Page 8
P o rtlim l/D b se i vet
Thursday
February 17, 1972
DESPITE THE LACK OF DIRECTION OF SOME
BLACK STUDENTS AND YOUNG PEOPLE ME
NEED THESE YOUNG PEOPLE FOR THEIR IMAGI­
NATION AND INVENTIVENESS, THEIR NEW IDEAS
AND APPROACHES^
MUST WORK TOGETHER FDR FULL
ANO EQUAL EMPLOYMENT.
Portland/Observer Thursday February 17, 1972
The Northw est’s Best W eekly
A Black O w n ed Publication
Publishes every Thursday by . vie Publishing Company, 2201
N. Killingsworth, Portland, Oregon 97217
Subscription $5.25 per year in Tri-County area by m ail. Out­
side tlie Tri-County area - »6.00 per year by m ail.
Phone 283-2480.
Mailing address - P. O. Hox 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208.
\LFRl-.D I i i. HUNDERSt IS, P ublisher/E duor
Verna L. Henderson
A sst. Publishei business manage
,v.ri
Helen Hendrix
IN P A
Personnel and Production Manager
\ny erroneous reflection upon the charactei, standing or rep­
utation of person, firm or coi poration, which may appear in the
Portland Observei w ill be cheerfully corrected upon being
bi ought to tlie attention of tlie E d ito r.
The Editor’s Desk
c
SHB
Racism still prevails
T H E N E W AGE
A . I X G K It^ e 'C t. M a r u t | « r .
K n t* r « d a t l b *
aa B M h d r t M m a t t a r
a t F o r t la o d . <'r a g u a
W B S C S im O N .
< ^ a V a a r . g a y e a « * ta e d » « * *
j
" edit
EDITORIAL
Professor DuBota furnishes a con­
trasting philosophy to that of Booker
T W ashington
One of these parties
la ashamed of the race, the o ther la
proud of It. one make« the w hite man
the atandard. the other seeks the
standard la Its own rare Ideals, one
demands social equality, or at least
resents social Inequality, the other to
too self respecting to do eith er, one
seek» to pustrthe Negro Into a higher
place, the other to make him a larger
man one demands for him the right
to rid e la the white man a car. the
other seeks to make the black man s
c a r clean and reaper table
one de­
mands the ballot tor ignorant black
men because ignorant w hite men have
tk e ballot, the other asks opportunity
to m ake the black man competent for
the duties of cittsenahip. and wishes
no m an to vote w hite or colored who
la not competent
oee would build
the educational system of the race en
the university, the other would build
It on the common school and ths Indus­
tria l school one wishes to tench tke
Negro to read the Ten Commandments
In Hebrew, the other wishes first to
teach him to obey them ta English;
to one labor is barely more honorable
than idleness and the education which
make« laborer« s o l nothing m ore* is
regarded w ith 111 coocenied oontem ’ t
to the other Industry ta th e bank rlr-
tue. sad the education which mr . a
Industy ¡nteiligeni 1» the foundation sf
civilisation.
W hile Pnofoaaor OuBeia baa w ritten
a notable book, w ith a deal of truth
and nature la tt. the b righter and mors
practical philosophy of Dr W ashing
ton Is rather to be common ¿•a
The history ot black people in the I meed States is a struggle
NEGRO PROFESSORE BOOK
fo r freedom. The struggle in Oregon has been d iffic u lt and full
A book entitled “T h e Soul« of th *
freecom has not yet been obtained.
B U ck Folk»." w ritte n by a colored
man P ro f W E B DuBota 1» attract
Black people ha\e always been restricted and presented from
ln< a rood deal of attention
H e take«
taking th e ir proper place in thepolmeal,economic,educational
a some« hat peaaimiatfc elew of tb«‘
and social life of the community. In the early days blacks were
black race’s condition.
H e any», to
prohibited from residing in Oregon and those who defied the law
m ention only tw o or three sample
and remained could not vote, own property, take part in legal
thought» or Ideas th at the Am erl
can Negro la "tw o eon la. tw o thoughts
proceedings and were witnout the protection of the law.
tw o unreconciled s trle tn g s ." he Is evsr
Although laws prohibiting residence were not s tric tly en­
the subject of a "double conacloun-
forced, they created an atmosphere. hites could practice rac­
Besa.“ dom inated by a "aenae of a l­
ism with the full support of government, degrading and <1ehuman-
ways looking at oneself through the
eye« of other«, o f m easuring one a aoul
lzing practices were encouraged. The a t t i t u d e of w h it e
by the tape of a world that look« on
settlers, already opposed to contact with blacks and other non­
In amuoed contempt and pity."
To
whites, were solidified. U ithout contact with blacks, these rac­
Professor DuBota the Negro la a prob­
ist attitudes grew and became a part ot the educational and gov­
lem and the question la ever present
ernmental system.
In hla consciousness and from It he
confesses him self unable to escape.
This atmosphere s till prevails. Blacks 3re s till isolated from
"H ow doe« it feel to be a problem *"
the mainstream of community life through segregated housing,
Professor DuBota Is half ashamed of
education and discrim ination in employment. Blacks s tilld o not
being a Negro, and he give« exp re«
h a v e representation in government a nd political affairs and do
•ion to his own bitterness of aoul In
the cry which he puts Into the mouth
not have an input into the decision making processes that effect
of hl« race, "W hy did Ood make me an
our lives.
(September 1Ü. 1903)
outcast and a stranger In m ine own
Involvement with the question of slavery and the free black home***
man at a crucial time in its history and settlement by fam ilies
from the Midwest and upper South give Oregon a more con­
Diego. Neither is it mentioned that the courts recently found
servative viewpoint than its neighbors or. the question of slavery
that her termination as a professor at the University of C a li­
and equality of the black man. This conservatism remains.
fornia because of her Communist ideology was illegal.
C alifornia and Washington have a larger number of blacks and
He are tired of speculations about the treatment Angela
blacks have found greate achievement there. Many of those
would have at the hands of a ' ‘ communist” government if
black persons living in our neighboring states were raised in
she were protesting in the ( .S.5.R. We wwni to be told what is
Oregon, but had to leave to find opportunities.
being done to a young black woman by the “ dem ocratic”
R estriction of opportunity w ill continue in Oregon until gov­
government in the United States.
ernment officials take action. It w ill continue until the boards of
m ajor corporations meet their obligations. Although no longer
legally restricted, blacks a; e ignored. VS e a re not consulted un­
til after decisions h a v e t-een m a d e . Small in number, we are
considered without power and of no consequence.
Governor M cC all, Commissioner Gleason, Mayor Schrunk and
others m positions of leadership must take immediate steps to
bring black people into the political structure. Hundreds of per­
sons serve on state boards and commissions, less than ten are
black. T he county and city appoint innumerable committees and
study commissions, few have black members. There are a m i­
croscopic number of blacks employed in state, county and city
government in positions o t h e r than common labor. Inm ost
areas of the country it is in c iv il serv ice that blacks have found
Dear S in
(E d ito r’ s Note:
Journalists
opportunities, but not in Oregon. Every agency of state and lo­
travel with the President and
cal government should seek out and hire black people until we
I find it d iffic u lt to under­
other government officials on
have a f a i r representation m a l l positions (as is required by
stand
why Afro-Am erican
state visits at the expense of
federal law.) Oregon is behind most of the countryt including
journalists are not included
their own publications. Tne
much of the South, and w ill oe until the political leaders decide
in the persons who w ill ac­
publication also chooses who
to take action.
company President Nixon on
w ill represent it. The Los
his v is it to China. A fro -
A n g e le s Sentinel sent its
Americans
have certainly
sports wr ite r on the A frican
earned the right to be in­
trip .
cluded as professional journ­
The cost of the China ti ip
alists on historic occasions.
is $6,000. This editor would
How is it possible to ig ­
be happy to be the "black
nore M r. Hal Walker (White
jo u rn a lis t" on the trip if
House Correspondent), M r.
someone would donate tie nec-
How do you measure a person’ s character? By tlie heights
Mai Goode ( the 1972 P resi­
cessary funds.)
of th e ir aspirations, the breadth of th e ir heart, the depth
dent of thel. nited NationsCor-
of ttie ir soul, the slanting of th e ir eyes, or the te'.ture of
respondents Association), or
th e ir skin?
Which yardsticks of measurement do you use?
some of our other able Negro
In its e d ito iia l of February 12, 1972, the Oregon Journal
journalists? I feel President
Nixon is being insensitive to
states that Angela Davis has become a "cause celebre” since
the concerns of m inority peo­
hei a rrest in October of 1970. The Journal advises that the
ple who are interested, con­
best way to determine Angela’ s guilt or innocence is to “ let
cerned
and knowledgeable
justice take its course” .
about international m atters.
Angela became a "cause celebre” through the manipulations
1 find it p a rticu la rly d iffi­
of the government. When has the government spent hundreds
Dear Rev. Henderson:
cult to understand the exclu­
of thousands of dollars to capture and prosecute a person as
remotely connected with a crim e as this? Why is the convic­
sion of individual black jo u r­
Your editorial "P o litic a l
tion of this person of such value to the government? Is it
nalists or a representative of
Power Beginning at Home"
the Associate! Negro Press
because she is a well known and respected black woman? Or
was coi reedy
in point in
is it because she is a Communist?
in Chicago or other A fro-
showing the c ritic a l need for
The best insuiance that justice w ill take its course is a
Amei lean media. I seriously
Blacks to legister to vote ani
la ir and open tria l - open to the scrutiny of the public. Vet
question President Nixon’ s
to vote. But the e was one
Angela’ s tria l w ill be held in a room which holds only 30
naming M rs. John Johnson
glaring omission which I cer­
spectators, 30 of these reserved for the pi ess. So only 20
(Ebony Fashion D irector) to
tainly hop* was inadvertent
accompany M rs . Nixon on hei
seats w ill he available to her fam ily, friends, well wishers
and not intentional.
and the concerned public. The tria l is being held in a county
recent trip to A frica while
Portland, (negon and M ult­
that has such a small percentage of blacks that it is unlikely
excluding M r. John Johnson
nomah County have several
that any black people w ill serve on tier ju ry , and as is custom­
(Publisher of Ebony and other
highly qualified Black men
ary, there w ill probably te no young people - yet we say she
Johnson publications) from tne
and women. 1 am sure you
w ill be judged by a ju ry of her "p e e rs ” .
China trip , (here are many
w ill a g ie e th a to u i communi­
Angela has been held in virtual isolation for over a year.
A fro - American journalists
ty must I« encouraged to give
She has been denied proper medical care, she has not been
who m e rit consideration.
fu ll and vociferous support to
allowed release on bail, altnough this is contradictory to state
I hope our Piesident, who
Black women as well as to
law. She has not been provided legal counsel by the state,
is suppose to represent all
Black men who w ill lie i unning
even though she has declared that she is without funds and
of the people, w ill revise the
for office.
therefore is entitled to legal assistance. I here is now being
lis t of journalists before his
built, a special cell atop tie mens' pi Ison In San Jose, where
departure.
Sincerely youi s,
she w ill be held during the tr ia l. This is not tlie usual treat­
Mercedes F. Diez
Sincerely,
ment afforded the usual defendant.
Judge
M rs . O. J . Gates
The Journal refers to M iss Davis as a " self-styled Com­
m unist” as is the custom of the white press. Seldom is it
The Observer's official position is expressed only in its Pub­
mentioned that Angela is a bi ill lent and accomplished young
lis h e r's Column (The Observation Post) and the Edltor'aDesk.
woman who received a scholarship to Brandéis U niversity,
Any other matei la I throughout the paper is die opinion of the in­
studied at Sorbonne in P aris, studied on aGerman State Schol­
dividual w itte r or submitter and does not necessarily reflect
arship at Goethe U niversity in Frankfurt, and earned her
the opinion of the Observer.
doctorate in philosophy at tlie U niversity of C alifornia In San
LETTERS TO THE
EDITOR
SS
Super Spurt
RECAPS
The Black H istorical Mat­
e ria ls In Oregon P ilot Re­
trie va l Project is looking toi
old newspapei s, mem oirs,
letters,
photographs,
and
other family ami oigani/ation
records about Black people
in Oregon.
[he Retrieval Project is
working to meet the demands
of Black people foi respect
and recognition ot their his­
torical experience.
At the
same time the project hopes
to Introduce the themes of
Black H istory to all Oregon­
ians.
Because jny adequate study
of Black H istory ultim ately
requires specific infoi nration
on the experience of local
Black communities, it is very
important that local i ecords
such as those kept by private
fam ilies and those stored away
in organization archives te
retrieved for the public.
I he project is funded
by the Oregon H isto rica l Soc­
iety.
F or
further information
contact:
P ilo t Retrieval Project
John Strawn, D irector
M rs . Oznathylee Hopkins,
C o-dlrector
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