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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1972)
Page 2 New mountains to conquer Aft/5r IVtW TOGETHER FVR FULL As I See It Is Portland ready? Ron Hendían IN WASHINGTON ANP EQUAL EMPLOYMENT. By Lenwood C. Davis Portland Observer Thursday March 23, 1972 Washington - 1 he R o c k y Mountains were formed slowly over hundreds of m illions of years. But at tlie rale Am er ica is going today, mountains of unmanageable s o l Id waste may dwarf these natural peaks within decades. Americans now discaid over 250 m illio n tons of trash annually. This figure w ill dou ble by 1980, and yet we have s till hardly begun to deal suc cessfully with the staggering problems of waste disposal. A full 94 percentofexisting open dumping systems are inadequate, and 75 percent of municipal incinerators are not only inadequate - they are among the worst a ir pollution offenders. In New A ork C ity, as well as in many othei urban a reas, tlie situation is already c ritic a l. C urrently the cost of disposal in the nation's largest metro polis is tw ic e that of the na tional average. Sooncostswill skyrocket, however, when tlie city runs out of land f ill space (in approximately 1975), and must then build new, expensive processing plants. line of the most frequently mentioned solutions to th e problem is recycling. Recycling, which means the reprocessing of discarded waste into raw m aterials suit able fo r industrial reuse, nut only eliminates the nee-1 (or solid waste dumping grounds o r open a ir incineration, b u t also eases the cost of dis posal. In New York C ity alone it is estimated that$34 m illio n worth of s c r a p could be re trieved from the municipal waste flow each year. Although it h a s garnered considerable national alien- The N o rth w « *!’* B«*t W e a k ly A Block O w n e d Publication Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company, 2201 N. Killingsworth. Portland, Oregon 97217 Subscription $5.25 per year in Tri-C ounty area by m ail. Out side the Tri-County area - $0.00 per year by m ail. Phone 283-2480. M ailing address - P. o . Box 3137, Portland, Oiegon 97208. ALFRED LEE HENDERSON, P u b lish e i/E d ito r \ erna L . Henderson (V A s s t. P u b lish e i b u s in e s s n, m aze Helen Hendrix Personnel and Production Manager INPA On to Oregon Any erroneous reflection upon thecharacter, standing or rep utation of person, firm or corporation, w hich may appear in the Portland observer w ill he cheerfully corrected upon being brought to the attention of the E ditor. The Editor’s Desk ALFRED To Be Equal LEE HENDERSON Separate but not equal Separate but equal is not a new concept in this country. F o r ovei a hundred years schools have been segregated under the guise that they would oe equal. F o r years busing has been used to promote segregation. Black children were bused past th e ir neighborhood schools to inadequate segregated schools. It is d iffic u lt to understand why it is so wrong to use busing to achieve desegregation. Busing does bring a degree of quality education to some c h il dren. It is not the ideal, but fo r the next few years it might be the only way to provide quality education fo r black children. It would be good if all schools fo r all children were quality schools, but this is not a reality in the United States. Schools attended by black children are not provided the necessities fo r quality - fa c ilitie s , the interest and concern, and the teacher attitudes that promote learning. And they wil not be provided these essentials until the black community gains political power. 2 he important thing now is that our children receive the best • education possible. The government of Kenya, fo r example, decided to send its young people where ever in the world that they could best obtain the knowledge they need to help their country, v.e , too, must send our children to the best schools, even if it requires sacrifice, until we gain the political and economic power to control our own schools. In Portland, we do not have the resources to operate a black schou system. Aside from lack of money, there are only 106 black teachers and adm inistrators out of 3400 in the Portland school system. Black citizens in Portland do not vote or part- K1Pate the P°Htical process. So we must demand the best of what the existing school system has to offer. We have been effectively controlled by "D ivid e andConquer". We cannot afford to let the busing issue divide us further. We must unite to become an effective political entity, because only through political power w ill we be heard. ___ J The.Observer's o fficia l position isexpres9ed onTy in its Pul> Usher's Column (The Observation Post) and the E ditor'sD esk. Any other material throughout the p .per is the opinion of the in dividual w rite r or subm itter and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Observer. VERNON JORDAN A year has wound its slow, sorrowful way since Whitney Young’ s death in the Nigerian surf last March II. The pierc ing pain has receded, and we are left with our memories, s till fresh, of a giant cut off in the prim e of his life . Few men are touched by greatness, but Whitney Young was one of them. Born into a segregated society, he made his ma rk by bu ild ing bridges of understanding between men of a ll races, faiths, and creeds. He was as com fort able in a rap session with na tionalists, as inE stablishment board meetings. While he never lost the com mon touch, he also never lost the passion and the strength of feeling fo r the common man. His heart was always with his brothers and sisters m ired in ghetto poverty, denied many of the rights and benefits of a na tion that kept black people down. Whitney was a powerful mover in the events of the past decade. He con su I ted with Preskients, governors, may ors, corporate and union lead ers, and other people whose decisions affect our lives. To an incredible degree, he was successful in convincing them to open up opportunities fo r black people. He was a d riving force be hind the war on poverty, led erai c iv il rights actions, cor porate and foundation support fo r the black-led rights a- gencies, and fo r the creation of many thousands of new jobs fo r black w orkers. Much of this story is s till untold and few people are fu lly aware of his great accom plishments in the face of over whelming odds. Just as his tenure as executive d ire cto r ing on a new, more activist role in the ghettos of Am er ica. so too did his tire le s s e f- fo rts result in changed at titudes among professional, husmea», and labor groups.* Take nearly any of the bet-* ter known private programs of (The following is an exerpt involvement - the Urban Co alition, the insurance indus from the NATIONAL BI.ACK tr y ’ s ghetto investment pro POLITICAL AGENDA pre sented to the National Black gram, the architect’ s urban P olitical Convention In Gary, programs - and the chances are very good that they got Indian on March II, 1972) their start through public and HL MAN DEVELOPMENT private persuasion by Whit ney Young. In every phase of our histo ry in Am erica, the Human De velopment of the Black com munity has been seriously im peded because of the essential commitment of America to an ti-h u m a n is tic goals and pur- Dear M r. Henderson, I recently read an a rticle on the Oregon National Guard which had been publ ished in the Portland Observer. Please accept my sincere apprecia tion fo r your valuable con tribution in a very important area. It is always good to know that our many friends in the newspaper world are help ing us to tell our story to the U. S. public since, as I am sure you are aware, the Fed- eral and State m ission of the National Guard has never been more serious in nature. We trust that association between your newspaper and the National Guard w ill con tinue. Sincerely, F rancis S. Greenlief M ajor General USA Chief, National Guard Bureau W ashington, D.C. Displaced persons object L e tte r to the E ditor; A g r e a t many people have asked about what happened to bring us to the point where we have been asked to movefrom our homes so the School D is tr ic t can use our land fo r th e ir own purposes. This is not an attempt to give a date by date history but more to give a quick overview of the process. Several years ago the P o rt land Planning Commission suggested our neighborhood to Open letter: Portland’s BlackCaucus r ■! .J *-« -« The Portland Black Caucus is an organization that grew out of a meeting of concerned Black people who met at M t. Angel on December 10-12,1971. The Committee who sponsored this meeting was concerned about the lack of unity and dis trust fo r each other t h a t we h a v e as a community, and a people. The response from brothers and sisters at the re treat along with the feelings of unity and respect fo r each other prompted the develop ment of the Portland Black Caucus. We met in this fa r away re treat area, very much aware of th e unrelieved problems that we face as a people, such as our community being rid dled with crim e; our homes a re tie ing ripped off to make room fo r businesses that send profits to another part of th e town, schools are unable - o r unwilling to educate our child ren, they are being turned out and often degraded by the pro cess; Black businesses that are struggling to survive often against unscrupulous white businessmen and we are not supporting them; the courts n o r tfie prisons contribute to anything resembling justice and rehabilitation; the lack of representation in the political institutions of this c ity , de cisio n -m a kin g is removed from ourcommunity; and a lis t of other problems. The reso lution of the retreat was to consolidate and organize an independent. Black organiza tion that w ill begin to address the problems we face. The Portland Black Caucus Is open to all Black people in the community and the state of Oregon. By-laws, policy and procedures are being deve loped lo r the approval ot the general body which w ill meet within the next 15 days ( t h i s meeting w i l l be publicized.) T h e Caucus h a s elected a chairman and secretary to ca rry out business until the fu ll slate of officers and by laws can be adopted. Ih e Cau cus does not intend to be a special c lu b , but seeks wide community support and in volvement. Unity is the com nerstone of the Caucus. Our awareness of l o c a l problems has not clouded the fact that we a re I inked with our brothers and sisters across the nation and to our M other land. At this w ritin g , theCau- cus has sent three delegates to Gary, Indiana to participate in the National Black P olitical Convention that seeks todeve- lop a Black Agenda fo r the seventies. We need you, your support, your faith, and your strength. We are aware that noone else Is going to represent our in terests but ourselves. We must begin here and now in Portland. I he Caucus invites you to join and participate. We need your c ritic is m and sup port. O u r address is P.O. Box 12262. Ocie W, T ro tte r, Chairman Portland Black Caucus E llis H .C a tio n recently an nounce» I his candidacy foi tlie C ity Council ot Portland and one must w»>n»ler about his chances of being elected. He stated that he would b r in g a new vision to tlie C ity Council if elected. Needless to say, M r. Casson faces the same hurdles as other candidates. Namely, finances and a viable am! effective political oigani- zation. At this Juncture, tie lias ne it lie i . However, his cam paign Is In the organizational stage and it w ill take time ant a lot of hard woi k before it can tocome effective. Even It M r. Casson has suf ficient financial hacking ami an effective organization his big gest obstacle w ill te to defeat Connie McCready, the incum bent. w h o m lie Is running against. It Is a political real ity that seldom is an incumbent »lefeated. Because of confi dential information about that p a rticu la r complicated situa tion this w nterdeem s itexpe- dlent ami appropriate not to discuss the m atter In detail. The candidate stated that lie Is running to win. However, like othei s running foi public office, lie has some lia b ilitie s . One Is that his previous asso ciation with certain piogram s may sway some people not to support him. Anothei is that tie is not as well known as some of his opponents. Ami there is the problem of finance. Also most people are not aware of his " v is io n " forchange alC Ity H all. M r. Casson has several as- sets. He has tlie reputation as a "d o e r,” ami has worked tire le ssly fo r social change. Nationini Black Political Agenda Letters to the Editor Appreciation tion over the past few years as a cornerstone of tlie new "e n vironmental movement,’ ’ re cycling is by no means a new o r untried scheme. The secondary m aterials Industry, as it Iscalled. is well over 50 years old. Today over 700 companies throughout the United States a r e involved In recycling metals, glass, pa per, textiles, rubber and other m aterials. In fact. 45 |ier cent ot our country’ s total available sup ply of copper is now recovered from scrap. I ikew lse,30 per c e n t of all aluminum, 18 ¡iei cent of all zinc and 20|>ei cent of all paper. Despite these rather im pressive figures, recycling industries are operating fa r below potential output and in many cases have actually been losing a considerable percent age of the market over the past 20 years. According to th e National Association of Secondary Ma te ria l Industries this d r o p is due to a complicated tangle of "economic roadblocks"which favor products made 11 om v ir gin m aterials. These factors inc lute tax policies and trans portation rates in p a rticu la r. C learly tfasn th e future of recycling depends largely on what actions Congress and the President take over the next few years. The key question of the National L rban League resulted in that agency’ s tak- is whether the federal govern ment wants to encourage re cycling o r. If not. what it w ill do instead to c o p e with o u r growing mountains of trash, a problem which unlike many others cannot be hidden very easily from public view. the School D is tric t as a logical location for parking and main tenance of equipment and o tte r centralization of services. We were not asked fo r our opinion o r made any part of the de cision making e ffo rt. The School Board voted to acquire the area. W'e were not aware of this action. The Dis tr ic t started to acquire pro perty piecemeal and mostly from absentee owners. The next step was to send in bulldozers to re m o v e the houses they had purchased. This created muddy vacant lots and did much to destroy a neighborhood of people. We feel this action was also In tended to "p a n ic " the remain ing property owners into sell ing. A fte r the School D is tric t mutilated th e neighborhood, they acted like they weredotng us and the whole city a favorby removing the rest of the homes from the "b lig h te d ” area. The final blow to the few owner-occupants remaining was the price the D is tric t of fered fo r our homes. It was generally just over a half of our cost of replacement. Tfiey told us th e y were offering " f a i r market value." We say there is no such thing when there is only one buyer and that buyer has the power of con demnation. If the “ poor environment” effected the " f a i r market va lu e " It is ironic because the b u y e r-th e School D is t r ic t- created the "p o o r environ m ent" by ripping up the neigh borhood. As a general rule, we are not opposed to selling ou r pi ope r - ty to the School D is tric t. We simply feel that we should not be asked to take less than it w ill cost us to relocate in an other neighborhood. We are not even asking to be compen sated lo i tie lie u t.iche, the w o rry, the fru stra tio n or the agony caused by the whole un pleasant process. We did not ask to be moved. We had no part In saying what would happen to our neighbor hood. Place yourself In this pic ture and tell us how you would respond. Statement adopted by I he School D i s t r i c t Displaced Persons Association March 9, 1972. M rs. Leonard C harles, Chairman M rs. D illa rd Hudson, Secretary The Portland BlackCaucus w ill hold a meeting Friday, March 31st, 7:00 p .m , at 220 N J i, Russell forthe purpose of adopting by - laws and electing office rs. !'■ -.OS, toe HIM "! the I i, ism rampant in the general so ciety, ar»l le.Muse we Ild not control the instruments and institutions fo r our s o c i a l , cultural and educational de velopment. We have leen - ami are now - a colony In the midst of a society committed to va lues other than the develop ment ol the human s p irit. Iherefoie, l i t h e levelop- ment of the Black community Is to lead to the creation ot new levels '¡I HI i. k hum im ty, we m u s t break the bonds of our colonization, we must create and d ire ct new institutions, and we must wrest control of s o m e existing Institutions from the harxls of white Am er ica. We must define the human development we need, and we must move to create the ne cessary conditions fo r Its re alization. W ith such goals in mind, we put forward these elements of an Agenda fo r Black Human Development, recognizing tie ce n tra lity of the Black F am ily to all aspects of our growth. 1. Establishment of a Na tional Commlsslon/Founda- tlon fo r B la c k Education, funded from our own and pub lic sources, todevelop and en courage national and local re search, planning and experi mentation toward tlie creation of new m<xJels of Black educa tion at all levels.Under the au spices of such a C om m ission/ Foundation, It Is necessary to work toward the creation of a National Philosophy of Black Education, growing out ol the experience of the Black Fam ily . 2. Establishment of f r e e public education fo r all Black people up to th e ir higliest at tainable level, with special federal support fo r B la c k - controlled higher and p re -co l lege educatlon(publlc and non- public) at a level of at least 20 per cent of the annual expendi tures In this area. 3. T h e development of mechanisms for Black control of the schools where B la c k children are educated,moving beyond tlie ste rile Issue of “ busing" to the basic Issue of tlie redistribution of educa tional wealth and control. 4. Establishment of a sys tem of National Health Insur ance for all citizens from birth until death, with free medical care fo r all fam ilies with In comes of less than lO.OOOdol- la rs. 5. A minimum increase of 100 |ier cent In Social Secur Ity le n e flts fo r all per sons with the availability of full le n e llts at age 50. 6. T h e establishment ol a national network of Community health centers to deal with tlie problems of the delivery of health care services to Black communities. 7. The creation of compre hensive, Black - contiolle»l, publicly-funded 24-hourday care centers with provisions fo r nutritional services, lam - lly consultation, diagnostic ami tteatrrient programs and fa cilitie s fo r creative play. 8. The elim ination of capi tal punishment for any and all crim es, ami tlie establishment of local community contrul over the courts and the p r i sons. L en w o o d G .D a v it He has held a number ol ad m in istra tive positions, t he camlklate has tlie reputatnaiuf being a fa ll, honest, and just mail. M i .Casson Is a m em lei of the C ity Planning Hoard, PresaJertt of the NA ACP, and a m in iste r. His greatest asset Is that he w ill apiwal to the av erage citizen, m in o ritie s, ami cannot be Imught by s|ieclal in terest gioups. M r. C a s s o n 's chance of winning is a long shot, to say tlie least. Because o( overt ami embed»le»l racism in Portland tlie citizens w ill view thecan- dMate as a Black running fo r office rat lie i than as an indivi dual running foi office. Rac ism in Portland andiiregonis so deeply enshi ined in society th a t to think that it dues not exist is the "epitom e of al>- s u id lty ." As I see If. Portland is not ready to elect a Black man to tie C ity Council no mattei what h is credentials. I o til ink otherwise would tie Io suffer from delusions of gran deur. Democrats meet March 18 East Central Democratic Club Cocktail Party & C arnival - 8 to 12 pan. - T tmbei lanes - 4030 NJE. Halsey - $2.50 per per son. March 19 - Annual Southeast Pancake Breakfast - 8 a jn . to 2 p.m. - John R. I eech YMCA - S J i. 60th ami Foster- M u ita , 1 1. ■<>. (T iiid ie n . 7Sf, Fam ily Rate, $5.00. A p ril 12 - North Portland Democratic Foiutn Sixth An nual Chicken Dinner s Can didates F a ir - 5:30 to 8 p.m .- Pollsh L ib ra ry Hall - 3832 N, Interstate at Failing - Dinner; Adults, $2.50, C hildren umlei 12, $1.30. No »huge for Candidates F a ir. Everyone welcome. UL backs busing Vernon E . Jordan, J r , executive d ire c to r of the Na tional Urban I .eague, »led a red his unqualified support fo r fusing as a means to achieve integrated schools in a state ment over nationwide televis ion. Jordan declared In part: "T h e long-sim m ering con troversy a I lout fusing to de segregate tie public schools has flare»! Into a fu ll-sca le debate that Is leing used as a political footliall to divide ami polarize the nation. "C onstitutional am end ments have been proposed which would re-create a sys tem of dual schools, separate and inherently unequal. By appointing a top-level group to study ways to circumvent recent court decisions o rd e r ing integration and busing as one of the means to achieve It, the President has lent the weight of his office and the dignity of his position to those who have been defying the law. "And lie lias completely un- dermimled his own statement of two years ago, when lie said: "Q u a lity iswliateduca- tlon Is all about; desegrega tion is vital to that quality.' " I t Is cle a r that attempts to Inflame public upinlon against busing, which Is but one tool to desegregate the schools, represent a cease fire In the m oral ami social revolution this nation has been struggling to achieve. By politicizing the Issue, patents and children are lie ing used as pawns In an e ffo rt to ro ll back and n u llify the historic 1954 supreme Court decision. "B u t almost 20 years later half of tlie black children in Chicago, fo r example, go to all-black schools. To the extent that desegregation has been achieved, it has been In the South under court-ordered plans that frequently Include fusing. I he cuui ts have spok en loud and cle a r on this Is sue. "B using Is now controver sial because It Is a racial Issue. A m erica’ s school sys tems have always bused ch ild ren; aliout fo rty jiei cent of all students are bused to school fo r reasons that have nothing to do with desegrega tion. Black people need only think back a lew years to re call how they were fused fa r from home, past nearby pre dominantly white schools, to attend all-black ones. "A nd many white parents today put th e ir children on school buses that d rive past Integrated public schools ami stop at a ll-w h ite , segregated private schools. Anyone who proposes that the current opposition to busing Is not based on racial grounds Is deceiving him self. "T h e hysteria over busing obscures the fact that what Is at the end of the bus ride Is what m atters. W hltechild- ren In an all-w hite school environment are deprived of the d ive rsity that reflects the world In which they w ill have to live.
