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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 28, 1974)
• i -• .O ï.a p 'ip e r P ooa i L lb r t ir y versary of th e Economic Op portunity Act of 1964. The purpose of A rnett's tour is tw o fold: to assess the impart on local com munity action programs if OEO funds are terminated; and. to carry the' opinions of elected officials back to the administration. The congressional authori zation for OEO. which is made for two year periods, ends on June 30th. Presi dent Nixon has recommended that OEO be terminated on that date and has proposed no budget for the agency. He also attempted to close OEO on June 30, 1073, but Congress appropriated money to continue the program for another year. The Nixon plan is that some of the programs funded l.v O E O Head Start, Family Planning, health pro grams, etc. would be funded through other federal agencies. The Community Action Program* would be eliminated unless local gov ernment chose to finance them . The C om m unity Action Agencies have been the most critized since they were least understood and had the greatest potential for political change. PORTLAND & V o lu m e I, N o . « ¿ ^ P o r t l a n d . O reg o n THE O N I Y NEWSPAPER IN Iv a n c ie g e ts n e w s e c re ta ry Brenda Knapper stops just long enough to pose for a picture with her new host, Commissioner Francis Ivancie lie a loss because of any em p lo v e e s being fired . Ms. Knapper pointed out. but the or several mayors every day, I have not heard a dis paraging word." A rn e tt ex plains that this is a complete reversal of opinion, since elected officials have tra d i tionally been the greatest opponents o f C o m m u n ity Action Programs. He de scribed this as a process of m a tu ra tio n th ro u g h w hich elected officials have seen the positve aspects of OEO. OBSERVER AN EQUAL O F F O S IU N lIY fM F lO Y E t fHE WHOLE WIDE WORLD THAI REALLY CARES ABOUT by Itosem ary Allen T w e n t y tw o y e a r old Brenda Knapper, a Business A d m in is tra tio n m a jo r at Portland State University, was em ployed as Senior Stenographer in the office of Commissioner Ivancie March 1st of this year. Ms. Knap per h originally from laiuisi ana. but has spent« most of her life in Portland. She was previously employed by the City in Metropolitan Human Relation* as a Senior Sten ographer. Ms. Knapper said jokingly, “ My change in jobs was from an uncarpeted room to a carpeted office." Ms. Knap per. s|M-aking seriously, is very happy with her job. She explained "I'm not just a secretary in Commissioner Ivanne's office. I’m a p ail of what goes im " Her duties range from taking shorthand to answering questions from the public, line of the ques tions that's asked very often now is Commissioner Ivan rie's views on City County consolidation. ( 'ommissioner Ivancie is against it and so is Joyce, for some of the same reasons as the commissioner and for reasons of her own. One of those reasons is th e rise in cost Ms. Knapper sees consolidation w ill cause for citizens Another reason is the loss in jobs It w ill not C urrently Congress is de term ining whether or not to authorize OEO for another two years over the Presi dent's protest. There is a strong threat of a presi dential veto should the bill pass. A r n e tt has found th a t governors and mayors are strongly in favor of con tinuing OEO. "In eight weeks of seeing a governor T h u rs d a y , M a rc h 28, 1974 10c p e r copy PEOPLE Jordan assigned Human Resourses City Commissioner Charles Jordan has been designated the Commissioner of Public Safety by Mayor Neil Gold schmidt and assigned the Bureau of Human Resources and the Fire Bureau. His responsibilities include Model Cities, the A n ti Poverty Pro gram. Office of Youth Diver sion Services, Metropolitan Youth Commission, the City County Commission on Ag ing, manpower planning, the City County Health Com mittee tmemberl. the Com mittee or, Delinquency As M-ssments 'member). Com prehensive Health Planning Association (representative), and Committee on Proposed Improvements (member). New assignments of Bur eaus to the council members was necessitated by the res ignation of Lloyd Anderson, who had been in charge of public works, and the ap pointment of Jordan. Commissioner Schwab was assigned to the Department of Public Affairs, which in eludes the Office of Support Services, the City Attorney. Data Processing, the Office of Neighborhood Associations and the Metropolitan Human Relations Commission. Commissioner Ivancie re ceived the Department of I’ ublic Works. Water Works Parks and the Zoo. Ivancie had sought the Public Works and has been particularly interested in u tility rates. Commissioner Connie Me Cready received the Citv Engineer, Cable TV. the E x position Recreation Commis sion, and the Civic Auditor ium. Mrs. McCready was unhappy with her assign ments, saying, " I think it is kind of ridiculous. Public Works is probably my area of least interst or expertise.” Among the departments that .Mayor Goldschmidt kept for himself are the Depart ment of Finance and Admin istration, Bureau of Police, Office of Management Ser vices, Portland Development Commission, Housing Auth ority. Traffic Engineer, the Personnel Department, Mass Transit, Civil Service and CRISS. (Please turn to pg. 2, col. 6) City plans Summer ’74 Portland Mayor Neil Gold sch m id t o ffic ia lly launches Summer '74 project for low income city youths on March 28. 1974. Scheduled to operate from June 10th to August 30th, Summer '74 is the sixth an nual project to provide jobs, recreation, social events and cultural and educational arti vities for an estimated 20.000 Portland youths aged six to 21 from low income families. Summer '74 is financed with a $126.(HX) cash fund provided by the City of P o r tla n d . , U n ite d Good Neighbors. U.S. Department of Labor. National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors and private dona tions. The project is o|»erated prin cip a lly by four spon sors Portland Public Schools. Portland Chamber of Commerce. United Good Neighbors and City of Port land Bureau of Human Re sources. A bout 20 o th e r youth- serving agencies in Portland metropolitan area donate in kind services totaling nearly $500.000. The agencies are the YWCA. YMCA. Salsa i Please turn to pg. 5. col. 11 positions nt those who quit after consolidation w ill not I Please turn to pg. I. col. 61 Task Force reports findings "Vietnam Veteran’s Week", proclaimed by Mayor Neil Goldschmidt, began in Port land w ith the presentation to the Mayor of the findings of his Task Force on Returning Veterans. The Mayor's Task Force on Returning Veterans was created to serve as an ad vocate for returning vet erans, especially thosi- who served in Vietnam. A series of public hearings were held. which resulted in the de velopment of a series of recommendations on steps to Iw taken in addressing the problems of returning vet erans in the Portland m etro politan area. ! Testimony indicated 'that Vietnam veterans are en co u n te rin g d iffic u ltie s and problems far more serious than those fared by veterans of previous wars and that they are not receiving the assistance they should. They encounter public apathy and hostility, as well as the belief that they are drug addicts or prefer to live on welfare. One of the greatest problems encountered was the unwill ingness or inability of the Veteran's Administration to provide the services to which they are entitled. Specific recommendations of the Task Force include; iPlease turn to pg. 2. col. 41 Black journalist wins suit Newsweek magazine has been ordered to pay at torneys for Samuel F. Yette $20.000 and to move ahead on setting up a fair employment program in its Washington office. The order, handed down by the D.C. Commission on Human Rights, March 8th, was in response to News week's request that the Com mission renege on its finding last Decem ber th a t the magazine was guilty of rarial bias in firing Yette, its only Black reporter in Washing ton. The Commission also re a ff ir m it s o r d e r th a t Newsweek pay Yette, now a H ow ard U n iv e rs ity jo u r Gel Sonici hing f Gi6$vin^ * wllli the I Franklin Sava on food by growing tom e of your own herbs and vegetables. Start now with a packet ol seeds and an herb gro-stlk Free at any of our offices. One aet per visitor, extras 15« each Basil Crass Partlay Mustard Chivas Dill B c n j . O F ra n k lin « « •« « a , 'OOpSy •* » '* » •• a va*M aasM Home Office: Franklin Bldg , Portland, Oregon R7204 Robert H Hazen, Praa. • 25 Offices • Phone 24S-12M nalism professor, $1,000 in damages. It also held that Yette must be reimbursed, from the attorney's settle ment, any fees already paid by him. Newsweek fired Yette in 1972, following publication of his award winning hook. The Choice: The Issue of Black Survival in America, after a Newsweek editor, according to Yette, subjected him to racial slurs and told him the book "embarrased" the maga zine. Newsw eek denied the charge and s a id .\g tte was fired for "professional” rea sons. Yette had been with the magazine for more than four years. Yette's chief counsel is Clifford L. Alexander, J r „ former chairman of the Equal E m p lo y m e n t O p p o rtu n ity Commission, and now a ment her o f the law firm of Arnold and P w ter. Newsweek's chief counsel in the case is Edward Ben nett Williams, who asked the three m em ber Commission panel to reconsider its order that Newsweek set up a fair employment program and re port periodically on its pro gress. The panel is chaired by Mrs. Wilhelmina J. Rolark. Other members are Dr. Car men Lydia Felices and Ru dolph A. Taylor, Yette and Alexander said they were pleased w ith the Commission decision in re- Please turn to pg. 2, col. 6) A rn e tt said Governor George Wallace of Alabama, who as recently as four years ago was still fighting OEO pro grams in his own state, is now one of OEO's strongest proponents. The support of these governors and mayors. A rn e tt explained, increases the chances of OEO funding, which he assesses as now being 60 percent to 40 per cent in favor, and decreases the threat of a presidential veto. A rn e tt describes OEO as a “ sore spot" w ith th " ad m inistration because of man agement and accountability. Most Community Action Prie grams are non profit cor p o ra tio n s and P re sid e nt Nixon prefers to put money in the hands of elected of finals. The "New Fed eralism" on Revenue Sharing is based on the concept that federal funds should go to state and local government and not to programs. Most governments do not have the ability to disperse funds and administer programs at this time. A rn e tt called the Com munity Action Programs "the finest structure for the de livery of services ever de vised." A rn e tt was appointed director of OEO on June 26. 1973 by President Nixon. He had been an employee of th e A ppalachian Regional Commission prior to his ap pointment. The C o m m u n ity A ctio n Agency for the urban P ort land area is the Portland Metropolitan Steering Com mittee. EOA. Inc., directed W A lvin J. A rnett, Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, expressed his opinion thnt "there is a need for an agency thatuda an ad vocate for the poor.” A rnett, who in on an 8 week tour of the nation's OEO programs, visited the Portland M etro politan Steering Committee and s|M>ke at the "Com m u n ity A ctio n B a n q u e t" honoring the ten year anni ’ I^ W ’R D IW War on Poverty Director visits City of Roses Alvtn J. A rnett, Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity l right) discusses future of the "W ar on Poverty" programs with •John Finley, Regional Director of OEO by C le v e la n d G ilc re a s e . ject. North Portland Citizens' Committee. and the Urban PM SC a d m in is tra te s the Indian Council, Inc. PMSC C hild D evelopm ent Division. Alcoholism Coun Governor McCall. Commis seling and Recovery Pro sion Chairman Gleason and gram. Family Action Federal Mayor Goldschmidt proclaim Credit Union. Manpower Ser ed Community Action Week vice Center. Economic De n their jurisdictions. Among velopment, and three Youth the guests attending the Programs: Y-SOL Radio banquet were Mayor Gold Station. Creative Outlets and schmidt, Richard Weber, Co S e llw o o d /M o re la n d W o rk ordinator of the State Econ shop. It supervises nine omic Opportunity Office, John delegate agencies: The Al Finley, Director of Region X. bina Action Center. Portland OEO: Representative William Action Committees Together, McCoy; J. B. Yutzy. Regional Inc., Early Childhood Educa Program Director of the Of lio n . F o ste r G ra n d p a re n ts fice of Child Development, Dr. P rogram . Planned P arent Deton J. Brooks Jr.. Presi hood Association of Oregon. dent of the National Associa Parent Child Services. Inc., tion for Community D< velop Comprehensive Health Pro- ment Convention seeks liberation by Jetie B. Wilds, Jr. The second National Black Political Convention was held in L ittle Rock. Arkansas March 15-17. 1974. The NBPC meets e ve ry tw o years, with the first con vention in Gary. Indiana in 1972. The NBPC is com posed of the Convnetion i t self. the National Assembly, the Political Council, and s u p p o rtin g Regional and state organizations. The Oregon Black Caucus is a recognized component of this pyramidal structure. There were more than 3.000 delegates from the fifty states at the scene of the 1957 fight against segrega tion in which nine Black students integrated Central High School of L ittle Rock. Arkansas. Then President Dwight Eisenhower national ized the state m ilitia to pro tect the now famous “ L ittle Rock Nine". In place of the nine Black ch iid re n who crossed the white threshold of Central High School in 1957, more than 1.000 mem bers of the National Black Political Convention gathered in the school's auditorium to pay trib u te to Mrs. Daisy Bates the woman who led the fight against segre gation during the 1957 crisis. Mr. Ernest Green, 33, one of the "Little Rock Nine" and the first Black graduate of Central High School, was the master of ceremonies for the tribute to Mrs. Bates. The school is presently fifty per cent Black and has a Black principal. The convening of the his to rir 1972 National Black Political Convention in Gary. Indiana, and the second in L i t t l e R o ck, A rk a n s a s , marked the beginning of a new era of Black politics for our people in this country. This new Black Politics seems to be based on a new level of political consciousness and a higher level of political under standing flowing from our Civil Rights experiences of the early sixties and the call to Black Power, community control, and self determina tion of the late sixties. The definition of Black Politics, according to the Convention, goes beyond electoral politics and permeates every aspect of Black existence, every moment of every day. E very thing that Black people do is political. The goals of this new political thrust is: la) the to ta l lib e ra tio n of Black people from the oppressive and dehumanizing condition of racism, exploitation, and genocide; lb) to struggle for fundam ental social change designed to create a new national order to eradicate hunger, poverty and disease ar.d all other ills which cripple the human spirit: (c) foster the development of a society whose politics and programs are based on hu man needs, human equality, human dignity and human progress; id) to achieve in ternationally the same objec tives for African people and people of color on a world wide basis. It was proposed that a National Black Political As sembly investigation team be formed. The function of it w ill be: ID to investigate specific instances ftf abuses against the Black community; |2) to make recommendations of actions to be taken by the National Black Assembly to support the local besieged community; (3) to aid in the identification of resources to (Please turn to pg. 3, col. 3) YSOL Radio becomes KBTS by K osem arv Community school seeks relevance The Open C om m unity School, located at 2440 N.E. 10th, is attem pting to be come a part of the com munity. Although the school has been located in the I r vington area for three years, nearly all of its students and its faculty are white. It was not intended to be this way, but so far the school has not been accepted as a member of the community. The Open C o m m u n ity School was established by the Learning Community, a g ro u p o f s tu d e n ts and teachers from Reed College, who attempted to establish a school for their own children. Their purpose was to' create a school that would serve as an alternative to the public schools. Some of the families moved into the area to at tempt to form a "community” . This effort was not al together successful and the school has changed An its philosophy and m H hiA is during its second two y e i t f The school now serves 45 students, ages 5 to 14 years. Students come from all over the Portland area. Families range from those who are on welfare to those who live in the West Hills. Some par ents send their children to the Open Community School because they are dissatisfied with the public schools for some reason; others because their children are not pro grossing s a tis fa c to rily in public school* or are evi dencing behavior p a tte rn s contary to what the parents desire. Other students have been re fe rre d by public schools. The Open C om m unity School is successfully teach ing children. A ll of the children in the lower grades are learning at or above their grade level. Emphasis is placed on reading, a rith metic and w riting. Teaching is carried out in small groups or individually so that every child is able to progress at his maximum ability. Al though students are given some choice and are treated w ith respect, they are ex pected to complete assigned work and to learn. Some of the lack of ac ceptance by the community m ight stem from the school's designation as an "alterna tive school". Although the school's lite ra tu r e states: "The school is based on the concept that children like to learn and can do so best in a non authoritarian and non c o m p e titiv e w a y ." This should not be construed as a lack of structure or disci pline. Teaching is done ac cording to lesson plans, with each child expected to ac complish each assignment. Discipline is carried out in such a way that each child learns to respect others; for example, quiet is necessary during the class so everyone can hear and be heard, rather than for the sake of silence. Staff members are appre hensive about the a bility of the school to become rele vant in the Black community. It has ganed the reputation of being a “ w hite" school or a “ hippy" school. The teachers do feel that the school serves a definite need and is suc cessful since they are seeing their students progress and^ because they have been able to teach children who were failing in the public schools. They hope to re cru it Black students from the neighbor hood and hire at least one Black teacher for the coming school year. P arents, c h ild re n and neighbors are invited to visit the O pen Community School, see the classes in action, and form their own opinions. A llen The story of Y-SOL. the o n ly Black c a rrie r c u rre n t radio station in Oregon, is sad in light of their unending difficulties. However its story was also one of pride, for those w ho were devotedly involved and for the com munity it strived to serve. Insufficient funds, burglaries, and low transm itting power hindered Y SOL in its efforts to arrive. Y SOL is being referred to in the past tense because Y-SOL was and now KBTS is! Y-SOL has changed its name and its address, although its com m unity- oriented philosophy remains the same. Y-SOL is now KBTS Kold Bold To gether Soul - radio station and is located on 4843 N.E. Union, the former dental office of Dr. Lewis. The move was made for more space and Union Ave nue was preferred because, according to Oliver O'Farrell, station manager. Union Ave nue is improving and be coming a show case for the community. The change ol call letters was due to diffi culties that the le tte r Y was causing in the station’s effort to legitimize themselves with record companies. KBTS now has a staff of 18, including volunteers. F if The KBTS sta ll take time out for a little fun in the sun in front of their new headquarters. From left to right: George Fists, John Bibbs, Oliver O'Farrell, Dennis Campbell and Donnv Adair. teen members of the staff goats of KBTS is to train are disc jockeys: 9 of the disc low income youth in all as jockeys have at least a 3rd pects of the broadcast in- class license. One of the (Please turn to pg. 2, col. 31