Page 2
THE M IT E HOUSE y Y' THF I M S IS Ó W . ALONÓ
H ITH THE ÓOUCT ANO THE LEûlSLATURE i»H
THE LAST PECAPE*
4Tr0QN£Y
J tviTCPKAb
_
As I See It
The Oregon Black Agenda
MUST ItW K TOGETHER FOR FULL
ANO EQUAL EMPLOYMENT.
Part III
By Lenwood C . Davis
Thursday, September 7,1972
The Oregon Black Agenda
sanctiotwd and pe qe tu ated ly
addresses its e lf p r im a r ily to O regon's
|H ilitica l system .
B lack people in the State of
T h is is because t ie state's
O regon. PR IM AR ILY is the
p o litic a l system is one that is
¡shed every T h u r a d a ^ ^ ^ ^ j ^ P u b h s t u i ^ c S m p a n s
key w o rd. We Blacks fully re
dedicated to t ie preservation
alize that even though Black
2201 N . K tllin g sw o rth , P ortland, . regon 97217
of W hite pow er. It was this
people are oppressed we are
S u b s c rip ts s - $ 5 4 5 per yea r in T r.-C o u n ty area by ma ..
W hite p o litic that made ( i egoii
N O I i t * only gioup in A m e ri
exits ale the T ri-C o u n ty area - $0.00 per yea r by m a il.
one of t ie m ost a n ti- B la c k
ca that is oppressed. There
Phone: 283-2480
states outside of Uw south. It
fo re , as the Agenda slates, as
Mailing adress - P .O .B o x 3137, Portlarxl. Oregon »7208.
was th is W hite [volitic tla tw a s
B lacks move toward funda
A LFR ED LEE HENDERSON. P ub lisher E d ito r
responsible fo r He d is fra n
m ental social changes, we do
chisem ent of Black people.
Lanwood D a v it
not m arch alone, to r forces ol
W hite p o litic s is the p o litic s
oppression transcend color
of ra c is m .”
lin e s .
F u rth e rm o re ,
tie
IN P A
mg p o litic a l system, o(W rating
I le Black Agenda continues
changes which this Agenda
from an indeiem lent power
a . .
c a lls
fo r
also lite r a liz e
base; (gj We m ust e lim in a te
The O bserver's o ffic ia l position is expressed o n i, in its
Brow n, Red and Yellow b ro th m ust nw r obtain p o litic a l pow
0 « requirem ent üiat e le i ted
P u b lis h e r's Column (The Observation P o s r a-xl the E d ito r's
e rs . Even some whites who e r and use that powet lo f u r
Officials have an autom atic
D e sk. Any other m a te ria l throughout t.-e paper is the op io r
siiu-ere ly te lie v e in freedom , th e r tlw goals ol t ie Black
rig h t to le a rep rese ntative lot
of the individual w r ite r o r s u h m itte r anddoesnot necessarily
u stice indequaliry w ill jo in us com m unity. U n like those who
0 « National Black Assem bly.
re fle c t the opinion of the O bserver.
and
have
no
program
fo
r
Black
in form in g a beautiful rainbow ,
1 his pro visio n breeds d iv i
su rviva l or social change, t ie
Any erroneous re fle ctio n upon the ch a ra cte r. s ta r tin g or
m oving like proud w a rrio rs
sions in t ie Black National As
Dragon B lack Caucus d ie s
reputation of person, fir m o r corporation, which may appear
into tie 70's, sweeping away
sembly and frequently is 0 «
have p ro g ra m s fo r Black s u r
I t . the P ortland O bserver w ill be che erfully corre cte du po n
in e iu a lio e s te fo re us.
basis lo r m isre prese ntatio n of
being brought to tne attention of the E d ito r.
viva l and social change, ( ir e
I le p o litic a l section shows
Black opinion n a tio n a lly. It
of the pro gra m s is in He p o li
ore avenue of how Blacks
also sustains tie present two-
tical arena. 1 h e re to » , Black
in U e state of Oregon can
p a rty system which may nut le
people m ust now "o b ta in p o li
sweep away t ie inequalities
ui 0 « le s t interests ol Black
tic a l powet and use P a l power
against B lacks - gain p o litic a l
people nationally, (h- W em ust
to d i r t i e r the goals of He
power. A lte ra ll, the p o litic a l,
devise a com m unity liaiso n
econom ic and educational sys
B lack com m unity . I t is o u r in
letw een elected o ffic ia ls and
(R eprinted
from the August 31 issue of the P C R T L A M
tems are so interw oven that it tention to present a piano! ac
0 e commun ty; (l) We must
OBSERVER by popular demand.
is absurd to te lie v e H at we tion designed to create a p o li
estab lish a ih i I h i , il re la tio n
can c o m la t one without at
tic a l awareness w ith in tie
ship on .1 sta te w id e basis w ith
Representatives of the Albina M in is te ria l A lliance, the
tacking a ll ot them . Hence, B lack com m unity aimed at
\ A A C r and the Lrb en League selected two black men to 1«
a ll m in o rity groups to form a
as one statesm an declared, a lle via tin g the e xistin g s|*o li-
via l le co a litio n of Our I world
presented tc the city council fo r appointm ent to C o m m issio ne r
"se e k ye tie 'p o litic a l king tic a l Condition. I o that end:
un ity.
N e il G oldschm idt's seat. In selecting two candidates, the o r-
dom* f ir s t and a ll others w ill ( •) We m ust eilucate Black
Blacks in Oie state ol O re
sa n ita tio n s sought to avoid giving the com m issioners a eas>
come la te r ."
people that, short ol re vo lu
way out i f one candidate dues not meet th e ir a p p r v a l.
gon ate less te p te s e n tn l in
The preface of the p o litic a l tion , 0 « p o litic a l arena is 0 «
. here is some advantage to uniting behind one candidate
p o litic s (lian In any other a re a .
section of the Agenda states la s t place w le re they m ight
Io date. H e re are only four
and presenting a solid fro n t on his behalf. There is also ad
0 « position of tie Oregon le g itim iz e th e ir lig h t lo t fr e e
B la .k electcil publu <i(ftclals
vantage to pro vid ing a num ber of acceptable .andidates from
ALFRED LEE FENDE RSON
Black Caucus, namely:
dom. (b,i We m ust undertake a
in 0 « state, even diungh
am.ong whom the com m ission ers can make a selection. W ith
" H e pligh t of Black people program to educate out jeop le
three o r m ore candidates, each w ith the support of a po rtion
l la ik s num tei nearly n.’.iKXJ.
in the state of Oregon has leeri about 0 « m ost fundamental
of the com m unity, it w ill he d iffic u lt fo r the city com m issioners
In o tl« r words, it a ll 28,316
aspects of lo ca l, state and fed
to say a qualified black cannot be found.
B lacks led a tty ut its own we
e ra l governm ent, (c) We must
T e white press and the w hite power stru ctu re can use this
would le 0 « seventh la rge st
m o b ilize Black pa rticip a tio n
city in Oregon, which means
opportunity to say the black com m unity is divided, i ut the
in the p o litic a l process, by a
U a l a ll inwns with less tlian
black
com m unity
is
not divided - - it is u n ite ! in its
vo te r education program a nd
28.316 have ele. ted o ffic ia ls
goal
to
he represented on the c ity council. It is only
follow through w ith a vigorous
representing them and B lacks
na tural
that
in a d iv e rs ifie d population of over 20.U00
v te r
re g is tra tio n d r i v e :
do not: th e re fo re . B lacks in
persons there would he d iffe re nce s of opinion as to who would
(d) We m ust d e fn e 0 « re -
be the best person to serve in this capacity. And we can no
O regon M l x I re g is te r. MVS I
sponsd li n e s oi Blacks run-
vote, and M l s | sup po rto N I A
longer govern ou r actions by what we expect to he the reaction
ing fo r p o litic a l o tfice ;(e ) We
of the white pre ss.
those while candidates ilia t
G overnor Tom M cC a ll has appointed eiever. blacks to state
m ust urge un ity in our voting
support b ills and program s
The
action
of
AMA,
NAACP
and
the
Urban
League
are
in
boards and com m issions and one black udge in his six years in
1 a 11. e. I ia. k l Io. v. I;: g is
0iat can te n e h t Black i«ople>
no way a re fle c tio n on ffe Black Caucus o r on Chalm ers
o ffic e . F o u r of the appointees are on the C om m ission on Human
A little -n o tic e d change r the National school I unci. A
... t e ssen tial to tie presentation
1 '
- - . s i
t ’
R ights. Out of718 board and com m ission m em bers, th is is a poor
force close to LS n.iiiius yuungsters currently receiving of Black p o l i t i c a l hoy«;
(NO TE: P a rt IV of "T h e O r e
a.-xi ea_
person who attended the Com m unity Convention
reco rd, but i t is te tte r than bis predecessors.
school lunch off the r o lls .
( f Black ¡«ople m ust tecum e
gon Bla k Agenda" w ill a ir e a r
w
hether
a
m
em
ber
of
the
B
lack
Caucus
and,
o
r
other
organiza-
A glance at G overnor M c C a ll's appointees shows that most
A senate A g ricu ltu re subcom m ittee, (waded by senator James
i via l le force w i0iin tie e x is t-
te x t week.)
tions, xcted as an in d iv id u a l.
Attendance at the Conference
a re employees of the state, the federal governm ent o r of fe d e ra lly
Allen, D -A la ., has approved a change m the A t whl
e uld
was sm a ll, t u t the vote reflected the opinion of those prese t,
iu-n-ed program s whose funds are con tro lled by the state. Fave
i f vote cou. : .
. way he Hading w «11 Mack cfttM B S . not reimburse states that ave school lunch e lig ib ility sta,»iar is
Lydey and C harles Jordon are employed by Model C lu e s and
The Black Caucus is an im p ortan t movem ent fo r the future higher than 15 per cent above the federal poverty guidelines,
CLKANIKS A LAUNDERERS
o r )u per cent above t ie guidelines lo r reduced p ric e lunches.
of black people in Oregon.
We look to it w ith great hope
C la ra Peoples by a Model C itie s funded agency. Hazel Hays
E t t a b h i h a d 1 9 1 2
■■
The
(louse
in
late
June
approved
a
h
ill
which
,.ntained
lim
its
p a rn c u ia rly ,n the p o litic a l area. But it is a young orgam za-
w orks fo r the P ortla nd Development Com m ission, which is
of 25 fo r free lunches and 50 per cent fo i tlw reduced price
Uon and at th is tim e cannot speak fo r the black com m unity
funded by the city and operates m a irjy on money fro m the U.S.
lunches, allow ing ch ild re n t la t are a litt le te tte r off |, take
w ith one voice.
•
’
D epartm ent of Housing and Urban Developm ent. E llis Casson
The Albina M in is te ria l A llia n c e , re p re se -tm g ne arly 50 p t r t in the school Lunch P ro g ra m .
w o rxs fo r the U 4 . Highway D epartm ent. C halm ers Jones, Ron
• xami cu ,
siavict
U le s t t v c i
But the Nixon A d m in is tra tio n la s asked fo r tlw figure-. , , n-
churches, the N AAC P and the Urban League, through th e ir
Stratton and T e rry Johnson w o rk f o r the state. M ercedes Deiz
•? MOlj» C ltX N IN G
Dtv cleaning
tained in tie subcom m ittee b ill.
elected o ffic ia ls , represent approxim ately 18,000 black reople
S * 'P » O *r5 KN tli N O O N
AVAHASH
was employed by the state at the tim e she was appointed to the
The poverty guidelines fo r t ie school lun. I program le g in
< OMPI O f lA U N O t»
and a .number of w hites.
These three organizations have a
O o M T o u tla til
D is tr ic t C o u rt , then w h ile a state judge, was appointed to the
«
»
v
ic
e
ning io September will be >4410 per yeet (ot a family (four,
long reco rd of accom plishm ent in P ortla nd and have a re lia b le
« .» J!
C om m ission on Human R ights.
as set by tie Departm ent of A g ric u ltu re .
constituency.
1 014 N « llU N G T W O a tM
Only Herb Am erson and Conrad M cConnell are in priva te
4 aiwxkt 1«U * t IftN r.N *«
But under the subcom m ittee’ s proposal, states could raise
A M A , the NAACP and the Urban League are not attem pting
in d u stry.
that to $4.716 fo r fre e lunches, and $5,343 fo r reduced price
to
-«gate
the
action
of
the
Com
m
unity
Council
o
r
to
force
th
e
ir
The white appointees are seldom pu blic employees but are
(un cle s.
wishes on the com m unity — they m e re ly want to he involved
people in business and in du stry, fa rm e rs and ranchers, pro fe s
Those c e ilin g s, however, are low er tia n ceilin gs already set
in tne p o iit id l life of the com m unity.
sional people and ever, housewives.
in m ost areas.
.
5
*
W
o
r
t
a
n
t
issue
is
that
the
c
ity
council
knows
that
we
We would not in fe r that these black appointees can re con tro l
" I t w ill cause some problem s to so n « s ta te s ." s a il an
the black people of P ortla nd , want and believe we are en
led because they are public em ployees. It is p ro pe r that they
C Pa
assistant to senator Herm an lia r.e d g e . H -G a.. chairm an of
title d to representation and that the only way that representa
received these appointm ents. But the c ir c le should be broadened
the fu ll Senate A g ricu ltu re C om m ittee.
tion w ill come m the foreseeable future is through appointm ent.
and a la rg e r segment of the black com m unity represented
E a r lie r th is year, senator George M cC overn's select Com
I f any of these black men. o r any other black person is
P ossibly tr« appointments have been la rg e ly confined to agency
m ittee on N u tritio n and Human Needs, estim ated B a t m ore
appointed,
the
com
m
unity
m
ust
unite
behind
him
to
p
ro
vi
le
people » ca u se they are the ones that come to the attention of the
than 14 m illio n ch ild re n would la ve to le dropped from the
the encouragement and support he w ill need.
And the ap
G overnor. I f so, then he and his ad visors m ust seek out other
pointee. on the oth er hand, m ust understand that he was nut p ro gra m , i f the A d m in is tra tio guidelines are follow ed.
blacks who ccxild serve ably, because there are many qualified
The A g ricu ltu re D epartm ent said slig h tly m ore tia n 8 m illio n
m Us position by (tie black com m unity and that his decisions
a-nd responsible black people who do not make the headlines.
ch ild re n were p a rticip a tin g at the end of the year in tie p ro
m ust re fle c t the needs and asp ira tions of black people as well
g ra m .
M ore tia n 10 m illio n ch ild re n are c u rre n tly e lig ib le
as the o ve ra ll benefits of the PEOPLE of P ortland
fo r the pro gra m .
The Northwest's Best W e e k ly
A Black O w ned Publication
A
Unity in diversity
The
Editor’s
Desk
The
O b s e rv a tio n
Governor, please
broaden the circle
QUALITY DRY ClfANING
REASONABLE RATES
P
W
289-9357
Green writes off Blacks
The UJs. House of Representatives, approving 282 to 102
a shameful b ill which seems to curb the federal c o u rt’ s au
th o rity to deal with one of the cen tra l issues of A m erican
life —
school
desegregation
and equal opportunity in
education
represents a tru ly disguised re tu rn to the old
code words f o r Jim C ro w is im , "se p a ra te but eq ua l,” and a
d ire c t attack upon the powers of the co u rts.
What makes it shameful is its re su rre ctio n of the busing
issue as a cynical e le ctio n -ye a r tact. I t represented a text
book example of shoddy p o litic a l handling of a cru cia l issue.
It opens old wounds and provides no c o -s tru c tiv e so utions.
The people in P ortland were ill-s e rv e d by Representative
E dith Greer, who joined in the attem pt to lim it the power of
the federal c o u rt system .
Not that the solution to the problem s of school segregation
is an easy one. It may t * the m ost d iffic u lt issue facing this
country since the C iv il W a r. T hia is pre cise ly why the country
should expect, ever, in an election year, responsib le and con-
sc tenuous action fro m its elected representatives.
n *Preser,tltJve L d ith Green as w ritte n Albina off her lis t.
If she re a lly comes to campaign in Albina (Black Com m unity).
iJ o i
001
0121 of
tc r IS cornrnunity. but because of
P o litic a l expediency” . H e r views on busing are much worse
d an P reside nt N ixo n 's.
Tune and tim e again E dith Green
haa shown net only to Blacks in Oregon but to Blacks and
m in o ritie s across A m erica that she is re a lly "T h e Enemy”
fo r Justice and E quality fo r Blacks and m in o ritie s who live
across the tra cks.
The de la te centered around the question: Can a resonable
program of busing be a proper and constitutional tool fo r deal
ing w ith segregated schools1
Back in A p ril of 1971, the L J>. Supreme C ourt said it can.
I he cou rts were forced into a cen tra l ro le In school desegre
gation over the years because other branches of government
defaulted. E dith Creen was ■ p rim e fa cto r in the movement.
She a lio wants to do away with CEO pro gra m . She lo ts not
the poor ha* tn8 • »o'ce about th e ir own Ie s tin y .
F in a lly , the b ill unwisely would force a confrontation between
the courts and the le g isla tive and executive branches of govern
m ent. I t should be defeated su m m a rily by the Senate.
Another point of view
From the
Eugene «egister-iSuaeii
The old, the new, the paradoxical Nixon
Six weeks ago, George M cG overn looked out upon A m erica
and saw it going to h a lf. He asked it to come home.
W e d n - I iy n ij it, R ic h a 'l x'lxori looked cut upon A m erica and
saw i t clo s e r to heaven than eve r before. He urged it to keep
going.
T h a t's how it seemed fro m this side of the tele visio n screen,
anyway.
These two men who want to serve as P reside nt durin g the
fo u r years 0 ia t w ill lead to the nation's 200th a n n ive rsa ry make
the same set of facts on issue a fte r issue add to gro ssly d if
fe re n t sum s.
They do agree that they are in alm ost fu ll disagreem ent. In
attacking what he detects as 0 « man’ s alien and radical p h il
osophy, M r . Nixon made it cle a r that he w ill make M cGovern
the leading issue of his cam paign. McGovern likew ise was
even m ore e x p lic it:
" ...n e v e r underestim ate the power of
R ichard Nixon to b rin g harmony to D em ocratic ranks. He is
our unw itting u n ifie r and 0 « fundamental issue of th is cam
p a ig n .’ ’
One does not re c a ll even the Goldwater-Johnson campaign,
in which e xtre m ism tecam e an issue as such, yielding rh e t
o r ic in which opponents have painted each o ffe r in such sharp
co n tra st.
M cG overn evokes Jonathan Edw ards when he caffs fo r an
end to the sins oi "s e c re c y and deception in high places ...the
entrenchm ent of special p r iv ile g e ."
He makes in black and
w h ite: " T h is is t ie tim e fo r tru th ,n o t falsehood...And this is a
tim e not fo r death, but fo r life . ”
P re sid e n t Nixon In lu m sees his opponent as an agent of
potential destruction of a su
successful A m erican ro le lr
posals f o r Vietnam and fo r
.e tra y our a llie s and des.
the
tld ”
* r<1 ' * k’ th l*
:cessful econom ic system arid a
the w o rld . The M cG overn p ro
reduced defense spending would
y respect fo r tie United states
’ * COnd • ‘ ’■'’ " S " ' naflon
H e Nixon acceptance speed rem inded us again of the para
dox that this man lias come to rep rese nt. 71« speech its e lf
sounded much lik e t ie old Nlxr n who used to le the nem esis of
eve ry lite r a l in 0 e land. Its sim ple points anil pointed phras
es reflected the kind of ” Am erica f i r s t " p a trio tism and free en
te rp ris e -w o rk eth ic econom ics that appeal to the rig h t.
Yet bis actions in office have been out of plase w ith that p h il
osophy. He has Imposed wage snd p ric e controls to halt in
fla tio n , he has b u ilt d ip lo m a tic bridge: to the two giants of
w o rld com m unism , .nd despite th e fee that 1« described
M cG overn s guaranteed m inim um income
an as having " i n
sulted 0 « in te llige nce of the A m erican v o te is .” M r.N lx o n lias
d e ta i/0 C ° ngreSS 8 p,* n that ” 8 in il,* r ‘n both p rin c ip le snd
He seems to have found a way to fu rn ish 0 « words that hold
the m oderate rig h t and actions O et hold the m oderate le ft.
He would appear lo occupy such an expansive center of e le c t
o ra l p o fxila rlty as to leave no room fo r successful challenge.
But then, this is a year in which George M cG overn has
p ro fite d from the fact that vote rs themselves are («having
pa ra d o xica lly. I hat makes it at least as hard to p re d ict the out
come of the election as to p re d ict 0 « next move of R lclia rd
Nixon.
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