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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 1973)
«ro Francea Schorn-',ewi, pap, p Boon b n lv c ra lty of O re ’on L ibrary iug»nc, 0~e"3n ?7*1 )3 Community calls for Boise principal removal busing program. Boise has again become a center of controversy. The people of Albina re acted violently to a news paper article quoting David McCrea, the principal of Boise Elementary School. The article quoted McCrea as stating that behavior that would be unacceptable in other public schools is toler ated at Boise. Boise staff are accustomed to putting up "Tis Education forms the common mind Just as the twig is bent The tree's inclined." This is the inicription over the doorway at Boise Ele mentary School 90 per rent Black and, according to school d is tric t definition, 90 percent educationally dis advantaged. With a pupil population cut from over 700 to approximately 370 by the with occasional outrageous behavior, frequent racy Ian guage, and activities which other schools call insubordi nation. Imagine the reaction of a timid, fortyish woman with 15 years experience who has taught children who always say “please", when a fifth grader tosses his worksheet on the floor and tells her. in a language ripe with sexual and gutter expletives, that PORTLAND Volume 3, No. 49 AN fO U A l Portland, Oregon he won't do it, the article continues. Most teachers will tolerate obscene Ian guage, as long as it is not directed at them. "1 learner! quickly that you can't freak out at the language,” said Nellie laison, an upper grade teacher, "It's everyday talk for most of these kids." Boise is over 90 percent Black. “The idea of busing white kids in here is un thinkable," said McCrea. OPPORTUNITY IM P IO Y IR ÎPDC fails to fulfill contract] ACA, A survey of recipients of housing rehabilitation grants through the Portland De velopment Commission shows that policies of PDC and of the Department of Housing and Urban Development are not being followed by the local PDC staff. The rights and guarantees written into the laws and policies are being denied the recipients. The Portland Development Commission, an Urban He newal Agency, has res,ion sibility for urban renewal and rehabilitation programs in the City of Portland. The Neighborhood Development Program, a federally funded program authorized by Sec tion 312 of the 1968 Housing and Urban Development Art, began its preplanning in Nov ember of 1969 and was of firially implemented on July 1. 1970. The Neighborhood D e velopment Program, contrary to the conventional Urban Itenewal programs, is pro vided to conserve, rehabili late in«1 redevelop exiating neighborhoods on the basis of annual funding grants. It provides for ongoing planning and citizen involvement. Many homeowners do not know they have a right to choose th e ir contractor. PDC's procedure requires lhat the homeowner desig natr in writing the manner in which the contractor is to be chosen. The work is then to be bid or negotiated ac cording to the wish of the owners. The bids are an alyzed and the contract con firmed by the owner. Many homeowners say they were not included in the choice of a contractor but were told by their Kehabilita tion Specialist who their con tractor would be. Others say they were allowed three bids but would have preferred a contractor who was not among those allowed to bid. Homeowners complain that PDC takes no responsibility once the rehabilitation work has begun and that even before its completion they are not able to get PDC to intercede on their behalf. PDC director John Kenward maintains that the contract is between the homeowner and the contractor and therefore PDC has no right to inter cede. Article 38 of PDC's con tract states, “The Commit sion shall be the Owner's representative during the construction period. The Commission will make perio dic visits to the site to familiarize himself generally with the progress and quality of the work and to determine in general if the work is pro reeding in accordance with the Contract Documents . . . During such visits and on the basis of his observations while at the site, he will keep the Owner informed of the progress of the work, will endeavor to guard the Owner against defects and deficiencies in the work of Contractors, and he may con demn work as failing to con form to the Contract Docu ments. . . He shall have authority to stop the work whenever such stoppage may be necessary in his reason able opinion to insure the proper execution of the Con tract." Article 38 also states “The Commission shall be, in the first instance, the interpreter of the conditions of the con tract and the judge of its performance. He shall side neither with the Owner nor the Contractor, but shall use his powers under the con tract to enforce its faithful performance by both." Homeowners are not ad vised of this responsibility of PDC to inspect the construe tion work and to insure its quality. When complaints are made, the most common answer is that these prob lems are to be settled be tween the homeowner and the contractor. PDC's procedure for hand ling complaints is to ask the complainant to write a letter to the contractor with a ropy to PDC, outlining the com plaints. A PDC staff mem ber was then to investigate the complaint and, if neces sary, to write to the con tractor asking him to make necessary corrections. In many cases this procedure was followed, but PDC did not follow the case to see if the corrections were made or, if they were made, if they were adequate. There are a number of other remedies provided the homeowner. For example, if a contractor does poor work and is told by PDC to re place it but does not in a reasonable time, the owner (Please turn to pg. 4. col. 6) Campaign asks prisoner release *. » Many organizations and in dividuals in the United States and around the world are participating in the Inter national Days of Concern for South Vietnamese* Political Prisoners. The Days of Con cern are being held in order to highlight the plight of an estimated 200,000 people who are imprisoned in South Viet namese jails because of their opposition to the Thieu re gime, These people include religious leaders, farmers, students, labor leaders and workers. The goals of the sponsors Something at the and participants in the cam paign on behalf of these* prisoners are outlined in a statement called "A Call to Conscience". The Call urges the “United States govern ment to end its aid to Sai gon's police and prison sys tern . . . and (to end) all aid to the Thieu administration by all countries." It further calls on President Thieu "to open the gates of all his prisons for international in spection.” The Call of Conscience has been signed by people from all walks of life and profes K ean count on Franklin ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR Fits in pocket or purse -for home, office, school or shopping. Adds, subtracts, multi plies, divides. Floating decimal, constant key, clear entry. Complete with batteries and case. AC adaptor $4 extra. Offer limited while supply lasts BIG DISC O U NTS FOR SAVERS $29.95 with $5,000 deposit $34.95 with $2,500 deposit $44.95 with $1,000 deposit $49.95 with $250 deposit Beiij.^ Franklin Robert M Hazen, Pres . 22 Offices • Phone 248-1234 Home Office: Franhlln Bldg , Portland. Oragon 97204 sions ~ including Senator James Abourezk, Eugene Carson Blake. Ramsey Clark. Rep. Robert Drinan, Rep. Donald Frazer. Coretta Scott King, Rabbi Balfour Brick ner, Victor Reuther and Bis hop Paul Moore. Religious support for the Call of Con science and the Days of Con cern has been especially strong, with churches all over the country dedicating services to the aid of the prisoners. In Washington. Senator Abourezk has proposed an amendment to the Foreign Assistance Rill (S 2335) which calls for an end to "economic and military assistance to the government of any foreign country which practices tk * internment of imprisonment of that country's citizens for political purposes" and an end to U.S. assistance to the police and prison programs in foreign countries. Rep resentative Augustus Haw kins, D. Cal., has sent out a letter to every member of the House of Representatives urging them to sign the Call of Conscience and support the International Days of Concern. R e p r e s e n ta tiv e Hawkins was one of the Con gressmen who. along with Don Luce, inspected the in famous Con Son tiger rages in 1970. The Days of Concern are part of a continuing cam paign for the prisoner's free dom. The campaign will continue until international pressure has resulted in the release of the political pri soners in South Vietnam. The South Vietnam gov ernment has requested 4 bil lion dollars financial assis tance from the United States. "They’d get eaten alive." Boise school has a strong perking order in which phy sical prowess and the ability to socialize according to the rules of urban Black cultuie are the main determinates of status. Most white students, even those strong enough to de fend themselves physically, aren't used to the social rituals of a Black school the dancing, the clothing, the as well as citizens here in Portland." "I too have known David McCrea and fought against his appointment to Boise when a member of the school district staff, but he was as signed and I kept my fingers crossed. But today, the real 'David McCrea’ came forth and now we (the NAACP) call for his removal as prin cipal of Boise school." Robert Rigley, school hoard member, said "I disavow his statements, and I don't think they represent school district policy." D r. Blanchard, Superintendent of Schools, also disavowed the state ments, call them "extremely regrettable". Mrs Gladys McCoy, the school board's only Black OBSERVER Thursdav, September 27, 1973 UMW The Albina Contractors As sociation and the United Minority Workers have filed complaints with the Region X office of the U.S. Depart ment of Housing and Urban Development against West ern Balboa and Tom Walsh Construction Company and Hoffman Construction Com pany for alleged lark of com pliance with federal regula lions governing minority in volvement. Nate Proby, director of UMW , went to one of the Western Balboa construction sites Wednesday and stopped work for approximately one hour. Western Balboa is constructing a series of fed erally funded housing units for the Housing Authority. Schmidt of Western Balboa has discussed his obligation to sub contract with minority contractors and to hire mi norities, but so far his acti vity has been confined to writing letters to his sub contractors informing them of their duty to hire mi norities. Proby said he has been to the site five times and has never found a mi Slwdy jive. Whites may be ac cepted, but they do not be come leaders, he said. Ellis Casson, President of the F’ortland Branch of the NAACP, called for the re movai of David McCrea. He told the School Board at its meeting Monday night that "His (McCrea's) statement was vindictive, prejudicial and racist. I've heard similar comments from George Wal lace, members of the KKK, 10c per copy file complaint nority person on the job. Proby and Eugene Jackson, business manager of the Al bina Contractors Association, said that although the local HUD office is still attempting to get voluntary compliance from Western Balboa, they went to the Regional Office in Seattle for assistance. George J. Roybal, Equal Opportunity Officer for Re gion X, said a complaint will result in an immediate in vestigation of the contractors affirmative action compliance. If he is found not to comply, H UD can either give a speci fied time in which to comply or they ran stop payment of federal funds until require ments are met. Roybal ex plained that the Region X office is new and that there has not been much compli anre activity in the North west. He said the contrac tors must realize that the law will be enforced. When a complaint is received by the Regional Office, the per lod of negotiation is over and the office acts to enforce the law. The role of 'he H U D area office in Pot Hand, which is directed by Russell Dawson, is to inform contractors of th e ir obligations, provide technical assistance, negoti ate and counsel, and attempt to get voluntary compliance. Should these efforts fail, the Area Office is obligated to refer the contractor to the Regional Office for enforce ment. Jackson and Proby raised the issue of the time factor: how long is a contractor al lowed to resist before he is considered to be not in com pliance? Jackson pointed out that if the job is substan tially completed before the contractor agrees to hire m inorities, the minorities have already lost. When the contract involving federal money is awarded it includes an affirmative action agree ment, stating the numbers of minorities that will be used and how they will be used. Jackson argues that this agreement should be ful- Filled from the beginning of the project and that the government should enforce compliance. Complaints have also been (Please turn to pg. 4. col. 2) Malcolm Oates and Alan Cotton study mechanical drawing at Boise Elementary School. Back row, from left to right: Chris Channell, Joseph Parker. Kevin Grigsby, and Johnny Phillips. • _ IS were A random sampling of Jeff erson High School parents will receive a survey this week asking them how they feel about Jeff. This fall Jefferson is one of the subjects of a compre hensive study of alternatives being conducted by the Area I Special Projects Office of the Portland Public Schools. During the past year, the Superintendent and the Board of Education have recom mended that a variety of high school programs be of fered to appeal to the varied needs of students. Jefferson is one of the high schools that will benefit from this approach since it is ex peri encing enrollment losses and poor attendance. The study will consider school spirit, staffing, inter group relations, student be havior, parent involvement, student achievement, and community influences. Spe cial emphasis will be on the instructional needs of stu dents. The study will exa mine in depth the quality of the instructional program, the achievement of students, and possible new programs which would attract more students. The pertinence of the new state graduate re quirements will also be con sidered. All of the Jefferson staff and a random sampling of students will be surveyed this week to present their views about the school. In terviews and group meetings with interested citizens in the Jeff and nearby elemen tary school communities will provide fu rth e r im portant feedback. In addition, the study will look at achieve ment test results and make a cost analysis of the Jefferson High School programs. Information for the study will be collected by Novem ber. It is expected that decisions involving program changes will be made by February 1974. This would give eighth grade students the opportunity to make in formed decisions about their high school forecast. Persons interested in the Jefferson Study are invited to contact Jim Weed. Area I Special Projects Office, 7507 N. Fenwick. Portland 97217; Telephone 289 7933. Private agencies fill vacuum 4C hires home economist Mrs. Cornetts Smith is the new Home Economist for the Metropolitan Area 4-C Coun cil's Model Cities child care programs. Mrs. Smith will plan nutritious meals for the children in six centers; work with families in finding new ways to prepare low cast meals; and provide other ser vices as desired by the com munity. Mrs. Smith is a native of Texas. She earned her de gree in Home Economics at Prairie View University in 1969. She was a Home Dem onstration Agent for Guadalupe County. Texas for a year following her grad uation. Mrs. Smith came to Port land in 1970 and taught Home Economics at Boise Elementary School for two years. She and her husband. Dayton, have four small chil dren. Private social agencies are being forced more and more to Fill a vacuum in service to the poor caused by cancella tions of many federal pro grams to aid inner cities. That's the Message of Walter L. Smart, executive director of the National Fed eration of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers, who spoke at the Federation's biennial Western Regional Conference on September 20 at Marylhurst College. "While our officials and their hirelings have been busying laundering dollars and bugging themselves and their brothers, they have callously neglected the needs of the country and its peo ple," said Mr. Smart. “What has happened in Washington to programs to aid the cities, to improve standards of health, housing, economic development for the urban and rural poor? The answer is: nothing has hap pened nor seems likely to," he added. Mr. Smart pointed out that private agencies like settle ment houses provide more (Please turn to pg. 6, col. 6) Special achievement students study reading. From left, Maria Marks, Cordelia Sly (in back), and Sandra Mitchell. member, told the Observer after the board meeting that she did not have enough in formation to make a state ment and that she thought any statement should come from the chairman. McCrea told the Observer Tuesday that the newspaper article had been accurate and that he had not been mis quoted. He said that the article did not include many of the good things that Boise is doing and that it appeared to be somewhat biased. He extremely cooperative and concerned, but feels that many are working and are single parents and might not have time for their children. As far as behavior, he said the impression of the chil dren's behavior in the news paper article was exagerated. He does have some limits on behavior. Four types of be havior are not allowed: phy sical violence, vandalism, swearing at adults, and dir ect refusal to do as told. Mrs. James Loving, who is an aid at Boise, said she dis agrees with McCrea since she believes any child who has good character and family can achieve in any school. She thinks white children can excel at Boise. Mrs. Loving has been at Boise for four years and can see many improvements. She feels children get more individual attention and that much of the former tension has dis- (Please turn to pg. 6. col. 3) The Portland Urban Lea gue and the N A A C P , P o rt land Branch, w ill sponsor a m e etin g a t B e th e l A M E Church on Thursday, Sep tember 27th at 7:00 p.m. to discuss conditions at Boise Elem entary School. The church is located at 5828 N .E . 8th Avenue. 18th and Jarrett |. .All concerned citi zens are welcome. felt th at use of the term "eaten alive" wass ill advised and regrets that use. McCrea s till maintained that white students could not excel at Boise because of the group pressure against learn ing created by the Black students. He said the stu dents who do well academi cally are not accepted by the remainder of the students and that this pressure is more intense on the white student. McCrea had no explanation for the atmos phere of the school or the lack of motivation to learn. He said he had not really thought about it before, but it must be a lacking in the family and environment. He had met with a seventh and eighth grade class including one white and found that the Black students would like to have more whites in their midst. He was surprised and felt he might have previously misinterpreted the mood. McCrea finds those parents that he has talked to to be Carousel ride begi “Pete" Peterson is KLIQ's representative in the carousel marathon to begin Friday. Representatives of several radio stations will compete to establish a world record for the carousel ride. Proceeds go to the United Good Neigh bors campaign. (Please turn to p. q col. S)
