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DEC. 23, 1998
Page A4
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Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
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B u sin e ss M a n a g er
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L aphael K night
G raphic D esigner
lesha W illiam s
G raphic D esigner
C o n trib u tin g W riters:
P rofessor M cK inley Burt,
Lee Perlman,
Joy R am os,
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Y em aM easho
Tony W ashington
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T hank Y ou F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver
By Prof. M cKinley Burt
The question has been put to m any
an A frican A m erican, “W hy in the
w orld do w e need 'B la c k ’ H istory -
how can history have color?” and we
are quite pleased that o u r readers
have overw helm ingly agreed that our
m any citations o f docum ented black
contributions to the w o rld ’s technol
ogy have m ore than adequately ad
dressed this question.
O u r stru ctu re d a p p ro a c h , d e
signed to dem onstrate the econom ic
and societal impact o f these key in
ventions, enabled the reader to easily
appreciate the devastating, genocidal
effect o f an allegedly “color-blind”
Dear Editor.
In 1978, Mormon Church Presi
dent Spencer W. Kimball had a revela
tion in which he claimed the LORD had
told him that blacks could not be or
dained to the Priesthood. Since 1978,
the Mormon church has been actively
rerouting African and African-Ameri
can members. To date, the church had
made about 40,000 black converts in
the US, 100,000 in Brazil, and about
200,000 in black Africa. However, due
to its past teachings, the Church isn’t
growing in this area like it is among
other ethnic groups. In the last year,.
Church leaders have decided to tell
black inquirers that it “never taught”
that blacks were Cainites, or cursed to
the Priesthood, but that this was “merely
the opinion o f some o f the (church)
members, but never sanctioned or ap
proved by The Brethren (the 15 Mor
m o n A p o stle s th at lead the
church).”This is PURE DECEPTION!
There are literally dozens o f Internet
Civil Rights Journal
M y Christmas Wish
By B ernice P ow ell Jackson
Some years I have written a wish list
o f w hat I’d really like for Christmas
beyond hitting the lottery or such. This
year m y list is one item long - one word
long - 1 w ish for peace. Even ju st one
day o f peace w ould feel like m y wish
was granted.
I’ve been centering my prayer time
over the past two m onths on peace
after spending a few days with some
brave and pow erful young sisters and
brothers. Sisters and brothers dedi
cated to making peace in our cities. It
was the fifth anniversary o f what they
called the gang summit at that first
m eeting in 1993, when gang leaders
from around the nation came together
to talk and plan and m eet and pray for
peace in our communities. This time it
was called theNahonal Summit for Peace
and Justice because they realize now
L etter T o T he E ditor
For a long, long time, the Mothers
have observed the disrespectful and
racist surveillance o f the neighborhood.
The Mothers watch as the homes o f the
Elders are taken from them. The Mothers
know that the Fathers and sons arc
being harassed, slandered, betrayed,
poisoned, entrapped, railroaded, impris
oned and murdered, and yet, the Men
remain strong, whether maintaining at a
profession in the community or in soli
tary confinement at the penitentiary.
The Mothers feel the anxiety imposed
upon the Daughters w ho carry on the
Hope and the Faith. The Mothers wit
ness authority figures intimidate, hu
miliate, discount, exploit, abuse and in
carcerate the Children, who when very
ym in g m u s t become so wise in order to
survive the efforts to harm their Souls.
The Mothers see the bombs fell. The
that the violence o f gangs is but one
piece in a larger puzzle and that peace
is the only viable way for our commu
nities.
A nd so they come back together
again, some o f the old faces and some
new ones, all dedicated to the belief that
there can be, there must be peace in our
communities. They came from the east
coast, from the midwest, from the west
coast. They came speaking several lan
guages and calling G od by several
names. They came - African Ameri
can, Latino/and native American. They
came trusting each other and trusting
that the power o f good can overcome
the pow er o f evil. And if there was any
doubt in their minds aboutwhether this
sum m it was needed it evaporated the
night before they arrived in Kansas
City w hena lOyearoldchild was killed
in that city while playing in her front
yard. A nd so they piled in cars and
vans and w ent to the child’s home and
surrounded her family with prayers and
love and pleas forpeace not retaliation.
I’ 11 never forget that child’s mother’s
eyes that n ig h t I’ll neverforgetthe pain
which seemed to reach down into her
heart and her womb. I’ll never forget
that child’s father’s tears, running freely
down his cheeks, as he recounted his
shortcomings and told o f the pressure
to seek revenge. I’U never forget the
poem recited by a brother from Califor
nia that night and I’ll never forget the
prayer circle we formed on that front
yard.Peace so that no more children
might be maimed by land m ines. Peace
so thatnom ore children might die at the
hands o f their mothers or their fathers.
Peace so that the children o f the world
might laugh and play and smile and run
and skip and giggle and live without
fear. W hat a Christmas gift that would
be.
Mothers’ Vision
bombs violently invade other M others’
sanctuaries and kill their Babies, while
embargoes bring illness and starvation
to more Little Ones whose pure Inno
cence cannot be denied. The Mothers
are aware that the History o f rich and
dynamic Cultures is deleted from educa
tion at the institutions o f learning. The
Mothers cherish fee perpetual wisdom
and Compassion o f their Kin. Although
their Families possess a magnificent
strength which allows them to prevail no
matter what circumstances may be, the
Mothers decry fee gestapo-like tactics
they must constantly endure.The Nazis
manipulated fear just as it is being used
today to vilify a People. Wife a slight
change in perspective all o f those who
have silently condoned current atroci
ties will be able to open their eyes and
acknowledge the covert and systematic
e
c
t
t
v e s
Blacks Put Their Stamp On Modern
Technology And Society, III
¡The ^ o rtla n h (©bseruer
C harles W ashington
P ublisher & E ditor
p
attempts to commit genocide. The task
will then be simply to remove the inferi
ority complex from the hearts o f fee
hateful master minds who perpetrate
these crimes against Humanity, so that
they mayrealizefeepiti fill futility o f their
actions; recognize the truly Humble
position they share in the Glory o f Life;
and, rather than desiring to divide and
conquer, they can allow themselves to
partake in Joy along with their Fellow
Man.The Spirit will not and cannot be
destroyed. The Light o f Truth will al
ways glow. The Mothers shall continue
to give their Love bestowed to them
eternally by the almighty and Benevo
lent Power o f fee Universe.
Peaches Haney
FrancesO’Halloran
Neighborhood Academy of
I nam ing and Awareness
history. No m atter how devious and
d ish o n e st the e ffo rt to a ttrib u te
progress to one race or class alone,
these ugly exercises in vanity have
proven to be a tw o-edged sword.
M any savants and academ ics (his
torians?) who over the years acquired
a sterling and respected reputation
for their account o f the tim e-line o f
developm ent for a particular area o f
technology or econom ics, are now
finding theirprestige and im portance
under siege from unexpected q uar
ters. And they cannot blam e the “ grad
students” w ho do m ost o f the real’
research (under their supervision).
Librarians and undergrads find blacks
in woodwork.
W e have paused here in our own
account o f sem inal A frican A m eri
can engineering and science because
w e are nearing a m eaningful w ork
ing d efin itio n o f that u biquitous
term , “institutional racism .” T his is
the path that led our readers to ,
“appreciate the devastating, geno
cidal effect o f an allegedly color-
sites which quote prior Mormon lead
ers on the Curse o f Cain doctrine (type
in “Curse o f Cain” or “Blacks and Mor
mons” in any search engine). All Mor
mons over the age o f 30 KNOW that
the Church had taught the Curse ofCain
up until 1978. The 1978 revelation did
NOT refute the doctrine; rather, it de
clared only that the “time had com e" to
give the Priesthood to blacks. The
Curse o f Cain doctrine has NEVER
been refuted publicly or privately by
the Mormon leaders. The Church is
now telling blacks it “w as never
taught”.We humbly request that you
and other African-American newspa
pers call the Mormon Church and DE
M AND straight answers. The Church
b lin d ’ history;” generations o f in
creasingly - troubled black youth
brought to m aturity w ith their role
m odels “ lost, strayed, or stolen.”
B ut during the very sam e eras o f
A m erica’s expansion in technology,
w hite youth was intellectually and
spiritually enriched - and m otivated -
by the standard icons that reached
out from every textbook, encyclope
dia, m ovie and m useum: Thom as
E dison, A lexander G raham Bell,
Sam uel M orse, Eli W hitney (cotton
gin), C y ru s M cC o rm ick (reap er,
wheat). B lack youth w as given the
“ k in d ly o ld c o lo re d m an fro m
T uskeegee who talk ed ’ plants out of
their precious secrets and gave them
to m ankind.” I cited m uch more.
Readers, both black and w hite,
have been on the phone to com m ent
o n S c o tt L e a r n ’s a r tic le in
W ednesday’s O regonian( 12/14/98):
“ Standards E m phasize Perspective
O n H istory.” In a sense (sm iles), he
has follow ed along m y recent, four-
part series on “colum bus who sailed
should not continue to seek black con
verts until and unless it is willing to do
one o f the following things: 1. Publicly
refute and apologize for teaching the
Curse ofC ain doctrine for 150 years.2.
Publicly acknowledge that the curse o f
Cain doctrine is still a doctrine o f the
Church.3. Publicly announce that the
Curse ofCain was never official Church
doctrine. We feel that the Mormon lead
ers should COME CLEAN and pub
licly acknowledge orpublicly abandon
the CURSE OF CAIN DOCTRINE;
either in a public apology, or in a public
statement. We encourage you to con
tact the Mormon Church, and ask them
for an “on the record” statement con
cerning the Curse o f Cain doctrine.
the ocean blue.”
H ow ever, the callers had a per
spective o f their ow n to bring to the
table. They could not forego the plea
sure (?) o f pointing out that alm ost
two decades ago contracts were let
by the Portland School District for
production o f the “B aseline Essays”
history docum ent for curriculum en
richment. Particularly, there was com
ment on topics w hich I had subm itted
on “blacks in technology” but were
never adopted. M any photocopies
w ere m ade and circulated in the com
m unity. Excerpts appeared here.
U ntil w e return at the end o f the
year w ith m ore A frican A m erican in
ventors and related com m entary, you
might read “ History O n Trial” C ulture,
W ars and the T eaching o f the Past.”
N ash, C rabtree and D unn, A lfred A.
Knopf, 1997. This revealing volume,
explores the “G reat N ational contro
versy over the setting o f voluntary
standards for the teaching o f history
in our elem entary and high schools
that erupted in 1994.”
W e sug g est calling the M orm on
Church at 1-800-453-3860 (ask for
statements from Public Affairs and the
Office o f the First Presidency. Ask
them when it changed. We also suggest
you contact David Jackson (a black
Mormon) for an interview. His num
ber is on the back; as well as some
quotes from past Mormon leaders. He
has all the background information.
The Church shouldn't seek black coo-
verts unless and until it PU B LIC !.^
repudiates the doctrine, or at least is
willing to inform potential black con
verts about it. We hope that you do an
article on this subject. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Darrick Evenson
This kid’s got a
record!
his grades
Pablo knew in a couple of years he would
be ready for college. He also knew it would be
tough to afford. He even thought about dealing
drugs to pay for it. Fortunately for Pablo, two
community policing officers took him under
their wing. They steered him to counselors and
programs that could help him pay for college.
Now the only record he'll have is his grades.
FJ
LESS CRIME IS
NO ACCIDENT
It takes you — and programs that work.
Call 1 800-W E PREVENT, and we ll send
you a free booklet on how you can support
programs in your community that keep kids
away from crime and crime away from kids.