^ e A4____________ B lack H istory M onth ____________________F e ^ ^ o » . O pinion The p ortland O bserver Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f The Portland Observer £ DI r u » •/ N -C H i l f . P l1 I L I S H [ I Charles H. W ashington C » u r I f e D i k e c r o a P aul N eufeldt __________USPS 959-680_________ t. D U D ! M ichael Leighton Established 1970 4 7 4 7 NE M a rtin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., I) I S r I I t I T I Ü \ Portland. OR 9 7 2 1 1 O rn c i M a n a Kathy L inder St A N 4 i i £ K M ark Washington g e n H r. r o K T E K J a y m ee R. Cuti PosTMASTttt: Send address changes to Portland Observer PO Box 3137 , Portland, OR 97208 P erio d ical Postage paid In P o rtlan d , OR > S ubscriptions are $ 6 0 .0 0 per year 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 3 3 • FAX50 3-2 8 8 -0 0 1 5 • EMAIL: news@Dortlandobserver.com ads&portlandobserver. com The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLEOK IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland Observer--Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication—is a member of the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Repre sentative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York. NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver. Fallen Soldiers Due Respect IHE Wooden crate on conveyer is infuriating Two Great GroupsSOne Great Night! SPIRIT MOUNTAIN CASINO at 7pm * ? .if'ii- $25 & $35 tickets available in * person at • Spirit Mountain Casino and all TicketsWest Centers. Order by phone at 800-992-8499. JRSK l S P I M I M O U N T A IN C A ÏÏN 0 E d ito r's note: The fo llo w in g is open letter to the O regon C on gressional D elegation fro m Sen. A vel G ordly who represents n o rth east a n d southeast P ortland in the State Legislature: I am w riting to express my o ut rage regarding the disrespectful treatment our soldiers and their fami lies are receiving in connection with the w ars in A fghanistan and Iraq, especially those who have made and will ‘ urely m ake the ultim ate sacrifice. We are not doing enough either to support or to honor them. In a letter entitled “The W ooden C rate on the A irport C o n v ey er Belt,” w hich was printed in The O regonian’s com m entary page on Feb. 12, the w riter described how she happened to view a w ooden crate containing the rem ains o f a fallen soldier being unloaded w ith out cerem ony at the Salt Lake City airport. State Sen. Avel Gordly She w rote: “I ’ m o verwhe I med by the certainty that this person’s life m attered and that our encounter at this final stage is im p o rtan t.. Did PFC O w ens have a spouse? C hil dren? A surviving mother? The pain she m ust be feeling sears me. The m other in me is connected to this woman I will never meet. ..AHI know about PFC O w ens I can see on the tarm ac. W ithout any more know l edge than the fact that another A m erican in uniform had died, I grieve because PFC O w ens made the last trip hom e in a box.” C olleagues, we send these sol diers into danger w ithout proper equipm ent, training and planning. W e abruptly sever N ational Guard fam ilies from their breadwinners, leaving many to subsist on food stam ps and w ithout health care, and send them on m issions they never im agined they w ould have to endure. They are not, after all, the sons and daughters o f the w ealthy and powerful. I know that I am tell ing you w hat you already know, heard from constituents, and I am aw are o f your concern as well. A small fraction o f the popula tion bears 100 percent o f the bur den, the danger, the loss and the pain, and they do so anonym ously. W ould they only get the respect they deserve— even the attention a good ju m p shot or a punt return or this w eek ’s celebrity gets— this nation would m ove closer to shar ing more fairly in these hardships. PFC O w ens and 534 o f his broth ers and sisters have com e hom e in boxes so far. Is this how all o f these soldiers have com e hom e? W ith out the full respect and cerem ony that is due? We can do better than this. My heart aches for these soldiers and their families. Please continue to do everything in your pow er to end this war. A v e l G ordly, O regon S ta te S en a to r Motown Host Doesn’t Feel Right HIGHWAY 18 • Grand Ronde, Oregon • WWW.SPIRITMOUNTAIN.COM Must be 21. Spirit Mountain Gaming reserves the right to alter or cancel this promotion at any time. / **A II classes are free of charge! A frican A m e ric a n H e a lth C o a litio n , Inc. \ Presents for your health, Wellness Within REACH Activity Calendar Aerobics Mallory Ave. Christian Church Mon, Wed, Fn. 6-7am, Pierce • 5:30-6:20pm, Granville • 6:30-7:30pm, Nickerson Humboldt Elementary Tue, Thu, 6-7pm, Keller Low Impact Aerobics Daniel’s Memorial Church Tue, 7:15-8:15pm, Granville W a te r Aerobics (Contact AAHC) Salvation Army M att Dishman Airican_Dance M att Dishman Sat, 10-1 lam, Addo Salsa Salvation Arm y Mon, 6:30-7:30pm, Henry Stretching/Body Sculpting M att Dishman Tue, Thu, 7-8am, Lois Tai Chi Salvation Arm y Wed, 6:3O-7:3Opm, Lyles Walking Group Peninsula Park Sat, 12:30pm, Woods W eight Mgnt./Conditioning U. of Portland Indoor Track Tue, Thu, 9 -1 Oam, Hasan Body Conditioning W ild Oats Market Sat, 9:30-10:30am, Nickerson Yoga W ild Oats Market Tue, Thu, 7:30-8:30pm, O'Rourke P ila te s M att Dishman Mon, 12:15-1:15pm, Jenkins Daniel's Memorial Church. 1234 NE Killingsworth Matt Dishman. 77 NE Knott (12th S Killingsworth) Peninsula Park, 700 N Portland Humboldt Elementary. 4915 N Gantenbem Salvation Army. S32S N Williams Malory Avenue Christian Church (Gym). 126 NE II. of Portland Indoor Track. 500 N Willamette Alberta Wild Oats Market. 3535 NE 15th **Must be 21 or older to participate. Please contact AAHC before showing up to the first class and for more information at 503-413-1850 or kdempsey@aahc-portland.org. Please receive approval from your doctor before beginning exercise class. R a c ia l an d E th n ic A p p ro a c h « « to C o m m u n ity H e a lth A Program of the African American Health Coalition Inc Sponsored by the Center« for Disease Control and Prevention (COC) Contact AAHC at S O M 13 - 1 ISO or visit our web site at w w w jahc-portlami.org Timberlake homogenizes African- American contributions by T anya K ersey News that Justin Timberlake will co-host the ABC-TV special “Motown 45” hit many in the black community like a ton of bricks and out raged black civic and civil rights leaders. The “Breastgate” co-conspirator is scheduled to co host, with singer Lionel Richie, the ABC cel ebration of the legendary Motown label which will be taped live at the Shrine Auditorium on April 4. But it just doesn’t sound right, or feel right. There are two obvious problems here. First, pan dering to the rat ings game in the pursuit of a cross o v er aud ien ce, ABC is compro mising the legacy of this cultural and musical institution. With his neatly constructed image as ‘the New King of Pop.’ Timberlake’s participation is an obvious attempt to dilute the show and make it attractive for mass consump tion. It also reflects a dangerous trend towards homogenizing the historical contributions of Af rican Americans and marginalizing Black cul ture. Motown has become the symbol of R&B and soul music around the world. Once the most comm ercially successful and culturally influential black-owned record company, the Motown machinery produced a slew of popu lar acts including Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Tem ptations, the Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and the M iracles, the Jackson Five, M arvin Gaye and Stevie W onder. W hile Timberlake has always credited black music as the source for his own musical style, cer tainly ABC can find a singer who more closely represents the very people the Motown legacy was built on. Then there’s “Breastgate,” the provoca tive bum p-and-grind Super Bowl halftime performance between Timberlake and Janet J a c k so n w h ich tu rn e d R -rate d w hen Tim berlake reached across Jackson’s black leather bustier, ripped it off, and flashed her bare breast to 100 million TV viewers. Janet apologized twice and took full responsibility for the “wardrobe m alfunction.” Timberlake punked out and played the victim, taking no responsibility for the “reveal” gone bad. Before the Super Bowl scandal Timberlake had gotten a “Black folks pass." Black America embraced him and his music and he sang R&B-sty le music and dressed in hip-hop gear. He walked the walk and talked the talk. But then he sold out Janet to save his own skin, showing his true col ors in the process. It’s a classic case of prof iting from black cul ture, but jumping ship -Tanya Kersey when things get hot. In other words, he’s okay with being identified as an ‘honorary brotha,' as long as it doesn’t cost him anything. And now Timberlake plans to co-host the “Motown 45” television special? I think not! As African Americans we should not support this obviously contrived attempt to boost rat ings and attract a wide White audience. It is thoughtless and an insult. If we allow it to happen, we will be just as guilty as them for pimping black culture to appeal to the main stream. ABC is sending a racially-tinged m es sage o f corporate insensitivity and cultural indifference. They should do the right thing and hire a co-host that respectfully sym bol izes the rich legacy o f the Motown label. Is Usher available? Tanya Kersey is an entertainment jo u r nalist, editor-in-chief o f Black Talent News and contributing editor and columnist fo r several other media outlets. Ifs a classic case o f profiting from black culture, but jumping ship when things get hot. Alliance Endorses Posey, Adams T h e A fric a n A m e ric a n A lli a n c e h a s a n n o u n c e d its e n d o rse m e n t o f Ja m e s P o se y fo r P o rtla n d m a y o r an d S am A d am s fo r th e c ity c o u n c il. T he allia n ce is a local g ro u p o f A frican A m erican s that has been m eeting reg u larly for a lm o st tw o y ears to d ev e lo p and w ork to im p lem en t strateg ie s d esig n ed to im p ro v e the sta tu s o f A frican A m erican s in P o rtlan d . P o se y is a n o rth e a s t P o rt la n d r e s i d e n t a n d b u s in e s s o w n er. He h as e m p h a siz e d c o m m u n ity e m p o w e rm e n t, e d u c a tio n and e c o n o m ic d e v e lo p m e n t as p rim a ry iss u e s in h is c a m p aig n . A d am s is th e fo rm e r C h ie f o f S ta f f fo r M a y o r V era K atz. H is c a m p a ig n issu e s h av e e m p h a siz e d q u a lity e d u c a tio n , liv a b le w ag e s an d p u b lic sa fe ty . 6