting. file first bill is the voter Freedom Act o f 1997. IT R 2477 D rafted initially o ff o f the lessons learned from a 1984 effort I undertook with my colleagues to place an independent presidential candidate on the ballot nationally the bill w as originally in troduced m 1985 by John C onyers (D -M I). In its present form the bill retains its objective to m ake stru c tural reform s to the ballot access pro cess w hich has been so m anipulated by the m ajor parties in their self-serv ing effort to m onopolize political pow er and influence Basically, the bill w ould say fair and uniform ballot access standards in federal elections sand prevent states from erecting excessive ballot access barriers such as currently ex ist For exam ple, right states and 1X7. This is 28 tim es the num ber needed by a D em ocratic party candidate and 13 tim es the num ber needed by a Republican Presently 32 states re quire no signatures o f D em ocrats or Republicans w hile only 3 states re quire no signatures o f independents. M inor party candidates m ust also meet discrim inatory filing fees, filing fees, tiling deadlines, and restrictions on w ho can sign the petition that are not required o f the m ajor parties. In his press release announcing the introduction o f the bills. C on gressm an Paul, a form er L ibertarian candidate for President and now a R epublican, states, “ The tw o m ajor parties love their hold on the system because itkeepsthem in power. While it is unconstitutional for the federal governm ent to tell states w hat re quirem ents they should have or can didates seeking state and local o f fices, it is the jo b o f congress to ensure the federal elections are fair, open and, above all, representative o f the great diversity o f opinion in our nation ” The second bill, the D ebate Free dom A ct o f 1997. H. R. 2478. was initially sponsored and cham pioned by form er C ongressm an Tim Penny (D -M N )in th e 101 sta n d 1 0 2 ndC on gress (1989-93). D eveloped origi nally in collaboration with C ongress man Penny and draw ing heav ily from the experience o f my exclusion from the 1988 presidential debates and subsequent law suits, it provides its current form, that m ajor party presi dential candidates m ust debate each other and any other presidential can didate wish to receive general elec tion public financing. C ongressm an Paul is also co n sid ering adding a second debates bill directed at the legal status o f debate sponsors. In it. the debate sponsor m ust inviteall legally qualified presi dential candidates w ho are eligible to receive general election presidential cam paign funding and are on the ballot in 40 states. O therw ise, the debate w ou Id be considered a co rp o rate cam paign contribution to can d i dates. To Be Equal L o h e s i/ by H ugh B. P rice P resident N ational U rban L eague em pow er the w ords w ith real m ean ast June, President Clinton ing. u rged our nation to lay the For one thing, the President can groundw ork for becom ing w hat he calls “O ne A m erica react in the sw iftly to the dism aying an nouncem ent last w eek by G ilbert 21 st C en tu ry ” by confronting its lin C a se lla s.c h a irm a n o fth e U .S . Equal g ering tensions o ver race. E m ploym ent O pportunity C o m m is A m erican m ust heed his advice. sion, that h e ’ll resign at the end o f the W e all have an enorm ous stake in that year. effo rt becau se our racial difficulties C asellas is w idely adm ired in the und erm in e our m any strengths. civil rights com m unity for trying to O n a m oral level, A m erica c a n ’t effectively lead an agency burdened preach hum an rights to other nations w ith a huge caseload and a too-sm all w hen racial injustice continues to budget. H is ow n assessm ent-that the fester in o u r ow n. O n a pragm atic agency “ could do a lot better if we level, w e w o n ’t be prepared to com had m ore m oney, m ore people, m ore pete in the global m arketplace if the support”— o ught to galvanize the dynam ics o f race and ethnicity co n W hite H ouse to take the action nec tinue to d eny m illions o f people a essary to elim inate its a backlog o f first-rate education. 80,000 cases and enable it to stay T h e U rban L eague has acted to current w ith its caseload from now pro m o te racial harm ony and inclu on. sion for nearly a century; and w e ’ve Secondly, C linton and the task recently jo in e d w ith the N ational force m ust continue to rem ind the C o n f e r e n c e , A n ti- D e f a m a tio n nation that by the m iddle o f the next League, N ational Council o f La Raza century, h a lf the population w ill be and L eadership E ducation for A sian people o f color. T hat reality u n d er P acific’s in the N ational V oices co a scores how im portant prom oting in lition to m ore effectively do that. clusion and equal opportunity is. W e salute the P resident and the A m erica’s econom ic and civic v i early steps his task force o f distin tality will increasingly be dependent g u ish ed citizens has taken. on nonw hite w orkers, entrepreneurs, But, to be blunt, we w orry that the taxpayers and custom ers. The b etter Initiative is too long on dialogue and educated this grow ing segm ent o f to o sh o rt on action. T alk is not the A m erican population is, the m ore enough. N ow is the tim e for actions to robust our econom y, the m ore har- speak louder than w ords— in order to L p e r v s e p s e m onious our society and the m ore secure the entire population will be. C ourt decisions and state ballot initiatives m ay alter som e o f the tools and m echanism s used to reach that goal. But the P resid en t’s Initiative should keep the n atio n ’s eye on the prize o f inclusion— in the n eighbor hoods w e live in, the schools and colleges we attend, in com panies we w ork for or ow n— even if the m echa nism s used to achieve it have to evolve. T he President can drive that point hom e by inviting corporate C E O ’s, C ham ber o f C om m erce leaders, and university presidents to high-profile m eetings to affirm their com m itm ents to inclusion. Sim ilar sum m its involv ing grass roots organizations like the U rban League and our partners in N ational V oices and other com m u nity and religious institutions could be held sim ultaneously all across the county to shore up the national co m m itm ent to inclusion. The P resid en t’s Initiative m ust also squarely confront the festering issue o f police m isconduct and b ru tality tow ard m inority civilians. The 1996 killing o f Johnny G am m age by w hite police officers outside Pitts burgh, the vicious assault on Rodney King and, m ost recently, the barbaric attack on A bner Louim a are ju st the m ost notorious o f a w idespread pat- c t tern o f law enforcem ent tactics that often ensnare civilians w h o 'v e done little or nothing wrong. O f course, we m ust catch and p u n ish crim inals and m aintain order by enforcing “quality-of-life” laws. But treating trivial offenders and true in nocents like hardened crim inals is dangerously counterproductive. If th e re’s one lesson A m erica should have learned by now , it’s that race relations w o n ’t im prove until there is peace betw een police and the m inor ity civilians they are sw orn to serve. T he President and the Task Force should sum m on governors, m ayors, and state and local police chiefs in order to focus public attention on the urgent need for reform. Clinton should insist that the Justice D epartm ent investigate and prosecute any p at terns o f abuse found in police d ep art m ents. Finally, he should instruct the US. Solicitor G eneral to urge the courts to scale back the runaw ay discretion that has encouraged this abuse o f pow er. T h ese are ju s t som e o f the tests the P re sid en t an d the task fo rce m u st p ass i f th eir w o rk is to ex ten d the A m eric an D ream to all A m e ri cans. O n ly then w ill the co u n try e m b o d y th e s lo g a n o f th e P r e s id e n t’s I n itia tiv e o n R ace: “One America in the 21st Century.” i Is It Too late To Rebuild? thing ‘w e ’ d o .’ On com m on v iew point I’ve heard is that "n eith er group is looking for renewal within the insti tutional ch u rch .” A m anifest A m eri can failure? his past m onth seem s to But speaking o f p ro m ises' I did h av e h o sted a se ries o f say I w ould present am odel o fa failed com m ents, ec h o es and re A frican A m erican attem pt to develop flections am ong our re a d e rsh ju ip st -re that - type o f econom ic venture actions to that earlier assessm ent o f which many thought the ‘Million Man the “ M illion M an M arch." T h e y ’ve M arch should have been about. been econom ic and social. In the w inter o f 1970 I spent a N eedless to say, readers have been m onth in W ashington D.C. p resen t equally absorbed in critiq u in g the ing a series o f sem inars at H ow ard “copycat march o fth e w hite folks” as U niversity and com m unity institu they have term ed it. T he reference, o f tions (in clu d in g several churches). course, w as to the “ P rom ise K eep The subject w as Black Inventors o f ers" w hose equally em o tio n al and A m erica and the heretofore hidden highly-publicized ren d ezv o u s at the co n tributions and abilities o f A frican C apitol Mall w as as great in rhetoric A m erican s d isco v ered d u rin g re if not in num bers. search for my book o f that title. We heard the usual o u trag ed cries W hat w as so am azing, and initially that ‘beginning with the G reek s and gratify ing, w as the spirited conver- continuing through the ages from the sations and speculations that d ev el black inventors to the "C hristy M in oped after speeches. T here w ere the strels" and the Jazz A ge, w hite folks invitations to address black b asso o n have im itated or taken o v er every ist an d so cial g ro u p s, situ a tio n s T w here consistently there w as ex pressed a com m on upbeat them e. " W e ’ve done it before and we can do it ag a in .’” It sounded good and the enthusi asm w as infectious. I pointed out to one particular group, prim arily m a ture men and w om en w ho were real estate brokers or directly and indi rectly involved in property dev elo p m ent. H aving not that long ago had direct accounting and tax court ex p e rience in the operation at Los A nge les Real Estate Investm ent Trusts (R E IT S), I had an im m ed ia te‘to u ro f o p p o rtu n ity ’ on w hich to take this g ro u p ’. Prow ling around tow n in a rented car, m y usual discovery technique in each m ajor city on my book tour, I found several blocks o f tw o and three story- stone apartm ent buildings (3 and 4 room ). They w ere structurally sound but the slum -lord had not m ain tained tenant am enities or decor and H ousing and Urban D evelopm ent (H U D ) w as foreclosing and all was to go up for auction. As an investm ent, the location w as ideal; only a few blocks from Pennsylvania A venue and its miles o f federal office buildings where both low and high level governm ent em ployees worked. Even then, 25 years ago, you were talking about refur bished apartm ents that w ould bring $500 a room from federal executives ($1,500 today). Seeingall these smart, sophisticated blacks from their focus groups, the law yers draw up papers o f incorpora tion and explore financing modes, I was certain I had inspired a modern day reprise o f Port land ’ s pre-war bui Id- ing phase ofblack pu I Iman porters. But not to be; the spirit o f cooperation, the high-flying plans and objectives dis integrated within 30 days. As I re marked several months ago in “Build ing N eighborhood C apital,” there has to be an experienced-based founda tion to these grandiose concepts-so- cial and spiritual structure. C oncluded next week C ivil R ig h ts J o u rn a l Tears For Nigeria B y B ernice P dwei . l J ackson 1993, the relationshipbetween the United met W alter Carrington two States and Nigeria has been troubled. decades or so ago. I rem em Indeed, he was in the country less than ber being impressed here was two weeks whe n tlie mill tary. led by Gen an African American deeply com mit eral Abacha, tixik over the government in ted to Africa, a scholar, a Peace Corps a coup. Shortly before he arrived, the veteran, a warm and gentle brother, military had annulled the derm viatic elec who was determined to make a differ tions and jailed President-elect Abiola. ence in our nation's Africa policy. He remains imprisoned and last year his So, many o f us were especially proud wife was murdered execution-style on a and deeply moved when he was ap Lagos street. The Nigerian government pointed A m bassador to Senegal by described her murder as a robbery at President Carter in 1980 and were tempt again pleased when he was appointed Indeed, thousands o f Nigerian hu A m bassador to Nigeria by President man rights and dem ocracy leaders re Clinton How ironic that such as the main imprisoned. Nobel laureate Wole object of harassment by the govern Soyinka, w ho has repeatedly d e ment o f A frica’s most populous na nounced the Abacha military govern tion. Itdoes not bode well forNigeria ment, faces the charge o f treason or for human rights. should he return to his hom eland and It seems that in his final days in environm entalist and poet Ken Saro- Nigeria, as Nigerian pro-democracy W iwa and eight other Ogoni leaders and human right groups held a fare who dared to oppose the governm ent well reception for the American A m were executed in 1995 despite world bassador, heavily-armed Nigerian wide pleas for clemency. state security officials burst into the Despite promises o f a return to de room, threatening to shoot the speak mocracy, N igeria's I lOmillionpeople ers and ordering everyone to leave. are still denied their basic human right Mr. Carrington called this latest In a to vote. The constitution rem ains sus series of desperate acts by an out-of pended, opposition political panics control government the "m ost surre are banned, the free press is shackled alistic experience I have had here and freedom o f assembly is denied. And while the military government yet." From the earliest days o f Mr. prom ises a transition to dem ocracy, Carrington’s appointment to Lagos in there is little evidence that they are I willing to give up their rule. “They cannot explain why an elected Presi dent enters his third year in prison without a trial when hisonly crime was to win a free and fair election,” said Jennifer Davis, Executive D irector of the A frica Fund, recently. Incredibly, and despite this long list of human rights violations, the Abacha military government has blamed A m bassador Carrigton for the troubled Lagos-W ashington relationship. They have charged him with being a part of a “corrupt African American elite" that publicly criticizes Nigeria in the secret hope that the Nigerian government will offer them money to keep quiet. They even have said they wanted to question the A m bassador and several em bassy staff about several bom b ings w hich have taken place. And after the United States govern ment filed a strong protest about the armed break-up of the A m bassador’s reception, instead of an apology, a N ig e ria n g o v e rn m e n t m in is te r launched an attack once again on the Ambassador, describing his tenure as four years of waste in which nothing of value was accom plished Only in the last few days has the Nigerian govern ment offered a tepid apology for its inexcusable actions The government of General Abacha has made it clear that it has no intention of changing its policies. As one of the worlds’ largest oil prixlucers. Nigeria and it’s overseas oil partners, earn bil lions of dollars selling oil to the U S. while Nigerians at home cannot buy gasoline for their own cars and 40 per cent of its people of its people face malnutrition. The government lias made no gixxl-faith efforts — it has released no political prisoners and has only set up a sham political process transparent to all who are watching critically. This last attack on an United States Ambassador should be the final straw for our nation. Congress is facing a bill sponsored by Representative Donald Payne which would bar new American investment in Nigeria and link resuming those investments with the release of political prisoners, real political elec tions and free speech and assembly rights. With the increasingly despera tion of the Abacha regime, the only question we might ask isdoes the bill go far enough fas, enough. In the w ords o f A m b assad o r Carrington, “as a black American, this deeply saddens me. This is a place that should be one o f the lead ing countries in the world But until they are able ,o resolve the problem of allowing the people to choose their leaders demiKratically, I am afraid they are not going to be able to realize this potential.”
