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the Editor’s Desk
Pattern of
discrimination
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PRESCRIPTIONS
If you don’t see your
^merchant’s
ad in
The
O bserver, ask him w hy.
M o s t r e a s o n a b le
President Nixon Is h.ivUig a d ifficu lt time finding a qual
ified man or woman who w ill fit his political specifications (or
an appointment to the U. S. Supreme Court. In tills nation full
of attorneys. Judges, law school professors ant deans, legis
lators, etc., tie cannot find someone who is not tarnished by
racism or m.- lioerity.
His fir s t reported choice decluied to be considered because
b i was a lra xi his segregationist record would prevent his ap
proval by the Senate, t he next two choices, oils of whom had
spent much of his legal career unsuccessfully defending seg
regation in the I utie Rock Schools, were found to be unqual
ified by the American Bar Association, Itself a highly conserv
ative organization.
M r. Nixon is in an unusual position. He has already hid the
opportunity to n in e four out of the nine Supreme Court pos
itions, and If lie Is re-elected he w ill probably name at least
two more. Since Supreme Cout decisions are not Irre ve rs
ible and since Supreme Court Justices serve fot life, Nixon’ s
appointees could reverse the humanist trend of the Warren
Court ami encourage the facist trend in this country fo r years
to Como.
lt appears that President Nixon Is purposly hoping to under
mine tbs influence and respect of the Court by packlr^ it with
judges of little reputation. With Congress already giving up
much of Its power to ths President, tills would give the Ad
m inistrative branch frightening power and bring to an end the
constitutional concept of "separation of powei " .
Published every lhursday by Exu Publishing Company, 2
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Subscription rates: 40 cents per month by carrier, $5. 00 per
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year elsewhere.
Phone 283-2486
ALFRED LEE HENDERSON, Publisher Editor
Arthur Fletcher: Promoted
or Squeezed Out at Labor?
Why are you haunting me? We just reapportioned blacks out
of their representation and we’ll take care of you next
Observer’s Intercom
In spice of the fact that they
represent only 11% of the c iv il
ian labor force, blacks and
members of other m inority
races were 18 % of the nation’ s
4J m illio n jobless workers In
1970. They were 20 % of the
total in 1969.
senator George McGovern,
candidate for the presidency,
has prom ised to grant amnesty
to men who have evaded the
d ra ft fo r moral reasons.
Rev. Ralph Abernathy told
the A ll-C h ristia n Peace As
sembly in Prague about the
"oppression,
repression,
blacks and asked fo r th e ir in
tervention before the U. N.
Black Representative Shir
ley Chisholm is in the ’ 72
Presidential race fo r sure:
she w ill enter p rim a rie s in
F lo rid a , North Carolina and
three other states. Rep. Ron
Deilums is supporting her but
Rep. John Conyers and Julian
Bond feel blacks w ill have
maximum
influence at the
Democratic Convention by
backing several favorite sons.
• • •
The Senate Labor and Pub
lic Welfare Committee ap
proved a b ill to give the
Equal Employment opportuni
ties Commission more power
to combat job discrim ination.
The unanimous vote of 7 Re
publicans and 10 Democrats
wss a blow to the Nixon Ad
m inistration which backed a
weaker b ill.
Minority Report
By Jamas E . Alsbrook. Ph D.
AIR FORCE GENERAL SEEKS
RACIAL JUSTICE AS NIXON
CODDLES
SEGREGA TION-
1STS
While President Nixon is
coddling segregationists and
trying to out-wall ace Wallace,
one of his generals is taking
constructive action toward re
ducing racial Injustice and
strife in ths A ir Force.
This man of good action is
L t. Gen. George B. S im lar,
Commander of the A ir T rain
ing Command headquarters at
Randolph A ir Base in Texas.
Seeing violent racial con
flic t in his own command and
at various m ilita ry installa
tions here and abroad, Gen.
Sim’ ar set up a human rela
tions team of officers and en
listed men and asked them to
look honestly and carefully fo r
evidences of racial d is c rim in
ation on the 15 bases he super
vises.
FACTS UGLY
Reporting to Gen. Sim lar on
July 26, the 15-man team an
nounced that "T h e re is dis
crim ination and racism In the
command, and lt is ugly.”
Gen. Sim lar did not like this
report, but he got busy and set
the base a flu tte r with seven
steps, as follows:
1. He ordered that there be
no more discrim ination in
duty assignment, promotion,
enforcement of regulations,
and punishment.
2. He increased the number
of hours of human relations in
struction men receive in basic
training, and said all leaders
at all levels must face the fact
o f racism and act against it.
3. He called in ju n io r o ffi
cers and noncommissioned
leaders and told them it was
their responsibility to educate
their units on good race rela
tions .
4. He ordered the chaplains
to spend more time among mon
in the field In order to Intensify
the presence of religious
thought and positive influence.
5. He ordered security po
lice on the bases to take charge
of all law enforcement instead
of leaving race-related prob
lems of law enforcement to the
commander and to non-com
missioned officers.
6. He increased the number
of security police and gave
them training in race rela
tions .
7. He ordered all recrea
tional fa c ilitie s open on a 24-
hour bases In order to have
maximum an J equal opportun
ity fo r all personnel to relax
and enjoy themselves.
While Nixon babbles "We
are a good people” and at
tempts to assuage the guilt
feelings of the Silent M a jo rity,
Gen. Sim lar faces the fact of
racism and takes steps to In
sure fa ir and equal treatment
fo r a ll.
ENCOURAGES DISORDER
While Nixon calls fo r law
and order, he really encour
ages disorder and defiance of
the U, S, Supreme Court by
coddling segregationists and
generating
an atmosphere
s im ila r to that which prevail
ed In the sixties when the white
mothers spat on black school
children and the white fathers
set the black children’ s school
buses afire .
Gen. Similar, on the other
hand trie s to create an atmos
phere of equality,justlceand
fa ir play.
If Nixon’ s policies that slow
down movements toward ra
cial integration and racial
equality are extended to the
Armed Forces, Gen. Sim lar
may get a call from Strom
Thurman or find him self sud
den tl y transfeired to a d if
ferent job.
Undersecretary
of
the
Treasury Charles W alker re
ported that deposits in mino
rity banks cl imbed almost 40%
in
the 12 months ending
September 30. Deposits in
creased $155J m illion, bring
ing the total to more than
$500 m illio n fo r 35 minority-
banks in the nation.
N igeria
w ill be the host
country fo r the second Wo-ld
Festival of Black A rts and
Culture to be held in Septem
ber of 1974. The fir s t festi
val was held in Dakar, Senegal
four years ago.
C urtis E. Shaw, president of
the N atlom l Association of
Television and Radio An
nouncers, an organization of
black broadcasters, has re
commended to P re skle n tN ix-
on that he "demonstrate his
political wisdom by appoint
ing a black or m inority mem
ber to the Federal Communi
cations Com m ission."
Crisis in
The Court
Judge Alfred Burka’ s re
cent pronouncement from the
bench of D.C. Superior Court
that "b la ck is pretty ugly bas
ed on myexperiencewith a few
people..." is a grave trans
gression of Juiiclal propriety.
Lnderstaraiably, Burka har
bors some resentment tie-
cause his father was recently
killed during a robbery at
tempt, ixut personal anxieties
should not be vented while sit
ting on a bench and being re
sponsible fo r a man’ s fate.
Justice traditionally has
hien blind arxl unyielding to
personal preference and pre
judices. A white ju lg e who
w ill outspokenly condemn a
man because of his color and
who w ill attest to such stereo-
typos as blacks are " la z y ”
has no piace on a bench In the
D is tric t of Columbia.
How ironic the remarks
made by this white julge went
practically unnoticed by those
U.S, Senators who were so
quick to criticize Judge H arry
T . Alexander fo r insisting
suspects he given tie dignity
and courtesy of being ad Ire s -
sad by their propar title s.
Ths nitional ju iic la l system
is facing a m j o r c re d ib ility
c ris is at this tim r. Conscien
tious citizens of ths nation are
haunted by the tragedies of A t
tica and San < jusntln prisons.
With ths entire crim inal
justice system under fire-and
rightly so-th ire is no room for
a judge wlu w ill sidestep his
ju iic la l duty fo r his personal
leanings.
shop
in town
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I
I
A rth u r Fletcher, form er Assistant Secretary of Labor is no
longer at that post. He resigned and accepted an appointment
to a 90 day position as alternate delegate for the U. S. to the
26th Regular Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Blacks hive lost th e ir most potent member In the ujiper ranks
of the Republican administration. In tlie UJ9. he is virtu a lly
powerless and does not have a vote unless sitting fo r a regular
delegate.
1 his is what h is happjntxl to all blacks who were a part
of t e Nixon Adm inistration and who used their positions to
be strong advocates of change. W ithout doubt, Fletcher was
held back by the adm inistration and although lie had some de
gree of success, he dkl not acconniish what tie had hoped when
he accepted the Nixon appointment.
While with the Labor Department, Fletcher created
the
Philadelphia Plan to increase m inority workers in the con
struction trades. He was also a leading advocate of the "horns
town plans” designed to let local construction Industries, labor
unions, governments and m inority groups solve local problems
of discrim ination with federal guidance.
As ¡lead of the Employment Standards Administration he was
responsible for the adm lustration and direction of a program
of n on-discrlm ‘natlon and affirm ative action In government con
tracts and sub-contracts and In federally assisted construction.
He was responsible fo r the activities of the o ffice of Federal
Contract Compliance, the Woman’ s Bureau, the Wage and Hour
Division and the Bureau of Employee’ s Compensation.
He administered these programs effectively and his resigna
tion from ths Department of Labor raises the suspicion that
hs was too effective.
A r t Fletcher plans to run fo r the U, S, Senate from die State
of Washington With a seat In the Senate, ha wuuld be relatively
free from political pressures and could speak out on all Issues
and concerns. He would be free to use his dedication and his
talents to help Improve the plight of black workers.
at tha.Invest prices in
Lloyd Cooter
N ext to th e I »quor Store
p PERI’S Ona and Only Store
> / Opon 9 30 i m to 9 00 p m Daily
Sundays Noon to 4 00 p m
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PORTLAND
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M IN O « Rf P A IR S -N O CMARGÍ
tick up a o tiiv tR y
282-8361
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W illio m .
“You've Tried The Rest, N ow Try The Beal*
N . Alexander, Proprietor
OUR AIM
Is to
Ease the
Burden ...
Guest Editorial
U Thant against racism
In probably the most forceful s|»ech he ever made before
the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary General U
Thant referred to the dangers facing ths world by a continuation
of senseless discrim ination aganist black people. He begged the
Assembly to speed the universal ratification of the International
Convention on the Elim ination of all form s of Racial D is c rim i
nation and the International Covenants of Human Rights.
He warned against unctiecked colonial oppression of A fri
cans by Europeans In Southern A fric a . This policy, 1/ not re
versed, he said, " w ill generate intolerable racial tensions that
w ill Inevitably effect the future relations betwaen black A frica
and the rest of the w o rld ."
I I hant alluded to South A fric a ’ s penal system which denies
elementary human rights to black prisoners. Had the United
States ratified the International Covenant on C ivil and P olitical
right, the Attica prisoners would have had their gr ievances
aired before an international tribunal and the massacre at the
New York Correction F a cility would have been aborted.
The Human Rights Covenants were open for ratification De
cember 19, 1966. The United States government has unearthed
ways and means to evade the Issue. The reason fo r the evasion
is obvious. America does not intend to he a party to provisions
of covenants that protect human rights and dignity of the per
son.
It is one of the baffling paradoxes of our tunes that a na
tion that religiously parades Itself under the banner of demo
cracy Is unwilling to commit itse lf fu lly to the moral obliga
tions incidental to its own philosophical declaration.
MISSISSIPPI
Body an d Fondor R epair
Nixon tries again
The Northwest's Best W eekly
A Block O w ned Publication
The only recourse open to us to halt the reapportionment plan
that divides Albina into three legislative d is tric ts with a black
vote of about 10 - 15% each and one with a nagligable vote, and
into three Senate d is tric ts with perhaps 5% black vote and one
with a few , is to file suit ir the federal court charging dis
crim ination.
This is what is being done in Jackson, M ississippi, where
reapportionm;n" eliminated two m ajority black d is tric ts by
distributing blacks among five m ajority white d is tric ts .
The D etroit School decision found discrim ination based on
the planned segregation of blacks by government and private
forces was illegal.
A case fo r a ''pattern of d iscrim in a tio n " can easily be made’
fo r Oregon. To anyone who has read Oregon history it is clear
that since the fir s t white settlement, the political, legal, econom
ic, educational, religious institutions and the news media have
combined to isolate blacks from the mainstream of public life
and to negate our influence on decisions effecting our lives.
The fir s t wagon trains that brought settlers to the Oregon
Country refused blacks. The Provisional Government set up
in 1843 banned blacks from residence. Whan Oregon became
a T e rrito ry of the U. S. and later a state, it kept its constitu
tion and laws re strictin g blacks. P rio r to and during the C ivil
War there was no abolishionist movement InOregon. Oregonians
voted in 1857 against slavery fo r Oregon, not because they were
opposed to slavery but because they wanted to avoid contact
with blacks - bond or free. A t the same time they voted 8 to I
to continue th e ir ban aganist blacks living in Oregon. Oregon
did not send troops to fight fo r the Union and its governor said
he would never send his m .'litia to fight against his southern
brothers.
Following the w ar, a greatdeal of legislative time and the major
political battles involved the question of whether blacks should
vote, although there were about 200 blacks in the state at the tim e,
it brought the overthrow of the Dam-icratic party and the long
Republican reign that s till continues.
In the early 1920‘ s Oregon was one of the strongholds of
the Ku Klux Kian, w,th tha Klar wielding more power than any
where outside the South. It took over state government in 1921,
electing the governor, must m ajor state offices, and controlling
the legislature. The Mayor and Chief of Police of Portland were
strong supporters and in Portland the Portland Police Vigilantees
and the Black Patrol rode with the blessings and authority of the
state and the c ity . So strong was Kian influence that only two
newspapers, the Portland Telegram which soon went broke and the
Salem Capital Journal, dared oppose it.
The people of Oregon repeatedly voted to keep their laws
prohibiting blacks from voting, even though the laws were un
constitutional and unenforceable. Not until 1926 was this re
strictio n removed from the Oregon Constitution.
And, believe it or not, itw as not until 1959 that Oregon ratified
the 15th Aminendment to the Constitution of the United States.
It was not until the beginning of World War II that there were
enough blacks in Oregon to have inspired such tactics. When
numbers came to Portland to work in the shipyards, they were
crowded into a small section of N2 Portland, ware given tbs
must menial jobs, were denied union membership^ and "w hite
o n ly" signs ware posted.
Whan the shipyards closed and black unemployment was at a
serious level, ths problem was ignored because Portland s till
hoped blacks would go away.
This is how the picture remained until the early 1950*s, when
Oregon’ s reputation fo r racism had become so bad across the
country that its image as one i f the leading states in education
and political reform wasbeccm ng so tarnished that many leading
figures decided that something needed to be done to improve
the image.
A
number of c iv il rights bills were passed and ths signs
cams down. Oregon became a leading proponant of equality,
but did not give its laws the teeth o r its agencies ths power and
ths funds to enforce them properly.
However, Oregon did adpot as its policy: " I t is declared to
be the public policy of Oregon that practices of discrim ination
against any of its inhabitants because of race, religion, color,
sex or national origin are a matter of state concern and that
such discrim ination threatens not only the rights and privileges
of its Inhabitants tu t menaces the institutions and foundation
of a free democratic state."
It is now 1971. (jregon s till has no blacks in state, county
o r city elected offices. No blacks are involved In ths law making
process. Few blacks have been appointed topiolicy making boards
and comm sslons, of which Oregon has hundreds.
We are s till divided among several legislative d is tric ts and
»’ ill have no hope of electing a black to the Legislative Assembly.
It is not the fa u lto f JustSecretaryof State Clay Myers or even of
the legislature. It is the fault of the people of Oregon.
It Is the fault of the atmosphere, the "Southern exposure" that
has been set and the attitude that has been taught through the
years. It is too great fo r blacks to overcome alone, since what
ever we accomplish is unseen or is considered to be too demand
ing. It is to ogreatfor a few well meaning whites who are brand
ed radical. But It is not too great for the Governor, who could
appoint blacks to positions of Influence and who could work to
elim inate racial discrim ination in public in s titu tio n s , or for
corporation heads and businessmen who could guarantee the
right to meaningful emoloyment and economic security.
And it is not too great fo r the federal courts.
3727 N
Batter
SLAMSTHESS
Thoughtful
meticulous
attention to
every family
wish is assured
by our many tears
of experience
Port land,O regon
Vann
MORTUARY
5211 N .W illiam s Avenue 2 8 1 -2 8 3 6
(Alameda Theater)
3000 N.E. Alberta
____ 284-9448
THE CHICAGO DEFENDER
The mob wanted
Harlembodc
They got Shaft..
u p to to flly .
The 'Black’
Council
( lu r e Is uoposo-J to bu a newawarenassof "b la ckn e ss." Wa
sje tb ; ennrgence of black cosmetic firm s designed fo r mila
dy-beautiful. We sea tha over abundance of black studies and
black art groups and black lite ra tu re . Sometimes we have seen
so much blackness wa have feared that some of the other goals
in life has been sidetracked while black people ran hither and
yon searching and seeking out their heritage.
. But i u r^ '* S °Ut °l AtlanU. Ga-. » week ago was most grain- •
ymg. I h .National Bar A ssoclatlon, composed of the black law
yers of this country hald their annual conference. Thay took a
good look at what Is happening around country and took some
positive and constructive positions.
One they noted the "e xtra ord in a ry length of time Angela
Davis has been held In Jail in C alifornia and out of a concern fot
M iss Davis’
tsvis legal , ,ghts appropriated $2500 for her defense
fUnd. I m y looker! at the bar examinations around the country
1 C 1 1 1 /I f I t h a t O
T
. r r , . _
and concluded that something
Is radically wrong with the way
they ate structured.
structured. Consequently,
the
N B \ established
---------ulc
csiamisneu
a
committee to study examinations and make recommendations on
them
baaed upon mack youth’ s a b ility to cope with them
lrl'P'jrta n t ‘ f'Üig they dkl w is to establish a
JwJIclal Council of Black ju lg e s . Tba Council w ill concern it
self not necessarily to tlx.- administration of justice f«r bl«kt.
as they w ill fo r the poor as wall.
X
-X<
SH AFT’x hit name. SHAFT’S hit game.
i .
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(M A N M,.
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O u ts ta n d in g C o fe a tu re
Halls of Anger » »
O p e n S u n d a y 2 :4 5
IN COLOR