Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 30, 1972)
"Teenagers discuss crisis : VD epidemic in Portland National s ta tis tic s reveal that 77 iw iv e n t of tile repotted venereal disease canes In volved young jieople between the rges ol I , and 2 I. (it tlese, 25 pe ivo nt of the cases con- > eiTie<l youngsters lietwoen Is and 19. In (iie g o n there were 2257 repot ted cases of venereal disease In 1971 in the 15 to 19 age bracket, an lnciea.se of 271.6 |ie r cent In fiv e years. In Multnom ah County there was an Increase of 209.5 per cent. I w e nty-flve |« rc e n t of tire cases of Conor t trea in r H e- gon In 1971 Involved young people letw een 15 and 19. in the same y e n , 35 of the repotted cases were m in o rs. I Ire D bservei talked to tire youngster s In Hie 15 to I9 ye a r range to find out how they feel about tire existence of such an "e p id e m ic” and to obtain th e ir suggestions fo r possible solu- cions. Oui firm question was an obvious one... ” |)o you leel that there Is a problem with a V I) epklem lc In the P ortland area o r Is the situation being over -emphasized or blownout of proportion? We received a v a rie ty of an swers: " I don’ t hear that much about It and I cannot discuss It w ith my pa ren ts.” Several teens answered, ” | read about It and hear It d is cussed on the s tre e t, bait | never liear about people get- lin g It.” Another stated, “ W ell, I am too young to tie pa rt of I t . " ” 1 don’ t know of anybody le rs o n a lly that has It, so It doesn’ t seem very real to I here was much discussion t l e r t is a com m unications ol w liether V I) is a m oral or problem in the home, so we a health problem . aske tie students if tliey lount A 19 year old stated, " I f it d iffic u lt to discuss sex and society made It a health pro \ l ) in p a rtic u la r w ith th e ir blem instead ol a m oral p ro patents. Most parents should blem , (reople would ge' lie lp ." pleased with tire rep lie s, "P e o p le are afraid to get ‘ Il is a lot ea sie r to talk treatm ent if they think it is a our parents now a la y s." m ora l issue, if It’ s like a in ie m other is said to have health problem , we can go and commented, " I f we talked to get lielp without talking to o u r our m otliers the way they talk parents.” "Y o u don’ t have to le im t th e ir m others’ now, they ' o . 1 have l»en shoe ksd.” m oral to have V I), you jusr m e .” Another answered, " I nut that kirvl of irerson.” m ight lie human and make a m istake .” Many teenagers feel that am 2 N o 2Ò P o r t la n d , O r e g o n THE ONLY »HE ONLY N iw tk k k i. NEWSPAPER tu IN .... An interesting observation made tiy one teen, " I don’ t Boys and g ir ls found it eas ier to talk to m others than to fa th e rs. Others laid, ' I lon’ t feel uncom fortable talking to e ith e r of my pa ren ts.” W hile one express© !, ” | feel a lrig h t a- bout talking to tuy parents but 1 ju s t don’ t feel | need to ask my siste« s H) I I ot e ra , («•- skies my sister o r my broth e r told me . . . but | always have a questior I lon’ t un derstand . . , and how can you go to yout is te i and ask le i about it when she m ight not know the answer?” can w a it . . . 1 think It’ s m o r a ls .” ’ ’ The m a jo rity of them use it ( a situation of passion) as an excu se." r location concerning sex and venereal ils e rs e In the school has long feen a topic of heat©: discussion across the nation. We aske! the stu dents if tliey fe lt they had neen p ro p e rly educated as to the causes and effects of venereal disease, and if the classes starter! early enough. "Enough to know that you Several Blacks state! «w as a "W h ite pioblmn and not a Black p ro b le m ." Another yout , " W e ll, yoi. , the way to show that you re a lly love me . . . but it isn’ t, I mean if you really love someone you (P lease see page 7 co l. I) & ORSPRl PH POR TL A N D V o lu m e he«» were few who dunk they are as w ell edu cate«; on the subject as the high school kids who study about it . . . J don’ t think the; know that much about it lecause tliey weren’ t ed ucated that way. | think our parents are aware of the na- •• think they know it is a p ro b lem in Portland.” AN OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER ru e L EQUAL " THE WHOLE WIDE W ORLD THAT REALLY CARES ABOUT T h u rs d a y M a rc h PEOPLE__________ 30 1972 10< per copy Portland young Black teacher slain in Child Cure Center suit filed Busing: A hot political issue by D r . l ee P. Brown Busing w ill probably le tie m ost heatedly debat©! issue du rin g tin s election yea r. Eor that reason, it is im pai alive dial m em bers ol Black Com m unity explore the question ami develop d e fin itiv e posi tions on die subject. E o r us in P ortla nd , fusing m ust he looked at on two le vels. E h st, on the national level ami second on the local le ve l. On the national level, there are two plans re la tin g to (u s ing that alfect Black |>eople. Num ber one, there is theN ixon P lan. I his plan Cakes us tuck to die days ol Plessy vs. McCoy vacates post B ill M cCoy, C hairm an ot tlie M ultnom ah County I lem o- c i . u k C e n ti.il C om m ittee, vacated his position at tire regular m onthly m eeting on M arch 2Jrd. McCoy was the only black county pa rty cha irm an in t ie state’ s history . McCoy vac’a ter I lire office ui com pliance w ith party tiy-ia w s that state that a candidate f o r a rem unerative public o l- fic e cannot hold a position on tlie C e ntral C om m ittee Exe cutive Board. McCoy is a can didate lo r M ate Representa tive iro in N inth S uh dtstrict #15. A lso resigning (or the same reason were: Jim Aahbough, D is tr ic t Representative l torn tlie West sale s u lx lis tt icq Glen ; î . ^ ? titto . A ltern ate V ic e -C h a ir man; and Ruth O sborne, t asl County S u b - d is tr ic t Repre sentative. M cCoy Is also a candkluie fo r tlie National C om m ittee man fro m tire state ol Oregon and fo r a ileleg.ite position to tlie D e m ocratic National Con vention. lie w ill be die fir s t black to serve in e n tie r capacity. McCoy was serving his second te rm a s c h a im ia n . . Ills a d m u iistra tio n increased tie nuin 1er ol pre cin ct com m itteem en and women, o|>erierl t ie flo o r ol the C e ntral Com m ittee to the m em bers and secured new o ffice space, I o r tlie f ir s t tune in 12 v e ils , tlie M ultnom ah County Demo c ra tic P a rty is out of debt. ; Benj. Franklin^ F ra n k lin Robert H Maien Pre« • IB OWIcee • Phone »4-1333 Home o n i c e Franklin Rldu , Porllend Oregon 97204 Eeiguson and tlie **sei>era(e but ei|U al" d o ctrin e , which only seived to make unequal education (or B lacks the law ol die land, as w ell a s tlie c u s - tom . I he Nixon plan should he viewed lo r what « Is — an apa i the id. N u in le r two, there are the plans developed under court o rd e r. I heseplansonlv serve to place Black ch ild re n under the con tro l ot white school hoards which have not demon strated any v is ib le signs of compassion lo r quail tv edu cational systems In the Black C om m unity. A study ol the schools in any large Black Com m unity w ill stustantiate th is allegation (Including P ortla nd ). I sing busing fo r die sole purpose of racial balance is a condition that should be vig oro usly opposed by the Black C om m unity. T fie re Is no em p erica l e v i dence to suggest that a Black c h ild ’ s educational achieve ment level increase ju s t be cause he sits next to a white student, fhus, we m ust reject as false the notion that Black ch ild re n cannot learn except with whites. I ssen tialiy, Blacks should oppose both ot these plans in that both make busing an ab solute, rathe r than an option to le exercised by Black people. Both take away the determ ination from the Black com m unity to con tro l the edu cation ot Black ch ild re n . lo c a lly , the real issue should le high quality educa tion lo r Black ch ild re n — ami white ch ild re n too fo r that m a tte r, r iu r concern should not he etjual o r proportionate d is trib u tio n ol B lack and white c h ild re n fo i tie purpose ot PDC explains delay of funds At the request ot residents of the Model C itie s area, the P ortland Development Com m ission w ill assist in sellin g up a meeting w ith the P o rt land C ity Council and o lflc la ls Iro in (he I '. s . Departm ent ol Housing and (T hun Develop ment (HI D) to resolve pro blems affecting P o rtla n d ’ s Neighborhood I 'evelopm ent P rog ram (NDP). I he im m ediate concern is »AOO.lKKI in NDP funds I • the Boise-H um boldt area Ivin g field up by HI D, but the under lying problem could affect funds to r o th e r NDI vt rea s (AA oixl lawn, Irving to n, and K ln g -\ e m on-Sabin). Ihe tunds to r B oise-H u in - Ixilrlt w ere approx©! by III D on January 31, Ixit tlie money has l«een held up by i f nito rm Code disagreem ent between III I) and the C ity ol Portland at»I a problem ol the fis c a l basis fo r the B oise-H um boldt pro gra m . ('liv e r N o rv ille , PDC at torney, sakl tlie problem in volves the "w o rk a b le pro g ra m " req uire d w ith all NDP applications. Ihe workable program is a general pro gram ol the city relating to needs in bousing, codes, plan ning, relocation and citize n s pa r t 1c Ipa t io n. I lie pa r t icu I a r problem holding up approval ol P o rtla n d ’ s w orkable p ro gram at th is tune, relates to HUD requirem ents to adopt un ifo rm codes fo r building, housing, e le c tric a l and plum b ing. I he codes Include a num - ber of p ro visio n s that are teing questioned by P ortland and other c itie s across the nation. Ih e P ortland C ity t ouncil has taken no action on die w orkable pro gra m . "Ih e housing .ode pro posed by m D ” ,N o r v ille s a x i, "w o u ld |x?nnit im provem ents o r ccxfe c o rre c tio n s to be made by the c itv , where diepropertv owner (ailed to com p ly, with an assessment lien against die pro p e rty lo r tlie cost ol the w o rk. These provisions raise serious legal and prac tic a l questions which ir e of extrem e concer n to the c ity .” According io N o rv ille , die code also appears to have low er safety standards than die p re se n t stand.r r.is. city e lec trical John Kenward, PDC Execu tive D ire c to r, Indicated he u ixle rsto o t HI I) was try in g to get c i t i e s throughout the nation to adopt the u n ifo rm codes. Ihe other problem specdic to the B oise-H um boldt neigh- borhood is that HI D has re quested the new area project should l«e lt.nded on sepaiate fis c a l year basis. I his ap pears to he contrary to le d e r.il law, according to N o rv ille , " I o have every p ro je ct on a d iffe re n ce fis c a l yearw ouid lx? chaotic, crea ting a situation which would bury the Com m ission In paper w o rk .” A t th e ir Monday, M a rch 27, m eeting, the P ortla nd De velopment Comm is stone i s agreed to w ork with theM odel C itie s residents to bring then concerns to the C ity Council and III D. M r . B r o z le l athan, co -ch a irm a n of the B oise- llu in lx il.lt C oordinating C om m itte e , asked fo r the com m ittm e n t. lie text a sizeable delegation fro m the area at (Please turn to page 7 c o l. 6) achieving " r a c ia l balance.” R a tte r, we should be con cerned with ihe needs ol tie children, and not the co lo r ol th e ir skin s. F o r Black people, the issue should not fe busing, per se; ra th e r the issue m ust be superioi quality education fo r o u r c h il- dren. Busing should he only one of several options a v a il able to us. In sum m ary, busing should be only one option available to Black people. It should he tlie Black Com m unity that lias tlie say in exe rcisin g that option. A su it was failed M arch 13th in M ultn o m a h C o u n tyC ir- c u it C o u rt on behalf of Kent Fond, P oor C itizens fo r F a ir D is tric tin g and others regard ing the d iv is io n of the poor and black com m unities into fo u r le g isla tive d is tr ic ts . A fte r the new d is tr ic ts were announced, the group peti tioned the State suprem e C ourt which deni©! the petition "w ith o u t p re ju d ic e ." The C o u rt said the question of the d ivisio n ol e le c to rs com m unity by economic class o r ra cia l make up was not a question of e ith e r the state constitution o r state law . D is m issa l w ithout prejudice in effect made necessary the new c o u rt suit. The suit asks fo r a de c la ra to ry J iid g e rrrrt. 1« w ill be scheduled in about 5 to 6 months. Children unware of killing-because of skilled staff Ronal Coleman, acting su p ervisor of Hughs M e m o ria l C hild C are C enter, was fa ta lly wounded at the center Tuesday m orn ing. Coleman was shot in the sta irw a y leading to the u p sta irs room s. The alleged k ille r , Kenneth C ia ik , sur rendered to the police about an hour la te r. 1 w enty-tw o ch ild re n , ages 3 to 6, and th e ir teachers were in the basement child care center. The ch ild re n did not witness the m u rd e r and were im m ediately removed from the cen ter to a teacher s h« : . - ,. M rs . Robert B ailey, Head T eacher, credited the quick thinking of the staff In preventing the ch ild re n fro m witnessing the afterm ath of the k illin g . The childre n were tra n s fe rre d to other child care centers in the area fo r the re m ainder of the week. Ronald Coleman, 24, was born in P o rtla n d . He attended Madison High School, where he was a s u r half-back, and graduated fro m Washington High School. He attended the U n iv e rs ity of Oregon, the U n iv e rs ity of Washington and M t. Hood Com m unity College. Co eman had been employed as a teacher at Hughs M e m o ria l C hild C are Center since It opened in the Spring of 1971. P re vio usly, he was a social e • • at Albina C hild Development T e n te -, C >. n also officiate.! at basketball games fo r the P o rtla ixi Pa.-x Bu eau. He was m a rrie d and had two c h ild re n . n Black Panther inquiry suppressed •N either the I erleraI Gov ernm ent nor the state sought to establish the tru th ” tn the k illin g ol two Black Pan the r party leaders du rin g a raid on a Chicago fla t in the rep. rz ol 0 » i - r;. m ission of Inquiry into the Black Panthers and l aw En forcem ent o ffic ia ls contends. Ihe independent com m is sion was form ed bv 27 per sons in c iv il i ights, law, pol itic s and business a lte r Ere.I Hampton and M a rk C la rk were killexl and lo u r other pei sons wounded in a raid by Illin o is M ate’ s Attorney’ s po lice . Ihe cu rre n t co-chairm en of the group are Roy W ilk in s , exec utive d ire c to r ol the NA \C P anti Ramsey C la rk , fo rm e r I tilted state Attorney Gen e ra l. Acco: ling to che comm is sion re p o rt, M r. Hampton "w a s shot from the .Io. rw.iv to his bedroom as he lay druggevl an.1 defenselesi : in «■ ' I he report said that an at mosphere of suspicion in.l m is tru s t existed tim e ol the ra»I. It sakl: ’ ' I his com m ission found :he Sit- uation had grown so c n tic a l by the tim e of ihe Hampton- C la rk incident that many ghetto inhabitants r.i longei looked to the ixil ice lo r assis tance in even the most har rowing of circum stances, toi te a r of riskin g personal ab.se at the hands of the p o lic e ." M r . C la rk had lire.1 a shot gun blast through a do or. According to the re p o rt the police fire d the f ir s t shot du rin g the ra id . ’ ’ P o lto e fire d through w a lls and doorways into darkened room s. There was no resistance to th e ir g u n lire . Occupants trie d to h»!e from the b ille ts ured into th e ir room s, and crie d <Xit f o r police to stop, but the shooting continued. Ered Hampton was k ille d in his b v l, and police kept fir in g . ” Bem re he was k ille d , the rep ort continues, M r . Hamp ton "c o u ld not !e roused by any ol tlie three persons who trie d to wake h im .” It says E d 11 I. e . I secotl 11 hit ]|, a sle ep -inlucin g,nu na i.itctive drug were lound in his bo.iv, 'possibly in a lethal concen fe A I \ <■«*% I Ik tra tio n ." it also says that an un named black m lo rm c r had “ successfully in filtra te tlie apartm ent and the Panther ir.d e ,” and that " th e I- ©feral •grind ju ry undertook not io investigate, Ixit to r e b it, this evid e n ce ." Com men ting on the ra in , the report sakl: - in Get ge Rankins igres that it Is a ■ , however, men make it m ore interesting fo r women. spectate watch w ith enthusiasm . i he M ie t- ti'd i is that the raid, con tra ry to its state 1 objectives (to obtain Panther weapons, was conceived an., planned a a search and destroy m is sion aimed ai the leaders n the Illin o is chapter ol tire Black Panther p a rty .’ ’ (Please turn to p. S c o l. 4) , “ k J b , .. I he je n e , son High School team »N um ber I m the State of Oregon ) nils, t Below, P- o O o J J M Q C-* P» O' 3 9 a 3
