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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 9, 1972)
Page 6 P o rt« n d ,'O tw n » r Ttairedav November 9. 1972 Haiti becoming tourist’s dreamland By Sherm an B ris c o ^N JC A IN G H IM S E L F P LA C IN G O J IT A R — T s j M ah al, one of the cou ntry's forem ost bluesmen relaxes by strum m ing his g u itar during a fre e p erio d . T aj recently appeared m the new motion picture, “ Sounder", in a featured ro le . He also w rote the music fo r the film . Taj Mahal : A natural man Country bluesman, T a j M a - t ill, is a specialist and although his speciality is blues, his appearances at Rock music meccas such as San Francisco's W interland and college concert appearances hare been m et with enthusias tic approval. T a j recently expanded into yet another are a . In the 20th C e n tu ry -F o x motion picture. "S ou nd er", T aj not only wrote the music, but made his movie debut in a featured ro le . T h ere is a basic reason fo r the seeming ease with which T a j slipped into these v an ed aspects of perform ances, In a tim e when it’ s considered "th e thing" just to pick up a g u itar and play without any basic fundamentals. T a j M a hal turned inw ard to search fo r the music within him self and outward fo r background and knowledge of his music. H is search fo r truth in his music led him to join the P io neer V a lle y F o lklo re Society, studying the e a rly roots of A m erican Black m usic. D u r- mg this tim e, T a j Mahal re la te s, " I got an Insight Into the relations of blues and black m usic to A m erican music as a w hole.” T a j continuad his research and study in delving into re cord shops fo r outdated blues works o r searching fo r fo r gotten ly ric s in the archives oí the L ib r a r y of Congress. At home, he experim ented with what he had found on one of the instrum ents he plays. your lif e . I decided to play w hether o r not I made any money because this is just what 1 re a lly want to do. But T a j M ah al is gifted and his natural m usical g ift, f o r ti fied w ith the knowledge so stu diously gathered, could not go unrecognized fo r long. He he begin to be heard and appreciated. T a j signed a re cording contract w ith Colum bia Records and has so fa r recorded six al tuns , the mo st recent being "R ec y c lin g the Blues (and O ther Related Stuff)” , released this month. The talented n u s ic ta n a n d sing er plays banjo, piano, ka- lim ba (A fric a n thumb piano), g u itar and harmonica and ac companies him self in public the la tte r three instrum ents. His search led him to the country blues and home. " T h e r e was a whole p a rt of m y cultural life and my an c e s tra l culture that was beginning to be pieced together. The country blues fille d in a big gap and helped me to undervtand my owr feelings, tilings 1 fe lt o r knew o r understood aixi did not seem to have any back log of inform ation on. a great way to d is c o v e ry o u rs e lf is to s ta rt fro m the tra d itio i that you came from to find a thing to do fo r the re s t of T a j’ s c h a ra c te r p o rtray a l lr. the m ovie "S ou nd er" strikes you as being p a rtic u la rly an honest one. it is . T a j plays a g u ita r-p ic k in ' country m an. T he real countrybred, city schooled T a j M ahal is close to nature, close to his roots, a natural m an. Africa Society plans Guyana trip Thanksgiving this year w ill find the m em bers of the So ciety of A frican Descendants, In c . relaxing in the balmy clim ate of Guyana. A rra n g e ments w ere announced in New Y o rk last week fo r a special nine-day trip to the South A m erican country by the o r ganization. Plans a re fo r the group to leave New Y o rk on Novem ber 19th and to return or N ovem ber 27th. The organization, which has as its main purpose the bring ing together of A frican people end people of A frican descent has beer; making international trips since 1966. According to group spokes men. th e ir firs t trip in 1966 was to E ast and West A fric a . They visited Ghana, N ig e ria , Senegal, Kenya, Uganda, T an zania, Ethiopia and Egypt. T h e ir m ost recent trip in N ovem ber of 1970 was to the island of H a iti. Guyana, known in international c irc le s as "th e little g ia n t" was chosen this y e a r because of its m u lti ra c ia l population and because of the world attention that has beer, focused on the country in the last few months. CUyana, which is located on the n orth -east shoulder of the South A m erican continent, has hosted two international con ference of Non-Aligned Na tions and the second was C s rife s ta ’72, an a rts fes ti val involving representatives ci m ore than two dozen C a rib bean countries. Reservations have been made fo r the group at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown, Guyana. Plans a re fo r the group to view the in te rio r of the country by chartered bus Call On Us for a step-saving extension telepnone. @ Pacific Northwest Bell and chartered plane. T h e re a re s till places a v a il able fo r the tou r, a c c o rd u ^ to M oses J . Johnson, tre a s u re r fo r the o rg an izatio n. He ex plained that the total cost of the tou r has been set at $338.00 and that it Includes hotel accomodations and two m eals d a ily . Additional Inform ation is available by contacting the Guyana T ra v e l Bureau at 986 N o strarri Avenue in Brooklyn. N .Y „ 2 1 2 -7 7 3 -4 0 5 0 o r by callin g Johnson at 2 1 2 -M O - 6 -8 8 8 0 . " M y fath er made the po litic s ! revolution; I w ill make the economic re v o lu tio n ." is the p ia lg e that young P r e s i dent Jean-C laud e IX iv a lie r has made to his people. W t saw it posted in big bold le tte rs in the w aiting room of the beautiful, m odern a irp o rt upon o ur a r r iv a l. And we saw H aitians p e r f o r m ! ^ all the tasks, except p ilo t Pan Am , E a s te rn . A i r F ra n c e , and the o th er foreig n c a r r ie r s that land th e re . The pledge on the w a ll was no idle g es tu re . We soon learned that in the num ber of steps toward its fu lfillm e n t. A t hla side a re his close ad v is o rs , including his m o ther, the F ir s t L a d y . She is con centrating h e r energies on the housing shortage which is estim ated at 390.000 units. The F ir s t L a d y .M r s .F r a n cois Duval te r, has helped to establish the National Housing O ffice, and has seen to it that the construction of hous ing fo r low -incom e fa m ilie s has high p rio rity in the country’ s F iv e - Y e a r P la n . In ca rry in g out hla pledge, the P re s id e n t's f ir s t step was to set up the H aitian Economic Developm ent Agency with offices In New Y o rk C ity , N ext, he invited to his country the heads of 10 leading U .S . corporations, including F o rd , G eneral E le c tlrc , G u lf-W e s tern, and Intern atio nal B u si ness M achine C o rp o ratio n . Some ha we already come and discussed establishing bran ches th e re , others are scheduled to v is it. arxi additional corporation heads are being invited. The P resid ent has also con firm ed an agreem ent with tie U .S . to provide p o litic a l ris k insurance to p rotect A m erican investors. As a re s u lt, the F ir s t National C ity Bank of New Y o rk established a branch in H a iti a year ago. It Is the firs t U .S . banking venture in the country in n ea rly 40 y e a rs . For the prom otion of improved a g ric u ltu re and industry. P resid ent Duval le r has o ttained a $3.5 m illio n line of c re d it fro m the In te r- A m eric a n Developm ent Bank. Among other things, thia can’ help expand the new hydro e le c tric plant and continue highway conatructlon. The e le c tric power w ill be useful in increasing the num ber of O v e r $ 7 5 ,(JUG w orth of building m a te ria ls and other home and farm supplies must lie Hquklatsd im m ediately I Some f ir e and smoke damaged products. Store must lw vacated In two w eeks. Come e a rly fo r best buys! Store fo rm e rly . . . . M A V N IW SASH A DOOR I SOt N « rth C alwm bia Blvd Ra» t l o n d O f « O pan «««fy day an d a ll day Sunday Play Pool P resid ent Jean-C laude D u v a lie r and hla m other, the F ir s t Lady, wave to a cheering crowd in Cap H a ïtie n . sm all fa c to rie s . Some of these now em ploy n early 200 w o rk e rs . Dne of the m ain sources of Income fo r the country which the P resid ent hopes to con tinue developing is to u ris m . L ast y e a r 87,000 tourists visited H a iti; 140,000 total is expected to be the 1972 ta lly . Am bassador Rene C h alm e rs in Washington is w orking to encourage m ore A m ericans to v is it hia country. With a 950 m ile coastline bordering the Atlantic. tie G ulf of Gonave. and t ie C a rib bean, H a iti's skyline aixl beaches could become as beautiful as those of San Juan o r San F ra n c is c o . P o rt-a u -P rin c e , the capi tal, and C ap H aïtien, w le re C h ristophe’ s C itid e l stands, could tecom e meccas forU«S. black vacationers who want to see the black country that freed itse lf by defeating Napo leon's a rm ie s years before A braham Lincoln was born. The hotel problem is being solved. The country has about a dozen good sm all hotels, and a 135-room one in P o rt-a u - P rin c e is expected to open soon. And Holiday Inn, th e H ll- ton, and o ther chains have plans In the w orks. Some of the hotels are firs t class w ith hand-carved fu rn i tu re, chlorinated swimm ing pools, picnic tables, colorful u m b re lla , com fortable lounge c h a ire , busy bars, delectable m eals, and supurb s e rv ic e . Although m eals and tips are included in the p ric e of accom modations, which range from as low as $10 a day to as high as $150, w a ite rs , sttendsnts. and housekeeping staffs a re as solicitous of guests as if th e ir lives depended on It. and yet they do It w ith grace a n l d ig nity. (A ir w a ite r, L lv lo S ir s /in who adopted my w ife and me, was the best 1 have e v e r seen. He anticipated our e v e ry wish: M o re ice fo r o u rd rln k s , fresh straw s and napkins, m ore hot coffee, and e x tra pats of t u n e r . CUr slightest need was often m et before we knew it ex isted. M e s s ie u r S srazin . like our guide, G e s n e rF s to n , had studied English at night to be come a w a lle r; 1« was s till studying to Im prove his lan guage fa c ility . And this la the story of the proud people of H a iti. They ir e all e ag er to get afiead. N e a rly 200 years of desperate poverty and disappointment have not slowed th e ir d riv e o r dulled the edge of th e ir de term in a tio n . I wish e very black A m eric a n would go tc H a iti and m eet B ase w onde rfu people. And 1 wish we woulc all help them im prove then standard of livin g . I NEVER HAD IT MADE Is poignant w ith tragedies and eloquent w ith triu m p hs. Grandson of a slaws, and to r of dom estic, Jackie Roblnsor n arro w ly escaped s c a re e r In c rim e . He found d lre c tlo r instead hi his special talem fo r spo rts. A t UCLA he was the f ir s t fo u r-le tte r man In the history of that u niversity, H u was compelled to drop out ■ a fte r M o years of college to help s u p p o r t his fa m ily . Robinson’ s experiences In the jlm c ro w arm y of W orld W a r I I w ere bruising. H is refusal to move to the back of the bus got him a c o u rt- m a r tia l and tha threat of a dishonorable discharge. A fte r t ie a rm y and a few months of baseball In a black league, Robinson was hired by Branch Rickey to play for tha Brooklyn Dodgers. Being the f ir s t black In the m ajor leagues wasn’t easy. Robinson re liv e s the grueling s a le to overcom e p rejud ice. When Robinson le ft base ball in 1957 sad became V Ice P re s id e n t and M e m b e r of the H oard of the Chock F u ll O ’ N u t restau ran t chain, he also became involved in the c iv il rights movement and in p oli tic s . Robinson worked closely w ith D r . M a r tin LuUaar King In c o -o rd in a tin g the Southern C h ris tia n L eadership C o n fer ence and he was N a tional V ic e P resid ent of tht NAACP. In 1960 Robinson GENEVA’S 4228 N. W illiam s Your S m ile • Your H ealth Y our C onfidence ental r lates Cam w batar* 4 • a aaS W . w Ba»i ti raw* Oaaaa»» ►, 4 * ■> e Try ta Me AyytiatRieit Weeded SediRRi PeRtetbal ____ NO Fuuan Coapaiy ¡1 I* * « « « « H m wlsat isDsail« A IJ T M t T m - pjupwfljy / Street L ev e l k 61 6 5W 4 W» A v «. letwwea A tta & Special N o tice to Patient» o f HLCumtUOMtalMfiM * a campaigned fo r M r . Nixon. He says In retrospect " I d< not consider my decision to back Richard Nixon over John F . Kennedy In 1960 one of my fin e r ones." In 1964, Robinson was appointed by the G overno r to serve as V i c e - C h airm a n of the R o ckefeller fo r P resid ent National Com m itte e , and In 1966 he began to serve as R o ck e fe lle r's Special Assistant fo r C o m m unity A ffa ir s . O f thst as sociation Robinson s a y s ," ,., " O u r w arm personal relation ship s till e x is ts ." In 196f Jackie left that post to cam paign fo r Hubert Humphrey. J a c kie 's vision and sense c f the meaning of hla Ilfs are best expressed in his own words: " ...J have devoted and de dicated my life to s e rv ic e . I d on't lik e to be in debt. And | owe. S o m e of my friends te ll me I'v e paid the note a thousandfold. But | s till feel I owe t ill e v e ry man can rent as Hiy according to his money and W i Has Ires; until child can have an equal opportunity in youth and man hood; until hunger la not only Im m o ra l but illegal; until hatred la recognized as s disease, a scourage, an epi d em ic, and treated as such; until racism and sexism and narcotics are conquered and until e v e ry man can vote and any man can lie e le ct ed If he q u a lifie s ." Robinson concludes his story: " . . . J cannot stand and sing the national anthem . I have learned that I re m ain a black man In a white w o rld , I never had It m a d e ." D aniel E lls b e rg , the white man who released tha P en ta gon papers on V ie tn a m , told a college audience In Athene, Ohio, disc his hernias during school days soma 20 years ago was M r s . Roes P a rk s, tha black woman whose re fusal to relinquish hsr bus seat to s whlss man began the 1955 M ontgom ery, A la bama bus boycott of the c iv il rights movem ent. The re m a rk carne In re sponse to s question fro m s xirlo us student at s speech by E lls b e rg at Ohio U n iv e r s ity . W m M ^ m • ( F F IC E S ALSO IN SA LEM A EU G E N E* Kenny Gamble ( f a r le ft) and Leon Huff ( fa r rig h t), one of the top sonwritlng/prockicing teams In the music business, flank H a rr y J . Coombs (le ft) and E a r l Shelton, appointed to posts in the G am b le-H u ff o rg an izatio n. Coombs w ill serve as d ire c to r Jackie never had it made A m e ric a ’ s m ost celebrated black baseball hero, the firs t to break through the white w orld of the m ajo rleag u es, yet a man who believes he " n e v e r had It made” — this Is the life . In fu ll, of J a c k l e Robinson as told In his m ov ing autobiography I N E V E R H AD I T M A D E . M an of p o litic s , business executive, and active p a rtic i pant In the c iv il rights move m ent, ss w ell as the recipient of b aseb all*! g reatest honor, election to the H a ll of Fam e, Jackie Robinson d eta ils th tw ists and turns o fh is v ir to u ventures. He re la ta s, too Che h ea rt-b re a k in g story o Jackie J r . Among Robinson’ s re v e la tions a re problem s relating to the adm inistration of the Freedom Bank, hia attitude toward tha treatm ent of ad dicts and reasons fo r his shifting p o lltlc la l alliances. Bob ’Woody’ Woodard of in n e r C ity Development Company dem onstrates tl<e M a rs e illa is pool shot at G eneva's Re gulation T ab le s . ‘*1 m m e d ia fe D en tu re» ” fium e D a y • O R M I (Am Play held over " B u tte rflie s A re F r e e ." the love sto ry of a young blind man and the g ir l who lives next d oor, w ill be ‘e ld o ver F rid a y and Saturday, N o vem ber 10 and 11 at A loha's Old Nut L o ft. 17210 S.W . Shaw. Perform ances begin at 8:30 p j n . T ic k e ts are available fo r $ 2 .50 at Abraxas In Beaver ton, at the Old Nut L o ft gal le ry , and at the door. Re servations and tickets w ill be held at the door until 8:15 p j n . only. IBLIC SALE! BUILDING M A T IR IA L STORK TO B I V A C A T ID Oartot C ana ang m a ba i* if . DAY CARE MOTHERS ¡ 1 i r I I I I I ♦ CARE FOR INFANTS ♦ IN YOUR HOME. ♦ $3 .50 a child par day Fam ily D a y /N ig h t Care 4 6 3 5 N.E. 9th 28 8-5 091 I I I ♦ ♦ I ♦ I
