August 2,2000
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D E A D L IN E S
by -
fo r
T
he
J oe K loc k - S r ,
P o r tla n d O bserver
A dear friend o f mine, now departed, was fond of admonishing one and all to
“never say ‘never’, never say ‘always’, but always say ‘maybe. It was good
advice, particularly when someone was conversationally painting with too
broad a brush.
Eliminationof‘never’ and ‘always’ from human communication would convert
arguments to debates and, as just one benefit, promote domestic tranquility.
Similar words o f caution should be directed to those who indiscriminately use
“the” in referring to large groups o f people who happen to share one common
characteristic, be it ethnic, religious, or whatever.
As soon as anyone speaks, writes, or even thinks in terms o f “the” Blacks,
Whites, Hispanics, Orientals, Jews, Catholics, Gays, or even teen-agers, they
have already pled guilty to at least some degree o f prejudice.
This most often occurs when “the” is used, but “all” is clearly suggested. (If
one may dare to paraphrase our Chief Spinmeister, it depends on what the
meaning o f ‘the’ is.)
While it may be true - let’s face it, folks - that certain characteristics and
behavior patterns are more prevalent among certain identifiable groups, it is
patently unfair (not to mention inaccurate) to imply that all members thereof
can automatically be so branded. It might be called judgment by stereotype,
and it’s as wrong as wife-beating.
I was raised among “nice” people in middle-class Philadelphia, whose attitude
toward those who were not like them in almost every respect was largely
shaped by prejudices, some o f which were inherited and others cultivated by
the tight social circles within which they moved.
The prevalent advice was to “stick with your own kind.” This meant consorting,
cavorting and ultimately coupling with peers o f the same religion, national
ancestry and, above all, skin color.
Thus living in a social cocoon o f sorts, I came to “know” things about people
about whom I really knew next to nothing, this by virtue (or vice) ofhaving little
or no significant contact with them in my daily life. Things are better now, but
a troubling residue remains.
Many, if not most, o f our present problems with "those-people-you-know-
who-I mean” stem from the fact that we don’t actually know much about them
and, worse than that, we don’t try to learn more about them. Worse still, neither
do many o f “them” work at understanding “us.”
With respect to the White/Black situation, which is probably the most
troublesome o f all intergroup barriers, these attitudes o f ignorance have
nurtured not only fear, suspicion and hostility, but exaggerated accusations.
In turn, these allegations have generated matching defensive postures in both
camps, with the result that what should be a middle ground o f understanding
and compromise becomes a battleground between monolithic forces. “The”
Blacks become “the” source o f crime, welfare abuse and a deterioration of
family values, while “the” Whites become “the” greedy oppressors, insensitive
to the needs o f minorities and bent on condemning them to second-class
citizenship.
Similarly, “the” police became sadistic pigs who routinely dispensed vigilante
justice to the Blacks, reserving due process to Mr. & Mrs. Whiteface.
All the while, the demagogues in both camps fan the flames o f bigotry
with their angry rhetoric.
Well, folks, its long past the time for all ofus to get off our high (and low) horses
o f demagoguery and activate the four F’s o f problem solving, which are:
1. Find the facts, as they apply to each individual, regardless o f color, creed,
etc.
2. Filter the facts, to separate the pertinent ones from the irrelevant and
convoluted.
3. Focus on those remaining facts...and those facts alone.
4. Face the facts and take appropriate action to mitigate the problem. Sure, some
o f we Whites will, in that process, surrender perks and share some social turf
that has been heretofore privileged; and some Blacks will have to leave race
cards in the deck and play the hands that have been dealt; and both sides will
have to acknowledge that the other side has been right about some issues,
despite theirpresent unwillingness to yield an inch o f ground or a single phrase
o f impassioned oratory.
”The” trouble with all o f us is that there just isn’t room for “the” in describing
either the social problems that beset us or “the” people on either side of
controversies.
SOME ofus and SOME o f them are right about SOME things. None o f us and
none o f them are right about everything.
ALL o fu s have much to learn about the people who are different, whether in
their beliefs, customs or pigmentation. . .and they have much to learn about us.
Until we all begin that learning process, the “the” problem will stand between
us and the genuine understanding that is the very soul o f America.
Keith Stockdale, another
legal and racial travesty
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1996 T H E P O R T L A N D O B ­
R IG H T S
RESERVED,
R E P R O D U C T IO N I N W H O L E O R I N
P A R T W I T H O U T P E R M I S S IO N IS P R O -
11 I B I T E D .
The Po rtlan d O b server-O reg o n 's Oldest
eor T he T ori land O bserver
On June 16 in ajuvenile courtroom in
Rancho Cucamonga, a mostly white,
conservative bedroom community 60
miles east o f Los Angeles, Keith
Stockdale, a 15 year old African-
American male, was slapped with a 46
year to life sentence. This is believed
to be one o f the longest sentences
ever handed out to a minor in ajuvenile
court case. Stockdale was convicted
o f the rape o f three teen-aged white
girls.
Legal experts say the average prison
sentence in adult rape cases where
no weapon is used and the perpetrator
has no prior record is 4-6 years The
a rre stin g o ffic e r, the ju d g e ,
prosecutor, and the court appointed
psychologist in the case were white.
These colossal flaws in the case back
the charge that his stupendous
sentence is a legal and racial injustice:
• Unsupported victim’s statements.
• A huge lag in the time gap between
the time the sexual acts occurred and
when the alleged rapes were reported.
• No medical evidence o f physical
in ju rie s
to
the
victim s.
• No allegation that a weapon was
used.
•No criminal record or prior evidence
o f sexual misconduct by Stockdale.
“This may be another case o f a racial
and legal travesty that entraps
many young black men,” says Earl
Ofari Hutchinson, director o f the
National Alliance for Positive Action,
“ T his case c e rta in ly dem ands
immediate action.”
National Newspaper Association- Founded in
tative Am algamated Publishers. Inc, N ew York,
N Y , and T h e W est Coast Black Publishers
Association- Serving Port land and Vancouver
I
m H ig h B. P rice
president , N ational U rban
L eague
As the National Urban League convenes its annual
conference, this year in its birthplace, New York City, it’s
important to recall why the League was founded 90 years
ago.
It was founded to help the Negro American migrants
from the rural South, then beginning to flood into the
cities o f the East and Midwest adjust to the demands of
urban living and gain the education and job skills they
needed to have a viable chance to improve their lives.
The point o f this recollection isn’t to indulge in nostalgia.
It’s a reminder that the work we have before us now is
powered by the same fundamental motive and need.
That is to help African Americans gain the full measures
o f their American citizens: the unfettered enjoyment o f
civil rights and an unrestricted opportunity to pursue
economic advancement.
For all the advances Black America has recorded since
the League’s creation in 1910, and especially since the
civil rights victories o f 1960’s, that goal still remains
some distance away. The trenchant essays in the Urban
League’s annual scholarly journal. The State o f Black
America 2000, which w e’ve just published, make that
clear.
Millions o f black families have yet to make the journey
to the economic mainstream-the journey for welfare
dependence to economic independence; from isolation
to assimilation; from poverty o f prosperity.
Getting the roughly one-third ofblack Americans still in
economic distress squarely into the middle class is the
main unfinished business facing Black America-and
America.
In succeeding columns, I’ll explore more specifically
how that can be accomplished. But I can declare here
what one facet o f that approach for American Americans
must include: W e’ve got to go back to our past in order
to go forward to our future.
If African Americans are to make: great surge toward the
American mainstream, they must summon the inspiration
and faith and steely determination that enabled blacks
to triumph over Slavery and legal segregation with their
humanity and patriotism intact.
There’s never been a better time in U.S. history to make
that move than in the midst o f a thoroughly robust
economy.
Three years ago at our annual conference in Washington
DC, I declared that Economic Power is the Next Civil
Rights Frontier.
Some ofthe things Black America must take the lead in
doing to cross that frontier include:
Establishing community-based programs that equip our
youth for, first, academ ic for A frican-A m erican
Achievement w e’ve launched with the Congress of
National Black Churches and twenty programs that
provide the training and counseling to help more
breadwinners land good jobs, and become homeowners,
and then become confident investors also that they can
build a viable nest egg for their families; Establishing
com m unity-based technology centers that enable
resident o f poor and less-affluent neighborhoods to
grasp the opportunity o f to d a y ’s technological
revolution.
But Black America cannot, and should not, be solely
responsible for tapping the full measure o f the “human
capital” o f its segment o f the American population.
That’s the responsibility, too, o f the entire network o f
government agencies, and private institutions, including
corporations and other businesses, that make up the
society o f which w e’re a part.
For example America’s powerful economy has been
absorbing able workers at such a rate, particularly in
high-tech fields, that many businesses are clamoring for
Congress to pass legislation that would raise the limit on
guest workers destined for high-tech fields. (By some
estimates, upwards o f 400,000 jobs are unfilled. This
costs the economy and culture $4 billion annually in lost
productivity.)
There’s no doubt that immigrant and guest workers
inject a vital energy into our economy and culture.
But there’s another solution to our labor shortage in the
science and high-tech science sectors right under our
noses: investing in homegrown talent. Blacks, Latinos
and other underrepresented minorities comprise a quarter
o f American’s workforce. Yet they hold less than 7
percent o f jobs in these fields. So, Congress should
shelve raising the ceiling for guest workers and promote
instead the partnership o f government, private-sector
com panies and com m unity-based and nonprofit
organizations to mine the untapped talent among those
Americans thus far isolated from the technological
revolution.
This kind o f social program worked two generations ago.
It’s not rocket science to figure out how a national effort
o f similar scope can work today.
Indeed, this is a great reason for Washington to embark
some o f that record surplus it keeps boasting about - to
jumpstart the journey ofthe least wee - off among us into
the economic mainstream.
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