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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1974)
Black legislators play impeachment role Three Black legislator« are member« of the House Judi cia, Committee which thia week voted to recommend to thq United State« Houae of Representatives that Richard M. N iw n be ira|>eache<l I( the Houae concur« with the Ju d icial C o m m itte e, M r. Nixon will aland trial in the Senate. Black member« of the Judicial Committee are Bar bar« Jordan. John Conyera ami Charles Rangel. John Conyera. Jr. was elected to the Houae in 1964 from Michigan. Conyers was born on May 1«, 1929 m Detroit. He attendee! Wayne State Univeraity, graduating in 1967 with a BA degree and Wayne State Univeraity la w School, earning an LLB in Jupe of 1958 He was u combat officer in the U.8. Army Corp« of Engineers, serving one year in Korea, where ha received combat and merit citations. Conyera ia active in civic affair«, serving on the Exe cutive Hoard of the Detroit N A A C P. the advisory board of the American Civil I.iber tie« Union of Michigan, and the Police Kelationa Com mittee of the Cotillion Club. He was secretar of the 15th Congressional District Demo cratic O rg an iza tio n ; vice chairman of the Americans for Democratic Action; and vice chairman of the National Advisory Council of ACLU, lie was appointed referee for the State Workmen's Com pensation D e p a rtm e n t in 1961 Conyers serves on the Committee on Government Operations and the Judicial Committee and is Chairman of the subcommittee on Í4 Crime of the House Judiciary Committee. Charles B. Rangel was elected from Harlem in 1970 and re-elected in 1972. He was born in Harlem in June of 1930. He attended public schools including D e W itt Clinton High School. He enlisted in the Army and served from 194« until 1952. He was awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star of Valor, United States and Korean Presidential Cita tions, and three Bronze Stars while with the 2nd Infantry in Korea After an honorable dis charge, Rangel completed high school. In 1967 he graduated from the New York University School of Commerce, a dean's list stu dent, on the G .I. Bill. He attended St. Johns Univer sity School of la w on a three year full scholarship and graduated, again on the dean's list, in I960 Rangel was admitted to the New York Bar, the U.S. Federal Court Southern Dis trict of New York, and the U.S. Customs Court. He was appointed assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 1961. He also served as legal counsel for the New York City Housing and Re development Board. Neigh borhood Conservation Bur eau, and was general counsel for the National Advisory Board on Selective Service Rangel was a member of the New York State As sembly from 1966 to 1970 He is a member of the Dis trict of Columbia Committee and the Judicial Committee He is currently chairman of (Please turn to pg. 2, col. 5) Catch m e . Berean, Hughes, Bethel and Woodlawn Child Care Centers are partiepating in a special swim program for Model Cities 4 C day care centers. The program is directed by Hildergard Gor Harris directs PSU Black studies Ur. W illiam Harris, dire«» tor of the Center for Urban Studies in Seattle thia past year, has been named new coordinator of the Black Studies program at Portland State University. Now a part of Urban Stodiea, the Black Studies program was transferred this spring when budget cuts at PSU made some program reorganization necessary. Harris, who recently re reived his dorlorate in urban planning and community de velopment at the University of Washington, will leach course* in both Black Studies and Urban Studies. He also plans to continue his current research interest which involves investigating what ideal models are neces •ary for Black community development. The Seattle Center for Urban Studies, an educa tional extension project from Fairhaven College in Belling ham, is similar to PSU'a Educational Center on Union Avenue, according to Harris. During 1972 Harris was project director for the Seattle Urban Academy, a Battelle Institute sponsored research and planning pro ject designed to develop an educational system for kin d e rg a rte n through 12th grade children living in the inner city. Following a three hour debate the Board of D irer tors of the Portland M etro politan Steering Committee voted unanimously to accept a federal grant for providing emergency food and nutrition services across the state of Oregon. The grant met opposition from several private agencies in Portland that questioned the selection of PMSC to administer the grant and that were concerned that expenditures for planning not be excessive. Only F IS H , a non profit emergency program located in Southeast Portland, ap peared at the hoard meeting to ask the board not to ac cept the grant. Jean Hig ginbotham, director of FISH , asked that the money be rejected and returned to the The P o r t la n d ( t b s e r v e r has Dr. William Harris of Seattle has been named new coordinator of the Black Studies program at Portland State University. Earlier in ms career, Harris held jobs as a phyai cist with Battelle Northwest the U.S. Atomic Energy Comm ission in R ichland. Washington, and the Mon santo Research Corporation in Dayton, Ohio. Harris and his wife Cath erine have three children. Awards were presented at the N N A national convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 26th. N N A is made up of weekly and daily news papers across the nation. The Herrick Editorial Award was open to daily and weekly newspapers. Additional Oregon winners among the 4,750 entries are: Albany Itemocrat Herald. Honorable Mention. Excel lence in Typography. Daily. Bend Bulletin, First Place, Best Feature Story, over 4,(XMI circulation. Cottage Grove Sentinel, Second Place, Special Issue, S fe want CYOU as a sa ve r Bcnj.ffi) Franklin » « •« •A L federal government rather than be awarded to PMSC. Carl Woods. State Chair man of the C om m unity Action Agency organization md Chairman of the Clacka mas County CAP Board, reminded the PMSC board that they were acting for all of the poor in the state, not merely for Portland, and pleaded that the grant be accepted. He pledged his iupport and that of his igency. The program is divided into two ph •« a plan mng period of five months ending December 31, 1974, and a two-year period of food distribution and additional program activities. Up to $5(1.000 is allotted for the five month planning period, during which five specific goals must be met- 11 Determination of needs through a comprehensive overview of existing nutri tion re la ted program s; 21 election of a statewide coun cil of 21 members with a majority of low-income repre sentatives; 3) establishment of priorities; 4) provide an organizational structure to disseminate information, im plement priorities, and pro vide fiscal accountably; 5) submit a 24 month work plan and budget. If the plan submitted is acceptable to 0 E 0 , $200,000 will be granted for a two year program. Services to be provided include estab lishing a training renter on nutrition; providing technical assistance to groups pro viding n u tritio n services: assisting in fund raising; (Please turn to pg. 2, col. 3) M odel Cities Planning Board adopts transition program O bserver wins e d ito ria l aw ard been notified that it has been awarded Honorable Mention in the Herrick Editorial Award by the National Newspaper Association. PMSC Board accepts food grant • * « ! • • « A LB A M A M M Moma Ottica: Franklin Bid« Portland. Oregon »7204 Robart M Hazon. Pr«« • M O ttlc«« . Phot» 2 4 H 2 3 4 under 5,000 circulation. Polk County Item izer Ob server, Dallas, Honorable Mention. Best Cartoon in a Weekly Newspaper. H illsbo ro A rg u s, T h ird Place, Service to Agricul ture, over 4,000 circulation. Hood River New«, First Place Public Notice, Third Place Best Editorial Page, over 4,000 circulation. Klamath Falls Herald A News, Honorable Mention, Special Issue. laike County Examiner, First Place, Community Ser vice, under 4,000 circulation. The Model Cities Citizens' Planning Board has adopted a series of policies for its phase out period, to be pre sented to the City Council. Model Cities is a five year demonstration agency and unless federal plans change, it will be funded only through June of 1975. Three major areas of con cern were expressed by the board: continuation of citi zens' participation, continua tion of Model Cities funded »rojects. and finding secure em ploym ent for cu rren t Model Cities employees. The plan for Citizens' Participation provides for citizen involvement in plan ning and derision making that affects the area. The basic units for Citizens' Participation will be the Neighborhood Associations, which will apply for recog nition from the City under the Office of Neighborhood Associations. These as soeiations will be advised to incorporate. and committees and recom If a Planning District is mends the formation of a formed in Northeast Portland Human Resource Bureau including any part of the Advisory Committee. Model Neighborhood area, The personnel component the Citizens' Planning Board is designed to provide an recommends that it and the orderly transfer of Model elected representatives from Cities employees to city the current eight Neighbor agencies or other positions, hood Associations determine at the same time maintaining the boundaries of the plan a sufficient staff throughout ning district. the close down period. The present Citizens' Plan A schedule for transfer of ning Board will be incor positions to the city over a porated as a non p ro fit period of one year has been agency, recognized by the submitted. Model Cities city to operate for the eight employees will be assigned Neighborhood Associations civil service classifications during the transition period based on job functions cur (July, 1974 to July. 1975». rently performed that are After June 30, 1975, the comparable to the same job board will consist of an equal functions in o th e r city number of representatives agencies. The City Civil from each recognized Model Service Commission, repre Neighborhood Association. sentatives of Loral 189, The C itizen s' plann ing AFSCM E, and Model Cities Board recommended that representatives are currently Model Neighborhood resi working to identify positions dents be appointed to city and assign classifications. budget review committees Salaries will be commen and to all city commissions Please turn to pg. 2, col. 5) Oregon residents share money settlement The State of Oregon, on behalf of its consumers, has made a settlement of $2.117 million with five drug com panies: American Cyanamid, B ristol M ye rs , P fize r and Com pany, O lin M athieson and Upjohn. Approximately $1.3 million will be distri buted to Oregon residents who purchased certain drugs distributed by these com panies. During the late 1960’s all 50 states filed class action suits alleging illegal price fixing in the sale of anti biotirs between 1954 and 1966 In 1969, 4 * of the states accepted a aaKlement, but O regon, C a lifo rn ia , Washington. Kansas, Utah and Hawaii rejected it on the grounds that it was inade quate. After almost four years ol litigation, these six states made a settlement for $38 million, the largest settle ment of this nature in United States history. Distribution of Oregon's share of the settlement will he supervised by U.S. Dis trict Court Judge Miles T Lord. A tto rn e y G en eral Lee Johnson advised that every Oregon resident will receive a form in the mail by August 15th. The form lists all drugs covered and provides a space for the consumer to ipproximate his purchases during the period 1954 through 1966. Over 30 antibiotic drugs are covered, the most com nion being Aureomycin. Tet racin and Terramycin. These antibiotics are most fre quently used to treat respir atory infections, flu, ear in fections, strep throat, cystic fibrosis and acne. It is estimated that 60 percent of the current Ore gon residents are eligible for refunds. Citizens are not required to provide elaborate proof of purchase, and for amounts under $150, rough estimates will be accepted. Experts have estimated that the consumer will re- I Please turn to pg. 2, col. 31 • • ansen of the YW CA aquatic staff, assisted by teachers and teacher aides from the four centers. Children quickly lose their fear of the water as they learn to kick, paddle and float. Some of the older children jump off the diving board and paddle to the side, aided by “bubbles" strapped to their back. Approxi mately sixty children take part in the program. C ity stu dies con tract com plian ce The Metropolitan Human Relations Commission will hold a public meeting to discuss the proposed Con tract Compliance Ordinance on Monday, August 19, 1974, at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 1220 S.W. Fifth Avenue. The public is invited to partici pate. The ordinance requires that any contractor pro posing to furnish goods or services to the City of Port land valued in excess of $2500 in any year be certi fied as an affirmative action equal opportunity employer by the Metropolitan Human Relations Commission. No bureau or office of the city will be allowed to enter into a contract with a contractor not certified. For those contractors who do not have employees w ith in the city and propose to furnish goods only, or whose services will be provided outside the city, the Com mission will accept evidence that the contractor has filed an affirmative action agree ment with the federal or other government, or if he files a written agreement not to discriminate. Any building contractor applying for a permit to construct a building in the city estimated to cost more than $75,000 and utilizing more than five employees must be certified by the Commission in order to receive the building permit. To begin the process of certification, the prospective contractor must submit an equal employment oppor tunity policy to the Metro politan Human Relations Commission. This policy will include a statement that he will not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex. national origin or age. The policy will contain in formation on employee pat terns and include goals and timetables directed toward the employment of persons from those groups he is determined to be under utilizing. The goals and timetables will be specific. I f the Commission finds the policy acceptable it will certify the contractor as being an equal opportunity employer. The Commission will accept evidence of cer tification by the federal government as meeting these requirements. Contractors who are cer tified but who are charged with failing to comply with the regulations will be giver a hearing, and if found to b, in violation, the certification will be subject to conciliation or revoked. I f the contract is revoked, the remaining portion of the contract with the city will be revoked. Following adoption of the ordinance by th e C it y u Council, the Metropolitan Human Relations Commis sion will adopt rules and regulations for implementa tion. following a hearing on the proposed rules. i” The Legacy o f Challenge Part I by J..M. Gates The courageous efforts of Richard A llen , F re d e ric k Douglass. H arriet Tuuman and Sojourner Truth are a cherished legacy. Again and again, their lives recall the necessity to be free and challenge barriers and in equities of myth or fact. In their efforts to correct in justice, they were signifi cantly aware of the environ ment, the social system, and the technology of their time but refused to be perma nently dispossessed of human dignity. They would be surprised to read some of the alleged new technology- oriented conclusions which attempt to soften the condi tions against which they struggled. The above persons would probably be disappointed and disgusted if later generations accepted without doubt or challenge such reports as E.K. Dortmund's "A New L ook Inside Uncle Tom's Cabin", which appeared in the July 28, 1974 Oregonian Northwest Magazine. It appears one must assume said article to be a report instead of a book review inasmuch as it does not appear with the regular book reviews and it is featured on the magazine cover. Is silence or aloofness possible when distorted con clusions are inconsistent with certain fundamentals? The eleven conclusions of the Northwest Magazine article fail to reliably analyze the impact of slavery on slaves, free Blacks, and others of non-slaveholding status. To """1 cite five of those conclusions presented as principal cor rections. for example, are the following: 7. Slave sales are con sidered the continuity of the whole family or individual naturity; 8. Slaves and free indus trial workers had similar material conditions; 9. Benefits from 90% of income produced; 10. That during 1840-1860 the South experienced a more favorable per capita increase thap the North. 11. That the Southern eco nomy was ric h e r than Northern liberals and recent Black historians report. The state constitutions, the census data, the slave narratives, and other re sources have made it possible for plain people to have a legacy of truth in inter preting heritage and there fore one need not be over whelmed by someone rise's mathematical calculations of the “beneficent” impact of slavery oppression on the oppressed. By utilizing the Legacy of Common Sense, one can recognize some in consistencies. Conditions must have been very serious that Harriet Tubman would risk nineteen journeys on the underground railroad and active battlefield service. Frederick Douglass' Nar rative tells of the few times he had a chance to see his mother, who lived on another p la n ta tio n , and the sad parting from his grand mother. Sojourner Truth's biography reveals the long frustration to reunite w itl her son; other documentaries reveal family separation at the auction block as a com mon occurrence and the dis approval of engagements or marriages with persons of other plantations. State property laws were most severe regarding the owner ship of the issue of slaves -- children of a slave were designated also as property of the owner of the parent slave; consequently compli cations existed regarding an intended marriage of persons from two different plantation owners when children were born. Such cruel customs and laws adversely affected the family and freedom of movement. Under the Ken tucky state constitution in 1856, the following was enunciated: “The right of property is before and higher than any constitutional sanc tion; and the right of the owner of a slave to such slave, and its increase, is the same, and as inviolable as the right of the owner of any property whatever.” Slave families were subject to great risks to communi cate with free members of said family line. The state co nstitutions of V irg in ia , Florida. Kentucky. Indiana and Missouri persecuted and excluded free people of color. These limitations were an additional shackle to conquer. The Virginia Constitution stated that slaves “eman cipated shall forfeit their freedom by remaining in the Commonwealth more thar I Please turn to pg. 2, col. 51
