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Established in 1970
Volume XXXIII • Number 7
|A' k ™
y
Americans consider the tooth­
brush the most important inven­
tion ever, according to a recent
survey that places the motorcar
in second place, followed by the
personal computer, the micro-
wave oven and the mobi le phone.
The M assachusetts Institute o f |
Technology poll shows that 42
percent o f adults and 34 percent
o f teenagers consider the tooth­
brush, which dates from the 15th
century, the most important in­
vention.
No love fo r‘Jihad’
Valentine Day card
Target Corp, pulled boxes o f "I
Spy” Valentine’s Day cards from
its shelves after one contained the
word “Jihad” and aparent in Pitts­
burgh, Penn., interpreted the mes­
sage, referring to an Islamic holy
war, as a veiled terrorist threat.
Among several other items, the
card contained the word “Jihad”
and the message, “It’s Time to Be
Mine." The FBI said it was look­
ing into the origin o f the card.
Committed to Cultural Diversity
by J aymee R. C uti
T he P ortland O bserver
The im passio n ed su p p o rters
and opponents o f the modern repa­
rations m ovem ent agree on at least
one thing - th e y ’re fighting about
a very hot topic.
Portlander B illie Jean M cCray
has been on the front lines o f con­
troversial politics for som e 40
years, as an activist m arching for
civil rights in the 60s, the w om en’s
movement in the 70s and now sh e’s
back in the trenches fighting for
reparations.
She founded m any non-profit
organizations in Portland, includ­
ing Friends o f Sisters on the Street,
a group benefiting the children o f
prostitutes, and Black Friday, a
group to the death penalty.
On a sw eltering day last A u­
gust, M cCray m arched in W ash­
ington, D.C. to get attention for
the burgeoning reparations m ove­
m ent, w ith C o n g ressm an John
C onyers o f M ichigan at the fo re­
front. C onyers’ reparations bill has
gained publicity and provoked na­
tion-w ide debate since the m arch
last sum m er.
"I w ant it acknow ledged that
yes, we deserve to be paid for our
ancestors enslavem ent. Yes, it is
due,” M cCray said. “ I m ight not
live to see it, but I want it to com e
to pass and not get pushed under
a rug.”
R eparations, the idea that d e­
scendants o f slaves are entitled to
paym ent for the work o f their an ­
cestors, has been around in som e
form or another since slavery was
abolished. An early prom ise to
freed slaves was 40 acres and a
mule, and w hile property is still a
t»»..
desirable com m odity, the options
----
for back -p ay m en t are endless.
Som e believe that the governm ent
should be responsible for paying
individuals for the work o f their
I
ancestors. O thers think that money
P hoto by mark washington / the P ortland observe »
should be routed tow ard sch o lar­
ships and other public institu- Reparations advocate Billie Jean McCray o f northeast Port­
continued
onpageA lO
Overnight train
— NAACP President Robert I.arrv
NOT
OUR Tt
Ó
J
B
Sleepy suspect
. A burglary was bungled when the
suspect was caught sleeping on
the job in Fort Worth, Texas. A
man was arrested Saturday morn­
ing when he was found taking a
nap after breaking into a store
owned by the wife o f the county
district attorney, police said. Af­
ter the shop owner found a black
..pistol on the bathroom counter,
she heard snoring coming for a
display bed. The man was irritated
-after being awaken by pol ice. say­
ing, “Hey, I was asleep!”
»c
■
More than 1,000 gallons o f te­
quila spilled into the sewer sys­
tem in Louisville, Ky., Monday
after a worker tried to unload it
from a truck into an already full
storage tank at a distillery, offi-
cialssaid. The tequila overflowed
at a rate o f 100 gal Ions per minute,
resulting in 1,500 to 1,800 gallons
entering the city sewer system,
said Phil Lynch, a spokesman for
the Brown-Forman Distillery.
PHOTO BY W Y N D E D Y E R /T H E PO R TLAN D OBSERVER
ss
s
0£
Movement Against Hate
Gains Momentum in NE
Saturday’s rally
and march along
the path of shooters
was well attended
Tequila river
A southwest Missouri man can
have Jesus Christ as his attorney,
but only one licensed to practice
Missouri law will be allowed to
speak for him during trial on
charges he tampered with ajudge.
Defendant Richard John Adams,
who described himselfas a patriot
and a Christian, told the Ozark
County judge presiding over his
case that under that ruling, he was
“being restricted to the
land has been on the front lines o f controversial politics for
some 40 years.
/ think the turnout sends a clear
message that we are not going to
tolerate this any more. This country
was built on racism. We need to be
real about what s going on and put
and end to it.
A drunken man sleeping be­
tween railway tracks in southern
Japan suffered only minor cuts
when he was run over by an
express train that did not even
wake him. Railway officials say I
the 73-year-old fell asleep on the
track, his body fitting between
the lines, as the five-carriage ex­
press train approached. The con­
ductor tried to stop but the train
ran over the man and continued
for some ways before stopping.
Man wants Jesus to
represent him in court
Wednesday • February 12. 2003
**«*.'' B a c k T im e
Reparations
movement enlists
J veteran of
political battles
Toothbrush love
www.portlandobserver.com
Helen Sherman, second vice president o f the NAACP Portland chapter, protests against hate
and violence during a Saturday morning march and rally against hate inspired by a recent
racially motivated shooting spree that damaged five cars in a predominately black northeast
Portland neighborhood. About 300 people attended the march, which traced the route of the
shooters.
by W ynde D yer
T he P ortland O bserver
Bright skies and brightly colored
signs reading ’N o H ate - Not in O ur
T o w n ’ greeted roughly 300 people
who cam e out for S atu rd ay 's rally
and m arch against hate in northeast
Portland.
The peaceful event, which started
at 11 a m. in the northeast Portland
Police Precinct and m arched along
eight blocks o f the H um boldt and
Piedm ont neighborhoods, w as in­
spired by a racially m otivated shoot­
ing spree in w hich five cars were
dam aged by shotgun fire.
“ I think the turnout sends a clear
m essage that we are not going to
tolerate this any m ore,” said N AACP
President Robert Larry. “This coun­
try w as built on racism . We need to
be real about w h at’s going on and
put and end to it.”
The m arch w as attended by repre­
sentatives o f several churches, so ­
cial ju stice organizations and m em ­
bers o f the com m unities affected by
the shooting spree, for w hich three
men and one teenager face m ultiple
c o u n ts , in c lu d in g in tim id a tio n
charges.
A ro u n d n o o n , th e b o iste ro u s
group set o ff down M artin Luther
King Jr. B oulevard led by an im ­
prom ptu percussion ensem ble and
follow ers w ho chanted, “ Enough is
enough," and “No hate in this tow n.”
C heerleaders with pom -pom s en ­
couraged the group to sing along as
m archers m ade their w ay w est on
A lberta, north on M allory, w est on
Em erson and south on C leveland to
A lberta, tracing som e o f the route
the shooters follow ed.
Fam ilies brought along young
children and pets and tried to garner
honks from passing cars w ith their
heart-shaped signs that read ’Stop
H ate.’
Rosalyn Scaife said she cam e out
to the rally as a peaceful form o f
continued
on page A 10
A ctivist to speak at V ancouver C am pus
Black History event
^ tu re s NAACP
der and renowned
torian
e Vancouver campus o f Washington
University will bring Seattle NAACP
r and noted historian, author and
er Carl Mack to campus Feb. 18 for a
e that will focus on several elements of
history.
ie 7 p m. event is scheduled for the
:nt Services building lecture hall and is
ind open to the public.
M ack’s lecture will center
on aspects o f black history
that are often overlooked,
such as the role o f African
Americans in the American
Revolution.
“For African Americans to
feel a sense o f belonging in
America, we need to know
about the significant contri­
butions we have made to the
culture and development o f
^1
the United States,” he said.
Carl Mack
As an adolescent, Mack
learned little about African American cul­
ture. As an adult, he learned about his “rich,
deep and beautiful heritage"
and became motivated to edu­
cate others. He created “Black
Heritage Day,” a daily black
history calendar that he hopes
will educate all o f America
about “these contributions
and present us in a new light
to others, but more impor­
tantly, to ourselves."
Mack w orks as an en g i­
neer with M etro T ransit in
King C ounty and coordi­
nates the co u n ty ’s M inor­
ity Engineering Internship Program His
work in the com m unity includes educat-
ing children, prison inm ates and co rp o ­
rate organizations about black history.
Mack also has received n um erous aw ards
for his com m unity involvem ent and hu­
m anitarian efforts.
M ack's dynam ic speaking style has
gained him national media recognition, and
his lectures are said to engage audiences o f
every age, gender, race and ethnicity.
Sponsors for the event include WSU
Vancouver Student Services. Associated
Students o f WSU V ancouver and the WSU
Vancouver Diversity Task Force. WSU
Vancouver is located at 14204 N.E. Salmon
Creek A ve,east ofI-5andl-205,oflFthc 134th
St. exit.
i