JAN. 13, 1999
Page A3
(Lije {Jo rt lattò OXssrrorr
Forty Acres And A Mule; U.S.
Department Of Agriculture Still
Holds The Dream
B y P rof . M c K inley B lrt
The crudest joke o f the nine­
teenth - century was the promise
made to a few black dreamers
that immediately upon Emanci­
pation, each former slave family
would receive one-sixteenth of a
section of good farm land and a
healthy mule with good teeth.
Real estate developers, yet to
be born, must have trembled as
these reckless rumors reached
their upper abodes. They need
not have been so concerned about
the immediate post-Civil War pe­
riod, for a carefully - crafted pro­
cess was put in place to restore
most lands to white ownership.
The ways and means o f imple­
mentation by a larcenous South
was know by the oxymoron “Re­
construction.” Today, the na­
tional and foreign media has iden­
tified agents o f the U.S. Depart­
ment o f Agriculture as principal
conspirators, conniving with cor­
porate farms and mall develop­
ers.
One need not be a ro ck et
s c ie n tis t, as they say to c o n ­
clude that this federal agency
was fu lly in v o lv e d from the
day o f its in c e p tio n - and not
only in the South. It is not
ju s t the case o f b e in g born in
that area and having fam ily in­
p u t, but in the 1970s and
1980s, I had su p p o rtin g c o n ­
versations with both my black
and w hite so u th ern stu d en ts.
The crim e spree spans m ore
than a century.
S everal O bserver readers
called to say how “disheartened
and depressed they were to hear
that the number o f black farmers
had decrease from a high o f 17
percent to today’s low of less
than 1 percent.” One woman said,
“I doubt if a few NBA m illion­
aires put things anywhere near in
balance. 1 know that’s what we’re
going to hear from whites.”
Y ou’ve got that right lady; no
closer to closing the 134 year-
old, racial economic gap than all
the Affirmative Action or Mi­
nority Business programs that
could have been instituted. We
are talking trillions, o f dollars
here, for land is more than just
crops; it is all the dreams that
can be developed upon it - imple­
mentation of energies and fu­
tures that range across genera­
tions! Across 134 years.
It occurs to me that with the
history curriculum being what
it is in many places, some clari-
f ic a tio n o f term s m ay be
needed here. Let us define ‘Re­
construction” as a broad catch-
all term used to describe fed­
eral interaction with a defeated
South following the Civil War.
For term s which may be more
fam iliar to some, let us quote
that noted A frican Am erican
historian, John Hope Franklin,
“ R e c o n stru c tio n A fter The
Civil W ar”, U niversity o f C hi­
cago Press.
“Only slightly less military
than the army itself was the Bu­
reau of Refugees, Freedmen, and
Abandoned Lands, commonly
known as the 'Freedm en’s Bu­
reau: ... It restored, at the insis­
tence of President Johnson, most
of the abandoned land to par­
doned rebels. Freedmen received
only a small portion of the lands
confiscated by the Union during
the war.”
“ A fter the passage o f the
Southern H om estead Act in
1866, the Bureau hoped to as­
sist Negroes in obtaining farms
under its terms. The lands that
were opened up were, for the
most part, inferior and unattrac­
tive.”
And so it goes, yet today. Do
you think $50,000 a piece for a
few broke black farmers, mostly
over 70, will set things right?
Next week, the other big land
grab.
Senior Corps Needs Your Help
Are you at least 60 years o f age, on a limited income, and would like to
earn $200 a month in a tax free stipend while helping children leam to
read? Senior Corps is looking for you!
Volunteer benefits include training, lunch and travel reimbursements,
paid time off, sick leave, and more. For more information please contact
Randy Lucas @ 249-0469.
Coalition Of Citizen Groups to
Propose Light Rail Revival
The C o a litio n fo r a L iv ­
able F u tu re (C L F ) u n v e ile d
a p ro p o se d new t r a n s p o r t a ­
tion p lan fo r th e re g io n at a
n e w s c o n f e r e n c e a t th e
M ultnom ah A th letic C lub on
T u esd ay , J a n u a ry 12th.
F orm er G o v e rn o r B arb ara
R o b e rts w as the s p o k e s p e r ­
son for C L F, w h ich is a c o a ­
litio n o f fo rty e ig h t d iv e rs e
c itiz e n s o rg a n iz a tio n s se e k ­
ing to p re se rv e and m ain tain
P o r tla n d ’s q u a lity o f life .
G o v ern o r R o b erts is a b oard
m em ber o f 1000 F rie n d s o f
O re g o n ,
one
of
th e
c o a li ti o n ’ s fo u n d in g m em ­
b ers.
The p ro p o sed plan w ill in ­
c lu d e a c a ll fo r c o n tin u in g
to e x p a n d th e re g io n s lig h t
rail sy ste m . In a d d itio n , the
p lan p ro p o s e s s p e c ific im ­
p ro v em e n ts fo r all m odes o f
tr a n s p o r ta tio n th ro u g h o u t
the r e g io n . T h e se in c lu d e
p ro je c ts to e n h a n c e tra n s it,
b ik e and p e d e s tria n f a c i l i ­
tie s as w e ll as im p ro v e lo-
cal c o n n e c tiv ity fo r au to
tra f fic .
T he CLF p lan w as f o r ­
m ally p re s e n te d to M etro at
th e ir B e a v e rto n “ lis te n in g
p o s t ” th a t e v e n in g . T he
B e a v e rto n e v e n t is the s e c ­
ond o f fo u r lis te n in g p o sts
M etro is h o ld in g to s o lic it
p u b lic re a c tio n to the v o t­
e r s ’ d e fe a t o f fu n d in g a u ­
th o rity for th e s o u th /n o rth
lig h t rail p ro je c t. O th e r l i s ­
te n in g p o sts are s c h e d u le d
in N o r th a n d N o r t h e a s t
P o rtlan d on T h u rsd ay , J a n u ­
ary 14th and in C la c k a m a s
on T h u rsd a y Ja n u a ry 2 1 st.
In a d d itio n to th e l i s t e n ­
ing p o s ts , M etro is in the
p ro c e s s o f r e v is in g the R e ­
g io n a l T r a n s p o r ta tio n P lan
(R T P ). P u b lic h e a rin g s on
the RTP are p la n n e d fo r th is
s p rin g . T he CLF p la n ,
c a l l e d ” A T r a n s p o r ta tio n
P lan fo r E v e ry b o d y ” , is d e ­
s ig n e d to a d d re s s the w ide
ra n g e o f is s u e s u n d e r c o n ­
s id e r a tio n as p a rt o f th a t
p ro c e ss.
Ja m e s C o r le s s , th e R e ­
s e a rc h D ire c to r o f th e S u r­
fac e T r a n s p o r ta tio n P o lic y
P ro je c t (S T P P ), a n a tio n a l
tra n s p o rta tio n re fo rm o r g a ­
n iz a tio n , w ill d is c u s s th e ir
r e c e n tl y r e l e a s e d r e p o r t
th a t c o n c lu d e s in v e s tm e n ts
in in c re a s e d ro ad c a p a c ity
do not re d u c e tr a f f ic c o n ­
g e stio n .
O th e r sp e a k e r at the new s
c o n fe re n c e in c lu d e d r e p r e ­
s e n ta tiv e s o f CLF m em b er
o rg a n iz a tio n s : L a w re n c e
D ark, E x e c u tiv e D ire c to r o f
th e U rb a n L e a g u e o f P o r t­
la n d , R o b e rt L ib e rty , E x ­
e c u tiv e D ir e c to r o f 1000
F rie n d s o f O re g o n , M ike
H o u ck , U rban N a tu ra lis t o f
the P o rtla n d A udubon S o c i­
ety; T asha H arm on, C om m u­
n ity D e v e lo p m e n t N e tw o rk
and R ex B u r k h o ld e r , B i­
c y c le T r a n s p o r ta tio n A lli­
ance and c h a ir o f the C L F ’s
T ra n s p o rta tio n
R e fo rm
W o rk in g G roup.
What Are The Chances You’ll Remember
Your New Year’s Resolutions?
According to the new book
“The Memory Cure” the odds
are not in your favor. It’s a mat­
ter o f fact as you age your
memory goes, as much as 50%
in healthy adults. Age related
memory loss begins in our early
years and is accelerated by non­
optimum lifestyle choices such
as: poor nutrition, smoking,
drinking, drugs and stress.
Authors of the Memory Cure,
Dr. Thomas Crook III Ph.D., in­
ternational expert on memory
retention and loss, and Brenda
Aderly, co-author o f The Ar­
thritis Cure, state that memory
loss may be a function o f aging,
but it is not an inevitable fact of
life. There is a safe scientifi­
cally proven breakthrough that
can slow, halt, or even reverse
Age-Related Memory Loss.
Phosphatidylserine or PS, is
a natural supplement derived
from soybeans. Although small
amounts of PS exist in foods
like fish, rice, soy products and
green leafy vegetables, it is dif­
ficult to get enough PS through
food to jum p-start the aging
cells in our brain. PS is rapidly
absorbed and crosses the blood-
brain barrier to “bathe” and re­
ju v en a te the m em branes o f
brain cells. Studies at Stanford
and V anderbilt U niversities
charted the remarkable memory
enhancing benefits of taking PS.
The most convenient and ef­
ficient method of taking PS is
in the form of Brain Gum, the
mental alertness dietary supple­
ment. Chewing Brain Gum regu­
larly will help most people with
recognizing names and faces,
improving verbal ability, and re­
membering details such as tele­
phone numbers and the location
o f frequently m isplaced ob­
jects. In addition, PS can ben­
efit depression, and help indi­
viduals cope with stress.
For more information please
call Fred Taylor at 310-358-
8400 ext. 287 or fax us at 310-
358-0179.
The Renaissance Family Market
"Your Family Shopping Environment"
9 0 9 N. Killingsworth St. 2 8 9 -3 8 8 5
P rices E ffective : J anuary 13 - J anuary 18, 1999
Rainbow T ood Court
Groceries:
• CLEAN READY TO COOK CHITTERLINGS
HAMBURGERS
Hamburger (regular)............................. $ 1.55
Cheeseburger........................................ $ 1 -75
Baconburger w/cheese.........................$2.15
Hot Link Burger..................................... $3.00
DRINKS
Milk.......................................................... $.45c
Hot Tea................................................... $.79c
Coffee
Small............$.49c
Large............ $.89c
Note: All Hamburgers «St* Sandwiches are served with Lettuce, Cheese,
Onions, Mayonnaise, Tomatoes, Pickles and Potato Chips or Potato Salad
-The Renaissance Family Market Financial Center
Low-low Rates for Check Cashing * Pay Day Loans
Money Orders * Western Union
Accepting US West and Paragon Cable Payments
Phone 247-1078
5 Lb bag............................................................. $9.99
WHITING FISH 5 Lb box...................................... $3.95
BEEF R IB S........................................................................ 59c Lb.
BEEF NECKBONES......................................................... 79c Lb.
10 LB. BUCKET CHITTERLINGS.......................... $6.99
SMOKED HAM HOCKS Family P ack.................. 99c Lb.
FAMILY PACK CHICKEN W INGS............................ 98c Lb.
PORK R I B S ................................................................. $1.29 Lb.
GRILL PACK C H IC K EN ............................................. 89c Lb.
FRANZ ROUNDTOP BREAD REGULAR PRICE
........................................................... $1.95 Now $1.49
for $ 1.00
JUMBO YAMS 3Lbs.......
CLEAN CUT READY TO C . I I I . K GREENS
................................................................... $3.99 Bag
5 DOZEN LARGE E G G S ......................................... $3.99
DON PANCHO 1OO CT CORN TORTILLAS REGULAR
.......................................... $2.00 Special Price $1.99
A lso C h e ck O ut O u r B u lk Food S e ctio n F e a tu rin g Beans, Rice, C o rn Meal and More!