KEB. J, 1999 Page A4 d j e IJortlatth ©bseruer " C » ■ X P vl - r j Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily Reflect Or Represent The Views O f Wl]e 'Jjlortlanb (Observer J 1 Attention ReadersI Plea*« take a min ate to sead o* y o a r comments. W e ’ re always tryin g to give you a better paper and we can’t do It without y o u r help. T e ll ns w h at you Uke and w hat needs im p ro v e m e n t» any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. W e v e- $ Black History Month Is Here (Again) p 6 r- $ p e c take criticism well! G et your pow erful pen* out N O W and address your letters to- E d ito r. Reader Response^ P.O . Box 3137. Portland. O R 97208. This article was requested f o r reprint, from the Black H istory issue of, the Portland O bserver on February 18, 1998 ^ o rtla n h (©bseruer B y P rof . M c K inley B urt (USPS 959-680) Established in 1970 Charles W ashington Publisher Larry J. Jackson, Sr. Editor Gary A nn Taylor Business M anager Mark W ashington Distribution M anager Laphael Knight Graphic D esigner Joy Ramos Copy Editor Iesha W illiam s G raphic D esigner Tony Washington Director o f Advertising Contributing Writers: Professor M cKinley Burt, Lee Perlman, Y em aM easho R ichard Luccetti 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, Oregon 97211 503-288-0033 • Fax 503-288-0015 Email: Pdxobserv@aoLcom Deadline fo r all submitted materials: A rticles .'Friday, 5 :00 p m Ads: M onday, 12:00pm POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes To: Portland Observer, P.O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208. P eriodicals p ostage p a id a t Portland, Oregon. Subscriptions: $60.00 p e r yea r The Portland O bserver w elcom es freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accom pa­ nied by a s e lf addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property o f the new spaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage w ithout the w ritten consent o f the general manager, unless the client has purchased the com position o f such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN W HOLE O RIN PA RTW ITH O U TPERM ISSIO N IS PROHIBITED. The Portland O bserv er-O reg o n ’s O ldest Multicultural P ublication-is a m em ber o f the N ational N ew spaper A ssociation-F ounded in 1885, and The National A dvertising Representative A m algamated Publishers, Inc, N ew York, N Y , and T he W est Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving The following critical analysis o f the teaching o f history in our schools may extend the param eters o f our own running com mentary here, “His- tory on Trial: Culture W ars and the Teaching o f the Past” Nash, C rabtree and Dunn, A lfred A. K noff, N.Y. 1997. Principally, my approach, or per­ spective, has been to retrieve those experiences/lessons that retain their value over tim e and circumstance. A nd there is no question but what black people have many hundreds o f such w ell-documented models avail­ able to them, whether the Am erican experience or on a w orld stage. Builders, artists, poets, inventors, educators, entrepreneurs. G iven these facts about such an extensive and authentic data base o f relevance, then the rem aining ques­ tions or issues m ust be about ease o f access (to the many) and/or their motivation and dedication to the task. W here as I have been addressing the latter param eter (for years), “His- Portland and Vancouver. SU BSC R IBE TO W ^ o rtla n ii (©bseruer The Portland Observer can be sent directly to your home for only $60.00 per year. Please fill out, enclose check or money order, and mail to: S ubscriptions T he P ortland O bserver ; PO B ox 3137 P ortland , O regon 97208 N am e:_______ ______ ________ ___________________________ —--------- Address: ________ _____ _________________________ — ---------- City, State: ___________________ _________________________________ Z ip-C ode:______ ___________________________________ — -------- ----- T hank Y ou F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver f c 0 ber o f troubling findings such as “the Company has suffered recur­ ring losses from operations and has a n et a sse t d e fic ie n c y ($102,947.00), which raises sub­ stantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.” W ithout even looking at this au­ dit these districts pledged over $ 1 million to this nonprofit which has owed the IRS over $50,000.00 in longstanding delinquent payroll taxes, $6,000+ to the Oregon Dept. o f Revenue for unpaid unemploy­ ment taxes, and started the school year operating on a deficit that ex­ ceeded $100,000.00. W hat is up­ setting about this is that for a num­ ber o f years this nonprofit has been paying monthly penalties and fees on its delinquent taxes, and guess where the m oney to pay this has come from. T hat’s right - Oregon taxpayers. Thisblind-leap-of-faithby school districts in handing over millions o f dollars to organizations that don’t know how to conduct themselves with sound management practices is startling. W hat concerns me is the nonprofit alluded to is waiting with baited breath to transform itself into a charter school so that there will be even less scrutiny on how it admin­ isters itself. I don’t speak from ignorance as I come from Arizona and was involved at the ground level in the charter M M ( U ,111 I t ' \ i l \ Cl 1 H C N W W ash in g to n . D.C. - Recently, D em ocratic N atio n al C om m ittee (DNC) General Chair Governor Roy Romer and General Co-Chair designate M ayor Dennis Archer decried this weeks Supreme Court decision to re­ ject sampling in the 2000 Census. Démocrates support the recommenda­ tion by experts from the National Acad­ emy o f Sciences that using scientific statistical methods will result in pro­ ducing a census that is more accurate and less costly than the one in 1990. Although the Supreme Court may have rejected the use of sampling in apportioning congressional seats, it did leave open the possibility that it could still be used in drawing election districts and for distributing federal aid. “Scientific sampling is the best way to ensure that all Americans are counted. school movement there. As a con­ sultant I facilitated the chartering o f four schools, one o f which served at-risk youth such as the nonprofit noted herein. The direc­ tor had to close his doors because o f his inability to manage a busi­ ness, which a school ultimately is. The excitement that fueled charter schools in Arizona has waned and the results are quite mixed. Some have been closed for falsifying at­ tendance, as it is the head count that gets the funds to keep people employed. Sometimes a private or charter school can become more interested in maintaining employ­ ment for those who operate it than in providing quality instruction to their students. Before Oregon foolishly rushes forward to create what could be a bigger problem than what it already has with some o f its alternative schools, I suggest that a prudent and cautionary approach to charter schools be taken. And be sure to make sure that whomever operates them has a clean financial history, operating capital, and a com pre­ hensive understanding o f school finances and business practices. James Houston, Ed.D. Former Director o f the Consor­ tium o f Arizona Private & Inde­ pendent Schools and current Co- Director o f CRIE - Consum er Rights In Education I T 1 J It 11 1 I 4 V especially those that are most often ignored,” said DNC General Chair Gov­ ernor Roy Romer. “The Republican Party has clearly led the fight against scientific sampling. The question is, why don’t they want all Americans counted?” Millions o f Americans - especially minorities, children, the poor and rural residents - were undercounted in the 1990 census including 12.2% o f All American Indians, 5% o f all Hispanics, 4.4% o f all African-Americans, and 2.3% o f all Asian Americans. About half the Americans who were never counted children. The census has a real impact on the lives o f real people. State and local government to plan schools and high­ ways use census information, lh e fed­ eral government uses the information to distribute funds for health care and other programs. Businesses use census in­ formation for long-range economic plan­ ning. “The U.S. Supreme Court’s deci- that is reaching the school houses during a ‘recently discovered’ Black History Month. M ajor firms seem intent on catching up with the to­ bacco and liquor com panies in dol­ lars directed to “ Special M arkets”, e.g. A frican Americans. Several teachers and a principal have sent me copies o f materials received. All o f course high light. Reverend King, Jackie Robinson, Dr. Carver, and a few cite Crispus Attacks. But th o se I ’ve seen p resen t a black w hose ex isten ce in the U ni­ v erse b eg an w ith sla v ery -th ere is no E th io p ia, E gypt, B lack Popes or V irgins, no L eo A frican u s, no G reat P y ram id , no g reat u n iv e rsi­ ties in W est A frica like T im buctu, no speech by N ap o leo n . Standing on the sands o f A frica, before the G reat p y ram id , “ F o rty cen tu ries o f g re a tn e s s lo o k d o w n u p o n y ou.” No sir, there is nothing that would jeopardize a corporation’s bottom line, that could provoke objection by either a racist or a fearful cur­ riculum specialist. ‘Blacks are just here th at’s all-and w e’re stack with them ’. sion left open the possibility for use o f sampling that can make a differ­ ence in state senate and house races and, more importantly, in dispersing federal funds that help educate our children and im prove our senior citizen’s quality o f life,” said DNC General Co-Chair-Designate Mayor Dennis Archer, “I hope the Republi­ can leadership will put politics aside and support samping so that every American is counted and receives vi­ tal funds for their community.” 'You made it easier fo r a M om to stay with her sick child 24 hours a d a y because o f a kitchen on the floor a n d a nearby laundry room. Thank you for a job well done.' Mother of child in Legacy Emanuel Children’s Hospital Sometimes the most powerful medicine is a mother. You’re the expert. No one knows your child better than you. That’s why we’ve designed our Children's Hospital to accommodate the needs of mothers and fathers. For instance, parents can retreat to a 'Q uiet Room’ for a much needed rest Little things like that matter. Studies have actually proven that with family involvement, children recover more quickly from illness. But we didn’t need a study to tell us that. We see it every day. tS * For physician referral: 335-3500. Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital .fpifftf (i he 1.1 n r t k t u h (Û be-eruev \l 5O3-2X8-OO33 b lip : equitable, ju st and unified,” he fur­ nished a list “W hat Every American Should K now ” I point out, o f course, that what Dr. Hirsch is about is not only a further frigid exclusion from our history texts o f the m ajor contribu­ tions to the w orld’s culture and tech­ nology by people o f color, but a tactic to im plem ent for all tim e an e d u c a tio n system guar­ anteed to pro­ d u ce an ac­ cepted ‘N or­ dic response’ fro m e v e ry student. H itle r’s propagandist. Dr. Herman Geobbels, asked no more. N or did the famed ‘lib e ral’ p h ilo so p h er L ocke who designed the C onstitution o f the C arolinas to perpetuate slavery for­ ever. These guaranteed, one-hundred percent, ‘A nglo’ lists are not the exclusive dom ain o f the education establishm ent. Every, teacher and parent (who cares) should be aware o f the avalanche o f corporation-de­ signed “Ethnic Support M aterial” DNC Chairs Decry Supreme Court’s Decision to Reject Census Sampling Letter To The Editor: On January 25, 1999 the O r­ egon Senate Committee on Educa­ tion is expected to pass a charter school bill which will be forwarded to the House. I hope they slow down their rush to embrace this latest fad in education as this state is a long way from making prior efforts at alternative education to serve families properly. I speak for the 1979Alternative Education Act, which although amended over the years to address its shortcomings, still has a long way to go before being an effective approach to pro­ viding alternative methods and en­ virons in delivering efficacious pedagogy and services to K -12 stu­ dents. As the recent Director o f O p­ erations for a NE Portland non­ profit organization that has con­ tracts to provide alternative educa­ tion services to African-American and other m inority students with eight local school districts (Port­ land Public Schools; W oodburn; Parkrose; David Douglas; Centen­ nial; Estacada; Corbett; Hillsboro) I find it appalling and a complete abdication o f their responsibility to honor the public trust they are vested with that these districts en­ tered into contracts with an organi­ zation that had, and still has, very serious financial and program ­ matic mism anagem ent problems. Their 1997 audit contains a num- tory O n Trial” represents a very re­ cent generation o f educators and historians who have gam ed or as­ sum ed enough pow er to challenge a firmly entrenched establishm ent. It is only that,’ at present, a “chal­ lenge”, but the energy, com m itm ent (and courage) o f the 'Y oung Turks" m ay yet allow them to successfully engage those who believe the w orld’s history is “ inherently an d etern ally W e st­ ern.” The latter view ­ point we find enthusi­ astically adopted by E.D. Hirsch, author o f the 1987 best-seller, “ C u ltu ra l L ite ra c y : W hat Every American Needs To K now”, Vintage Books. Several readers say they rem em ­ ber a quarter-page special I presented in the A ugust 8, 1990 Portland O b­ server, “W here’s The Beef: is it to be Cultural Literacy or European Literacy?” My im passioned polemic headlined my less-than-enthusias- tic review o f the English profes­ sors’ argument for “a com m on store o f basic know ledge that w ould per­ m it all citizens to talk the same language...society would be more tt n