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P ortland/O beerver Thursday December 28, 1972
"Voice of the NAACP”
Politics as usual
By E llis H.Casson
President - NAACP
Last week the C ity Council
appointed its new member,
and once again the Portland
C ity Council has become a
mem bership
fo r
‘ ’whites
o n ly ."
Once again "W a c k s " have
lo s t th e ir final opportunity to
become p a rt of the "p o lic y
making body” of the C ity of
Roses.
FIN AL, Is a y because fo r the
past several years all present
members of the Council (with
the exception of N.G. a n d T ^ j
were appointed tfie ir fir s ttim e
in u tte r fru stra tio n and admit
around, therefore, they had
th e ir fa ilu re .
a foot in the door and could
run fo r re-election without
Yet, are they sufficiently
advanced to the point of ac
re a lly too much " f e a r '’ of
cepting sound advice from
losing th e ir job. The im p o r
tant thing to rem ember is at
blacks obviously capable of
contributing substantially to
least they were there.
community well-being?
Blacks have been constantly
Blacks, sooner o r la te r,
denied this opportunity. So
m ust realize that if the trend
i f we can’ t get appointed, can’t
of massive deterioration in
get elected, how do we get in?
black communities is to be
Now we ta lk about c ity -
checked, and the problems of
county consolidation. Eight
unequal educations' oppor
w ill run from d is tric ts - three
tunities, unemployment and
to be elected at large. Again,
c rim e are to be m inim ized,
blacks w ill be left out. L e ft
THEY MUST UNITE to do th e ir
out because a d is tric t w ill
share to make things rig h t.
have 70,000 people and i f they
Blacks can no longer afford
drew lines that would take
nor tolerate those in leader
in a ll the blacks (20,000) there
ship roles, BOTH BLACK AS
w ill s till be 50,000 whites.
W ELL AS WHITE, who are
I t would take a "SUPER
satisfied to s it in high places
SPADE” to get elected. Again,
and joke and play at the role
we have been had. Therefore,
of leadership. The tragic ef
I repeat, "how do we get in ? "
fects of inaction on the lives
The cu rre n t establishment
of the have-nots areto o g re a t.
is, at m inim um , ineffective
The
consequences
are
and non-responsive. The cur
wrought with such dangers that
rent white leadership knows
we cannot and must not stand
not, and knows not that it
id ly by.
knows not. T alking, without
It is tim e we take a long,
action, w ill not get the job
hard look at what we have.
done.
I t is tim e we improve and
Unchecked, massive deter
change what we can and give
ioration in black communities
across the nation has reached due consideration to getting
rid of that which we cannot.
the exploding point. White
leaders throw up th e ir hands T ime is running out.
Plans develop
for MLK birthday
M illio n s of people through
out the nation w ill observe the
44th birthday anniversary of
the late D r. M artin Luther
King, J r., this coming Jan
uary 15th.
Plans fo r celebrating the
birthday in the slain c iv il
rights leader’ s home city of
Atlanta, and Ui other stales
and cities, have been announc
ed by the M artin Luther King,
J r . Center fo r Social Change.
People who wish to honor
D r. King on his birthday, the
Atlanta-based
Center
re
ported, can do so by joining
in the variety of local ob
servances across the country,
participating
in on-going
movement activities in the
tra d itio n of D r. King, and
supporting
the continuing
d rive to make each January
15th a national legal holiday.
M rs . Coretta Scott King,
P resident of the Center, said:
"T h e purpose of observing my
husband's birthday is to in
volve people meaningfully in
the celebration of his life,
the perpetuation of his teach
ings, and the continuation of
his w ork.”
Highlights of activities fo r
the birthday next month w ill
include:
• In Atlanta, an 11:00 a jn .
commemoration service w ill
be held Monday, January 15th,
at Ebenezer Baptist Church,
where D r.K ingw asC o-P astor
with his father. Main speaker
at the service w ill be Con
gress from Georgia in 101
years. Music fo r the ecumen
ica l service w ill be provided
by the \tla n u U niversity Gos
pel Ensemble. The program
is being sponsored by tie
church, the King Center, and
the Southern C hristian Lead
ership Conference.
* Also in Atlanta, a benefit
concert fo r the King Center
w ill be held that same night
at the new Omni sports and
entertainment arena; the pub
lic schools and c ity govern
ment w ill be closed fo r an
o ffic ia l holiday; and a doc-
umentary film on D r. King’ s
life w ill be shown on educa
tional television.
• The same authentic docu
mentary. "K IN G : A Filmed
Record . . . Montgomery to
M em phis," w ill he shown a
about 200 schools, churches
and community assemblies
across the nation.
• Many state and city gov-
vemments, and local achool
systems, have e ith e r recog
nized the birthday as an of
fic ia l holiday o r arranged fo r
o fficia l observances.
• C ltizens continue to co l
le ct petitions with signatures
calling upon Congress to pass
pending national legislation
fo r a permanent holiday. T his
d rive hegan in 1969, and al
ready m illio n s of signatures
have been sent to Congress.
• A number of trade unions
are negotiating fo r January
15th as a paid holiday in th e ir
contracts, and some unions
have already won this benefit.
• S im ila rly, many stores,
businesses and offices par
ticipate by offering paid hol-
xlays o r time off fo r attending
observances.
• Radio announcers across
the nation are planning to
encourage people to d rive w ith
th e ir ca r lights on all day
January 15th, as a rem inder
of D r. King’ s leadership.
• Local community groups
- churches, civic clubs, c iv il
rights organizations - w ill
conduct services and pro
grams in the tradition of D r.
King, such as voter registra
tion, economic development
and
nonviolent action fo r
social change.
The M artin Luther King, J r.
C enter fo r Social Change,
which is coordinating the
birthday-holiday observances
in Atlanta and in other com
m unities, is the o fficia l fam
ily-sanctioned
organization
which has programs to help
continue the nonviolent move
ment and to build a perma
nent m em orial to D r. King in
A tlanta.
ACLU opposes
repay order
The Am erican C iv il L ib e r
tie s Union of Oregon (ACLU)
on Thursday file d a friend of
the court b rie f in the Oregon
C o u rt of Appeals arguing that
i t is unconstitutional fo r a
co u rt to require, as a condi
tion of probation, an indigent
crim in a l defendant to repay
the county fo r this attorneys
fees.
The case is an appeal by
W illia m T . Middaugh from a
judgement of Multnomah C ir
c u it C ourt Judge John C. Beat-
tie , J r . M r . Middaugh was
placed on bench probation fo r
three years on September 20
following
conviction on a
charge of c rim in a l a ctivity
in drugs.
Middaugh, an indigent, was
appointed counsel who was
paid out of county funds. One
of the conditions of probation
was that he repay court costs
and attorneys fees totalling
$280. Judge Beattie has signed
an o rd e r staying execution of
th is condition pending the
appeal.
The ACLU b rie f contends
that the condition violates the
requirements of the United
States Constitution fo r equal
protection of the laws and due
process of law . D ifferent
pressures are placed on an
Indigent c rim in a l defendant
who fa ils to pay then on one
who retains private counsel.
F a ilu re to pay a privately re
tained attorney could result in
a c iv il judgment and garnish
ment of wages, but fa ilu re to
repay the county fo r court-
appointed counsel, where it is
a condition of probation, would
result in loss of lib e rty if
probation is revoked. The
ACLU also argues that It dis
crim inates against those con
victed as opposed to those
acquitted.
Stevie Remington, Execu
tive D ire c to r of the ACLU of
Oregon, stated, " T h is prac
tic e , which makes a person’ s
lib e rty a function of his ab ility
to pay, seems to us to be as
inequitable as the practice,
now forbidden by the U.S. Su
preme C ourt, of ja ilin g those
unable to pay fines. We are
concerned, too, that knowledge
that they may be responsible
fo r fees would encourage in
digents to waive th e ir right
to court-appointed counsel,
thus denying themselves an
essential element of a fa ir
t r ia l . "
M r . Middaugh is being rep
resented in the appeal by the
Multnomah County Public De
fender's office. Charles Ro-
binowltz is acting as cooperat
ing attorney fo r the ACLU as
AMICUS CURIAE.
DR JEFFREY
Citizens of Lake Oswego picketted the M ayor's P rayer Breakfast - held at the local Elks Club.
P A R T IA L P l ATES
A N D E X T R A C T IO N S
C a th olics p ro te st the use ot s i. Andrews C atholic C hurch by a ‘ ‘ com m unist’ ’ speakei.
P ro te s te rs chanted tlie R o s a iy and prayed as tliey walked in fro n t of (he church. I lies d»
not accept Fathei Cordon D ic k e y 's im ita tio n to entei the c liu ic h am! hen fo i themsetves
before judging M r s .S a lly e D a vis, m o tlie r of Angela D a vis.
Teacher exam deadline due
Registration dealine is ja n -
uary 4 fo r persons planning
to take the national teacher
examinations
at Portland
State U niversity, according to
M rs Jean Edwards, assistant
professor in special educa
tion.
PSU Is the only designated
test center in Oregon fo r the
examinations which w ill be
given January 27.
E lig ib le to take tlie tests
are college seniors preparing
to teach and teachers apply
ing fo r positions in school
systems which encourage o r
require applicants to submit
th e ir
scores
on national
teacher exams.
A ll registrations must he
submined to the Princeton,
DR. JEFFREY
New Jerse y o ffice of die Na
tional Testing service by Jan
uary 4. Registration form s
are available In tie special
education office, room 304,
Smith M em orial Center ot
d ire ctly form the National
Teacher Examinations, Edu
cational Jesting service. Box
911, P rinceton, New Jersey
08540.
BRADY
DENTIST
liV • -
SA
’ IV
P0..
P hon*
*
228 ’ SH
NOW YOU CAN HAVE YOUR
Day care mothers of the A .M .A . F am ily D ay/N ight Care
Program hold a picnic in Peninsula P ark.
POR TLA ND
Mrs. Geraldine Irvin and M rs. Savannah Jones serving lunch
at the Bethel Child Care Center.
BRADY
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Your ticket to
the big game:
Just fill out and m ail this coupon . . .
Portland O bserver w ill do the rest!
Portland O bserver
P. O . Box 3 ,3 7
P o rtla n d , O re g o n
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transportation
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Please en ter my subscription to the Portland O b server a t $ 5 .2 5
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quartely
You want to see the big game
So what do you do? Just switch on your
T V set And see more of the action than most
of the men on the field You've got the
best seat in the house— for about 2« worth of
electricity per game
Address
C ity
Sound like a pretty good deal'' It is.
Electricity It's a bargain. And we know that
bargains are hard to find today. Almost as hard
to find as enough leg room in the grandstand.
Pacific Fewer
where we make the
<•/*’< fruity that m akei things nu er for everybody
Reverend Dan F ra z ie r began reconstruction of the program of
Highland Community Center where he la the new d ire cto r.
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