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
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Forgotten in Corvallis
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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
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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
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