Paga 2
The
O b s e rv a tio n
POST
MLfrT WORK T06E THEPFVK FULL
ANO EQUAL EMPLOYMENT.
Portland Observer
Thursday. June 28, I9T2
The N o rth w e s t's Best W e e k ly
A Black O w n e d Publication
N . K tllin gsw o ith , I ’ o it'a n d ,
<
legon < 2 1 7
Subscription $ . 2 ^ pei year in T ri-C o unty .tie s by m a il.O u t-
side the Ti i-County are.» -
t « ' veur b> m a il.
Phone 283-2486.
M a ilin g address - P. U . Box 3137, P o rtU is i, 1'iegon 97206.
\ I F K ;D 1.1 Hi N lE R S t N, P u b lis h e r/E d ito i
\ erna I . Hendetson
Asst. Publishe; business manage-
iv p \
Helen Hendrix
liv r A
Pei sonneI and P rtxluctio n Managet
Vxn> erroneous re fle ctio n upon the chai a e ter, standing o i rep
utation ot person, firm oi coi poration, » h ich may ajxpear in the
Portland o b serve r « ill be che erfully c o rre cte d upon being
brought to the attention of the E d ito r.
The
Editor’s
Desk
A LF R E D
LEE
HENDERSON
Black political unity:
A priority for Oregon
T h ere are many ways to attack oppression and one of them
is p o litic s . P o litic s does not consist of m e re ly putting names
on the ballot o r casting a vote on election day. P o litic s is a
power game and we a te operating fro m a position of pow erless
ness.
This is a p o litic a l land we live in, and it is foolish to think we
can accomplish anything without using the p o litic a l system that
has been built - regardless of our philosophical view of that
system . We cannot d ism iss any means to fu rth e r o ur course,
w hether that means is our own o r someone e ls e 's . When we
are tru ly involved in the p o litic a l process and build a strong
base of po itlc a l power, then we can change that process.
As a unified group with common goals and expectations and
a plan of im plem entation, we could begin to build a base of pow
e r . P o litic ia n s who are elected to rep resent us d ire c tly , as
those fro m our legislative d is tric ts , would be made to under
stand that they a re responsible to us. They would know that
they can no longer be explo ite rs of naive black people. These
politicians who we a re not d ire c tly responsible fo r putting into
office would re a liz e that we a re potentially a pow er with which
they must reckon.
A small group of citizen s reacting fro m a position of w ear
ness, fragm ented and apathetic, cannot yield influence on the
p olitical and economic forces that are now in c o n tro l. But a
■ n a il group of citizen s who are united, who are involved at all
levels of the p olitical spectrum , and who unde rstand the p oliti
cal process, can become a powerful fo rce.
The Oregon Black Caucus can be the vehicle to build this uni
ty. T h e re Is aplace intheC aucus fo r e v e ry black person - re
gardless of p o litic a l theory, economic s u m s , age . reducation.
Only through an organization of this type can the black commu
nity get together, draw up p rio r itie s , plan a course of action
and present a united front to o u r oppressors.
Buy Black!
It am azes many to see black people, y e a ra fte r y e a r, spending
th e ir money in business establishm ents that have a negative
art nude toward us and our com m unity.
W ith it . the heart of Albina there are businesses that w ill not
h ire blacks and that do not contribute anything to the .rg a n iz a -
tlons and agencies of the com m unity. They a re In A I ’ ’na to
make money — and that is th e ir only concern.
And even m o re sed is the fact that black businesses a re
fallin g because of lack of tra d e .
We spend o u r money with
the racist white businessman and let o u r own black businesses
starve. It Is d iffic u lt to s ta r ts business. Expenses are i.igt^
esp ecially in the beginning.
Those among us who are brave
enough tc take this step need our encouragement and supper
I t is easy enough to point with p ride as a successful black
business o r to m oum when one fa ils , bi
here w ere we when
trade was scarce, when we m ight have hao ;o pay a little m ore
than at the superm arket next door?
A little pride and a little d iscretio n can go a long way. w hy
spend your money where you can’ t work? Why support some
one who has no respect fo r you?
Why not spend another m cxle and trade w ith the black busi
ness o r with the white business that hires blacks and is p art
of the community? Unless we support these businesses they
cannot exist and we w ill continue to see our resources drained
away by uncaring white business establishm ents.
It is easy to see if there a re blacks employed in a store; to
check your M ack papers and see who pays to advertise fo r
your trade; to see who supports youth activities; to learn who
contributes to community serv ic e s .
Only when these businesses learn that black people w ill
no longer buy fro m racists w ill there be a change.
The O bserver*a official position is expressed only in its Pub
lis h e r's Column (Th e Observation Post) and the Edttor*s[>esk.
Aey other m a te ria l throughout the paper Is the opinion of the in -'
dividual w rie r ot subm itter and does not necessarily re fle c t
the opinion of the O b s e rv e r.
As I See It
White Businesses
in the Black Community — Part 1
By Lenwood C , Davis
Schomburg Library
saved
Fhe Schonibuig Co lection of N egro L ite ra tu r e and A rt
has been a * a riled >2lA),XX) by the National Endowment fo r
tie H um anities.
th e Schomburg C o llection , which is owned
by t ie New Y o rk P ublic 1 ib ra ry , has been housed in a tenemant
en 135th Street in H a rle tn . where lack of storage fa c ilitie s ami
dampness and w eather change have contributed to the d e te r-
ic. mon of its precious m an uscrip ts. Black scholars have long
implored the City of New Y o rk anil foundations to save the col
lection.
The Schomburg C o llection contains the heritage of Mack
people and has long been one of the most Im portant centers In
the world fo r the study of blacks. It includes w orks by auth
ors of A frican descent, books, m anuscripts, recordings, p e r-
lodicals, sheet m usic, and a rt objects by and about M ack people.
The collection was begun by A rth u r A, Schomburg, a Puerto
Rican of A fric a n descent, who through the years amassed one
of the D ig e s t and most im portant lib ra rie s devoted to M acks.
During the e a rly 1920’ s. when the 135th S treet L ib r a r y found It
impossible to keep enough books on blacks on its shelves, a
com mittee of black scholars includingSchom burg,Jam esW eldon
Johnson, H , H . H a rris o n and John N a il, decided to p re s e rv e
books that w ere d iffic u lt to rep lace. The com m unity responded
« ith gifts fro m private lib r a rie s and the referen ce room of the
:35th Street L ibra ry became a center foi students of black history
and c u ltu re . The collection was purchased in 1925 by the C arn egie
C orporation and given to the New Y o rk Public L ib r a r y . Many
original m anuscripts of e a rly black w n te rs - Gustavus V aasa.
Benjamin Eanneker, J u p ito r H arm on , Lem uel Hynes, Ir a A l
dridge, C ru m m e l. Blyden - a re a p art of the C o lle c tio n .
Black scholars have been concerned about the condition of
the C ollection aixl afraid much of it would be lost. Now the
Collection w ill 1» saved. The g ift w ill enable cataloguing and
storage so that it can be used fo r research.
Now the battle to save the Schomtxirg Col ection may be o ve r.
Thanks a re in o rd e r fo r the dedicated staff that protected the
C ollection during its w orst days.
M ost tesklents In the Black
com munity in Portland are un
aw are that we a repaying re la
tively m ore than w hites fo r our
housing, d urable goods, and
fo a l, in the Black com munity
and getting a much low er qua
lity of food than w hites m o th
e r parts of the c ity . Perhap s,
one of the reasons why we do
not re a liz e chat we a re paying
these higher p ric e s is that we
do not shopoutsale of the Black
com m unity, tin e needs only to
go to other areas of th e c ity to
see the difference in q uality.
Surveys have teen conducted
nationwide to show th a t> 3 ,0 (»
Congress and courts
on busing
By
D r.
Benjam in
E . M ays
A n ti-b u s in g
sentiments
have united the N o rth and
South. Both Houses of Con
gress have passed the m am
moth education b ill w ith an an-
tl-tu s m g a rtic le attached to It.
No one clothed In his right
mind would fight the education
b ill, a b ill that would provide
approxim ately 19 b illio n d ol
la rs fo r colleges and u n iv e rs i
ties in the next three years.
This b ill would aid all col
leges, especially Black col
leges fo r a student may get as
much as $1400 a y e a r on his
school expenses.
The oppo
nents of busing knew that If
they could make anti-bus mg a
p art of a 1 9 -b llllo n -d o lla r
package, it would get through
Congress.
— Letters to the Editor —
Put people programs first
To the E d ito r:
A great deal of public d is
cussion regarding the Coun
ty’ s fiscal c ris is and the re
sulting service cuts has taken
place. W hile there has been
some
m is in fo rm a tio n
and
some o ve rs im p lific a tio n this
examination is . 1 believe, of
real benefit.
It has not beer, com monly
understood what services are
provided by the County. Many
continue to think of county gov
ernm ent as ru ra l governm ent,
although m ost of the real ac
tion Is in the area of urben
human s e rv ic e s . Demands fo r
m ore " la w and o rd e r,'* health
and environm ental protection,
and responsiveness fro m gov
ernm ent a re e v e r increasing.
These increasing demands,
coup led with a e n p p i mg in fla
tion ary s p ira l, a f a m ilia r fac
to r to fa m ily tud gets.eq uals a
need fo r m o re re so u rces. The
inflatio nary im pact on fa m ily
budgets and the dependence of
local governm ent on the prop
e rty U x does little to m otivate
the c itiz e n ry to pass revenue
m easu res. The closeness of
local governm ent allow s It
to become the most convenient
place fo r people to vent then
fru s tra tio n .
It has been said that the F ed
e ra l G overnm ent has the re
sources. the state govern
ments have the auth ority, and
the local governments have the
p roblem s. If the national de
fense budget could he halved
and the saving be sent to local
governm ents, O regon's share
would be enough to totally e l i
m inate the property tax.
The tax system in A m eric a
stinks. Many A m ericans are
not paying th e ir f a i r share.
The wage e a rn e r who file s a
W -2 fo rm has no access to g i
ant loopholes to " ta k e advan
tag e" to reduce his taxes to
little o r nothing. Some A m e r
icans are super ric h , yet avoid
paying taxes. Twenty p ercent
of our people are In an upper
income strata and are " m a k
ing It*’ at anyw h erefrum a lev
el fo rm e rly reserved for re
alty to one of living f rly
com fortably. Sixty p er
ent
are just making ita n d a re a M e
to pay th e ir b ills . But twenty
per cent are not making it at
a ll. Y e s . 1 agree, we a re In
need of great and sweeping tax
re fo rm . It must start at the
F e d e ra l level and work down.
M y own position during the
budget slashing sessions (a
m in o rity of one) was one of
putting people program s firs t
by taking a large sum fro m the
gas tax fund and tra n s fe rrin g
It to the general fund. M y f e l-
low
Board m em bers dis
agreed. Such an action m ight
w ell have found Multnomah
County in the courts defending
this " r a i d "
on dedicated
funds. The m a jo rity position
may « e ll be sounder and w ith
out question a s a fe r in te rp re
tation o! the Oregon C onstitu
tion relating to gas tax funds.
I was prepared to run the
ris k of a court test because I
feel a com munity thatdoesnot
provide fo r lib ra rie s which
prom ote tle a s and Intellectual
a c tiv ity,
health protection,
help fo r kids In trouble, and
a justice system with justice
has
no business spending
money fo r roads and public
w orks. T h is is not to say that
storm d rain s, road m ainte
nance, safety devices, and the
: ike a re unim portant, fo r they
are also needed. In my set of
v- es, however, they are of
1«
t r p rio r ity in maintaining
thy society.
xts* a re indeed complex
m a tters of the f ir s t o rd e r, and
we should not engage in the
fru itle s s luxury of o ve rs im
p lific a tio n o r scapegoating. In
these tim es of m assive and
p e ll-m e ll change when all of
our Institutions are strained to
th e ir foundations, we must
seek real answers and solu
tions. The discussion should
continue to that end.
S in cerely,
Donald E . C la rk
County C om m issio ner
Alcohol greater k ille r
T o the E d ito r:
Advocates of gun control
have attracted a f a ir amount
of attention fo r th e ir concern
» behalf of about 20,000 L’JS.
c iv ilia n s k illed each year by
guns. T hat’ s about55 p e rd a y .
A better case fo r all gun con
tro l might e x is t, though, when
combat deaths a re considered
too. If a ll w ars and m ilita ry
engagements this country e v e r
has participated in « ereg oin g
on today, the total d aily UJS.
combat deaths, together with
c u rre n t c iv ilia n gun deaths,
would amount to 467 killed p er
day. One m ight think (he end
had com e.
How ever, when this figu re is
compered with the greatest
k ille r of a ll > alcoholism - one
wonders why there isn't any
concern
about the 41X1,000
A m ericans that die annually
fro m this sickness. That’ s
m ore than 1.100 per day.
Why? P robably because the
"p o w e rs that he" don't want
inform ation put out that might
disturb the " s y s te m " . And
when you question a trem en
dous source of revenue fo r
government
and
business
you’ ll find many deaf e a rs in
Congress. Alcohol c o n s u m e
tion lik e ly w ill not be outlawed
but a substantial amount can
be replaced by something le s t
harm ful
than smoking c i
g arettes. Tobacco Is addic
tive; m arijuana is not.
If w e 're concerned about
youth, look in any b ar on S atu r
day night and it probeMy w ill
be packed with young men and
women - future alcoholics if
they a re n ’ t a lre a d y . If public
awareness ot Che damage by
alcohol, by fa r the greatest
k ille r of all.ca u s e s the subse
quent legalization of m a r i
juana as a substitute, then thia
country w ill have done more
fo r the people on a scale that
this o r any other country e v e r
has done before.
The Oregon L eg islatu re w ill
consider changes In the law on
m arijuana in the next session.
The question la - w ill (hey deal
in " B la c k m o n ey" buy only (he
equivalent of >2,51» in "w h ite
money.** Blacks have known
fo r a long tim e that we pay a
" c o lo r ta x " In higher prices
fo r food and other consumer
products, as w ell as, in in
stallm ent c re d it charges. The
increasing unrest t o w a r d
these p ractices could have se
rious
repercussions In the
Black com munity to higher
p ric e s
fo r SUBSTANDARD
g oals ami services could re
sult in f a r m ore "s e le c tiv e
buying" by Blacks than what
we have been doing in the past.
Ih e Black com m unity should
with It In light of the needs of
people, o r the needs of the
"s y s te m " ?
Wayne L . Johnson
4366 N jE . 41st Ave.
Albany, Oregon
Scientology
D e a r E d ito r:
I recently found that your
paper c a rrie d our press re
lease regarding the Church of
Scientology's 22ndAnniversa
ry , (T h u rs d a y , M ay 18th). I
c e rta in ly hope that the a rtic le
was of Interest to your read
e rs .
Thsnk you fo r helping make
known our church's plans for
helping the com m unity,
s in c e re ly .
Rev. Steven R, Heard
The Church of Scientology of
Washington State
910 E llio tt Avenue W.
» ta ttle , Washington 98119
Now a m o ra to riu m has heen
dec I a red on any new busing aid
on busing that has been acted
favorably upon by a F ed e ra l
C o urt but which Is under ap
peal. This w ill continue until
Janu ary, 1974, o r u ntill all
cases under appeal have teen
ajialicated. The next result is
and w ill 1« to slow down de
segregation in the N orth and
in the South.
th e Richmond Case con
solidating Richmond, Ches
te rfie ld a id Henrico Counties
school systems has been de
nied by the Fourth C irc u it
C ourt of Appeal. It w ill no
doubt be appealed to thel nited
Supreme C o u rt. I he education
b ill a id its busing m oratorium
w ill in a ll pro bability be signed
into law before this a rtic le is
w ritte n .
Two things have happened
here in A tlan ta. The D is tric t
C o urt has denied aproposal by
the N AACP which would re
quire that a m ajo rity of each
school in A tlan ta be black,
ranging fro m 55 per cent to 87
p e r c e n t. T h is plan would have
required m assive busing. 7 he
N AACP plan req un ing this
was a plan worked out by D r .
Stoiee of M ia m i L ntve ratty In
F lo rid a .
Ih e court said in sum m ary
that the Stoiee Plan would
hasten the day when Atlanta
would become an all - black
school system and that since
1967 segregation In the Atlanta
Public Schools has beenJueto
de facto forces. It is the opin
ion of this w rite r chat the
Stoiee Plan would do what the
courts say since the Atlanta
Public School System has bean
becoming M acker and b lacker
since 1953.
In 1953 the black-w hite ratio
was approxim ately 70 p er cent
white and 30 per cent black. In
1972 the white enrollm ent is
27 p e r cent and the Mack en
ro llm en t is 73 p e r cent. A t
lanta is an independent school
system with five adjacent
counties having a m a jo rity
of w hites. To Institute the
Stoiee Plan would make It easy
fo r w hites to flee Into e ith e r
one of the counties adjacent to
A tla n ta .
What Is the solution to dlls
while Bight fro m (he C e n tral
C ity? If the U . S. Supreme
C ourt upholds t ie Richmond
Case, It m ight w ell be that
this would be the next step for
x her school systems In the
United States to follow .
The A C L U has Just filed
a suit requesting the consoli
dation of nine school systems
in M etrop olitan A tlan ta. This
would
Include M etropolitan
A tlan ta, five adjacent counties
and three city system s. Such
a plan would c e rta in ly make
the white flig ht m o re d tffic u lt.
WASHINGTON
BRIEFS
ih e U , S. Justice f repart
ment w ill attack racial dis
crim in atio n
In f ir e d ep a rt
ments in Los Angeles. C h i
cago and B irm ing ham .
A ll
face action under (he
1964
C iv il Rights Act which last
M arc h was extended to cov
e r state and local employees
Of the anti-busing legisla
tion passed by Congress, Rep.
Augustus
Hawkins ( b - C a llf)
said the m easure "suspends
the constitutional
rights of
black child ren . It not only ef
fects busing of children but
even
those who
walk tr
school."
no longer patronize those
white stores that refuse to
supply it with the same quality
of services ami products that
they give th e ir white custom
e rs in other parts of the c ity .
If white businesses In the
Black
com munity
do not
change th e ir attitudes toward
Black custom ers It may be
come necessary (oi (lie Black
community to boycott, picket,
a id dem onstrate against them .
T his tim e , however, uni Ike the
past, the picketing ami demon
strations w ill be more mas
sive ami more Intensified.
" N a lio n w d e ," according to
D . P a rk e Gibson, In " F h e >30
B illion N e g ro ," "th e Black
community spends up to 33 per
cent on food as compared to 23
pet cent of all A m e ric a n s ."
M o re o v e r, m em bers of con
gressional subcommittee in
vestigated
consumer com
plaints ui m a jo r cutes ami
tium l (hat superm arkets In the
Black community in ia -m a ik e d
package goxds, frozen fowls
w ere half thawed, ami Ihe man
agers adm itted that a fte r (wo
days on the shelf, package!
m eat was taken heck to t ie but-
c le r 's block, repackaged, re
labeled, and a new dale placed
on the package. S lm ila r p r a c -
tices are alleged to be occur
ring in the g re a te r Model C it
e s area here in P o rtland . A
number of Blacks have In
form ed this w r ite r that they
have purchased a number of
frozen m eats and la te r found
that when they unthawed them.
L en w o o d D a v is
the meata w ere spoiled.
V e ry little has le a n done by
the government to in fu im and
educate
B la c k
shoppers.
Hem e , thia la one area that our
local civic community organ
izations can establish m ean-
tntfful consum er educational
p io g ra m s . Even iliough mean
ingful consum er pioiecdon
laws, no doubt, w ill have lo
come (ru m national, slate, ami
local government, consum er
protection to combat sharp
selling p ra c tic e s , excessive
chaig es, poor i|uallty m e r
chandise, abuse of c ie d li reg
ulations, and im provem ent of
garnishm ent laws would con
tribute substantially to an im
proved c lim a te among Black
consumers toward white bus
inesses.
Blacks a re , aisl rig htfully
so, in revolt agalnslfraudulent
selling practices, hkklen g a r
nishment p ra c tic e s , e tc . W hile
legitim ate businesses have an
interest In c u rta ilin g th e ir r i
vals sharp p ractices, T H E
MAJOR
SOURGB OP CON-
SI Ml-.R
IN F O R M A T IO N FDR
BLACKS COULD WEI I ■
KNDWIJ I x a .A B IE
MEM
BERS o f THE B I j ACK COM
M U N IT Y IT S E L F I
Note: P a rt 11 of Whlss Bus
iness In the Black Com m unity
w ill appear next week.
¥)ur ticket to
the big game:
2Lincluding
transportation
You warn Io m
the btg fam e
So what do you do? I um iw llch oa your
T V •»< And ma nvora of lha actum tfcaa moat
of ihe mao on lha ftald You No got dm
beat mal la tha houaa lo t about 2« worth of
electnctty par game
Sound Ilka a pratly food daal? I l la.
Electnary ICS a bargain A ad wa know that
bargarna arw hard to Sad today Almost aa hard
to And aa enough lag room la lha graadataad
RrificRMerwAw.— * *
tb n ric U t rhar t a t t t UUagr altar far raarydady