Portland. Observer Thursday, Sept. 30, 1971
The N o rth w est'» Best W eekly
A Black O w n e d Publication
Published every Thursday byi \ie Publishing Company, .201 N.
KUlingaworth Portlsnd, Oregon 97217.
Suliarrtption rate* 4(J. ent- iw r m o n th by carnir 4 4.00 pci year
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where.
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A I . K H K I ) I KK HENDERSON, Publisher and Editor
the Editor’s Desk
W hat type of "V o te”
For Oregon
What happened at AtticaState Prison was
not a senseless riot. It was a vote.
Voting is no longer confined to casting a
ballot every two years. That type of voting
is no longer relevant to minorities, to the
young, to the dispossessed, and to those
against racism and the war. These groups
have found that their issues and their prob
lems are not given serious consideration
by most politicians.
When the electoral process does not deal
with the real problems, voting takes other
forms. Voting becomes a picket line, a de
monstration, a visitorlettertothecapital.
Voting becomes a more frequent activity
than marking a ballot every two years.
Voting becomes the organized expression
of opinion by persons who believe they have
the duty to exercise control over the insti
tutions that yield oppressive power. And
when a large number of people must use
this type of voting to be heard, it becomes a
revolution.
The prisoners at Attica were not heard
when they earlier asked for prison reform.
Thev were not heard during the ' riot'
when they presented demands that would be
acceptable to most advocates of rehabilita
tion. Instead they were called ” animals"
hv their keepers.
The root of the problem was that the
prisoners, particularly the black prison
e rs , were not considered to be, nor treat
ed as, human beings. In the words of one
prisoner, ’’ We no longer wish to be treated
as numbers, we want to be treated like
human beings. We will be treated like hu
man beings."
The attitude of the state that the prison
ers are less than human, is indicated by
the fact that neither the Governor nor any
public official extended a word of sympathy
to the families of slain prisoners. Fam
ilies were not able to find out if their men
were dead or alive. Even in death they
were treated as less than human. The
dead hostages were sent to the morgue
labled P-1, P-2, etc. Racial epitaphswere
heard from prison officials and guards.
Tom Wicker of the New York Times, a
member of the negotiating team, was ap
palled by the fire power at the prison and
in the city and by the racial overtones in
the gaurds' obvious desire to attack, even
at the risk of killing the hostages.
With no other avenues of hope open to
them, prisoners will continue to use this
form of " voting" to make the injustices
heaped upon them known to the public.
Black prisoners, especially, are develop
ing new attitudes toward themselves and
their situation, and the concept that black
prisoners are political prisoners has won
adherents in and out of the jails. Prof.
Robert Chrisman of S.F. State College
states, "O ur black prisoners are political
prisoners tor their condition derives from
the political inequities of black people in
America. A black prisoner's crime may
or may not have been a political action
against the state, but the state 's action
against him is always political. . . Most
offenses by black people have their roots
in the political and economic deprivation
of Black Americans by the Anglo-American
state, and these are the primary causes
and conditions of black crime." Malcolm
X said all of the America is a prison and
jails are just prison within a prison. He
said no black man can get or expect jus
tice in a " white man's system."
The attitude toward and treatment of
black, I uerto Rican, Indian, and Chicano
inmates in the prisons across the nation
by their guards reflects the attitudes of
the white majority toward its captive
minority - still held in political bondage.
What type of " vote" do we want for
Oregon? Oregon offers less political op
portunity to blacks than any state in the
deep south. Yet, only the incorporation of
black people into government through their
appointment and their election to govern
ment bodies where laws are made and
enforced will this cease to be a " white
man's system." Only by making the sys
tem of justice the legislative process,law
enforcement, and the courts responsive to
all the people can government continue to
exist. The white majority which is nowin
conflict of the system s of justice will de
cide which type of "voting" will prevail
in Oregon.
ML&T IVtVK TOGETHER FUR FULL
ANU EQUAL EMPLOYMENT.
The Observer's
Periscope
Managing Nixon
President Nixon, to no
one's surprise, has decided
that Attorney General John
M itch e ll, who managed his
campaign in 19b(j, w ill master
mind his re-election attempt.
What hasn’ t been decided yet
is where his campaign head
quarters should he located.
Californians are sure It won't
be his home state («cause
Nixon s till remembers that it
was his home state that denied
him the Governorship.
John and Martha M itchell
are urging him to set it up
in New York C ity. M itchell
w ill resign his post a sju stlce
when he assumes his campaign
chores next year—and he’ s
not expected to return to the
government afterwards. It's
no secret that the M itchells
would p refer their estate in
Rye, New York to the Wash
ington w h irl.
Albina Ministerial
Association
A. M . A ,
w ill
become
the
operating agency fo r
F am ily Day and Night Care.
M rs. G loria Fisher Is th e
D ire c to r. C all 288-5091 fo r
more information.
Understanding
through
Communication
Most of our readers have
noticed the black and white
hand on our mast head. It is a
symbol
of friendship and
understanding.
Understanding is more than
a word. Understanding is a
feeling of fellowship between
one man and another— between
one group and another. I nder-
standing w ill bring about
brotherhood and unity.
Understanding is achieved
through communication, not
c o n q u e s t. Communication
with our fellowman and his
world is the firs t step toward
u n lei standing.
Through communication we
can reach the goal of under
standing — once farther than
the distant planets, but now a
necessity for survival. Each
of us must do his part to con
summate a universal under
standing among all men. So
let us together seek to under
stand one another and makeour
stand one another and make
our world a better place for
all people.
California court
decision far reaching
Washington — You might as
sume t h a t a lm o s t every
American would subscribe to
the principle that public school
systems ought to spend the
same amount on a child of poor
parents as on a child of wealthy
parents.
Not so, if we can Judge from
the passionate arguments pro
voked by the C a 11 f o r n l a
Supreme C ourt’ s ruling that
the state's system of financing
public schools is unconstitu
tional.
Because wealthy d is tric ts are
able to spend more than $1200
a year per pupil while poor
d istricts may afford only $200,
the court has told the state to
devise a system that equalizes
expenditures so as to give each
child the "equal protection"
required by the 14th Amend
ment.
One of my conservative col
leagues denounced the de
cision as an attempt to "w ipe
out all class d is tin c tio n s ."
"What’ s tie point in working
hard to get rich if you can’ t
give your children better op
portunities than people who
don’ t work hard to get rich?”
he asks.
That is a s illy exaggeration
of what the co u rt said.
W hat the court said is that,
when it comes to raising
money fo r public schools, the
Constitution requires a sys
tem that gives a child with poor
parents and neighbors the
same physical fa c ilitie s and
qualified teachers as are given
to children of the wealthy. The
court does not say that a
wealthy parent cannot send his
child to a private school, for
study abroad, or give him a
thousand other benefits not
available to the poor.
EDITOR S CORNER
curbing c rim e is not the e le c
tric chair but ra th e r the high
c hair.
Some people would find It
ea s ie r to keep the faith If they
would only give It away.
Not only should we see God’ s
hand In everything, but we should
leave everything In God’ s hand.
Obviously, even w ith expendi
tures equalized, the children
of the affluent w ill s till have
vase advantages. But the court
has given official recognition
to the fact that if the public
schools do not make a zealous
e ffo rt to offer equality of
opportunity, there w ill be
little hope of the poor breaking
out ot the cycle of poverty and
poor education.
Gne parent, a M arylander who
describes him self as m iddle-
class, w orries that the Cal
ifornia ruling would nave the
effect of dragging the level of
schooling in wealthy d is tric ts
down to that of the poorer dis
tric ts .
••What right do t ’ ey have to
tell me that 1 can’ t spend more
to educate my children than
they are spending in some poor
d is tric t? " he asks.
The thrust of the C alifornia
decision isnottodragdow nthe
level of education In rich e r
areas, but to raise it in poor
d is tric ts - admittedly
with
rich e r areas helping to pay the
costs.
Presumably, a standard of
quality education would be es
tablished fo r a ll d is tric ts and
funds would be raised on a
statewide basis to b e n e f it
pupils equally.
A colleague points out that
once expenditures are equa
lized on a statewide basis
someone w ill point out that
children in M ississippi have a
lo t less spent on them than the
children of Michigan.
D onotthe"equal protection”
provision of the Constitution
requIre e q u a li z a t i o n on a
national basis? someone w ill
ask. And Isn’ t the logical end
of it all a total federal funding
of public schools?
Those are valid and serious
questions.
The C alifornia Supreme
C ourt has struck down an in
justice that is going to lie
attacked,
successfully. In
more and more states. 1 lie
m atter is liound to go to the
U.S. Supreme C « ift.
it may well prtxluce a tru ly
landmark decision whose im
pact on public education could
be every bit as great as the
h istoric school desegregation
decrees.
West German's
Despite strong U.S. pleas
that Germany extend its draft
period from 18 months to two
years, the Germans have in
fact reduced the time of ser
vice to 15 months. American
officers assigned to NATO
contend that such a short tour
is hardly adequate for m ilita ry
training.
But the Germans
figure that a short term
rotates more men through the
services, thus creating a larg
e r army reserve.
Nixon Considers
Woman Justice
The Observer learned last
week that President Nixon is
considering
nominating a
women to f ill the vacancy on
the Supreme O u r t.
Portland C ity Council voted
unanimously to adopt a reso
lution supporting closure of
SW Harbor D rive by July 1973
following the opening of the
Fremont Bridge.
Mudge and
McCloskey?
When he took leave to seek
the Presidency in 1968, Ri
chard Nixon was a partner in
the Wall Street law firm of
Mudge, Rose, Guthrie and
Alexander (so, by the way,
was Attorney General John
M itch e ll). Now the firm has
made a contribution of sorts
to the campaign of California
Rep. Pete McCloskey, who
intends to challenge M r.N ixon
in the GOP p rim a rie s next
year.
it is very interesting that
John Mudge, the ¿8-year-old
grandson of the fir m ’ s founder
has signed on as a$35-a-week
field
coordinator in Mc
Closkey’ s New Hampshire
headquarters.
ON THE E M P L O Y M E N T
FRONT, New York C ity con
tinues to hold up construction
programs totaling more than
$200 m illion to force the build
ing trade unions to admit more
blacks and PuertoRicans.The
" S t . Louis Plan,” set by the
U.S. Labor D e p t, seeks an In
crease of 2,500 m inor ltyw ork-
ers within 5 years; the "San
Francisco Plan about 1,100
in four years.
BLACK
BUSINESS
totals
163,000 b u sin esses, about2%
of the nations total. Reciepts
totaled $4.5 b illion in 1969,
less than one-half of one per
cent of the national to ta l.
He did not die in Vain rh e M inorities
George Jackson, the young
San Quentin inmate who met
his death in an outbreak ot
violence when bullets from a
guards rifle bi ought him down
during an alleged prison break
may not have died in vain.
Jackson, who flratcam e into
public notice over a year ago
when successive acts of vio
lence within the walls of Sole
dad Prison led to the death
of three Black inmates from
bullets also fired from the r if
le of a guard, which In turn
led to the violent death of a
guaid, Jackson being one of
those indicted by the Monterey
County Grand Jury (or the
death of a guard.
Three Inmates we reindicted
by the Monterey CountyGrand
Jury for the death of the guard,
Jackson being one of those in
dicted besides Fleet« Drumgo
and
John Cluchette. The
trio which le cim e internat
ionally known as the Soledad
Brothers.
None of the three men
would have been known outs ale
of th e ir immediate fam ilies
and a few law enforcement
persons If th e d lstrlct attorney
of Monterey County acting on
information supplied by the
authorities at Soledad Prison,
asked the county grand ju ry
to Indict them on a m urder
charge.
Jackson has an Interesting
history, a history which is no
doubt shared by thousands of
inmates in prison thi oughout
the nation.
He was convicted of a cheap
robbery
in
Loa Angeles
County.
Most persons tor robbery
fo r such Insignificant sums
are for the most part paroled
after serving a short term In
prison. Jackson was not that
fortunate, he had been in p ri
son fo r more than nine years,
nine years in which the [« ro le
board constantly denied him
freedom even if the freedom
would he su(>ervised as Is the
case with all parolees.
Jackson was no mental m is
fit, he had the Intelligence
which could easily have gained
him admittance Into one of the
more prestigious institutions
of higher learning In the na
tion if he had been fortunate
enough to have (Xirsued It.
He had received a degree
in another form of education
that all Blacks In the nation
have been well schooled, that
is the field of white racism,
a field that lias many students
both Black and white.
American prisons observe
the same form s of behavior
that one w ill find outside p ri
son w alls, tliat Is the white
prisoners do not lose any no
tions of superiority because of
color on the subject of all
non-white inmates.
In most instances the cus
todial forces within the p ri
sons promote a ll manner of
racial antagonism among their
charges. In the classical man
ner of divide and rule in the
hopes of making their drab
jobs more secure.
racism within prison walls
find themselves engaged In a
test o fw ills In which the custo
dians attempt to break them
down to the level of some sub
human species who would only
fit to serve as a stool pigeon
In tte prison and as a stool
pigeon fo r law enforcement of
ficia ls If they are fortunate
enough to gain their freedom.
Recent bloody events at San
Quentin, Soledad, and to «less
e r degree In other '"'a llfo r-
nia Prison System have made
a growing number of outsiders
or " s tr a ig h t" (eople aware of
the fact tfiat there la some
thing wiong within the prisons
which need reform s.
San rjuentln has done some
thing which few prison of
ficia ls or Ronald Reagan ever
dreamed would happen, they
made a genuine m artyr of
Jackson, a symbol which many
young Blacks have been seek
ing. Some of them In their
blind rage may commit acts
Jackson, along with a grow
ing number of Inmates In the
C alifornia prison system,met
the challenge of Imprisoned
while supremacy head on. His
reaction and that ofotherC* I-
cano and Black Inmates made
him a marked man who would
perhaps find '1 nisei f forever
an Inmate of (lie prison. Just
chock the fact that 1« waa not
released on parole as quickly
as some other Inmates who
committed s im ila r crim es.
Such Inmates who fight
of des|«ration which may in
crease the number of persons
who w ill lose their lives In
the up to date phase of
Blacks attempting to get out
of the entangling embrace of
white supremacy.
More sober minded Blacks
are equally appalled al the
number of killin g s w ithin tl«
walls of San ijuentln, and ate
even more appalled when they
realize that they are without
any real power in the United
States. The younger Blacks
w ill turn away from any fu r
ther counseling by their e l
ders and the United States
could be the scene ot some
bloody conflicts which might
make Viet Nam a rather tame
a ffa ir.
No longei can white A m eri
ca evade the Issue of whether
Blacks are citizens o r Just
anutlier form of lower animal
life , the youth are on the verge
of going lo r broke and from
here It looks like they w ill
be broke unless a stronger
m oial force from within white
America move rapidly to pre
vent a holocaust, (here are
tew Blacks who think (hat
Black America would win In
the lace of such tremendous
odds. But there are t house mis
of them who feel that death
would be far more acceptable
than to pursue the present
form of life to which they are
subjected.
George Jackson did not
realize It but 1« could have
stal led a chain reaction which
could cost America dearly.
• • •
Here's a defensive driving
tip from the Portland T ra ffic
Safety Cotnmiaslon: sudden
stops are almost the rule-
-ra th e r than the exception. In
city d rivin g . Don’ t cuss the
otlier guy out when tie slams
on his brakes In fr«m t of
you...In stead, leave plenty of
room so you have time to
make a safe stop In ANY
situation.
At
Sail
San Quentin officials reported thut on the
afternoon when George Jackson was shot,
the racial makeup of the prison's adjust-
iinenr center for problem inmates was: 16
blacks, 5 Chicanos, four Caucasians and one
Puerto Rican.
Iliese figures do not c o r
relate with the overall population of the p ris
on, which is 50% white, 36% black, 13%
Spanish-speaking and one-percent other.
The high percentages of minority inmates
demonstrates not only the role of poverty
and racism in crim e and conviction, but also
the new element of politicized black inmates.
These new " radical" prisoners arc a threat
to their jailors since they do not readily
conform to the rules made to regulate them
and they are aware of the lack of rehabil
itative opportunities in prisons.
When minority Americans make up half of
the population of San Quentin and KK percent
of the prison-w ithin-a-prison, our system
is continuing to serve the minority popula
tions badly.
It is everyone's responsibility to find the
causes of today's revolution in the prisons
and to remedy them through humane tre a t
ment and effective rehabilitation programs.
4p
FEDERAL GRAND JURY In
dicted two Houston policemen
In connection with the beating
of two black prisoners. One
of the prisoners died as a re
sult of Injuries.
Operator«:
Lillian W illiam *
Specialist*
Ruby Reed
In All Phases
Ethel Bate*
3 6 3 2 N. W illiam * Ave.281-6554
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The Portland
Observer
N t*
LILLIAN'S
Beauty Salon
/ V
BLACKS IN OREGON col
leges and u n i v e r s i t i e s In
1971 numbered 1,791 o r .02%
of the total, members of other
m inority groups-2,592.
U.S. DEPARTMENT ofLABOR
announced the appointment of
David R. Dalton as area ad
m inistrator fo r Minnesota and
northern Wisconsin. Helsthe
firs t black to be appointed to
this key-level position.
c ^»” va ,, ng
I lAIHSTYLI’S
fobrics desi
NEW DIRECTOR of the Con
gressional Black Caucus Is
Howard T. Robinson, veteran
labor organizer. He has been
a labor advisor of the State
Department since 1964.
Q u e n t in
Charge it at J.C. Penney
Open Sundays 12 to 5 p.m .; M ont
mm