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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 1973)
Page 2 Portland/obi Thursday January II, 1973 The Editor’s Desk *» * V J 4 FEW UNIONS HAVE REORESSEP TO THE POINT WHERE THEIR MENDERS ARE ANONO THE STRONGEST BULWARKS OF WHITE SUPREMACY IN AMERICAN L IF E . THEY ARE PREOCCUPIED WITH HAINTAININO THE STATUS QUO AND INCREASINGLY HOSTILE TO EFFORTS OF MINORITY GROUPS: / ' ALFRED I As I See It Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday By Lenwood G. Davis Within a few days millions civic clubs, in New York, are of people all across America p la n n in g commemoration w ill observe M artin Luthsr services to honor the slain King's birthday (January civil rights leader. Many 15th), Plans fo r comments rat Black Colleges and Univers ing D r . King's birthday are ities a re also planning observ being mads In Atlanta, his ance services for D r. King's home town. Pltsburgh, New birthday. York and other cities. In At A drive was begun In 1969 lanta, at 11:00 aun.commem to have Congress declare D r. oration service w ill be held King's birthday a national hol Monday, January 15th, at Eb- iday. However, as of daH Con enszsr Baptist Church, where gress has not actsd upon the Reverend King waa co-pastor millions of signatures that with his father. A benefit w ill call for such a holiday. Con also ba held In Atlanta for the gress has reportedly declared M artin Luther K ln gJr.C en ter that the nation has enough for Social Change. The public holidays now and It can not schools and city government see adding anymore. Ob* offices in Atlanta w ill 1« vloualy, Black people in closed for an official holiday Am erica do (eel the need for and a documentary film on a national holiday to honors Rev. King's life and work Black man. Therefore. Black w ill be shown on educational people Must continue to sup television. port the continuing drive to In Pittsburgh, the New Image make each January 15th a NAACP w ill present the Fifth national LEGAL holiday.Many Annual M artin Luther King state and city governments, J r . M em orial Day Program on as well as school systems, January I5th . On hand wUI I»: have either recognized the The Stepping S ta rs .N ^ . Youth birthday as an official holiday Ensemble, Northview Heights or arrange.! for official ob Choir, Knoxville Acquarlus servances. A number of tra.ie Peabody High School Choir. unions are also negotiating for Herron H ill J r . High School January 15th as a pa Id holiday Choir, Bonnie Parks, etc. A In their contracts, and some fashion show w ill also he pre unions have already won this sented. a number of public benefit. schools as well as social and M rs . Coretta King, D r. WHITNEY Y0UN6 tC IŒ R S O N NSW RY HAS NO HEAD AND CANNOT THINK; NO HEART AND CANNOT FEEL. WHEN SHE MOVES, IT O IN , WE SEE THE WORLD M A T H ; WHEN SHE PAUSES IT IS AMIDST RUIN, HER THROUGH BLACK EYES. PRAYERS ARE CURSES- HER OOP IS A DENON-HER COMMUNION IS DEATH '*<V OF •l new vision ? M ayor Neil Goldschmidt is receiving both praise and criticism fo r his move to consolidate power in the office of the Mayor. The Commission form of city government, which Portland still uses, gives the M ayor little more power than the other four Commissioners. He has only one vote - and that only to break a tie. He has little authority except that to make appointments. F o r this reason it is nearly impossible to hold the M ayor (o r anyone elsei responsible for the city's failures or to give him credit fo r its successes. M ayor Goldschmidt has. within the rules of the city charter, created power by keeping the planning and development and other areas such as the police, civil service and personnel, in his department. With the control of these functions, he can offer strong leadership and also can be held accountable. Goldschmidt has been criticized for his quick move to request the resignations of the members of the Planning Commission, the Portland DevelopmentCommission and the Housing Authority, rather than letting them leave by natural attrition. But if there is to be , in fact, a new administration - this move was proper. If there is to be a new emphasis on the involvement of all the people in city government - this move was necessary. If Gold schmidt plans to loose city government from the control of the corporate heads and put it in the hands of the people, the initial thrust must be in the appointed boards. A gradual change would not do the job. The impetus would be lost. Portland is entering a new phase with the development of the Bureau of Human Resources, police reorganization the Downtown Plan, with emphasis on people oriented programs. This is a time that w ill decide whether the problems common to all urbz.. area« w ill be solved - or whether Portland w ill he yet another ghetto, abandoned by all but the very poor who have nowhere else to go. Goldschmidt's opportunity for leadership can be compared to that of John Kennedy when he took the presidency after eight long years of Republican rule. Kennedy brought to the nation a new vitality, a new vision. Neil Goldschmidt could bring such a vitality, such a vision to the people of Portland. ALFRED LEE HENDERSON’. Publisher/Editor o,T.heu ° b.9erVer S o£iicial Position is expressed only in its Publishers Column (The Observation Post) and the Editor's Desk. Any other material throughout the paper is the opinion of the individual w riter or 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 m tie Portland Observer will be cheerfully corrected upon being brought to the attention of the Editor. MEMBER Oregon Newspaper __ Publishers m Association What w ill be his role..? New Year should be a time for rededication By Vernon E . Jordan, J r . The year 1972 ended in much the same s p irit of confusion in which it began. It was a year that brought few victories to black people and to other minorities, and some setbacks. It was a year that saw the nation adrift, without that sense of purpose that has categorized other, better years in its history. The mood of d rift and con fusion was highlighted by a Louis H a rris poll that report ed early in December that over A in 10 Americans afflict ed with the feelings of power lessness and of being exploited. AMONG KEY GROL’PS Such feelings ran strongest among several key eroups in the population - young people. and blacks. J No country can affcjrd such . widespread alienation, least of all a country with such tremendous world-wide res ponsibilities and impact as the United States has. But instead of caking steps to relieve the divisions in our society, many events in the past year only reinforced them. Instead of concentrating its energies on improving ed ucation and on creating new job opportunities, the nation hecame obsessed by such a rt ificial issues as busing and quotas. OUT OF TOUCH Many of the country’s ac tions seemed out of touch with reality. F o r example, unsubstanti ated reports of racial k ill ings by a black m urder gang were headlined for many days a few months ago. We are still waiting fo r any evidence of truth to such ma licious allegations. But while this was a leading topic fo r the media, the real truth about racial violence came toward the close of the year, when a blue-ribbon ln- vesdgaXing panel found that two-, black youths had been kUled’ at Southern University through the irresponsible ac tions of police officers. The next day, New York C ity's Commission on Human Rights reported that there was " a dangerous pattern" ofvio- lence against blacks in some sections of the city. This confirms what observ ers have often noted - that the North Is showing signs of adopting some of the patholog ical signs of racism It had long charged tiie South with show ing. In 1972, rhe biggest out bursts against school deseg regation were in Michigan and New York, not In Alabama and M ississippi, PROBLEMS STILL HERE While the nation seems to he slipping away from its past commitment to racial justice, the problems are still with us and are still In desperate need of resolution. I was reminded of how much unfinished business there is still before us while attending the ceremonies and sym posium cortBftem ora ling the opening of thé civil rights a r chives of The Lyndon Baines Johnson L ib ra ry in Texas in November. There, many people active in the civil rights movement, in law, the social sciences and politics, tried to assess the a c c o m p l is h m e n t s of the LETTERS TO THE EDITOR I Black Expo defended IN P A * 1960' s . Some very great things were done In those few short years - official segregation was abolished, significant economic and political ad vances were made by minor ities, etc. But the atmosphere of the nation has changed so drasti cally since that time that it seemed as If we were dis cussing an era long past. As we en ter 1973, | believe there w ill have to be a deter mined effort to recapture. If not the specifics, then at least the mood of the 1960’s. The new year should mark a new beginning, a rededica tion to the goals of freedom and justice fo r a ll. The spir itual vacuum must be filled by concern for the problems of poverty, of racial disad vantage. and social progress. The reason fo r the drift and confusion among so many people is their perception that the society is rigid and unwill ing to make the constructive changes so necessary and so long overdue. We enter 1973 divided and troubled but firm leadership, a rediscovery of democratic values, and definite action to deal with our real problems, can help turn that attitude around. It's time to start fresh. Lenwood Davis King's widow, stated her po sition, on the nation commem orating n r . King's birthday: "T h e purpose of observing my husband's birthday is (o Involve people meaningfully in the celebration of hla life, the perpetuation of his teach ings and the continuation of 'his work . . ." M artin Luther King. J r„ gave llte answer to the prob lems of the world and his teachings, when he declared: "Nonviolence, the answer to the Negroes (Blacks) need, may become the answer to the most desperate need of all humanity." Needless to say, those words are still relevant today! "Peace is at hand" but w ar is not over By Benjamin E . Mays Twelve days hefore the No vember 7 election Henry Kis singer mails a dramatic an nouncement. "Peace Is at hand." The world, certainly Americans, rejoiced because the people believed that at long last, peace was In sight. Even If Kissinger had not made his dramatic statement, I be lieve Nixon would have won die election. Although bombing and min ing of the waters were In evi.lence, the people believed that In bringing so many Americana home that lie had shown tangible evidence that he was trying to bring peace to Hanoi, Saigon and the On load States. I believe dial Kissinger had enough evidence to justify his phrase "Peace Is at Hand." It is difficult, however, for many people to helleve that politics was not Involved. It came too close to election tim e. The timing was perfect. It is also difficult not to be lieve that the war In V iet nam could have come to a close e a rlie r in the Nixon adm In 1st rat Ion. At this writing. It Is clear that the war is not over. The Hanoi peace negotiators have broken off further talks In the light of the resumption of bombing. President Nixon has declared bombing will continue until a peace agree ment Is reached. Whether bombing w ill make Hanoi agree Co peace terms unac ceptable to them Is debatable. We have been bombing North Vietnam a long time ami still they move .itubbomly along with the w ar. The fact of the m atter is this w ar doesn't differ too much from that of a peace resulting from ilefeat on the battle field, on the battle field, the enemy Is so badly taaten that he surrenders. In the present situation the U J . will continue the mining, the bomb ing and the blockading until Hanoi's w ill to resist Is bro ken. The U n lad states must have a peace acceptable (o the greatest m ilitary power on earth. Let us face It, pres tige and face saving are at sake. One fact is clear if the w ar continues much longer, there w ill be an effort in congress to end the w ar In Vietnam . At (la moment the conduct of the w ar la In the hands of one men, President Nixon. He holds the key to peace In Vietnam . This w ar started la the White House and there It remains. Con gress has never declared this w ar andCongress seems help less to end It. If the war drags on, It is conceivable that peace demonstrators will take to the streets again as they did In 1968 and the fam ilies of the prisoners of war organize a protest movement. As long as the w sr goes on, vital problems here at home w ill le neglected and the war budget w ill increase while we cut the lu.lget on the home front. Despite it all, certain ques tions remain unanswered: Why did we go to Vietnam In the first place? What were our ob jectives? Why do we stay here after ten years, tlie longest w ar In our history? What have we gained and what do we hope to gain? This w rite r (eels that the American people have never heen told why we are there and nobody has told us what we have gained. Probably no thing, Thousands «lead, more thousands maimed for life, billions a,ant and a <lebt that w ill hang over our heads for decades to come. And yet we say we are civilized. To the E d ito r M EM BER NNA Association - Founded 1885 Th« Northw est’s'Best W eekly A Black O w ned Publication ’ Published every Thursday by Exle Publishing Company 2201 N . Killingsworth, Portland, Oregon 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 Application to mad at second-class postage rates is pendine at Portland, Oregon. ’ SHOP lEWOW'S FO R BRANDS you kn o w V A R IE T IE S S IZ E S y o u lik e you w a n t sitions claiming that they groups that have come to town. Being a regular subscriber could arrange fo r top name Besides Black Expo was for to your newspaper I could perform ers to attend, fell a purpose and «definitely was not help but get upset and completely through. As fa r as not to put greenbacks into respond to the " le tte r to the white's pocket, so M s. Allen the money was concerned, the ed ito r" from Rosemary Allen, you have been wolfin’ on the Black Expo was a financial labeling the firs t Black Expo wrong folks. failu re. Although we received as a mess and her claim that Personally | am proud of thousands of dollars in dona the originators for the event the attempt. The entire event ted talent and time and other exploited local Blacks for was financed on a m erger services, in reality we did profit. M s . Allen does not >850 plus money that the not even gross enough money know how "dead wrong" sfe originators donated personal to help even one Black con is in some ot her claims and ly to help make the a ffa ir tinue their education or any it's only a result of her not the most memorable event for thing. The net proceeds from getting full knowledge of what 1972. In return we didn’ t ex the event would have gone to has been going on. Although pect any profit for ourselves the C lark County Community the firs t Black event did not personally, but we did hope Congress in Vancouver to reach her standards, there that we would be able to raise implement other much needed were many people who were funds to further other activi activities, services and as delighted In attending and par ties catered toward Blacks sistance fo r particularly the ticipating in Black Expo/Soul and others fo r 1973, but thanks Blacks in Vancouver - Port Bowl '72. As one of the head to the bad weather and the land area. originators for the affair, I hundreds of brothers and sis I personally did not see am sure that M s. Allen was ters that stayed home think where the price fo r admission not even aware that all of the ing that the Expo was just a >1.50 fo r the Expo or >3.00 people that helped put dream, then that was ail it lo r the Soul Bowl was too together the fa r from perfect stayed financially. much to pay. I certainly did Expo worked entirely at no Roy H arris salary. Many of these were not read anything about M s, Allen nor anyone else com Black people that took leave (Editor's note: M iss Allen, plaining about the >4 to >f from their jobs to help. as a member o ftheB lackA rts a person had to pay to see The main priority of the Society, was a participant In the 5 th Demins ions o r other Expo was to unveil Bieck bus Black Expo) inesses, talent and resources throughout the Northwest. It's people such as M s . Allen who didn't have a damn thing to do with the origination, nor To the Editor: of our company. offered to help make the Expo Thia letter Is an expres We feel that In the last more of a success is the sion of gratitude for the many few months, as we began our reason why s im ila r affairs kindnesses and good wishes new enterprise, and broblems are only a one time thing. shown us In these past few arose that seemed insur I ’ll be the firs t to admit that months as our new company mountable, just taking the time the entire event did not go has become a working reality. to analyze the situation and as scheduled and this was Many people haveaskedwho working them out with sound only due to the fact that the actually owns our company, logic and advice of our friends brothers and alassrs that said and we feel a clarification Is has given us new direction they were going to partici in order for those who were and incentive to work fo r our pate. either arrived lata or Intentionally misguided, as community In any way we can. did not arrive at a ll. well as for us who were mis V ery truly yours, represented. M r . Robert T . P a n of the Expo, built on Robert T J . Olive hopes and promises, from J . Olive has been, and still North Portland S p e c ia l other Blacks in echlon po Is, sole owner and operator Patrolmen, |nc. Thanks expressed With Ron Hendron A YOUNG VIEW OF WASHINGTON AN END TO A TWO-BIT WAR W A S H IN G T O N -lf Richard Nixon doesn't achieve his "peace with honor” in Vietnam sometime in January, he may well have had his last chance to do things hw way, because Congress, at long last, is really fed up. The end o f 1972 marked this nation’s thirteenth year at war in Southeast Asia, years of countless broken promises lead ing to an ever-deepening sense of anguish at the fu tility o f it all. Now, even men o f the President's own party, Senators like William Saxbe (R - Ohio), are questioning the Chief Execu tive’s sanity at resuming the bombing of North Vietnam , killing hundreds, perhaps thousands, o f innocent civilians, wrecking homes, farms and hospitals, even endan gering some o f our own prisoners o f war in the heart of Hanoi all w ithout a single briefing for any member p f Congress and all without a single military objective. I, for one, will no longer give the President the benefit of any doubt in judging his Vietnam policies. For years, while steadfastly opposing the basis of our involvement in Indochina, I have nonetheless argued my position calmly and with reason, holding on to the slim hope that the President and Dr. Kissinger were indeed close, as they have said on many occasions, to achieving peace. No longer. This is a two-bit war run by two-bit politicians, and President Nixon's recent electoral sweep notwithstanding, Congress simply must cut o ff appropria tions for Vietnam if the struggle persists even one day beyond January 31. After all, Mr. N ixon’s 49-state mandate came virtually on the eve of the administra tion’s firm pledge that “ peace is at hand” and that only a few minor details re- mained to be resolved. Almost by the time ballots were counted those hopes were smashed with the announcement that peace was not so near after all and with the resumption of the most brutal, intensive bombing at tacks in the history o f man. All o f this came about without a word from the President, and one o f tw o conclusions must be drawn: either he and Dr. Kissin ger are monumentally inept or they are guilty of gross fraud against the American people and the entire world. No matter which conclusion you choose, the course for Congress is the same: cut o ff the funds and end the ... . killing. That course, which Congress has repeatedly rejected, may now be possible. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (D-M ontana) says he thinks an end-the- war resolution is likely to be introduced early in the session, and that he feels it has a better-than-ever chance pasting. At this point, we had all better hope so: That better-than-ever chance is begin ning to look like our only chance. »Need an em ployee., se ll a c a r ... rent a house... 7«* to irnPr°ve 5* b u sin e ss... ¿ C a l l 283-2486 £¿2 and trv an % OBSERVER § c la ssified Syndicated by WASHINGTON WEEKLY, Inc. All rlshli rasamd. A / I