Page A 4
June 7, 2000
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USPS 959-680
E s t a b lis h e d 1 9 7 0
STAFF
E d it o r
C h ie f ,
in
P u b l is h e r
Charles H. Washington
E d
i to r
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
B
u s in e s s
M
anager
Gary Ann Taylor
C
opy
E
d it o r
Joy Ramos
C
r e a t iv e
D
ir e c t o r
Shawn Strahan
4747 NE Martin Luther King,
Jr. Blvd.
Portland, OR 97211
503-288-0033
The struggle for women’s equality
Civil Rights USDA: A
success story in progress in black America
m R on D aniels
tor T he
be
U.S. S ecretary oe A gricvlit
and socially and econom ically
disadvantaged populations.
Often, these com m unities qualify
for USDA assistance w ithout even
know ing it. The Office o f O utreach
will serve as a central repository
for inform ation and assistance,
helping ensure the fair distribution
o f USDA resources to people and
places that have nev er before
received them.
In te rn a lly , a lm o st all U SD A
em ployees have now com pleted
some civil rights training, w here
they learn about the particular
sensitivities involved in w orking
w ith h is to ric a lly u n d e s e rv e d
communities.
M any supervisors and m angers
have received additional training,
to help them m anage the diversity
on their staffs. And our agency
heads are now evaluated as much
on their civil rights perform ance as
any other o f their job.
We
have
in tr o d u c e d
accountability, so that those w ho
do not follow civil rights guidelines
c a n e x p e c t to
b e a r th e
consequences. O ver the last two
y e a rs , w e h a v e is s u e d 94
disciplinary actions, ranging from
le tte r s o f r e p r im a n d to 14
d is m is s a ls . O v e r h a u lin g an
in stitu tio n al cu ltu re is n ot an
o v e rn ig h t jo b . It w ill ta k e a
s u s ta in e d c o m m itm e n t an d
r e le n tle s s v ig ila n c e o v e r an
extended period o f time.
W e h a v e y e t to re a c h th e
mountaintop, but w e have begun
the climb.
W hen Abraham Lincoln signed the
legislation creating U SD A , he
c a lle d
it
th e
“ P e o p le ’s
Departm ent,” because o f its ability
to im prove the lives o f so m any
different A m ericans in so m any
different ways.
W ith our vigorous civil rights
agenda, w e are beginning to live
up to that nam e in its fullest sense.
T he “ P eo p le’s D ep artm en t” is
sta rtin g to m ak e g o o d on its
obi igation to serve al 1 o f the people.
re
D \ n G i i < n m \ s
Five years ago, w hen I becam e
S e c r e ta r y o f A g ric u ltu re , I
discovered that the departm ent
w as still struggling - as m uch o f
oursociety still i s - t o m ake racial
equality an institutionalized and
unshakeable principle, em bedded
■it ev e ry d e c isio n an d ev e ry
program.
I immediately made it a top priority
to m ake the U.S. departm ent o f
A griculture(U SD A )aplace where
e m p lo y e e s , c u s to m e rs an d
constituents are all treated with
the fairness and d ig n ity they
deserve. It has been my goal to
make USDA acivil rights leader in
the federal governm ent. O ne o f
our most important steps in that
direction w as the settlem ent we
reached last year in a class-action
suit brought by a group o f A frican-
A m e ric a n f ra m e r s a lle g in g
discrim ination by U SD A . The
s e ttle m e n t c a lls fo r d e b t
fo rg iv e n ess an d p ay m en ts to
individual p la in tiffs w ho can
prove discrim ination, even if it
occurred as long as 1981. A s o f
A p ril 26, p a y m e n ts to ta lin g
$206.5m illion have been m ade to
4,130 farmers.
As im portant as the settlem ent is,
our civil rights agenda includes
m ore th an rea ctiv e ly m ak in g
am ends for past injustice.
In 1996,1 appointed a com m ittee
o f USDA em ployees to exam ine
the state ofcivil rights throughout
the departm ent and report back to
m e with suggested actions. A fter
three m onths o f exhaustive fact­
fin d in g , th e y d e liv e r e d 92
r e c o m m e n d a tio n s c o v e r in g
everything from w ays to save
m inority-ow ned farms to USDA
hiring practices to disciplinary
action for civil rights violators.
W e have also established a new
O fficeofOutreach, which will help
g e t in f o rm a tio n a b o u t o u r
programs to minority communities
P o r il a n d O bserver
As we reflect on the extraordinary
contributions o f African A merican
w om en in A m erican to the Black
freedom struggle and the sustenance
o f the Black com m unity, it is also
important to note that Black w omen
have had to confront and overcom e
dou b le o p p ressio n - racism and
se x ism . T h o u g h th e re is so m e
evidence that w om en enjoyed greater
status and rig h ts in ancient and
traditional A frican civilizations and
so c ie tie s , in la rg e m e asu re th e
experien ce o f A frican w om en in
A m erica has been conditioned by the
patriarchal values o f the system o f
m ale dom ination operative in E u ro -
A m erican society.
G enerally speaking, for m uch o f the
history o f A fricans in A m erica, the
reality is that inside the com m unity
B lack w om en w orked the fields
nursed the children. Prepared the
m e a ls
and
te n d e d
to
th e
h o u s e k e e p in g c h o re s w ith th e
assum ption. T hat the m an w as the
head o f the household/fam ily and
leader in the affairs o f the community.
The role o f the Black m an was to
provide for and protect the family and
to take care ofhis women. The protests
o f B lack m en ab o u t th e hig h ly
provocative m ovie T he C olor Purple
notw ithstanding, dom estic violence
against w om en and incest has been
for m ore prevalent than m any in the
Black com m unity have been w illing
to acknow ledge.
It is a w ell know n that Black w om en
have m ost often been the backbone
o f churches and civic organizations
in the Black com m unity, the w orker
bees that have m ade Black institutions
a n d o r g a n iz a tio n s v ia b le an d
effective. For m uch or our history in
the country, however, leadership was
seen as a role reserved for men. Hence,
Black w om en often perform ed the
tasks essential to the survival and
success o f Black institutions and
o rg a n iz a tio n s w h ile B lack m en
enjoyed the fruits o f their labor by
being the leaders.
For years Black w om en could be
teachers and nurses, but being a
doctor, dentist, law yer, scientist,
Fax 503-288-0015
engineer w as o ff limits. Sim ilarly,
driving a truck or bus, w orking on the
assembly line in a manufacturing plant
o r w o rk in g in th e c o n s tru c tio n
industry w as taboo. T h ese w ere
considered m en ’s job. To the degree
that Black w om en aspired to enter
these professions and occupations it
was often considered a threat to the
role o f the Black man as head o f the
household. In the church, the idea
that w om en could be a m inister was
unthinkable.
O bviously m uch has changed in
Black A m erica as it relates to the
stru g g le fo r w o m e n ’s eq u a lity .
Indeed, Black women have never been
totally subservient w ithin the Black
com m unity. H ence the struggle for
w o m e n ’s e q u a lity in th e B lack
com m unity has been qualitatively
different from the struggle W hite
women. Because ofthe reality o f racial
o p p ressio n h o w ev er, so m e tim es
Black m en have been reluctant to
confront and address issues o f sexism
and gender inequality in the Black
community. For some Black men there
is a sen se th at th e se issues are
som ehow consum ed by the larger
struggle for racial equality or the belief
that these issues can be deferred
until issues o f racial oppression have
resolved. D uring the civil rights and
Black Pow er m ovem ents o f 6 0 ’s and
7 0 ’s, B lack w om en in creasin g ly
proclaim ed that they w ould not be
c o n f in e d to th e c le r ic a l a n d
administrative work and risk their lives
as organizers w hile being excluded
from leadership roles. Though the
debate and tensions over the issue o f
g en d er inequality was inevitably
influenced by the “w om en’s liberation
m ovem ent” fram ew ork o f the black
fre e d o m stru g g le . W h ile so m e
aspects o f the w om en’s liberation
m ovem ent were decidedly anti-male,
by and large, this w as/is not the case
within the Black freedom struggle or
to settle for anything less than the
right to fulfill th eir dream s and
aspirations as Black w om en free o f
the prejudices, m isconceptions and
constraints o f patriarchy and m ale
dom ination. As I argued during the
debates leading up to the M illion
Man M arch and Day o f A bsence in
1 9 9 5 , e q u a lity , c o lla b o r a tio n ,
cooperation and partnership should
be the values, which guide Black male-
fem ale relationships, not patriarchy.
Being put on a “ pedestal” by black
men is not a substitute for genuine
equality, pow er and leadership in the
Black com m unity. No occupation, no
field o f endeavor should be viewed
as the exclusive preserve o f men.
Black w omen and men must be free to
fulfill their dream s and free ofbarriers
o f race, gender and class. Only when
Black w omen are able proclaim, “free
at last,” w ill the entire race be truly
liberated.
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
On b eh alf o fth e School Board, district sta ff and the m any students attending
Portland schools, I w rite to thank your readers for supporting Portland’s local
option, M easure 26-2. W e had the help o f over 1300 volunteers who w alked
their streets rem inding neighbors to vote and m ade countless reminder, get-
out-the-vote phone calls. We also had volunteers appearing before com munity
and civic groups to speak about the local option and w hat it w ould mean for
Portland students - restoring som e o f the losses that have occurred over the
last ten years and replacing outdated textbooks.
W e have m any challenges ahead but look forward to the com m unity’s
continued support for a high quality, accountable Portland school system.
S incerely,
Debbie Goldberg
e-mail
news@portlandobserver.com
sitecnption@portlandobseiver.com
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