WASHINGTON Black riots continue
in Rhodesia
BRIEFS
Page 2
’You understand this is not « challenge?
/
MUST
IvtWi TOGETHER FVP FULL
The Internal Revenue Ser
v ie t a d it w ill take steps to
end the tax exempt status of ,
74 private schools in the South
that have not adopter) notai la-
cruninatory admission pol
icies.
ANU EQUAL EMPLOYMENT.
Portland Observer Thursday. Jan. 27, 1972
Th« Northwest's U i t Weekly
A Block Owned Public abort
The U . S. Department of
Housing and Urban Iievelop-
ment (H ID ) has awarded the
National Urban
l eague
$39U,<XX) to prepare a direct
ory ot black businesses and
professionals in the field of
housing and urban develofw
ment.
■d every Thirsday by Dtie Publishing Company, 2201
N. Killingsworth Portland. Cfcegon 97217.
Subset lption $5.25 per year in Tri-Countv area by m a il. Out
side the Tn-C ounty area $6.00 per year by m ail.
Phone 283-2486
ALFRED LEE HENDERSON. Publidier Editor
Verna L . Hetaiersor.
Asst. Publisher/Bus mess manager
Helen Hendrix
Personnel and production Manager
James Hudson, a piomtnant
black attorney in Washington
D .C . and campaign a d lor tne
Humphi y-M uskle
ticket In
1900, has beennamed Michigan
campaign coordinator (or hen.
Muskie (D em -M e.)
IN P A
Any erroneous reflection upon the character, standing or rep
utation of person, firm or corporation, which may appear in the
Portland Observer w ill be cheerfully corrected upon being
brought to the attention of the Editor.
School decision:
It means Portland too
There is no urban area in the country that can escape
the implications of this decision. School authorities can
no longer arrange attendance districts to fit segregated
housing patterns — either within a single school d istrict
or among neighboring school districts.
The Albina area of Portland was created by real estate
interests who refused to sell or rent to blacks outside
pre-determined boundaries. This was done to raise the
cost of property - - which was sold to blacks at higher
prices that do whites — by creating a closed market. It
also was one to "p ro tect" whites by isolating the black
population.
Portland's school d istrict attendance iines have followed
the residential patterns are aglance at the map w ill show.
Two new schools were built that were nearly all-black
from their opening — E lio t and Humboldt.
Suits are pending in Detroit and Indianapolis. If Portland's
school board does not soon announce an effective pian for
school desegregation, it could be next.
The decision in the Richmond, V irg in ia, school case
may have aider impact than even the 1954 decision that
began school desegregation.
judge Robert Meshige, J r . ordered that the Richmond
school district, which is 70 percent black, merge with
th se of twe surrounding counties, each of whose schools
are 90 percent white. This order to achieve desegregation
by merging districts acrossp cal lines will have
nationwide impact if upheld by the Supreme Court.
The legal basis of the decision 3eems to make it possible
to override the distinction between "de jure” and "de facto"
segregation. Judge Meshige said "school authorities may
not constitutionally arrange an attendance zone system
which serves only to reproduce in school facilities the
prevalent pattern of housing segregation, be it publicly or
privately enforced.
To do so is only to endorse with
official approval the product of private racism .'*
The decision makes tne state responsible for the effect
of its policy, not just the intent. From this point of view,
"de facto’ ’ segregation is no more constitutional than
"de ju re .’*
Education for what?
Vocational education is gening new attention, especially In the
big cities, where the dropout and truancy rates tend to be
highest in the "general” high schools.
Col ege freshmen are choosing courses that promise jobs
at the other end, and tne American Council on Education
reports a shift from surplus fields like teaching and engineering
into fields like medicine, dentistry, nursing and law.
Some states are pouring more money into work-oriented
ommunlty colleges and cutting back on their support of esoteric
graduate programs, where the emphasis is on research
So we have, In effect, a tightening up of educational priorities,
an attempt— long overdue--to spend the school dolloar where
it w ill do r e most good. This probably is the only solid answer
to much of our unemployment problem
It was late In coming, out there now seems to be a keener
awa eress that jobs are going begging in the United States
despite a 6 1 percent unemployment rate.
P a rt of the problem Is chat schools and co leges have teen
slow to adjust to tie labor m arket as it really Is - not as it
might have teen 10 or 20 years ago.
High schools still graduate thousands of students each year
who have no salable skill, no interest in higher education and
no place to go in an economy that values brains over brawn.
Colleges and universities continue to turn out too many
schoo. teachers and too lew accountants, too many doctors
of philosophy and too few doctors of medicine.
There Is an unmet demand In many parts of tie country
for welders, machinists and other skilled tradesmen and for
more trained people in health professions like nursing and
physical therapy.
"W e 'll be five years making a dent in the deman for health
personnel," ore Georgia educator commented.
But both educators and students now seem attuned to tie
realities.
The Observer's official position Is expressed only In Its Pub
lisher’ s Column (The Observation Post) and the Edltor*sD«sk.
Any other m aterial throughout the paper la tie opinion oi the in
dividual w rite r or submitter and does not necessarily reflect
the opinion of the Observer.
Kennedy charges Nixon
Senator Edward Kennedy
charged présidant Nixon with
turning his b a c k o n b la c k s .
" In American history, you
nave to go back to the era of
reconstruction to find a com
parable abdication by the fed
eral government of its respon
sibility for civil rig hts," Ken
n e d y t o ld the Washington
Press Club.
" B l a c k Am erica lies be
calmed today, halfway between
hope and desperation. And un
less the Administration a c ts
more positively now, i t would
be a w iser man than 1 whocoukl
predict the direction we shall
move when the wirxl begins to
blow again."
Just three days before the
P r e s i d e n t 's "State ot the
U n i o n " message, Kennedy
took him to task in virtually
every field.
He s a id the firs t issue is
Vietnam . " I f e v e r a Presi
dent was elected to erd a war,
to wash away the stain brought
on us by V letnam. R t c h a r d
Nixon was elected for that pur
pose.’ ’ He predicted that tens
ot thousands w ill die in In lo -
china in 1972 because Nixon
"w ill not allow the Saigon gov
ernment to falter until he is
secure at h o m e for another
term of office.”
He s a id the shame of Viet
nam is o n ly matched by the
shame of our policy towarcfln-
dia ani Pakistan.
Kennedy sad the central Is
sue is whether th e U.S. w i l l
have j government that is re
sponsive to the people or to
special inteiests.
The social disease of segregation
Senator Jacob Javits (Rep.-
N .Y .) w ill announce his ap
pointment of an 18-year-old
freshman coed for admission
into the U.S. Naval Academy.
The Navy has not Indicated that
it w ill accept t’ s firs t female
mdshipman.
Vernon Jordon, J r . , execu
tive director of the National
Urban League, said the "dol
lar gap” between [he races in
creased during the last ten
years. The median income of
whites was $2,600 higher than
that
of blacks in I960 and
$3,600 higher in 1970.
Bloodshed continues in Rhodesia as hlacka demonsti Jiei
then opposition to B n i ish-K hudeslan agieements that
brought an eid lo economic »auctions against Rhixlexia ami
grant legal mdepeixlence to the whitegovei ninenl olKnudesia
with eventual majority rule, probably in 11» next century.
1 he white govei nment led illegally dec I a red its independent a
from Ui itain in 1965 resulting in an unsuccessful economic
boycott by nations that opposed the Rhodesian government
A British commlssio i leaded by Lord Pearce is at
tempting to deteimme whether tie agreement is accept
able to blacks, who outnuinler the lullng whites by 20 to 1.
M ilitant A fi lean Nationalists have oiganized demonsti a-
llciis to piove to the commission tlial it is not acceptable.
Demonsti atlons mine into riots with Africans liurning
portions ol the black quarters ol the cities. Eight Africans
were killed when police fired into crowds of demonstratoi s
and others have been reported killed.
Although Rhodesia promised to allow "norm al politic it
activities" In Rhodesia during llw Peace commission in
vestigation, S. Garfield I odd, a formei prime m in iste r,
and his daughter w eie jetlesf The action prompted Bntain
to request an explanation, tad note lias teen tecelved.
J v i a Cl ...am ano, the fc M
1
the le s ls ta n c e ,
has also teen arrested.
In a radio broadcast. Prim e Mtmstei Ian smith told
black Afl leans t sal il I ay did nol accept the agieement
it would mean a cortu union of the 1969 constitution which
promise-: Africans polity with the whites someday, perhaps
I I0U y ta ra , bu> nevei majority rule
In nixxiking tones,
Smiti sad a black ieje lion ol tie agieement "w ill prove
a most pleasant surprise, imleed agteatday in our history."
He said the rioting "proves how rigid we a r e in our
dete: minalion io retain nigh standards in Rhodesia. Those
responsible lor all lid» barbaric destruction have ironically
played right into oui hands.
What greater p io o fco u d
anyone have of t,« lact of m aturity, lact of civilization,
the inability to make my constructive contribution."
Representative Charles Diggs, J r . (Dein M ich.),chairm an
of the Black Congtesslonal Caucus and Chairman of Itie
House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Africa, expressed
the view that, "Racism has been the fast-spteadlng disease
in that country ever spue UDI and tie smith regime moved
to divide the land in Rhodesia, half to 5 million Africans
and the other half to the 23,1100 whites, to re dm I Ute
employment and educational opportunities of Blacks by
spending 10 tunes as much on the edu. itlon ol the white
Child than on the African child, and to prevent l i e B la c k s ,
who constitute some 95% of (1« population of Zimbabwe
from any meaningful pul meal participation."
by B a .a r d R ustin
Gf all the significant c iv 11
r i g h t s laws enacted in the
I960*», open housing met with
th e least enthusiasm, e v e n
from liberals, and would likely
not have passed had not Con
gress been shamed by the as
sassination of D r . M artin Lu
ther King.
We now see another chapter
in the history of society’ s re
sistance to open housing acted
out on the streets of Forest
H ills , a middle class commu
nity in Queens, New York.
T h e re r e s id e n u h iv e
m a rc h e d , picketed and dem on
strated because of their oppo
sition to a low income housing
project now under construc
tion.
T h e i r spokesmen a s s e r t
that the overwhelmingly white
community is n o t concerned
w it h the possible i n f lu x of
black tenants: they insist t h a t
the issues are the size of the
project, its supposedly detri
mental effects on th e neigh
borhood’ s aesthetics, its im
pacts on schools, transit, and
other municipal services, or
the f a c t that th e community
"w asn’t consulted” when the
project was being planned.
But one must ask himself
whether these issues alone are
sufficient to have provoked the
intense passions w h ic h the
protestors h a v e dally d i s
played at the project site.
Indeed, w o u ld th e struc
ture’ s aesthetics and s i z e
h a v e brought a b o u t nightly
picketing In sub-freezing tem
peratures had the project been
slated for occupancy by upper
income families?
Ironically, the Forest H ills
project has alsodrawn the fire
ol a black economic self-help
organization called NECHO.
Among o t h e r objections,
NEGRO asserted that the con
cept of scattering low Income
housing in middle and upper
income a r e a s
constituted
’ ’genocide’ ’ by removing fam
ilies of ghetto communities.
Residential segregation is
the most firm ly rooted, and
perhaps the most socially de
structive pattern of racial bias
in our culture.
Upper c l a s s whites negre-
gate themselves in their en
claves of affluence, working
class whites cling tenaciously
to their working class neigh
borhoods and blacks, lis c r l-
mmated against by the econo
mic system and socially o s
tracized, have been consigned
to the ghetto.
This sordid pattern has been
worked out through the written
convenant and unwritten "gen
tlemen's agreement.”
It is as common to the North
as to the South; in 1969 the two
leading Republican candidates
for governor in New Jersey
were discovered to have once
o w n ed homes whose deeds
contained racially restrictive
clauses.
F a r from islands of hope,
our black slums are isolated
e n c l a v e s of d e s p a i r , the
breeding ground for drug ad
diction, disease, infant mor
tality and crim e.
The challenge is n o y i re
build the ghetto, but to e lim l-
n a t e it. Separateness, we
m u s t remember, has never
worked to the advantage of the
black man; it has only benefit
ed the whites.
And yet. as Roy Wilkins has
pointed out. segregation ulti
mately imprisons the white in
his own uneasy cell of fear and
m istrust •
There are those who, while
supporting integration, de
clare that it is wrong for the
government to impose i n t e
gration on a community. Inte
gration, t h e y contend, w i l l
c o m e without bitterness as
soon as Negroes are economi
cally sufficient
T o t h l s I h a v e tw o r e
sponses. F irs t, we continue to
suffer discrimination; in many
communities, it is next to im
possible f o r a msldle class
N e g r o to move into a white
neighborhood unless he is pre
pared to pay a substantially
higher price than the home's
market value.
second, by placing alimitexl
number ol housing projects in
msldle c l a s s neighborhoods
and the suburbs, the govern
ment is only making a small
gesture t o w a r d correcting
th o s e social mistakes which
are directly due to past gov
ernment policy.
We must have racially in
tegrated ne ighboi hood s, both
economically and racially di
verse, if we are to keep from
permanently becoming two na
tions, separate and unequal.
Only through t r u e integra
tion c a n we end the torment
which the nation lsendunngin
o r d e r to racially balance its
public schools.
Only through integration can
blacks escape the ghetto and
its m iseries. Only through in
tegration can we narrow the
gulf a c r o s s w h ic h uneasy
blacks and frightened whites
view each other.
It has long been a practice of
suppliers o f consume! p r o
ducts to disclaim the implied
warranties of merchantlblllty
and fitness by Issuing a very
limited e x p r e s s warranty,
th u s reducing c o n s u m e r
rights. F o r example, if you
buy a new washing machine,
you have a right under the law
to e x p e c t that it will clean
clothes, u n le s s the supplier
specifically disclaims the im
plied warranty of "fltness” (a
washing machine should beca-
pable ofcleaning clothes).The
supplier's disclaimer o f t e n
looks like this in his express
warranty: "T hia warranty la
In lieu of any other wai ranty,
express or im plied."
S. 986, developed in the Con
sumer Subcommittee, would
require the supplier of a con
sumer product who chooses to
warrant the product toclearly
disclose th e content of th e
warranty, indicating all speci
fic limitations, and would no
longer allow express w arran
ties to disclaim the supplier’ s
Implied warranties of m er
chantlblllty and fitness. An
other purpose of S. 986 Is to
amend th e Federal T r a d e
Commission A c t . Improving
th e F T C ’ s ability to provkle
fo r
consumer protection.
Hearings on thia dill were held
before the Consumer Subcom
mittee, and the bill was ap
proved with my support and
reported to the Senate floo r.
It passed the Senate on Novem
ber 8, 1971, The bill has now
been referred to the house.
Other recent legislation un
der consideration by the Con
sumer Subcommittee includes
truth in advertising and p r o
duct safety.
As each of our lives Is Inti
mately dependent u p o n th e
quality of goods and services
In (he marketplace, and as
massive amounts ol money are
spent on persuasion through
advertising, we realize t h a t
(he m e lu v s l market standard
of "caveat em ptor” ( ” let the
buyer beware") Is no longer
totally viable. Government
protection lor the consumer is
necessary in many areas. The
Consumer Subcommittee of
the Senate Committee on Com
m erce, on w h ic h 1 s e r v e ,
shapes legislation In th lscru -
Clal area.
A topic of recentCommittee
action was that of warrantle ».
ad 'ed
Disappointed
Lettei to the E d ito i:
This lettei was wi liten as a
letter to the Editor. However,
it is really an "Open Lettei to
the Black Community of P o rt
land.” Iwas sadlydisappoint-
ed to observe t h a t no majoi
civic oigantzation such as tne
NAACP, Urban League, Albina
M inisters Alliance, oi any
other public institution nr
agency sponsored a M a r t i n
Luther K in g Day tnComem-
oration of his buthday. Last
year it was sponsoied by me
A lb in a
Citizens Together
Committee.
Even though a limited num
ber of high s c h o o ls and
chúteles did o b s e r v e D r.
King's birthday, the majoi ity
of the Bieck people of P o it-
land did not participate once
again it appear s as if the Black
Community and l e a d e r s are
not keeping In tune with what
is going on in o tte r cities in
the United States. It seems to
me that some organization oi
group should have had a mass
r a l l y in observance of D r.
K ing's birthday.
A f t e r studying tie Black
leadership ami Black commu
nity of Poi Hand, l e a n o n ly
conclude that both aie out ot
touch with reality and what is
happening all ovei the I mied
States. Theie seems to he a
tiemendous amount ol apathy
and complacency in tie Black
community. I am notunmind-
ful that tie Black community
in P o r t l a n d Is lelatively
small, however, tu t dies not
negate the fact that 11 can't ue
actively involved inmakingits
voice heard in (he community
at laige.
It appears to me that the al
leged l e a d e r s and self-ap
pointed leaders aie insensi
tive and unsympathetic to (he
needs, demands and aspire-
CHUCKLE
J
A small g irl entertaining a
visitor while her mother was
elephoning
asked politely,
"How is your little g irl? ”
” l ’m sorry to say,” re
plied the visitor, "that 1
haven’t a little g ir l.”
“ How Is your little boy,
then?”
” 1 haven’ t a little boy.
eith er.”
The child look suspicious
and asked. "W e ll, then, what
are yours?”
A group of 19congressional
and senatorial aides have
handed together into a coali
tion aimed at bringing coordi
nated pressure to bear on the
Bureau of Indian A ffairs.
Heeding the group Informally
Is one of Its chief organizers,
Dick M cC all, press tide to
Sen. Gale M cC tee, a Wyoming
Democrat. McCall told the
Reporter that BIA Intransig
ence has made It necessary to
Increase legislative pressure
on the agency. At this point
the coalition is concerning it
self with supporting Indian
controlled schools, sakl the
congressional sides, and es
pecially M cC all, were Instru
mental In securing BIA appro
val last month for a communi
ty controlled school on the
Wind R iver Shoshone-Ara
pahoe reservation In Wyo
ming. M cCall aaya the a Ida a
w ill now concentrate on secur
ing
sim ilar approval for
schools on thsNortharnChey-
Observer’s Intercom
Eldridge Cleaver has re
signed his position as head of
the International section of t 'e
Black Panther P arty. He has
assumed new duties w lth tn e
Revolutionary People’ s Com
munication Network, which Is
associated with the A fro-
American Liberation Arm y.
That group Is an umbrella or
ganization for urban guerilla
forces within the U n it e d
States.
Reverend C . T . Vivian was
appointed director of Southern
C h rist Un Leadership Confer
ence in Chicago.
lions of tie masses of people
that they a ie supposed b rep
resent. It is beyond my com
prehension how anyoie can he
a public seisant lo lie people
and vet a r e not available to
t h e m . There are too m a n y
Black " l e a d e r s ” who only
have 9:00 - 5:00 utflca hours
and only c u e aboutproject!.*
their own self-image.
T h e lack of obsei vance of
D r . K in gs blithday ta Just one
of a long list of events that
th e lesdeis and community
have not been involved in. P er
haps one day, hopefully in lie
near future, some individual
or Individuals w ill eniei go to
lead the people out of bondage
Lenwood G. D **ls
1625 5.E . Main
Author, " I Have a Dream: 1 he
Life and Tim es of M artin Lu
ther K ing, J r .”
formed
Hatfield explains bill
(E d ito r’ s Note: Senator Hat
field, a member of th e U. S.
Senate Commerce Committee,
gave the Observer the follow
ing report on Senate Bill 986)
»■•»»» • ,»» ex t •'’>«<« • ” «*»•• •n<i •>
r
\*,»l U«X» «»•
•••»
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-X • e I •
t>* vvea «*> ie«’»*»
, • »M ed ’»» Je«'»'» »Nervs ntitIMD
Letters fro m the people
Los Angeles C I t y Counsel
President B illy G. M ills a n
nounced his candidacy for the
California legislative. M ills ,
the firs t b la c k to be acting
mayor of L o s Angeles, h as
lean a city councilman for 8
years.
The New Jersey Supreme
Court ruled the tenth penalty
unconstitutional. Ih e Eighth
Amendment to the U.S. Con
stitution prohibits "cruel and
Inhuman” punishment and this
is used as an argument against
the death penalty.
Switzerland refused to ex
tradite D r. Timothy L eary.
Leary escaped from prison
In C alifornia, where le was
serving a sentence for pos
session of m arijuana.
The
Swiss government said the
Am erican appeal lacked proof
of guilt.
A symphony by Fried rich
Schenker was dedicated to |)r .
M artin Luther King In East
Germany. 1 lie woi k was 111 st
performed In jresden, by the
Diesden Statu Orchestra.
enne reservation In Montana
and the Oglala Sioux reserva
tion In South Dakota.
Demo's
pledge
to South
T h iee of tie major candi
dates for the Democratic
p res id e n tial
n o m in a t io n
agreed to make a commitment
ol nondlscrlminatory treat
ment lor the South, according
to Georgia's Democratic Gov
ernor J inuny C artel .
C a r t e r said he had con
ducted a series of meetings
with prospective candidates -
all with a view toward estab
lishing the basis for a resur
g e n c e of Dem ociatlc pros
pects In tie South In 1972.
He sakl Senator H u b e r t
Humphrey (Dem - Minn.) hail
already publicly endoi sed a
proposal that the Democratic
National Committee support a
p l a t f o r m plank saying the
South should not be singled out
for s p e c i a l civil rights en
forcement.
The governor added that he
had received private assur
ances from Senator Edmund S
Muskie (Dem - Me.) anil Sena
tor Henry J a c k s o n ( D « n i
Wash.) that they "approve of
thia attitude.”
“ The only times the South
had defaulted In support ofthe|
national Democratic party I
when Its canl Males failed (<«
appeal to th e .Southern votei I
and In effect spurned the Soutl I
is a source of support— •» *<l
1964 and I 9 6 8 , ” C a tte rd e - 1
clsred .