Portland observer., September 20, 1973, Page 2, Image 2

Page 2
Portiand/Obaerver
Thursday, September 20, 1973
WE SEE THE WORLD
THROUGH BLACK EYES
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
CR Officer
Dear Mr. Henderson:
ALFRED LEE HENDERSON
EDITO R/PVBLISHER
EDITORIAL FOCUS
PDC Commissioners
where are you?
The fiv e C o m m issio n e rs o f th e P ortland D e v e lo p ­
m e n t C om m issio n m ig h t be co n ce rn e d citizen s w h o
a re fre e ly a n d w ith g re a t p e rso n a l sa crifice se rving
th e ir c o m m u n ity . They m ig h t be d e d ic a te d to the
p rin c ip a ls o f c itiz e n p a rtic ip a tio n in the p la n n in g
and d e v e lo p m e n t o f th e city. But th e y h ave show n
little e m p a th y w ith th e ir n e ig h b o rs in A lb in a w h o
a re b e in g in ju re d by th e ir a gency.
PDC is an a g e n c y th a t looks g o o d on p a p e r —
an a g e n cy th a t has d o n e som e g o o d fo r som e
p e o p le . But in its g re a t re s p o n s ib ility fo r re m o v in g
som e n e ig h b o rh o o d s a n d re sto rin g others, the re ­
s p o n s ib ly to th e in d iv id u a l is e a s ily lost.
It is not e n o u g h to a tte n d co m m issio n m e e tin g s
and spend m illio n s o f d o lla rs if th e re is no c o m ­
p re he nsio n o f th e e ffe c t those m illio n s h a v e on the
lives o f th e p e o p le in th e ir p a th . W ith th e hug e
re s p o n s ib ilitie s a n d th e lo n g ra n g e in v o lv e m e n t
PDC has in th e a re a , th e C om m issioners — Elaine
C ogan, Dr. John G riffith , Mrs. O g d e n B e em an, Dr.
W illia m Je n kin s a n d Bob W alsh — sh o u ld be
fa m ila r fig u re s in A lb in a .
W e w o u ld lik e to see th e C om m issio ne rs v is it the
hom es a nd th e n e ig h b o rh o o d s o f the p e o p le w h o
" b e n e fit” fro m th e ir w o rk . W e suggest th a t th ey
visit the hom es th a t h a ve b ee n " r e h a b ilita te d ”
—
those w h o have re c e iv e d shoddy a n d in c o m p le te
w o rk a n d those w h o se hom es h a v e b e e n b e a u ti­
fu lly re p a ire d .
W e suggest th e y visit those w h o
have
been
d e n ie d
g rants w ith o u t
a d e q u a te
e x p la n a tio n a n d those w h o h a v e bee n in s u lte d
w h e n th e y h a ve asked w h y . W e suggest th e y vis it
the hom es o f citizen s w h o h a ve bee n to ld th e y
sh ou ld ta ke w h a t th e y g e t a nd be sa tisfie d because
it's a " h a n d o u t" .
W e suggest th e y v is it those
w h o h a ve lost th e ir hom es to U rban R e n ew a l o n ly
to see n e w hom es fo r th e m id d le class rise in w h a t
w as once th e ir p ro p e rty .
The C om m issio ne rs a re re sp o n sib le fo r the p oo r
w o rk , fo r th e threats, th e harassm ent, the b ro ke n
prom ises. They a re re sp o n sib le fo r th e u n c a rin g
s ta ff m em be rs. They a re re sp o n sib le fo r a C h ie f o f
H ousing R e h a b ilita tio n w h o can w rite as la te as
1971, " o u r le g a l sta ff fe e ls th a t th e use o f the w o rd
'm in o r ity ' can be so lo o se ly in te rp re te d th a t it w ill
be o f little use to th e contractors. Please g iv e us
the d e fin itio n you use fo r th is w o r d ." The C o m ­
m issioners a re re sp o n sib le fo r th e re p u ta tio n o f
th e ir a ge n cy, w h ic h has the re s p o n s ib lify a n d the
o p p o rtu n ity to be o f g re a t service to th e p e o p le o f
A lb in a a n d o f P o rtlan d, b ut w h ic h is o fte n used to
oppress the p o o r a n d th e d efenseless.
The C om m issio ne rs a re re sp o n sib le -- a nd u l­
tim a te ly th e y w ill p a y th e p rice.
Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company,
2201 North Killingsworth, Portland, Oregon 97217. Mailing
address: P.O. Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208. Telephone:
283 2486.
School Board
could aid poor
The school d is tric t is a c q u irin g la n d n e a r the
M e m o ria l C o lis e u m fo r use as a w a re h o u s e a n d
truck storage site. The school d istrict has used c o n ­
d e m n a tio n , th re a t o f c o n d e m n a tio n a n d g e n e ra l
h arassm en t to a c q u ire th e p ro p e rty , w h ic h is
la rg e ly o c c u p ie d b y fa m ily hom es.
This is p rim e d e v e lo p m e n t p ro p e rty , lo c a te d n ea r
th e C o lise u m , th e fre e w a y s , th e riv e r a n d d o w n ­
to w n . It has n o w b e e n suggested, a n d is b e lie v e d
by m a n y persons to h a v e b e e n the p la n a ll a lo n g ,
th a t th e p ro p e rty be sold to p riv a te d e v e lo p e rs fo r
a m o te l a n d c o n v e n tio n site.
The school d istrict
has a lre a d y a g re e d th a t som e o f th e la n d sh ou ld
be sold.
This a re a w as p o p u la te d m a in ly by p e o p le w h o
h ad liv e d th e re fo r m a n y years. M a n y o f th e w h ite
re s id e n ts had liv e d in th e ir hom es m ost o f th e ir
lives. The Blacks b o u g h t hom es th e re a t a tim e
w h e n th ey w e re re s tric te d to p u rc h a s in g w ith in the
th e n n a rro w c o n fin e s o f A lb in a . Som e h ad been
d is p la c e d by th e C o lis e u m .
N o w a ll a re b e in g
fo rc e d out.
W ith th e school d is tric t as the o n ly a u th o riz e d
b u y e r a nd reside n ts h a v in g to le a v e w ith in
s p e c ifie d tim e lim its to o b ta in re lo c a tio n assistance
fro m PDC, p ro p e rty th a t is p o te n tia lly som e o f the
m ost v a lu a b le in P ortland w as p urcha sed fo r as
little as 60 cents a square fo o t.
N o w the school d is tric t a d m its it has an e th ic a l
p ro b le m . A fte r fo rc in g p e o p le fro m th e ir hom es at
g re a t p e rs o n a l a n d fin a n c ia l loss, can it in goo d
fa ith sell this p ro p e rty fo r p riv a te use?
Is the
school d is tric t in th e business o f p ro p e rty sp ecu ­
la tio n ?
There is an a n s w e r to this serious p ro b le m . Let
th e d e fin itio n you use fo r th is w o r d ." The C om -
a d e v e lo p m e n t c o rp o ra tio n , p ro v id in g te c h n ic a l
assistance a n d o b ta in in g fu n d in g . Then re tu rn the
p ro p e rty to th e c o rp o ra tio n a n d let it d e v e lo p the
a re a . The p ro p e rty c o u ld be used fo r m otels, a
c o n v e n tio n site, parks, h o u s in g or w h a te v e r is
d e te rm in e d to be th e best a n d m ost lu c ra tiv e use
The o w n e rs h ip a n d p ro fits w o u ld re m a in w ith the
p e o p le w h o o r ig in a lly o w n e d the p ro p e rty.
Such a p ro je c t, o w n e d s u b s ta n tia lly by Blacks
a n d lo w -in c o m e persons, c o u ld be a n a tio n a l
e x a m p le o f h o w fe d e ra l a n d loca l a g e n c ie s can
assist th e re d e v e lo p m e n t o f an a re a in a w a y that
w o u ld b e n e fit th e h o m e o w n e rs . It w o u ld p ro v id e
tra in in g a nd e m p lo y m e n t, as w e ll as a s u b sta n tia l
flo w o f m o n e y in to th e B lack c o m m u n ity .
The
p o s s ib ilitie s a re p ra c tic a lly endless.
The school d is tric t has re a p e d th e b e n e fits o f
p ro g ra m s fo r th e " d is a d v a n ta g e d " . N o w le t it use
its resources a n d e x p e rtis e to fin d a w a y o f
re d e e m in g som e b e n e fits fro m th e chaos it has
crea ted .
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The Portland Observer’s official position is expressed only
in it’s Publisher's Column (W e See The World Through
Black Eyes). Any other material throughout the paper is the
opinion of the individual w riter or submitter and does not
necessarily reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer.
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Oregon
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Association - Founded 1885
THE PORTLAND OBSERVER
P.O. Box 3137
P ortland, O reg on 97208
Please a rra n g e to have the OBSERVER m a ile d to m y
hom e.
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Nome
-
Backfire possible
V ice President A g n e w is re p o rte d to be on the
v e rg e o f re s ig n in g d u e to his re p o rte d in v o lv e m e n t
in " p a y o ffs " in his h o m e state o f M a ry la n d . If the
g ro w in g e v id e n c e o f A g n e w 's g u ilt is to be a c ­
c e p te d , it is best th a t M r. A g n e w resig n .
The
A m e ric a n p e o p le sh o u ld h a v e the assurance th a t
th e ir h ig he st e le c te d o ffic ia ls a re n ot in v o lv e d in
c rim in a l a c itiv ity .
For those w h o a re c o n c e rn e d
w ith h u m a n rights, th e n ew s seem s to o g o o d to be
true.
The c o u n te r-ru m o r is th a t P resident N ix o n is
p u s h in g A g n e w o u t o f the a d m in is tra tio n . If this is
tru e it is su re ly d o n e e n tire ly fo r se lfis h m otive s.
H o w e v e r, th is m o v e c o u ld b a c k fire on th e Presi­
d en t.
An A g n e w re s ig n a tio n c o u ld tu rn p u b lic
o p in io n to w a rd im p e a c h m e n t o f th e P resident, fo r
o n e o f the c o m m o n ly h e a rd a rg u m e n ts a g a in s t
re m o v in g P resident N ix o n fro m o ffic e
is the
p resence o f th e V ice President, "'W h a t if A g n e w
w e re P re s id e n t? "
The prospect o f A g n e w as p re s id e n t s h o u ld not
d e te r th e A m e ric a n p e o p le fro m d e m a n d in g the
tria l a n d re m o v a l o f P resident N ix o n fro m o ffic e if
th e y fe e l the e v id e n c e a g a in s t h im ju s tifie s this.
But fe a r o f a President A g n e w is u n d e rs ta n d a b le
a nd m a y b e th e re m o v a l o f this ro a d b lo c k w ill h e lp
speed up the w h e e ls o f justice.
A d d res s
C ity ,
A p t. ( i f a n y ) .
State & Zip
Telephone,
SUPPORT
YOUR ADVERTISERS
I recently met with M r.
Jake Gather, Director of
Civil Bights, Federal High
way Commission, from Wash
ington, D .C . and several
State Highway officials, in­
cluding Ellis Casson, Civil
Bights Officer of the Federal
Highway Administration, Be
gion 10, which includes Ore
gon. Washington, Idaho and
Alaska.
The m eeting was con­
cerning the problems that
Albina Contractors Associa
tion has encountered recently
with the State Highway D iv i­
sion in an attempt to secure
contracting work, training
assistance and Construction
Technology scholarships for
minority youth and contrac
tors throughout the state.
The ACA is also trying to
assure that the Highway
Department complies with
the Affirm ative Action laws
for minorities.
Contractors on federally
funded highway projects in
Oregon are not in compliance
with affirm ative action re
quirements. For example, no
more than a half dozen
Blacks are employed on the
highw ay construction be
tween Portland and Salem.
It became apparent prior
to this meeting that Mr.
Casson either has no know
ledge of th e A ffirm a tiv e
Action laws or lacks the
initiative and competency to
enforce them.
It is really shameful and
disgusting that such organi
zations as the United M i­
nority Workers and Albina
Contractors Association, dedi­
cated to the causes of our
people, are forced to seek
assistance from Washington.
D.C. in order to get a re ­
sponse to a problem which
should have been solved by a
regional representative, like
M r. Casson.
I have at
community
tempted to meet with Mr.
Casson over a period of
several months, with no re
sponse from him.
However. I guess we tend
to forget that many of our
“so-called” leaders are placed
in vario us positions as
“tokens” and not only do
they fail to respond to the
needs of our people, but also
turn their heads and atten
tion away from our cries.
I wonder just what it will
take to make them listen and
become responsible and e f­
fective Black leaders? Or, if
that is not possible, what
recourses should be taken to
remove them from such stra
tegic positions so that they
may be replaced by con
scientious. dedicated minority
individuals?
Aside from his federal
position, Casson is President
of the local N A A C P. In the
past the Portland Branch has
been in the forefront of the
fight for equal employment
opportunity, but the mem
bership should look at the
record of its current ad
ministration and see what its
president has done for the
community.
And you can talk to Black
students who attended Roose­
velt, Lincoln and Jefferson
during Casson's employment
with the school district, or
for that m atter, with many
of the Black teachers, and
learn that Casson did nothing
to assist them.
The time for action is now.
and we can no longer afford
to carry the burden of both
our poor and our disadvan
taged. as well as our "Uncle
Tom” leaders
our backs
just aren't strong enough!
I would be the first to
praise the efforts of the gov
ernment in hiring qualified
Blacks and minorities in top
positions, but it seems in
suiting and degrading to
think that an individual in
one of the Highway D ep a rt­
ment's highest positions on
civil rights has no better
qualifications thun a degree
in religious education and a
track record of incompetenry.
I'm sure we could do better
than that for the benefit of
the Civil Bights Division of
the Highway Department and
the state's minority popula
tion.
Sincerely,
Eugene Jackson.
Business Manager. Albina
Contractors Association
YMCA
(Continued from p. 1 col. 71
be scheduled for individual
members but rather on a
group basis. The staff and
volunteers will go out into
the community to locate and
organize groups of youth and
adults who may then par
ticipate in a variety of acti­
vities either within or out
side of the YM CA building.
T he new M e tro p o lita n
YMCA Urban Center will
also serve as headquarters
for a "day center" "referral
unit contracting with the
courts and the Children's
Services Division to provide
supervised and structured
programs for young jteople
referred to the day center as
an altern ate to lieing placed
in detention facilities. The
day center purpose will be to
help muddy or eliminate con
ditions and factors which
contribute to alienation, hos­
tility and delinquency among
youth
RMSC
(Continued from pg. 1. col. 41
city in the Bureau of Human
Resources.
This plan was
eventually put aside by the
City Council and PMSC con
tinues ns a private agency.
Gilcrease was one of the
strongest opponents of this
plan.
Although he agreed
with the creation of the
Bureau in concept, he had
objections to some of the
methods. Placing the DEO
program s under the c ity
would elniinate citizen con
trol, he maintained.
Cur
rently PMSC is operated by
a citizen board, and every
program has a lioard made
up of recipients of the pro­
gram ns well as other con
cerned citizens. Ho also was
concerned that employees of
PMSC and the programs
would not be given civil ser
vice status with the city, but
that many would be elimi
nated as other city employees
needed their jobs.
Many
employees who have experi
ence and training and per
form their jobs well would
not fit into civil service cate­
gories.
PMSC has a good relation
ship with the Bureau and
Gilcrease works closely with
Commissioner Schwab and
Bureau director Ira Blalock.
One of Gilcrease's major
concerns is with the fate of
Black directors.
W ith 19
Community Action Projects
in the Northwest, he is the
only Black director.
The
others have been eliminated
or their programs term!
nated. Closer to home, some
of the programs that had
Black directors in Portland
now have white directors.
Charles Jordan has left Model
Cities; Leon Harris resigned
from the M ulti Service Cen
ter.
Although the study has
not been released to the
public, it indicates that the
Nixon Administration is at
tempting to eliminate Black
directors across the country.
This has been a year of
crisis for PMSC. but Gil-
crease believes in turning
evil into good and adversity
into strength.
lie looks
forward to another difficult
but rewarding year
CTARMTphAl <A!HB?
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<STfRDAV SCX, SAiD
WOULD «A4 A u
KIND«, cF SuNSMlNf
ft
%
i IQ o O VARIETY
Are You in The Clouds
W h e re To Find
r e a l S tyle in e y e g la s s
fa s h io n o n d color Tints?
Answer:
Children with working par
ents especially need daytime
care.
CGN donations to
daycare centers in Multno
inah. Clackamas, Washington
and Clark Counties help pro
vide this love and attention.
Census undercount loses dollars
Binyon Optical
6 3 0 S. W . B ro a d w a y
2 2 6 -6 6 8 8
14 3 8 Jan tzen Beach C enter
2 8 3 -3 1 9 5
Dr. L. Wesley Aplaasp. Optometrist
Associate optometrist«:
Briggs. Hatten, M iller and Stenger
by Vernon E. Jordan, Jr.
You might be one of the
5.3 million people the U.S.
Census Bureau admits it did
not count in the 1970 census.
If so, that means that your
neighborhood loses federal
aid apportioned on a per
capita basis, including reve­
nue sharing m oney, and
shares less than it ought to
in other federal and state
programs.
Over five million people
not counted may not seem
much on a national basis in a
total population of over 200
million, but it's impact on
localities, especially on hard-
pressed cities and towns
w ith sub stan tial m in o rity
populations, is important.
The bulk of the “missing
persons” are minorities; al­
most eight percent are Black,
as against less than a two
p e r c e n t u n d e r c o u n t fo r
w hites.
Spanish-speaking
people were probably under
counted more than any other
group, since the census forms
were in English only.
How much have key cities
lost because of the under
count?
I t ’s hard to say
exactly, but a good estimate,
based on the Census Bureau's
own figures of the under
count, indicates that New
York State lost about $15.1
million in revenue sharing
funds alone, while California
lost almost as much.
M a jo r cities lost larg e
amounts that could be used
to help relieve the crushing
problems they face.
New
York City lost about $6.7
million; Chicago, $2.5 million;
Washington, D.C. $1.5 mil­
lion, and other cities similar
amounts depending on their
size and their minority popu­
lations.
What ought to be done to
rectify a mistake the Census
Bureau adm its occurred?
A fter all, the census is no
academic head counting exer
cise; it is the basis not only
tor allocation of federal and
state funds, but also for
political representation and
the drawing of political dis
tricts at all levels of govern
ment.
The Census Bureau itself
w ants a n o th e r census in
1975, instead of waiting until
1980 as mandated by the
Constitution. There is a lot
to be said for cutting the
census interval from ten to
five years in our highly
mobile nation. There is an
agricultural census every five
years counting every farm
animal and tractor in rural
America.
I f we can count
chickens every five years,
why not people?
But Congress refused a
mid-decade census so we
must deal with these figures
for the next ten years.
I
have already suggested an
across-the board increase in
official population figures to
account for the estimated
undercount, but such sugges­
tions have met with a de­
featist response that simply
says that the national figures
can’t be adjusted on a local
basis.
Now the National Urban
League’s Research Depart
ment has come up with a
formula it says can be ap­
plied to correct the under
count. The researchers went
to the Census Bureau's own
e s tim ate d national under
counts of different sub groups
of the population and devised
a system of adjusting local
figures.
They make clear that this
is an interim device to be
used in the current em er­
gency.
Eventually, popula
tion rese arc h e rs and the
Bureau may come up with a
fool proof method of compen
sating for national under­
counts; but until then, it
makes sense to put the
League's method to im ­
mediate use in all population-
based formulas on federal
and state aid.
A fter all, this wouldn't be
the first time the govern
ment used nationwide figures
to deal with localities. The
famous poverty index, for
example, applies a national
definiation of poverty regard­
less of the significant cost of
living variations in different
regions.
The national pov­
erty index is used as a
national standard for allo­
cating funds to localities; so
too, the suggested revisions
in population figures would
be used as a standard for
disbursement of funds until
the next census.
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