P « g *2
Diggs discusses home rule
As a result of the recent
defeat of U,S. Representative
John L . M cM illan (P -S .C .)
end the retirem ent of two
ocher senior congrenm en.
Representative Charles C .
D i g g s . J r . (D -M lch .) Is
expected to become head of
the House D is tric t of Colum
bia Committee. When asked
by newsmen about the lik eli
hood of D istrict aelf-govern-
ment In the next session of
C o n g r e s s . Repreaentetlve
Diggs' "!«■» than affirm ative
answer'’ caused some con
cern among "home ru le" ad
vocates.
Focus went to the
source for clarification:
MUST MPRK TOGETHER FOR FULL
ANO EQUAL EMPLOYMENT.
Thursday
November 23, 1972
T h * Northwest's Best W eekly
A Black O w ned Publication
Published every Thursday by E x » Publishing Company
2201 N . Killingsworth, Portland, Dregon 97217
M ailing address:
P.O. Box 3137
Portland. Oregon 97208
Subscriptions - $5.25 per year - Tri-County area by mail
6.00 per year - Elsewhere by mail
Telephone: 283-2486
q :
Application to mail at second-class postage rates is pending
at P o rtlan l, Oregon.
INPA
ALFRED LEE E1ENDERSON, Publisher,Editor
The o bserve-'s o ffic ii1 position is expressed only in its
Publisher's Colui:
i I N
se
tic" Post) and the Editor's
Desk. Any other r..aie.
throughout the paper is the opinion
of the indivu&ial w rite r o r submitter and does not necessarily
reflect the opinion of the Observer.
Any erroneous reflection upon the character , standing ot
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
Its time for Blacks to do something
about crime for our community
WASHINGTON
BRIEFS
LEE HENDERSON
Justice, Justice,
Where are you?
When w ill the State of Oregon provide equal opportunity for
its black citizens - and for its otherm inority citizens? In O re
gon, equal employment is still only a few words on a piece of
paper.
A quick scan of employment statistics for the State of
Oregon shows a neglegible number of black employees - yet
the State of Oregon, which recently signed an affirm ative
action agreement - should be the leader, the example to the
people of Oregon. An affirm ative action agreement - which
is a promise to seek out minority employers and to hire
and promote at all levels - is supposed to designate action -
a positive effort to attract minority w orkers. Yet most de
partments and agencies of the state have few if any black
employees and certainly are making no effort to find them.
Even the Bureau of Human Resources - which has the re
sponsibility for social and human problems and programs -
is doing next to nothing in this area.
All state agencies and programs that use federal money -
and this must be about all of them - are required by la w
to take affirm ative steps to hire m inorities. So we see that
our state is breaking the law and is breaking its contract with
the federal government. How can this be justified or excused?
Another need in the effort to bring equal justice to Oregon la
the need for effective prosecution of the law. The Attorney
General is the chief legal officer in the State of Oregon and he
heeds the Department of Justice. It is his responsibility to see
that the civil rights laws of the state are obeyed. It is illegal
In the State of Oregon for any em ployerto discriminate in hiring
or in promotion or pay on the basis of race. When we scan the
private employers in the state it is easy to see that many have
all - white personnel. It is evident to us and should be to the
Attorney General Lee Johnson, that an all white staff may in
dicate some element of bias on the part of the employer, es
pecially when this happens in an area populated by minority per
sons. The Attorney General should be cognizant of the fact
that the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as the federal D istrict
Court in Portland, has ruled that the absence of minorities im
plies discrimination.
We believe that the Attorney General should do more In
this area than alt by and wait fo r a Black who has been denied
a job to file a complaint, then recommend that the complainant
drop his case, and then stall the m atter as long as possible.
We
believe the Attorny General and h.'s staff should
actively seek out and find areas of discrimination and take steps
toward th eir elimination. We believe the powers of the state
should be used to enforce this law just as forcefully as they are
used to enforce other laws. Only when employers realize that
justice comes sure and swift w ill many obey the law.
If there Is to be justice for Blacks in the State of Oregon, It
must come from leadership at the top of state government. It
must come from the inspiration and influence of the Governor,
of the elected officials and of the department head«. F o r why
should the common citizen, the little businessman, the small
employer obey the law when his leaders do not?
SHOP
IENOW S
FOR
S IZE S y o u w a n t
Q: Some say that the House
D istrict Committee Chairman
has more power than the
A
f I It-Wi ‘
Congressman
C h a r le s
Diggs has protested to Genera I
Motors and the Ford Motor
Company their provisional de
cision to buy South African
platinum fo r cleaning
auto
exhausts. The platinum in
dustry, which is of consider
able Importance to S o u th
African economy, is on the'
decline
and the Americas
purchases w ill give it much
needed boost. The mining
companies are white owned,
and exempt from "even the
South African minimum wage"
and practice color discrim i
nation.
The Southern Poverty Law
C enter has filed a complaint
charging the federal govern
ment with racial discrim ina
tion in hiring of federal em
ployees In Alabama.
In a
state that is over 25 per cent
black, fewer than 3 per cent
of the 27,000 white collar
workers
of th e agencies
named are black. Investiga
tions show that federal em
ployment In Alabama reflects
worse racial bias than state
employment!
The Southern Poverty Law
Center won a history making
lawsuit e a rlie r this year when
it forced the previously a ll-
white Alabama State Troopers
to integrate and hire black
troopers. Bieck troopers are
now patrolling the roads of
Alabama.
Letters to the Editor
Analysis important
Thanks
D e a r Editor:
Thank you for your endorse
ments, P rim ary and General
election.
As you know, the
publicity given me helped to
a great extent In my election.
I look forward to a continued
working relationship with you
and the staff of the Portland
O bserver.
Sincerely yours,
BUI McCoy
D ear Editor:
I have enjoyed reading your
past editorials on the pol
itical assessment of the elec
tions in the State of Oregon.
1 have a feeling (even though
It cannot he proven) that more
white people read what you
have to say than Black peo
ple.
We as Black readers
must
not
accept
every
thing that is w ritten. Hence
It is necessary to have inter
pretive and analytical articles
such as yours and other w rit
ers of your newspaper.
Blacks In Oregon must un
derstand the implications of
the elections, not only In O re
gon, but all over the country.
We as Black people can no
longer sit back and let others
(both Black and white) do our
thinking
for us. In other
words, we must think fo ro u r-
selves. We must first, how
ever, kn<xv tt« facts and one
way to get the facts Is by
reading more!
I would also like to take this
three Black elected officials-
Mercedese Delz, Aaron Brown
and BUI McCoy.
You succinctly analyzed the
situation and Its meaning for
Black people In the State of
Oregon when you declare«),
"T h is election haa brought a
small ray of hope to the Black
Community and perhaps the
strength to fight on In this bat
tle to achieve true represen
tation In all the governments of
Oregon.’ *
Lenwood G. Davis
With Ron Hendron
A YOUNG VIEW OF WASHINGTON
Caribbean leaders attand-
mg the Seventh Heads of Gov
ernment Conference In Port
of Spain, Trinidad, agreed to
seek relations with Cuba and
to form a Common M arket.
Another m ajor advance In
Caribbean economic integra
tion was the adoption of wide
ranging proposals for eco
nomic and Industrial develop
ment.
The
meeting
was
chaired by D r . E ric W illiam s
prim e m inister of Trinidad
and Tabago.
A Jackie Robinson Memo
ria l Award honoring a black
athlete making a significant
:ontrlbutlon to the cause of
rectal justice, has been es
tablished by the Commission
fo r Rectal Justice, United
Church of Christ, and w ill he
given aneually.
W A S H IN G T O N -E very year thousands of
Americans driving out o t their home
«tates find themselves arrested by local
constables for traffic violations, hauled
before roadside justices o f the peace, and
sent on their ways thirty minutes later
and $25 poorer.
I f you've never experienced the frus
tration of that scene, you are probably in
the minority. Hundreds o f miles from
home and anxious to reach their destina
tions, the victims are faced with two poor
alternatives pay the fine ( i t ’s more like a
ransom) guUty or not, or come back
weeks later with your lawyer to fight a
case that more likely than not may be
stacked against you from the beginning.
The latter is no alternative at all consider
ing the expense and inconvenience in
volved, and of course, virtually everyone
pays the fine
But that modern-day brand of high
way robbery appears to be on the wsy
out, thanks to a Supreme Court decision
last week which voided so-called “ road
side justice" in Ohio. (Tie court ruled that
persons may not be tned by judges who
double as mayors, and who are respon
sible for raising revenue for their villages
with the fines they collect.
Noting that such jurists have a built-in
“ incentive to convict” , the Court de
clared that defendents were thus deprived
o f their right to a fair trial Similar court
systems in 16 other states were called
into question by the Court's ruling in the
Ohio case
D: | look upon my role as a
partnership.
I do not look
upon tt aa a substitute for the
mayor o r for Congressman
(W alter) Fauntroy, the Dis
tric t delegate, o r for the city
council or any other interests
chat are local In character.
| think that we all have dif
ferent roles to play.
Obviously,
being of tt»
Congress, I represent the link
(»tween (he lederal Interest
and that of the local com
munity:
that link Is the
vehicle for transferring to
the local people the required
resources lo r viable self-
determination.
Thai trans
ference
of power to tt»
m ajority or to a large m inor
ity does not mean a m illen
nium.
The moat I rust rated
people In the country are
black mayors presiding over
problems transferred to them
l>y the white power stiucture.
Washington
has
the kind
of resources — both In tt»
public and private sectors —
that can be brought to bear
on many of these problems.
This la what I would be
devoting myself to.
And, I
think as evidence of goal
faith, my intention to esta
blish a new subcommittee on
government
reorganization
should allay anyone's fears
that I have retreated from
my
commitment to self-
iletermlnatlon.
This
sub
committee w ill not only ana
lyze for implementation pur
poses the recommendations of
the Nelson Commission, but
w ill go a step beyond that.
I be Nelson Commission was
given tt« responsibility to
analyze the efficiency of local
government, lut It did not
specifically
embrace
the
whole '|uestlon of home rule.
Ancher
Nelson
(R -M ln n „
chairman of tt« Commission
on the Organization of the
D .C . Government) refuses to
embrace that responsibility.
So this subcommittee w ill run
tests in order to make a
judgement as to the eftectlve-
t«sa of the transference of
(tower.
It w ill not be like
previous l«arings, both be
fore the Congress and out In
the community, where people
iu tl engage«) in conversation.
I don't think (hat the recl-
1»tents of testimony on it»
H ill thus far have really
heard die meaning of self-
determination as expressed
by witnesses from (he local
community.
People have talked paat one
another. Members have set
and llsten»«l and some have
not conceived of what self-
.toterm (nation
actually
la.
Others In the community, and
well-meaning people, really
don’t understand what we
mean by the lederal Interest
ami the necessity for Its pre
servation.
q :
"The
federal
in te re s t”
in (1» D istrict — would you
elaborate?
D: W ell, this needs to 1«
defined. Washington was o ri
ginally
conceived as two
cities. ( >ne would encompass
It» investment ot the federal
government in certain struc
tures and facilities that were
here for tt» conduct of tt«
federal business and to ac
comodate visitors to the city,
secondly, (he local community
sort of grew up. I think,
despire (lie plans of some
people Io keep this as a
lederal preserve. You cannot
separate them. E very lime
the
le d e r a l
government
■•oee/es, (ha local government
gets
economic pneumonia.
When
there
are demon
strations. ttie r r ate demands
upon the local traffic fa c lll-
ties ami police ami other
facilities.
This la what I
mean by the federal interest,
ami I do not t» l« v e that
thia Congress or the next
Congress, If one can antici
pate their character, la going
to le willing to give up P »
enure I n v e s t m e n t of the
federal government In this
community.
Q: |)<«s that mean that the
federal interest w ill preclutle
any motions for statehood In
tt« final analysis?
I): W ell, I really don't know.
I just make that general
statement. I he federal In
terest. for the foreseeable
(Please turn to pg. 8 , col. I)
o p p o rtu n ity to c o n g ra tu la te the
KANGAROO TRAFFIC COURTS ON THE WAY OUT
Representative C h a r l e a
Rangel was re-elected by
his Central Harlem district
by a more than 60 to 1 vote.
In the unprecidented 85 per
cent voters turn out. 95 per
cent of the vote went to
Presidential candidate George
McGovern. Rangel said the
vote showed "a sophistication
i f Harlem voters and a re
cognition of the racism of the
administration.*’
B R A N D S you k n o w
V A R IE T IE S y o u lik e
Because of your reluc
tance to endorse the Senate
home rule bill for the D istrict
of Columbia, tome people
have doubts about your course
as D istrict Committee chair
man. Could you clarify your
infientiona
with regard to
eventual D istrict self-govern
ment?
D: 1 am no leas committed
to the whole concept of self-
tetennination than I have ever
t«en. There are many bills
pending before the Congress
designed to carry this out.
The Senate bill Is m erely one
of them. It la not a perfect
proposal. It does not provide
the kind of revenue resources
that are absolutely necessary
if we are to te about the very
serious
business
of im
plementing control of the
community by the local popu
lace. In my view. It is one
among many measures which
would and could, in effect,
mean home rule In name
only.
mayor of Washington. As
Chairman, w ill you 1« able to
alleviate
conditions giving
nae
to
such unfortunate
events as the up rl slog at the
D istrict
ja il, the teacher
strike and other such calam
ities hessttlng the city lately?
But the time for cheering is not yet.
Under the ruling, these mayor-judges will
still he permitted to collect forfeitures
and accept "free and voluntary” guilty
pleas. So the incentive to pay and forfeit
collateral is still present and the opportu
nity for using roadside courts in forced
fund-raising has only slightly diminished.
The court, in effect, has merely slapped
the hands which have been reaching
regularly into motorists' pocketbooks.
Indeed, the decision did not criticize
or restrict in any way the almost universal
practice of employing non-lawyers as
justices of the peace or magistrates. These
weekend judges often depend on convic
tions to supplement their income, and it
is not an unheard o f practice for the
arresting officer and the convicting judge
each to take their cut o f the fine.
Such a system isn't nut ice It's black
mail masquerading in the guise of a badge
and a court docket. And one slap on the
hand by the Supreme Court » not likely
to be enough to stop a practice which is
both entrenched and lucrative tor all
involved except the victim.
Perhaps one solution might be to
direct all funds collected as a result of
traffic violations into the state's general
fund, thereby removing the local incen
tive to convicl unfairly
I t ’s something that should be consid
ered. Corruption in traffic courts, small
matter though it may seem to some, is
but another direct and effective meant of
lessening Americans' waning faith in all
levels of their government
C Xnpynght l« ? l by
W A S H IN G T O N W E E K L Y , Inc.
All right» rcw rvtd.
To Be Equal
by Vernon Jordan
Jackie Robinson waa known
as a " f ir s t " - the firs t black
major league baseball player.
The successful career he
forged with the old Brooklyn
Dodgers made him one of the
most popular ballplayers In
history and brought a succes-
alon of pennants to his team.
It's hard to Imagine that
Jackie la gone from us. pass
ing away at 53. It seems only
yesterday when the Brooklyn
Dodgers can» to Atlanta to
play the home-town Atlanta
C rackers In an exhibition
game. I was a young lad
and Jackie waa just starting
h it
h lg -le a g u e c a r e e r
In B r a n c h Rickey’ s experi
ment to see if America waa
mature enough to accept black
men on tl« hall fields as
equals.
Segregation waa still In e f
fect then, and the left-field
bleachers were reserved for
blacks only, while whites had
the rest of the ballpark to
themselves. Those bleachers
were packed. Everyone want
ed to see Jackie. He got on
firs t base, and somehow made
It to third.
Then
came those great
antics that kept jeople on tl«
edge of t l» lr seats lo r the next
ten years. He edged off third,
scrambled down tt« baseline
a bit, rattling tt« pitcher. He
edged forward again, and then
broke for home, sliding under
the outstretched glove of the
catcher to acore. 1 still
remember the th rill I felt
then, and I guess I 'll always
remember It.
By his exploits on the
field he taught a generation
of young blacks that they too
could climb to the top If they
possessed the ability and
the drive to succeed. And
through hla grace un>ler fire,
and hla courage In the face of
racist hostility by both play-
era and fans, («demonstrated
to all that Inner Integrity and
confidence can shame bigotry
Into sllenre.
Jackie's success blazed
the traU for other black ath
letes and made possible the
present-day black dominance
of many professional sports.
But the battle for equality In
sports Is still far from won.
Studies liave shown that the
average black player still haa
to he la tte r than the average
white player to win a poaton
a team. Blackplayers are still
subjected to stricter rules and
standards than are white ath
letes. And Jackie never lived
to see the stlll-awalted first
black manager of m ajor lea
gue tesetwll team.
After hla playing days ware
over 1« distinguished himself
In politics. In tualnessven
tures and as an outspoken
fighter against drugs and for
civil rights.
When Branch Ricky decid
ed that baseball couldn't 1»
both racist and the national
pa at In » at o t» and tt» same
tim e, 1« looked long and hard
for that unique black athlete
who had the talent to become
a g r e a t star and the Inner
strength to stand up to tt»
pressures that were inevit
able.
" I need a man who can fly
the flag for hla ra ce ," Ricky
said. Robinson flew that flag,
high and proud. Now we are
In an era In which that flag
must still 1« raised high, hut
the day of " fir s ts " Is ended.
W e 'v e a lre a d y proved our
worth many times over, and
the vicarious satisfaction of
another s t r in g o f ’ flra t"w o n ’t
do any m ore. Jackie was a
pioneer and tt» daya of pi
oneering have ends«.. What Is
needed now la recognition and
equality all along tl» line, not
just for tl« few who fought
and clawed their way to tl«
top.
It la Instructive that
tl« same day that Jackie
d ie d ,
w h it e parents In
B r o o k l y n 1» lalped make
famous were keeping little
black
children out of tl»
schools
of their predomi
nately
white nelghborhtxxl.
We’ re still fighting the same
battles Jackie fought, on dif
ferent terrain . L ike him, I
am conf Idem that we w ill par
se vers and win tail In l l * end.