OCT. 14, 1998
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Education For A New Century: Blacks
Technology And Immigration
6
and ugly) I quote earlier writers.
While m ost o f ‘us ’ have read Carter
G W o odson’s fam ed book “The
Miseducation ofthe Negro”, few have
read his earlier, very incisive volume,
“The Education o f the Negro prior to
1861 .’’Whereas my research and writ­
ings on American blacks involved in
technology and invention begins with
B y P rop . M c K inley B urt
the docum ented technical skills of
Readers seemed shocked last week
slaves in the South, Woodson, as does
at my revelations o f the games played
W.E.B. Dubois, details a 19th century
by theU.S. D epartm entofL aborinthe
New England experience.
1960’s and 1970’s: Issuing glowing
Pausing for a moment, let m e say
descriptions o f supposedly massive
that
over a decade ago I wrote here
training o f minorities in technology
that, “From Saugus, Massachusette
while at the same time quietly devel­
down to the Chesepeake Bay Area,
oping a process for obtaining visas for
there were over 236 iron plantations
the import o f thousands o f Europeans
(not cotton), each operated by a
with the very same skills.
complement o f slave men, w omen and
It was the famous Rom an orator
children. Doing what they did well on
and statesman, Cicero who put it so
the W est Coast o f Africa before being
well: “Not to know what came before
kidnapped, these survivors produced
you is to remain a child.” W e would do
iron ingots w hich the masters shipped
well to keep this in m ind as various
to England. There the iron w as made
northeast com munity organizations
into cookware, tools, farm implements,
deal with tenuous propositions the
etc. o f every sort and shipped back to
school district is presenting as a m as­
America at exorbitant prices.”
terful “reconstitution” o f a long-de­
W hen eager and motivated black
fective educational system. It is said
students
took copies o f the article to
by some to resemble "R econstruc­
there
classes,
racist teachers and cur­
tion” - déjà vu all over again. Espe­
riculum
specialists
said "its all a lie,
cially vague is technology at Jefferson
disregard this nonsense.” As usual I
High.
had my documentation, a National
Cicero would be pleased if he were
Geographic M agazine series by one
to learn that African Americans finally
o f A m erica’s m ost noted historians
have acknowledged and put to work
(white) - and a statement from the
the docum ented technical skills dem-
"British Colonial Office.” They kept
onstratedoverthe centuries. But when
meticulous records, with the name o f
will that be? W hen will ’educated’
each slave and his daily production of
blacks escape the mind-set and con­
ingots. There were no apologies o f
trols imposed by the ‘system ’ (as­
course,
nor is there today as this cruel,
sisted by their own)? Before I con­
ignorant
denial ofhum anity goes on in
tinue last w eek’s description o f per­
this school system.
sonal experience in this sphere (local
C
t
B u t to re tu rn to C a rte r G.
W oodson’s, "The Education o f the
Negro Prior to 1861.” W e have this
gem from the introduction by the late
John Henrik Clarke, a great black his­
an o ot f personal acquaintance.
torian
‘The neglected aspect o f the edu-
cation o f the Black A m ericans prior
to 1861 is the proliferation o f educa-
tion and publications am ong the free
w ho were the forerunners ofthe black
inventors o f the Industrial Revolu­
tio n (o v e r a th o u sa n d listed at
M ooreland Library, Howard Univer­
sity), I constantly met a stone wall
from the
school —
district in the intro-
..... --------
duction o f other motivating material
For instance, this 1894 presentation
to his fellow Congressm an by Repre-
sentative George H. M urray who held
Blacks in N ew England. M any o f
these Blacks w ere escaped slaves.
M any were originally New England
slaves who had bought their freedom
by w orking as skilled craftm en on the
weekends. Because the winters in New
England were tong
ieic w
was
uui
long an
and u u there
as not
enough farm w ork for a slave to do all
year round, many slaves becam e in-
8 patents himself.
“ ...I hold in my hand’ a statement
prepared by one o f the assistants in the
Patent Office, showing the inventions
that have been made by colored men
within the past few years...
This ------------
statement shows that colored
m enhave taken out patents upon almost
everything, from a cooking stove to a
locomotive. Patents have been granted
to colored men for inventions and im­
provement in the workshop, on the farm,
in the factory, on the railroad, in the
mine, in almost every department of
labor, and some ofth e most important
improvements that go to make up that
great motive powerofmodem industrial
machinery, the steam engine, have been
dustrial workers, ships’ caulkers,plas­
terers, builders and the forerunners o f
the early industrial inventors. M any
o f them made tools and other equip­
ment that lessened the burdensom e
nature o f their occupation. O ut o f this
mixture o f form er slaves, escaped
slaves cam e a Black A m erican o f this
mixture o f thinking class that today
would be called middle class. They in
no way resem bled in their action,
attitude and com m itm ent the present
class o f Black Am ericans called the
middle class. They w ere com m itted
to the liberation o f the rest o f their
people who were still not free. This
could be the m ost responsible class o f
people that A fricans have produced
in A m erica.”
Both ofW oodson’ s valuable books
may be obtained at the ‘Reflection
Bookstore, S o u th eastco m ero fM L K
andN .E . Killingsworth.
And in reference to W oodson’s
com m ents on the black technicians
produced by colored men.
The Congressional Record, 53rd
Congress, 2nd session, p.8382.
Next week, the crudest vise o f all,
whereby even the local contemporary
role models in technology are ex­
cluded. And an examination o f first
rate science projects launched by black
teachers and others that were either
brought to a screeching halt or com ­
pletely ignored. Then back to the va­
garies oftechnical training at Jefferson.
People are noticing the massive lay­
offs in technology. I’ll havecomments
from people in the field. Is the district
paying attention?
Many Minority Workers Are Faced With
Having M ore Than O ne Boss
B y: W illia m (B ill) T o o m e r
In to d a y ’s e v e ry c h a n g in g c o r ­
p o ra te w o rld , m a n y m in o rity e m ­
p lo y e e s a re sa d d le d w ith r e p o r t­
ing to m o re th a n on e c o rp o ra te
b o ss. D o w n siz in g an d c o rp o ra te
Even though many non-voters think all politicians are crooks, and refuse to have anything to do with the dirty business,
I can see no other way for a civilized society to come together for the common good. To be effective m public office is
an extremely difficult job, it seems to me. being pulled this way and that by diverse interests whether you re one o f the
eood ones” or one o fth e “not so good ones.”
.
g It is also inspiring to read one candidate’s statement and hope it is sincere. Evety office holder must have the highes
respect for the law and for the people the law serves.” However, in the highest office ofthe land, we see flagrant abuse o f
th e ^ v . One hopes with revelations ofthe sony scandals m the White House, candidates all across Amenca will realize
we are a nation under law and honor our laws, not just pay lip service.
Being skeptical myself. I’d like to point out that one o f the standard buttons politicians push at election tune is how
will get “tough on crime." Invariably their getting tough on crime costs more money. Do any o f them pause to loo
y
e
actual “crime” statistics?
...
__.
From the governor to die rookie policeman they all parrot the same refrain “more police, more jails, more pnso
m m ^ t e populations, the Department o f Corrections will soon be undergoing the largest
PFI f r Z l i t y m Oregon from 1997 to 1998 the prison, parole, probation populations all decreased! further, we learn the
following classifications o f those imprisoned are for
Assault 8%
Homicide 15%
Sex abuse & drugs 38%
i S h L s allsociety really needs to be protected from are the 15% Homicide inmates. All the rest, it would seem to me,
should be given rehabilitation. There should be, o f course, maximum, medium and minimum rehabilitation programs to
be determined by those competent to make such distinctions.
In addition to the skewed prison construction criteria, we are now incarcerating children as adults here in
gon l is
is due to a very bad law we permitted vindictive people to manipulate our fears and to pass. Ballot M raa u e .
g
are put in prison for first fights or shop lifting. To their credit the Legislators are modifying some ofthe worst aspects of
re o rg a n iz a tio n h av e c h a n g e d th e
ro le s o f m a n a g e rs an d d e p a r t­
m e n t h e a d s. C o rp o ra tio n s h av e
d e c e n tr a liz e d m a n a g e m e n t,
sp re a d in g o p e ra tio n a l p ro ce d u re s
th r o u g h o u t th e c o rp o ra tio n .
W o rk in g fo r m u ltip le b o sse s
c a n m e a n m u ltip le h e a d a c h e s o r
m u ltip le p ra ise s. G o o d c o m m u ­
n ic a tio n , g o o d r e la tio n s h ip s an d
tru s t a re th e k ey in g re d ie n ts if
y o u re p o rt to a v a rie ty o f p e o p le .
Y o u c a n n o t c h o o se th e o n e b o ss
y o u p r e f e r to se rv e . G e n e ra lly ,
y o u a re w o rk in g fo r e v e ry o n e . It
is e a s ie r to w o rk fo r o n e p e rso n ,
b u t th a t is n o t th e new c o rp o ra te
sty le .
H e re in lie s the d ile m m a , w h ich
b o ss to se rv e first. I f p u sh co m e
to sh o v e h o n o r th e m o st s e n io r
p e rso n first. A lw a y s d is c u s s tim e
fra m e s fo r all o f y o u r a s s ig n ­
m e n ts, p a y in g p a r tic u la r a tte n ­
tio n to p r io ritie s . L e t a ll y o u r
b o s s e s k n o w w h a t is o n y o u r
a g e n d a so th a t p r io r itie s c a n b e
o rg a n iz e d p ro p e rly .
T h a t is c a lle d c o m m u n ic a tio n .
N e x t to fo llo w is re la tio n sh ip s.
T h e re h a v e to be g iv e an d ta k e on
a ll s id e s , an d i f y o u are in c o n ­
flic t a b o u t w h ic h p r o je c t to c o m ­
p le te firs t, ta lk it o u t w ith all
c o n c e rn e d .
F in a lly th e re is tr u s t. Y o u r
b o s s e s m u st tru s t th a t y o u w ill
m a k e th e b e s t p o s s ib le d e c is io n s .
T h e y m u st tru s t th a t y o u r g o a ls
are th e ir g o a ls a n d th a t y o u r c h ie f
g o a l is to a c c o m p lish a ll o f y o u r
w o rk a s sig n m e n ts. It is im p o r­
ta n t th a t y o u r b o sse s k n o w th a t
y o u a re n o t p la y in g fa v o rite s , in
s h o rt th e y m u st tru s t th a t y o u a re
w o rk in g fo r all o f th em . Y o u r
im m e d ia te su p e rv is o r ca n a s s is t
y o u in th is d e p a rtm e n t.
W h a t do you do w h en all o f
y o u b o sse s trea t y o u as if y o u are
w o rk in g for th em o n ly ? C o m m u ­
n ic a te w ith th em , track y o u r tim e
p e r a s sig n m e n t an d s o lic it th e ir
h e lp w ith se ttin g p rio ritie s.
R e p o rtin g to se v eral b o sse s can
b e a stre s sfu l situ a tio n . T h ere are
e a rly sig n s o f stre ss an d d istre ss,
su c h as tig h tn e ss in th e c h e st and
th ro a t. W hen th is o cc u rs re c o g ­
n iz e the sym ptom and take a break.
Residential rates g o dow n
Residential and small farm custom­
ers o f Portland General Electric Co.
will soon see their electric rates de­
crease 5.5 percent. That’s because the
Bonneville Power Administration will
pay PGE $34.5 million in rate relief for
its customers through 2001.
“This payment reflects BPA ’s com­
mitment to spread the benefits o f low­
cost power form the Columbia River
power system among residential and
rural consumers in the Northwest,’ ’ said
Judi Johansen, BP A administrator.
D ie agreement between PGE and
BPA comes after a year o f negotiation
over PGE’s participation in the “resi­
dential exchange program,” a provi­
sion o f the Northwest Power Act o f
1980. The law granted access to the
benefits o f federal power to home and
rural customers o f Northwest utilities.
Since 1980, BPA has provided more
than $ 1 billion in rate benefits to Orego­
nians served by PGE, Pacificorp and
other utilities.
Johansen said BPA is committed to
continuing access to federal power af­
ter 2001.
“ BPA is w ell p o sitio n ed to sell
p o w er at cost and below m arket for
the foreseeable fu tu re," the ad m in ­
istrato r said. “ T his m eans energy
from the C olum bia R iver system
w ill help hold rates w ell below the
n atio n al av e rag e for all O re g o ­
n ians.”
^ X ^ m d e r s how we could possibly have gone so far afield. The authors o f this vindictive, cruelmeasure 11 were
attorneys! In the measure they gave District Attorneys extraordinary power. Many an unbalanced, MckD.A. «rw ponsi
f o r k i n g up persons without a criminal history, first time offenders, refusing to invesUgate the so called Nictons
^icio u sch afg R T A tto m ey s who make mistakes sendadecenl person to prison rather thm say m e ac u lp aA D A seiid s
an 18 year old to prison even though the “victim” tned to drop all charges! and Judges refuse to let jurors.decide
law asw ell as the crime in spite o f Article I, Sec. 16 ofthe Oregon Constitution which says the jurors t o v e f f i e f M w o ^
If you are a prison lay minister, or correspond with inmates, or are a Court Watch person you quickly learn that by far
the majority we impnson have very little education, have come from dysfunctional homes, have seldom received a helping
hanrl from school teachers to officers o f the court
.
.
Rehabilitation won’t save tax dollars in the short term, but in the long term the benefits will be ^ ^ n s e Ratheithan
spend another $ on new jails or prisons, and stuffing sick people .aside them, lets concentrate on rehabilitation. We don t
have to perpetuate man’s inhumanity to man.
Sincerely,
Helen Solem
Reform party-Oregon Court Watch
POBox58
Vernonia OR 97064
Dear Editor:
,
, ,
, . c ,
As a citizen w ho pays attention to the state legislature year after year, I know how much the people in Salem
have to get through in one legislative session (and how m uch they d o n ’t get to). Im agine the legislature, on
top o f everything else they deal w ith, having 12,000 laws under review. A nd im agine that if they don t pass
each and every one o f them , the laws not passed lose effect. TTiese laws that the legislature w ould have to
Preapprove govern safe drinking water, clean air, eduction reform , child im m unizations, and sex offender
registration. This is the chaos that a sm all group o f extrem ists could inflict on our governm ent if M easure 6.
M easure 65 is a recipe for disaster, gridlock, and chaos. It upturns the balance o f pow er, and taking pow er
aw ay from citizen-governed agencies w ho adm inister technical details o f laws and giving pow er to a special-
interest-dom inated legislature that can ’t even site aprison. The legislature has enough to do now. Don t make
them reassess the w ork that their predecessors have put into action over the last 20 years. I urge everyone to
V ote N o O n 65!
KD Parman
NE Sacramento