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:
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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 IΠR 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
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