Page 2
As I See It
Quii crow d in g us
Albina Art Center:
A community asset
MU5T ItWK TOôFTHEIt FPR FULL
ANO EQUAL EMPLOYMENT.
T h u rs d a y , S e p te m b e r 2 1 ,1 9 7 2
by Lenwood G. Davis
The Northwest's Best Weekly
A Black Owned Publication
1 have teen informed tliat
the Albina A rt Center will
possible leeome lefunct by
the end of the year unless
the community starts suj>-
porting it. Community sup
port for tie A rt Center lea
leen near non-existence to
say the least.
It must te
pointed out. however, that it
is not all together the com
munity’ s fault. I am of tie
opinion that most people ui
the G reater Model Cities area
don’t even know that the Art
Center exists ami if tliey do,
they positively do not know
all of the classes and acti
vities
that
ate
occurlng
there.
Most people do not know
that the Albina A rt Center
offers classes in art, painting,
creative dancing, music, sew
ing, karate, sculpture, tesket
weaving, drama, poetry, etc.
Therefore, it goes without
saying tfiat this Center is a
valuable assest to the Black
community.
Furtherm ore,
many jieople have leen work
ing hard over tie years to
get a center In tha Black com
munity and it would te a
shame and disgrace to let
It become defunct. T his one
of the few places in the com
munity that we Blacks control
and can call our own. We
must, however, support It.
I, for one, hope that tie
Black community will tegin
to support the A rt Center
and send their children tfe re .
Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company.
2201 N . K illingsworth, Portland, Oregon 97217
Subscriptions - $5.25 per year in T r -County area by m ail.
lA itsde the Tri-County area - $b.00 per year by m ail.
Phone: 283-2480
M ailing adress - P . O. Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208.
\L F R E D LEE HENDERSON, Publisher Editor
IN PA
The Observer’s official position is expressed only in its
Publisher's Column ^The Observation Post) and the Editor's
Desk. Any other m aterial throughout the paper is the opi ion
of the individual w rite r or submitter anddoesnot necessarily
reflect the opinion of the Observer.
Any erroneous reflection upon the character, standing or'
reputation of person, firm or corporation, which may appear
in the Portland Observer w ill be cheerfully corrected upon
being brought to the attention of the E d ito r.
The
Editor’s
Desk
ALFRED
CEE HENDERSON
American Dream :
An illusion
Blacks in the middle
There are two political worlds today and Blacks find them
selves In the middle. Democrats chant slogans fo r America
to cotne home while the Republican Party solicits the " A m e ri
can Dream.’*.
Blacks are still in the middle of these two political parties
being manipulated from, one gene ration to the next.
Democrats have brainwashed Blacks to the extent that the
Democratic party now suffers from the illusion that they have
the Black vote in their bag. The Republicans have projected
a handful of Blacks who have made the American Dream a
living reality. This is window dressing — Black display
images only.
The public assumption is that Blacks partici
pated because of their visibility.
Nobody w ill dispute the fact that the Nixon Administration
made Blacks visible.
However, many questions remained
unanswered. “ Does this handful of Blacxs have any power to
help the masses7’*
Nixon brings visible tokenism
Blacks have always had tokenism visible in parts of the
Nixon administration; but we have never had the power to really
help the masses.
Public news media failed to send black journalists to the
Republican Convention. Well known established black journa
lists omitted themselves. Those who were present were caught
up too deeply in the financial arrangements of the Republican
Administration.
Because of the abandonment of public news
media, blacks were aninfo n ..ed of the crucial highlights of the
convention — that blacks do not have full participation in the
Republican P arty.
The Republican Party has depended on the legacy of Abraham
Lincoln, who removed the shackles of Black bondage with the
stroke of a pen and then left tie slave in chaos by deserting
the promise of 40 acres and a mule. Today the Republican
Party has transformed this 40 acres and a mule into ’ ’ Black
C apitalism " by using methods of class and cost.
Floyd McKissick was the only individual at the Republican
Convention free to speak on Black participation and which way
Blacks must go. He was the only one who had the goodies to
show what the Nixon Administration is doing for its supporters.
The Republican Convention adjourned with black delegates
unprepared to return to their constituents and inform them
how to fit into the American Dream .
No quotas-No jobs
President N'lxon and Senator George McGovern recently
adopted identical positions in opposition to quota systems to
insure jobs for Blacks and m inorities.
We are very suspicious of this position. It is beautiful in
theory tu t if history is the master teacher of the future, it
means no jobs for Blacks.
F o r more than 100 years. Black Americans have attempted
to force private mAistry and governmental agencies to hire
and promote our people on the same basis as white employees.
M oral arguments, political pressure and economic boycott
have at best only achieved limited results.
Most "a ffirm ative action programs” have turned out to he
just another piece of paper. Glamourously announced by the
great white fathers (government and industry) with much "PR
and fanfare” over the past five years, they have had little suc
cess or have been complete failures. Meanwhile, the economic
conditions fo r the great m ajority of Blacks have not Improved
appreciably.
We believe that government and industry w ill really have
to show us that this not just another method to keep Blacks
out of the mainstream. We believe government should adopt
and implement strategy that w ill guarantee a significant pre
sence of Black employment in government and private undustry.
Quotas must be set and met. Government and private in
dustry must be held accountable to some pre-determined
numerical or percentage standard of minority employment. The
best test or index of equal access or opportunity for employ
ment among Blacks and Whites is the percentage or ratio of
Blacks to employment as a whole in government agencies and
business.
The offensive radical and religious use of quotas in the past
to exclude ethnic groups from admission to schools, clubs,
executive employment should not be equated with a require
ment which w ill guarantee that Blacks w ill be included In
government and private employment.
Don't give me a figure to show that we i r e anywhere near a
quota on jobs and positiona in government — in the State of
Oregon or nationally.
Give us some guarantee that we w ill have jobs. It would be
better for you— city fathers, state officials, and private busi
nessmen— to start right now to show us that you can "Bloom
where you are planted.’ ’
To Be Equal
To what extent w ill busing
become a m ajor issue in the
1972
election
campaign?
Some people suggest that
since court-ordered busing
for purposes of desegregation
affect a very small number
of people and communities,
it may play a far sm aller
role in the campaign than
the headlines indicate.
Cithers say that the issue
touches sn exposed nerve of
the electorate and Is bound to
be a key issue once the cam
paign heats up. While only
relatively few cities are im
mediately affected, they a r
gue, the issue hits on basic
racial attitudes In such a way
that it is bound to increase
in Intensity by fall.
Basically, this comes down
to a question of political
strategy, but there are others
who view the issue as one
of morality and as a threat
to racial peace and progress
They make a persuasive case
for the removal of (he busing
issue from die political cam
paign scene.
This argument is founded
on several key points. F irs t,
the busing issue is one that
could be exploded by dema
gogues to heat up anti-black
sentiments and thus shatter
the very shaky racial peace
that exists.
If busing be
Letters to the Editor
No visible tokenism in Oregon
In Oregon the Republican Party has been in power since
the Reconstruction, and one would expect that to be black and
Democratic would be political suicide.
However, when you
look at the black Rapublicana, just to name a few, Alyce Robin
son, W jk . Craves, Roosevelt Rogers, E. Shelton Hlll.W JK. Den
ton, Booker Lewis, LTysls Plummer, C X . McDonald: whet type
of power do these people have in the Republican Party in
Oregon — what political appointments have they received7
In Salem, not even visible tokenism is shown, on the city
level, which is controlled by Democrats, again even black
tokenism la not seen.
Dream is a nightmare
The American Dream Machine was designed to admit a
selected few to participate.
Its clogging mechanism allows
the rest to keep on dreaming. The programmer has allowed
the white ruling class to enter the land of fulfilled dreams
tut die minorities are enfulged in a nightmare. This nightmare
w ill inflict those who have participated in clogging the machine.
A ll of America w ill be submerged In a sea of nightmares.
Thanks
(Editor’ s note: The follcrwlng
is a copy of a letter sent to
the judges of the Ninth C ir
cuit Court of Appeals by the
Cheryl James Committee.)
Dear Judges;
The Cheryl James Com
mittee, as well as the com
munity,
wishes to extend
wholehearted thanks to the
judges of the Ninth C ircuit
Court of Appeals fo r granting
Cheryl
James
a
20-day
extension.
We assume you know that
as a result of her p rior In
carceration, Cheryl James la
expecting a child at any tune.
We have been made aware
that she was the victim of an
assault while in federal cus
tody on Term inal Island.
Expressing once again our
thanks for the human ita r-
isnismyou have shown Cheryl
James In granting the e »ten
sion, we are
THE CHERYL JAMES
CO M M ITTEE
A rthur C . Spencer, III,
Secretary
Likes book reviews
D ear Editor:
As a new resident of the
Portland Metropolitan area,
I am interested indiscoverlng
and reading about each indi
v id u a l
community. Your
newspaper has provided me—
In the few issues that 1 i«ve
read since my a rriv a l—with
an appreciative awareness of
the black community. I am
especially thankful for (he In
formative and, often. Intellec
tually
stimulating articles
written by James H . Rogers,
Hia
treatment of Chester
Himes'
autobiography and
M ay
Angelou’ s novel ex
tended far beyond the usual
attention granted to recent
literatu re.
I consider his
writing style and appealing
approach, especially evident
in his political overtures,
highly comparable in quality
with articles found in THE
BLACK SCHOLAR and THE
NEW
YORK REVIEW OF
BOOKS, Hla reporting of the
Oregon Black Caucus' meet
ing tided In my understardlng
Lenwood Davis
munity M USI
support tie
centei by visiting the center,
by sending tlielr chllden tle re
and by giving donations to
it.
Thirdly, tie community
organizations
MUST
show
tlielr concern for tie Art
Centei by encouraging all of
ns m enders to support tie
Canter.
F o u r th ly ,
tie
Churches In tie community
MUST' also take an active
role in seeking tfiat tie A l
bina Art Center stays Inexis
tence.
F lltfily, if tie com
munity does not support tie
Center, not only m orally, but
financially, then the com
munity
deserve» whatever
tiappens to tie A rt Center
and tie community residents
MUST le teld responsible for
the fate of (he Alhuia Art
Center.
As 1 see It, die community
can ill afford to let the Al
bina A rt Center lose I «cause
it is mure (lian a place w l«re
talented Blacks can express
diemselves, it is (o r can I» -
come) a Black community in
stitution.
And needless to
say, there are few of (hem
left In the Black community!
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■a
by Vernon E . Jordan, J r.
The land of the Empire Builders
Back home in Oregon, what blacks have the goodies to show?
What black has achieved high state position or appointment
to importan commissions? What faithful Republican or Demo
crat has teen the fruits of his labor? We do not even have the
small handful, as Nixon has, who can go out In the black com
munity extolling the benefits of supporting the party In power.
Could it be because nearly all blacks are Democrats and the
Republicans share of appointments must go to those who are
In a position to influence a block of voters or who have done
so in the past.
The Democrats, on the other hand, have not
in recent history had state appointments to offer.
I am not unmindful tfwt tl«
outward appearance of the
Albina A rt Center la not too
impressive. However, one has
to look beyond the exterior
and he w ill find a whole new
w orld.
In other words, the
building does not make the
center.
It la w lat goes on
inside of the center. There
are many talented, gifted and
dedicated borthers and sis
ters at the Center that are
donating tlielr time and crea
tive energies and receiving
no immediate monetary len e-
fIts for their services.
The Albina A rt Center is
a non-profit organization tliat
has existed only because it
received a few donations from
a few " lib eral’ ’ whites and
a very tew Blacks.
How
ever, they have stopped their
conirltutiona.
T fie Center
has also, I have leen in
formed, gotten an insufficient
grant from Model Cities,
However, it w ill run uul soon
and It w ill not te restored.
Moreover, if tie Albina Art
Canter la to survive and te -
come
a truly community
assest, several things must
hapten.
F irs t, tie center
MUST
launch
a massive
publicity campaign and ac
tually sell what it IS doing
to tie community and show
the community tfiat it is to
tie community's fe ie fit to
support it. Secondly, lefore
and alter tins massive com
munity campaign, the coin-
of the political movement In
the black community; and I
hope to hear more from him
on thia subject.
Again, I
would like to say tfiat I con
sider M r , Rogers one of tie
lest additions to a y reporting
staff I have seen In any of
the many publications I have
been reading In recent years.
comes an issue (hat splits
the electorate into pro- and
anti-busing camps. T he result
would be further fragmenta
tion of our society and greater
irrationality, all at (he very
moment when the country is
crying for unity and thought
fulness.
A look at who is fused and
for what purpose reveals that
barely three j » r cent of the
nation’s twenty million chil
dren who are bused to school
are bused for reasons of de
segregation.
So the case
against "massive busing" Is
really dependent on distortion
of the facts and the manipu
lation of ill-founded fears and
mythical stereotypes. T hese
have no place in a campaign
m which people should make
rational choices for leader
ship.
Still another argument given
by (hose who would like to
see a moratorium on the bus
ing issue is tfiat busing is a
question
of
constitutional
rights. The courts have ruled
tfiat segregation is uncon
stitutional and that fusing is
one acceptable means of de
segregating the schools.
So a political campaign la
not a place In which people's
constitutional rights should te
argued. Dehates on whetlier
a segment of the population
should or should not enjoy
rights granted by the con
stitution to all, are legally
and m orally demeaning and
have no place In an atmos
phere so charged with amo
tion as an election campaign.
Further, the issue is one
for the courts. An election
is not tie place for a referen
dum on constitutional rights.
The
Constitution reserve»
these issues for the courts.
Making fusing a political hot
potato undercuts die authority
of the courts and, ultimately,
the whole government pro
cess.
T tie foes of tuslng are
launching an attack on tl«
guarantee os the Fourteenth
Amendment, and insofar as
tliey have been successful,
they tiave undermined much
of the progress achieved so
fa r.
The prospect tfiat the
busing issue Is a wedge to
deprive black citizens of other
recently-won rights la yet
another reason advanoed for
neutralizing It in die cam
paign.
The prospect is excellent
that the onslaught agilnat
(using w ill le followed with
attempts to sus|«nd o ile r
constitutional rights of black
l»ople. |f d e right to equal
educational
opportunity
la
successfully attacked, how
long w ill it le lefore (le right
to vote lecomes a target?
Rights related to housing,
joba, aid access to public
places w ill (ten le ripe for
rollheck and the country could
well find itself in a systei».
of constitutional « ¡e rtle x l,
with all d e implications for
internal disruption and blood
shed dial Im p ie s.
30 many ¡eople are coming
to d e conclusion d « t busing
must be removed from tie
super-tested political arena
dits important election year.
There is ample precedent for
this view. During World W ar
11 and In d e decade following
It, bodt p a rte s decided that
politics stops at tie "w ater's
edge" and agreed to remove
foreign policy Iron: tie cam-
l«lgn a m « lecause divisive
delete
might weaken the
country’ s position In a tense
intem atluiel situation. T ie
same
good
sense seems
called for in relation to
tuslng.
CONGRESSMAN LOUIS STOKES, CHAIRMAN OF THE BLACK CAUCUS,
CRITICIZED PRESIDENT NH0N,SENATOR MctiOVERN ANO PHU.l ID
HOFFMAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE, FOR
REJECTING QUOTAS TO INCREASE JOB AND EDUCATIONAL i'P P O R -
TUNITIES FOR MINORITIES, AS *HKH-HANDED AT BEST AND RACIST AT
WORST."
* I FIND IT DISTRESSING THAT.. . . THESE THREE MEN HAVE
AT TAINED COMMON GROUND WITHOUT EVEN CONSULTINO THE
CROUP WHICH WILL UNDOUBTEDLY BEAR THE BRUNT OF THIS
Sincerely,
Kay Johansen
FAIR SHARE
THE UNITED WAY
Blacks destiny in own hands...