JULY 15,1998
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F o r m e r S e n a t o r M a rk
H a tf ie ld lo o k s at a p la q u e
th a t is p a rt o f th e M AX s t a
tio n th a t w as d e d ic a te d in h is
h o n o r on Ju n e 4 th . C o n g re ss-
w o m an E liz a b e th F u rse .
H ills b o ro M ay o r G o rd o n
F a b e r, f o r m e r H ills b o ro
m a y o r S h irle y H u ffm a n an d
T r i- M e t G e n e r a l M a n a g e r
T o m W a lsh j o i n e d in th e
d e d ic a tio n at th e M ark O.
H a tf ie ld G o v e rn m e n t C e n te r
M AX S ta tio n .
“ S e n a to r
H a tfie ld w as th e o n e p e rs o n
a b s o l u t e l y c r i t i c a l to th e
M A X lig h t ra il e f f o r t," sa id
W a lsh . “ W ith o u t h im , M A X
sim p ly w o u ld n o t e x is t,” T h e
H a tfie ld s ta tio n is lo c a te d in
H ills b o r o on A d a m s b e tw e e n
W a s h in g to n
and
M a in .
W e s ts id e M A X s e r v ic e w ill
b e g in a t 1 1 a m , S e p te m b e r
12th.
A Lynching In Jasper, Texas: The
Intolerable Acts Continue
R on D aniels
As President Clinton's well ¡men
tioned initiative on racism continues
to hobble along aimlessly, mounting
acts o f racial violence and terrorism
clearly indicate that racism is alive
and well in Amerikkka. The grisly
lynchingof James Byrd, Jr. in Jasper,
Texas by three White men who alleg
edly beat him senseless, chained him
to the bumper o f a pick up truck and
dragged his body tor more than two
miles is a stunning reminder that white
supremacy can be as deadly as ever
before in the United States. While
the lynching o f James Byrd received
national and international attention,
another incident in Virginia where
an African American was decapi
tated and burned, was hardly no
ticed. These two heinous murders
and the brutal manner in which they
w erecaried out are alarmingly remi
niscent o f the horrific lynchings of
thousands o f African Americans af
ter thecivil War and well into the
twentieth century.
What is perhaps more alarming,
however, is the fact that these hor
rendous crim es against A frican
Americans are occurring within a
climate which breeds hatred, legiti
mizes racism and ultimately encour
ages racial violence. Though the out
right lynching o f Black people is
horrifying, the intolerable acts of rac
ism perpetuated by mainsream poli
ticians, religious leaders, corpora
tions and well established institu
tions is equally insidious, dangerous
and damaging, the negative por
trayal o f Blacks in the media and the
criminalization o f young black males
in particular has become common
place. As a consequence Black
by
people are far more likely to be ar-
rested, more often convicted, serve
longer sentences, and, as a recent
study revealed, far more likely to
receive the death penalty. Racism
pervades the criminal justice system
from p o lic e d e p a rtm e n ts, to
prosecuters, judges and jails/pri sons.
Hence the explosive growth o f the
prison-jail industrial complex where
the vast majority of the inmates are
African Americans and Latinos.
Affirmative action programs and
other civil rights measures are now
routinely overturned by the courts on
the grounds that they are unfair to
White people in a “race neutral" or
"color blind" society. I he lack of
education over the real need and in
tent o f affirmative action programs
and other measures designed to over
come the effects of past and present
discrimination has meant the "civil
rights" is increasingly seen as unnec
essary and unfair by large numbers
o f White Americans. This is breed
ing the kind o f resentment that fueled
the burning o f hundreds o f Black
churches over the last decade and
increasing incidents of racial vio
lence like the ones in Jasper. Texas
and Virginia.
There appears to be a direct correla
tion between the rhetoric of public
policty pronouncements, the decisions
of political leaders and the prolifera
tion of hate groups and racial violence
in this society. As the rightwing con
servative tide has swept this country
with its attacks on Black progress,
racist hate groups have become bolder
and bolder in their verbal and physical
attacks on Blacks and other groups
who are not seen as acceptable in a
“white Aryan society."
I he rise to hegemony of the right
has also given license to widespread
practices o f racism within private
institutions. The internal memos at
the Texaco corporation which re
vealed an utter disdain for Blacks by
executives and managers o f that com
pany likely mirror the not so secret
attitudes o f large numbers o f corpo
rate executives and managers. The
internal memo from Ameasts adver
tising groups w hich described Balck
and Latino consumers as "suspects"
not "prospects,” and therefore rec
ommended to major White compa
nies that they minimize allocations
for Black owned media, is yet an
other example o f the raw naked rac
ism practiced with impunity in “main
stream" America.
W.E.B. DuBois warned that the
“problem o f the twentieth century
will be the colorline." As Africans in
America and the world prepare to
enter the twenty firs, century the
cololine, the reality o f racism and
w hite supremacy remains a huge bar
rier to racial justice and racial recon
ciliation. The intolerable acts suf
fered by Africans in America are a
function of deep seated attitudes and
longstanding, institutionalized cus
toms and policies. Historically, more
than one African American leader
has suggested that the intolerable acts
heaped upon the sons and daughters
o f Africa in America will continue
until we confront the forces o f white
supremacy head on at the ballot box
and in the streets by any means
necessary to preserve and defend our
dignity and destiny. The lynchings
and other intolerable acts against the
Black Nation will continue until we
rise up in righteous rebellion.
Check for overhead
lines when moving
irrigation pipes or
equipment
JDM, age 10
Use spotters when
operating trucks or
heavy machinery
Kayleen. aqe Ï
Always wear proper
safety eguipment
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other studies of the Oregon JOBS Z duced welfare spending by 17%.
Hard to place recipients as well
program, none has been as rigor
as
those with relatively few bar
ous and thorough as today’s re
riers
to employ/nent achieved job
port,’ said Sandie Hoback, ad
and
earnings gains, the report
ministrator of the Adult and Fam
said.
ily Services Division in the Or
The report also praised Or
egon Department of Human Re
egon for its efforts to encourage
sources. “This is the first time
program participants “to look for
that independent national re
and take jobs that pay above the
searchers have collected and ana
minimum wage and offer ben
lyzed such in-depth data about
efits and potential for advance
our results in placements, wages,
ment.”
health care and tax savings.”
“This is our a p p ro a c h ,”
The report found that partici
Hoback said, “even by accept
pation in Oregon JOBS increased
ing a minimum wage job, fami
employment by 18% and boosted
lies are increasing their financial
the proportion of individuals with
resources by nearly three quar
employer provided health insur
ters. And Oregon's average job
ance by 71%. It also raised pay
placemen, off welfare is at least
by 86 cents an hour, lifted two
$1 above the minimum wage.”
year earnings by 35%, and re-
“I Can See Clearly, Now...”
E astbound m o to rists on the
S u n se t H ighw ay (U .S . 26)
w ill s o o n fin d th e tr ip
through the V ista R idge T u n
nel m uch b rig h te r. T h a t’s
th an k s to a p ro je c t now u n
derw ay to rep lace the present
lig h tin g system , w hich dates
back to the late 1960’s, with
b rig h te r, m ore energy e f f i
c ie n t, illu m in a tio n .
The $1.06 m illion jo b is
s ta rtin g w ith som e cleanup
w o rk m ad e n e c e s s a r y by
years o f cars b u rning leaded
g aso lin e. C rew s are in the
p ro c e s s o f re m o v in g lead
co ntam inated m aterial from
work area, or “ a ttic ,” im m e
d ia te ly a b o v e th e tu n n e l.
D uring th is phase o f a c tiv
ity , no work w ill be v isib le
to m o to rists.
O n c e th a t p a r t o f th e
p ro ject is done, work can go
ahead on in sta llin g w iring
and light fix tu res th at will be
par, o f the new system .
M o to rists can e x p ect east-
bound lane c lo su re s, m ainly
at n ig h t, b eg in n in g around
A ugust I. T his w ill c reate a
safe w ork for crew s a tta c h
ing the actual light fix tu res
inside the tu nnel.
Tice E lectric o f P ortland,
OR., is the c o n tra c to r on the
p ro je c t.
W ork s h o u ld be
com plete by O ctober 31.
2
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Locate all power
lines before
pruning trees or
harvesting fruit
Oregon’s welfare-to-work efforts bring national
recognition Welfare rolls have in past four years
A rigorous independent re
view of welfare to work efforts
across the country has singled
out Oregon’s JOBS program as
“unusually successful" and con
cluded that it increases employ
ment, finds jobs that pay higher
wages, and cuts costs to taxpay
ers.
“These finding and the na
tional recognition they bring con
firm what Oregon employers and
their workers have known for
some time,” said Governor John
A. Kitzhaber. “We have found a
way to help thousands o f poor
families achieve genuine self-
sufficiency while saving hun
dreds of millions of taxpayer dol
lars.”
“Although there have been
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utdoor electric safety is important to all of us —
O
especially this time of year when we’re outside more.
With the help of some of last year’s winners in Pacific
Power’s Electric Safety Contest, we wanted to make you aware
of some of the potentially hazardous situations you and your
kids can get into while working or playing outdoors.
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