P orti and/Observer
Thursday, March 1, 1973
Pige 3
0E0 cutbacks protested - with vigor!
by Mary DesCamp
(Statements below are the
»pinion of the author, and Hot
neceaaarily of all members
of the Albina Ministerial Al
lianre.)
Five representatives of the
A lb in a
Ministerial Alii
»nee
Reverend Benjamin
Owre, Reverend Roaell Gil
more. Reverend Dale S titt,
Reverend Allen Wilson, and
Ms. Mary
DesCamp
left
Portland Monday evening,
February 19. to attend a
massive and impressive rally
on the steps of the Nation's
Capitol Building to peacefully
yet vehemently voice objer
tion and ronrern regarding
President Nixon's recent im
pounding of social services
funds.
The national Association
for C om m unity Develop
ment. an organization com
posed of d ire c to rs and
workers in the many social
programs which will be se
verely and adversely affect
ed by the President's ac
lions, declared February 20.
1973 “National Mobilization
for Domestic Unity," and
was Largely responsible for
organizing the Rally. Some
estimated the crowd to be
aa large as H0.000 100.000
citizens, although the nation
al news media reported a
significantly lower number.
Spokesmen for the Wash
ington, D.C. Police Depart
ment, however, released an
estimate of the number of
persons in attendance prior
to the arrival of the major
ity of protestors, and the
general tendency of news
papers and television and
radio
stations
throughout
the country was to play
down the size and signifi
rance of this well organized
and peaceful group.
The A M A Representatives
traveled
on a chartered
plane from Seattle to Haiti
more with approximately N5
members of Region X of the
Northwest Association for
Commurtity Development, of
which Cleveland Gilcrease is
the (’resident. Mr. Gilcrease
did a magnificent job in
organizing
the
Northwest
group, anil made it possible
for the entire trip to go
smoothly.
Penneys Stocking
Sale. Once-a-year
chance to Save 25%.
Though in a mood of
protest, the passengers of
the Skyfari charter flight
were a genial and exuberant
group that night
as we
“Bleeding heart liberals,” as
our political and ideological
opponents are wont to label
us, always seem to enjoy
each others’ company and
derive strength and optimism
from our shared ideals and
goals.
Fortunately, the snark bar
eventually opened and the
temperature
r<»se outside,
enabling all of us to lake
advantage of the free time
preceding the rally engaging
in various activities visiting
different senators' and rep
resentatives' offices, obtain
ing passes to Senate and
House hearings, observing
(most of us for the first time)
th e
rooms and corridors
where the laws of this coun
try are made.
Some of us
attended part of a Senate
session, in which Senators
H u m p h rey and K ennedy
presented a bill banning fur
ther nuclear testing. Senate
Passes and mementoes of
this nature are always great
for our children to take to
“show and tell" t i m e
at
school, and we learned a
great deal about "govern
ment in action” before the
actual rally began.
W ith Reverend Dale S titt
as Acting Physical Fitness
Director, four A .M .A . mem
bers hiked to the White
House and were duly im
pressed
both by the dis
tanre from the Capitol to
the W hite House and by the
ability of a man who lives in
such an elaborate mansion
(which serves as only one of
his places of residence) to
stomp down so cruelly upon
the dreams and aspirations of
those who still reside in
ghettos and sharks.
The rally itself would be
impossible to describe in
detail, without asking for a
full page or two in this
newspaper. but several ma
jor conclusions could
be
d raw n from p a rtic ip a tio n
therein. It was most en
couraging to see the degree
to which the various and
diverse groups represented
D e ve lo p m en t, and many,
are united in spirit, intent,
many others in this country,
and dedication. During times
don't want to see it deferred
of crisis, people who might
and it is up to us to give
ordinarily disagree with each
everything
we've got
to
other strongly on tactics,
make certain that the troops
etc. seem to come together
are mobilized, organized, and
with a sense of common
equipped with the resources
purpose. This sense of pur
pose was very visible at
and talents to see that every
the Tuesday rally.
person in this nation is
We heard from a large
guaranteed a decent life and
full citizenship in every re
number of gifted and inspir
sped.
ing speakers, including Shir
ley Chisholm. Bella Abzug.
A fter the rally. The Ore
Jesse Jackson, Coretta King.
gon Delegation met with
Senator Hatfield, who an
Ralph Abernathy. Jacob Ja
vita. etc.
Though each de
sw ered several questions
livered a message in his own
posed by members of the
unique way and with his own
group and stated his position
individual style, the point
on the OEO. Senator Hat
field is firmly "with us” in
came across: “We won't let
this happen. We shall over
opposition to the dismantling
of this agency.
He feels
come.”
K in g
Richard
will not continue to rule
that if OEO is allowed to
disintegrate as an agency,
without the safety valve of
the system of checks and
the programs will cease to
balances which our Constitu
exist. He also stated that
tion g uaran tees us and
over a third of the national
budget is still going into
which our President has v i
olated.
The monies cannot
defense spending, and he is
violently opposed to this
be impounded because they
archaic and senseless policy.
have already been allocated.
By Law, by the Congress
Senator Hatfield also ex
of the United States, and
p r e s s e d his d i s s a t i s
many Senators and Repre
ta c tio n
for the R e v
sentatives are fighting Nix
enue Sharing Program, call
ing it a "carrot" which was
on's cutbacks vehemently,
being given the people to
both for the sake of the
pacify them when their so
oppressed in our country
cial programs were cut off.
and for the sake of our
Hatfield also mentioned a
system of government.
If
bill he is introducing con
Nixon is able to dismantle
cerning the formation of
OEO. democracy is farcical,
and we might as well offici
neighborhood
corporations,
ally call the I S A. a dicta
which hopefully would give
torial country. But none of
citizens more control over
the allocation of funds in
us attending that rally had
lost complete hope.
We
their own districts.
were there, as one speaker
Jesse Jackson, during the
put it. "Not because we
rally, led us in a chant we
wanted to be. but because
have ail heard before, which
we had to be . . .
begins:
I am, I am some
body. I may be poor. I may
Bella Abzug urged (in her
be Black. I may be on w el
own strong, inimitable fash
fare. but I am somebody."
ion) that every one of us go
bark home and fight for
This w riter
is neither
what is rightfully ours
to
Black, poor, or on welfare.
She was lucky somewhere
use the training and experi
ence in organizing which has
along the line and missed
out on the human cruelty
been learned through OEO
and other programs
to
suffered by over 30 million
utilize every resource possi
people in this country. But
ble in stopping Richard Nix
on's disastrous and inhu
mane policies.
Coretta King said that
"The Dream has been De
ferred". but the National
Association for Community
she
still
came
home
in a
fighting mood.
King Rich
ard may sit on Pennsylvania
Avenue and. like an aging
despot veto crucial bills and
impound funds to boost his
ego, support his personal
power trip, and serve the
special interest
g ro u p s
which financed his re-elec
tion, but we're going to let
him know that his trigger
happy executive ball point
[»en just has to cool it,
because poor people are sick
and tired of cooling it.
FO R
B R A N D S y o u know
V A R IE T IE S y o u lik i
S IZE S v o u w a n t
•’ « t a • R
» a
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M 'tly
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Ü •
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GRAND OPENING
Saturday, March 3
"Voice of the NÀACP” I
by Ellis C asso n , P re s id e n t
Sale 3 1.» 2 «
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JCPenney
We know what you’re looking for.
On February 14th. I at
tended a meeting at Port
land Stale University where
Carl Rowan, noted w riter
and lecturer, was the priori
pal speaker.
As I looked
around. I noticed a few
Blacks but not nearly e
nough to show their respect
and appreciation for such a
great American. Carl Row
an is a man of courage and
tells it the way it is
whether we want to hear it
or not.
Judge Mercedes Deiz. in
her wonderful way, intro
duced Mr. Rowan by refer
ing to remarks he made just
a few days before arriving
in Portland.
Therefore, in case you
missed the meeting, t h e
w rite up, I want to share it
with you this week. I trust
all of us will take heed to
what he is saying and let us
get our heads and minds
together.
Rowan wrote on February
4th:
" It is time Blacks
especially young Blacks
stopped deluding themselves
into believing t h a t t h e
sheepish following of stupid
fads is 'Black solidarity*.
“It is time to stop swal
lowing this malarkey that
styling your hair in ¡10 nap
py plaits, with enough head
skin showing to cane bottom
granny's rocker, is the epi
tome of pride in racial heri
Luge.'
Nothing galls me more
than a Black dude who is
culling classes, or who nev
er reads a newspaper or
magazine or bonk, who won't
hold onto a job, or won't
give a dime to help some
needy Black, sitting around
the barber shop or |w»ol hall
or (he student union talking
about how his ‘rags' or his
'fro' symbolizes Black pride.
“Black people in t h i s
country face a grueling chai
lenge of survival.
Many of
the most powerful forces in
the land are arrayed against
us these days, some openly
and M fflt secretly.
So we
need to put down all the
nonsense and bull, and get
about the business of man
ning the ramparts.
I don't
give a damn how you style
your hair; what bothers me
is that you spend more time
on your hair than on your
physics or English class.
“That folderol over 'ancient
African hairstyles' gave n.e
a special pain in the scalp
because I read it just after
reading a very troubling
article by a Black senior at
Harvard.
“This young man. Sylvester
Monroe, wrote in the Satur
day Review of Education,
about what has happened as
Black students have let their
search for 'Blackness' and
'pride' carry them to a sep
aratism that shuts them off
from the i n t e l l e c t u a l
strength of Harvard.
Monroe quotes a Black
Harvard professor. Martin
A. Kilson, as saying: 'The
problem with Black students
at Harvard is that they are
too caught up in ideology.
Most people who deal in
ideologies believe only 10
per cent of it, at most. But
Blacks at Harvard want to
believe 90 per cent of their
own ideological bull . , .
“So true. A lot of young
people think they are show
ing W hitey. They are going
through his university, tak
ing his degree, without sub
mitting to the rigors of his
academic procedures.
They
get away with it because
W hitey doesn’t know how to
cope with ‘Black solidarity'.
“But these young Blacks
a re
snowing themselves.
Sometimes destroying them
selves.
Not many are as
honest as Monroe, who ad
mils that he is nervous as
hell about leaving Harvard
to compete in a 'complex,
demanding w h i t e world.’
Monroe fears that he has
screwed himself by spending
three years at Harvard in
'an isolated Black vacuum.'
"Let’s face reality:
We
(Please turn to page 5. Col 6)
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