Portland observer., February 25, 1971, Image 3

Civil Rights
By W ILLIAM R. DEIZ
Portland lias made some nota­
ble gains in the area oi c iv il
rights in the past few years ,
p a rrlc u la rly in the areas of
h o u s in g and job opportunities.
But Portlanders seern to forget
that fo r the gains to maintain a
degree of permanence, for them
to MEAN anything, constant at­
tention must be paid to the
cancerous problem of racism .
T h e re
can be no period of
"benign neglect" as had been
suggested by P atrick Moynihan
but rather there must be anew
commitment on the part
of
white Am erica, p a rticu la rly on
the part of those in authoi ity ,
to stamp out racism ’ s ugly —
head.
For
the past fe w years
young blacks have been tes -
ponding to the challenge "Stay
in school, get an educaticgV in
ever-increasing
numbers. But
many of them, after years
of
training leading either to col­
lege degrees or specialized.,
s k ills , are finding the door of
real opportunity in the business
sector s till marked " f o r white
o n ly ." Talented blacks, a f t e r
being given an opportunity to
develop th e ir talents, are find-
ln g the same jealousy and—
resentment on the part of white
employers and co-w orkers that
plagued th e ir parents.
In the job sector, blacks are
faced with a stubborn and b u ilt-
in b u s — that they are by nature
" I n fe r io r " in intelligence t o
whites. Thus when blacks argue
certain points with thelrem ploy-
ers, when they question certain
policies, they are looked upon
as either being "tro u b le m a ke rs"
o r as "having a bad a ttitu d e ".
When opportunities fo r advance
ment
are continually denied
talented blacks, and they become
discouraged (as is only human
nature) they are said to "n o t
care about their jo b s " when
in actuality they may care deeply
about their jobs and their own
place within the company hier­
archy.
Whites must begin facing up
to the fact that they have no mo­
nopoly on brains and a bilities.
And blacks must be educated to
the re a litie s of living in a
white
w o r ld in which most
m a jo r ity
members f e e l
superior to m inority members
in
EVERY
category - with
the possible exception of sport
(And in the long and glorious
history of this country it is im -
portant to remember that only
since the 40’ s have black ath­
letes been allowed to prove...
t h e m s e lv e s against white com
petitors) .
Portland is a sleepy town
and it is a pleasant one. It has
been spared the bitterness and
the demands that have confront­
ed other American citie s in the
past decade. Portland has pride
Itse lf on being an enlightened.
albeit out - of - the - way place
to live . But Portland is going
to have to start waking up to
the real world---- a world in
which not everyone is livin g
com fortably in middle - class
neighborhoods while th e irc h ild -
ren attend comparatively well
equipped schools and play in
large parks away from busy
tra ffic . A world in which black
are looked at fir s t and fore -
most as blacks and whatever
else
they
may
— a author
c ia c m
c/ m
a ; be
ne —
um u* ,
Phone rate
hike
proposed
Pacific Northwest Bell filed
(February 17) with the (j.egon
Public U tility Commissioner at
Salem a request to Increase tele­
phone rates in Oregon.
The request, accor ¡ing toPNB
Vice Piesident and General
Manager Oonald L . Gundersen,
would provide some $20.6 m ill­
ion in additional annual revenue.
O n ly about one half of this
amount would be retained Ity the
le cturer, teacher salesman,... company after taxes.
'mechanic is secondary. T h e
It is expected that the PUC
tragedy is not that blacks know w ill suspend the rate increase
all this— they are made pain -
and conduct extensive heaiings.
fu lly aware of the real world
Gundersen pointed to inc.eas­
ed operational cost— wages and
every waking day; but that most
m aterials — and the increased
whites refuse to admit to them
cost of capital money as factor
selves that this world which
is so real fo r blacks is also a which have brought about a con­
part of th e ir world.
tinuing downward earnings trend
as the reasons fo r the company’ s
Equal employment opportuni­
decision to seek increased lates.
ty is not just a slogan, not
Underlining the seriousness of
something to Joke about at a
the company’ s financial position,
cocktail pary or bring up at
Gundersen said, "w e are asking
school board meetings, equal
the C o m m is s io n e r for per­
opportunity is a necessity if
m
is s io n to put into effect
this c ity and this country are
immediately about $5 m illio n of
to survive.
the total inciease. W eneedthi3
It is fortunate to whlteb anti
amount to meet the immediate
blacks alike that most blacks
situation."
are religious people who try
Gundersen said that details
to respond to outrage and in­
of the proposed rates and PNB’ s
dignity with compassion and
fu ll filin g in support of the re­
understanding rather than hate.
quest are available for review
With God’ s help black people
in Am erica have come as far
at
th e company's business
as they have against what seem
offices throughout the state for
like overwhelming odds to many •persons wishing to learn more
whites.
about them.
But more and more, blacks,
" D u r i n g the past y e a r , "
p a rticu la rly younger ones, are
Gundersen said, "o u r earnings
turning away from the religion
have not kept pace with inflation
of th e ir parents and substitut­
despite all-out internal efforts
ing Instead a doctrine in which
to control cost.
violence and revolution are ac­
"It
is because of this con-
ceptable alternatives to com­
t in u i n g
drop in e a rn in g s ,"
passion and love fo r ones en­
Gundersen added, "th a t we are
emies.
seeking the partial re lie f that
would raise our current rate of
This is all too bad but it is
return to the level determined
a reality that must be faces.
by the PUC in its order in 1969.
Stealing from another is con­
He said that it w ill become
sidered a crim e . Yet stealing
incieasingly d iffic u lt fo rP N B
from black people has been.,
to keep its commitment to pro­
condoned by society.Mannering
vide quality service in the face
clothing styles, employment...
of these lower earnings aid
ideas
are "b o rro w e d " from
the inflated costs of doing bus­
blacks with no thought at all
iness.
that this "b o rro w in g " might
The partial rate re lie f that
make blacks angry. Blacks...
PNB is requesting would pro­
are constantly
patted on the
vide in c r e a s e s in service
head, told "they are doing a
connection, and move and change
good jo b " when what whites.,
charges, and bring intrastate -
really mean is that the black in
long distance rates generally...
question has finally allowed...
him self to be put on a shelf,
in conform ity to th e current
out of the mainstream of real
level of interstate long distance
charges.
authority and real power and—
thus powerless to direct his...
own destiny.
Those who refuse to go along
with this systematic dehumaniza­
tion, degradation and yes cas­
Cash and Maxey's
tration are "done away w ith " —
Barber Shop
not by the lynching of grand­
father’ s day, but by the lynch­
4 6 0 3 N . W illia m s A van u e
ing of the 1970’ s - dismissal
from the Job...or transfer
Phone 2 8 4 - 5 1 8 8
to
another department,
When blacks cry out fo r
their manhood it is not by any
means the cry of an adolescent
It is the cry of someone who
HAS
his manhood, and isn’ t
about to let society take
it
away from him without a fight,
We are all human beings and
the one thing besides food and
love that all human beings re -
AND WE OFFER YOU
q ulre
u ire is d dignity.
ig n ity .
TOWNSEHD
GULF SERVICE
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PORTLAND/OBSERVER Thursday, Feb. 25, 1971
sun shinning as bright as a 3unny southern C a lif-
forn ia. Pictured here is a Unthank park.
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