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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 31, 1973)
Page 2 Portland/obeerver Thu reday May 31. 1973 Last Soma Of Us Ovarsiaap WE SEE THE WORLD ALFRED LEE HENDERSON EDITOR/P IBLISHER THROUGH BLACK EYES OCL paternalism: It won’t work W hat is the O regon Consumer League doing fo r the Black com m unity? W hat are it's responsibilities? The O regon Consumer League was founded by Don W illn e r and others to serve as a vehicle o f com m unication and activity fo r the consumer. Re cruiting m em bership from a ll w alks o f life , the Oregon Consumer League soon gained respect not only in O regon, but na tio n a lly. M eetings w ere held in poverty areas in clu d in g A lb in a to assist low -incom e buyers to get the most from their m oney; research was done; le gislation was in tro duced; and a lthoug h results w ere not im m ediate, there was an a ir o f excitem ent. At last there was an organizatio n w o rkin g fo r the people! But the Oregon Consumer League has declined into a sm all group o f people fussing am ong them selves. The m em bership has not grow n; the volunteers have le ft; the spirit has gone The only thing the OCL has to show for itself is the Consumer Protection Agency in A lbina. OCL has had to rely on the Consumer Protection Agency to do the research and to w rite it's bills, and has not had the strength to get them passed. And w h a t has the OCL done w ith the Consumer Protection A gency other than use it? It has con tro lle d the agency through it's M anagem ent C om m itte, m ade up o f 4 m em bers o f the OCL Executive com m ittee and only 2 m em bers from M odel Cities. It has kept the agency in conflict through interference by board members. It has lost capable staff m em bers through m an ip u la tio n o f favored em ployees. OCL has done nothing to s tre n g th e n or per petuate the program . It is still fu lly supported by M odel Cities funds. OCL has not obtained grants to continue or expand the program , so w hen it's next 8 m onths w ith M odel Cities is finished, it w ill cease plan to stay and receive the education they are e n title d to receive as citizens o f O regon. They ask o n ly tw o things -- a com m itm ent from the university and a com m itm ent from the people o f A lbina. The last tim e the Black students o f OSU asked for help, only tw o Black adults responded — Tom Vickers and W endell W allace. It was too little and too late, and the students had to leave Corvallis. The problem s have not reached a crisis this tim e -- and w ith support and assistance from Black Portland, they w ill not. This is w hat Black students suggest: Visit the campus; attend functions at OSU sponsored by the B lv-k students; provide sum m er jobs; provide schoi«- .Lips; let the w h ite student body know the Black stuvi *•-. do have a com m unity o f support behind them ; r> - k o the university a d m inistration aw a re of your concen. fo r the education o f Black students; in quire into the h irin g and recruitm ent policies o f the university. In short -- if w e ore concerned, the university w ill be concerned. State plan fails: No leadership BUDGET DRY CLEANRS 7 2 2 0 N . F .iia n d a n Forgotten in Corvallis I N e W A pep Subscriptions $5.25 per year - Tri-County arsa, $6.00 per year » Outside Portland. Telephone, 283-2486. 2 B 6 -2 2 9 6 "The Bank W ith a Purpose' FREEDOM BANK OF FINANCE Owned by I he People LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ■ Saving Accounts - Bonk by M a i l • Real Estate Loons - A u to lo a n s • H o m e Im provem ent • Travelers C u ::k s • M on ey O rd e rs • Escrow Service Check with either branrh about about identi Cherk. MON IMURS 10 A M FRI 10 A M 6 P M mission employed a Black to the position of structural en gineer on December 8. 1972. This particular position is the second highest paid position on the staff. Obviously, this bit of infor mation does not vendicate the County from the obser vations made in your ai tide. But it is at least one indi cation of progress. main Your May 10th issue car ried a front page story about the appointment of Bruce Broussard as the first Black Officer in the Oregon Na tional Guard. 1 don’t want to minimize an important ap pointment for a highly de serving person - but the story should have read that CW2 Broussard is the first Black Officer in the Oregon Army National Guard. In the Oregon A ir National Guard four Black Officers serve with distinction. Thev are: Major Charles E. Williams, Security Police Staff Officer in Headquarters, Oregon Air National Guard. Major William E. Gibson, 1PM orne« MON THUNS 4 A M I HI S A M « P M 2 8 2 -2 2 1 6 2 8 8 -6 5 7 1 M em ber Federal D eposit insurance C< Have W e Got A M a tc h For You! Sincerely. James Sitzman Dental Officer in the 142nd USAF Clinic. Captain Calvin O. L. Hen ry. Weapons Director Staff Officer in the 153rd Tactical Air Control Center Squad ron. Captain Samuel E. Burton, Weapons Controller in the 116th T a c t i c a l Control Squadron. My friends in Army green sometimes forget that “Ore gon National Guard” is an all inclusive term, so I felt I s h o u l d set the r e c o r d straight. We are all on the same team but a friendly parochialism continues to ex ist. Even (hough you vs found yam Iraa lava you still need a matchmakar Why. you lay’ Io help you match, coordmata and atranga lha most important formal wars ol your Wo your wadding U ltra « somaona who can hab you safari lha propar formal aitat lor the groom and al lha groom s man who can match fhatr formal shats fo your brabsmaid gowns or lha llowars n your bouquer Who a this Matchmaker 1 itraordmaaa’ Sincerely yours, Stary 1 C. Austin, Jr. Brigadier General Deputy Adjutant General Sympathetic Dear Sir: Here in California we are shocked at the unbalanced employment in Oregon. It is almost unbelievable t h a t such things exist in the liberal state of Oregon. You have just elected your firs t Black representative. You have had only one elected Black school board member. You have taxation without representation. We have many more oppor tunities in California than Blacks in Oregon, from the Governor's office down. Now we are electing T h o m a s Bradley as Mayor of Los Angeles. I hope Blacks will get themselves together so things will change in Oregon. Sincerely yours, Bea S. Johnson San Fernando, California St. Job FtCK-VF-NUYUtY CLERY ftMUR *MM HOWlK IICYCttS Start spinning your wheels- Try Chuck’s deals Special Special! Chuck’s new featuring PEUGEOTI $129.95 CHARLES CREWS We Feature: I «peed*. 3 epeede. 5 «peed» and 10 »peed» Tricycles - training bike» - • e e e e wagon» Second Class Postage Paid -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 alarial throughout the paper is the opinion of the individual w rite r or submitter and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Observer. 4PM eiEOMONT BRANCH 72« N C XILLIHOSWORTH 2737 N « UNION Air Guard leads Dear Sir: V f PRESIDENT Free Checking Accounts with $300 00 Minimum Balance Free Checking Service to Senior Citizens <66 or over) OPEN SATURDAY 10 AM -2 PM Dear Mr. Henderson: Since our conversation a few days ago 1 have received a note from Commissioner Clark containing a piece of information provided by Mr. Bob Baldwin of the County Planning Department. Your article of Thursday, April 26 indicated that the Planning Commission employs no Blacks out of a total of thirty positions. Mr. Baldwin in formed Commissioner Clark land Mr. Clark wishes you to know) that the Planning Com operated tor the People ■ Checking Accounts County adds one Several m onths ago the OBSERVER was told by John Raynor, director o f the state's a ffirm a tiv e action program , that the program had to w ork, fo r if the state agencies w ere not receptive, the G overnor w o u ld intercede. N ow Mr. Raynor has a d m itted that progress has been slow and has not m et his expectations. We w ould like to know w h a t is w rong. Is Bob Boozer fa ilin g to recruit Blacks? Are Blacks fa ilin g to a pply fo r state positions? Are the agencies resisting? Is the governor fa ilin g to provide leadership? to exist. W e know Boozer is recruiting and w e know W hat is the responsibility o f the OCL to the Black com m unity? First o f a ll OCL should put the pro Blacks are a p plying . W e suspect the agencies . . . gram in the hands o f the people -- let a com and w e know the G overnor is fa ilin g to provide leadership. One look at his a ll-w h ite o ffice , and m unity board set policy, procedure and priority. Believe it or not, Mr. W illiam son, Black people are those o f Secretary o f State Clay Myers, Treasurer ab le to do this. G ive the program to the people, Jim Reddin and A ttorney-G eneral Lee Johnson, since the people's m oney funds it anyw ay, and shows us that! A perfect exam ple is the position o f Public d o n 't sit pa te rn a listica lly above, do in g w hat you think is best. Second, having established a com A dm inistration Trainee, for w hich there are two This position is in the Governor's m unity policy board, e lim in a te the m anagem ent openings. The position, w hich re com m ittee and let the director m anage the Executive D epartm ent. program w ith in the directives provided by the quires a bachelor's degree, has a starting salary of $647 to $716. com m unity board. Then, attem pt to bring OCL closer to a ll the A Black w ith a Masters degree in A griculture A P hilipino w ith a people o f Oregon and let it becom e a com m unity Economics was rejected. based program that w ill be sought out and re Masters degree in Public A dm inistration was re jected. The only acceptable m in o rity applicant, an spected. OCL was a good idea. It can yet becom e a East Indian, was to ld he fa ile d the w ritten test w hich consisted o f the question: 'W hy w ould you responsive and responsible organization. like to have one o f these jo b s." Here was an opp o rtu n ity to hire m inorities -- but w ho w ill get the jobs? A nother good exam ple was the position of A d m inistrative Analyst. A q u a lifie d Black a p p lie d but a w h ite was im ported from Illinois. We ask ag a in -- w hy is the percentage of Blacks in state e m p lo ym e n t so low ? The answer is A lthough m ore than 100 Black undergraduate sim ple: They are screened out by various students attend Oregon State U niversity in Cor devious methods. vallis, th e ir presence there is hardly acknow led ged The state has an a ffirm a tiv e action agreem ent. by the Black com m unity of Portland. OSU is It even has an a ffirm a tiv e action departm ent. But located in a sm all rural com m unity, a ll-w h ite , it has no com m itm ent and it has no leadership. w here racism is a tradition. O rig in a lly exce llin g in A g riculture and Forestry, OSU has attracted students from the sm all towns o f Oregon -- stu dents w ho w ere not exposed to diverse cultures and racial variations. OSU therefore has had a conservative student body and a conservative com m unity. MEMBER Black students w ho attend OSU do so to take Oregon advantage o f the excellent academ ic program s in Newspaper Publishers the sciences and engineering. Because Black stu Association dents have been counseled into the social sciences, m ore Black students have attended Portland State U niversity or the U niversity o f O re MEMBER gon. N ow Black students are fin d in g that there are opportunities in the sciences and that OSU is the school to attend. W hen they get to C orvallis they face m any Aaaocletlon - Founded 1885 problem s - d iffic u lty fin d in g housing and jobs in C orvallis; a lack o f contact w ith educated or stim ulating Black adults, as w e ll as isolation from Published every Thursday by Exle Publishing Company, 2201 their ow n com m unity; not k n ow ing if they are N . Kllllngeworth, Portland, Oregon 97217. M ailing add re eat w anted or m erely tolerated by the university P jO . Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208 and it's student body; and lack o f opportun ity for social life. W hen out of state students com e to the U niver sity o f Portland, the Urban League w elcom es them and finds them a ''h o m e a w a y from h o m e ". But w hen Black students go to C orvallis they are fo r gotten. Problems becam e so great a fe w years ago that the Black students left OSU in protest. The current group o f students does not plan to leave — they SAVE YOUR CLAIM TICKETSI 10 cleaning and pressing claim tickets good for 1 81b. load of cleaning and pressing. 7017 N . Lombard Raleigh leunet Columbia VIata Peugeot 286-1079 5% discount on rentals to churches and organization*
