Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 1972)
I ì PARO» "»♦ t* i F AIÍT THF £NtM> -AND H t /5 «5. - TURNING OUR CHILDREN INTO JUNNIE p INTO THIEi'EO ANp l \ \ ’5 Tl TU TEO hHc » >%’£> ON JHElR O M REOCIE. • J f - > 1 MUST k W K TOGETHER FOR FULL ANO EQUAL EMPLOYMENT. As I See It The Oregon Black Agenda Part II T h u n d a y , August 31, » 7 2 by Lenwood G . D avis Th« N o rthw est’s Best W eekly A Black O w n ed Publication PubUshed every Thursday by E xie P ublishir^ Conipa v, 2201 N . K illin g s w o rth , P o rtland, Oregon 97217 Subscriptions - $5.25 p e r y e a r in T ri-C o u n ty area by m a il. CMitsale the T ri-C o u n ty area - $ 6 .00 p e r y e a r by m a il. Phone: 283-2480 M a ilin g adress - P . O . Box 3137, Po rtland , Oregon 97208. A L F R E D L E E HENDERSON, P u b lis h e r/E d ito r inpa _ T i * ° bTe rV e r s j£ ilc » 1 position is expressed only in its P u b lis h er s Column (The Observation Post) a id the E d ito r’s A ’ i ' . ^ ny 3 ^ ' ' m ,c e ri* 1 tf'r °Ughout the paper ,s the opinion of the individual w r it e r o r sub m itter and does not n ecessarily re fle c t the opinion of the O bserver. Any erroneous reflection upon the c h a ra cte r, standing o r reputation of person, firm o r corporation, which may appear in the Portland O ts e re e r w ill be cheerfully corrected upon being brought to the attention of the E d ito r. The Editor’s Desk il Black Republicans called status seekers F o r many decades w ithin the Republican p olitical arena the A L F R E D L E E HEM5ERSCN Black Republican continually found him self in a state of non existence. having to be the ‘ Invisible M an ” which is equal to being a "Q u a s i M a n ” : Representatives of the Albina M in is te ria l A llia n c e , the meaning in name only. H is po N A A o E and the Urban League selected two black men to te litic a l situation has not a l presented to the city council fo r appointment to C o m m issioner lowed him to establish power N e il G oldschm idt's seat, in selecting two candidates, the o r among his constituents within ganizations sought to avoid giving the com m ission er’ s an easy the general population. way out of one candidate does not m eet th e ir approval. The Black Republican is now T h e re is some advantage to uniting behind one'candidate and always w ill be a m in o rity and presenting a solid front on his behalf. T here is also ad in the Republican P a r ty . He vantage to providing a num ber of acceptable candidates from found h i m s e l f supporting wnoog whom the com m issioners can make a selection. With Black D em ocrats who a re the three o r m o re candidates, each w ith the support of a portion m a jo rity . T h is is why it is of the com m unity, i t wUl be d iffic u lt fo r the city com m issioners hard to distinguish between to say a qualified black cannot be found. the Black Republican and the The w h llr press and the white power structure can use this B lack D e m o c ra t. opportunity to say the black community is divided. But the As f a r as we have beenable black com munity is not divided - it is the city council. It to le a rn 40 some odd states is only natural that In a d iv e rsifie d population of over 20 000 have produced 60 Black D e le persons there would be d ifferences of opinion as to who w k ild gates fo r this 1972 convention. be the best person to serve In thia capacity. And we can no The meaning of the above sta longer govern our actions by what we expect to be the reaction tis tic if it holds true is that out of the white p re s s . of 1300 Republican Delegates The action of A M A . N.AACP and the Urban League a re in only 60 a re supposed to be re no way a reflectio n on the Black Caucus o r on C h alm ers presenting the Black m asses. ^ ° " e s ’ L.The Black Caucus ‘ S an organization of Individuals T his would be five p e r cent and and each person who attended the Com m unity Convention would be rep resentative of the w hether a m em b er of the Black Caucus a n d /o r other organiza “ Quasi M an ” , with an appro tions. voted as an in d iv iA ia l. Attendance at theC cnferen ce xim ate addition of one per was s a m ll. but the vote reflected the opinion of those present cent representation of other T r L V^ " “ " ° * , y 56 bindlng on a ll black citizen s. m in o rity groups across this , Tb* Black Caucus is an im portant movement fo r the future nation. * 2 ^ i f* ? PleK -ln Oreg° n’ We look t0 11 wlth * re a [ hope, The Black observers who p e r a c u l.r ly in the political a re a . But it is a young o rg .n iz a i w ill be attending this 1972 con X o ‘ re voice fo r ^lack community vention w ill find as th e ir com panions highly e x p e rt public The A lbina M in is te ria l A llia n c e , representing n early 50 relation s advisors brought to X r^ d ” offlth^ l N A A C P L rt* n Le,gUe> throuSh ' h e ,r gether by the P re s id e n t’ s top e l ® c » o ffic ia ls , represent approxim ately 18,00 black people aide Robert J . B row n. These ° f Whl“ S- ThCSe tbree o rg ^ iz a t.o n s have a e x p e rt public relation s advis long record of accom plishm ent in Portland and have a re lia b le o rs task w ill be to extend into constituency. “ ““ the Black com m unity and re g to T l ? “ U rb *'n LM gU e a r ® not a nem pting is te r B lack people so that they l , K action of the Com m unity Council o r to force th e ir w ill vote. Another task of the ” th6y m C re,y w ,n t t0 * l w o l *»d public relation s advisors w ill in u * poliUcBl life of the com m unity. also be to make available T T . im portant issue is that the city council knows that we sm all business opportunities, fte bU ck people of P o rtland, want and believe we are en- and a pro m ise to fu lfill those repre8en “ U° n • * ! the only way that re p re s e n ta - broken d ream s of o u r Black J f0 « * e « b i e future is through appointm ent. sons and daughters that they bUCk men’ ° r ,n y otber b l,c k Person I® w ill now be able to particip ate appointed, the community must unite behind him to provide in the main p olitical and finan ^ n J 2 C0Ur’ ^ ? ent lnd * UPP° n b® * 1U need- And the ap- cial m ain stream of the A m e r i polnw- , on the other hand, m ust understand that he was out can way of life . m u s i X ’ rt bUJ k CO,nmUnlty ,nd tbat hls Attending this convention 0 noeds ,nd «»plratlons of black people as well a re Black display "statu s as the o verall benefits of the P E O P L E of P o rtland . s e e k e rs " who are meeting Unity in diversity ; \ z ; V Letters to IF , D e a r s in ¡¡f; : • ' r > * i' £*■5 « . T h is la an open le tte r to protest the so-called com m unity convention held on Saturday, August 26, at the Vancouver Avenue F ir s t Bap- Oat Church. We are esking that the city council and the M a y o r of Portland d is re g a rd what hap pened because there la reason to believe that the election was rigged, and that our Black com munity la quite cap able of g etiim g m ore than seventy people out to a m eet ly if lt la open and w a ll- publicized. I t was rum ored at least a week ago that D r . L ee Brown had decided that M r . C lw l- m e rs Jonas would be the p e r son elected a t the convention. It was also rum o red that D r . Brown would not allow other "s e rio u s " names to be placed into nomination. I t was fu r thered rum ored that D r . Brown would personally p re - wsnt the nominations of any • tv individual whom he fe lt to be "airw orth y’ ’ . Hearing these rum ors, but not re a lly believing them be cause we thought we knew the man, D r , Brown, we young people attended the conven tion and stayed until the voting. A fte r observing the pro ceedings and talking to many of the people there and those living within two blocks of the church, we found the follow ing things to be true: 1. M any people there w ere there to r a lly around M r . Jones; 2 . M any of these people w ere personally Informed of and Invited to the meeting by D r . Brown; 3 . People living on the block of the church were un aw are that there was a "c o m m unity convention"; F- D r . Brown did prepare le tw r a to d is c red it individuals and to keep certain names out of nomination. 5 . A t least one such le tte r litor was voted off the convention floor; 6 . D r . Brown did not at tend the convention, but had selected certain people to introduce the le tte rs In the event certain individuals ac cepted a nomination from the d oor; As residents of this com m unity, we say this was D r . B row n’ s convention, and that it should be labeled as such. As fo rm e r students of D r . Brow n, we say we are deeply disappointed in the m an. As concerned young people, we say if a convention is neces s a ry , let’ s plan one and have hundreds of people fro m our com m unity making a respec table decision. O u r com munity has never been controlled by one man, «nd, D r . Brown, nothing haa changed. M a . Anne Davis M . C o ll 1r s 2611 N £ . Union P o rtla n d , Oregon here in M ia m i. P re s id e n t N ix firem en; p sychiatrists, psy on has summoned these " s t a c h o lo g is ts ; inspectors; tus s e e ke rs " in o rd er to make c h a ritie s ; food stamps; public an im pression and an Im pact assistance w ork program s; on the 30 Black urban colo drugs; adm in is tra to rs of the n ies. w orld; w elfare; social s e r Some of the w ell known p e r vices; correction s officers; sonal ¡ties who are attending poverty program s a d m in i this convention a re : Floyd strated by the 94 per cent ad M c K ls s ic k - c iv il rights law infinitum . yer; Roy Inm s - Congress of T o allow the finances to go Racial Equality a d m in is tra d ire c tly toward the problem to r; T he ReverendM anm e L ee would mean an equal balance W ilson - Convent Avenue Bap m this country’ s w e a lth .F re e tis t Church; D r . W illia m dom Is not the rule In the po H e ra t - head of M alc o lm X litic a l arena, be it Republican C ollege; the Fin ancial S ecre o r D em o crat. tary of M u s lim Mosque No. 7; But to the "s ta tu s s e e k e rs " M r . Jam es F a r m e r - fo rm e r who have no p ow e ra n d w ill not P re s id e n t of CORE and a past acknowledge this fact to tlie m e m b e r of the Nixon A d m in i public, and to those who s till s tra tio n , along with many oth have a surge o f consciousness, e r w ell known Black personal I say that there Isenough Black itie s . gold and talent w ithin the Black Now the o bserver should be com munity th a t tokenism aw are that these Blacks who should not move you towards a re attending this convention its g rip . Reaching out towards a re not delegates who can p a r your own people fo r support is ticipate In the decision m ak the absolute pow er. U n i t y ing nor can they change the exists but tokenism has conti tide which is presently pulling nuously brought you sway the masses of poordownward. fro m this unity. U nityw lthout T h e point that should te raised a leader is manpower without is , "C a n these Black 'status a b ra in . Should we sit around se e ke rs ’ d e liv e r the untapped the mahogany table and d is Black vote?” These Blacks cuss how to acquire mass to have become closely identified kenism fo r the masses of poor w ith this present a d m in is tra across this nation? You " s ta tion and gobbled up a ll of t ie tus s e e k e rs " have not as of yet patronage and have accepted thanked your people fo r the its financial tokenism (good easy com fo rt that you now en ies, fo r them selves. Now the joy because of th e ir support. B lack "s ta tu s seekers” w ill return to th e ir homes and p e r suade the untapped Black vot e r to vote the straigh t Repub lican tic k e t.T h e "s ta tu s seek e r s ” w ill return with th e ir tal ent and explore the p o s s ib ili ties of th e ir p o litic a l persua sion in N o vem ber. The fact is that most of these "s ta tu s s e e k e rs " la v e es caped from the re a litie s of To lift her spirits, Virginia th e ir local tie s . T hey know decided Io become a bleached little of the sufferings of t ie blonde She stirred two bleaching g ra s s -ro o t masses and the products together and applied the m asses' m en tality is now fo mixture to her hair. Result: scalp cusing in th e ir directio n ques burns. tioning the re lia b ility of Black In short order, she demanded L ea d e rs h ip . T hey cannot r e damages from one of the manu turn fo r the untapped Black facturers. But at the trial, the company pointed out that its di v o te r that die D em o cratic and rections warned against mixing Republican p a rtie s a re both the product with anything else. seeking. The fact remains.” said V ir T h is is due to tie neg ginia, "that a bleach should not lect shown to die masses by become dangerous merely by tlie Black p ersonalities whose being mixed with another blew h.” aim has teen transform ed into "fo rtu n e s e e k e rs ,” w hile t ie unfulfilled d ream s of the masses and die fru stratio n of ttiese dream s continue to exist because of the authority en trusted to tte s e "s ta tu s seek e rs " being neglectfully fo r gotten. The "s ta tu s s e e k e rs " are a m a jo r cause of: drug addic tion, prostitution; high c rim e rates, police b ru tality: prison rio ts, g lettos; inadequate hos p ital care; poor educational fa c ilitie s and curriculum ; broken homes; continuous ex ploitation; genocide; confu sion; birth defects due to poor w tr ltlo n ; m ental illness; t r a i tors; Im m o ra lity ; e tc . They have failed to challenge tie true Issues. The "s ta tu s s e e k e rs " also insure the white ruling class that th e ir sona and daughters w ill continue to w ork, making money off of the m asses In flicted problem s, such as: school teachers; doctors; law ye rs ; judges; social w orkers; wardens; guards: policem en; As most iwople know the Oregon Black Caucus issued the Oregon Black Agenda and, needless to say. only tim e w Ul tell if lt w ill be lin - plem ented. I fo r one have faith In the Oregon Black Caucus and le lie v e tliat lt w ill insure that a ll of lts demands are adopted. In my opinion, the section on Education could have teen stron g er. How ever, the p re face set tlie tone of our Black awareness as It re la te s to the e d u c a tio n a l process in A m eric a and its double stan dards fo r people of c o lo r. T he Education p reface s u r m ised: In every phase of our his tory in A m eric a , we have le e n seriously lnqeded because of unequal educational oppor tunities and in fe rio r educa tional p ro gram s. O urchU dren have tee n exposed to racist teachers who a re m o re dedi cated to controlling than leaching. O ur schools are the most poorly e<juipped and m aintained. O ur children are e ith e r forced out of the schools, m ls-educated. o r I l l - p re p a re d . F u rth e rm o re , the racism that runs ram pant in our society is perpetuated by the educational process. » «• (a) A m andatory and con tinuous ln -s e rv lc e training program fo r t r a d e r s c over ing human relation san dethn lc culture; (b) A human relations p ro gram fo r parents. (c) T ra n s p o rta tio n sche dules which allow fo r p a r ti cipation in e x tr a -c u rr ic u la r •c tiv ie s ; (d) P rovisions to care for any Illness that occurs at school. The Black Agenda called fo r the development of a Black Educational Resources C enter and an extension of com pre- henslve child c a re centers in (P le a se turn to pg. 7, col. 7) die high schools. The Black Agenda also demands that die State System of H ig h er Edu cation aggressively re c ru it Blacks fo r e nrollm ent in die various professional schools throughout die state; fo r exam ple, m edical, dental, nursing and law schools. T h a essential point In the Educa tion section is that die Agenda WANTS Q U A L IT Y ED U C A T IO N FUR o U R C H IL D R E N . It must te stressed that t ie Oregon Black Agenda believes diat these changes w ill also lib e ra liz e our Brown, Red. and Yellow B ro th e rs. Indeed, even those white A m ericans who truly te l levs In treedom , justice and equality w ill join us in form ing a teautlA il K aleldoscu|e of colors, m ov ing like giants Into this decade, arweeplng away Injus tice te fo ie us. NOTE: P a rt 111 of " T H E ORBOON BLACK A O M D A " w ill a p ie a r text week. udest Brewery Blitz-Weinhtird Company P ortland , O regon Thz New Items Daily! FAMOUS LABELS LIQUIDATORS OF FRUCHT D A M A C ICOOOSAND MANUFACTURES CLOSEOUTS 3 Corner Stores • 283-3171 North Killingsworth at Albina HIS & HERS PANT SUITS Reg. to $70.00 100% Polyester Double Kalt« 99 nCAK 1 » IrtMa Rocket. ZI r - r r d ootaido Rocket. tf o/ com . Small, moo., Iirgo. From 9x12 12x15 9x12 w io s29” WOOD FRAME LINOLEUM RUGS ATTACHE CASE B ■ ■ TO R®9«lorly $19.95 to $50.00 Bee Price STUDENT ZIPPERED However, the court turned down Virginia’s claim. The judge said she had meddled with the merchandise at her own risk. W ith increasing frequ ency, manufacturers are being held li able for harm inflicted by their products. But if the consumer had substantially tampered with the product before using it. that usually will let the manufacturer "o ff the hook.” This is true even if there is no specific warning against tamper ing. Another case involved a ladder which collapsed under a man’s weight, throwing him Io the ground But before using it, he Lenwood D avis t1 M O w TH E FAMILY® LAWYER s Meddling with Merchandise « ».èm W h ite -c o n tro lle d . W hite run. and W hite-valued schools have pursued goals that a re con tra ry to tlie w e ll-b e in g of Black people. Therefore, U w© t i -© to achieve a new era of Blackdevelopm ent, we must defliw the educational p ro cess which we le e d , and we m ust move to create the necessary conditions fo r Its re a liza tio n . I he Black Agenda believes tliat losin g should he con sidered only when It meets die needs of Black students. F u rth e rm o re , If Black c h il dren are bused, there shall be: $3” K ÏS ♦7” " V ix T " *5" SCENIC PICTURES 24"x48" ... 5 3 9 9 TO $10.95 12x15 "V v T, h u A" M 0 - W WITH THIS AD REMEMBER - WE HAVE CROCERIES R xnk A kk Ricasnl
