Portland observer., January 04, 1973, Page 2, Image 2

Page 2
P o rila n d /O b e e rv e r
Thursday, J an u ary 4, 1973
The
Editor’«
Desk
ALFRED
LEE
H ÌN D 6 R S D N
WE SEE THE WORLD
A FREE STATE
IS FORMED AND IS M A IN TA IN ED
BY THE VOLUNTARY U N IO N
OF THE WHOLE PEOPLE
JOINED TOGETHER
UNDER THE SAME BODY OF LAWS
FOR THE C O M M O N WELFARE
THROUGH BLACK EYES.
AND THE SHARING OF BENEFITS
JUSTLY APPORTIONED
Inscription carved in m arble at the fro nt entrance of the Capitol
Building.
Elected leaders:
The time is now
As we look hack at 1972 and forw ard to 1973, we see few real
changes and advancements, and a few losses. We can judge
o u r chances In 1973 only on the actions and the prom ises
of the past.
As a new D e m o c ra t controlled State L eg is latu re goes Into
session, a leg islatu re that fo r the f ir s t tim e includes a Black;
as a new county governm ent Is form ed; as a new .Mayor and
C ity Council begin a new city adm inistration : we hope a new
e ra in Oregon p olitics has begun. We look to you our leaders
and say to you. O u r cause is ju s t.
We have a governor who expounds belief in e qu ality. A
long tim e supporter of tbe Urban League, T om M cC a ll euides
the li t e r a l im ag e. We have a S e c reta ry of State who, although
w ith his reapportionm ent made the election of a B lack in
A lbina v irtu a lly impossible fo r the next decade, has rettiraoed
his In te re s t in the Black cause. C la y M y e rs is a rising s ta r
in the Republican heavens, a little le ft of its cenaer. We
have a S u te T re a s u r e r who is a D em o crat; J im Redden, who
comes fro m Oregon; m ost ra c is t area, says he has a good
c iv il rights record and has pronounced his concern fo r equal
employm ent in s u te serv ic e . And then we have an A tto rn ey
G en e ral, L ee Johnson, . , .
So we have o u r three top s u te o ffic ia ls dedicated to our
cause' Gentlemen: Now is the tim e fo r actio n 1
This is w hat you must do:
Nixon's action leaves sour taste
By Bayard Rustln
W ill a second Nixon term
devote the same type of c re ­
ative leadership to W ans and
H a rle m as some feel the firs t
term brought to relations w ith
Peking and Moscow?
I would v e ry much like the
answ er to that question to he
yes.
But the d ism issal of the
Rev. Theodore Hesburgh as
chairm an of the L’.S. Com m is ­
sion on C iv il Rights, a move
taken w hile the ink on the
b allo t* had scarcely d ried ,
leaves m e deeply p essim istic
about the P re s id e n t's inten­
tions fo r the next four y e a rs .
That
F a th e r Hesburgh’ s
d ism issal comes as no s ur­
p ris e does not make it any
less d is tre s s in g .
F a th e r Hesburgh's d if f e r ­
ences with the P resid ent w ere
profound and basic.
He believed it was the most
essential duty of government
to assert a vigorous and hu­
mane role to ensure that op­
pressed m in o ritie s enjoy the
social and p o litic a l rights that
laws a.nd a hum anitarian m oral
o rd e r d ic ta te .
N O N -P A R T IS A N
But F a th e r Hesburgh was
n on-partisan; he helped p re ­
In appointments to all suse com missions and boards, to
le g is la tiv e em ploym ent, to the top echelon of s u te agencies
and departm ents - appoint ''q u a lifie d B la c k s.”
In appointments to i l l city and county com missions and
com m itxies, tc adm inistrative positions in city and county
governm ent, to appointive positions in government - appoint
" q u a lifie d '' B la c k s.
Revise and update the regulations, policies and application
of the c iv il service systems at a ll le v e ls . E lim in a te biased
tests designed tc elim in ate m in o ritie s and the poor. W rite
new qualifications that w ill include all these who have the
d es ire and a b ility to recom e competent w o rk e rs . M ake an
honest e ffo rt to h ire B lacks.
Change the state apprenticeship rules that re q u ire an ap­
prentice to have high academic standing and a clean re c o rd .
Include those who m ight not have d o « w e ll in high school
but who can become skilled em ployees.
B rin g all the influence of the state, the county and the city
to bear to influence the privase sector to h ire m in o ritie s and
to include m in o rity people in the economic life of the com m unity.
A lo t the necessary funds to provide needed services to
the people of the state: make W elfare payments adequate to r
a decent fa m ily life ; increase opportunities fo r education,
tra in in g , rehabilitation; increase funds fo r child care, medical
T O E D IT O R
c a re , special education, the aging, the handicapped. P rovid e
adequate housing, transportation, freedom fro m pollution:
It turns m y stomach and
and provide loans to black businesses so Black People can
outrages
good
conscience
have a share in the fru its of tbe c a p ita lis t syseem.
when I read such a rtic le s as
L'se the influence of governm ent to create a new atmosphere
” 33 penalties levied fo r a ir
toward m in o ritie s In the State of Oregon. Educate the people
p o llu tio n "
Decem ber
28
of Oregon to the fact that this is a new day - that th e ir stereo­
"O re g o n ia n ” , in the tune of
types and th e ir sup erio rity a re no longer in vogue. T e ll them
$3,555 in fines - fo r example
that th e ir reputation among the Blacks of the nation is worse
one man fined $ 10 fo r having
than that of M is s is s ip p i. We know and experience the conserva­
a little harm less trash fire ,
tion, the ra c is m , the conscious exclusion and repression of
e tc . It is sim ply incredible that
Blacks in O regon’s past and in O regon’ s present. Now let the
people of Oregon, led by th e ir elected o ffic ia ls , polish up we have to come to such petty
assinine pass ln A m e ric a ; and
th e ir tarnished image and begin anew.
w orse yet, that Am ericans
1973 can be the year that we w ill rem em b er as the beginning
seem to be u tte rly unconcern­
of a new mood in Oregon - of a movement to let all of regon’ s
ed, when it ought to excite
children sing, " H a il to T hee, Land of H eros, .My O regon” .
th e ir most vigorous m o ral op­
position. A re we a generation
of dunces and gullibles? What
harm is a little smoke in
the a ir fro m a little trash fire
ALFRED L E E HENDERSON, P u b lu h e r,E d ito r
o r smoke fro m some boats on
The O b server’s official position is expressed only in its
the river? T h is kind of shear
P u blish er’ s Column (The Observation Post, and the E d ito r’ s
ro t, to my estim atio n, is do­
D esk. Any other m aterial throughout the paper is the opinion
of the individual w r ite r o r subm itter and does not necessarily
reflect the opinion of the O bserver.
Any erroneous reflection upon the character , standing or
reputation of person, firm or corporation, which may appear
in tie Portland r b9erver w ill be cheerfully corrected upon
being brought to tne attention of the E d ito r.
pare studies c ritic a l of the
past four P residents and he
n ev e r shied from pointing out
when presidential rh eto ric fell
short of perfo rm ance.
And w hile he was a lib e ra l,
his lib e ra lis m was a special
kind:
p rincip led , vision ary,
yet w ith a firm conception of
how to translate ideals into
p ro g ram s .
In this sense he embodied
the s p irit of conviction and
p ragam atlsm which has made
the C iv il Rights Com m ission
one of our m ost powerful
voices fo r m inority rig hts.
Since its inception In 1957,
the com mission has been an
influential force In securing
the passage of every signif­
icant c iv il rights b ill.
Its research documented the
devastating effects - on both
black and white children — of
ra c ia l isolation in the public
schools.
P O L IT IC A L POWER
The Imposing growth of
black
p olitical power, to
fo rc e fu lly dem onstrated i n t i »
past election, would not have
been possible w ithout the com­
m issio n's study of voting d is­
crim in a tio n arwl political ex­
clusion in the South, a study
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Wrong crook arrested
MEMBER
Oregon
Newspaper
Publishers
Association
M EM BER
IN P A
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Association • Founded 1885
The Northw est’s Best W eekly
A Black O wned Publication
Published every Thursday by E » » Publishing Company
2201 N . K ilim g sw orih , Portland, Oregon 97217
M ailin g address:
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Portland, Oregon 97208
subscriptions - $5.25 per year - T n -C o u n ty area by m ail
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Telephone. 283-2486
\p p lication to m ad at second-clais postage rates is pending
at Portland, Oregon.
ing ourselves f a r m ore harm
than a little Innocueut smoke.
In fact, some smoke is good
and not bed at a ll. But some­
how a lot of blind fanaticism
and hysteria has been evoked
by a lot of lunatic excitem ent
and otherw ise.
By this kind of action and
policy, the anti-pollution ln -
q u la lte rs , are aiding and abet­
ting pollutlonl How? By blind-
spotting the real author of
airpoisoning, the AUTO M O ­
B IL E . In effect, thia is like
fondly em bracing a deadly
v ip e r to o ur selves, w hilst
fra n tic a lly shunning a h arm ­
less dove. The USSR must be
getting a big laugh out of all
this kind of p e rv e rs ity in our
m id st and which is underm in­
ing our v ita lity .
Paul B rinkm an, J r .
which u ltim a te ly led to the
adoption of the Voting Rights
ACt.
N o r would we have won the
passage of the open Housing
law without the w ork of the
com m ission.
It is p re c ise ly because the
com m ission has made such an
invaluable contribution to so­
cial progress that the P re s ­
ident's action c a rrie s with
it such ominous overtones.
Some a re convinced he plana
to "g u t” the com m ission, re -
p ltc ln g F a th e r H estu rg h and
other hxe-rr.mded m e m b e r*
with p olitical oppomteea with
no p a rtic u la r feelings fo r and
even le a * com m itm ent to ra ­
c ia l justice.
T E L L L N C IM P A C T
Considering the com m is­
sion’ s telling Im pact on civ il
rig h t* policy and its ‘» r e t o -
fo r lndependent-mmdedness,
a p o litic k in g move would have
into lerable consequence* fo r
all m in o ritie s , p a rtic u la rly
since the com m ission is c u r­
ren tly probing the special
p ro b le m * of Indians, Spanish­
speaking people and other
group* who experience d is ­
c rim in a tio n .
On a personal le v el, 1 found
that F a th e r H esturgh would
not capitulate on a m a tte r of
m o ra l p rincip le even when to
do ao m ight have eased the
situation fo r him .
Upon my appointment to the
board of tru s te e * of N otre
D im e
U n iv e rs ity ,
where
F a th e r Hesburgh is president,
I became subject to an out­
pouring of s h r ill, M c C a rth y -
lik e s tu c k * because I was
supposed to be a " r a d ic a l."
Yet the publicity and p re s ­
sure did not move F ath er
Hesburgh:
he stood by h i*
judgment and what he knew
of me and refused to concede
to h ystn a and ru m o r.
It w ts thia t r a it which u lti­
m a te ly led to the d is m is s a l.
W O U L D N ’T BUCKLE
F a th e r
Hesburgh sim ply
would not buckle under on
the bussing Issue, and a * the
P re s id e n t’ s
rh eto ric grew
lou der and m ore m isleading.
F a th e r H esbuigh’ s c ritic is m
rose in Intensity.
At the height of the bussing
fu r o r , when even many llb -
e ra la w ere giving in, he said
something about race
re­
lations which bears repeating
in an era when progress is
measured in slew, tortured
inches.
"O n e can argue about the
costs of equality in A m erica
today. God know* we have
known the costs of Inequality
- wasted talents, fru stratio n ,
p overty piled on poverty, gen­
e ra tio n a fte r generation,
" L a w * have been drudgingly
passed and m ore grudgingly
obeyed, with every possible
legal evasion tested.
“ I f we are e v e r to em erge
fro m our present state of
inequality, it w ill not be by
insisting on m inim um com­
pliance w ith m inim um laws.
"G e n e ro sity , magnanim ity
and human understanding w ill
alone allow ua to transcend.
In our days, our dism al his­
to ry of ra c ia l ineq uality.”
P resid ent N ixon's selection
of New Y o rk labor leader,
P e te r J . Brennan fo r the post
o f S e c reta ry of L a b o r brought
sharp
reaction
fro m
the
NAACP
which
called the
nomination "ap palling - t ie
nature of a d is a s te r” . E x ­
ecutive D ire c to r Roy W ilkins,
said Brennan “ had done no­
thing to get black persons
into the building trades unions
before his nomination and can
h ard ly he expected to do any­
thing once he gets in o ffic e .”
As I See It
MLK’s birthday
and the Black Community
By Lenwood G . D avis
L ast y e a r I w rote the fo l­
lowing E d ito r of the P O R T ­
L A N D O B SERVER, lam b ast­
ing the Black community in
P o rtla n d fo r not having a mass
ra lly com m em orating M a rtin
L u th e r King's B irth d a y . I sin­
c e re ly hope that It w ill not
he necessary fo r this w r it e r
o r any other individual to w rite
a s im ila r le tte r a fte r D r ,
K in g's Birthday this y e a r.
T h e re is a m ovem entunder­
way all o ver (he United S tan s
to have congress pass an act
to make D r . King’ s Birthday
a national holiday. We as in­
dividuals can and shouldw rlte
o u r Senators and Congress­
men and support such a b ill.
A * a group we can support
and attend any local com m em ­
oration services that a re be­
ing held fo r D r . King.
The le tte r that I sent to the
E d ito r last y e a r stated:
T h is lette r was w n tte n as a
le tt e r to the E d ito r. However,
It is really an “ (ip e n L e n e r to
the Black Com m unity o fP o r t-
la n d ,” I was sadly disappoint­
ed to observe that no m a jo r
c iv ic organization such as the
N A A C P , Urban League, Albina
M in is te rs A llia n c e , o r any
o th er public institution o r
agency sponsored a M a rtin
L u th e r King Day in C o m em -
o rat Ion of hla birthday. L ast
y e a r It was sponsored by the
A lbina
C itizen s
T ogether
C o m m itte e .
Even though a llm ltad num­
ber
of high schools and
churches did observe D r .
King's b irh td ty , the m a jo rity
of the Black people of P o rt­
land did not p a rtic ip a te , once
again It appears as If the Black
Com m unity and leaders are
not keeping in tune with what
la going on in other c itie s in
the U n l» d Stales. It seems to
m e that some organization o r
group should have had a mass
ra lly in observance of D r .
K mg's birthday.
A fte r studying the Black
leadership and Black commu­
nity of P o rtland, I can only
conclude that both a re out of
touch with re a lity and what la
happening all o ver the United
S ta te *. T h e re seems to be t
tremendous amount of apathy
and complacency in the Black
com m unity. 1 am not unmind­
ful that the Black community
in
Portland
la re la tive ly
s m a ll, however, that does not
negate the fact that It can’ t
be actively Involved In making
its voice heard in the com­
m unity at la rg e .
It appears to ma that the al­
leged laadars and s e lf-a p ­
pointed leaders are Insensi­
tive and unsympathetic to the
needs, demands and u p 1 ra ­
tions of the masses of people
that they a re supposed to rep­
resen t. |t la beyond my com­
prehension how anyone can be
a public servant to the people
and yet are not available to
th em . T h ere are too many
B lack " la a d a r s ” who only
have 9 to 5 office hours
and only care about projecting
th e ir own s e lf-im a g e .
T he lack of observance of
D r . King’ s birthday la just one
of a long Hat of events that
the leaders and community
have not been involved in .P e r ­
haps ona day, hopefully in the
n ear future, some Individual
o r individual* w ill em erge to
lead the people outofbondage.
With Ron Htndrtn
A YOUNG VIEW OF WASHINGTON
THE PETERSON PRINCIPLE
W A S H IN G T O N -A m o n g the casualitie* in
the President's much ballyhooed cabinet
and staff shuffle, Peter G. Peterson, de­
posed as Secretary o f Commerce, stands
out as particularly significant.
Rumors have been hopping about for
months that Peterson’s friendship with
left-of-center Republicani (like hu old
friend Senator Cnarlet Percy o f Dlinoii)
and liberal newspaper people like Tom
Braden had c u t him distinctly out of
favor with the administration.
Peterson, interviewed in hl* home re­
cently by Washington Post reportei Sally
Quinn, seemed as much amused as dis­
turbed by his ouster. In referring to his
fnendahipt with members o f the press
however, the soon-to-be ex-Secretary
sounded a note o f mild alarm about the
administration’s attitude toward a free
press. “ . . .1 w « in the Sonet Union
recently and I have teen first hand that
only what the government want* pnnted
u printed,” he said. “ 1 find the concept
o f a free and critical press, while un­
doubtedly irritating at tunes, absolutely
indispensable. I f there are those who hive
criticized me because 1 have open rela­
tions with the preu I would not conclude
that I am wrong "
Apparently, however, the only man
who really counts in such matter», Presi­
dent Nixon, did conclude Peterson wsi
wrong, and the decision to replace him at
Commerce u only one o f a senes o f
disturbing clue* about what the White
House attitude toward the preu will be
dunng the President's second term.
Already the administration h u pro­
nounced its conviction that television tnd
radio licenses should not be Issued to
local stations which broadcast unobjec­
tive news programs (even If th o u pro­
grams art network oriented). A* to what
is objective versus what Is "plugola", th*
inference is clear that the government
might have * hand in deciding.
On the judicial side, the Washington
bureau chief o f the Los Angeles Times
recently became the latest victim o f ths
“ protection o f sources” struggle, jailed
because hl* newspaper refuted to turn
over privileged tapes o f an Interview with
one of the Watergate defendants As on*
o f the Times' reporter* put It, " I don’t
think It’s any bell ringing day for the
First Am endm ent." Obviously If such an
attitude prevail* many true stories about
government corruption In h<h placet,
Involving Democrat* and Republicans
alike, will never be printed becauu th o u
who know the facts will be afraid to
come forth.
Peterson summed up th* administra­
tion's attitude at a recent party In hts
honor. He said facetloualy that he had
not only failed the verbal part o f hla
loyalty test, but w o n ’t able to pus th*
physical either His edves were too fat
and he couldn't click his heels.
Syndics««! by
WASHINGTON WEEKLY. Inc.
All liehu rvMrwd,
PLANING THE POLICE FOR THE ILL TREATMENT OF BLACK JUVENILES DOESNT
STOP THEM FROM KILLING OLD MEN AND H0HEN
SITTING AROUND DOING NOTHING HONT HELP ETHER
FACTS THAT ARE NOT
FRANK L Y FACED HAVE A
NASTY H A B IT OF STABBING
US IN THE PACK.
H R KAROO) RO&DRN
Do som ething...prevent crime from becoming a way
in the Black Community