Page 2 P orti and/Observer Thursday February 1, 1973
Barriers to Black Political Participation
Th«
Editor’s
Desk
by Vernon Jordan, J r .
(The material for thia article
is drawn from AbrMgiug the
Right to Veto, a study pre
pared by the National Urban
League's Research Depart
ment.
ALFRED LEE HBÍO6RS0N
WE SEE THE WORLD
THROUGH BLACK EYES
A ffirm ative action:
A piece of paper?
O ve r
th e ye ars, O reg on 's
yo u n g
Blacks
have
left th e s ta te and gone to C a lifo rn ia or o the r
sta te s w h e re th e y co uld fin d m o re o p p o r tu n ity in
th e ir chosen professions. It is n o t an a c c id e n t th a t
w e have ju st th re e d o cto rs, th re e d e n tis ts , and
one p ra c tic in g a tto rn e y . L ast year th e S ta te of
O reg on p ut in to effect an a ffir m a tiv e a ction
a gree m e nt — a g re e in g to seek m in o ritie s for
s ta te e m p lo y m e n t.
T h e C ity o f P o rtla n d and
M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty m ade s im ila r a g re e m e n ts -
necessary to o b ta in c e rta in fe d e ra l funds.
Black peo ple a re now w o n d e rin g if th e s ta te
re a lly in te n d s to im p le m e n t its p ro g ra m , or
w h e th e r th is is ju s t another piece o f p a p e r, a
m e th o d to get fe d e ra l m oney or a g e s tu re of
to k e n is m to hold o ff c ritic is m .
M a n y yo u n g Blacks a re s till u n a b le to
o b ta in p o sitio n s th a t o fte n go to less q u a lifie d
w h ite a p p lica n ts.
O th e r Blacks a re in s ta te
p osition s fa r b e lo w th e ir ca p a citie s — a n d can
see less capable fe llo w em ployees a d v a n c in g
b eyo nd th e m .
T h e G o ve rn o r says th e s ta te is se eking
q u a lifie d Black em ployees — and in fact w ill
g iv e p re fe re n c e in som e cases if th e Black is as
q u a lifie d as th e w h ite a p p lica n t -
e spe cia lly in
d e p a rtm e n ts th a t have not h ire d m in o ritie s
B u t th is does not seem to hold tru e .
The
O b s e rv e r has just h ea rd fro m a yo u n g m an w h o
a p p lie d fo r a p o sitio n in th e E x e c u tiv e D e p a rt
m e n t.
H e has a B.S. in E conom ics and spent
n e a rly tw o years at th e U n iv e rs ity of O regon
L a w School.
H e has held re sp o n s ib le p osi
tio n s
— s u p e rv is o ry p o sitio n s -
in p riv a te
in d u s try . T h is yo u n g man was to ld th a t he was
w e ll q u a lifie d for th e p o sitio n and was g iv e n th e
im p re ssio n th a t he w o u ld be h ire d .
H o w e v e r,
he was n o t. W e w o u ld lik e to kn o w w h y not.
W as he b e tte r q u a lifie d ? W h y d id th e s ta te not
ta k e th is o p p o rtu n ity to h ire a capable yo un g
Black man w h o w o u ld have been an asset to th e
d e p a rtm e n t?
It is because of th e se u n e xp la in e d in c id e n ts
th a t Blacks look e lse w h e re for o p p o rtu n ity . W e
have kn o w n fo r ye ars th a t th e S ta te of O reg on
is not an E OE e m p lo y e r.
N o w , a lth o u g h th e
G o ve rn o r says th e re has been a change, w e see
no g re a t increase in m in o r ity e m p lo ym e n t w ith
th e s ta te .
B ut w e d o hear c o n s ta n tly o f Block
peo ple w h o have been re je c te d . T h e a ffir m a tiv e
a ction a gree m e nt m ust be ju st a n o th e r piece of
paper.
Thia Nation has been lulled
into a state of complacency by
the apparent success of the
Voting Rights Act. However,
American citizens must now
be made to realize that the
right to vote is being abridged
by a web of antiquated regu-
I a t i o n s that discriminate
against the Black and the
poor, a web that affects the
entire country.
Recause of this, the Na
tional Urban League recently
launched a voter registration
and education project that
concentrates on moderate size
cities with relatively large
Black populations outside the
South.
This non-partisan
project is part of a long range
effort to significantly increase
Black participation and rep
resentation in the political
process.
Most discussion of voting
rights and of barriers to Black
voting c e n t e r s upon the
South, the region that histori
rally has enforced the pattern
of exclusion of Rlarks from the
voting booth.
I t is true that the South
gave birth to the "grandfather
clause" and to the white
primary as methods of deny
ing Blacks a voice in the
political process. And when
those were ruled unconsti
tutional. the region took re
fuge in illegal means to
achieve the same ends. Ter-
roism and violence followed.
Combined with c o n f u s i n g
regulations and capricious ad
ministrations. Black citizens
were robbed of the right to
vote.
Consequently, any discus
sion of Black voting rights has
been filtered t h r o u g h
a
"Southern perspective". W ith
passage of the Voting Rights
Act of 1965, which removed
the most blatant forms of dis
franchisement, most Am eri
cans assumed that the consti
tutional right to vote was
secured and a f f o r d e d to
everyone who wished and
exercised it.
Opinion
The Observer a s k e d a
number of Portland citizens
for their reaction to the
cutting back of federal funds
and the witholding of ap
propriations b y
President
E. Shelton Hill, Executive
Director of the Urban Lea
gue of Portland, said the
cutting of the federal budget
cut services needed by the
common man.
“I t effects
the common man in a nega
tive way."
Ranee Spruill, Director
of the Albina Youth Oppor
tunity School, said the cut
ting of the federal budget
leaves the non-profit agen
cies in a very precarious
position. I t starts an evolu
tion back to nothing since
the private contributors fol
low governmental t r e n d s .
This will force many people
onto Welfare.
Voter p a r t i c i p a t i o n
in America is generally much
lower than in other Western
countries and is especially
lower mong Black people, a
situation that has been "ex
plained" by their supposed
apathy and disinterest in poli
tical affairs. Even many who
h a v e actively encouraged
greater Black participation in
the political process have as
sumed that people that to not
vote because of disinterest,
poverty, family and health
problems, and a host of other
reasons that have nothing at
all to do with the actual
external barriers to Black
voting.
The fact is that low voter
participation rates a m o n g
Blacks and other minorities is
not due to internal causes, but
to the external impediments
placed in their way by anti
quated State and local regis
tration procedures and regu
lations. Since the late 1960’s,
with the dramatic rise in
Southern voters, it has be
come apparent that the right
to vote has been abridged in
the North and the West, and
that Black people and all poor
people are victims of dis
crimintory pracices which ex
clude them from the demo
cratic process.
This may seem an odd.
perhaps even an extreme,
statement to make at a time
when front page publicity is
regularly given to the Black
bloc in Congress and to the
proliferrating n u m b e r s of
Black mayors of major cities.
But minority group members
are still sharply under repre
sen ted in important elected
positions, and we cannot let
the visibility of a few obscure
the continued powerlessness
of the many.
There are some 522.000
elected officials in the United
States, from county school
board members up to and
including the President. Of
these, one might expect that
roughly a tenth would be
Black, corresponding to the
approximate Black share of
the population. That would
come to more than 50,000
office-holders. But what are
the figures? There are a mere
2,264 Black elected officials in
this country, or 0.4 percent of
the total!
Only 14 of the 535 members
of the U.S. Congress are
Black - 3 percent of the
total. There is 1 Black Sena
tor and no Black Governors
in any of the 50 states. Blacks
elected to State offices make
up 1.6 percent of the total of
State elected officials, only 0.7
percent of elected municipal
officials, and 0.2 percent of the
total county elected officials,
and 0.2 percent of the total
county elected officials across
the nation.
So much for the highly
vanunted Black p o l i t i c a l
power that has been so
exaggerated in recent years.
Black people do have political
power, but to date it has been
a latent power that must be
brought to bear on a situation
marked by gross under-rep-
resentation of Black people in
the elected offices that affect
Right this timel
M a y o r N e il G o ld sch m id t sh ou ld be com m ended
for his fo r th r ig h t m anner in n o m in a tin g m em
bers to th e P la n n in g C om m ission.
C o m m is s io n
ers Iv a n c ie and M cC re a d y co m p la ine d th a t th e y
d id not have an o p p o rtu n ity to m ake su gg estio ns
b ut th is c a n n o t be true , since th e M a y o r asked
even th e press and th e p u b lic to s u b m it
su gg estio ns.
G o ld sch m id t n o m in a te d for re a p
p o in tm e n t th o s e m em bers he th o u g h t could g iv e
se rvice , b ut p la cin g th e c ity 's in te re s t above
p o litic a l e xp e d ie n cy d id not re n a m e G len P a rk s ,
a labor leader
M a yo r G o ld sch m id t's a ppointees a re a good
cross-section, yet have th e edu catio n and p ro fe s
sional b a ckg ro u n d s to do th e necessary rese arch
and p la n n in g .
H e has d ra w n fro m se veral
fie ld s :
law , a rc h ite c tu re , business, social w o rk ,
e n g in e e rin g .
T he se a ppointees a re not ju s t
names d ra w n out of a hat, but a re persons w ho
possess over and a bo ve th e ir p ro fe ssio n a l s k ills ,
a c o m m itm e n t to c ity p la n n in g .
C om m issio ne r M cC re a d y calls it " K in g A r
t h u r " or "D a le y T a c tic s ". W e call it le a d e rs h ip -
a m ayo r b e in g s e n s itiv e to th e needs o f th e c ity .
I f C om m issio ne r M cC re a d y had her w a y , w e
a re s u re it w o u ld be "P e ttic o a t g o v e rn m e n t"
M a y o r G o ld sch m id t has n o m in a te d O cie T r o t
te r, a
y o u n g Black social w o rk e r, to th e
P la n n in g C om m issio n. W e b e lie v e T ro tte r w ill
add m uch in th e a re a of social se rvices and th a t
he w ill speak to th e needs of Blacks and o f th e
poor
In th is case w e th in k th e M ayo r used good
ju d g e m e n t
MEMBER
Oregon
Newspaper
Publishers
Association
i
a
MEMBER
IN P A
N ê W A pm
Aaioclatlon - Founded
1885
THE NORTHWEST’S BEST W EEKLY
A BLACK OWNED PUBLICATION
their hvee.
The under participating in
registration and voting by
Blacks is a nationwide pro
blem affecting all regions, but
available statistics show that
it is particularly acute in small
and medium-size cities in the
North. Fewer S o u t h e r n
Blacks are registered and
fewer vote than in the North,
but their numberrs are stead
ily increasing and reflect, to a
degree, the overall regional
differences in voter regia
tration.
The major causes of the
lower Black voting participa
tion are the residency and
other registration qualifica
lions that disproportionately
affect lower-income i n d i -
vidua Is.
Under provisions of the
Voting Rights Act of 1970. the
residency requirement f o r
voting in presidential elec
tions is 30 days.
However
more than 30 States have 1
year residency requirements.
A National Llrban Ix-ague
survey of local registrars indi
cates that about one third of
the areas outside the South
have residency requirements
of 6 months or more in order
to vote in county or municipal
elections, and only a third
apply the 30-day Federal
s t a n d a r d for presidential
elections to local races. l.ast
term, the United States Su
preme Court, in Dunn vs.
Blum stein, also indicated that
the residency requirement
should not be more than 30
days.
Restrictive residency re
quirements hit hardest at
minority groups, which tend
to have high mobility rates
within States and cities, and
so are disproportionately af
fected by outmoded residency
requirements.
Minorities a r e also h i t
hardest by the disqualification
of convicted felons in most
States.
Studies of police
records suggest that a sizable
proportion of Black men in
particular are ineligible to
vote because of this require
ment. Most ex-convicts, who
have supposedly paid their
debt to society, are also
denied the franchise. Persons
in pretrial detention and p ri
soners, too, cannot vote.
The limited period and
hours for registration and the
relative inaccessibility of re
gistration offices, however,
loom as the largest of the
many obstacles to the would-
be voter.
In 1972. about half of the
registration polls around the
country were closed 2 months
before the primary elections,
effectively limiting participa
tion to party stalwarts. The
same situation holds true for
general elections. Depending
upon the region, between 25
and 40 percent of cities have
registration deadlines that
end 2 or more months before
the elections. Since election
r
campaigns create an interest
in the candidates and their
programs, and since issues
emerge in campaigns that
stimulate citizen concerns,
this requirement effectively
disenfranchises many people
whose educational b a c k -
grounds are relatively limited
and who are not aware of the
limits placed on registration.
Most year round registra
tion sites are located far from
predominately Black neigh
borhoods. Must are in county
courthouses or some other
official building site average
of 3 miles away from the
ghetto, often in the area that
is unfamiliar to most Blacks,
or regarded with a degree of
hostility. And they are open
on a 9 to-5 basis, meaning that
working people must take a
morning off. frequently with a
loss of pay. in order to
register to vote. For a typical
low income ghetto dweller
without a car who is paid on
an hourly basis, a downtown
registration site open only
from 9-to-5 might just as well
be located on the moon. The
inaccessibility to sites com
bined with their inconvenient
hours effectively discourages
low income working people
of all colors from voting.
Evening qnd Saturday re
gistration hours would go a
long way toward making the
registration process available
to large numbers of people
now excluded from it.
But
when such hours are insti
tuted it is usually for a very
short time
several days or
a week
and so poorly
publicized that it offers no
real answer to the problem.
Another means of increas
ing citizen participation is to
use community organizations
and minority individuals as
deputy registrars.
T h is
seems a logical step that
would bring the elctoral pro
cess closer to the community
at very low rust, since volun
leers might be- used.
But
two-fifths of the registrars
polled indicated they would
not use this approach.
While officials are fully
aware of the problem of
inaccessible registration sites,
an overwhelming majority
three fourths
do not intend
to use mobile units.
It is clear then, that Black
voters fare institutional bar
riers to voting that limit their
right to full participation in
the political system. It is also
clear that it will take a
concentrated campaign to win
the necessary legislative re
forms and to sensitize State
and local officials to the need
for change.
The time has come to move
beyond the surface appear
ances of equal access to the
political process and to recog
nize that the reality of regis
tration procedures and regu
lations have closed the doors
of the political system to
millions of Americans.
As I See It
Th« NAACP and the Community:
Some observation»
by Lenwood O. Davis
In the past this w riter has
been one of the staunchest
critics of the N A A C P and
other civic organizations in
the community When these
groups did things that I
thought were not in the best
interests of the community. I
let them know how I felt.
Moreover, some mav have
even thought that I was
antagonising them.
(The
(act is that 1 am a member oi
most of these groups, i.e.
NAACP. Black Caucus, etc.).
On the other hand, when they
did things that I thought
were laudable 1 praised them.
Hence, which brings me to the
point of this article.
I am pleased to see that the
NAACP has a regular column,
’ Voice of the N A A C P ”, in the
Portland Observer. Thus is a
worthwhile project. One of
the historical criticisms of the
organization, other than being
elitist and a closed group, has
been that non members (and
even members), were not suf
ficienlly informed of its acti-
Lyndon B a i n e s John
son was my father's friend
and mine for more than thirty
years. He was always moti
vated by a strong desire to
make life better for the
disadvantaged, in America
and around the world. He did
not see these people as ob
jects of charity, but as poten
tial assets who could help the
nation and humanity at large
if they themselves had a
chance to develop properly.
When lie became President of
the United States, he Anally
had an opportunity to put his
ideas to work and he was
responsible for the greatest
amount of social legislation in
the history of the nation.
Medicare, the Higher Educa
tgion Act. reforms in the
Immigration Act - all were
a part of his work. But he
always considered as hit
greatest achievement t h e
passage of the Civil Rights
and Voting R i g h t s Acts,
which eliminated formal dis
criminations against Negroes
in empoyment, public accom
modations, housing and vot
ing for the flrst time in the
nation's history.
Lyndon Johnson was a
Southerner and thoroughly
familiar with segregation and
discrimination.
He was al
ways ashamed that at one
stage of his life he had been a
participant in the m a i n
tenance of institutions which
condoned and furthered such
practices.
He resolved to
A YOUNG VIEW OF WASHINGTON
OBITUARY FOR WAR ON POVERTY
W A SH IN G TO N Even as the body of
Lyndon Baines Johnson lay in state in the
Austin, Texas library which bears hrs
name, his successor in the White House
made clear his intentions Io abolish the
Office o f Economic Opportunity, the war
room of Mr Johnson's battle against
poverty.
It was ironic that the news of OFO's
demise should come at the lime of
Lyndon Johnson’s death, hut the news
itself was no surprise The organization's
life has been as stormy as was the
Johnson Presidency
Head Start was perhaps OFO's best
known creation. A program to aid under
privileged pre-schoolers, it was Ihe main
stay which assured the agency's contin
ued funding by Congress in the nudsl of
failures on other more turbulent fronts,
failures like the Job Corps, which created
expections both in Congress and among
its participants which the program's ad
ministrators knew it could not fulfill
Therein lies the real cause of OFO's
failure and the failure o f the “ war on
poverty" itself: expectations were cre
ated, among the poor and within the
American public as a whole, which the
government had no intentions of fu lfill
ing, indeed, which it knew would be
impossible to meet
The existing programs administered by
OEO will be divided among various feder
al agencies, the bulk o f them going to the
Department of Health, Education and
Welfare. Predictably, the organization's
controversial legal services program is not
among those proposed to be transferred,
and presumably the President will again
push for the creation o f a separate legal
services corporation, more directly under
his control.
R Sargent Shriver, the Democratic
candidate for Vice Piesidenl in 1972. is
OFO's best known former director
Known on Capitol Hill as a “ super-sales
man'', Shriver was able to wrangle funds
for the agency's programs but failed to
deliver the results he so eloquently pro
mised
He is likely to join (hr large group
which will no doubt oppose the dismant
ling of O F O when Congress considers Ihe
President's fiscal year 1973-74 budget
proposal, scheduled to be presented this
week The Administration exudes confi
dence that the President's proposal will
carry in Congress We don't intend to do
away with O FO programs, they say,
merely transfer (hem to the appropriate
agencies for administration
What they fail to add is that bidden
away in the cavernous bowels of IIF W ,
programs which now operate under (hr
flag of the Executive O llie r ol Ihe Presi
dent will have little muscle ol their own
to use in lighting for survival at the
departmental money trough Thus, good
programs in time will stand a bettrr-lhan-
fair chance of perishing along with the
had
There's a word for it. It's called
backlash I t ’s what happens when expec
tations consistently exceed, and by aston
ishing margins, that which is delivered So
it was with O FO
S yiK lio le il 117 J by
W A SH IN G IO N Wl l Kl Y . In,
All l l f his I ceri veil
Î
SHOP
order matters so that other
Southerners would n e v e r
have to degrade themselves
by being forced to engage in
d is c r im in a to r y
prar
tires which they knew to be
wrong.
He had a special afflnity to
the Negro people. He knew
and understood them as one
from the same soil and
background. He made equal
opportunity the main goal of
his Administration and the
monument by which he would
like to be remembered. He
was without illusions - he
knew what he was doing
and why. In his passsing, all
America loses a stalwart
champion; but, if we are wise,
we also gain a deepened
sense of unity and common
purpose which will enable the
republic to prosper and to
make reality of our ideals for
generations to come.
lENOW'S
FO R
B R A N D S y o u Icnc
V A R IE T IE S y o u lil
SIZE S
•
•
Application to mall at second class postage rates Is pending
at Portland, Oregon.
ALFRED LEE HENDERSON, Publisher/Edltor
The Observer’s official position Is expressed only In Its
Publisher's Column (The Observation Post) and the Editor's
Desk. Any other m aterial throughout the peper is the opinion
of the Individual w rite r or submitter and does not necessarily
reflect the opinion of the Observer.
Any erroneous reflection upon the character, standing or
reputation of person, firm or corporation, which may appear In
the Portland Observer w ill be cheerfully corrected uponbelng
brought to the attention of the Editor.
a
I 1 ►
« I
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•
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.
w ant
.
I «•’,-» e te » • i
M IM K IV
Ol
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.
G » O (t« S
Binyon Optical
D is p a n s e rs o f Fashio n E y e w e a r
Published every Thursday by Exle Publishing Company. 2201
N , Kllllngsworth, Portland, Oregon 97217. M ailing address,
P.O . Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208
Subscriptions $5.25 per year - Tri-County area, $6.00 per year
- Outside Portland.
Telephone, 283-2486.
heard much about it. We in
the community have come not
to expect any regular news
from the Black Panther Party
We only hear about or from
(hem when they do something
grandeloquent. Obviously, it
would Ijc to their advantage o
inform the community of its
activities. The Urban League
and Albina Ministerial AI
lumce are doing a laudable job
of keeping tne community
informed of its activities.
I suggest that other or
g u n iz u t i o n s , clubs, and
c .iiiu p s follow the lead of the
hs'.il N A A C P and inform the
isimmunity of their artiki-
oes
on regular bases!
With Ron Hendren
Notes on LBJ
(Editor's Note: Hobart T ay
lor. Jr. served at the W hite
House as a personal and legal
advisor to President Lyndon
B. Johnson.
He also was
Executive Vice Chairman of
the President's Committee on
equal Employment o p p o r -
tunity, of which M r. Johnson
was Chairman.)
vitias. Consequently, this was
(and is) one of the superficial
reasons that people do not
support the NAACP
K vm
though the past presidents of
the groups may have had
articles in the Black presses,
they were not continuous. It
may have been that they did
not have the time (or took the
time). Information and public
relations are vital organs to
any group.
Therefore it is refreshing to
see that the president of the
local N A A C P is preceptive
enough to see the value and
need ol informing the general
public of what nis orgam.’.i
tion is not only doing, but its
position on issues that affect
the Black community.
Other groups in the coin
munity have recently become
lax in informing the com
munity of is activities. The
must conspicuous is the Ore
gun Black Caucus.
At one
time, it captured most of the
headlines in the newspapers.
However, of late, we have not
6 3 0 SW B r o a d w a y
2 2 6 -6 6 8 8
The 60,000 member» of
Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. In
430 communities are deeply
saddened over the passing of
a great American, President
Lyndon Baines Johnson. We
shared with him his belief
that our nation could only be
a strong nation if each parson
had an equal opportunity to de
velop to his hi! lest potential
without regard to race, creed,
age or other such Impedi
ments. What is most Import
ant Is that he supported his
beliefs with affirm ative ac
tions and firm declarations.
Our personal memories of
President
Lyndon
Baines
Johnson include meetings with
the member» of the Executive
Board in 1966 and in 1970.
In 1966 at the White House,
he talked with u t fo r two hour»
of hl« plana, hop»» and a s p ir
ations fo r the right» of all
Americans, and specifically
fo r Americans of minority
group». In 1970 our entire
Board of D irectors chartered
a flight and visited with him
at the LBJ Ranch in Johnson
C ity . It was clear that he held
fast to hie strong beliefs in
C ivil Rights and his faith in
our Country. Whan asked what
he thought to be the most sig
nificant piece of legislation
passed during his administra
tion as president, ha paused
and aald, "T h e Voting Rights
Act of 1965 which ensured all
Americans of the prlvlledge
of the ballot.**
We shall continue our public
service program In the strong
tredltlona of freedom, justice
and concern fo r others aa
exemplified by thia great
Am erican.
by M rs . L illia n P. Benbow
National President
J a n tz e n B each
2 8 3 -3 1 9 5
SIDNEY THOMAS
DISPENSING OPTICIAN
D r. L. W e s le y A p la n a lp
O p to m e tris t
S o ft a n d
R e g u la r co n ta c t lenses
Associate Optometrists:
BRIGGS, HATTEN, M ILLER A STENGER