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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 1972)
Page 2 As I See It Oregon’s Black Inmates: The Forgotten Men MUET MWK 7PÛETHEPFUR FULL ANU EQUAL EMPLOYMENT. Portland/Observer Thursday, March 9, 1972 The N o rth w e s t’* Best W e e k ly A Black O w n e d Publication Published every Thursday by E vie Publishing Company, 2201 N. K ill mgsuorth, Portland, Oi egon 97217 Subscription $5.25 per year in Tri-County area by m ail, Out side the Tri-County area - jo.dO per yeai by m ail. Phone 283-2486. M ailing address - P. O. Box 3137, Portland, i egon 97206. ALFRED LEE HENDERSON, P ublisher/L iito r Verna L. Henderson Asst. Publisher, business managet IX PA Helen Hendrix Personnel and Production Manager Any ei roneous reflection upon the character, standing oi rep utation of person, firm or corporation, whichmay appear in the Portland Observer w ill he cheerfully corrected upon being brought to the attention of die E ditor. The Editor’s Desk " WHO'S m e 6 (jy WITH HCNRV KI'SSINÓÉR ? * A matter of choice The current controversy over busing public school children fo r the purpose of desegregation would not have beer necessary had not blacks been confined to designated areas of the cities, both by law and by real estate practice. If every family in the United States had a true choice of where it is to live, then black fam ilies as well as white could choose their homes in the choice a r e a s of the cities, and so choose the schools their children would attend. We hear much about the neighborhood school and the white fam ily who planned their residence to provide the best education fo r th e ir children. This pi lvtlege has not been open to blacks. Lnable to buy e.xceptwhere white power provided, black fam ilies had no c h o ic e in the matter of which schools their children would attend. Busing provides a means where by children who would other wise attend sub-standard schools have the opportunity to attend the schools that receive greater financial support and therefore come closer to ‘ ’ quality education.” It is unfortunate that inner city' schools receive less financial support and less concern than the schools in the more affluent areas. But this is the American system. Only when they are fille d with middle class children bused from the white suburbs w ill inner city schools, whether black or white, receive the ne cessities to provide "q u a lity education.” The o th e r side to segregated housing is the poor f a m il y . Blacks and other m inorities are denied their choice because of race; the poor have no choice because they lack the financial re sources. Denied access to the economic resources of the com munity because of r a ce , lack of t r a in in g , ignorance, cultural, or language differences, or what ever the reason, they, too, are denied quality education. So the cycle perpetuates itse lf as their children are trapped in the system. The entire issue is one of individual choice. In the United States, the affluent white and to some degree the less affluent white, have a choice of where he w ill live, where he w ill work, and where his children w ill go to school. The blacks, the Chi cano, the Indian and the poor white have no choice. The O b server's o fficial position is expressed only in its Pub lis h e r's Column (T h e Observation Post) and the E d ito r's D e s k . Any other m a te ria l throughout the paper is the opinion of the in dividual w rite r o r subm itter and does not n ecessarily re fle c t the opinion of the O bs e rve r. Letters To The E ditor E ditor The Portland Observer P.O. Box 3137 Portland, Oregon Dear Sir; Your "Taxation Without Rep resentation” h e a d lin e is catchy b u t misleading. It is true that not many m inority group members are in legisla tive, judicial and administra tive positions. Such responsi b ilitie s come only with great effort however and years of preparation. Then the key to officialdom and to responsible change is in the election pro cess, not by wishing or making strong statements. Members of minor ities w ill attain o ff ic e when they work hard in the party of t h e i r choice, nominate good candi dates and get everyone eligible registered and voting. F or in stance, how can Blacks in Portland expect to gain powei when so many don’t even both e r to register and vote and thereby s u p p o r t candidates they like? Working for change between elections is good but the final vote gives the score of the game. Sincerely, Howard W illits State Representative D is tric t 21 (E d ito r’ s Note: T rue . .. how ever, Black people do not have a m a jo rity in any d is tric t, and if every Black person were to register and vote, a Blackcan- didate could not be elected without white voters. White voters must learn to judge a candidate by hischaracterand his opinions, not his race.) Dear A l: A word of appreciation for your wonderful paper. You do an excellent job. Tire news articles are pertinent, positive and helpful in report ing achievements and succes ses. Your editorials are to the point, constantly raising and clarifying vital issues. 1 am a happy subscriber. Your friend, Meredith A. Groves (Retired superintendent of tne Alaska Mission and Executive Secretary of the Oregon Con ference of the United Metho dist Church.) 5145 S £ . Lincoln St. Portland, Oregon 97215 To Be Equal= by Vernon E. Jordan J r. Back in 1969, the President sent the Congress a proposal that would have established the principle of a federally- guaranteed minimum income beneath which no familywould be allowed to fa ll. The original proposal would have represented a nec essary step forward, but it has since become so encum ber ed by punitive provisions and restrictions that it is pro bable that any “ re fo rm " of the system this year w ill ac tually hurt, not help, those in need. 1 was asked to testify on the subject before the Senate F i- nance Committee recently, and I told the Committee that elements of what is called the Fam ily Assistance Plan actually "amount to a Fami ly Destruction P la n ". A large part of the reason fo r this can be found in the phiiiosophy behind the current welfare proposals. It’s a philosophy that says that peo ple are poor because of flaws within themselves; that they aren’ t worthy of assistance unless they change th e ir own values and behavior to con form with those of m iddle- class people. Everything seems to follow from this. The attitude seems to be that they shouldn’ t be trusted with enough money, so the payment levels are set at $2,400 fo r a fam ily of four, fa r too low for any one to keep body and soul together in these inflationary days. Ihe feeling is that the poor have to be forced to work, so die proposals mandate that welfare recipients have to take a job - any job. That applies to mothers with small child ren too, although there aren’ t day care centers to take care of th e ir kids. And the jobs (in the private sector) need only pay $1.20 per hour, fa r less than the present inad equate federal minimum wage of $1.60 per hour. That amounts to governmental cre ation of an underpaid caste labor force - and a pretty fat subsidy to employers of cheap labor, too. The states aren’ t even en couraged to maintain their present benefit levels In the new proposals, which means that tl« bulk of recipients w ill probably get less money than they did before the " r e form s” . And the basic per sonal decisions a welfare re cipient is entitled to make about his own life w ill become the duty of " B ig B ro th e r" in the form of a government employee. That's something that could really grow int> the firs t step toward a police state. While these and other pro visions of " r e f o r m " may fit some people's idea of reality, they’ re just not in tune with the facts of poverty in Am er ica and its causes. How can the government say to people that they must work when there is no work available? W ith six m illion people on the streets looking fo r jobs that aren’ t there it's absunlfto think that lic k Of personal ambition and not lack of jobs keeps people fro m finding work. I t ’ s time to face facts and reality, and the facts - as we have said countless tlrr.es- are that poor people want to work, that most poor people actually do work, but their say, theie ire many pool white jobs don’ t [My enough, that nearly all welfare recipients are unable to work, anti that the few who can don’ t because there are no jobs. I t ’ s tim e to stop blaming the vtcitm s and to place the blame for poverty and i ising welfare ro lls where it belongs on the economic system that 1 as failed to provide people with the tools fo r success m a complex, technological soc iety. Any discussion about the welfare system seems to de teriorate into concern about "blacks on w e lfa re ," but the truth Is that fat more white people are on welfare and are poor. I lies too, suffer from a system that provxies gen erous welfare benefits fo r ttie rich in the form of tax loop holes and federal subs Hies, tu t punishes the poor fo r the illogical and absurd reason that they ar e poor. Observer’s Intercom The University of C alifornia has been charged with sex dis crim ination paralleling "th a t of the State of M ississippi against blacks," in a federal court suit filed Tuesday by 12 wom en. Men were 12 times as likely to receive academic promo tion as s im ila rly qualified wo men at the university, the suit, filed on the anniversary of Su san B. Anthony’ s birthday, said. P la in tiffs included I.C Ber keley faculty members and graduate students. M iam i - M ilton C . Branch J r . has been named manager, special passenger services fo r Eastern A irlin e s, it was announced by B ill Gregg, d iv i sion vice president, passenger services. Branch, 27, w ill 1« respon sible fo r establishing p r o grams and coordinating ;ier- formance in all areas related to special passenger ser vices for Easter Cincinnati - The voters of Suburban Wyoming have ap proved his candidacy twi e in the last three months, I, Jt Hen ry Johnson has yet to serve a day on the C ity Council. Johnson, a research chem ist fo r theEnvironmental Pro tection Agency, ran and won in November . Befor e he took of fice, a little - known charter p r o v i s i o n was discovered which prohibits employees of public agencies from serving on the council. The law was put up for re f erendum while Johnson's eat reamined vacant. Last Tues day the v o t e r s abolished the statute, by a 711-191 vole. Johnson, his election n u lli fied by th e abolished statute, now must be appointed to the council. When he is, lie w Jl be its fir s t black mem ber. Many people are unaware of the deplorable conditions that exist m thepenitential ios in the United states. l ie tuegon state Penitentiary (DSP) in Salem is no excei>- tion. Ihe Blacks in the peni tentiaries, as I see it, are ttie forgotten men. I he Blacks in OSB .tie noexception. Most et the Black inmates in l t d ’ are theie on felony charges: aimed rubbery, mu i dec, rape, ami dope. I here a ie lew at OSB because ol then political philosophies. I h e Admini strators at th e tuegon State Penitentiary stated that the state does not keep i ecords of inmates by race. However, it is estimated that out of the 1,400 men that are at OSB, approximately 180-225 a r e Black. This is 14.2^ of the total which is unusually high when the total percentage of the overall Black population of the State of in egon is only l . j v . th is alone would surely indicate (hat Blacks aie not receiving equal justice under the law ami that (he law Is not coloi bliml. Most of the Black inmates in the I nt ted States, in ludmg the ones in the tuegon State Penitentiary, ¡relieve that even though they aie Black, if they had the money to pay foi a good attorney they would not 1« m prison. Needless to • I M M City« Kan. - "B la ck B usinessm an of tl« I ecu le ," Henry W. sewing, founder ami fo rm e r president of theDoug- C itO I ■ A . en that distinction by the Black Economic I nte , i (filiate of the o ffic e of M in o rity Busi ness Enter prise (OMBE), I e- partment of Commer ce, and a group of supportive e onorinc development organizations in Kansas C ity. Highl ighting (he event, a sterling sliver medal lion was presented to Sewing at the r « re n t BEL annual din ner. T his mar ked t he begin ning of an award program called tl« H.W . ewing Aw a rd, which w i l l 1« presented an nually to a selecte<l m inority businessman. Wallace- Chisholm ticket? A black group, header! by Revet end James Bevel, long time aide to the late D r.M a r tin Luther King, J ' ., ha', been formed to push a Democtatlc national ticket th.it would of fer something for everyone. Governor George Wallace Is proposed fo r president and Rep. Shirley Chisholm fo r vice president. Bevel said the ticket would satisfy both blacks anti whites, as well as ttie women’ s - lil> eiation movement. The organization has slight ly more than Ilk) memhei s, mostly Souther n students, both black and white. inmates in DSP ami no doubt they would not 1« there if they had the money to pay foi good legal services. Ihe Black inmates at ObB, however, present a somewhat s|iecwl case ami it is very important that the [xiblic be informed about what Is hap pening to them. It must be pointed out that there are NO Black adm inisti ators it GSP, I hei o ire NO B I K k 'counselois at OSB. Theie ate No Black guards. I le - peat, there are No Black guards at ( iSP. I here is only one Black m em l«i of the Pa role Boa nJ. Flier e Is only one Black Parole O ffice r. one can see why Blacks at OSP leel as though they are tire foi gotten men and society does not care about then Plight. The fu s t question that is usually asked by citizens is “ what can we do?" There aie a number ol things that an ami should bedone. F irs t, citizens must change then attitudes about inmates ami acknowledge them as fellow human t«lrigs. second, c iti zens must demand that the state change Its archaic laws concerning offenders of the law. T hird, citizens must demand that they le allowed to s i t in on Parole Hearings. Fourth, citizenscanw i ite let ters of protest to the Gov ernor, state Representatives and Oregon State Penitentialy Adm inisti atoi s about (le in humane conditions at (JSP. F ifth , they can provide trans portation for those inmates that have week-end passes ami have no way to v is it lie n fam ilies ami (i lends. Six, they can act as voluntary teachers to tie inmates. Sev en, they can send Black read ing m aterials to tie Black WASHINGTON BRIEFS Washington - R oy W ilkins, executive d i r e c t o r of the NA AGP, has been Invited to South A frica to make i speech A p ril I . If granted a v i s a he would become the fir s t black U.S, c iv il rights leader to v ls lt ! the country with Its rigid seg regationist policy. T h e State Dept. said It ex pected the S o u th Africans would eventually grant W ilkins a visa. The Association for Educational ami C ultural Ad vancement of the African Peo ple of Smith A frica Issued the Invitation. Washington - Cong. Augus tus F. Hawkins of Los Angel es has received a special award from D r. L e o n ll.S u lli van, foundei chair man of die Opportunities Industt iallzatlor Centers (OftI), foi his "le a d - e ish lp e fforts In support of a new manpower training h ill. " In . Sullivan, firs t black elec ted to General M otors' hoard of d ii e< tor s, marie the pre « n - t a t io n at a congressional breakfast attended by Demo cra tic ami Republican leader ship of both the Senate ami die House. Uhuiu C ultural Cluh’ s Meet ings that are held the firs t ami (h lid Friday nights of each month. Most of till, citizens, both Black ami white must have compassion, under standing ami hum ility foi th e Inmates. M o s t inmates telleve that the people on tie " outside" do not care about (hem le - cause th e y are lehlm l the " w a ll” . Citizens m u s t show these "fo rg o tte n " men that they do caie. Chief Justice of the United States Supreme C ourt, Warren E. Burger , re cently stated at th e National Confer ence on C orrections that "le w things would le lp more than having the iniblie fu lly informed on die prob lems of prisons ami the bur dens of those who admlnlstei them ." Chief Burger sees the urgent needs in col le c tion Institutions as these: 1. Institutions t h a t pro vide decent living conditions, in term s of an environment in which ho|>e can 1« kept alive. 2. Pei sonnet at every lev el who are ca ie fu lly selected ami profierly trained, with an attitude of understanding ami motivation such as wo seek in (eacltei s; and with compen sation related to 0 « high re- sponslbility. 3. Im proved classification procedures to insure separa tion of incorrigibles from oth- et s. 4. A balanced program ol productive work, intensive basic education, vocational education, and tecreation. 5. Communication with in mates. 6. A system of justice in which judges, prosecutors ami defense counsel lecogm /e (hat prompt disposition of cases is impel.Hive to any hope of success in die improvement of (hose convicted. F o r m e r United States A t torney General John N. M it chell also attended the re cent National Conference on C oirectlons ami state): " I t is my hope (hat as the ie - habllltatton approach to [« n - ulogy («gins to work, the pub lic w ill leg in to change us archaic feeling about ex-of fenders. Ihe public's pre dominant impression ol pen ology w ill 1«, not ol old walls, but ol new doors. Ami this in tum esn 1« the final break through In die centui les-old battle to reclaim and assimi late the ex-offenders." In President Nixon’ s mes sage to (lie National C orrec tions Confei ence, he declared: " . . . locking a convict up is not enough. We must a ls o offer him die keys of aluca- tlon, of rehabilitation, of use ful training, of hope - Ihe Lenw ood G .D a v it keys he must have to open die gate to a life of tie « loin ami d ig n ity." Delegates to the C o lle c tions Conference made many i ecommemla t ion s. II owev e i , theie were two that aie of purtlculai Interest to Black inmates in tuegon amt else- wheie. Numbei one, die civ il rights of offenders should le codified in eveiy deten tion ami co lle c tio n system. Formulation of such codes should involve cui lectlonal personnel, inmates, judges, lawyers, ami representatives of die community. I he code should guarantee oftemlers access to communication with die outs He work), adequate visitation, religious practice, library use, medical treat ment, education, job ti.lin in g , the availability ol legal coun sel ami law books, ami d is cipline with due process. N uni be i two, discrim inatory employment practices ami RACISM must he el inilnaied wtienever they exist According to some Black inmates racism Is wklespread at the Oregon state Peniten tia ry , In some Instances theie Is overt racism ami in r.theis it is more subtle. Foi ex ample, must ol the white in mates wotk in the shop that makes leathei wallets that ate Sold on the outskle ami the inmates get paid fur mak ing them. Most of die white inmates work on " s o ft " jobs which usually requites no knowledge, skill oi education of those partlculai jobs. Most Black Inmates w o r k on the hairiest ami d irtie s t Jobs at OSB. Anothei example of i a- cisni is that more weekend passes aie gi anted to whites than Blacks. Black inmates sie given haishei punishment than white inmates lot slin- lls i offenses. |n my opinion, unless the public expresses an interest in die Black in mates, these shameful and disgi aceful conditions w ill continue, and thete w ill always fie the pusiblllty that the O ie- gon State Penitentiary may become another ATT 1CA, Where to buy your Observer Lov-I ee-l.adee Neighborhood (Jills Georgia Pacific Bldg. County C ouit House Paige’ s Pharmacy Giant High Phaimacy F i eedom Bank Piedmont Phaimacy G 'e n le lls Mai ket L illia n 's Beauty Maxey’ s Grocer y Albei tson Mar ket C lark Market 15th Avenue Thriftway F ' ed Meyers l'hl(ips Pharmacy K lllingsw oith Sr Vancouver 1 lllamook (k W illiam s 5th Ave (Downtown) Ith Ave. (I lowntown) 7th dr Knott 33 rd & Knott Union Sr Knott F ailing Si Union Skidmore f, l 'mon W illiam s Ave W illiam s & Going K ill ingsworth W illis & Penninsula Brazee Ik 15th Union Ik K lllingsw oith N, Shavei Ik M ississipin Electricity is 20years behind the times: In price The average cost of a unit of residential electricity is less today than it was 20 years ago Really! So, while price» for almost cvcrylhing else have risen, electric service is a real bargain Bui while eleelrieily may he behind the times in price, it's as modern as today in convenience. The typical home now has twice as many work saving appliances as it did 20 years ago After all. we re economical, not old fashioned Pacific Power&Light
