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MAY 20, 1998
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(USPS 959-680) Established in 1970
C harles W ashington
P ublish er <S E ditor
Mark W ashington
D istsribution M an ager
G ary A nn T aylor
B u sin ess M an ager
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
D irector o f O peration
Tony W ashington
A ssista n t E ditor
lesha W illiam s
G raphic D esign
C on tribu tin g H'riters:
P rofessor M cK inley Burt,
Lee Perlm an.
N eil H eilpem
Joy Ram os
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When Reality Is Real, Not Virtual, IV
m M c K inley Bt rt
In l899,ChariesH.DueH,dirccttrofthe
U.S. patent office announce, "Everything
that can be inv ented, has been invented!"
As several o f the black youths in our
neighborhood science clubs pointed
out, this gentleman could scarcely be
blamed for such a myopic observation,,
since this was a time when widely pub
licized technology essential to the in
dustrial revolution had already been
patented. These were the highly visible
contributions attributed to 'giants’ like
Thomas Edison, AlexanderGrahm Bell
(a telephone), and Samuel F.B. Morse
(a telegraph).
And since I always provide the groups
w ith relevant supplemental reading ma
terial, they also were able to point ou,
that unknown to Mr. Duell, the Patent
Office Director, Mr. Henry E. Baker, a
black Assistant Examiner, was about to
publish the next year, “Four Giant Vol
umes on Black Inventors.” By 19 13 his
list numbered over a thousand.
Mr. Baker had accomplished this
crucial task o f ethnic documentation by
simply polling all the patent attorneys in
the country from his master list, "Have
you ever prosecuted a patent for a black
man and ifso, please advise as to particu-
lars?” When I examined the treasures at
Howard Universitys’ Moorland collec
tion o f Black Patents; 1 assure you that I
felt the same surge o f pride and identity
as Baker from the replies.
And as I em phasized in the recent
series "Identity and M otivation," this
association with talent, pride and com
passion, is just the sensitivity we wish
to inoculate in our youth. The 'w h o le'
person is as important a concept as
mastery o f instruments, tools, and
machines from com puters, telescopes
and electronic circuits, to robots, la
sers, satellites, scalpels and x-rays.
And it is not as if the “blackout" on
seminal African American inventors
stopped there at the turn o f the century.
One o f my white former PSU students,
now an associate professor in economics
at a prestigious Ivy League University,
cites a particular problem that has not
gone away in the 25 years since he was in
my class. Identity, Identity, Identity!
“Prof. Burt, I am sure you remember
telling us that though you had written a
book detailing the key inventions o f
black innovators who were absolutely
essen tial to th e d ev e lo p m e n t o f
America’s manufacturing, transporta
tion and constructions industries over a
hundredyearperiodfrom I860to 1960-
nev ertheless, the most respected econo
mists who assess America’s industrial
growth completely omit mention o f the
men or their inventions.”
"Well, nothing has changed. Today,
the work o f highly regarded Dr. Joseph
A. Schumpeter (Capitalism, Socialism,
and Democracy, 1950) and some o f the
conclusions you based on your experi
ence in industry are being paraphrased
in the legal battle between Microsoft and
the Justice Department. Schumpeter
insisted that new technology is the com
petitive di tference that creates monopo
lies and he too amassed his database
without considering black inventors.
And, unaware. ‘Justice’ says, “he is cer
tainly right but we want to see opportu
nity and democracy in the marketplace.”
M eanw hile, back at the ranch, the
Science Club K ids (and supporting
parents) are going full blast. Som e
tim es enthusiasm m ust be tem pered
w hile experience is gained and struc
ture is b etter understood. “W e’ve
got to have som e sp in -o ffs into b u si
ness and investm ent clubs-m aybe an
aero club. W hat about som e ‘w ater
sp o rts’ that are new ? W e saw those
A fricans racing dow n a river in a
f
con<i«»on
sty le sim ila r to th o se ‘C h in e se
D ragon B oats.’ A guy w as beating
this ‘b a d ’ drum to keep the row ers in
tim e and I’ve got the tap e." Y ou
alw ays tell them , "W e need c o u n se
lors, technicians.”
O thers talk o f improving grades
and SAT scores, and about "tutoring
‘little kids’.” Some say they hope to
reach the point to w here a graduation
class can organize and contract a mwin-
light river cruise on itsow n-”Iikem om
said vour generation had the initiative
todo.” More and more w e begin to see
that genes d o n ’t change. W e sim ply
have been on constant guard against
the ‘gatekeepers, ’ the fearful, the weak.
Last w eek’s com m ent on “m odel-
building” certainly gotattention. Many
kids (and parents) say that it’s much
more fun and instructive to build many
toys than to buy them ready m ade and
model boats, trains, planes, helicop
ters, cars, trains or bulldozers. And,
then, there are others w ho w ant to do
arts and crafts. It seems that if al
lowed, youths w ould be a lot m ore
about self-discovery and disciplined
development. That is, if not co m
pressed into a program m ed vise by
‘experts.’
Smoking and Teens of Color
Bv B ernice P owell J ackson
Enough is enough. The data has
been com ing out slowly over the past
year or so, as the tobacco industry
investigations and agreements have
been release. First, tobacco industry
docum ents released earlier this year
showed that they had targeted African
Americans in their marketing. Now,
data released by the US. Surgeon G en
eral shows that smoking am ong A fri
can American youth has increase 80%
overthe past seven years and that it has
increased 34% among Hispanic youth.
Communities o f color are already in
a health crisis. O ur rates o f cancer,
hypertension, heart disease, and asthma
are two, three or four times those o f
w hite Americans. Alloftheselifethreat-
ening diseases can lx* related to smok
ing. Indeed, more than 47,000 African
American die o f smoking related ill
nesses every year. The death rate among
Native Americans from tobacco abuse
is double that o f other Americans.
The fact is that tobacco use is the
single leading preventable cause o f
death in the United States. This means
that the premature deaths o f tens o f
thousands o f African Americans, His
panic Americans and Native A m eri
cans which w ere caused by smoking
did not have to be. Tens o f thousand
ot mothers and fathers, grandparents,
sisters and brothers who might still
have been enjoying I i fe with thei r fam i -
lies ifthey had not smoked cigarettes.
The Centers for Disease Control,
Real people.
Fast, helpful answers.
Six days a week.
Send your letters to the Editor to:
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
Dear Editor,
_____________ John E. Lee, Linda A. Brooks, Judy A. Brown, and Antoinette Edwards
J
cocaine or alcohol. M ost o f them
d o n ’t believe the health consequences
w illevertouchtheirow n lives. W e’ve
got to tell them som ething different.
AI most 80% o f Hispanic males w ho
begin smoking as teens sm oke their
whole lifetime. For African A merican
males that number is 70%. That means
that once they start, they are hooked
for a lifetime, probably a shortened
lifetime at that. When those num bers
are com bined with others w hich show
50% higher incidences o f lung cancer
rate for African American males, then
it is time for us to say enough is enough.
Metro Recycling Information
234-3000
TNie (Scditor
A s parents (m em bers o f the Jefferson C om m unity) who served on the interview com m ittee for the selection o f
the principal for Jefferson H igh School, we are w riting to express our extrem e disappointm ent and several concerns.
T he superintendent and other top level adm inistrators o f Portland Public Schools blatantly disregarded the process
they set up to select Je fferso n ’s leader. W e believe that w e, as supporters o f a fair and open process, have been
disrespected. F urther, w e believe that the candidates w ho follow ed the process outlined by the D istrict w ere not
treated fairly.
O ur com m ittee w orked from 5:30 until after m idnight (w ith no dinner or snacks other than beverages) to
interview the slate o fca n d id ate s, discuss their strengths and w eaknesses and to com e to a consensus regarding the
three nam es that should be recom m ended to the D istrict for consideration. As a com m ittee, w e w ere lead to believe
that all o f the candidates cam e from a prescreened list. The fact that the candidates cam e before us was an indication
that they m et the D istrict's criteria and w ere qualified to assum e the position. If, in fact, top level D istrict
adm inistrators perceived the candidates to be w eak o r not fully qualified to fill the position, then the candidates
failing to m eet the D istrict’s criteria should not have been scheduled for an interview . O u r tim e is very valuable!
It w as ou r understanding that if none o f the candidates interview ed w ere recom m ended for consideration that the
search w ould be reopened. W e, as parent representatives, w ere fully prepared to p articipate in interview s o f
additional candidates.
It is an insult to us as volunteers (w ho have a vested interest in the selection o f a principal w ho can build a quality
academ ic program and select teachers with excellent skills and high expectations for all students) to have our
recom m endations totally disregarded and to find that the process has been changed w ithout any explanation o f
notification to com m ittee m em bers. O ur tim e and energy w ere w asted! We, the parents, the other m em bers o f the
interview com m ittee, the candidates and the greater Jefferson com m unity deserve respect. T he m anner in w hich
this selection process has been handled dem eans and devalues our participation.
Let us m ake it perfectly clear that our concerns should not b e interpreted to be a negative vote against Lela
Roberts, for w e do not have enough inform ation to draw any final conclusions. A ny questions that w e have center
around the fact that the m ajority o f her experience is at the elem entary school level and that her selection violates
the process that the D istrict established. Lela Roberts w as not on that list.
The press conference announcing the District’s selection o f an “ interim" principal raises several questions. Why
change the process and have another interim principal'.’ Does anybody care about the students? O ur children and all o f
the students o f Jefferson High School deserve to have some stability. Hie relationships between parents and the District
administration, the adm inistration and the teachers, the teachers and the students areall strained by lack ofcom m unication
and failure to follow the process outlined. The relationship o f CM AC to this process remains unclear to us.
W hy w as C M A C included in the press conference announcing the new principal? Has an y m em ber o f their
organization spoken w ith the interview com m ittee or other Jefferson parents? W e are from the com m unity and we
w ant people to speak w ith us before they speak for us. W hy w as the press conference held at a church rather than
at Jefferson H igh S chool? W e respect B ishop W ells but what does he have to do with Jefferson High School? O ur
com m unity is diverse and w e expect that any representation o f us will give consideration to that fact. A press
conference regarding the leadership o f Jefferson should be held at a place w here all m em bers o f the com m unity
w ould feel free to attend N otification o f our com m ittee w ould have appropriate. (It was obvious that the D istrict
had the tim e to notify C M A C .)
In closing, w e m ust note that w e have contacted D iana S now den and she has not returned o u r phone calls. This
is unacceptable. H ow hard is it to respond to individuals w hose tim e your freely use? it is our expectation that the
B oard o f E ducation and the S uperintendent will contact us. F ailure to do so will m ake it clear that the w ords “ we
w ant parent involvem ent at Jefferson H igh School" are nothing m ore than rhetoric. W e w ould like to have the next
steps and tim elines shared w ith us by D istrict adm inistrators not the new s m edia. Please com m unicate w ith the
Jefferson parents and com m unity directly. W e have not authorized any one individual or group to share our ideas
o r present concerns.
w hich released the latest figures on
sm oking am ong U.S. (teenagers, does
not know why the enorm ous increase
occurred in African American and
Latino/a youth and will continue to
look for the reasons for these frighten
ing numbers. Meanw hile, we must say
enough is enough and lead our chil
dren aw ay from a shortened life o f
tobacco addiction.
E veryday m ore than 3,000 young
people across the nation become dai ly
sm okers. M ost o f them start sm ok
ing not understanding or believing
that tobacco is as addictive as heroin.
Tip o f the w eek:
N atural g a rd e n in g and co m p o stin g
L earn how to prevent w eeds, pests and
disease using n a tu ra l m eth o d s, an d how
to tu rn yard w aste in to rich co m p o st.
C all us a t 2 3 4 -3 0 0 0 for in fo rm atio n
a b o u t n atu ra l g ard en in g an d co m p o stin g
w o rk sh o p s. Visit M e tro ’s w eb site at:
w w w .m etro -reg io n .o rg
Call M etro R ecyclin g In fo rm atio n
w hen you need in fo rm a tio n about:
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recycling an d reuse o p tio n s
garb ag e disposal
w ays to prevent w aste
co m p o stin g an d n atu ra l g ard en ih g
safer altern ativ es for hom e an d g arden
h az ard o u s w aste disposal
M e tro Recycling In fo rm atio n is o pen
8:30 a.m . to 5 p.m . M o n d a y th ro u g h
Saturday. C all us for a free refrig erato r
m agnet so y o u ’ll alw ays have o u r
n u m b er handy.
M e tro Regional Services
Creating livable communities
Metro is working to ensure that we have access to nature, clean air and water and resources for future
generations. Waste prevention and safe disposal are ways you can create a more livable community.