Page 2
Portland/Dbaervar
Thursday, March IS, 1973
As I See It
PEOPLE W H O M ,
SHOULD HAVE THE
SAHEM HTSAS
THOSE W D O t f t .
HAMoatr a r a tH
Oregon’s affbmative action:
Myth or reality?
by Lenwood D«vts
WE SEE THE WORLD
THROUGH BLACK EYES
Youth need e x a m p le
W e a re e n c o u ra g e d to le a rn th a t since our
re c e n t e d ito ria l p o in tin g o u t th e fa c t th a t the
O re g o n L eg isla ture h ad o n ly th re e Black pages a nd
d o o r-k e e p e rs , a B lack has b e e n a p p o in te d as a
p a g e fo r the Senate.
W e a ll k n o w th a t these o re p o litic a l a p p o in t
m ents th a t u su a lly g o to the c h ild re n o f leg isla to rs,
to th e c h ild re n o f th e ir lo y a l su pp orte rs or to p arty
w o rke rs. But th is y o u n g lad y does not seem to fit
the p ic tu re -- she is not the re la tiv e o f a le g is
la to r; her paren ts a re not p ro m in a n t D em ocrats.
This a p p o in tm e n t w ill e n c o u ra g e y o u n g Black
p e o p le w h o visit th e c a p ito l a n d see s o m e o n e w h o
is Black a n d w h o is not too m uch o ld e r th a n th e y
p a rtic ip a tin g in th e le g is la tiv e p ro ce d u re .
But it w ill a lso e n c o u ra g e o th e r y o u n g p e o p le
w h o co n sid e r th e m se lve s to be o u ts id e the
b o u n d a rie s o f p o litic a l fa v o r.
W e ll d o n e !
N o w le t us go o n e step fu rth e r a nd lo o k a t the
p ro fe s s io n a l e m p lo y m e n t s itu a tio n in O re g o n
a fie ld in w h ic h th e L egislature sh o u ld h a v e som e
in flu e n c e .
There a re a la rg e n u m b e r o f y o u n g ,
e d u c a te d Black p e o p le in th e P ortland a re a w h o
h a ve h e ld a d m in is tra tiv e or p ro fe ssio n a l p o sitio n s
in p u b lic a n d p riv a te so cial a gencies, or in
e d u c a tio n , w h o a re q u a lifie d a n d e x p e rie n c e d to
m o ve to p o sitio n s o f a h ig h e r le v e l.
But w h e re can th e y go? M a n y h ave a p p lie d fo r
state e m p lo y m e n t, b u t state jobs seem closed to
th e m .
The P o rtlan d Public Schools o n ly re c e n tly
has a llo w e d Blacks to m o ve to m id d le o n d u p p e r
le v e l jobs, a n d u s u a lly those a re in fe d e ra lly fu n d e d
p ro gram s. P rivate in d u stry s till is n ot h irin g Blacks
a c c o rd in g to th e ir q u a lific a tio n s a n d p o te n tia l.
The L eg isla ture needs to ta ke a g o o d lo o k u t this
p ro b le m a nd d o so m e th in g a b o u t, e s p e c ia lly in the
a re a o f state e m p lo y m e n t.
If th e O re g o n L eg isla ture w e re to m a k e a rea l
im p a ct in this fie ld , th e n the y o u n g Black p e o p le o f
O re g o n co u ld lo o k to it w ith resp ect a n d w ith som e
h o p e fo r a secure a n d re w a rd in g fu tu re .
W e o fte n loo k a t som e o f o u r yo u n g p e o p le w ith
d is m a y or a n g e r because o f th e ir s e e m in g fr iv o lity ,
th e ir d is illu s io n m e n t, th e ir h o s tility a n d th e ir
ve n tu re s in to d e lin q u e n c y ; b ut h o w can w e e x p e c t
th e m to m a ke serious e ffo rts in th e p re sen t w h e n
the g o a l o f success in th e fu tu re is closed to th em ?
Published every Thursday by Exie 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, $6,00 per year
- Outside Portland.
Telephone, 283-2486.
Application to mail at second class postage rates is pending
at Portland, Oregon.
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 paper is the oplnior
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.
ALFRED LEE HENDERSON, Publlsher/Editor
MEMBER
MEMBER
Oregon
Newspaper
Publishers
Association
(
Assoc/ahon - Founded 1M S
They
w o u ld
SAVE YOUR CLAIM TICKETS!
BUDGET DRY CLEANERS
7 2 2 0 N. Fessenden
2 8 6 -2 2 9 6
tra d e
p la c e s , M r . P re s id e n t
Another Point of View
have to revise some ol its
archaic and unrealistic rules
and regulations aa they re
late to eduction, experience
and examination.
Surely, many on the state
payroll do not have aa much
education or experience, in
some areas, aa some Blacks
working for Model Cities,
( I t O and other agencies. Yet
because they are Black, their
expertise will not he utilized.
The conclusion is obvious:
Blacks again will have to
leave the Beaver State to
find employment elsewhere.
I ronrlude by asking the
same queries as the editor of
the Observer
"We ask the
Governor, the leader of our
stale: the Secretary of State;
the State Treasurer: and the
keeper of the laws, the
Attorney General to look
into thia problrm.
We ask
the State Legislature. that
writes the laws, to see what
must be done. Why is the
stale 1,-t o f f
the hook?
Shouldn't the state set the
example?
How ran slate
agencies accept federal funds
contingent on non diacrimi-
nation? How can we esprrt
the citizens to obry the law
if the slate d o e s
not?"
Black History week discussed
D ear M r . Henderson:
I read your article denoun
cing the local Y.W .C .A . for
th eir efforts on our behalf
during the so called "Black
History W eek" held recently
at the Y.W .C .A . and the other
places gracious enough to al
low the use of th eir fac ili
ties (both so called Black
and W hite).
I should like to know, dear
brother, where were you »hen
all this ripping off that you
allude to, was taking place?
Since you are an alleged w ri
te r of sorts and from your
article, I assume that you
have access to the news media.
W hy didn’ t you make the Black
community aware of what was
taking place?
In your failure to do this
simple act, I see you In the
same position as those you
talk about.
I would ask also, why It
is that you accuse the NAACP,
the Urban League and the
Albina M inisterial Alliance
of being Black organizations?
Has It occurred to you that if
these organizations had been
Blsck, your article would have
been unnecessary? Also, why
do you as an alleged Black
man drive off people who offer
to help us. If the Y.W .C .A .
did program, direct and fi
nance the entire program, to
what?
My next question is
did the Black people benefit
in a positive way from Black
History Week?
If so, are
you to say that we are not
to go forward if white people
foot the bill? If your answer
Is yes. than Brother, your
SHOP
work is cut out for you. for
you w ill have to make the
Black settlement aware that
they are not yet a community,
you m utt teach them the im
portance of creating institu
tions that speak to our needs.
You must teach them a love
of self. If s ir. you are ca
pable of doing the latter, you
are too big for the author
ship of this article to which
I reply.
Your Brother in all things,
M r . James Bush
lENOW 'S
FOR
BRANDS
you kn o w
V A R IE T IE S
you
S IZ E S
w ant
vou
l .k e
»•••
Dear Editor.
I read with great interest
your recent editorial, "Black
History Week s t o l e n by
whites." I t is a sad state of
affairs when the Black com
munity sits idly by and lets
whites appropriate B l a c k
History Week. When we as
Blacks are apathetic and
complacent about our culture
and heritage, then we can
not expect other people to
be concerned.
I often wonder if most
Black people are really ser
ious about the Black Exper
lence and are willing to pay
the price to be "free".
It
seems to me that the "noted"
Black historians should have
also been instrumental in
helping to present B l a c k
History Week.
One could
easily assume that since it
was not financially profitable
to organize such a program,
the “noted” Black historians
did not take the initiative to
see if Black History Week
was proclaimed.
I t is past
time for these individuals to
use their expertise for the
oenefit of the Black com
munity.
I t ia also time that the few
lonely advocates of the Black
Experience g e t assistance
rom other Blacks. Obvious-
y, they can not carry the
torch of freedom forever.
As a footnote to this
letter, I hope that every
Black in the state especially
students - read the "Voice of
the N A A C P" for March 1st.
The arguments made by Carl
Rowan, Sylvester Monroe,
and M artin A. Kilson (as
quoted in the “Voice") give
food for thought on the part
of Black people!
Lenwood G. Davis
10 cleaning and pressing claim tickets good for
1 81b. load of cleaning and pressing.
g la d ly
It is not the purpose of
thia article to agree or dia
agree with the editor’s poai
lion since both us conversely
arrive at the same conclu
sion: Oregon ia a racist state
and the leaders are doing
nothing to change the plight
of Black people in the alatel
It is a well known fact that
the State of Oregon has
few Blacks in state jobs of
any kind. Since a number of
OEO employees will s»xm
lose their jobs, the State
will miss a marvelous oppor
tunily if it does not employ
most of them.
Moreover,
since s number of Blacks
have administrative experi
ence they will not have to he
retrained.
However, if one
judges Oregon by its past
history, one can only con
elude that it will not actively
recruit these Blacks.
The
state will, aa usual, give
some superficial and asinine .
excuse for not employing
them:
no positions avail
able: not enough eduration:
not enough experience: and
that they did not pass the
slate examination.
If the stale is serious
which I doubt
about hiring
minorities and Blacks it will
As a preface to this article.
I must make the following
observations. The editor of
the Observer has w ritten a
number of articles on Ore
gons A ffirm ative Action A
greement.
I agree with
some of his arguments and
disagree with others.
I
disagree that "Oregon has
again lost its liberal image."
I believe that "Oregon is
again losing its liberal im
age."
Furthermore. Black
people throughout the nation
do not consider Oregon to be
worse than the South be
cause most Blacks have nev-
er heard of Oregon. Hence,
to them it is literally non-ex
istant. 1 believe Blacks (like
myself) who have lived in the
South and now live in Oregon
see Oregon as being worse
than the South. I agree that
"we have seen nothing to
make us believe that the
affirm ative action agreement
was ever more than just a
piece of paper."
IT’S COMMG!
• Prizes every w eek
With Ron Hendren
A YOUNG VIEW OF WASHINGTON
e
A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL
By Ron Hendren
W A S H IN G T O N -R o y L. Ash, director of
the President's Office of Management and
Budget, came up to the Hill the other day
to try to convince House members that
his was not a position that should require
Senate confirmation.
As it turned out, the encounter was a
scene straight out of student government
days, conducted in uncertainty and
chaired by confuaion.
But Tint a little background. Aah,
whose present position often has been
termed second only to that of the Presi
dent in its power, is a former chief
executive of Litton Industries, which
presently has more than a half billion
dollars in disputed claims pending against
the Navy. Several weeks ago (in a column
entitled “ Exit Free Enterprise-Enter So
cialism” ), I noted that Ash had made no
bones about his intention to have a strong
say in Navy budget matters, an intention
which one Navy official strongly criti
cized in Senate hearings as being a blatent
ex.- mple of conflict o f interest.
Ash denied the conflict of interest
charge, and the Navy official was prompt
ly canned. Meanwhile, enterprising re
porters dug up incidents o f alleged busi
ness irregularities involving Ash which
still are pending in a federal court suit.
AU o f these happenings, coupled with
the President's strong stance on his right
to impound congressionally appropriated
funds through the budget office, prompt
ed the Senate to pass legislation that
would require Ash's confirmation, on the
grounds that he ia more powerful than
cabinet members who already muat get
the legislative blessing in order to sit on
the throne.
The
Administration objected, of
course, and that is what brought Roy Ash
to the HiU the other day. His first line of
defense was that he had no operational
powers like department heads, no power
at sU, in fact, except as an agent o f the
President carrying out administration pol
icies.
After the snickers died down, Rep.
Chet Holifield (D -C alif.) politely bis-
agreed with Ash’s own assessment of his
power, and allowed aa how it seemed
pretty clear to him that control o f the
purse strings involved considerable-opera
tional duties.
Rep. John J. Rhodes (R -A riz.) then
contributed his belief that Congress ought
not to peas the bill “ in a fit of pique” over
Mr. Nixon's impoundment activities. No
points: very weak rejoinder.
AU in ail, everybody’s tongues seemed
pretty well entrenched in their respective
cheeks, and then the Justice Department
contributed its two-cents worth and near
ly topped the whole show.
Their judgment is that the legislation is
unconstitutional, because it would retro
actively require confirmation o f Aah,
requiring him to be removed from office
and then reappointed. Apparently, the
significance o f that juggling lies in the
constitutional provision that the only
way Congress can remove Executive
Branch officials ia by impeachment.
Rep. Jack Brooks said he views the
constitutional question with skepticism,
but went on to win aU awards by confess
ing tty t, just in case, he had drafted an
amendment that would abolish the Office
of Management and Budget and then
recreate it, a maneuver that would require
the reappointment o f Ash in any event,
not to mention every other OMB empl.-y-
ee from clerk typist to janitor.
On the whole, it was quite a show and
clearly a good time was had by ail.
Meanwhile, back in the res' world, the
OMB pushed ahead with its mission:
ending federal grants to elementary and
secondary school libraries, cutting medi
cal benefits to the elderly, and eight
single-spaced, smalt-print pages of other
program to help people.
• Easy to enter
• Easy to w in.
It’s the OBSERVER’S new EZ Winner
Contest.
Watch for details, coming soon in the •
PORTLAND OBSERVER.
•
W hen you say you
Can’t
afford
to
advertise
You are re a lly saying
You can’t afford to increase sales.
You can’t afford to reduce costs.
You can’t afford to save money.
You can’t afford to reduce prices.
You can't afford to expand your trade
area.
You can’t afford to increase your
profits.
Which moans
You can’t afford to stay In business
o r succeed in competition.
YOU SHOULD ADVERTISE IN THE
Syndlcalsd 1971 by
WASHINGTON WEEKLY, Inc.
All rights rssaivtd.
PORTLAND OBSERVER
1