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co u rse; no b ru s q u e orders o r c o m
m an d s, on ly a no d o r raised eyebrow .
Y et, it w as a w o n d ro u s tim e, and you
k n ew that, g en erally , it w as b eing
etal fabric ripped a su n d e r’ by c h il
dren, n o less.”
L eaving asid e for a m o m en t the
C o n tr ib u tin g W riters:
P ro fe s s o r M c K in le y B u rt,
s o y o u ,th e c h ild ,
p r o j e c te d th is
th ro u g h o u t th e
Joy Ramos
an o p p o rtu n ity to m a k e an im portant
point. 1 h av e not been alo n e in m y
day, abroad o r in the n eighborhood. A
visitor w as as w elco m e as the plague.
POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes To: Portland Observer,
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c o n ten tio n that m an y o f th e physical
a ssau lts an d m uch o f th e vandalism is
d u e to a lack o f u n d e rstan d in g o f the
valu e an d u se o f perso n al sp ace and
In a w o rld w ith a g reat deal o f o rd er
and a fair d e g ree o f certain ty , this
s itu a tio n p re v a ile d at th e m a g ic
P e r io d ic a ls p o s ta g e p a i d a t P o rtla n d . O regon .
S u b sc r ip tio n s: $ 6 0 .0 0 p e r y e a r
The P o rtlan d O b s e rv e r w e lc o m e s fre e la n c e su b m issio n s. M a n u
sc rip ts a n d p h o to g ra p h s s h o u ld b e c le a rly lab eled an d w ill b e re tu rn e d
ev en in g hour: A n a ssig n ed p lace for
co n se q u e n tly , the p erso n al nature o f
p ro p erty w ithin it. M an y d are not ow n
ev ery perso n an d a u n ifo rm seq u en ce
if ac c o m p a n ie d b y a s e l f a d d re s s e d e n v e lo p e . A ll c re a te d d e sig n d is p la y
ads b e c o m e th e so le p ro p e rty o f th e n e w s p a p e r an d c a n n o t b e u sed in
o th e r p u b lic a tio n s o r p e rs o n a l u s a g e w ith o u t th e w ritte n c o n se n t o f th e
g e n e ra l m a n a g e r, u n le s s th e c lie n t h a s p u rc h a s e d th e c o m p o s itio n o f
su ch ad. © 1996 T H E P O R T L A N D O B S E R V E R . A L L R IG H T S
R E S E R V E D , 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 P E R M IS S IO N IS P R O H IB IT E D .
Bv
The brutal m urderofJam es Bynd Jr.,of
Jasper, Texas allegedly by three whitemen
w asam odem -day lynching that recallsthe
A sso c ia tio n • S e rv in g P o rtla n d a n d V a n c o u v e r.
worst atrocities o f the ugly era when racial
discrimination ruled American society.
Today, racial discrimination no longer
rules American society.
(Hlje ^ o r t i a n b (O b s e ru e i-
But the slaying o f Jam es Byrd Jr.-y et
another episode o f racism taken to the
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rice
P resident
I 1885, an d T h e N a tio n a l A d v e rtisin g R e p re se n ta tiv e A m a lg a m a te d
P u b lish e rs, In c, N ew Y o rk , N Y , a n d T h e W est C o a st B lack P u b lish ers
P ortland , O regon 97208
extremes of deadly violence—underscores
the fact that racism remains a significant
factor in American life.
For women as a group, and for blacks
and other people o f color, the substantial
progress made in expanding opportunity
has not eliminated the barriers they face in
thew orkplaee-norinjust living theirlives
free o f racist and sexist violence.
City, State:_________ _________
Z ip -C o d e :
T h an k You F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver
Data on incidents ofracist violence and
l
_ a .
better
Send your letters to the Editor to:
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
D e a r N o rth P o r tla n d N e ig h b o r,
w i l T ^ k X 18 “ n d e rt“k m 8 a P a n n in g p ro c e s s fo r im p ro v e m e n ts at th e P o rtla n d In te rn a tio n a l R a c e w a y (P IR ) that
t
iJ ? "
the B u r e X o f P
In
,nfr f
t0
r i
“ T h en , c o n tem p late ify o u w ill, the
rich n ess an d variety o f the co n v ersa
tions an d in fo rm atio n that w ould flow
back an d forth acro ss this ‘su p p er
ta b le .”
T h e b ro ad k n o w led g e an d
aunt com ing from their
respective room s (no
w ay those tw o could
share a space).
e x p e rie n c e o f m an y ag e g ro u p s an d
o c c u p a tio n s reach the ears o f adult
an d ch ild alike. A p artm en ts, public
h o u sin g an d urban b o u n d aries have
N e x t, I w o u ld
b ounce in from m y
ch a n g e d th e c u ltu re.”
w as o vercrow ed with
balls, bats, gloves, ‘toy
g u n s’, erector sets, etc. Fifth and sixth
w ould b e m y gran d fath er’s tw o old
m aid cousins, the retired seam stresses.
T hey w ould have had a lot to do w ith
the preparation o f the m eal and their
contribution w ould co ntinue w ith the
serving, They shared a room so m e
w here in the house, a m ysterious place
that w as o f f limits.
P erhaps now , th ere w ill be g reater
understanding and com prehension for
som e in resp ect to w hat I d escrib ed as
“o ne of civ ilizatio n s m ost im portant
hours." Those "personal sp in s"p laced
on fam ily ch an n el new s w as an early
O n e s n eig h b o rs, b ein g part o f the
"It tak es a w h o le village to raise a
c h ild " scen e; saw to it that th ere w ere
no ‘latch k ey te rro rist’ in the n eig h
b o rh o o d . A w o m an at a co ffee sh o p
said, “y o u r city m ust hav e been like
m ine. W e had a ‘M arian W right
E d elm an ” in ev ery block, w eall cared-
w e ‘w e r e ’ th e social a g en cy .”
S everal y o u n g fathers said, “no
w o n d er y o u r youth could plan and
o rg an ize so w ell as teenager,; the inter
n eig h b o rh o o d ball gam es and bicycle
races funded and structured w ithout
adult superv ision in m any cases, the
m o o nlight excu rsio n s dow n the M is
sissippi co n tracted by y o u rse n io rh ig h
school class. O u r genes co u ld n ’t have
ch an g ed so fats. W h a t’s g o in g o n ?
•
. _
hate crimes gathered by the anti-Defama-
knowledge the decency and courage o f
tion League and other organizations show
that organized white-supremacist hate
tribution-of those conservative and so-
Ronald L. King, whose son is one o f the
called centrist media commentators, poli
accused. The open letter o f “apology” he
issued this week w asa sel fless act from one
who, from the depths o f his ow n sorrow',
ticians, professors, and think-tank fellows
w ho’ve spent the past year disparaging the
Clinton Race Initiative.
urges us all to follow the path toward
redemption.
I’ve looked for them these past few
days.
"It hurts m e deeply," Mr. King wrote
with obvious anguish, “to know that a boy
Instead, I found that profound silence
from them which signals their retreat be
hind walls of blindness and denial to wait
for the shock ofthe m urderofJam es Byrd
Jr. to fade away, to wait for us to forget.
It's up to those o f us w ho are not blind
groups still constitute a serious threat.
But, even m ore worrisome, those w ho
closely track hate crimes say that hate
groups actually commit less than 5 pereent
o f them. The rest are the work ofindividu-
als.
“W e’re in the era o f freelance hate,”
Brian Lev in,” an expert on hate crimes,
told USA Today this week. "You may
have people w ho go to a Kian rally, or tap
onto a web site, but they’re their ow n
franchise.”
Thosewoids,chillingastheyare,should
not dismay us. They should energize us to
do the work that needs to be done.
Mr. Byrd’s murder, occurring as it did
near the first anniversary o f President
Clinton’s much-maligned race relations
initiative, also underscores something veiy
noticeable-andpem icious-aboutthedis-
n J s ,b 1
ing purposefully from his room to the
head of the table. M y m other and my
and im p o rtan t ‘N E T .’ I believe I put
it as follow s.
O n T h e M u rd er O f J a m e s B y r d Jr.
The P o rtla n d O b s e r v e r - O r e g o n ’s O ld e s t M u ltic u ltu ra l P u b lica-
t i o n - i s a m e m b e r o f th e N a tio n a l N e w s p a p e r A s s o c ia tio n - F o u n d e d in
T he
from the w ings, stage right, o r stage
left.. M y dignified grandfather strid
sm all cubicle w hich
tion at school, M ay 30, "T h e C o lo red
O rp h an s H om e").
It is to be n oted h e re that the d in ers
usually c a m e to th e table directly from
‘th e ir ro o m s ,’ a n d this fact p ro v id es
traction of television, and the radio w as
turned off. A strident hectic w orld for
m edia w as not allo w ed to intrude-the
‘co m m u n ican ts’ at the table placed
their personal spin on the ev ents o f the
Deadline for all submitted materials:
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O u r su p p er table (and others) w as
I ike a stage set, with ‘a c to rs’ appearing
! Bi
c o u n try (except
fo r th o se ‘p o o r fo lk s’ fo r w hom you
b ro u g h t can n ed g o o d s fo r th e c o llec
and, of course, there w as not the d is
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Portland, Oregon 97211
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anything.
P rofessor
M c k in le y
c it y
and
th ro u g h o u t th e
are w oven into th e w h o le fabric.
I had to reassem ble that universal 6
PM ‘S upper T a b le ’ o f those earlier
days. N o telephones w ere answ ered
L e e P e rlm a n ,
N eil H e ilp e m
S ubscriptions
P ortland O bserver ; PO B ox 3137
t
r e p e a te d
th ro u g h o u t the
n e ig h b o r h o o d ,
q u estio n as to w h eth er w e can ju s tifi
ab ly incite o u r c h ild ren fo r these
grievious circum stances, I did get c o n
sistent requests fo ra recitation o fth o se
“little th in g s" y o u ’ve alw ay s insisted
G ra p h ic D esig n
SUBSC RIBE TO
c
d ep artu re. O u r ta b le w as par for the
say, “y o u w ere rig h t on target th is past
m o n th w ith y o u r an aly sis o f a ‘so c i
le s h a W illiam s
A s s is ta n t E d ito r
p
of activity from seatin g , to reciting the
b lessin g , serv ice, co n v ersatio n and
p laces again. A n d g en ero u s readers
M ark W ash in g to n
T o n y W a sh in g to n
s
I ’m m aking the ro u n d s o f th e c o f
fee shops and o th e r n eig h b o rh o o d
(U S P S 9 5 9 -6 8 0 ) E stab lish ed in 1970
L arry J. Ja c k so n , Sr.
D ire c to r o f O p era tio n
r
m P rof . Mt K inley B urt
^îortlanh ©bsewer
G a ry A n n T a y lo r
B u s in e s s M a n a g e r
e
It's The Little Things That Mean (Meant) So Much
,0: Ed>tor, Reader Response, P.Q. Bos 3137, Portland, OR 97208,
D istsrib u tio n M a n a g e r
(Elje Portland ffibseruer
p
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kg 3 7 R
‘°
S’tC A ® P3rt ° f th e im Pro v em en t p la n n in g p ro c e s s, I re q u ested
,
^ r e a t t o n to e x p lo re th e fe a s ib ility a n d c o m m u n .ty in terest o f an a m p h ith e a te r at PIR
_
m e e t' n 8 s c o n v e n e d w ith lo cal re sid e n ts, n e ig h b o rh o o d g ro u p s, e n v iro n m e n ta l g ro u p s activ ists
*
yt H8” ? , ; " 10 b u s ,n ®s s 8 ro u PS- w e e x p lo re d a d v a n ta g e s, d is a d v a n ta g e s an d affe c ts o n th e q u a lity o f life
■ a te d w ith an a m p h ith e a te r ad d itio n . E n v iro n m e n ta l im p a c ts, n o is e lev els, traffic an d p a rk in g w e re so m e o f
the is su e s a n d c o n c e rn s raised . S o m e o p p o rtu n itie s th at c o u ld b rin g s ig n ific a n t b e n e fits to N o rth P o rtla n d w ere also
m ± , 1 o „ a X nl
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cussion o f race in America.
That is, that w henever an outrageous
incident ofoveit racism suchasthisoccurs,
a deep silence seems to blanket part o f the
nation’s racial landscape.
No, I am not faulting those whites, in
Texas and elsewhere w ho have forth-
rightlycondemnaltherepreheiisibledeed.
State and local officials in Texas appear
to have acted with dispatch to arrest the
men responsible for this act o f horrific
savagery, and they have pledged to inves
tigate the crim e fully and prosecute it
vigorously.
And, as our sympathies surround Mr.
B yrd’s family and friends, w e also ac-
I raised and considered to be the most
loved boy I knew could find it in himselfto
takealife. This deed cannot be undone,but
I hope w eean go forward in peace and with
loveforall. L etusfindinourheartslovefor
our fellow man. Hate can only destroy."
W ho can deny the troth o f that state
ment? W e have seen and continue to see
hatred’s destructive force acted out time
and again in this country and around the
world.
The kximing question is: Will we go
forward?
That challenge-has been posed in many
different words this past week by those
to reality to not foiget the work that must be
done.
That is w hy theNational Utban League
has joined with six other organizations to
fight bigotry. O ur partners are: the Anti-
Defamation leag u e, Leadership Educa
tion for Asian Pacifies, the National C on
ference for Com m unity and Justice, the
National Congress o f American Indians,
the National Council o f La Raza, and the
National Italian American Foundation.
w ho have been urging the nation toward
W e must rem em ber that if w e A m eri
such adiscussion-am ongthem , President
Clinton, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, in
vited by Mr. B yrd’s family to Jasper,
leaders o f the Congressional Black Cau
cans don tuniteagainstallform sofracism ,
bias and bigotry, intergroup violence will
continue to spread.
I n that regard, it’s not too late to improve
theeflbrt the President’s initiativeon Race
cus, Kweisi M tum e, PresidentandCEOof
theNational Association fbrthe Advance
has m ade to encourage a frank, positive
ment o f Colored People.
But one group has been noticeably
silent:
discussion o f A m erica’s racial di fficulties.
M r.aintonhim selfshoulddevotem ore
personal attention to it in order to sharpen
its focus and tackle the really tough issues.
W here is the comm ent from those
w ho ve been saying so vociferously that
That is one w ay America can “go for
w ard,''and in so doing, redeem thesuffer-
w e should not pay attention to race, that we
should be "blind” to color?
Now, w here is the com m ent-the con-
ing Jam es Byrd endured and repudiate the
intent o f his killers.
In te rn a tio n a l R a c e w a y c o m p le x , c o m m u n ity e v e n ts a n d e n h a n c e d o p p o rtu n itie s for a re a y o u th
n e o f th e stro n g e st a d v a n ta g e s to th e p ro je c t id e a at th is tim e is th e p o ssib ility o f p riv a te d ev elo p e rs
c o lla b o ra tin g w ith th e C ity o n th is p ro je c t, sa v in g m illio n s o f d o lla r s in d e v e lo p m e n t a n d c o n stru c tio n c o sts to the
p u b lic a n d in fu sin g m u ch n e e d e d ca p ita l in to th e R a c e w a y P a rk co m p lex .
n r J , ^ rf CM OUvtO g e t ' " V0,Ved in th e p |a n n i" g p ro c e ss. I w a n t to h e a r y o u r id eas a n d c o n c e rn s a b o u t th is p ro p o sed
P J“
kCr 803 18 t0 aSSUre y ° U th a t ,m P ro v e m e n ts a t
P o rtla n d In te rn a tio n a l R a c e w a y w ill w h erev er
p o ss ib le , c o m p lim e n t c o m m u n ity n e e d s a n d p ro v id e lo c a l, as w ell a s c ity w id e , b en efits.
S in c e r e ly
J im F ra n c e sc o n i,
C o m m is s io n e r
I f Y ou H a v e A n y Q u e stio n s A b o u t:
I m p r o v e m e n ts o r P la n D is tr ic t d e v e lo p m e n t
B ry a n t E n g e ft2 3 -6 8 75
P u b lic In v o lv e m e n t
V a u g h n B ro w n 2 3 5 -5 8 8 !
Civil Rights Journal
People O f Color and Disabilities
B y B e r n ic e P o w e l l J a c k -
son
W h e n R a lp h E l l i s o n 's b o o k .
T h e I n v i s ib l e M a n , w a s p u b
lis h e d s o m e 5 0 o r s o y e a r s a g o ,
it c r e a t e d a n u p r o a r b e c a u s e it
n o h a r d - h i t t i n g n o v e l to te ll th e i r
in g in C a l i f o r n i a a n d I to ld th e
s t o r y . T h e in v i s i b l e p e o p le a re
th o s e w ith d is a b i l i t i e s .
s t o r y o f a fe d e r a l j u d g e w h o s e
m o t h e r h a d ta u g h t h im an im
E ig h t y e a r s a g o th e A m e r ic a n s
p o r t a n t le s s o n a s a c h il d g r o w
in g u p in th e S o u th . W h e n h is
w ith D is a b i li ti e s A c t w a s s ig n e d
a n d w e n t in to e f f e c t , p r o h i b it in g
d i s c r im in a t io n o n th e b a s is o f d i s
a b i l i t y . A n d w h ile it h a s m a d e a
Honoring tradition and celebrating community. That’s
what the Homowo Festival of African Arts is all about. And
that’s why PGE is proud to be the largest corporate sponsor
of this annual festival of music, dance, art and fun slated for
m o t h e r s a w b u s s e s p a s s in g by an
e ld e r ly b la c k w o m a n a t th e b u s
August 15-16 in Cathedral Park. We’re also helping sponsor
invite you to call now about enrollment: 288-3025. See you
e ty . A h a l f a c e n tu r y la te r th e r e
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in o u r s o c i e ty , in c lu d in g in c o m -
s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e in th e liv e s
o f m a n y p e o p le , th e 5 4 m illio n
s to p in fr o n t o f th e i r h o u s e , h is
m o t h e r w e n t a n d s to o d w ith th e
b la c k w o m a n s o th a t th e b u s
A m e r i c a n s w ith d i s a b i l i t i e s s till
f a c e a ll k in d s o f d is c r im in a t io n .
w o u ld s to p .
m u n i ti e s o f c o l o r , b u t t h e r e is
A fe w w e e k s a g o I w a s s p e a k -
p o in t e d to th e f a c t th a t m i ll io n s
o f A f r ic a n A m e r i c a n s w e r e all
b u t in v i s i b l e to th e la r g e r s o c i
y
<$>
Homowo’s African Arts Day Camp for Children in July and
at the festival in August!
C
o n n e c t in g
Portland General Electric
P
e o p l e
,
P
ow er
and
P
o s s ib il it ie s