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V o lu m e 3, N o. 33 P ortland, O re g o n
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
4
OBSERVER
OCL threatens ouster second Black director
Urban League official brings awards
Mr*. Juanita Carroll
Dudley, a national official
of the National Urban
league, will viait Portland
thia week. She will make
an award on behalf of the
Urban la*ague to the Moaa
Adam Company for ita
continuing effort
in a
cooperative program with
the Univeraity of Port
land. She will alao pre
aent a four year arholar
ahip to a Portland atu
dent.
After working for aev
eral yeara in public wel
fare and child welfare,
Mra. Dudley rame to the
Western Regional Office
of the National Urban
leagu e to work in nine
weatern atatea with Pro
ject Enable. At the end
of that program, ahe be
came Aaaiatant Regional
Director with the Weatern
Regional Office with health
and welfare aa a specialty.
During the paat four
yeara, ahe haa been very
active in the weat with
the development of health
programs.
She is pre
aently Chairman of the
Advisory Council of the
UCLA Regional Medical
l*rograma on heart, ran
J.DUDLEY
cer, and strokes.
She
represents this body as a
Consultant to the State
Regional Medical Pro
grams for proposal aelec
lions for the funding year
1972. She is an Executive
Board mrmbcr of both the
Southern California and
Ia>a Angeles agencies of
C om prehensive Health
Planning. She has served
during this period as a
member of the State De
partment of Social Wel
fare Agencies Council on
children services, Presi
dent of the Charles Drew
Women’s Auxiliary of Los
Angeles County. She is
presently a member of th»*
Executive Hoard of the
National March of [times
of Los Angeles County,
and the Welfare Reform
Advisory Committee for
the California State Per
sonnel Board.
For many years, she
has accepted the in v ita
tions of both state and
federal legislators to tes
tify before select com
m ittees deaing with the
problems of health and
welfare for the aged, mi
nority and the working
poor. She is a member of
the A m e rica n Public
Health A ssociation and
other related social work
and health organizations.
Mrs. Dudley is the wifi
of Dr. C.H. Dudley, a
practicing Psychiatrist in
Los A n g eles, and the
mother of five. She re
c eiv ed her Masters of
Social Work Degree from
Atlanta University School
of Social Work, and B.A.
Degree from Talladega
College. Since that time
she has completed one
year of training toward a
law degree.
Farmworkers call for justice
Cesar Chavez of the United
Farm Workers Union, AFL-
CIO. has railed for a re
newed boycott of non union
lettuce and grapes. Phillip
Vera (’ruse. National Vice
President of the UFW. AFL
CIO. visited Portland this
week to gather support for
the strike in California.
The United Farm Workers,
an organization of field work
ers, mostly Chicano, Black
and Philipino, was organized
in Delano, California to at
tempt to obtain adequate
wages and working condi
tions for farm workers, many
of whom are permanent,
year round employees. Farm
workers are not covered by
the National Relations Board
and therefore legislation gov
erning wages, working condi
tions and the right to col
lective bargaining do not
cover them.
After five years of strikes
and a nationwide boycott,
the grape growers of Cali
fornia and Arizona finally
held employee elections and
signed contracts with the
Farm Workers Union. Those
contracts, although including
minimum wages, also were
concerned with pesticides and
health hazzards and with
such minimum standards as
the provision of drinking
water and toilet facilities.
Although growers claimed
the union did not represent
the workers and resisted
with violence and intimida
lion, in all the elections held,
the vote won nearly unani
mously for the UFW.
The srike and the accom
panying boycotts then spread
to the lettuce fields of Cali
fornia. It was at this point
that the Teamsters Union
interceded on behalf of the
growers.
Contracts wen-
signed between the Team
sters Union and growers,
without the consent or in
volvement of the workers.
As the grape growers con
tracts expire, they too are
picked up by the Teamster
Union without union elec
tions and without regard for
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the wishes of the workers.
The union and its sup
porters continue to boycott
non union (non-UFW) lettuce
and grape's. They ask that
the consumer look for the
union sym bol
a black
Aztec eagle on a red banner
The Farm Workers Union’s
stru g g le has caught the
imagination of the students
the church, the liberal radica
activists. It is said to be* thi
’Civil Rights Movement’ of
the 1970’s, as it seeks to gair
freedom through non-vio
lent protest. Led by Cesar
Chavez, a deeply religious
and self sacrificing man, the
movement has attempted to
appeal to the conscience of
the American people.
Chavez recently said of the
struggle for justice:
"We have been treated
with contempt by the most
respected people of our com
inunities. Our women have
been insulted and abused.
Our children have too often
cried from hunger and given
up their brightest dreams to
work in the fields so that
their brothers and sisters
could eat. Still we did not
surrender our lives to ex
ploitation and misery. Farm
workers were willing to get
up off their knees to strike
and boycott, to struggle and
sacrifice lor five long years
to gain contracts in the
grapes. For the first time
we could see and feel the
beginnings of our own union.
It has been a beautiful ex
p erience for farm wrkers.
Dignity and hope and a little
bit of justice have filled us
with new strength and a new
determination to build a union
for all farmworkers.
“ Farm w orkers arc not
going to be defeated because
the rich and powerful want
them defeated. The growers
and the Teamsters can nth
us of all of our contracts. But
what will they have accom
plished?
We have always
been poor: life has always
been a struggle; there is no
easy way to gain justice and
to make life better for our
children and our grandchil
dren.
We will keep or
ganizing and striking; we
will build a new worldwide
(Please turn to page 8, col. 5)
The Observer came into
possession of a letter from
Charles Williamson, Presi
dent of the Oregon Consumer
League to Andrew Raubeson,
Acting Director of the Model
Cities Agency, indicating the
intention to terminate Russell
Dawson, director of the Con
sumer P rotection A gency.
Dawson, a Black, was hired
following the termination of J.
Alton Page, the program’s
first director.
The Consumer Protection
Agency is funded by Model
Cities and has as its operating
igency the Oregon Consumer
league.
The Management
Committee, which sets policy
and does the hiring, is made
up of members of the Execu
tive Committee of the Oregon
Consumer League, plus on“
Model Cities resident and one
•epresentative of the Coordi
nating Committee. The other
members are members of the
OCL executive committee,
who hold a majority. The Co
ordinating Committee is made
up of Model Cities residents.
Members serve in an advisory
capacity and are to carry-
information about the pro
gram back to the neighbor
hood organizations. Neither
the Management Committee
nor the Coordinating Com
mittee has any real authority
in the operation of the pro
gram and most directives
have come down from the
Executive Committee of thr»
OCL.
Members of the committee
state that they have not been
informed of OCL’s dissatis
faction with Dawson or plans
to terminate him.
Members of the committees
also question why OCL is
allowed to control this pro
gram when Model C ities
funded programs are sup
posed to have community
policy boards.
The letter indicates that
one source of dissatisfaction
with Mr. Dawson was with
Pat McAuley, education co
ordinator.
Ms. McAuleys
position, at $800 a month, was
to have been removed from
the Fourth Action Year Bud
get I June 16, 1973) because of
budget cuts. The program
now has a director, an edu
ration coordinator, and four
representatives, so the co
ordinator position was not
Mr. Andrew Raubeson
Acting Director
Portland Model Cities
5329 N.E. Union Avenue
Portland. Oregon 97211
Dear Mr. Raubeson:
RUSSELL DAWSON
considered essential.
Ten
months ago, when Ms. McAu
ley was hired, the program
had 9 representatives. Ac
cording to J. Alton Page. Ms.
McAuley has been a source of
problems in the agency as she
is not respected by the other
staff members and has prob
lems relating to the com
munity.
Another source of conflict
within the agency is Molly
Weinstein, who is a member
of the OCL executive com
m ute and the management
committee. While serving on
these committees, she was
employed for several months
in a supervisory capacity. In
this role she was able to carry
information to OCL without
the approval or knowledge of
the director. J. Alton Page,
and having the authority of
the board could intimidate the
director and the staff. In the
aftermath of the firing of Mr.
Page, the Model Cities Citizen
Planning Board requested
that Ms. Weinstein no longer
be involved in the program
in any way. Ms. Weinstein
still serves on the commit-
tces and co-signs the agency's
checks.
American activity
in Africa told
A speech by Tony Thomas,
staff writer for The Militant,
a radical newspaper, was
delievered to a small audi
ence of approximately 15
students Monday. May 14, at
Portland State University.
The speech, sponsored by
the PSU Young Socialist
Alliance Party, was entitled,
"Defending the African Re
volution".
Tony Thomas repeatedly
xnnted out the mushrooming
economic penetration of the
U.S. in Africa.
Portugal,
which is seeking to colonize
Angolia and other African
(Please turn to page 8. col. 4)
African Liberation Day: M ay 26
by O .B . H ill
Saturday, May 26 is desig
nated as African Liberation
Day. Portland will be among
the more than 20 major
United States Cities holding
demonstrations.
According
to Owusu Sadaukai, Chair
man of the National African
Liberation Support Com
mittee, "The demonstrations
are planned to awaken the
Black Community to the fact
that a war is going on in
southern Africa.
We must
simultaneously appeal to our
people and raise $50,000
through the United African
Appeal to support the libera
tion movements in southern
Africa.” Last year's African
Liberation Day (May 27,
1972) drew the participation
of more than 60,000 persons
who demonstrated In the
United States, Canada and
the Caribbean.
More than
25,000 persons were attracted
to the nation's capital for one
of two demonstrations held
in the United States. This
show of Black solidarity was
the largest march of its kind
since the Garvey movement
in the 1920's.
The theme of this year's
demonstration is: "There is
no peace with Honor; the
War against African people
continues both on the con
*
tinent and here in the Wes
tern Hemisphere." And this
is easy to relate to given the
current situation whereby the
Nixon Administration has cut
back Federal fundings of
domestic programs while at
the same time, it continues
to give financial support via
tax dollars to racist Euro
pean settlers who oppress
politically and exploit African
labor and mineral resources
in order to perpetuate the
vicious cycle of white racist
world domination.
There are those of us who
do not see the relationship
between the liberation Strug
gles being waged in Africa
by brothers and sisters who
comprise FRELIMO, PAIGC.
UNITA, etc. (African Libera
tion Groups), and the strug
gles for self determination of
Blacks living in America.
Thus one of the primary
purposes of African Libera
tion Day is “to inform our
brothers and sisters in the
U.S., Canada and the Carib
beans of the nature and im
portance of the Liberation
s*-ru(fgfr and to emphasize
our relationship to the over
all struggle of African people
again st racism and im
perialism." (Black Collegian
Vol. 3, No. 5. Eg. 42)
We must understand that
slavery still exists both in
the United States and in
Africa. Caught up in a wel
fare mentality, many of the
world's best dressed slaves
can't relate to their brothers
and sisters in Africa who
are engaged in liberation
struggles. While attempting
to project the new superfly
image, they rely on Shaft in
Africa while receiving a shaft
ing at home.
lax-ally, African Liberation
Day is being sponsored by
the Portland African Libera
tion Day Committee, a com
mittee composed of a coali
tion of student organizations
and albina community groups
and individuals.
Besides
informing the Black com
m unity of the liberation
struggles being waged by
our Black brothers and sis
ter s in southern Africa
against imperialism and racist
oppressors, aided by the
major western powers, in
cluding the U.S., our goal is
to raise $2,000 for the United
African Appeal.
This will
entail a door to door cam
paign, along with other fund
raising methods.
Demonstrations will get
under way starting with a
(Please turn to pg. 8, col. 5)
The Oregon Consumer League is in a somewhat embar
rassing position regarding the Model Cities Consumer Pn>
tection Program. After Mr. Page was terminated, we went
through an involved hiring process to obtain a new director.
Advertisements were published and applicants were inter
viewed. Members of the community coordinating committee
and the OCL management committee agreed on hiring Mr.
Russell Dawson as director.
We had nothing but good
recommendations about Mr. Dawson and thought him to be
likeable, enthusiastic, familiar with the community and re
sponsible. We looked forward to getting the program on an
even keel for the first time since its inception.
In the two months since Mr. Dawson has been director, we
have been badly disappointed. Some of the causes of our
disappointment follow.
Initially, Pat McAuley, the educational coordinator, indi
cated that she was unable to work with Mr. Dawson. She
felt uneasy with some of his more radical or militant stands
on issues which she did not feel were well founded. She
found she was ignored in the office and that she could simply
not continue to work with the program. She intends to leave
next month. We hold Ms. McAuley in high regard and feel
she will be a real loss.
Mr. Dawson undertook the organization of a rally to
protest high food prices in coordination with several other
groups, some of which had a somewhat radical political tinge.
While this was probably a worthwhile undertaking (I spoke at
the rally), neither the League, the Management Committee
nor the Coordinating Committee was apprised that the
program was undertaking this project. Indeed. I did not
realize Mr. Dawson had organized the rally until I arrived at
it.
Mr. Dawson has not called a meeting of the Coordinating
Committee to solicit their advice about program goals and
objectives since he has been in office.
This has been
especially alarming since the proposed budget cuts have
made program changes essential, yet no community input
was sought in making these changes.
Indeed, in spite of our instructions, Mr. Dawson developed
no real program for the coming year until very recently. We
asked him to attend a meeting to help draft a program with
members of the Management Committee.
Mr. Dawson
agreed to come but then failed to show up. He has consis
tently been late to other important meetings.
In short, we see ourselves becoming responsible for a
program over which we are not able to exercise any control.
The program is, at present, being run by Mr. Dawson alone,
without effective input or guidance from the community or
the OCL.
At this point, we are willing to continue as the sponsoring
agency if the Model Cities Planning Board and the city wish
to continue the program. While we may work with Mr.
Dawson for the time being, we anticipate that it may be
necessary for us to terminate his employment and hire a new
director in the near future.
We want you to be fully aware of the status of this
program before we embark upon a fourth action year. We
continue to firmly believe the Model Cities neighborhood
badly needs a consumer protection program and while our
faith in our ability to administer such a program has been
greatly diminished, we will do our best to carry on.
We are still confident we will do better in the future. We
are submitting herewith our proposed fourth action year
budget and program, continuing the program at existing
levels for eight months.
Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.
Very truly yours,
Charles R. Williamson
President, Oregon Consumer League
OCL brings concern
An Editorial
The Oregon Consumer League is on the verge of firing
another Director from the Consumer Protection Program.
We question the motives and the policies of the OCL.
Is the Consumer Protection Agency the captive of white
paternalism?
Is it another example of a white agency
controlling a program designed to serve the residents of the
Black community.
The Oregon Consumer League has received prestige and
publicity from this program. It has used the labor of its
employees in doing research for the OCL legislation now
pending in Salem. It's members have benefited personally.
Perhaps it has reaped all the benefits and is now ready to
bow out without concern for the community. Soon the state
or the county consumer protection agencies will take over
most of the functions of the Consumer Protection Agency,
anyway.
But OCL has never allowed the community to control or
have valid input into the program.
It is clear that a
management committee, made up of four members of the
OCL executive committee and two persons from Model
Cities, will represent OCL and not the residents. The two
Black residents in the committee are powerless and cannot
fight the solidarity of the majority. So where is community
control? Model Cities programs are supposed to be of and for
the people.
We wonder whether Russell Dawson has been given an
opportunity to direct.
Has he been given a proper job
description? Has his relationship to the committees, to OCL,
and to Model Cities been explained? Has he been informed of
OCL's dissatisfaction? Has OCL made any attempt to council
(Please turn to page 8, col. 3)