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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 1998)
f SEPT. 30,1998 Page A4 (Elje 'Jtlorilanò ©bseruer Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily Reflect Or Represent The Views O f ■JJartlanh © bsm w r 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 w b a t^e d a taip ro v em en t.. any suggeittom are welcomed m d appreciated. We take criticism well! G e. your p o w e rfu lp « s out N O W and a d d rm yonr letters to: EditQGHeader RtspfliissJ’A L B ia 1 1 2 L E o r U m tL Q R ‘»7ai81 Wife ^ o rtla n h (©bserver (U SP S 959-680) E stablished in 1970 C harles W ashington P ublisher & E ditor M ark W ashington D istsribution M anager G ary A nn T aylor B u sin ess M anager Larry J. Jackson, Sr. D irector o f O peration Iesha W illiam s G raphic D esign Laphael Knight G raphic D esign C ontrib u tin g W riters: Professor M cKinley Burt, Lee Perlman, Joy Ramos 4747 N E M a rtin L u th e r K ing, J r . 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T h e S e n a te d e f e a t e d th e p r o p o s a l. A T M s u rc h a rg e s a re u n f a i r to c o n s u m e r s . S in c e th e A T M n e t w o r k s b e g a n a l lo w in g th e n e w s u r c h a r g e fe e o v e r tw o y e a r s a g o , th e & 'ear Editor, T h e la st tim e I fe lt th e k in d o f fru stra tio n 1 feel no w w ith a n a tio n a l p h en o m en o n w as w h en the late G eo rg e W a lla c e , h a v in g ta k en his in fam o u s sta n d a t th e d o o r o f the U n iv e rsity o f A la b am a, sta te d on te le v is io n th a t h is p o sitio n on se g re g a tio n r e flec ted th e w ill o f th e m a jo rity o f th e A m eric an p e o p le . B o th th e n ew s m ed ia a n d th e a p p a r en t b u lk o f C o n g re ss, b y in fe r en c e , h av e g o n e th e ir o w n v o y e u r i s t i c w a y r e g a r d i n g th e C lin to n -L e w in sk y d e b a u c h e ry o n th e b asis o f th e p u b lic ’s a l leg ed in te re st in it w h ile , in fact, a v ery g o o d m a n y o f us h av e sh ru n k fro m h e a rin g m o re th an th e in itia l b la n k e t re p o rt th a t m is c h ie fh a d b ee n d o n e. T ry in g to get aw ay fro m th e b lo w -b y - b lo w (pun in ten d ed ) a c c o u n t h as b ee n as p a in fu l a n d as fu tile as an e x p e rie n c e I o n ce h a d w h en reg a in in g c o n scio u sn e ss fo llo w in g a h em o rrh o id e c to m y . M y ag o n y w as so in te n se a n d so all- en c o m p a ssin g th a t I w a n te d to c ra w l o u t o f m y b o d y . M o re an d m o re e v e ry d a y , I w ish I co u ld cra w l o u t o f th is g o d fo rsa k e n co u n try . P re sid e n t C lin to n ’s b e h a v io r w as in d e fe n sib le , b u t is has to b e v ie w e d a g a in st a b a c k g ro u n d fo r w h ich e v e ry ja c k d o g o f us d ire c tly o r in d ire c tly is re s p o n sib le. It b e g a n w h en H o lly w o o d p a v e d th e w ay fo r its ev e n tu a l lic e n s e to d e p ic t b a re fle sh an d se x u al in tim a c y w ith re le a s e o f film s b a se d o n s a la c io u s sto rie s from th e O ld T e sta m e n t-to w it, th o se o f D a v id (G re g o ry P eck ) a n d B a th s h e b a an d S a m p so n (V ic to r M a tu re ) an d D e lila h . I w as in m y te e n s, as I re c a ll, w h en th e y w e re re le a s e d , an d I re m e m b e r th in k in g th a t th e se Why We Need Affirmative Action I z. ’•'-Ti z>, e ar Editor, B ernice P owell J ackson The state o f Washington is facing a proposition on its ballot in November which would effectively end affirma tive action in that state, as did Proposi tion 209 in California. The debate on affirmative action has proven to be an emotional one which often is based on anecdotes o f individuals who believe they have not received a fair chance to go to school or for a jo b because o f affirmative action. Let’s try to take away some o f the emotion and just look at some realities. First, let’s look at one significant casestudy. It’stheU .S.Suprem eCourt, the highest court in the land. If there is one point o f deep chasm between per ceptions o f fairness between people o f color and European Americans, it is around criminal justice issues. So, the need for the active participation o f people o f color at the nation’s highest court is imperative. Yet the numbers o f people o f color in the nation’s highest halls o f justice are astounding. In our nation’s history only two Supreme Court justices have been people o f color-both African American men. There have been no African American women, no Hispanic men or women, no native American men or w om en and no Asian American or Pacific Island men or women who have had the privilege o f serving on this court. Even more astounding is the record o f the Supreme Court clerks, those a v e r a g e a d d i t i o n a l c h a r g e to n o n - c u s t o m e r is $ 1 .2 7 . A d d t h a t to th e f e e b a n k s c h a r g e f o r t h e i r c u s t o m e r s u s in g a n o t h e r b a n k ’s A T M , a n d th e c o s t o f u s i n g a n A T M is n e a r ly $ 2 .5 0 , s o m e tim e s e v e n h i g h e r . W ith o v e r 8 0 % o f b an k s su rc h a rg in g , c o n s u m e r s d o n o t h a v e a lo t o f c h o i c e in th e m a r k e t p l a c e . S u r c h a r g i n g is n o t o n l y a n t i - c o n s u m e r , b u t it is a l s o a n ti-c o m p e titiv e . T h e s u r c h a r g e h u r ts s m a ll b a n k s a n d c r e d it u n io n s . M o re an d m o r e s m a ll b a n k c u s t o m e r s m o v ie s w e re s e ttin g a p r e c e d e n t— o n e w h ic h e v e n th e e x tr e m e ly s e l f - r i g h t e o u s c o u ld scarcely p ro te st at th e tim e, since, a fte r a ll, th e y w ere B ib le sto rie s. I w as a ll to o rig h t. It w as d o w n h ill fro m th a t p o in t o n . P s y c h o l o g y fell r ig h t in ste p , an d g u ilt b ec am e a d irty w o rd . S e x W ith o u t G u ilt w a s n ’t w r itte n fo r p e o p le to o sh y to c o n su m m a te th e ir m a rria g e s! S ex th e ra p y b e ca m e a re s p e c ta b le d isc ip lin e , an d m o v ie s (A R ip p le in T im e, for ex am p le) sh o w n in w o rk sh o p s to p ro sp e c tiv e th e ra p is ts w e re — w h ile su p p o se d ly “ ta s te fu l”— so g ra p h ic a lly re v e a lin g th a t th ey m a d e p o rn film s lo o k lik e a ch u rc h p ic n ic. A m o n g th e “ te c h n iq u e s ” re v e a le d an d , 1 m ig h t ad d , re c o m m e n d e d w ere th e v ery o ral p ra c tic e s fo r w h ic h C lin to n and L ew in sk y are n o w rev iled . P a r e n th e tic a lly , s e lf- r ig h te o u s c o n g re ssm e n — e s p e c ia lly th o se w ho m eet fo r p ra y e r b re a k fa sts— m ig h t w a n t to ta k e n o te o f the fact th a t ac co rd in g to Je su s, those w ho ev en lu st a fte r a w o m an have c o m m itte d a d u lte ry w ith h e r a l ch a rg es. T h a t m a y s e e m lik e th e m a r k e t p l a c e w o r k in g , b u t th e F e d e ra l R e se rv e B o a rd h as sh o w n t h a t b ig b a n k s c h a r g e h i g h e r fe e s th a n s m a ll b a n k s a n d a n o p p o r t u n i t y to p r o t e c t c o n s u m e r s fro m th e f e e g o u g in g A T M s u r c h a rg e s , b u t b e c a u s e S e n a t o r s S m ith a n d W y d e n v o te d w ith th e b ig b a n k s , c o n s u m e r s can e x p e c t b a n k f e e s to k e e p x > n g o in g u p . c r e d it u n io n s . I f th e s e lo w e r - p ric e d c o m p e t i t o r s a r e d r i v e n f ro m th e m a r k e t , t h e n th e b ig b a n k s , f a c i n g le s s c o m p e t i t i o n , w ill ra is e th e ir fee s e v e n m o re. E v e r y c o n s u m e r w ill lo s e , a n d th e b ig b a n k s w ill k e e p o n p ic k in g c o n s u m e r p o c k e ts . S in c e r e ly , J o h n V a lle y O S P IR G C o n su m e r A d v o c a te th is e n tire d e b a c le is th e h y p o c risy in v o lv e d . W e h a v e n ’t been a m o r a l c o u n try in m y life tim e (s ix ty - th r e e y e a rs). A n a tio n ’s m o ra l s ta n d a rd s are in no re s p e c t r e fle c te d b y th e w ay o r in > w h a t n u m b e rs its c itiz e n s w o r sh ip , b u t .ra th e r, b y th e so c ial in e q u itie s it fo ste rs a n d th e n a tu re o f e n te rta in m e n t it seek s. O n g o in g p ro o f, o f o u r b la ta n t s e lf-d e c e p tio n e x c h a n g e s h an d s e v e ry d ay : “ In G o d W e T ru s t” is p e rh a p s th e b ig g e st e v e r to see th e lig h t o f day. It is th e a lm ig h ty d o lla r on w h ic h it is p rin te d th a t w e b o th w o rs h ip an d tru st. W h a t g o es is w h a t is p ro fita b le , th a t is th e re a d y in th e ir h e a rts. Y es, P re s id e n t C lin to n w as in c o m p re h e n s ib ly stu p id to risk so m u c h fo r so little . Y es, he c h o se a m o s t in a p p ro p ria te p la c e to b e y o u r a v e ra g e J o h n D oe. Y es, no w th a t th e h o u n d s o f h ell h av e tree d h im a n d n o t s a tisfie s w ith th a t, c o n tin u e to b ay w ith u n re le n tin g v ig o r, h e is, w ith o u t d o u b t, b e re ft o f a n y p o w e r to e x e rt a p o sitiv e in flu e n c e on th e c o u rse o f n a tio n a l a n d in te rn a tio n a l e v e n ts. A n y d ay is b la c k w h en R e p u b li c a n s h a v e c a u se to re jo ic e , an d th is is, in d e e d , a v ery b la c k day. T h e y h a v e fo llo w e d th e ir S tarr fro m th e E a s t an d are b o m ag a in to e te rn a l life in C o n g ress. C o m e, A rm a g e d d o n ! Y o u a re o v erd u e . L e st th e G O P e n jo y th e ir co u p in u n c o n te ste d b lis s, h o w e v e r, le t th o se o f u s w ith a few b ra in s le ft re m in d th e e le c to ra te th a t o n e b ad D e m o c ra t no m o re m ak es all re p u b lic a n s s a in ts th a n o n e b ad L e w in sk y m ak es a ll w o m en o f Je w is h e x tra c tio n w h o re s. ( L e t’s c a ll th a t sp a d e a sp a d e too w h ile b o tto m lin e . If, in fac t, w e as a n a tio n b e lie v e d in a d e ity w h o m e tes o u t ju s tic e , w e w o u ld , to a m an , b e fleein g th e co u n try like lem m ings in a n tic ip a tio n o f a replay^ S o d o m a n d G o m o rrah . W ith p r o fo u n d d is D . J u n e F red m a N E P o rtla n d w e ’r e a t it.) W h at m o st d istu rb s m e a b o u t Jefferson High School: Reconstruction lV-Condusion by -P rof . M c K inley B urt W e cited “ the critical im portance o f feeder schools” as we closed last w eek ’s reprise o f the stellar perfor m ance o f over-achieving principals, m em bers o f the “N ational A ssocia tion for Schools o f E xcellence.” W e could sim ply point to the ob vious truths o f such statem ents as, “a tree is not stronger than its roots,” but m ore directly in support o f our asser tion w as the testim ony o f those suc cessful inner-city academ ics. And, unfortunately, there are m any resi dents o f the N ortheast com m unity w ho also attribute the problem s o f Jefferson High School-high drop out rate and lagging academ ic achieve- m ent-to docum ented deficiencies o f the elem entary schools (not a N orth east problem alone). This assessm ent o f w hat m ust be a critical elem ent o f any Jefferson H igh School “ reconstruction” is seen to lead to a very interesting observa tion. For many m onths now we have seen the frenzied antics o f the educa tional pow er structure orchestrating this process, generating ream s o f uncorrelated data and statistics. A nd over the unheeded protests o f an intelligent com m unity o f caring parents, teachers, students and activ ists w ho have long understood and docum ented the problem , this co n trolling group has gained m om en tum. Expensive consultants have t v ll V l i p / l X to - report ' J ' w w hat i i u i 111 ai been em I ployed is v al- most important cases. It means that institutional racism has for generations kept out women and people o f color and that the Supreme Court, other than Justice Marshall,has notexamined how to deal with it. It means that our nation has not been well-served by having for the most part only one race and gender shape the judicial decisions ofourm ul- tiracial, multicultural land. Justice Thomas, having just ad dressed the National Bar Association, the nation’s African American legal association, has expressed an interest in increasing the number o f people o f color clerks on the Supreme Court. But this is too important an issue to just rely on the interest o f individual justices. The Court needs the best and the bright est to serve as clerks. But the Court as a whole needs to examine the system o f recruiting and hiring its clerks so that the best and the brightest are also reflec tive o f our great nation. It is doubtful that this Court, which has outlawed affirmative action for others, would choose to use it for itself. But by whatever means, the Court and its em Justice Steven Breyer. ployees must be more reflective o f our What does this mean for our nation nationThe NAACP and the Hispanic that both the Supreme Court justices National Bar Association plan a protest and these important behind-the-scenes - outside the Supreme Court on October shapers o f our justice system are by and 5, its opening day for the fall session. large white men? We can’t unelect Supreme Court It may mean that by only choosing justices, who serve for life and are from a very limited pool o f candidates supposed to be removed from public that they are not getting the full breadth opinion, but we must find a way to o f experiences and insights which they express our concern and our outrage. might as they consider our nation’s young lawyers who are hired by the justices to do much o f the reviewing and writing o f first drafts o f opinions for cases before the Court. According to a recent USA Today article, o f the 800 Supreme Court clerks hired since 1965, when civil rights legislation was passed, 675 have been European Ameri can men and 80 have been European American women. Only 18 have been African American and 28 either His panic or Asian American, there has never been a native American. A closer examination o f the Su preme Court’s hiring practices shows that h alfof the African American clerks w ere h ire d by on e m an -Ju stic e Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to serve on the Court and himself a significant actor in the civil rights movement. Justice Thomas, the only other person ofcolor to have served as a Justice has hired one A frican Ameri can clerk among his 33 clerks in his seven years on the bench. Currently, in this session o f the Court there is one Hispanic woman who is serving for C o n s u m e r s s h o u ld n o t b e c h a r g e t w i c e to u s e th e A T M o n ly o n c e . T h e C o n g r e s s h a d a re s w itc h in g th e ir a c c o u n ts to b i g b a n k s to a v o i d s u r ready know n to school adm inistra tors (stam ps o f approval are expen sive). The continuous release o f daily (and conflicting) press reports has caused confusion and has raised pro tests am ong taxpayers far beyond this com m unity. The hiring o f ex pensive press agents or spin doctors does not suggest that there are solu tions at hand. The im plication is that things are out o f control, and the entire city is suspicious. So that "interesting observation” o f ours is, given all the academ ic truths that are seen to be ‘se lf evi den t,’ how much longer will the Port land School adm inistration be al low ed to indulge socio-ethnic fanta sies? O r is it the case that this insti tution is not in control o f its own destiny-and never w as? Som e in sight m ay be gained from, “A Pecu liar Paradise: A History o f Blacks in O re g o n , 1 7 8 8 -1 9 4 0 , E liz a b e th M cLagan, 1980 (The Oregon Black H istory Project). A nd more than fifty years later the sam e pervasive them e is w ith us. Tradition and social m ores are seen to go w ith the territory-and it will take real com m itm ent rather than lib eral rhetoric and spins form academic citadels to bring about a change in the m ind set. O r maybe the following approach. Interestingly, a num ber o f people in that their aaa the com m . . unity - J report r very first conversations w ith w hite new com ers brought the query, “How in the w orld did you ‘p erm it’ these disastrous schools to exist-didn’t you realize w hat was being done to your children? ‘W e’ ju st w o n ’t hold still for it!” A nother im portant concept o f the ‘new Jefferson T rin ity ’ was slated for review this week: “T he Science and Technology arm -H as Congress halted ‘v isa s’ for foreign techni cians?” There is not space this w eek for the full treatm ent o f this subject and the vigorous analysis it deserves, but rest assured that it w ill be fol low ed through in depth. O ur concern is w ith the tentative plans that we announced earlier for a technological academ y as part o f the Jefferson format. H aving com e to the education scene (Portland State U niversity) from an industry and fi nancial background, I had som e real tim e experiences to underw rite my com m entary. A nd see m y “Black Inventors” book. M y specific concern was that C on gress m ight reverse its stance on the freezing o f visas for the im portation o f foreign technical w orkers, llie n , w here w ould the Jefferso n H igh School graduates w ork? C ongress did exactly that last w eek, th o u g h p ro m isin g 10,000 scholarships for “underprivileged students to ‘study’ math and science.” Do you buy it? Messages About Alcohol Are Confusing B y J ohn C lay The large newspaper headline read: “ Drinking produces painful history.” The stories that followed were about the devastating impact o f alcohol on an entire family. The front page o f another section in that same day’s paper carried a feature story under another section in that same day’s paper carried a feature story under another large headline: “A celebration o f pinot noir.” On the page were several photos o f happy people drinking, with this prominent quote from one man: “It’s sex in a bottle. outside. I ’ m sure the message for many o f them was that the real fun goes along with drinking inside that “ for bidden zone.” N eed more reasons that young people have trouble m aking good de cisions about drinking? Just watch any major-league game on television, es pecially an event such as the Super Bowl. Some o f the most creative ad vertisements are for beer during big games - and the ads work. Is it any wonder that so many col lege students can be found dnnking in the bleachers at football games? As a former newspaper editor and now a media com munication officer for the O regon Office o f Alcohol and Dmg Abuse Programs, I pondered those stories for an extra moment. Together they were another example o f the confusing messages everywhere about alcohol and other drugs. About the same time I went to Salem ’s new Riverfront Park, where popular swing dance lessons were be ing offered, with live music. The band and the lessons were in a roped-off area where alcohol was served, so young people had to stand > . ; . s‘ .< ‘ S H K 3 « • >•- ~ i .■ ' , 0
