JU L Y 1,1998
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e r s p
e c t
i
v e s
Webster’s F irst dictionary Featured ‘Eurobonicsf
“ Ebonics For White Folks”
need a dialect ap p en d ag e to th e m a in ­
stre a m In d o -E u ro p e a n la n g u a g e ,
w hen w e find so m any in n er city
educators and acad em ics su cceed in g
w ithout its use. A lso (as in P ortland,
O reg o n ), there has been an ebb and
flow in m inority p erfo rm an ce on ed u ­
cational tests acro ss the n atio n -esp e -
cially to be noted after W o rld W ar II,
and, th en , b eg in n in g w ith th e lau n ch
o f the so-called “G reat S o ciety ,” a
new but tem p o rary high ground.
B ack to that u b iq u ito u s ‘v erb -to -
b e ’ and the British influenceon A m eri­
can gram m ar, spelling and d ic tio n a r­
ies w e recom m end the follow ing texts
as do cu m en tatio n for o u r rath e r sta r­
tling revelations about N oah W ebster-
befo re Mr. M erriam b o u g h t him out.
N ext w eek there w ill b e m o re on
these episodes in N o rm a L o q u en d :
P rop , M c K inley B urt
A little o v er 170 y ears a fter N oah
W eb ster co m p leted his g reat ety m o l­
o g y (1 8 2 5 ), th e O ak lan d , C alifo rn ia
School Board also shocked the A m eri­
can natio n -w ith “ E bonics, o u r sta n ­
d ard E nglish pro g ram to ‘m eet the
k id s w here they a re .’” T h e a c a d e m ­
ics w ere in uproar.
W eb ster’s co u rag eo u s attem p t to
m eet the w hite folks o fh is tim e ‘w here
th ey w e re ’ bro u g h t d o w n a firestorm
o f criticism upon his head. A n a d v o ­
ca te o f “ sim p lified sp ellin g ,” he in­
co rp o rated into the first d rafts o f his
dictio n ary , th e new sy stem o f p h o ­
n etic sp ellin g used in a p o p u lar sp ell­
ing tex tb o o k he p ublished.
“ B red” fo r“b read ”-”m ash een ” for
“m ach in e” - “ feth er” fo r “ feath er”-
"fa n to m ” fo r “ p h an to m ” -”k a racter”
fo r “ch aracter” an d “ ielan d ” fo r “ is­
lan d .”
W eb ster’s dictionary w as intended
to d isp lace th e “b est av ailab le sta n ­
d ard d ictionary” w hich had been c o m ­
p ile d b y B ritis h a u th o r, S a m u e l
Jo h n so n in 1755. W eb ster called it a
“ p u re ly B ritis h p ro d u c t w ith no
‘A m e ric a n ’ w ords. M ost A m erican s
liked N o a h ’s new spellings: “m u sic,
co lo r and th eater, instead o f m u sick,
c o u lo u r an d th eatre.”
T he m edia and readers had a field
d ay w ith this linguistic con tro v ersy .
O n e satirist w ro te as follow s:
“ D eer M istur W ebstur,
I am a natcheral bom spellur, n ever
tuk a lessun in m y lif, an 1 am ju z t the
m an to help yu w ith yur d isk sh u n ary -
Iw u rk cheep. H iram Jo n z”
L eaving N oah W eb ster and his
“ E urophonics for the m om ent, w e
return to the O akland U nified S chool
district and address the p h en o m en o n
so m e say to be th e lingua franca o f
A m erica’s inner cities. In m ost cases
a m ode o f com m u n icatio n s is b ein g
described that linguists say is c o m ­
m on to sp eakers in less form al situ a ­
tions to separate them selves from the
m ain stream (w hite folks) and create
solidary.
T h a t’s the w ay it w as w ith m y
generation and all those that preceded
them in th e ghetto. Y ou w o u ld leav e
the E nglish Lit o r history class in y o u r
segregated high school clo w n in g in
inspired repartee w ith black c la s s­
m ates, “ I say there w hitey, you sax o n
from yon m ountain high, 1 m ark th ee
send w ith delighted eye-kick you pale
b e h in d w ith o u t a s ig h ” (c o u n te r
invection from o th er side o f tow n).
O n it m ight be. “ D aw n in the bow l
o f night has big butt M abel w as there
in m y arm s...yeah, a in ’t no use rolling
y o u r eyes, baby, you know w hat I be
ta lk in ’ ab o u t.” A nd up an d dow n the
hallw ays and in the cafeteria and study
room there w as that incessant te e n ­
age chatter, verbal calisthenics and
innuendo that played an d teased w ith
all those erudite co n cep ts w hich E.D.
H irsch Jr. ex p o u n d ed in his, “C u l­
tural Literacy: W hat E very A m erican
N eeds T o K now ” (V in tag e 1988).
W here did it go?
A lso see A llan B lo o m ’s, “C lo sin g
T h e A m erican M ind” (T o u ch sto n e/
S im on and S chuster, 1988). T h ese
tw o b estsellers ad d ressed a g ro w in g
p ercep tio n that “all” o f A m erica w as
in educational and intellectual trouble
v iz a viz “W hy Jo h n n y C a n ’t R ead ”
o r “C risis In T h e C lassro o m ,” etc.
B ut like J.L . D illard ’s “ B lack E n ­
glish: It’s H istory and U sage in the
U nited S tates” (V in tag e 1973), n one
o f th is literature and research a n ­
sw ered (in ten d ed to?) a n u m b er o f
(L an g u ag e o f the people).
N o a h ’s A rk; N ew E n g lan d Y a n ­
kees and the E ndless Q uest, by R o b ­
ert Keith Leavitt. G & C M erriam C o m ­
pany, 1947. N oah W ebster, S c h o o l­
m a ste r to A m erica. B y H a rry R.
W arfel, O ctagon B ooks, 1966. T h e
L o n g Journey o f N oah W ebster, by
R ichard M. R ollins, U n iv ersity o f
P en n sy lv an ia P ress, 1980. N o ah
W ebster. by R ichard J . M oss, T w ay n e
b asic questions.
D id the O ak lan d E d u cato rs really
P ublishers, 1984.
A ll R o a d s L e a d t o C h ic a g o
O n August 12-15, the Rainbow/Push
Coalition will hold its annual convention at
the Chicago Hilton and Towers. The
theme that will infiisetheeonvention(and
thew orkthattbllow sit)w illbe‘‘LeaveNo
One Behind." Over the four days, speak­
ers, workshops, and plenary sessions will
cover the lull range o f issues that willdrive
Rainbow/Push for the next year and be­
yond.
The W all Street Project
Various workshops will discuss our
drive to close the gap between Appalachia
andWallStreettospreadthegrowth, wealth,
and prosperity o f these strong economic
times to under served communities.
By the time o f the convention, Rain­
bow/Push will have held a conference on
LaSalle St.— the heart o f the Midwestern
financial community— to open opportu­
nities tor African American and other
minority businesses to build reciprocal
trading relationships with major corpora­
tions. Also, the list o f companies in which
we own stock continues to grow so that we
can continue to address issues o f inclusion
as shareholders.
Labor
O ne convention day will focus
on Rainbow/Push’s work in partnership
with organized labor. Events will include
a breakfast featuring a leading figure in the
labormovement, workshops, and an after­
noon rally in downtown Chicago.
As ourrecent victory in defeating Propo­
sition 226 in California proves, organiza­
tion is critical to defending the rights o f
ness- -especially torminority owned busi­
wit’ antiquatedequipmentand inadequate
facilities. Not even talented, committed
teachers can overcome al 1 o f the obstacles
that unequal funding creates. W e must
work to find a more equitable school
funding formula toensure that our schools
are all choice and our children are all
nesses.
( ampaigns '98 and 2000
A voter registration and mobilization
planningmeetingwillbeheldat Rainbow/
Push National 1 leadquarters on Saturday,
August 15.
Far too many elections have been lost
by the margin o f cynicism. W e can put
control o f Congress in the hands o f people
w ho make sense if w e organize and em ­
power people with the belief that their vote
counts. O ur charge is to show people how
their vote makes a difference in people’s
chosen.
/M /Att70f«PU$H
C O A L IT IO N
working people. Twenty six states are
currently considering Prop.226-like initia­
tives. W e stand with organized labor to
maintain momentum and unity to defeat
these attacks on workers in each state.
Education
A breakfast plenary and a number o f
workshops will focus on the resegregation
o f America’s schools along class lines.
Becauseschool tundingissoheavily based
on a real estate tax base, poorer districts are
frequently forced to educate their children
daily lives.
W e have already launched a massiv e
voter registrationdrivetobringpeopleinto
the political process. Lust w eek alone, we
registeredmoretlian600Chicagoans. With
the support o f our friends across the coun­
try, we can register enough new voters
between now and Novemberto determine
the outcome o f critical races.
Promotion ofDemocracy and Inter­
national Affairs
Other sessions will focus attention on
Rev. Jackson'sw orkas Special Envoy for
the President and the Secretary o f Stale tor
the Promotion ofDemocracy in Africa As
thepromiseoffrcedom spreads from coun­
try to country and changes the face o f a
continent, we must remain vigilant— not
just for Africans’ sakes, but forourown. A
stable, free, democratic Africa offers tre­
mendous opportunity for American busi­
Chapter Development
A Rainbow/Pushchapterdevelopment
session will beheld to organize our allies
throughout the country to implement pro­
grams and to share information across our
computer network.p
Congress Blows Sm oke
B y M arian W right E delman
J u st as s c h o o ls w e r e le t tin g
ju t, w ith lo n g , id le su m m e r
Jays s t r e tc h in g a h ea d fo r s tu -
le n t s , th e U n ite d S ta t e s S e n -
it e d e c id e d to f o l lo w S e n a to r
Phil G r a m m ’s le a d an d b lo w
sm o k e at o u r c h ild r e n .
O u r la w m a k e r s c h o s e to
v o te to d e fe a t le g i s l a t io n th at
w as a lan d m a rk o p p o r tu n ity for
th is c o u n tr y to r e d u c e te e n
s m o k in g
and
p r o m o te
c h ild r e n ’s h e a lt h y d e v e l o p ­
m en t b y in v e s t in g in c h ild ca re
m d a f t e r - s c h o o l p r o g r a m s.
B ig to b a c c o in te r e sts put $ 4 0
m illio n in to an a d v e r tisin g c a m ­
p aign to d e fe a t th e le g is la t io n ,
p ro v in g o n c e a g a in w h e r e th e y
stand: for p r o fits and a g a in s t
ch ild ren . B u t th a t’s n o t n e w s ,
is it? T h e to b a c c o in d u stry h a s
lo n g ta rg eted c h ild r e n as fu tu re
cu sto m e r s. O n e c o m p a n y e v e n
paid to in se r t sm o k in g s c e n e s
in to p o p u la r m o v ie s , su c h as
the M u p p e ts, to o b s e r v e th e a t­
titu d es tow a rd s sm o k in g o f c h il­
dren a s y o u n g as 5. A s a r e su lt
o f th e se c a lc u la te d e ffo r ts , m ore
than th ree m illio n A m e r ic a n
teen a g ers sm o k e and 3 ,0 0 0 c h il­
d ren start s m o k in g e a c h d a y —
on e ev ery 30 seco n d s.
O v e r 16 m illio n A m e r ic a n
c h ild r e n w e r e p r o je c te d to start
s m o k in g la st y ea r. O n e o u t o f
th ree te e n sm o k e r s w ill e v e n tu ­
a lly d ie from to b a c c o - im p o s ­
in g $ 2 0 0 b illio n in fu tu re h ea lth
c o st* .
T h e le g i s l a t io n th e S e n a te
se n t u p in s m o k e c o u ld h a v e
m a d e a d if f e r e n c e in th o s e sta -
t i s t i c s , as w e ll as s e t a s id e a
p o r tio n o f th e m o re than $ 5 0 0
b illio n g e n e r a te d in to b a c c o r e v ­
e n u e s a s a d o w n p a y m e n t fo r
c h ild c a re an d a ft e r -s c h o o l a c ­
t i v it i e s , m a k in g and en o r m o u s
d if f e r e n c e fo r m illio n s o f c h il­
e s t e e m . Q u a l it y e a r ly
c h ild h o o d and a ft e r ­
sc h o o l program s h ave
b e e n s h o w n to r e d u c e
c r im in a l b e h a v io r w h ic h
is c o r r e la te d w ith r is k y
b e h a v io r s , su c h as s m o k ­
d ren .
S tu d ie s h a v e sh o w n that the
n e a r ly f iv e m illio n ch ild ren le ft
h o m e a lo n e after sc h o o l are m uch
m o re lik e ly to g iv e in to n e g a tiv e
p eer p re ssu r e or p ressu re from
in d u str y , and to e n g a g e in risk y
b e h a v io r s that je o p a r d iz e th eir
fu tu r e s. T h e se are p r e c is e ly the
te e n s ta rg eted b y th e to b a c c o in ­
d u stry . S tu d ie s a ls o sh o w that
c h ild r e n e n g a g e d in c o n str u c tiv e
a ft e r -s c h o o l a c tiv itie s are le s s
li k e ly to s m o k e an d g e t in to
trou b le w ith the la w . A fter-sch o o l
in g an d d ru g u se .
P a ren ts a re w o r k in g
h ard er th an e v e r to s u p ­
p o rt th e ir f a m ilie s and
p r o v id e b r ig h t fu tu r e s
fo r th e ir c h ild r e n . Y e t
p a ren ts fa c e g rea t d i f f i ­
p ro g ra m s a ls o p r o v id e an im p o r­
tant o p p o r tu n ity to p r e se n t a n ti­
s m o k in g s tr a te g ie s . In a d d itio n
to p r o v id in g th e a d u lt s u p e r v i­
s io n that is s o im p o rta n t, e f f e c ­
tiv e a n ti-s m o k in g cu r r ic u la h a v e
b e e n in c o r p o r a t e d in t o m a n y
c o m m u n it y a f t e r - s c h o o l p r o ­
gra m s to fu rth er e n h a n c e s m o k ­
in g p r e v e n tio n e ffo r ts .
Q u a lity ch ild care for our yo u n g
ch ild ren is a ls o v ery im portant in
the fig h t a g a in st teen sm o k in g .
It is c le a r th at b y p r o m o tin g
c h ild r e n ’s h e a lth y d e v e lo p m e n t
and h e lp in g c h ild r e n to m a k e
g o o d c h o ic e s , q u a lity c h ild ca re
p r o g r a m s are e f f e c t iv e to o ls to
r e d u c e te e n s m o k in g . R e c e n t
r e s e a r c h s h o w s th a t th e fir s t
th ree y e a r s o f li f e are c r it ic a l to
b ra in d e v e lo p m e n t an d to la y in g
th e fo u n d a tio n fo r p o s it iv e s e l f -
c u lt y fin d in g s a f e , r e li­
a b le ca re fo r th e ir c h i l ­
d ren w h ile th e y are at
w o rk . A sk A m e r ic a ’s
p a ren ts an d t h e y ’ll te ll
y o u th e y w is h th e y c o u ld
d o b e tte r fo r th e ir c h il
d r e n ,b u t c a n n o t b e c a u s e
c o s t s are to o h ig h , th e y
c a n ’ t fin d th e q u a lit y
t h e y ’re lo o k in g fo r , or
th e d e m a n d s o f t h e ir
w o rk s c h e d u le s lim it
th e ir c h o ic e s
It m a d e c o m m o n
s e n s e to u s e t o b a c c o
fu n d s to in v e s t in the
c h ild ca re p r o g r a m s that
w o rk for A m e r ic a ’s c h il­
dren
and
fa m ilie s .
R a r e ly h a v e s o m a n y
im p o r ta n t g o a l s b e e n
a d d r e s s e d in a s i n g l e
p ie c e o f le g is la t io n b e ­
fo r e C o n g r e s s .
B u t C o n g r e s s s a id no
In e f f e c t , th e y to ld ou r
c h ild r e n to “ lig h t up.
L e t’s rem em b er that in
N o v e m b e r w h en t h e y ’re
a s k in g fo r o u r v o te s .
Carl Taiton:
keeping PGE
involved as the
community evolves.
At PGE, we believe it's important to take a leadership role in the healthy
development of our communities.
<$>
Carl Talton, our new economic development director, has years of electrical
utility experience and also serves as the chair for the Portland Development
Commission. So with Carl's expertise, PGE can help facilitate wise growth and
revitalization throughout the area.
Portland General Electric
Carl is another way PGE stays connected to the community— and to the future.
C
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