Page 2
$ ou are Iw tte i inform ed Ivcause you read it in the o b s e rv e rl
AS n iS T IM a IS H F I) FROM POI 1l|< | \ \ s
As I See It
TRUTH hill
MUST WORN TOGETHER FUR FULL
ANU EQUAL EMPLOYMENT.
P o rtla n d ’s Black Caucus:
(/LT/MATELV PPEVA/L
H hE B E THt PE AS PAUN
TO BAlN6 IT 7 Q U 6 H T
By Lenwood G. I ’ av is
Portland Observer Thursdav February 24, 1972
The N o rth w e*!’* Best W eekly
A Black Owned Publication
Published every ib m s .l.iy by
x i^ u b
h s h ir i^ o iM M n y ^ 2 0 1
N. K 111 i n v , , i th. I \ ■ [ Md, Oregon
Subscription $5.25 p»r year in i i i-C oun ty area bv m a il. Out
side the T ri-C o u n ty area - $6.00 pei year by m a il.
Phone 283-2486.
A LF R e D I l.r. Hi M i
P u b lis h e r/!, lito :
Verna I.. Henderson
A s s t. Publisher . business manage!
A
I V’
Helen Hendrix
Pei si r.-.e in. Production .Manager
IN P A
l e t THE PEOPLE
HHOhV the troth
■ ,
utation of person, fir m or corporation, which may appear in the
Pol Hand O bserver w ill he clie e rfu lly corre cte d upon being
brought to the attention of the J ito r .
AHO THE COUHTPy
/S SATE.
The Editor’s Desk
I l f " l ’i »N " l i t 11 I I T IN i . t I A I H NAH \ i
They speak
with forked tongue
M l companies holding government conn acts are required to
file a statem ent of com pliance w ith the fed eral govei nment. This
gives th e ir assurance that minor m es a ie to he employed at all
levels. I t also req uire s that they make a concerted effoi t to hire
and upgrade m in o ritie s .
liv e r y agency ofgove nment, including state and local govern
ment agencies that use l e d e r a l lunds, have s im ila r re q u ire
m ents.
Any o ig a m /a tio n (ho spita l, nu. sing home, child care center,
etc.j that receives
. nt of paym entsof federal m o n e y ’
even if t ie money comes in d ire c tly through the state o r local
governm ent, must guarantee that they w ill hire m in o ritie s .
A ll ot this is called E qua I O pportunityE m ploym ent. In order
to meet this obligation, many companies placeEOE on th e ir ad
vertisem ents o r occasionally w rite to c iv il rig hts organizations
stating that they are an I. ¡ualt rpportumty E m p lo y e i. T his is the
evteni ot then endeavo s. They never make a valid attem pt to
h ire a minen ity wor k e r .
If any em ployer is serious about his com m itm ent to the gov
ei nment to seek out and employ m in o ritie s , the most obvious
move would be to advertise to r employees in the black press and
in other m in o rity publications. It is notenough to w rite a le tte r
eav!. vea. it, t; e \ y u '¡ . ;
. t in !« ig u e and s iv , “ We hire
b l a c k s , but ,va h«ve no « enings,” th e n /if ) th e ir po sitio ns
thio ug l ads ui tire white J a n e s . We m ust begin to question
those em ployei s whodo not make then vacancies known to those
tliev seek. It apjiears that to them E l r is rh e to ric to keep th e ir
te d e ia l money, and not a com m itm ent to equality.
Nixon on busing
I he P resident of the I mted States is asking fo r a constitution
al amendment to make the busing of c h ild re n f o r the purpose of
school desegregation ille g a l. W hile g ivin g lip se vice to c iv il
‘ ights and equal opp< t.in ity, an ittem ptin g roture the support
■ ckca p ita lism .M r.N iM a proposes
to remove one of the means : e .. .
. busing ,s net the final
solution, fxit it provides many childre n with me opportunity to
gain an education that would not otherwise be open to them.
To rem ove th is avenue to deseg legation, a rute on a bus, is to
deny die constitutional ■ ights of H ttle c h ild en. It is an attem pt
to go so fa. as to cl „ ee that constitution in order to deny the
rig h ts of ch ild re n .
A constitutional amendment isa seriousm ove. It req uire s the
vote of 3 , 4 o f the states and ís ia r e ly accom plished. Such an a t-
. cuse confusion and turm oil, whether it succeeds oi
fa ils . It may become the ove n »ling is s u e in the presidential
pi im a n e s , taking the heat off the P reside nt m areas of foreign
\ let. ui. me ti e economy. P e i h a p s the P resident is
m ore inte estec in wooing v o t e r s than in halting the busing,
since lie can accom plish that by othe means.
It has been said that the difference between a p o litic ia n ami a
statesman is .ne hundred yea rs. | his becomes m ore ev .dent as
we b e g in to hem the ih e t o r i c ot a nattonal election y e a r . |t
t a k e s real statesm anship to speak out for i against is s u e s
which m ightadve sely affect a candidate's reception rt the p o lls.
Iw o of our g ie a t P residents, whose birthdays we celebrate
th is month, had the courage to sjieak th e ir tru e con victio ns.
G eoige W ashington aptly expressed his feelings when he said,
" I ruth w ill ultim ately pi ev ail where there is pain to bring it to
lig h t?
\m l Abraham Linco ln showed confidence in the fa il judgm ent
the electorate wlien h e s a id ,“ | havetaith in the people. . .the
danger is in th e ir being m is le d . L e t them know the tiu th and the
Country is s a te ."
These comments are especially appiopi late in this election
yea .
j !
Congrolutotions
Dear E d ito r:
1 would ¡ike to congratulate
you fo r the fine a rtic le that
your paper c a rrie d rece ntly on
the H isto ry of B lacks in O re
gon. It was v e ry appropriate
and tim e ly . It is a tru is m that
few people in the state know the
e a rly histo ry of B lacks in O re
gon.
The present period of Black
cu ltu ra l consciousness indi
cates quite c le a rly that Blacks
in Oregon are no longer w ill
ing to re je ct th e ir cu ltu ra l
heritage and ra c ia l kie n tity .
The need fo r a ll the people of
Oregon to understand and ap
preciate the ro le and im pact
that Blacks have had on help
ing build and develop Oregon
is c r it ic a l. A ll the people of
Oregon m u s t understand tne
h is to ric , social ami economic
cu ltu re of the Black e xp e ri
ence. I herefore the histo ry of
Blacks ui Oregon m u s t be
w ritte n , since there is no com
prehensive histo ry of Blacks
in the state of Oregon.
Not many people are aware
that some Black fa m ilie s have
lieen in Oregon longer than
some white fa m ilie s . V e ry few
people are aware that there
were many B lack pioneers,
e xp lo re rs, s e t t l e r s , ranch
e rs , fa rm e rs , guides and in
te rp re te rs , cowboys, Indian
fig h te rs , s o l d i e r s , sa ilo rs ,
'
e rv , in I i ¡venture:
Oregon.
I hope that the a rtic le that
appeared m the P ortland < >b-
serve r enlightened the people
in Oregon and helped (hem re
assess th e ir unfounded bias
against Blacks in this stateami
the United States.
Lenwood G. D a vis, A uthor
"B la c k s in the state of O re
gon, 1788 - io 7 i: a l i i h i i o -
graphy”
Dear E d ito r:
The headquarters of the An
gela Davis Legal Defense
Fund, P .o. Box ,288, Man*
hettsnvflle Station, New Vo. k,
I
,
------------------
,
N .’i . 10027, has announced
a desperately low financial
' '
,
...........
trib u tio n s be sent in o rd e r to
build tim e ly legal defense
w o rk. Angela’ s attoineys are
M a rg a re t Burnham ami How
ard M oore. Other attorneys
who previously have served
her are John Abt and O livet
W endell Holmes 111.
The ju ry selection proceed
ings began Jan. 31 in San
Jose, C a lif.
Less than two
weeks before that, the C a lif
o rn ia Supreme Coui tde clare d
unconstitutional the fir in g of
Angela from UCLA on trie
grounds that she was a Com
m u n ist.
Her m other, M rs . Sallye B.
D a vis, was her e in Per tlaml
Feb. 4-6 , and spoke at var ious
churches ami at P ortla nd State
funds
U n iversity in belrall ol the
defense and needed funds. Hei
P ortland apjiearance was co
sponsored by 16 oi ganizations
-
cal) including the F ree Angela
Branch, P.( r, Box 4471, P o rt
land 97208.
Inform ation on the Angela
D avis case and issue may oe
secured from the National
Lm teJ C om m ittee to I lee An
gela Davis, 2O85Suttei Street,
No. 209, san F r a n c isco .C a lif.
941 IS, o from the P oi tlaml
address.
However, con tribu tions go
to the above New Voi k City
address (PX4. Box 1288, Man-
hatt in v ille Station, New Vo k,
N'.V. 10027).
A rth u r C . Spencer III
F re e Angela D avisC om m ittee
•
S. - Youi coverage was
lie a rtw a im in g and excellent.
The speech by B e tti O ver-
ton of Albina Women’ s League
was beautiful.
Thank you.
funds fo r the m a n y p ro je cts
that it has planned. F o u rth ly ,
It should meet moi e and have a
del m ite tim e ami place.
I he P ortland Black Caucus
also has many assets. It has
brought some unity w ith in the
Black com m unity. It haa de
fin ite aim s ami objectives ami
Is woi king tow ai d then im p le
m entation. | he Black Caucus
does to a c e rta in degree rep-
esent the Black conimun itv . It
A tew months ago a g ro u p o f
Black individuals Hom Poi t-
land met at M t. Angel and o r
ganize.) a Black Caucus. E v i
dently they hail been inspiievf
by t h e National Black Caucus
because it has some of the
same objectives as the Nation
al Black Caucus. Nam ely, to
bring about some social,poli
tic a l, econom ical amt educa
tional unity and s ta b ility ami
change w ithin the Black com
m unity.
Befor e the meeting was held
m any pro blem s occur r ed ami
at one tune it appeared as if
it would not le held.it a ll. | ne
f ir s t problem was one o f mon
Lenwood G.Davis
ey arid this was solved by as
sessing each person $2S.OOto
w e ie m uted s h o u ld not have
t a k e ca re of his room and
le e n in vlteil, ami a lew people
board, lh e second problem
that were not Inv lteil should
was one ot selecting the p a r ti
have teen invited.
cipants ami this was p a rtly
It has teen ovei twoinonths
solved by in viting an alleged
since it was held ami an as
cross section ot the Black
sessment is necess.ii y . l ike
com m unity. Ihe th ird prob
any
conteience ot th is kind one
lem was where should it tie
comes away w i t h mixed opin
held and th isw a s solved by se
ions. It is not a tru is m , even
lecting a city outside of P o rt
ui tia d iiiu ii.il P o rtla n d , t h a t
land - M i. Angel - lecause it
Black people can not come to
was m exjiensiveandsoniew b.it
gether to r a common cause ami
secluded and the atmosphere
what was m in e im p ortan t was
was such that one would not tie
t h a t it showed the e sta blish
d istra cte d fro m the main p u r
ment that a la ig e numbei ot
pose of the conference. A ftei
Blacks could c o m e togethet
many long and weary hours ot
ami do some sei ious thinking
by ocie 1
ami planning. W hife
, I
Met
. J
anything, has o ffic ia lly Iven
Annie A lle n , N ick B arn ett, O.
made public, there is nodoubt
T. H am ilton ami others, m ost
that the e s t a b I t s h in e n t is
ot the problem s w e r e solved
clo sely observing it's actions.
ami, to the dism ay of many,
Any movement of this magni
b o t h Black ami W hite, it was
tude has many lia b ilitie s as
held and w ell attended. Ap
wall is assets. A ndaslaw it,
p ro xim a te ly sixty people were
they need to ba brought out.
present. Many s o-ca lle d Black
P ir s t, the Black Caucus does
" le a d e r s " and Black public
not have enough of the "g r a s s -
a d m in is tra to rs were conspic
r o o t s ” ami everyday citize n
uously absent and gave such
representative, secondly, it
unacceptable excuses as they
dues not have one spokesman,
ha d " p r e v i o u s co m m it
but several ami that is accept
m e n ts ,'' " w o u l d be out of
able fo rtb e p ie s e n t. How evei,
•
•» ’*
the t i m e w ill come when it
" u n a v a i l a b l e to a tte n d ."
m ust select a lea le i . I h iid ly ,
Those individuals need to be
its financial resources i i e
reprim anded by the B la c k
lim ite d ami some plan m ust be
Caucus. Many jiersons that
devised to have Hie necessary
Letters To The Editor
Free A n g ela lo w on
•r—■ — ...J
An assessment
In fo rm a tio n
sought
Can’t
afford
$6,000
Dear b in
D e a r E d ito r:
Before any m ore is said
about no blacks on the t i ip
to China, jierhaps it should
be brought out that the black
press d id n 't care to spend
the money to send someone
along.
If the A d m in is tra tio n ma le
a re a l e ffo rt they no doubt
could have had some one so
that it could be said blacks
were represented, but then
what black would want to go
ju s t to provide the proper
(in the eyes of the A d m in is
tra tio n ) windowdressing fo r
this China trip ?
I am w ritin g in regards to
my father . W illu m E a rl I uck-
e r, born 1898 in Sanilac Coun
ty , M ichigan.
We recently received in fo r
m ation that he passed away
in Portland, Oregon, Ju ly,
1967. Would you please send
an ob itua ry of his death. I
would like ve ry much if you
would put an a rtic le in youi
paper to r anyone that m ight
have known oi was a close
friend of h is.
I would like
any inform ation at a ll. Ihe
last tim e 1 seen my fathei
was in 1938 in M a rte tle e ,
M ich iga n. 1 was 3 years old
at that tim e .
F o i years 1
have been looking without re
sults.
That is why I would
lik e th is in your paper.
M rs . W arren II. M arp le
4412 s j e . R iv e r U riv e
P o rtla n d , Oregon 97222
Thank you,
(E d ito r ’ s note: Black news
papers are underfinanced and
operating on m inim um bud
gets, and m ost are weekly.
None fe lt the investm ent of
$6,000 would be worth the
advantages gained. Some of
the la rge r pajiers consnlere.1
jo in in g resources and sending
I "--¡uesent Hive, but de ided
against it. (h e re is a gre at
deal of in te re st InChiria among
blacks and It would have lieen
g o a l to have a black c o rre s
pondent's com m ents on an in
side view , but pei haps nut
w orth $6,000.)
G ilb e rt Edward Tucker, S i.
28U9 32nd Street
P o rt Huron, M ichigan 48060
has among I t s tanks m ost ot
the " b e s t " Black bra in s in
Poi Hand. Next, it Is a f o t c e
that the establishm ent w ill
have to deal w ith . A lso it
showed |<eople that Black peo
ple w ill suppoi ( a movement ot
this nature. I he greateat as
set oi I'm Hand's BlackCaucus
is that its potentials are un
iin i ilvsI ami that is what Is woi -
rying the establishm ent th e
m ust.
The forgotten American
Ron Heodren
IN WASHINGTON
W A s lIIN G Ii’N
As uiie e l
these fa c ilitie s would 1« public
derly woman rece ntly put it,
and n o n -p ro fit Ixnldlngs such
" I ’lil age is nut lur -.is .s ie > ."
as schools and chut d i e s ,
I liable tu cupe w ith today's
W here possible, ti anspor ta-
youth - in tented society ui
tion would la? provided to the
which they tirsl them selves,
c o n te is,
ulten liv in g w e ll l» lu w the
senator R uler t I alt, J r .
poverty level on meager live il
( K - t itilo) has said (hat tins
incom es, Hie old are piobably
p iu p o s.il "n o t only gives lle s c
the m ost forgotten of a ll
olde r A m ericans theessential
Amei leans.
m iti Ilio n th e y re q u ire , but
senator Edward M ,Kennedy
equally inipiu tain, n w ill In nig
A1 ' M a s .
lia s sa l.l, “ | ,,i
tie n i togelhei at least once a
the elder Iv c itiz e n s , the final
day when tliey can ea ttog etliei
chapter of th e ir lives is a
and a s s o c i a t e w ith then
b itte i streggle lu i s u iv iv a l
frie n d s and neighbors. Ib is
that is v irtu a lly ignored bv
measur e opens tlre ii woi Id
tire vast majority ui then
.uni eni iclres then lives both
fellow c itiz e n s ."
nu ll itio n a lly and s o c ia lly ."
Atxl fo i a gi e it n u iiil« i ui
Many e l.le i ly insr sons a ie
the e ld e rly this struggle is
homebound,
howevei,
and
largely one igainsi m alnuti i
would not le rt’le to n a v e l
lio n . I.ig h t m illio n ol Hreiii,
to tire dining cen ters. Fur
according to o n e re lia b le es
..
tim a te do not ha v e sufficie nt
home de live red m eals would
d ie ts .
be p i ov idei I .
Many sim ply are loo jiuui
I lie concept ot meal pi in
to buy enough food to eat.
g ra in s lo r Hie elder Iv is not
an unti ted one. Since I9<>8
surveys show that ne a r I y 10
p ilo t p ro je c ts set up unJoi
percent ol this nation's oldei
people live at oi near Hie
lire oldei Amei leans Act have
to ta lle d
32 g r o u p meal
poverty level. What is m ore,
seniot citize n s genei a lly do
p ro g ra m s
throughout
tire
cou ntry, which at tlre ii |>eak
not have the m o b ility to go
out atki Ixiy tire toixl they nee I.
m e a ls e a c h m o n th .
A lso , after many y e a rs o fe a t
ing m eals in a close fa m ily
I he senate passed pruposal
setting, e ld e rly |>ei son ■ who
authoi iz e l $ I u i m illio n in Hie
lis c e ! yea r
1973 and $ I id
are suddenly alone tend to lo w
in te re st in prepa ring null i-
m illio n in F is c a l 1974. tin s
f Iona I food.
money would le re tili noil to
L e g isla tio n now jiemling ui
the late
t . gr nits, with Ihe
Congress pi u tilises to a lle v i
tiKlividu.il states te a rin g tun
ate some of Hus problem by
poi cent ol He cost. It is e x-
pi ov sling low . O S t , l i l t , l u l l
|Wi ted that uiktei th e p io g r m i
«need m eals fo He old.
• I it e I..11 :
I tie N u tritio n P ro g i.im foi
wou Id le pi ov sled lot upw n ds
ot fid,tHMl |rei s<un. I ive lays jror
week,
Kennedy in ttre Senate, passed
lire b ill’ s auppot tel s argue
that body unanimously (89-0)
th it lui»I ing H e pi ogi am would
late last Novetnbei.
actually save money in tin- loti)
S tm ila i le g isla tio n in He
tun. W ith |>ro|«i n u tritio n ,
House, introduced by Con
they reason, many eldet ly
gressm an Claude I) , l'e|>t>ei
p e t s o n s would le .d ie to
(D -F la .), should le voted oi
m aintain bettei health
and
e a rly
th is
y e n . I'e p p e i,
th e re fo re a g re a te i degree
whose Dade County M o i sla
of
self - suflien cy.
I his
d is tr ic t contains one ot Hie
would re su lt m "s u b s ta n tia l
la ig c s t com m unities ot r e t ir
saving s" in ledei a lly financial
ees in the c o u n tiy , f ir s t in
nursing homes at»l o t le i Me>l-
troduced ttre b ill in Congress
i r ie imi Medi i»l pi <,gi ams,
two y e n s ago.
ii o n lin g to senator I homas
If enjctcsl into law, it wrrukl
I . i . rgleton (I )-M o .), , h a ir-
provide e ld e rly persons w ith
man of the Senate Subcom
at least one hot meal a lay
m itte e on Aging.
five days a week, lire cost
I lie low cost n u tritio n a l
to e lig ib le iim I iv sfuals, t h o s e
meal p ro gra m lo i tlr e e ld e ily
sixty years ol rge ind s lie r ,
is not a panacea lo i a ll the
would be approxim ately filty
problem s lacing oli le i c i t i
cents lo i each m eal.
zen., but it doe |iei traps give
The meals would le served
an indir ation to those A m e ii-
at conveniently located cen
cans whose golden yeai s have
te rs w ithin w alking distances
been tarnished by the scourge
foi a m axim um num liei of
of m alnu ti itio n that Hreie are
'a m id c itiz e n s .
Sites
loi
s till those who c a ie .
le i rbsei ver s official position is expressed only in its Pub
lis h e r « C o lu m n (The Obser vation Post) and the E d fto r’ sD esk
Any o tf« r mater is l throughout the paper Is tire opinion of tire in
d ivid u a l w r ite r or s u b m itte r and does not n e cessa rily re fle c t
the opinion of the O b se rve r.
....................................................aaaaaaaaaq
NEW
mcadoifs
A ppreciation
'O M « I l i l H T .......
IO N I c « u
m il«
....... u.
NC-
D e ar Rev. Henderson:
I would lik e to take this
opportunity to e x p r e s s my
sincere appreciation to you lor
the ve ry fine story you ran of
the Oregon National Guard in
yen
is
m
of tfw Pordsnd
Observer on Thursday, f-eb-
ru a ry 10.
Your support of
the Oregon N atlonalG uard and
the p i ugrarns it h,r>, ,,v i l l if .
to the citize n s of Oregon is
g re a tly appreciated by all of
us.
W ith best re g a id s, I r e -
m ain -
S in cere ly,
Donald N . Ander son
M ajor General
The Adjutant Genei al
|
i
I
'
!
|
|
I
I
I
j
I
I
I ■■■■■
■
M A T U a .N e T H . „ . „ ' T A
ANO T H . A A .O U O U .
t l . M , M C T 4 ..
J
■
■
Friday POI| Time 7:30
!
■
Saturday and Sunday Po»t Time 1:30
■
■