Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, February 22, 1973, Image 2

Portland observer., February 22, 1973, Page 2, Image 2

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Newspaper Page TextPage 2 P o rtla n d /O b a e rv e r Thursday, F eb ru ary 22, 1973 Äs I See It The Editor** Desk Black Educational Center Bookstore: A community asset * ALFRED LEE HBbNRSDN $ by Lenwood O . D a vis tJ M , BOOKER T, WASHINGTON- l m j t / < THEANSWER- r w r aa> íl . p o _ fcWT/J K . 'WHITE ACCOMODAI vH - econom e inpepenpence FOR THE BLACK C0HHUNITV M L C O L N X - T H E M A N , THE DEBATE DOE SON. THE PROPHET, THE REVOLUTIONARY,THE MARTYR. P R U E M U M IS ' FOUNDER BLACK RECONSTRUCTION. WE SEE T H E W O RLD T H R O U G H B LA C K EYES. Who is to blame? The State o f O re g o n 's m in o rity e m p lo y m e n t p ictu re is n e a rly as bad in 1973 as it w as w h e n the e xclu sion o f Blacks w a s s till th e la w . We have had Fair E m p lo ym e n t Practice Laws fo r 20 years a n d w e h a ve had an a ffirm a tiv e a ction a g re e m e n t fo r a year. But w e can see little progress in state c iv il se rvice or a p p o in tiv e positions. A cco rd in g to th e m ost re ce n t a v a ila b le statistics, Blacks m ake up 00.85 p e r cent o f th e state c iv il service w o rk fo rc e . That is .85 per ce nt -- less th an o ne per cent. These a re listed as: 10 o ffic ia ls a nd m an ag ers (o u t o f 1095); 45 p ro fe ssio n a ls (o u t o f 5,251); 10 te ch n ic ia n s (o u t o f 1163); 2 sales w o rke rs (o u t o f 315); 48 o ffic e /c le ric a l (o u t o f 4882); 2 craftsm e n (o u t o f 464); 2 o p e ra tiv e s (o u t o f 1937); 39 se rvice w o rke rs (o u t o f 3147) — a to ta l o f 158 Black e m p lo y e e s o u t o f a to ta l o f 18,375 state e m p lo ye e s. W ith th e Black u n e m p lo y m e n t ra te (w h ic h in clu d e s o n ly those persons re g is te re d w ith the E m p lo ym e n t D iv is io n ) tw ic e th a t o f w h ite s — w e ca n n o t b e lie v e th a t the State o f O reg on has m ade an honest, d ilig e n t search fo r Black e m p lo y e e s a n d co m e up e m p ty h an d e d . The o th e r m in o ritie s h ave th e fo llo w in g p e r ce nta ge s o f state jobs: O rie n ta l -- 00.57; In d ia n - 00.58; chicanos - 00.71; fo r a to ta l m in o rity e m p lo y m e n t, in c lu d in g Blacks, o f 02.71, or 503 jobs o u t o f 18,375. This is a p o o r reco rd fo r a state th a t prides itself on its p ro gressive th in k in g , i t s e d u c a tio n a l a c h ie v e m e n ts a n d its re p u ta tio n o f p o litic a l in n o v a tio n . O re g o n , one o f th e lea de rs in C iv il Rights le g is la tio n , is fa r b e h in d in p u ttin g its stated p h ilo s o p h y a nd its la w in to p ra ctice. O re g o n 's lib e ra l im a g e is ta rn is h e d a n d no lo n g e r h id es its "S o u th e rn e x p o s u re ." The ske le to ns in the closet still c o n tro l th e th o u g h ts a n d a ction s o f o u r leaders. But if the heads o f a g e n c ie s a re re lu c ta n t to h ire Blacks, w h o is to b la m e ? W h e re do the a g e n cy heads lo o k fo r le a d e rs h ip in a ffirm a tiv e a ctio n ? To th e G o ve rn o r? To the e le cte d o ffic ia ls ? W e have n ot seen a Black in th e G o v e rn o r's o ffic e . W e h ave n ot seen Blacks in th e o ffic e s o f th e Secretary o f State, th e State Treasurer or the A tto rn e y G e n e ra l. Social ch a n g e sh ou ld b e g in a t th e to p a nd co m e d o w n as a d ire c tiv e su p p o rte d by e x a m p le . If the citizen s d o not see th is e x a m p le o f justice a nd fairness g iv e n by th e ir lea de rs, h o w can th ey be b la m e d fo r a tte m p tin g to o v e rth ro w the le a d e rs -- or th e system th a t supports th em . MEMBER IM Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association M EM BER Attociation - Founded 1885 T H E N O R T H W E S T S BEST W E E K L Y A BLACK O W N E D N E W S P A P E R A L F R E D L E E HENDERSON, P u b lis h e r/E d lto r ublisbed every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company, 2201 I. Killingsw orth, P ortland, Oregon 97217. M ailin g address, ¿ O . Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208 ubscriptions $5.25 p e r y e a r - T ri-C o u n ty are a , $6 .00 per year Outside Portland, elephone, 283-2486. application to m ail at second class postage rates is pending it Po rtland , Oregon. The O bserver's o fficial position is expressed only in its P u b lis h er’ s Column (The o bservation Post) and the E d ito r’ s D esk. Any other m a te ria l throughout the paper is the opinion of the Individual w r ite r o r sub m itter and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the o b s e rv e r. Any erroneous reflection upon the c h a ra cte r, standing or reputation of person, firm o r corporation, which may appear in the Portland o b s e rv e r w ill be ch eerfu lly corrected uponbeing brought to the attention of the E d ito r. y 4, . < 4 DR.MARTIN LUTHER KING * HE DID NOT EMBRACE N O N ' VIOLENCE OUT O F FEAR OR ________ COWARDICE.HE CHALLENGED MARCUSGARVEY- , INJUSTICE WITHOUT A GUN." BLACK NATIONALISM.^ RACE WITHOUT A U T H O R IT Y AND POWER ISARACE WITHOUT RESPECT" Goldschmidt commended W e m ust c o m m e n d M a y o r N e il G o ld s c h m id t on his re c e n t a p p o in tm e n ts . He has a p p o in te d Blacks to each o f the C om m issions a nd c o m m itte e s that he has nam ed . M a y o r G o ld s c h m id t a p p e a rs to the OBSERVER to be m a k in g a sincere a tte m p t to in c lu d e a ll segm ents o f the c o m m u n ity a nd to b rin g in to the p o lic y m a k in g a n d a d v is o ry le v e ls those groups w h o h a v e b ee n le ft o ut o f the g o v e rn m e n ta l pro ced ures. His e x a m p le m ig h t w e ll be fo llo w e d by state a n d co u n ty o ffic ia ls . H a v in g th e co nstructive le a d e rs h ip o f the M a y o r, w e w o u ld e xp e ct the C ity o f P ortland to m ove m ore ra p id ly in the e m p lo y m e n t of m in o ritie s th an w ill the co u n ty a n d the state The te llin g fa c to r w ill be th e m e th o d by w h ic h M od el C ities e m p lo y e e s a re abso rb ed by the city. If these e m p lo y e e s a re ta ke n in to the city e m p lo y m e n t w ith fu ll c iv il service status a n d s e n io rity , w e w ill k n o w a g e n u in e e ffo rt is b e in g m ad e by th e c ity to in c lu d e its Black citizens. ■ ............. CLAYTON F I I - H u E e FOUGHT a ltr u T tL L ADAM m u ^W FOR 7 HE RIGHTOF THE BLACK COMMUNITIES TO SELECT ITS OWN REPRESENTATIVES. WASHINGTON BRIEFS Representative Ronald Del lums (D-Calif.). said to a group in Seattle: "The issue for me is not simply withdraw from Viet nam. W ithdraw from a mentality that sees the need to bomb. kill, maim and destroy as the way of solv ing human problems is what I ’m talking about." Delius labedl America as a "nation of niggers", defining anyone who is "victimized or stigmatized by others, any one whose opportunity is limited by another and anyone whose justice is meted out on anexpedienl rather than on a human b a s is ... We no longer have a monopoly over being treated like niggers in this country.” ................. accorded amnesty? Excusing this war as one vs. commu nism is illogical because it did more to help than hurt com munism, such as how we are becoming more like it. Very greatly needed today is more loyalty to the democratic ideal and less rabid national ism parading as patriotism and to pray Lincoln’s words more "with malice toward none and charity for all", Yours truly, Paul Brinkman, Jr. Students need PRMC To the Editor: Monday night, February 12, we sat and listened to three students of Portland Residential Manpower Center talk about their experience in growing up, trying to succeed in traditional high schools, dropping out and finding the help they needed at P.R.M.C. One young lady, very mature and obiously ready to succeed in the working world, ex pressed her dissatisfaction with her high school educa tion even though she had graduated. She is now near ing completion of business training at P.R.M.C. and feels that she has been given the equipment she needs to go back to her home and help support her twelve brothers and sisters. Neither of the other two students had com pleted traditional high school and said they were sure they never would have. One had re groups should insist that the Black (and W hite) Churches, schools, educational centers, e tc . purchase Black m a te ria ls through the Black Educational C e n te r Bookstore. F ifth , the d ifferent organizations could make cash donations to the Educational C e n te r. Sixth, the organizations, churches and groups could Invite speakers from the Educa tional C e n te r to address th e ir group on some aspect of tlie Black E xp erience. (Needless to say. they would give an honorarium .) It is re a lly left up to the Black People in Portland to keep the Bookstore open and not to let it become defunct like a num ber of other esta blishments In the Black com m unity. We M UST support this valuable and vital esta blishm ent. Rem em ber, it is Black Owned and o p erated . Ih e re fo re . we as Black People M UST support our busi nesses. If it goes out of business, we (Black People) have ourselves to blam e. I can not conclude this a rtic le without making note that the Black Educational C e n te r Bookstore has haen advertising In die Portland O bserver (B lac k newspaper). We need M ORE Black busi nesses advertising and sup porting the Black m edia. If we R E A L L Y want Bieck Busi nesses in the community, we M U S T support them . And If Blsck people do not support Black establishm ents, thenwe are only giving a veneer of legitim acy to harangue re m arks inaile hy w hites. With Ron Hendren > Amnesty called justice the blame for the Vietnam debacle rests on the indiffer ference. complacency a n d compliance of the vast ma jority for whom the ad minis tration was executor. As Emerson put it, things are as they are because of our sufference. Had this majority sounded a resolute NO to the war, as the COs did, there wouldn't have been a war. And since this majority shares so much if not most of the guilt, should they be Black Educational C e n te r. Fourth, tlie civic and social A YOUNG VIEW OF WASHINGTON LETTERS TO THE EDITOR I To the Editor: I ’d like to raise some crucial questions about am nesty deserving of far more attention than generally giv en. President Nixon refuses amnesty which most former presidents granted. February 12, a Hebrew organization of Judaism valorously proclaim ed for amnesty - fine. But where are the Protestants (I’m one) ? Silent? For one thing, distinction exists between COs and de serters. COs refused military service on grounds of their democratic right to con science, while deserters ran away to save their hides, probably? Big point: - if COs are denied the right of demo cratic principle, then aren't we doing the same as the USSR? Again, much ado is being made over their violation of the law and therefore they must be punished! Is man made for the law or the law for man? As I see it, democra cy mens resisting and oppos ing tyranny in any form and indeed some laws and their enforcement are odiously un democratic. I myself have been a victim to a punish ment far worse than the misdemeanor charged against me. It outrages conscience, at times. Once more, a big ado is trumped up over why COs should be absolved while others had to sacrifice and suffer? Indeed this is a serious challenge, but had the stance of the CO been fol lowed. none of this would have happened. Therefore, shouldn't the CO be honored instead of penalized? Much of The Black Educational Cen te r Bookstore has been In existence fo r over a year and is s till serving a most useful purpoie in the com m unity. M any people, no doubt, believed (and hoped) that it would have closed by now. Through the tremendous sac rific e of Ronald Herndon and others the Bookstore Is struggling to serve the Black C om m unity. M any Blacks have wanted a Black Bookstore in the com munity fo r a long tim e and if it is to survive, the community M l'S T support it. 1 here are a number of things that the Black Com m unity, as w e ll as individuals, can do to keep the Bookstore open. F ir s t, individuals can v is it the establishm ent at 3703 N. W illia m s Avenue and pur chase hooks. Second, social organizations in the com m unity can make purchases of books, stationary, records, cards, e tc . fo r th e ir groups. T h ird , parents in the organi zations should encourage th e ir children to attend the educational program s, such as classes In Black H isto ry, that are sponsored by the ceived her G .E .D . through P.R.M .C. and the other is well on his way. These young people repre sent approximately 300 others who are at varying stages of preparation for getting a job and finding a useful place in the community. For many of them success at P.R.M .C. and eventually finding a job will be the first real success they have ever experienced. Most are from broken homes. Many have lived in a succes sion of foster homes all of their lives and have never felt anyone really cared about them until they came to P.R.M.C. If P.R.M .C. is forced to close, as appears to be inev ¡table as a result of an arbitrary cut in funds, sue cess will again elude these people. Gary E. Hotchkiss Conrad Rosing VIETNAM: SALVED CONSCIENCES AND UNHEALED WOUNDS W A S H IN G T O N Even as the first American prisoners of war landed on home ground, the Nixon administration announced plans to save $160 million by cutting benefits for amputees and other disabled Vietnam veterans. Within hours after the Veterans Administration announced its intention to cut, by as much as 60 percent, the benefits for 200,000 physicaUy disabled Vietnam soldiers, two of the country's major veterans organizations virtually declared war on the President. Congress, led by Senator Vance Hartke (D-lnd l, chairman o f the Senate Veterans Com mittee, was also prepared for battle Faced with the threat of a new war at home. President Nixon quickly ordered the V A to abandon its plan, and at least one top official of that agency, Olney B Owens, chief of the benefits division, was axed in the process Hartke was equally quick to commend the White House for the reversal, and added, “ I don't think the President knew •bout it (the V A plan).’’ Whether he did or not may prove moot in the long run. Montha ago I wrote (in a column entitled "Vietnam It Could Happen Again) that when the United States finally did extricate itself from Indochina, the first order of business would be to cleanse the national con science, and that the quickest way to cleanse likely would be to forget The thwarted attempt by the V A to abandon its responsibilities to Vietnam veterans (in the case of tome, even before they returned home) was a strong step in the direction of forgetting, both about the war and thoae, even among our own, who suffered at a result of it. There are other indications equally diaturbing. Although Dr. Henry A Kiaain- get has concluded the fust step in agree ments with our former enemy for the reconstruction of North Vietnam, the President's failure to consult with Con gress on the matter of funds virtually insured a Hill battle over that issue. Thus reconstruction, as promised by Mr. Nixon, is endangered by his own attitude of contempt toward the legislative branch which must vote the money. Thud, there is the matter of amnesty, about which the administration has ■ shown no more charity than the VA would have shown toward veterans, had it been permitted to have its way Instead of laying the groundwork for eventual repatriation, the administration, most forcefully through the Vice President, seems to he pounng more concrete upon its already cemented policy of forgetting but not forgiving those who, for whatever reasons, chose not to participate in the Indochina conflict. Such a policy, for which there is hl tie precedent, historic or moral, is further indication of the admin istration's attitude of forgetting the wounds of war but not attempting to heal them. And if we forget so soon and so callously, our collective conscience salved by “ peace with honor", how eaty it may be to find ourselves slipping into another, similar quagmire sometime in the future, partly because the medicine we took for our conscience did nothing to heal the wounds resulting from our actions Syndical«! i a t i by WASHINGTON WEEKLY, Inc All figlili ratarvad NEW PORTLAND MEADOWS OPERATED BY JERRY COLLINS ENTERPRISES INC. FOR RESERVATIONS CALL IIS9144 se r v ic e ' charge passes now a v a ila b le — send a stamped $ i l p - aoor « m « o ENVELOPE TO PORTLAND MEADOWS, 1001 N S C H M IIR ROAD. PORTLAND, O R *. 971)7 FEATURING T H I PSRPICTA AND THE FABULOUS "BIO PERPECTA"