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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 1973)
L Page 2 Portland/Obaerver Thursday. October 11, 1973 , WE SEE THE WORLD LETTERS TO THE EDITOR THROUGH BLACK EYES Open letter to the Mayor Dear Mr. Goldsrhmidt, ALFRED L. HENDERSON 1 E d itor/P ub lish er EDITORIAL FOCUS It’s Blanchard’s problem G r e e n SO yS HO P rincipal D avid M cC rea's rem arks a b o u t Boise school, in c lu d in g his statem ent th a t the students create an atm o sph e re n e g a tive to le a rn in g , m et w ith an im m e d ia te a nd n e a rly u n a n im o u s d e m a n d from the Black co m m u n ity fo r his re m o v a l. ’ Then som e in d iv id u a ls began ta k in g a second th o u g h t — p erha ps M cCrea d id n 't re a lly m ean w h a t he sa id ; m a yb e he is d o in g a p re tty goo d •jo b, co n s id e rin g ; m a yb e som eone else w o u ld be w orse; p erha ps he should be fo rg iv e n fo r his racist w ords; m a yb e he is just a scapegoat. Mrs. Edith G reen b ecam e the first m em ber o f Congress to speak in o p p o s itio n to the H om e Rule Bill th a t w o u ld b rin g D em ocracy to the District o f C o lu m b ia . Mrs. G reen says she is opposed to hom e ru le because she w an ts a ll o f the p e o p le in th e n a tio n to c o n tro l the ca p ita l b uildings. This is a ra th e r strong a rg u m e n t fo r a R epre se nta tive from O reg on , w h e re so m uch lan d is o w n e d by the fe d e ra l g ove rn m e n t. A lth o u g h loca te d in the State o f O regon, these lands are in the co ntrol o f " a ll the p e o p le ". The same holds true o f our state c a p ita l b u ild in g s — a lth o u g h loca te d in th e city o f Salem, they b e lo n g to a ll the p e o p le o f O regon. The rea l issue is not fe d e ra l control o f the c a p ita l b u ild in g s a nd historic sites — the real issue is w h e th e r the Black p o p u la tio n o f W ash ing to n , D.C. w ill co ntrol th e ir o w n destiny. U n fo rtu n a te ly , th ere are s till p e o p le in the U n ite d S ta te s — lik e E d ith G re e n — w ho ca nn ot to le ra te the idea o f the c a p ita l c ity o f the U nited States in the co ntrol o f Black p eo ple. D em ocratic as w e profess to be, c iv il rig hts law s have n eve r been passed by a vote o f the p e o p le . Schools h ave not been dese greg ated by th e e le c to ra te — it to ok a Suprem e C ourt d e cis io n and the U.S. A rm y. Equal e m p lo y m e n t o p p o rtu n ity does not co m e fro m a dem ocratic e le c tio n -- it comes th ro u g h the th re a t o f w ith d ra w a l o f fe d e ra l funds. Justice has n eve r been p o p u la r in this ; country. Some Boise parents fe e l that a lth o u g h th ey are u n h a p p y w ith M cCrea, they w ill h a n d le the m atter th em selve s, w ith o u t the assistance o f e ith e r the school d istrict or the Black co m m u n ity. But a c h 'ld is not o n ly va lu e d by his parents — he is va lu e d by a ll o f society. W ho w ill b e n e fit th ro ug h a The b oa rd o f the Associated G e ne ra l C ontractors c h ild 's e d u ca tio n ? N ot o nly his parents a nd his a nd U.S. Secretary o f Labor Peter Brennan m et p a re n t's PTA, b ut the e n tire co m m u n ity. W ho w ill Friday in a closed m e e tin g to discuss m in o rity be p ro u d o f a Black c h ild 's a ch ie ve m e n t? N ot o nly h irin g — a m o n g o the r things. his parents, b ut e ve ry Black parent. A n d w h o w ill Secretary B re nn an 's o p in io n s and actions to w a rd su ffe r fro m a Black c h ild 's fa ilu re ? m in o ritie s are w e ll kn o w n . He fo u g h t lon g and Some a d m in istra to rs said he must go. O thers hard to keep m in o ritie s o ut o f the construction said he has o n ly re ite ra te d the unstated p h ilo so p h y tra d e in N e w York. o f the school b oa rd a nd u d m in is tra tio n . Still others W h a t is the excuse fo r th e Associated G e ne ra l w e re a fra id o f w h a t m ig h t hap pe n w e re the c o m C ontractors? W hat is th e ir record on m in o rity m u n ity a b le to have a p rin c ip a l rem ove d. tra in in g a nd h irin g ? Every ye a r AGC receives So the d ecision b ecam e a p o p u la rity contest — m o n e y fro m the Federal H ig h w a y D ep artm en t fo r w ith letters fro m both sides b e in g counted. th e tra in in g o f m in o ritie s . M ost o f this m o n e y goes N o w the a d m in is tra tio n has d e c id e d thdh M cCrea unused. W e h ave seen no g re a t e ffo rt on th e part ■ w ill re m a in a t Boise a nd the a d m in is tra tio n must o f AGC to assist m in o rity contractors. In fa ct they ta ke th e re sp o n sib ility. S u p e rin te n d e n t B lanchard have been a h in d e ra n c e , not a h e lp , in n e g o tia c a lle d M cC rea's statem ents, as q u o te d in the tions b e tw e e n the A lb in a C ontractors Association n ew spa pe r, "s te re o ty p e d ” , but d id not consider a nd w h ite contractors. They have not assisted th em g rounds fo r re m o va l. th e ir m em bers to m ee t fe d e ra l a ffirm a tiv e action A re w e to co n clu d e that M cC rea's statem ents req uire m e n ts. w e re fa c tu a l — th a t the a tm o sph e re at Boise is W e do not consider the Associated G eneral not co n d u cive to le a rn in g ? Dr. B lanchard said C ontractors — an association o f w h ite co ntrac " a n y school a tte n d e d by a vast m a jo rity o f lo w - tors — to be a u th o ritie s in the tra in in g and in co m e ch ild re n is unsound e d u c a tio n a lly . Further, h irin g o f m in o ritie s fo r the co nstruction trade, a it is m y social, as w e ll as e d u c a tio n a l, co n victio n tra d e th a t has lon g been ope n o n ly to w hites. We th a t this is e sp e c ia lly d a m a g in g in the case o f a do no! b e lie v e Secretary Brennan has e ith e r the lo w -in c o m e school th a t is also B la c k ." interest or the e xpe rtise to do a n y th in g w he re This g ive s the school district tw o a lte rn a tiv e s : m in o ritie s are concerned. close Boise or tran sfe r in an e q u a l n u m b e r o f T he refo re w e consider this closed m e e tin g to be w h ite u p p e r a nd m id d le class c h ild re n . Black a w aste o f the ta xpa yers m oney. If th ere w as any c h ild re n a nd th e ir fa m ilie s have b o rn e the burden interest at a ll by e ith e r o f these tw o p artie s they o f th e tra n sfe r p ro g ra m . N o w le t the w h ite w o u ld have in c lu d e d the A lb in a C ontractors As fa m ilie s share the re s p o n s ib ility to p ro v id e an so cia tio n , the U nite d M in o rity W orkers a nd any e q u a l e d u c a tio n a l o p p o rtu n ity fo r a ll o f P ortland's o th e r o rg a n iz a tio n interested a nd e x p e rie n c e d in c h ild re n . the e n try o f m in o ritie s in to the construction fie ld . If th e re w e re a n y rea l concern, they w o u ld have sought th e a d v ic e a n d assistance o f the m in o rity co m m u n itie s. AGC no authority Agnew resigns The n a tio n 's " la w a nd o rd e r" vice-pre sid en t, S piro A g n e w , has resign e d because he pla ced h im s e lf a b o v e th e la w . He has a d m itte d to incom e tax e va sio n a n d is ch arge d w ith a d d itio n a l crim es W e p re d ic t the p re sid e n t w ill soon fo llo w — th a t p erson al use o f ca m p a ig n co n trib u tio n s w ill he d isco vere d. 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. Subscriptions: $5.25 per year in the Tri County area. $6.00 per year outside Portland. Second Class Postage Paid at Portland, Oregon The Portland Observer's official position is expressed only in it's Publisher's Column (We See The World Through Black Eyes). Any other material throughout the paper is the opinion of the individual writer or submitter and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer. MEMBER member a W Oregon ■ ■ B ï W ■ ma N ew spaper Publishers Association The Ad Hoc Police-Com munity Relations Committee heard Clarence Harper, Jr. this morning describe his treament by members of the Portland Police Bureau. I am assuming that you know by now the details of the incident which from our un derstanding would seem to be a clear instance of police mis conduct. I am writing this letter to encourage you to make this a case in point to illustrate for the police bureau and the community what is acceptable police behavior and what is unacceptable police behavior. Some of our concerns which our committee hopes you will deal with point by point are as follows: 1) We believe mace was used improperly Mr. Harper says that while he was in the police car at the scene of the incident and while he was handcuffed with his hands behind his back he was sub jected to macing. This seems to be conduct that is without excuse. 2) When Mr. Harper's mother posted bail he was not released. What explains this? 3) Twelve hours after he was picked up Mr. Harper was allowed to make a phone call. We want an explana tion for this delay. 4) It was not until 11:30 p.m., according to Mr. Har per. that he was informed of the charge against him. He was picked up at 7:30 p.m. This tim e interval badly needs explaining. 5) When he requested medical treatment after being beaten Mr. Harper says it was denied to him. 6) Throughout this exper ience Mr. Harper tells us he was subjected to abusive Ian guage reflecting on his racial origin and that provocative language was resorted to by the officers involved and the corrections personnel. Our committee would In- very curious to know what the content of the report of Lt. Brown was to your office. Mr. Harper indicated this officer investigated the inci A Sincerely yours. Reverend Austin Richardson To the Editor: it is not surprising that the little crooks don't get as much attention (tar and feathers) as they deserve. The vicious attacks of Emanuel Hospital, Lloyd Center, the School District, and the Portland Develop ment Commission form a pattern of injustice and per secution. Our children will not be Labor C om m issio ne r N orm an O. N ilsen has a n nou nce d th a t he w ill not be a ca n d id a te fo r re- e le c tio n in 1974 A n u m b e r o f persons have expressed interest in this p o s itio n , a m o n g th e m : State Senator Bill Stevenson, State R epresentative Bob E lliott, Assis tant Labor C om m issio ne r John G ustafson, State E m p lo ym e n t D ivisio n A d m in is tra to r Ross M org a n , Sate Senator Dick G ro e n e r a nd C ounty C om m is sioner M e l G ordon. The Labor C om m issio ne r is o ne o f the m ost im p o rta n t e le c te d o ffic ia ls to m in o rity p e o p le . The Labor Bureau is resp o n sib le fo r the e n fo rc e m e n t of the state's c iv il rig h ts law s a nd is in charge o f the A p p re n tic e s h ip Program . Both o f these fu n ctio n s are v ita l to the e c o n o m ic a nd p o litic a l d e v e lo p m en t o f m in o rity co m m un ities. In this im p o rta n t e le c tio n w e must w e ig h each c a n d id a te c a re fu lly — not o n ly on his stated p h ilo s o p h y a nd proposals, but on his record. This is one tim e th a t w e ca n n o t a ffo rd to e nte r a p o p u la rity or b e a u ty contest a n d ju m p on the b a n d w a g o n o f o u r fa v o rite p o litic ia n . Harper Several recent issues hit at the core of what's wrong with Portland. The articles about the Portland Develop ment Commission expose a conspiracy against low income people in Portland. The grants that are supposed to help those in need go to the ones with the greed. The PDC is like urban renewal in that respect. Special interest groups ac tually make money by in flicting additional misery on people. Programs which are Dear Dr. Blanchard: supposed to help people are used to bankroll fly-by-night Speaking on behalf of the contractors. The hard parents of Boise, by no working quality craftsmen means do we accept the ac lose the fine reputation they tions of our principal. Mr. deserve because some crooks David McCrea, but we feel swindle people. that this is our problem and The problem with Boise we should be allowed to Elementary certainly goes solve it ourselves. We, as beyond the office of David parents, have a lot at stake McCrea. The same white trying to help our children school board made the deci sion to funnel children into Boise until it is swamped by the flooding traffic from the Fremont Bridge. The school board has cer tainly abused its authority to condemn property for public (Continued from pg. 1, col. 9) use by tearing down neigh fied prosecutions of d is borhoods to put the land into senters and corrupted the a land specualtion bank. constitutional function of The school board will prob grand juries to make them ably "make a few bucks” by instruments of political sur selling out the neighborhoods veillance and harassment. so that “big shots" can build He has perverted and at hotes and office buildings on templed to pervert the oper that property. ation of various federal agen In a time when political cies including the Depart corruption is rampant in the ment of Justice, the National highest offices of our nation, safe in the streets when the Fremont Bridge starts fun nelling rush hour traffic through the neighborhood. The smaller business along Union Avenue will be forced into bankruptcy if the traffic is intensified. dren and communicate to school ,iersonnel whether a 1 do not believe that schools different kind of performance standard is worth diminishing in transition should be stig matized by unfair publicity. future circum stances re 1 feel that it is essential for garding equal opportunity. I found the academic en all students that an atmos phere conducive to learning vironment at Boise compar able to la-wis and Woodstock prevail. As a concerned citizen, I (schools for which I have spent moat of the October 2, served as room represents 1973 school day visiting six tive and as a volunteer in classes at Boise School to Portland Public Schools). I did not observe undue ar observe and evaluate class room conditions and student tivity in the hallways of To me, Boise ap behavior. I found teachers in Boise. control of their respective peared to In- a school in classes with obvious student which all children, irrespec rapport in an atmosphere tive of rare, ran safely bene fit from the education pro conducive to education. Stu dents demonstrated interest, gram. In my opinion, the cooperation, and discipline. earlier negativisim reported Profane or obscene language in a daily white newspaper was not evident. Students regarding Boise is unjusti were energetic but not un lied! ruly: I observed only one Sincerely. disruptive student (an eighth Mrs. O.J. Gates grader) whose teacher dem onstrated capability in hand ling that situation. One dis ruptive student is not un usual for any school. Gentlemen: I urge other interested persons to visit Boise ami Boise School is not likely personally evaluate the aca to get a better man than demic atmosphere. I realize David McCrea. the impossibility of assessing I believe his letter pub the quality of the instruc iiahed in your October 4, tional program under the cir 1973 issue. cumstances of a visit. I trust that Boise parents Yours truly, will closely monitor the aca Philip H. Lowthian demic progress of their chil Attorney at I j w Dear Sir: McCrea ok Very truly yours, Ralph laiVelle Blondell 1806 N. Haight Exie Publishing Company 283-2486 PTA wants no help get a better education. We would appreciate you giving us a chance to solve our own problems. If we find that we cannot, we would appreciate your help in the future. Meet your ¿^irmattve ¿¡ctioe '^e^ut/enteei dte taty wuf f Contract your p rin tin g to a m inority firm Respectfully yours, D rothy Hardy Boise P.T.A. President Use minority printers ACLU asks impeachment Security Council, the Secret Service, the State Depart ment, the Defense Depart ment and the Central Intelli gence Agency by engaging them in political surveillance and in the falsification of in formation made available to Congress and the American public. Photo Typesetting, G raphic Arts and Printing N ew spapers -• N ew sletters — Posters - Fliers -- S tationery — Business Cards Programs Pam phlets — Pictorial D irectories Printing to m eet your needs 2201 N orth K illin g s w o rth Portland, O regon AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER The STA TfM lNT O f O W M P S H fP . M A N A G E M fN T AND CIRCULATION ¡Act of August 12. 1970 Section 3685. Titlo 39. Umtod Stntot Codo] Vital election coming SUPPORT YOUR ADVERTISERS A ttn clllo n - Founded IM S I hope you ran relieve some of our anxiety con cerning this entire matter and that you might encour age Chief McNamara to dir ect Lt. Brown at our request to explain how the police in v e s t ig a t iv e procedures function and how the police bureau responds to com plaints of "police brutality" such as is being alleged by Mr. Clarence Hurper, Jr. Power Structure at fault OBSERVER. D a lt o l filin g. October 26, I »73 J f-Y o u r lyewspaper Title of Publication Portlond Observer Frequency of «»Sue Weekly location of known office of publication 2201 N Killingsworth Porflond, Orogon 97217 location of the headquarters or Central Butin»»» Office» of the publishers 2201 N Killingsworth Portland, Oregon 97217 Publisher Alfred I Henderson 2737 N E 10th Avenue Portland, Oregon 97211 Editor Alfred I Henderson 2737 N E 10th Avenue Portlond, Oregon 972,1 Owner E n e Publishing Compnoy, Inc 2201 N Killingsworth Portland, Oregon 972 ,7 Alfred I Henderson 2737 N f IOth Avenue Portland, Oregon 972,7 Known bondholders, mortgagees. and other security holders owning or holding , percent or more of total am ount of bond, mortgages or other securities None THE PORTLAND OBSERVER P.O. Box 3137 Portland, O reg on 97208 Please a rra n g e to have the OBSERVER m a ile d to m y hom e. • $5.25 per year in the Tri County area. • $6.00 per year elsewhere. N am e A d d re s s , MEMBER NÊWW pe * dent at your request. What this rase of pre sumed mis treatment by po lice of a citizen points up to us is the need for procedures to deal with such rases that are clearly spelled out. We believe the issue here is po lire accountability. What assurance ran be given to us that in this instance there is police accountability? We have heard one side of the story: if the police have a side of the story that needs to be told we would be very happy to hear their side. School publicity not justified City A pt. ( if a n y ). State & Zip Telephone Eiteni ond nature of circulation A Totol no copes printed B Paid circulation I. sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors and counter soles 2 M oil subscriptions C Total paid circulation 0 Free distribution by m ail, corner or other means 1 Samples, complimentary and other free copies 2 Copies distributed to news agents, but not sold E Total distribution F Office use, left over, unaccounted. spoiled after printing G Total I certify that the statements m ade by m e above are correct and com plete Average no copies ech issue during preceeding 12 months single issue published nearest to filing date 6000 6500 4544 742 5286 4723 902 5625 65 300 5651 265 290, 6 ,8 0 349 320 6500 Actual number of copies of 6000 G loria Fisher Business Manager
