PORTLAND/OBSERVER Thursday M ar. 11, 1971
Blacks in white Vancouver
About 100 sleepy Vancouverit
es were startled awake Thurs
day night February 25, by t h e
revelation that not all is cozy
and bright regarding the plight
of minority groups in that Wash
ington city. A panel of young
and articulate blacks, represent
ing the thought of college and
h ig h school students and the
working sector, conducted a dis
cussion of the woes of "being ..
black in white Vancouver."
The whole idea was dreamed
up by M rs. Jean Lacey w ho
directs the Vancouver chapter ..
of the YWCA. (Is it well to note
here that the national YWCA has
established as its first priority .
th e elimination of racism in
America.) With a m issionary—
zeal, M rs. Lacey had bought the
group together the evening before
to outline the various areas to be
c o v e r e d in the nextevening’s
presentation. This w riter was
asked to serve as m oderator-
for the discussion, and my role
w a s to be a relatively neutral
one - I use the term "relativ ely "
because, being black myself, it
is impossible for me not to id-
is impossible f o r me not to
identify with these young people.
Nyway M rs. Lacey told th e
group not to pull any punches, to
"te ll it like it is ," a l t h o u g h ..
some group members expressed
doubts that the talk approach —
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W IT H T H IS C O U P O N .
curtailed for fear of upsetting
the applecart, the cart is already
leaning precariously from the.,
steep incline it is sitting on at
the tim e- with you in it.
The young people didn’t con
demn their p a r e n t s for the
parents’ fear, theyjustcomplain
ed that too many black adults
in Vancouver seem contentwith
a situation that, to the young, —
smacks of little more than in -
voluntary servitude.
A n d the panel discussion.,
sparked a counter-discussion—
from the audience. Gradually
blacks in the " e v e r-th lritie s" —
bracket began standing up to ex
plain their feelings about racism
in Vancouver. Some defended
the "p ro g re ss" the city h a s
made in dealing with the "black
problem ," while others were
quick to point out that there is
no "black problem" in Vancouver
t h a t it is a "white problem”
that must be faced up to by.,
whites or no real solution will
be forthcoming.
As one black teacher pointed
out: "When my little students
come to me 1 give them love
and understanding no m atter...
what their color. They com e
to me for security and comfort
and 1 give what I can unsparing
ly. My children like me as
a person and 1 like them as
the individuals they are. It is
too bad their parents can’t re
spond the same way."
It is ironic that the feeling
t h a t surfaced in P o r t l a n d
several years back, the feelings
of helplessness and rage at the
indignities of being considered.,
"in fe rio r” by those whom you
know yourself to be superior or
equal to, should now surface in
the placid community which is
Vancouver. After all, hadn’t...
Vancouver been forewarded—
years ago, by the experiences
acro ss the rest of America?
Apparently Vancouverites feel
"they have a good thing going"
and that all is pleasant in the
town. They, as did those who
turned out for the panel dis
cussion, may be in for a rude
awakening.
It is time for whites in— -
Vancouver, as well as the rest
of the country, to realize that
blacks are not only justified In
what they are saying when they
talk about the rights to “ life,
liberty and pursuit of happiness”
on an equal plane with whites,
b u t that they are SERIO US
about what they are sayingAfter
all, the Constitution of the U.S.
and the Declaration of Independ
ence are more than just words.
They are documents with a.,
special meaning for the oppress
ed — especially for the oppress
ed here in America.
M allo ry Avenue Christian Church
126 N.E. Alberta
Rev. Dale A. Stitt, Pastor
Church School
9:45 A M .
Morning Worship 1 1:00 A M
HUGHES MEMORIAL CHURCH
United M ethodist
Rhone 2 8 8 -4 3 7 3
Çor. N.E Rodney & Failing
O fd m a rr
tngaa»d
In i.b u o r d in a r, Wo«*
EVERYONE WELCOME
Richard J. Farker, Minister
St. M ark
Baptist Church
All Nation
Community Church
103 N.E. Morri« St.
N.E. Stanton A Rodney
Rev. E.C. Wilder, Pastor
9 :3 0 A M
Sunday School
Morning Worship
I 1:00 A M.
The friendly Church,
where worship is Glorified
Rev. Edgar L. Jackson, Pastor
Sunday School
Morning Worship
Evening Worship
Prcrytr & Bible Study
(Tues.)
Victory for
Oregon
Oregonians have been assured
a north-south rail passenger
Transporation Secretary John
A. Volpe.
"T his is a tremendously im
portant victory for Oregonians
and the entire West C oast,"
Senator Packwood said after a
special briefing for Congressmen
on the National Rail passenger
Corporation (Railpax) plan Jan.
28.
“ There will be a direct route
stretching from Seattle through
Portland and other major cities
to San Diego. And, in addition,
Portland will serve as an inter
mediate point in the east-w est
track from Chicago to Seattle,"
he said.
This means that an Oregonian
wishing to travel from Portland
goir g to Seattle, though he may
ha .3 to switch trains at Spokane
before going directly toChicago.
However, If Portland had not
been in the system, you might
have been lucky if a passenger
train was still running in Oregon.
Jessie H e n s o n
A new member of Colonial's staff
— to serve you.
^ / J r A lL
WZ ^ZioPrlu/e/T’, « Jn .
Northeast Sandy Boulevard at 14th
Telephone: 232-4 111
9 :4 5 A
1 1:0 0 A.
7 :3 0 P
ï î î
By WILLIAM R. DEIZ
would do any good. "We are
just too tired of being pushed a-
round to take it any m ore," one
of the panelists said.
Their gripes? Nothing new we
"sophisticates" in Portland. In
tolerable housing conditions in
which prospective renters are
subjected to indignities includ -
ing outright refusal on the part
of landlords to rent to them "be
cause they are black." The —
lack of "relev an t" (an o v e r
worked but none-the-less m ean
ingful term) education for balck
at Clark College in Vancouver.
(In an apparent effort to acqi -
esce to some of the bl a c k
students’ demands, Clark Coll -
ege h a s begun to o f f e r a
course with the ludicrous title..
"The Contribution of the Negro
to J a z z " which, of course, is
akin to offering a course titl
ed "The Contribution of E in
stein to the Theory of Relati
vity." He discovered itl Just
as the American Negro discover
ed jazz, refined it and watch -
ed white im itators, backed by
the might power of the establish
ed order, attempt to snatch it
away from them) .
They spoke of the inability of
white parents to think of s m a ll-
children as children if they have
black skin, transmitting their
narrow view of blacks to their
own children. As one panelist
and mother put it " I ’m tired of
seeing my children hurt because
other children won’t play with...
them because they are black. My
children don’t have any hangups
about playing with other children
no m atter what their color, why
should other children have hang
ups about my kids?"
To a man and woman the fiv e
panelists also complained bitter
ly about their parents’ failure to
recognize that their so-called —
"positions" within the w h i t e
community are actually nothing ,
since the whites, with impunity ,
can in various ways "com e down
on their parents any time they
want to ." This makes for a sit
uation in which freedom of e x-
pression by black adults i s
7 :3 0 P M .