Page 2
Portland/Observer
Thursday, November 29, 1978
Black
mayors
elected
WE SEE THE WORLD
THROUGH BLACK EYES
In a low-key campaign that
was heavily overshadowed
by mayor races in Atlanta
and D etroit, a Black funeral
home director was elected
mayor of Raleigh. North Ca
rolina. early this month. It
was regarded as a stunning
upset in a southern city of
125,000 people, of whom less
than 23 per cent are Black.
C larence L ig h tn e r had
trailed his white opponent,
businessman W esley W il
liams, in the primary election
early this fall, but rallied to
w in heavily in Raleigh's
Black areas, while holding
his own in suburban white
precincts.
ALFRED L. HENDERSON
E d ito r/P u b lish e r
EDITORIAL FOCUS
The poor suffer first
President N ix o n has asked fo r a n um ber o f
action s to co nserve e ne rg y. W e are in a g re e m e n t
th a t co n se rva tio n is necessary a nd that every
c itize n can d o his share.
H o w e ve r, as usual, th e burde n w ill fa ll on the
p oo r m ore h e a v ily th an on the rich. Shortages o f
fu e l w ill b rin g a rise in prices so that the low -
inco m e fa m ily w ill pay a large r share o f its incom e
fo r the necessities o f heat and tran spo rtatio n .
As lim its a re p la ce d on o il fo r h om e h ea ting ,
those persons w h o h ave to buy in sm all q u a n titie s
w ill su ffe r m ost. It is n o rm a l th a t the su pp lie r w ill
ta ke care o f his “ g o o d cu stom ers" first — those
w h o are lo n g -tim e custom ers, those w ho can buy
la rg e q u a n titie s , a n d those w h o can p ay p ro m p tly.
The fa m ilie s th a t m ust buy a sm all q u a n tity a Vid
th e re fo re raise th e cost o f d e liv e ry a nd those w ho
re q u ire lo n g -te rm cre d it, w ill lik e ly fin d them selves
u n a b le to b u y fu e l o il.
If g a so lin e is ra tio n e d or lim ite d in supply, the
fa m ily th a t has tw o or m ore persons e m p lo y e d or
the person w ith m ore than o ne job w ill fin d it
d iffic u lt to g e t e n o u g h gas to g e t to w ork.
O r
d in a rily the person w h o fin d s h im s e lf w o rk in g on
se veral jobs is also the lo w inco m e person w ho
w ill be hardest h it by risin g costs. He cannot rely
on the co m p a n y car fo r tra n sp o rta tio n and his
tra v e l is costly as w e ll as in c o n v e n ie n t fo r most
e m p lo ye rs.
M r. N ixo n d id not ask the in d u stria l g ia nts to
sa crifice
--
he d id n ot ca ll in the co rp o ra tio n
heads to d e n y them selves. He asked th e com m on
c itize n to lo w e r the te m p e ra tu re o f his h om e and
rid e th e bus to w o rk.
W e w o n d e r if th e re a re n 't w ays th a t g o v e rn m e n t
a nd th e c o rp o ra te structure can fin d to save fu e l.
A re d u ctio n o f tra v e l by g o v e rn m e n t e m p lo ye e s
a nd p o litic a l fjg u re s ; re d u ctio n in m ilita ry use o f
fu e l; a suspension o f som e o f the space a c tiv itie s ;
less business tra v e l, e sp e c ia lly by p riv a te planes;
less p le asu re tra v e l by the leisu re class.
W e w o u ld n ot d e n y the in d iv id u a l a d a y of
re la x a tio n a t the beach, a d a y on the ski slopes, a
Sunday fis h in g trip to re la x a fte r a lo n g hard w eek.
But co uld those w e e k e n d jaunts to N e w York or
H a w a ii, the tw o -w e e k excursions, the yacht cruises
a nd w e e k e n d flig h ts by those w h o h ave m et the
necessities a n d h ave tim e and m o n e y fo r these
p le asa ntrie s be postponed? Can the rich as w e ll
as the poor accept som e re s p o n s ib ility fo r conser
va tio n ?
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The Portland Observer's official position is expressed only
in it's Publisher's Column I We See The World Through
Black Eyes). Any other material throughout the pa|>er 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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Check the record
For th e past several w eeks, p o litic a l c a n d id a te s
h ave bee n d e c la rin g th e ir in te n tio n to run fo r
p u b lic o ffic e . The m ost p ro m in e n t, C lay M yers, Jim
Redden a nd Betty Roberts, w ill c o m p e te fo r the
g o v e rn o rs h ip . Ted H allock, John Toran, Paul Big-
m an, D aw n A n d e rso n a nd others h a v e d e c la re d fo r
the le g is la tu re , a n d Don C lark fo r C ou nty C o m
m ission C h a irm a n .
Jason Boe, V ern C ook, B ill
Stevenson a nd N e il G o ld s c h m id t a re the sub|ect o f
rum ors.
This is the tim e fo r a c a re fu l loo k at these
ca n d id a te s, th e ir records, a nd th e co nd uct o f th e ir
ca m p a ig n s.
W e m ust m ake these assessments
e a rly — b e fo re th e e m o tio n a l a n d tension fille d
fin a l w e e k s o f the ca m p a ig n .
W h a t is the c a n d id a te 's reco rd on th e issues th a t
e ffe c t th e lives o f th e p e o p le
--
c iv il rights,
w e lfa re , e d u c a tio n , e m p lo y m e n t a nd tra in in g ,
sp ecial p ro g ra m s fo r th e yo u n g a nd a g in g ?
Has
th e c a n d id a te used his in flu e n c e to b rin g social
a nd p o litic a l ch an ge or has he bee n c o n te n t to
m e re ly v o te " y e s " or “ n o "?
Has he used his
p o s itio n to foster m in o rity h irin g by g o v e rn m e n t
a nd p riv a te e m p lo ye rs?
Does th e c a n d id a te in c lu d e Blacks a nd o th e r
m in o ritie s on his c a m p a ig n c o m m itte e a nd a m o n g
his p a id c a m p a ig n w o rke rs? Does he ask fo r in p u t
fro m m in o ritie s w h e n fo rm u la tin g his ca m p a ig n
issues? Is he a ttu n e d to the sp ecial p ro b le m s th a t
p la g u e Blacks and o th e r m in o ritie s in O regon?
These a re th e q ue stion s w e m ust ask as w e listen
to th e c a m p a ig n o ra to ry in the c o m in g year.
The winner had been en
dorsed by Raleigh's two daily
newspapers, the Times and
the News and Observer, and
he also had the barking of
the city's popular incumbent
mayor. Bradshaw. Lightner
had amassed an impressive
governmental record, serving
six years on the city council.
Editor’s note: The Presi
dent's nomination of Repre
sentative Gerald R. Ford Jr.
(R Mich.) to succeed Spiro
Agnew as vice president of
the United States prompted
Clarence Mitchell, director of
the Washington office of the
N A A C P . to examine Ford's
record on civil rights legisla
tion. Following are extracts
from Mitchell's report:
...On civil rights matters
the conservative influence
(o f F o rd , has been dem
o n s tra te d by his consis
tent support for weakening
amendments to civil rights
bills.
He has also been a
supporter of anti-busing le
gislation. In most instances
when the weakening amend
ments were defeated and the
ay
B irth c o n tro l s tu d y fo r e te lls g e n o c id e
In the first week of Nov
ember a woman representing
herself as the local repre
sentative of National An
alysts Inc. contacted " D L ”
Collins of Nero Industries
and made a request for
names of Black women who
would work on a temporary
basis conducting a c o n fi
d e n tia l su rvey on fam ily
planning.
The former police Human
Relations officer and criminal
law specialist agreed after
being told that Nero Indus
tries had provided this service
before on other surveys for
this division of the Booze-
Alien Research Corporation.
Reaction to the intimate
questions on this survey has
ranged from alarm and fears
of genocide plans of mass
h ysterecto m y (sterilization)
on Black women to absolute
rage.
In spite of assurances of
confidentiality and a two-day
paid training session, all ex
cept one of the Black women
hired refused to continue the
survey at $2.50 an hour and
10 cents per interview as of
this writing.
W hat caused this?
Cer
tainly everyone could use
work and it was not stren
uous physical labor.
This confidential “govern
ment” survey (H E W funded)
it turns out, was being con
ducted in the Albina Com
munity and S.E. Portland.
Both areas have the largest
concentration of Black and
poor people in the State of
Oregon.
The 144 question survey is
part of research being done
at North Carolina University.
This survey is a coercive
invasion of privacy and a
racist strong arm tactic to
push a sterlization program
on the vulnerable Black wo
man. The survey on closer
inspection is a fraud paraded
in the name of "scientific”
confidentiality, designed to
correct the "population prob
lem" among the Black poor,
while the rich and white get
But we also need to keep
close guard on such informs
tion so that what is a tool for
ourselves does not become a
weapon in the hands of our
common enemies.
Nero Industries, on the
other hand, must explain: 1,
why it never checked either
the cred en tials of Sylvia
Basey or the National An
alyst Survey;
2) what are
the other surveys that have
been conducted with the
assistance of Nero Indus
tries?
I f this is Black capitalism
at work, then I hope even
the conservative, intelligent
Black Portland community
can see the lie of American
economics clearly before the
gas ovens get too hot. They
have been lit already.
Don Fuller
The Observer welcomes
"Letters to the Editor". All
letters to be printed must be
signed with the writer's name
and address. The Observer
retains the right to edit for
space.
WENDELL E. BROWN
CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
5 7 5 N . K illingsw orfh
Remodeling or new construction
Commercial - Residential
Free Estimoies
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A model neighbor,tood contractor
Member - Albina Contractors Association
Portland, Oregon
th e
A tla n ta
In q u ir e r
Statement on Gerald Ford
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
fertility pills for multiple
births.
Genocide? Nothing can be
clearer than this clandestine
strike at the fertile Black
woman by sterile, rich and
power-mad forces unleashed
on the Black community to
day. Such an act of impotent
rage is an indictment of this
decadent, sick, racist, dying
nation. I t adds another page
of shame to a book already
crowded with Black African
exploitation, rape, oppression
and murder. Genocide.
Now that Black people are
considered useless for labor
and resistant to other forms
of American arrogance, we
get planned genocide in the
name of science.
Be warned Black African
brothers and sisters, and do
not give information (intelli
gence, to p o w erfu l, rich,
white America, even if Black
people are used as “agents”
or “scientific" war research
igainst the Black community
in Portland, America and
around the world. Find out
who is trying to find out the
information you are asked to
give.
Don’t be intimidated
or allow yourself to be made
to feel guilty.
W e do need to do our own
research; on ourselves for
ourselves to help ourselves.
fr o m
(Please turn to pg. 5, col. 7)
g ' ............... ........................................ ....................................................
Dear Editor:
'Wonder if Skylab't gonna have to keep to 50 miles per hour, too?'
2 2 7 -0 8 0 8
bill was up for final passage
he would vote for final pass
age. This, as we know, is a
standard procedure of some
legislators on civil rights
matters. They do what they
can to weaken a bill, but
when they are frustrated in
these attempts they vote for
final passage and assert that
they are "for civil rights."
Perhaps the best evidence
of Ford's fidelity to the
narrow approach on civil
rights of the Nixon admini
stration came in 1969. At
that time the N A ACP and
other organizations w ere
waging a major fight to pre
vent administration emascu
lation of the 1965 Voting
Rights Act.
Normally the
idministration would have
gotten the ranking Repu
blican member of the House
Judiciary Committee to in
troduce its bill. Represents
live William McCulloch (R
Ohio, was the ranking mem
her. but he refused to sup
port the administration. In
stead, he joined with Repre
s e n ta tiv e Em anuel C e lle r
(D -N .Y.) and the chairman of
the committee in reporting
an extension of the 1965
Voting Rights Act’s key pro
visions which (1) ban literacy
tests in areas with long his
tories of discrimination in
registration and voting and.
(2) prevent states and lo
calities from putting restric
tive registration and voting
legislation into effect without
prior clearance with the at-
:orney general of the United
States or seeking a decla
ratory judgment in the Unit
ed States District Court for
the District ol Columbia.
Representative Ford offer
ed the Nixon proposal to
emasculate the Voting Rights
Act as a substitute on the
floor. The Ford substitute
won by a Teller vote (non
record at that time), 189 to
165.
Later, on a roll call
vote, the Ford version again
won, 208 to 203. We were
able to defeat the admini
stration version in the Se
nate. Thereafter, the House
accepted th e Sen ate b ill.
The House first voted to
accept the Senate bill, 224 to
183.
This was the crucial
test.
Representative Ford
voted against acceptance of
the Senate bill. The House
then passed the bill, 272 to
132.
Mr. Ford voted for
passage.
With this kind of bark
ground. I would assume that
M r. Ford will carry out
ad m in is tra tio n policies in
whatever small ways a vice
president ran do this, anil I
would also assume that he
will maintain a good liaison
for the White House with the
conservative Republicans and
perhaps a few middle of the
road Democrats and Repub
licans and perhaps a few
middle of the road Democrats
and Republicans.
I do not
expert that he will have
much influence on liberal
members of either party in
influencing them to lake ad
ministration positions on civil
rights matters.....
SH O P
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