Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2007)
February 21. 2007 Page A4 Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f The Portland Observer O pinion The Power of Louis Farrakhan at the N atio n 's annual co n vention in Detroit. S e v e ra l m o n th s ag o , faced w ith major health con cerns. M inister Farrakhan relinquished most o f h i s day- to-day duties as head o f the N at ion ' s Hiiard of I Jirectors. IO J l IH.K G k H , M \ I HIS Oil Sunday. Feb. 25. M in is te r L o u is Farrakhan. head o f the Nation o f Islam, will d e liver what is likely to be his last m ajor speech, "O ne Nation u n d ert iod". Out o f respect for the m inister's com m itm ent to social justice and em pow ering A frican-A m ericans, every one o f us w ho is able should travel to Detroit to be a part of Saviors' I )ay 2( >07 and hear witness to w hat is sure to be a historic, life- altering address. ~\ S' T O W n H A L L E v e ry b o d y 's ta lk in g a b o u t it .... Town Hall February 2 4 , 2 0 0 7 10 a.m . - 12 Noon ECC Cascade Campus, Terrell Hall Room 122 (705 M. Killingsworth St. Portland, OR 97217) For more information contact Rence Word at 503-906-1443 or or E-mail renee.ward'« State, or.tis Kep. T in a K o tc k D is tric t 4 4 H ep. C h ip S h ie ld s D is tr ic t 4 3 T O W H A L L Minister prepares for last major address S av io rs’ Day is usually held in C hicago, w here the N atio n 's head quarters is located, but it is fitting that the event beh eld in Detroit this year. T he Nation o f Islam was founded in D etroit in 1930 by W allace Fard M uham m ad with the goal o f uplifting the spiritual, so cial, and econom ic lives o f black men and women. A fter M uham m ad disappeared m ysteriously in 1934, the H onor able Elijah M uham m ad took over the reins o f the organization. Linder his leadership and that o f M alcolm X, the organization reached inter national prom inence. A fter Elijah M uham m ad'sdeathin I9 7 5 ,h isso n W arith Deen M uham m ad moved aw ay from the N atio n 's original purpose, opening the organization up to w hites and renam ing it the Am erican M uslim M ission. In 1979, Minister Farrakhan broke aw ay from the M ission, re-estab lishing the Nation o f Islam which restricts m em bership to blacks and calls for a separate econom ic and social structure for blacks. O ver the years, the Nation has had its fair share o f controversy, but the group has long been a trans form ational force in the blackcom - m unity. T he Nation has w orked to clean up drug addicts, kept young black men out o f the gang life and help new ly released prisoners make a fresh start. D uring the 1980s, when crack cocaine first hit the scene and vio lence in black com m unities esca lated, the United States D epartment F arrakhan's request, for the M il lion Man M arch, a day o f unity, protest and atonem ent. A fter the event, the num ber o f black male voters increased dram atically and black men all o ver the country be gan to becom e more active partici pants in their fam ilies and the larger society. Over the years, The Nation has had its fair share o f controversy, but the group has long been a transformational force in the black community. o f H ousing and Urban D evelop m ent co n tracted several private firm s run by m em bers o f the Nation to p ro v id e secu rity in hou sin g projects. T he N ation stepped up and did w hat the co u n try 's law enforcem ent w ould and could not do. A nd, as part o f w hat is sure to go dow n as one o f the N ation’s defining m om ents, m ore than one million black men gathered in W ash ington, D.C. in O ctober 1995, at B lack A m ericans ow e it to them selves to experience, in person, the pow er o f M i n i ster Loui s Farrak han. And we ow e it to the m inister’s com m itm ent and his legacy, to make this the m ost successful, im pactful S aviors' Day in history. Judge Greg Mathis is national vice president o f Rainbow PUSH and a national board member o f the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Be part of a Solution Help your Community Reduce Teen Pregnancy Are you an African American women with a daughter aged 10-14 years old? 1 lei p us evaluate a program designed to reduce the rates of adolescent pregnancy $75 for your time Fill out two surveys and try a new computer software program. You must have sole or joint custody of your daughter. F dt more information about this research studv call: 1-866-730-3211 ask fo r the Communications Skills Project This research is being conducted by the Oregon C enter for Applied Science, Inc. with funding from the National Institutes o f Health. T here are no sales or m arketing lists involved. Supporting Black-Owned Businesses by E k \ is M ii . ton Am erica is filled with com m uni ties o f ethnically and racially d i verse people groups. The people in these co m m unities, u n d erstan d ably, love and support one another spiritually, physically and finan cially. That support is apparent to me when I visit m ost o f these co m munities. I expect to see places o f w orship that reflect the ethnic m akeup o f these cultures. I even expect to hear rem nants o f the Ian- NEW SEA SO N S M A R K E T CMrraiùia our 7fk (ririMaijl" J o in u s th is w e e k e n d f o r c a k e a n d ic e c r e a m . E n te r to w in a $ 1 0 0 N e w S e a s o n s M a rk e t s h o p p in g s p r e e . S a tu r d a y & S u n d a y 1 1 :O O a m -5 ;O O p m I E A S Y & F U N TO S H O P • L O C A L L Y O W N E D & O P E R A T E D s h o p o n lin e : w w w .n e w s e a s o n s m a r k e t.c o m • y o u c lic k , w e d e liv e r, (o r p u ll u p fo r p ic k u p ) A R B O R L O D G E : N In te r s ta te A v e & P o r tla n d B lv d P o r tla n d O R 9 7 2 1 7 5 0 3 4 6 7 4 7 7 7 \ C O N C O R D IA : N E 3 3 r d & K illin g s w o r th P o r tla n d O R 9 7 2 1 1 5 0 3 .2 8 8 .3 8 3 8 ..a n d five o th e r P o rtla n d a re a lo c a tio n s V isit u s o n lin e at w w w . n e w s e a s o n s m a r k e t . c o m . guage o f the dom inant ethnic group. M ost im portantly, how ever, I ex pect to see independent businesses that are heavily supported by the com m unities they serve. E conom ic developm ent is vital for the wel I -being o f every co m m u nity. Ifa e o m m u n ity 'sre sid e n tsd o not support its businesses, then w ho can be expected to support them ? W ho will supply the food, clothing and m aterials needed for the cultural experiences that are unique to a particular ethnic group or culture? If a co m m u n ity 's businesses are not supported, then how can the com m unity survive and thrive and make a positive impact on the greater society? It should be expected that the com m unity will supply its own needs and purchase from its own people w henever possible. That is the only w ay a com m unity can re main viable. Yet, when I visit black com m uni ties, I see very few black ow ned businesses. M any o f the black businesses I do see are obviously not fully supported by their own people. Before the beginning of integration, black businesses did very well in theirow n com m unities. Black businesses served the needs o f people w ho w ere unable, for the most part, to assim ilate, and were not w elcom ed into the greater soci ety. Purchasing options for blacks were lim ited, so black businesses provided alm ost everything black citizens needed for their upkeep. Black people supported one an other, not only in businesses, but in the w hole o f com m unity life. W hen one rose, the w hole co m m u nity felt the positive movem ent. Likewise, w hen one fell, the co m m unity supported that person and helped him or her becom e more stable. Now, after m ore than 30 years o f integrated life, the buying pow er o f b lack s has risen trem en d o u sly . A ccording to the new est edition o f a T he B uying P ow er o f Black A m erica, black households spend more collectively than Hispanics or other m inorities in virtually every consum er product and service cat egory. Economic wealth flows from oureom m unities, yet there are fewer black ow ned businesses in black com m unities than ever before. How can that he? Internal racism has taught blacks that supporting their own is against the Am erican way. Blacks have been taught to tear dow n one other rather than build each other up. Jealously, envy and strife flourish within the black com m unity. H ow ever, if we look around at other racial and eth nic groups that prosper, we can see that they support their own w hen ever possible. Blacks offer more support to the businesses o f other racial and ethnic groups in the black com m unity than to their own. la m not saying that other m inorities or anyone that chooses to put busi nesses in the black com m unity should not have the right to do so. I am saying that black people should he creating jobs, putting econom ic developm ent and w ealth back into their own com m unities with the money that they cam , control and spend. As we move inloa ti me o f remem bering the history o f blacks in America, let us recom m it ourselves to changing the course o f history for the future by pursuing greater econom ic w ealth and developm ent fo rth c black com m unity. By doing so. we will m ake life better for all. Ervin Milton is the team leader and director o f Franklinton Cen ter at Bricks in eastern North Carolina.