I
M rs F ra n c e s Sc',
U n lv o r » I t y o f
.PORTLAND
Volume 3, No. 36
AN fO U A l O M O tlU N IT T (MPIOYCS
OBSERVER
Thursday
June 14, 1973
|(lr per ropy
City Council closes OCL program
Ai
The Portland City Council
on June 13th voted not to
fund the Oregon Consumer
League's Model Cities Con
sum er P ro te c tio n Agency
until further study is made.
H
N
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Portland, Oregon
apcr
C ouncil m em bers In v a n ric .
instructed Charles William
son. President of OCL, to
sign a contract with the city
by June 15. The only dis
senting voters were Charles
Williamson and Molly Wein
stein
Anderson and Schwab, in
voting against the funding of
the program, gave as their
reason the internal problems
in the agency and the in
ability of the council to get
explanations.
Charles Wil
liamson. President of OCL,
was not present at the council
h e a rin g , although
o th e r
representatives of O CL were
present.
The Council will consider
the renewal of funding at a
later date. As of the date,
funding discontinues June
15th and the office will be
closed on that date.
The Board of Directors of
the Oregon Consumer leagu e
had voted on June 12th to
continue as delegate agency
for the program.
They
The OCL board also agreed
to appoint a committee to
study the feasibility of ob
taming secure funding for
the agency.
There has been conflict
within the OCL board on
whether they should con
tinue to sponsor the Model
Cities Program. There have
also been complaints from
the community that OCL did
not allow the required com
munity participation.
The
d isagreem ents re arh e d a
crisis when Charles William
son indicated to Model Cities
that it might be necessary to
dismiss director Russell Daw
son.
Dawson replaced J.
Alton Page, who was ter
minated by OCL. Dawson is
now on 30 days probation.
M o del C itie s re sid en ts
question why the program is
operated by a management
committee made up of four
members of the O CL exe
cutive commitee and 2 Model
Cities residents. Some sug
gest the director should have
the authority vested in the
Management Committee and
that the program should be
operated by a policy board
made up primarily of Model
Cities residents. O r if there
is to be a Management Com
mittee, the majority of the
members should come from
Model Cities.
One of the sources of con
flict was Molly Weinstein, a
member of the OCL Execu
tive Committee who was a
member of the Management
Committee and was for a
time also a member of the
supervisory staff of the Con
sumer Protection Agency. A t
the time Mr. Page was ter
minated. the Model Cities
Citizen Planning Board asked
that Ms. Weinstein's rela
tionship with the program be
severed.
Ms. Weinstein,
however, continued to serve
on the Management Com
mittee.
She has now re
signed from that commute,
but will remain a member of
the OCL board.
Ms. Pat McAuley also was
reportedly a source of prob
lems within the Consumer
Protection staff and had told
Mr. Williamson that she could
not work with M r. Dawson.
Ms. McAuley has also re
signed.
The Consumer Protection
Agency is oriented toward
educational program s to
assist residents in purchas
¡ng, contract buying, resist
ing consum er fra u d , etc.
Cases requiring legal action
must lx* referred to Ix-gal
Aid or other agencies. Resi
dents feel that legal assis
tance should be available
through the program.
The OCL board had agreed
to consider the feasibility of
greater citizen representa
tion and possible reorganiza
tion of the policy boards.
< »•
..
A sapphire, not a rose
by Rosemary Allen
e*
KT*
W atergate replace« Wood «tor k. The usual hunt for excitement follows the closing of
school. However, the action seems to have relocated itself.
(Photo by Rosemary Allen)
Shades of Brown tours Japan
A local Portland Band.
Shades of Brown, are plan
ning a tour to Japan during
the month of July. Shade« of
Brown play a variety of
muaic that includes soul,
rock, blues and jazz. Their
group ia comprised of Gregg
Smith, lead vocalist and band
leader; Thara Memory, band
director, trumpet and flugel
horn player; L a tte r McFar
Ian. bass guitar; Rob Man
ning. lead g u ita r; C alvin
Walker, drums; Jerry Paris,
organ; and Cleo Young, tenor
saxophone.
The trip to Japan is a
result of their signing with
the Phil Downing Agency.
Recently, during one of their
daily practices for prepara
tion for the trip, a Portland
Observer reporter watched
the band in action.
The Rose Festival story,
the sparkle, the excitement
and the thrills, began 84 years
ago in 1889. It began with a
rose show in a tent, and in
1902 the P o rtla n d Rose
Society was organized.
In
1907 the first annual Rose
Festival was held.
Twenty illuminated floats
on flat cars, riding on the rail
of Portland's electric trolley
system, were the main at
tractions of the first Rose
Festival Pageant, produced
by George L. Hutchin.
From 1908 through 1913
the ruler of the festivals was
a king, Rex Oregonus. His
identity was kept a secret
he removed his huge beard
at the Festival's annual ball.
A festival Queen, selected
from young Portland social
ites. ruled each year from
1914 to 1930
Since 1930. the Queen has
been a Portland high school
senior.
In 1932. when the
present Rose Festival As
sociation was incorporated,
the present method of selec
lion of a queen from the
court of princesses was
adopted. Each princess was
chosen by the student body
of their respective schools.
The princess chosen queen
wears a crown valued at
$5.000, containing sapphires,
zircons and rubies. She also
wears a beautiful robe and
carries an impressive scepter.
The crown was created in
1922.
Portland is proud of it's
(Please turn to pg. 8. col. 5)
IWW organizes harvest workers
The A g ric u ltu ra l Work
era Organizing Committee
(A W O C ) announced inten
lions to organize harvest
workers in the Oregon berry
and bean fields. Speaking at
a press conference William
Alsdorf. spokesman for the
group, said that the com
mittee's goals included:
(1)
recognition of the Industrial
Workers of the W orld (IW W )
as the collective bargaining
agent for field workers; (21
a mininjum wage of $2.50 in
the fields;
(31 the end of
forced work for welfare reci
pients in the fields:
(4)
health safety standards set
for the fields; and (5) estab
lishment and use of a Union
Hiring Hall for all Harvest
work.
The AW OC plans to hold
an open community meeting
concerning the drive June
S a v e fo r
w e a lth ...
r id e f o r
h e a lt h
The Benj. Franklin has
great buys on bikes for
those who save now!
FOLDING BICYCLES
With $5,000 deposit - $25
With $2,500 deposit - $35
With $250 deposit - $45
10-SPEED BICYCLES
With $5,000 deposit - $45
With $2,500 deposit — $60
With $250 deposit - $75
Hobeil H Hazen, Pres • 22 Olllces • Phone 248 1234
Home O tlice Franklin Bldg . Portland. Oregon 97204
15. Friday, at 7 p.m. at
Centenary W ilbur Methodist
Church at Ninth and SR Ash.
The meeting will have legis
lative as well as direct action
on its agenda.
M ike Z ah ara kis of the
Fisidstuff Workers Industrial
Union 460 of the IW W said
that the policy of the AW OC
is direct, nonviolent action in
organizing.
"The violence
that the current work situa
tion in the fields creates will
be met with our use of
c re a tiv e nonviolence,” he
said.
Spokesmen for the AW OC
said that the committee was
composed of union and non
union members alike and
that membership was open
to anyone who supported the
program.
The temporary
phone number for the group
is 236 6125.
ACLU
honors
chairman
Margie Pitts llames, Geor
gia attorney and member of
(he National Hoard of the
A m erican C iv il L ib e rtie s
Union, will speak Saturday,
June 16 at a dinner honoring
Charles Davis, Portland busi
nessman.
The E.B. Mac
Naughton C iv il L ib e rtie s
Award will be 'ormally pre
sented to Mr. Davis by the
(Please turn to pg. 8, col. 4)
Clarence Iairkins, co-owner of incense and Implements,
posed for the Observer photographer amidst unusual novel
ties offered in his shop.
Salute to Black Business
This week's Salute to Black
Business travels to a shop
that caters primarily to the
younger set.
Now when I
say young, 1 mean from ages
12 to 35. In my book, under
12 you’re still a child and
over 35 you're over the hill
(until I reach the age of 35,
of course).
Incense and Implements,
located at 3606 N.E. Williams
right next to the House of
Sounds record shop, is the
name of this store. Owners
Bruce Smith and Clarence
lairkins offer a delightful
array of ordinary and un
usual it sms.
They sell incense, bumper
stickers, black light posters,
t s h irts w ith names like
Ibxine's Farm on them, body_
oils of different scents for
men or women.
They aso
sell incense holders, sew-on
zodiac and Black Pow er
patches, and all types of
jew elry. Much of the jew elry
(Please turn to pg. 8, col. 6)
Festival of Roses. Through
the years the Festival has
grown and matured until it
now comprises 10 full days of
varied events.
But regardless of colorful
excitement of Rose Festival
festivities, there seems to be
something missing more and
more each year. The Rose
Festival seems to generate a
feeling that it's celebration is
for the middle or upper
classes only.
S p eaking q u ite fra n k ly ,
festivities seem to be d ir
ected towards whites only;
the white media, the white
businesses, white high school
students and the white side
of town.
Even the enter
tainment was directed to
wards a predominantly white
audience; Sandler and Young
Show, M ilk C a rto n Boat
Races. Brady Bunch Show,
etc.
T h e only e n te rta in m e n t
which Blacks could appre
ciate was the Indian Pow
Wow held at East Delta
Park. However, there were
no buses traveling out that
way, so transporation ser
vices were inadequate.
The princess selection,
which inevitably leads to the
Queen Coronation, has dis
appointed Blacks and other
minorities for years.
Since
the Rose Festival Association
adopted the present system
of selecting a Queen from
high school princesses in
1932, there have been 11
young Black ladies chosen as
princesses. Adams (a fairly
new high school) has picked
none;
Cleveland High has
chosen 2; Franklin has chosen
none; Grant 1; Jackson 0;
Jefferson 3; Lincoln 1; Mar
shall 0; Monroe 3; Roose
velt 0; Wilson 0 and Wash
ington's number is undeter
mined due to the fact that
the secretary. Mrs. Bowmen,
who was asked for the in
fo rm a tio n , th ou gh t th ere
were so many that she could
not recall the exact figure at
the time.
Had my imagination not
been so limited at the time, I
would have ventured to ask
her if she could recall the
num ber of Black Queens
chosen in recent years. How
ever that figure is too exact
for even me to figure: Zero.
The judges picked for the
Queen selection are, of
course, all American.
They
have money, position and a
ranch s ty le house in the
suburbs. This year’s judges
met up to their qualifications
in every way. Example one:
M r. Colin De Silva, President
(Please turn to pg. 8, col. 6)
Zj
Abu foils attack
A nineteen year old stu
dent, Diane Grover, was
slabbed and beaten in her
room at the Portland State
University Student Service's
Montgomery dormitory.
Abu. a Black musician and
radio commentator and also a
resident of the dormitory,
responded to the girl's cries
for help. Rushing to her aid.
he paused to alert the man
ager, whose apartment was
next door. Failing to catch
the assailant. Abu returned
to find Ms. Nichols lying in a
pool of blood. He carried her
to the apartment of the
manager and was told not to
put her on the bed or the
couch, but on the kitchen
floor.
Abu told the Observer
that none of the other resi
dents of the dormitory came
to assist Ms. Nichols, al
though her screams for help
were clearly heard.
A fter
the attacker had escaped,
still no one came to help the
injured girl.
Abu states his concerns
about the living quarters
operated by PSU student
services.
This is a private
non profit corporation oper
ated in the interest of the
students and is not con
nected with the university.
According to Abu there is no
security for the residents
and robberies are common.
There was a similar attack
one year ago, although the
resident was not severly
injured.
Many parents as
sume the buildings are under
(Please turn to p. 8 col. 4)
Senators support
affirmative action
Oregon Senators Ted H al
lock and Bill Stevenson ex
pressed their views on the
state's affirm ative action re
sponsibility this week.
Hallock is dissatisfied with
the progress the state is
making in the field of minor
ity hiring and is pushing to
see that state agencies meet
their responsibilities in this
area.
Hallock has put af
firmative action into practice
by hiring a Black administra
tive assistant, John Toran.
Stevenson also considers
progress too slow and feels
that encouragement by him
self and other elected offi
cials would help. Some ways
to insure results are a more
positive attitude toward the
program, giving more direc
tion to the L ib o r Commis
sion and increasing the af
firm a tiv e action p ro gram
budget, he said.
The latest available figures
reveal only 108 Black em
ployees among a state civil
service of 18,375.
Stevenson agrees that gov-
ernment should take the lead
in minority hiring.
S en a to r H allock resents
any measures that make
Albina a ghetto.
Having
been raised in the Albina
area he considers it a com
m u n ity of people doing
things.
Regarding the insurance
problems faced by the people
of Albina, Hallock believes
the State Insurance Com
mission has the authority to
prevent discrimination, and if
he cannot he must be aided
by new legislation.
S e n a to r Stevenson e x
pressed an interest in the
labor Commissioner's office if
C om m issioner N ilsen does
not run for re election in
1974.
He will leave the
governor’s race to others.
Senator Hallock claims he
has no aspirations for higher
office.
He wants to be a
good Senator, and believes
each time he is returned to
the Senate he can do more
for the people of Oregon.
4