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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 1998)
FEB. 11, 1998 Page A4 — ïb e Jîortlanb (ßbseruer Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily Reflect Or Represent The Views Of 'j'Jortlanb ffibseruer 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 appreciated. We take criticism well! Get your powerful pens out N O W and addressyour letters to: Editor. Rea d e r Response? P .O . Box 3137. Port lan d. OR 97298. (T h e ^ .I n r t la n b (© b s e r u e r (USES 959-680) Established in 1970 Charles Washington Mark Washington Publisher & Editor Distsribution Manager Gary Ann Taylor Business Manager Larry J. Jackson, Sr. Director o f Operation lesha Williams Tony Washington Graphic Design Associate Editor Contributing Writers: Professor McKinley Burt, Lee Perlman, Neil Heilpern Joy Ramos 4747 N E M a r t in L u th e r K in g , J r. B lvd ., P o rtla n d , O re g o n 97211 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 3 3 • F a x 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 1 5 E m a il: P d xo b s erv@ a o l.co m Deadline fo r all submitted materials: Articles:Friday, 5:00 pm Ads: Munday, 12:00pm Send Address Changes T o : P o rtla n d O b s e rv e r, P .O . Box 31 37 , P o rtla n d , O R 97208. Subscriptions: $60.00 per year The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manu scripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a sell 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 ol the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition ol 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 Oldest 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, Oregon Federation ol Advertising. American Minorites Media, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver. SUBSCRIBE TO sitfc ^ o r tla n b (lOhseruer The Portland Observer can be sent directly to your home lor only $60 00 per year Please till out. enclose check or money order and mail to: S ubscriptions T he P ortland O bserver ; PO B ox 3137 P ortland , O regon 97208 Name: _______________________ _________ _______________________ Address:__________ __________________ __ ______________________ City, S t a t e ________ __________________ Zip-Code:__________________ ___________________________ T hank Y ou F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver * / e ¿ r ? Black History Month Is Here (Again) II B y P rof . M c K inley B urt Last week, we asked if the tradi tional, if som ew hat perfunctory, yearly observance of a “Black His tory Month” could even begin to take advantage of millenniums of glori ous and inspired contributions to the w orld's culture and technology? And we rather strongly suggested that this very same data or cultural base could provide the experience- based tools and solutions to contem porary economic or social problems facing African Americans. There is much truth to that old adage, "We ’ ve done it before, w e’ll do it again" - well, haven’t we? Several readers, academics among them, took umbrage at my reference to “Homer’, the Greek epic poet, as being “illiterate.” Two doubters ac knowledged the veracity of my state ment after consulting ’ higher author ity’ ; one having called two universi ties and the Greek Embassy in Wash- ington, D C this is why I and other c black historians spend far more on research and documentation than those of some other cultures. Even our utterances on the weather may come under attack. But back to my observation that black history provides the data base containing the information and tools for solving today’s problems. And last week, I did say that data bank needed to be searched in a serious and meaningful way. There is no doubt what-soever that we all simply need to ‘feel good’ at times, to dance, to sing, to exhilarate in the sheer joy of who we are and that we have survived (all G od’s children). And then, too, there is the spiritual strength to be gained through rever ence of those who have gone before and in the worship of the theological forces, and the peace that piety brings us. But we also must extract and practice those hard lessons that have sustained us whenever, as historians put it, “barbarians appear at the gate.” D e a n E d it o r : The grow th o f d istance le a rn ing affects no group m ore than over sch ed u led b u siness p ro fe s sio n als eag er to advance th e ir careers. Kaplan E ducational C en ters, one o f the n a tio n ’s p rem ier e d u c a tio n c o m p a n ie s , h a s lau nched the first ever o n lin e CPA r e v ie w c o u rse at w w w .k a p la n c p a re v ie w .c o m ; u s ing the technology o f d ista n c e learning to set a new standard for co n v e n ie n t p rep aratio n . Sim ply by lo g ging on to the In ternet, CPA can d id a te s get the kind o f c o m p re h e n siv e , high- quality review K aplan is know n to d eliv er. S tu d en ts have round- the-clo ck In tern et access to the c o u rs e ’s 28 lectu res by leading p ro fe sso rs and accounting p ro fessio n als. S tu d en ts also receive K a p la n C PA R e v ie w ’s stu d y books, 500 fla sh c a rd s, and s o ft w are featu rin g tu to ria ls, to pical tests, ten actual C PA practice exam s and c o m p u te r-a n a ly z e d feedback on p erfo rm an ce. “M ost candidates are busy pro fe ssio n a ls w ho re c o g n iz e the long-term ca re e r value o f a C PA , and need to fit studying into th eir schedules w hen they c a n ,” said Jack G o etz, vice p re sid e n t of K aplan’s p ro fe ssio n a l ed u catio n division. “ K ap lan ’sC P A R eview on the In tern et offers an u n p re c edented degree o f co n v en ien ce and fle x ib ility . S tudents can a c cess any part o f the co urse 24 hours a day, 7 days a w eek from w herever they w ant. c t I cited just such a circumstance when I noted that some prudent Afri can Americans are thinking, “care ful, this new black middle class that appears to have made it, may not have. It’s easy to fall back when you're on the lowest rung of the ladder.” The vital statistics of this often precarious position in Ameri can society is easily derived from a review of the aforementioned “Black History Data Base,” so blithely hon ored one month a year. But for a realistic assessment in a survival mode - sorely needed at this particular time - read “Black Corpo rate Executives: The Making and Breaking of a Black Middle Class", Sharon M. Colins, Temple Univer sity Press, 1997. The book is thoroughly researched and represents an accurate and un sparing assessment of the tenuous position of a black social class in “a political climate that has become more conservative and an economy that is rapidly restructuring. This challenging and incisive As sociate Professor of Sociology at the University of Illinois, Chicago, has made realistic and valuable judge ments - most of which parallel my own experience-based conclusions from my 30 years of industrial prac tice that preceded my academic ten ure. Be sure to get this book! Espe cially if you only have been giving your Black History that “once-over- lightly” review one month out of a year. I assure you that this author has ‘been there’ and that her honest and accurate observations can indeed point the way toward rediscovering the vital tools, the economic and so cial structures for survival. As w e’ve said, they are there for the taking, firmly embedded in our magnificent historic past. O ther cul ture have seized them, can’t we a waken? Concluded next week. better ^ 0 'Ulte (SUhtdr Send your letters to the Editor to: Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208 No o th e r review c o u rse p ro vides this o p tio n .” W hen s tu d e n ts sign up for K aplan C PA In tern et R eview , they are issu ed a personal p a ss w ord th at allo w s them unlim ited use o f the site and rem ains valid until te st day. S tu d en ts have the fle x ib ility to view le c tu re s re p e a te d ly as n e e d e d , d o w n lo a d s lid e s and handouts from the le c tu re s, and stop se ssio n s at any tim e to e- mail q u e stio n s to K aplan CPA instru cto rs. As o f F eb ruary 15th, stu d en ts can enroll in Kaplan CPA Internet R eview by c a llin g 1-800-K A P- T E ST . In terested stu d e n ts who lack In tern et access can request a free 30-day trial through A T& T o r A m e ric a n O n lin e , c o m p li m ents o f K aplan. For stu d en ts w ithout co m puters w ho w ant to take ad v an tag e o f the d istan ce learn in g option, K aplan offers an audio tape series. If you are in te re ste d in le a rn ing m ore a b o u t K a p la n C PA In te rn e t R eview , p lease co n ta c t m e at 2 1 2 -4 9 2 -5 8 9 0 , or K ate L efer at 212 -9 7 4 -2 7 6 9 . S incerely, A ndrea W ilson /M /M B 0 IP P U $ H C O A L IT IO N The State of the Union As the President said, “the state of our union is strong.” Examining the m ajor points o f the P resid en t’s speech, we find much with which we can agree. We also find that, on issue after issue, the Republicans are stones in the passway to improving the lives of working families. W e’re right. They’re wrong. Education Our nation’s public schools are in d isrep air and classes are o v e r crowded. To combat these problems, President Clinton intends to push for 100,000 new teachers in grades 1-3 and 6,000 new schools. Instead of fixing the problem, the Republicans want to rely on private and parochial schools and abandon the founding fathers’ commitment to public edu cation. W e’re right. T hey’re wrong. Crime Most juvenile crime is committed between 3pm and 8pm when kids get out of school and do not have any thing to do before their parents get home from work. The President wants more after-school programs to give kids something productive tododur- ing those critical hours. The Repub licans want to spend more and more money on jails and longer sentences. W e’re right. They’re wrong. Minimum Wage To keep pace with inflation and give working families a fighting chance to support themselves, the President has proposed an increase in the minimum wage this year. Claiming that the minimum wage costs jobs. Republicans like Dick Armey would like to eliminate the minimum wage entirely. But the facts show that, since the last time we raised the minimum wage (August 1996), the economy has created 3.9 million new jobs and inflation has fallen from 2.9% to 1.7%—its lowest level in a generation. W e’re right. They’re wrong. Day Care Far too many families today have to choose between the job they need and the children they love. To cor rect that problem, the President wants $21.9 billion, targeted at low-income working families, to make child care better, safer, and more affordable. The broken-record Republicans dis miss it as “big government” and will use this issue to call for more tax cuts. W e're right. T hey’re wrong. Medicare One of the great success stories of the federal government this century has been lifting seniors out of pov erty and into the middle class. Medi care is central to that accomplish ment. The President now wants to give people in their 50s the opportu nity to buy into Medicare-a modest proposal that would give millions of uncovered Americans health insur ance and would not increase the defi cit. The Republicans have opposed Medicare from its inception and have already announced their opposition to the President’s new plan. W e’re right. T hey’re wrong. Civil Rights There is currently a backlog of 60,000 cases at the Equal em ploy m ent O pportunity C om m ission. The President asked Congress to bolster the staff at the EEOC so that these A m ericans can find ju s tice. By their exploitation and dem a goguery of affirm ative action and im m ig ra tio n , the R e p u b lic a n s would rather use race as a wedge to divide us than as a bridge to unite us. W e’re right T h e y ’re wrong. ‘Paradise” & The Civil Rights Movement (Washington, D.C.)-Author and Nobel Peach Prize winner Toni Morrison believes there are some serious questions to be addressed in Black literature “Even when I keep explaining to people that the era sure, or absence, of Black women writers on the screen has been so long, so profound... the presence of ten (Black women writers) looks like millions,” she says. As for the recent “absence” of Black male authors. Morrison as serts it’s not the issue. “Where are the Black men buyers?...Black male writers are all over the place,” she states. M orrison’s latest book, "Para dise,” is the final chapter in a trilogy about “investigations into certain kinds o f love.” Loving something or someone completely, according to Morrison, is very difficult for most African-Americans. “ ’Para dise’ is... about the love of God,” she says. “It’s about faith, and how it can suppose, build and lead. 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