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OCT. 28, 1998
Page A4
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Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
Reflect Or Represent The Views Of
^ a rtla n b ODbserucr
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• dJ " “ >our le“ e”
to: Editor. Rea der Response. P.O. Bov 3137. Port l and. Q B—
(Elie ^ o rtla n it (©bseruer I
e s
p e r s p e c t
Columbus Sailed The Ocean Blue, Was
In 1492, IV (Conclusion)
(USPS 959-680) Established in 1970
M ark W ash in g to n
D istsrib u tio n M a n a g e r
P u o i i s so k
G a ry A nn T a y lo r
B u s in e s s M a n a g e r
L arry J Jack so n , Sr.
D ire c to r o f O p era tio n
Mt MM
III Kl
L aphael K n ig h t
G ra p h ic D e sig n e r
lesh a W illiam s
G ra p h ic D esig n er
C h arles W ash in g to n
P u b lish e r A E d ito r
I V
Bv P roe . M c K inley B urt
C o n tr ib u tin g W riters:
P ro fesso r M c K in ley B urt,
L ee P erlm an ,
Jo y R am o s
It certainly brings a w arm glow to a
research er’s h eart w h en he is able to
establish an excitin g and w ell-sub­
stan tiated co n n ectio n b etw een tw o
seem ingly unrelated bu t quite relevant
4747 NE Martin l.uther King, Jr. Blvd.,
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S u b scrip tio n s: $ 5 0 .0 0 p e r y e a r
T h e P ortlan d O b se rv e r w e lc o m e s freelan ce su b m issio n s. M an u ­
scrip ts a n d p h o to g rap h s sh o u ld b e c le a rly lab eled an d w ill b e retu rn ed
i f a c co m p an ied b y a s e lf ad d re sse d e n v elo p e . A ll cre a te d d esig n d isp lay
ads b e c o m e the so le p ro p e rty o f th e n e w sp a p e r an d can n o t b e u sed in
o th e r p u b lic a tio n s o r p e rso n al u sag e w ith o u t the w ritten co n sen t o t the
general m an ag e r, u n le ss th e clien t h as p u rc h a se d the co m p o sitio n o f
such 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 .
T h e P o rtlan d O b se rv e r—O re g o n ’s O ld est M u lticu ltu ral P ublica-
ti o n - i s a m e m b e r o f th e N atio n al N e w sp a p e r A s s o c ia tio n -F o u n d e d in
1885 a n d T h e N a tio n al A d v e rtisin g R e p resen tativ e A m alg am ated
P u b lish ers. Inc, N ew Y o rk , N Y , an d T h e W est C o a st B lack P u b lish ers
an d im portant facts.
T h at h ap p en ed for m e last w eek
an d the W orld W ide W eb is already
h u m m in g w ith m y d isclo su re that
A m erican A n thropologists and u ni­
v ersities are p lay in g an ugly racist
g am e in respect to the clear evidence
o f A frican presence in the A m ericas
long b efo re C olu m b u s - o r any other
E uropeans. O b serv er W eb-Site, http:/
Zportlandobserver.net
Specifically, I pointed out that w hile
o n e group o f physical anthropologists
in M exico are heated ly denying that
any skeletons in an cien t O lm ec tom bs
are A frican - the sam e for the fam ous,
huge, stone ‘A frican ’ heads - their
fellow ‘scien tists’ in N ew Y ork have
cut all the ground from beneath them .
“A frican A m erican historical P laces”,
Park Service 1994.
“T h ey have gleefu lly identified an
18 th century A frican burying gro und
tw o blocks from city hall” . M aking
w o rld h eadlines, they boldly and b la­
tantly state, “w e can even distinguish
b etw een A frican -b o m and A m erican
A sso c ia tio n • S e rv in g P o rtlan d a n d V an co u v er.
S ubscribe to
ders an d she w o n ’t go aw ay.
A geologist called to day that he
and his w ife laughed them selves into
hysteria at the art teacher w ho sug­
gested that, “ the O lm ec head had N e­
gro id ’ features because the sculptures
had rolled over. A quiline noses and
thin lips had been squashed flat.” The
geologist pointed out that it w ould
take the heat o f the lava flow ing from
H aw aii, “ K ilauea volcano” to recast
the gigantic basalt statuary. H e added,
the O lm ecs knew exactly w hat they
w ere doing; their art depicted im por­
tant visitors from A frica.”
I hesitate to recom m end a book on
the O lm ec C ulture because o f the per­
vasive racial bias. A s a rule the authors
devote pages to denying an early A fri­
can presence, alw ays a dead give-a­
w ay. A case in point is the w idely
circulated publication o f the U niver­
sity o f C alifornia P ress, "T h e O lm ec
W orld” , Ignacio B em o l, 1976, pp
25,26.
T he w o rld and h isto ry is co m ­
m anded to be view ed through an anglo
S axon filter. A review o f a thousand
back copies o f N ational G eographic,
S m ithsonian and scientific A m erican
m agazines w ill not show a single black
face on a university o r m useum expe­
dition, o r archaeological dig.
‘L iberal, free-thinking’ A m erican
Iuetter To The Editor
S ubscriptions
T he P ortland O bserver ; PO B ox 3137
P ortland , O regon 97208
D e a r Editors,
A t first glance, Measure 59 appears to
be a harmless initiative to clean up cam ­
paign laws and protect tax dollars. But as
the old saying goes, appearances can be
deceiving. And mthiscase, Measure 59 is
N a m e :________________ __________________ _____ __________ ____________
A d d re s s :--- ----------------------------------------------—----------- --------------------------
C ity . S tate: _ _ _ _ _ --------------------------- --------------------- ----------------------------
Z ip -C o d e :___________ _________________ _____ _____ ____________ ——
all about deceiving. A nd in this case,
M easure59isallaboutdeceiving Oregon
T hank Y ol F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver
voters.
Measure 59 is part o f a national coipo-
rate political agenda that would help un­
ravel public health, safety and environ­
mental protection that are so basic and
'Cdie (Suiter
Send your letters to the Editor to:
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
Letter To The Editor
I w o u ld like to b r ie f y o u o n o n e o f the k ey issues affectin g O re g o n 's eco n o m ic d ev elo p m en t. T h is Nov em ber,
voters w ill h av e th e o p p o rtu n ity to p ass B allo t M easu re 26-69, a reg io n al b o n d m easu re that p ro v id es funds for
ex p an d in g th e O re g o n C o n v en tio n C enter.
O ne o f O re g o n ’s g reat su ccess s to n e s, the C o n v en tio n C en ter has ex ceed ed all ex p ectatio n s in term s o
atten d an ce, jo b cre a tio n , a n d tax rev en u es generated. A s a result o fth is rap id gro w th , the C o n v en tio n C e n ter has
o u tg ro w n m an y o f th e n atio n al an d reg io n al g ro u p s it once serviced. In fact, in 1997 P ortland lost $ 3 5 .3 m illio n
in p o ten tial b u sin ess b ec a u se the O C C w as eith er to o sm all o r to o b u sy to acco m m o d ate p ro sp ectiv e groups.
E x p an sio n o f th e O C C is ex p ected to gen erate an annual $ 170 m illio n eco n o m ic ben efit and create 3,4 0 0 new
jobs. F u rth erm o re, th is p ro ject rep resen ts the m o st ben eficial ty p e o f g ro w th for O regon. C o n v en tio n an d trade
show d e le g a te s co m e to P ortland, sp en d d ollars th at b en efit o u r eco n o m y an d local services, an d then leave
E x p an sio n d o es n o t req u ire any ad d itio n al co m m u n ity in frastru ctu re; in fact, rev en u es gen erated b y OC C help
the “ E thiopian S ea” . T h at fits very
w ell w ith som e historian ’ s description
of
A fric a n
s e t tl e m e n t s
in
and 540, “ A dictionary o f the B ible”,
W illiam Sm ith, circa 1900.
T h e island peo p le o f Lake T iticaca,
b irth p laces o f the Incas in P e ru ... fish
from R eed boats called balsas". N a­
tio n al G eo g rap h ic, M arch 1982. A nd
w e find the sam e fam iliar R eed craft
o f a sem in al A frican design w as used
b y th e M ay an an d A ztec cu ltu res, by
the p e o p les o f the W est C o ast o t
A frica, in India and in the A eg ean
p o rts o f G reece. See indexes o f m a g a ­
z in es listed earlier. T he best g rap h ics
o f the large R eed rafts that p lied the
o cean s in an cie n t tim es are in “ K on
T ik i fo r Y oung P e o p le ’, H yerdahl,
the environment
N ot only that but measure 59 is so
vaguely and poorly wntten that it would
preventinformation about candidates and
ballot measures from being printed in the
Oregon Voters’ Pamphlet..whichwould
deny millionsofOregon voters theirbest
source forpolitical information and leave
them in the dark on election day.
A diverse coalition o f organizations
have announced theiropposition to M ea­
sure 59, including the Oregon League o f
the lives and health o f our families. For
exam ple, N orquist’s extremist view s
against public health and safety protection
mean tliat taxpayers would pay for the
cleanup o f toxic waste dumps, not the
polluters w ho created those dumps in the
fust place.
Norquist has suggested legislation that
w ould allow industries to avoiddisclosing
evidence o f environmental violations. He
hasevenproposedacoustitutional amend­
ment prohibiting federal public health,
safety and environmental laws, lhatwtxild
mean the abolition o f the Cleaner Water
Act, the Clean Air Act, food safety laws,
workplace safety laws and even laws that
protect children from unsafe toys. Each
and every consumer, environmental and
workplace safety law could become un­
constitutional in the extremist paradise the
Norquist hopes to create.
appear on the November ballot. Measure
59 Ls the latest in a series o f attempts by
Norquist and Sizemore to w eaken their
political opponents, in this case O regon’s
working families.
Sizemore has made his views on the
environment clear. A t a recent debate, he
said that we should allow development on
justaboutanypieceofpropertyinOrcgon.
Conservation Voters, the American As­
sociation ofRetired Persons, the League
o f Women Voters, the Oregon Nurses
Association and the Oregon State Fire
Fighters Council. I hope you’ll join us in
opposing this misguided, unnecessary
and dangerous ballot initiative.
apparently without regard for our state’s
proud tradition o f protecting our natural
resources and maintaimngabeauti tul place
to live.
Backers o f the measure want you to
believe the measure 59 is about protecting
working families and preventing the use o f
tax dollars forpolibcal purposes. But Mea­
sure 59 isn’t about saving tax money, and
it isn’t about protecting the paychecks o f
Sincerely,
Maureen Kirk
Executive Director
OSPIRG
F ree M em o ry S c r e e n in g &
E d u c a t io n a l P r e s e n t a t io n s
E xpanded F acility & S ervices C elebration !
fo r th e
Marie Smith Center
Providing Support and Care to Seniors & Ibeir Families
Sunday, IS November 1 9 9 8
12 :3 0 p.m. to 3 :0 0 p.m.
4 6 1 6 N. Albina, Portland, Oregon
(2 blocks South of Alberta, 3 blocks East of l-S )
conservative R epublican think tank an d fond o f spouting G ingrich-style sound bites. She lost us voters.
N ow . she is rep ack ag ed as a m od erate to get elected. I am suspicious o f politicians w ho practice election-year
conversion tactics. M o lly 's stance on the m ain issues: education. S ocial S ecurity, and abortion has flip flopped m ore
12:30 p.m. Refreshments & Gathering
1:00 p.m. Dedicatory Blessing of the Building — The Reverend
Alcena Boozer, St. Philip the Deacon Episcopalian
often than a freshly ho o k ed fish.
T his new B o rd o n aro poses an attractive m oderate stance, but in recent debates, failed m iserably to convince
audiences w ho d em an d ed honest answ ers. In fact, w hen asked to ju stify her platform sw itches, M o lly ’s general
response is to duck b eh in d claim s o f negative cam paign practices. I f she c an ’t answ er straight forw ard questions
about her positions, h o w can she w ork for O regonians in C o n g re ss.’ I ’m not voting to put another blam e-gam e
politician in W ashington D.C.
rh e D em ocratic candidate. D avid W u. plays a straight-arrow honest cam paign. W u ’s responses to questions are
as true and to the po in t as i f he w ere on a w itness stand. I respect W u ’s candidness. A s m uch as M olly w ould like
d
tury.”
It is interesting that o th er very early
m aps describe to d ay ’s Persian g u lf as
G eographic M agazine.
T h e sam e R eed craft are m entioned
in “ Isaiah” in the N ew T estam ent, and
are still found in use in E thiopia. A nd
g en erally hav e been “used on the N ile
for m illen n iu m s” ; see “pitch” , pp. 539
tershed.
To accomplish these and other corpo­
rate goafs, Norquist and his allies, includ­
ing Bill Sizemore here in Oregon, have
helped to sponsor Measure 59, w hich will
A s a dedicated and inform ed voter, the C ongressional 1st D istrict R epresentative race has ratsed m y hackles. I ve
w atched M olly B o rdonaro since she ran for this position in 1996. T hen, she w as fresh out o f W ashington s
I jiwrence J. Wood
nation at D arien early in the 16th cen ­
in the R ano R araku C rater L ake (E as­
ter Island).” “ A ku A ku", N ational
pioned legislation that would weaken or
eliminate many ofthe comm on sense laws
tluit currently protect the environment and
Letter To The Editor
Sincerely
lology at H arvard U niversity. H e too
com m ents on “ the representation o f
N eg ro es’ in A m erican sculpture and
d esign and the occurrence o f a black
G eo g rap h ic, 1984.
“T h e R eed fishing boat w as an ­
o th er incredible craft “the p aras’ used
working families. Instead, it is a mis­
guided initiative that would give corpo­
rate monied interests more control over
Oregon politics, handcuffing the organi­
zations that protect working families and
S incerely
W u to w ork for us in Congress
p ia” ) P.16.
A nd on page 17 w e hav e a m ore
accurate citation o f a key w ork, though
I aw ait an exact date o t publication in
an sw er to m y fax. “A frica and the
D iscovery o f A m erica: T hree V o l­
u m es” , L eo W iener, p ro fesso r o f p h i­
o f reeds called a ’ tankw a’. . R eed boats
have sailed the Nile forages", pp.48,49,
“ G reat R ivers o f the W orld, N ational
It’s frightening to think about the impact
such an agenda would have on O regon's
environmental landmarks, liketheColuin-
bia RiverGorge, our spectacular coastline,
high desert, and the Willamette River wa­
J.E. Isaac
to borrow from his sm arter platform , she cannot p oach D avid W u ’s ethical strength.
As holderofa57-year Labor Union c a n t and as an Oregonian who deserves honest and intelligent representation, m y vote
is for David W u and for his plan to protect issues important to Oregonians. Vote on N ovember 3nd. I urge you to put David
voyages and settlem ents. First, w e rec­
o m m en d "A fric a ’s G ift to A m erica
by J. A. R ogers, the noted black histo­
rian. T his readily available w ork not
only docum ents the P re-C olum bian
presence o f A fricans in the A m ericas
b u t pho to -rep ro d u ces 17th century
m aps that describe the south A tlantic
as the “ E thiopic O cean .” (“ M ost o f
A frica at that tim e w as called E thio­
in E gyptian tom b).
“A w om an at L ake T ana
(opposite)...S teadies herselfo n a sk iff
important to all o f us.
The man behind the national effort to
silence working families and the public
interest is Grover N orquist The public
shouldbe advised that Norquist haseham-
to the cam p a ig n .
.
T he C o n v e n tio n C e n te r is im p o rtan t to the eco n o m ic health o f o u r reg io n . A s leaders in the c o m m u n ity , w e
need to lend o u r su p p o rt to this effort. I ap p reciate y o u r co n sid eratio n an d th e co m m ittee looks fo rw ard to hearing
Senior Vice-President,
Business Affairs
Portland Trail Blazers
by Justice T hu rg o o d M arshall.
B ut back to our seafaring A fricans
and the indisputable evidence o f their
A nd from alm ost one end o f the
earth to the other w e find that u b iq u i­
tous, ulitarian R eed craft first used by
S tone age A frican seafarers; not only
perfectly preserved in ancient tom bs;
b u t still u sed today in the exact shape,
size an d design (200 ft. w ooden craft
1960.
p ay fo r sc h o o ls, fire, a n d o th er local services.
T h e O reg o n C o n v en tio n C en ter n eed s y o u r help. I w ould like y o u to co n sid e r m ak in g a financial co n trib u tio n
from you.
academ ia does not recom m end o r e n ­
courage A frican /Americans to enter
the related disciplines; in fact they are
discouraged. T he sam e situation as
w ith law school faculty w ho do not
reco m m en d even the brightest black
students for clerks to S uprem e C ourt
Justices - only 8 o f the last 788 hired
w ere black and 4 o f them w ere hired
“ M esopotam ia” .
(T h e $ o r t i a n b © b s c r u e r
The Portland Observer can be sent directly to your home tor only $30.00
per year. Please fill out, enclose check or money order, and mail to.
i better
b o m individuals.”
So c o u ld C olum bus, and he docu­
m ented an earlier, A frican presence in
his logs w hich I have cited in this series
(reproduction available). Sham e on
y o u a c a d e m ic c h a rla ta n s , d u sk y
“ L ucy” is till looking o v er your shoul­
1 :0 0
Church
1:05 p.m. Memory' Changes as People Age: What Should Ui» Expect'
_Jeffrey Kaye, M.D., OHSL! Memory Assessment Clink
1:30 p.m. Local Research on Alzheimer s Disease and Family
Caregiving— Fred Miller, OHSIJ
3:00 p.m. Free Memory Screenings provided by OHSl Memory
Assessment Clinic Staff and Volunteers
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